“Forget it. Let’s leave it at that.”

Hiruzen sighed. He no longer wanted to dwell on the matter.

In the end, Gen and Kakashi hadn’t done poorly. Letting Zabuza, a rogue shinobi, take the blame while Konoha reaped a fortune—two birds with one stone.

Gato was scum to begin with—dead or alive made no difference.

The problem was that the matter hadn’t been handled cleanly.

The shinobi world had its rules, certain unspoken understandings that everyone abided by.

As for Tazuna, Sarutobi Hiruzen was deeply displeased as well.

Even as a man known for his kindness, he still had to consider the situation of Konoha’s shinobi. This time, they were lucky it had been Kakashi’s team—but what if it had been another squad?

Would they have been forced to pay a heavy price because of Tazuna’s deceit?

“I hope next time you don’t make such a mess of things. One of you is a Jōnin who’s spent years in the Anbu, the other is one of Konoha’s genius Jōnin—how can you act so carelessly?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.”

Kakashi dared not argue back. Hiruzen thought for a moment, then continued.

“From here on, the matter of Gato and the Land of Waves will be handed over to the Anbu. As for the Chūnin Exams, I want Naruto and the others to participate.”

“They just graduated. Is that really appropriate?”

Kakashi asked doubtfully after a moment’s thought.

“There’s still time. They can be tempered well before then.”

Hiruzen shook his head, speaking directly.

“Also, have Naruto train with Jiraiya during this period. Gen, what you discovered last time was significant. Perhaps Jiraiya can do something about it.”

“Yes.”

With Hiruzen saying so, neither Kitagawa Gen nor Kakashi had any objections. Still, after thinking for a moment, Gen spoke.

“Hokage-sama, may I take part in Kisame’s interrogation? That man is rather interesting.”

“No problem. Just discuss it with Inoichi.”

Hiruzen didn’t bother to ask why. His mind was already turning to the Chūnin Exams, and to negotiating with the Mizukage about matters concerning the Land of Waves.

More and more, he truly felt that troublesome issues were piling up endlessly.

“All right, go and get some rest. But in the future, I expect you not to repeat this kind of mistake.”

“…”

Kakashi gave a small nod, then decisively left the Hokage’s office with Gen in tow.

“Why did you suddenly want to interrogate that guy?”

Kakashi couldn’t help his curiosity, asking in a low voice.

“Pure curiosity. And I want to see what I can do.”

Gen smiled casually. In truth, it wasn’t mere curiosity—he intended to take action.

The special Yin Release fragment Sasuke had provided had benefited him greatly.

He had once worried, of course. With the Uchiha temperament being what it was, if absorbing their Yin Release left him with some negative traits, that would be disastrous.

'Imagine if I ended up with Madara’s destiny, Obito’s intelligence, Fugaku’s stubbornness, Sasuke’s brooding calm, Itachi’s schemes, or Shisui’s paranoia—that would be a nightmare.'

The thought of all that Uchiha baggage alone was enough to make him wary.

Fortunately, his bloodline seemed to absorb only the energy itself. Other traits weren’t carried over, which reassured him a great deal.

[Name: Kitagawa Gen]

[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki Clan (Development: 42%)]

[Dōjutsu: Tenseigan (Eye of the Crescent Moon)]

[Special Ability: Source of the God Tree (Stage Three)]

“Not only has it risen to 42%, but more importantly—I’ve gained something new.”

His eyes now carried an additional ability: the Puppet-Cursing Sphere.

With it, he could control another person as though they were a puppet.

'Kisame… he seems like a fitting test subject.'

Aside from that, perhaps due to absorbing Sasuke’s chakra, Gen unexpectedly discovered that his perception and use of spatial power had improved yet again.

'Could it be… that I can gradually attempt to develop Kamui?'

One thing still puzzled him. He had also absorbed the Yin Release from Nagato’s Rinnegan, yet it had produced no other effect.

After thinking it over, he guessed it might be because those eyes hadn’t originally belonged to Nagato.

Whatever the reason, this improvement was undeniably beneficial to him.

...

“Old man, time to set off! Time to set off!”

In Iwagakure, inside the Tsuchikage’s office—

Deidara looked at Ōnoki with bright, eager eyes, speaking impatiently. His restless display nearly made Ōnoki faint from anger.

