[A/N: We got 6814 Power Stones in the last week and ended at rank 6 in the Power Stone ranking! Keep it up guys. This is our highest rank at the end of a week :)]
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the Chunin Exams…"
Fujin was surprised to hear Hiruzen talk about it. After the previous council meeting, they hadn't discussed Sunagakure again. He wondered, 'Did he get more information on Sunagakure's movements to be so alert all of a sudden? Or did Jiraiya notice Orochimaru's movements?'
Fujin paid close attention as Hiruzen continued, "You know the three stages of the Chunin Exams, right?"
Fujin nodded. It wasn't something he would forget easily. Hiruzen continued, "I want you to be the proctor for the second phase."
Fujin was surprised. He never expected Hiruzen to put forth such a request. Hiruzen could see the surprise on Fujin's face as well. What he didn't know was that it was a happy surprise for Fujin!
Of course, Fujin had no intention of showing his real emotions and asked in a confused tone, "Why? Didn't Anko take over Clan Leader Tsume's job? Did something happen?"
Hiruzen replied, "Nothing has happened yet. It's just that I have a feeling that something strange will happen during the Chunin Exams. As for what that is, I have no idea. My Anbu couldn't find any clues that could answer my unease.
Nothing should happen during the first phase as all the Sensei will be close by. Similarly, I'll be looking over the third phase personally. Only the second phase is where we won't be able to keep an eye on everything properly. If anyone has ill intentions, they will make a move during that phase.
Considering that the children of most clan leaders might take part in the upcoming chunin exams, I don't want to leave it to chance. With you overlooking the second phase, it'll deter anyone who has any nefarious plans. Especially if it is Suna."
Hiruzen knew that Suna would have connected the dots by now. Even though Rasa was a bit slow, Fujin's reputation outside Konoha was too high for anyone to overlook him. If Fujin was the proctor, then Hiruzen believed that Suna wouldn't try anything unless someone like Rasa or Chiyo could somehow sneak into the Forest of Death without being detected.
Fujin was surprised by Hiruzen's reason and thought, 'To feel unease about a future calamity… That's very impressive. I wonder if that is something that develops with experience. That said, he couldn't guess that his source of unease was his former student and not Suna.
Regardless, this is very good for me. I'll be able to recruit Karin with ease. I'll also be able to monitor if there are any changes to the original story due to my involvement. At least, team 7's fight against Orochimaru should be different, though I don't think it'll affect the end result. I might also get a hint about what plans Orochimaru has made for me.'
"Well?" Hiruzen broke Fujin's chain of thoughts. Fujin nodded and answered, "Alright. I'll be the proctor. It shouldn't be an issue."
Hiruzen said, "Good. I'll have Anko help you out. You can make some changes to the exam format if you want but don't make it very complicated. Alternatively, you can just let Anko run the show in the background while you show your face and appear to be in charge."
Fujin replied, "Sure."
Why would Fujin complain when Hiruzen did everything he could to lessen his workload? He just nodded happily. With the talk done, Hiruzen began interacting with others in the Guidance Hall.
A few hours later, it was time for the Guidance Hall to be inaugurated. Since Hiruzen had decided to make it a big event, he invited a lot of people. Several hundred veteran ninjas appeared in the courtyard.
Thousands of young ninjas appeared as well despite not getting any official invite. They stayed away from the courtyard, watching the inauguration from a distance. As a result, the Guidance Hall was completely surrounded by them and their excited chatter filled the air.
A few minutes before the inauguration, the Elders and the Clan Leaders arrived. No one wanted to miss such an event. Despite so many famous personalities in the Guidance Hall, the one who was discussed the most was Fujin, as he was the one who got the proposal passed.
Katsuhiro also became a topic for discussion. Some people tried to look for him but couldn't find him. Due to the rumors Fujin's clones mercilessly spread, his blood pressure issues worsened and he even developed more heart conditions. He decided to stay away from the inauguration, worried that his blood pressure might get out of control once again!
Needless to say, the one who was the most pleased wasn't Fujin, but rather Hiruzen. He thought, 'I am glad I decided to make it a huge event instead of keeping the celebrations subdued. Fujin is finally becoming more reputed in the village.