“What are you in such a rush for? Besides, both you and Kitagawa Gen are already Jōnin—you don’t even need to compete! I truly don’t know what’s in that head of yours.”

“Hmph! Gen and I already made a promise. We’re destined to have an artistic showdown!”

Deidara clenched his fist, a wide grin on his face.

“I’ve waited two whole years for this. This time, I’ll fight him properly and show him the true essence of my art!”

So you spent two years diligently studying Dust Release under me… just for this?

Where’s your ambition?!

Ōnoki didn’t even want to speak anymore. Looking at Deidara, his face was full of helplessness.

And deep down, he felt this Chūnin Exam was bound to be anything but simple.

...

“Brother, maybe you shouldn’t go.”

In Kumogakure, Killer B spoke hesitantly to his older brother, unable to hold back his concern.

“It’s fine for us to participate normally, but as for other things…”

“Hmph, Killer B, do you really take me for such a reckless man?”

The Fourth Raikage, hearing those words, grew visibly displeased. He smashed a fist down on Killer B’s head and roared.

“I know what I’m doing. This time I won’t act rashly—but damn it, I can’t swallow this!”

The Fourth Raikage drew in a deep breath. The memory of losing his arm still burned fresh in his mind, and afterward being ‘threatened’ by Kitagawa Gen had only made it harder to let go.

He had kept close watch on Gen since then, and he knew full well the boy was only growing stronger.

That string of nicknames alone was proof enough of his rapid rise in power.

But yielding had never been an option for him. And it wasn’t as though he hadn’t been striving to grow stronger himself.

“This time, beyond my own reasons for going, the Chūnin Exam itself is no ordinary event. With all Five Kage gathering, it can’t possibly be simple.”

He had a strong feeling—something was bound to happen this time.

Besides, when had the Five Great Shinobi Villages ever truly stood united?

...

Meanwhile, as the Fourth Raikage pondered, deep in Konoha’s Root base, Danzō sat with a dark expression.

“Sarutobi Hiruzen… is he investigating me?”

Shimura Danzō’s face darkened.

Right now, he felt as if he had been betrayed.

He couldn’t even tell when it had started, but he had noticed that Sarutobi Hiruzen had begun coming to him far less often.

Even the intelligence reports he submitted no longer seemed to be valued the way they once were.

This left Danzō feeling unsettled. He even began to suspect that after Konoha’s last trip to Amegakure, Hiruzen had made direct contact with Hanzo of the Salamander.

That would be fatal for him. After all, ever since losing the line he had with Orochimaru, Hanzo was the only connection he could rely on.

Losing Hiruzen’s trust so abruptly filled Danzō with unease—especially when he suddenly realized his old friend had begun investigating him. The source of thɪs content is n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net

“What on earth is going on? Did Hanzo say something? Or was it something else?”

A heaviness pressed down on his chest. He couldn’t make sense of the situation at all, but this sudden investigation left him at a complete loss.

Yes, he was slowly restoring Root’s power—but how could that compare to the Hokage?

And now this investigation would freeze everything in place. How was he supposed to pursue the seat of Hokage like this?!

“No. This can’t go on.”

Danzō slammed his fist hard against the table. He felt he had to act.

If things continued this way, he would end up with nothing. And then how could his dream of becoming Hokage ever be realized?

“Especially since Hiruzen didn’t just bring back Jiraiya… he brought back Tsunade as well.”

The thought of those two made his scalp prickle.

He had assumed his greatest enemy was Jiraiya, so he had worked tirelessly to stall Jiraiya’s progress.

But in the end, Hiruzen seemed “influenced”—yet hadn’t even spared him a glance. Instead, he had gone to fetch Tsunade.

“Perhaps I should meet Hanzo in person… or even speak directly with Orochimaru.”

Danzō had made up his mind. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about talking things over with Hiruzen.

But once he realized his old friend had quietly begun investigating him, his heart sank into disappointment.

True, he had done plenty of things—like trying to assassinate that very same old friend. But wasn’t all that in the past?

“By doing this now, he’s clearly showing his lack of trust. And with both Tsunade and Jiraiya back, it’s obvious he’ll never let me become Hokage.”

“In that case, I’ll just have to resort to… other means.”

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. /TitoVillar

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