All we need now is a small battle where he can establish his martial might and become someone who others can look up to just like Kakashi. Once that is done, I can start planning my retirement.
Though keeping the celebrations subdued might have kept the information from enemy villages for a bit longer, it wouldn't have made much difference in the long run. After all, the Guidance Hall isn't something we can keep hidden. Everyone would know about it in a month. By comparison, this gain is much better.'
The inauguration ceremony was a hit. It would become the talk of the village for several days. As soon as the ceremony was over, several veteran ninjas began registering themselves as the guide.
Fujin wasn't interested in any further process. He snuck away when no one was paying attention and returned home. Only Hiruzen noticed Fujin leaving from the corner of his eye and thought, 'Looks like he isn't a fan of such gatherings.'
Fujin appeared in front of his house and stretched his neck while walking inside and thinking, 'Man that was boring. I can't recall the last time I participated in any gathering. Come to think of it, I don't think I have participated in any in this life. The ones I did while in Anbu usually involved killing someone.'
"Fujin!!!" "Sensei!!!"
Before he could enter his home, Naruto and Fujin's 5 students came running towards him. He turned his head to look at them.
Naruto was at the forefront. He stopped in front of Fujin and asked, "Fujin, did you hear about the new Guidance Hall? It's so cool! Anyone can go there and learn jutsus!"
Fujin nodded and asked, "Yeah, what of it?"
Naruto immediately said, "I will visit there and learn a lot of cool jutsus! That'll show Sasuke who is the better ninja! And Sakura will finally see that I'm much better than Sasuke!"
Sayaka said, "Sensei, we were planning to vis…"
She stopped speaking after looking at Fujin's expression. However, the one who was the most bothered by Fujin's expression was Naruto. Fujin was looking at him like he was the greatest idiot in the entire world!
He awkwardly asked, "Why are you looking at me like this?"
Instead of answering, Fujin asked him in return, "Why do you think I am?"
Naruto became annoyed and said, "Hey! I'm a ninja now! I even fought against one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist! Don't keep treating me like an idiot!"
Fujin taunted, "Are you sure you are a ninja? Show me one ninja who has a sensei who can use a thousand jutsus and still plans to spend money to learn from ninjas who are much less talented than him?"
Naruto was dumbfounded by Fujin's reply. His eyes grew wide and he held his head in shame and shouted, "I didn't think of that!"
Fujin's students looked at him with pity. Fujin hadn't held back any words. Before Naruto could recover, Fujin grabbed him by the back of his neck and lifted him like a cat.
"Eh? What are you doing? What's this wind?"
Fujin's students watched as Naruto was engulfed in some kind of wind. All 6 of them heard, "Go find Kakashi and pester him to teach you jutsus instead of doing something so foolish."
With a flick of his wrist, Fujin sent Naruto flying in the air. Fujin's students saw Naruto flying through the sky while hearing his shocked screams. Several people in Konoha looked above as they heard a scream. They were shocked to see Naruto flying over their heads.
While the village was busy with talks of the Guidance Hall, a silver-haired ninja was standing silently in front of the Memorial Stone. Suddenly, he heard a scream and turned around. Confusion appeared on his face as he muttered, "What the hell?"
Seconds later, Naruto fell in front of him. The Winds surrounding him cushioned his fall and immediately dissipated. Even so, the poor boy was scared due to the unexpected trip. To his surprise, he saw Kakashi in front of him and asked, "Kakashi sensei?"
Kakashi asked, "Naruto, how did you come flying here?"
Naruto didn't register his question and instead recalled Fujin's words. He quickly ran towards Kakashi and said, "Kakashi sensei! Please teach me more cool jutsus!"
Kakashi watched with a deadpan expression as Naruto ignored his question and began pestering him non-stop.
Back at Fujin's house, his students asked with a stunned expression, "What was that?"
Fujin casually replied, "A new jutsu that I came up with. It's quite handy for throwing others away. Now, which one of you wanted to learn at the Guidance Hall with empty pockets? I'll help you get there in no time."
Immediately, all his 5 students shook their heads. While it seemed fun, none of them wanted to be sent flying like Naruto. Fujin replied, "Good. Get back to your training."
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