'If you do not possess heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared'.
'If you do not possess the earth, run through the fields and seek strength.'
'If you open heaven and earth, dangerous paths will become safe. _____ That is the secret of a Chunin'.
Ino, Hinata and Toru looked at each other. They knew it was time to open the scrolls, so that's what they did.
Taking the scroll in his hands, Toru squinted his eyes as he slowly opened it, but when he saw inside, he realized that there was something strange.
"It's a summoning seal! Ino, throw the scroll away!" Toru said as he saw the strange manuscript on the scroll.
Hearing her gray-eyed teammate, Ino wasted no time and threw the scroll, Toru did the same.
(What's that?)
Hinata could see chakra dots in the large cloud of smoke began to come out of the scrolls, in the end, the smoke took the shape of a person.
As the smoke began to fade, the figure of a man wearing a boar mask and the white robes that characterized a team leader of the ANBU organization appeared.
"They caught on instantly, that surprises me. They seem to be more cunning than Senpai was saying."
Hinata and Ino's eyes widened when they saw him, this man was the one who was standing next to Yamato when the research mission ended. It was the same guy in the boar mask who escorted Hyuga Hiashi to the hospital where Hinata was when she was seriously injured by Kouta.
"It's you!" said Ino
The man let out a small laugh before speaking.
"Yep, it's me. And before you start bombarding me with questions, let me give you my congratulations. You have passed the second test of the chunin exams. Senpai is proud of you."
As he looked at the children with a smile under his mask, the man clapped his hands. He also had a better impression of them, as the first time he saw these children was after one of them killed a man in a brutal way and the white-eyed girl will end up in a pitiful state after an intense battle.
(Ha~ I still remember the first time I killed a person. I was so scared...)
The man in the mask remembered a bit of his past after seeing Toru's face, after all ANBU ninjas are living weapons.
"I don't understand, why are you here, aren't you supposed to be an ANBU ninja?" Ino stepped forward and looked at the mask man while spitting out some words.
The man laughed again under his mask before replying in the same tone of voice he used when he took care of the 'trash' during the fact-finding mission.
"Hahaha, that was something I was going to explain later, but since you asked. Basically, I took these last six days off for this moment. Yamato sensei asked me if I wanted to have a bit of a vacation, so I agreed and here I am now."
Ino raised her eyebrows in doubt. Wasn't it easier to come to himself in person? Why did Yamato-sensei send someone instead? She asked herself, since doing something like this wasn't something Yamato would do.
"Well...aside from congratulating you, I'm also here to explain that thing on the wall. I'm sure you must have already read it, after all you opened the scrolls."
The man approached the children a little before Toru's voice was heard.
"I read the brief and already have some ideas of what it might mean. But I guess explaining it myself would ruin what you're going to say, am I wrong?"
"No, you are correct. One of the reasons I'm here is because Senpai told me to tell you this."
The man in the mask sat down on the ground and took a big breath of air before speaking.
"Come on, take a seat. You'd better and you can rest before you hear what I have to tell you."
"I don't think it's a bad idea" Ino sat on the floor next to Hinata, as did Toru, who was also next to Hinata.
"Good. I hope they won't take it the wrong way, after all it's Senpai's words."
The man took off his mask and placed it on the ground, revealing the face of a tired man. He had a large scar that started at the top of his forehead and ended on his right cheek. One of his eyes was a strange white color, showing that this eye could no longer see anything. Her hair was auburn in color and her one healthy eye was a nice yellow amber color. Her skin was a bit tanned as well.
Hinata and Ino felt a little bad for the man. Even if he looked very young, that man had had to live through horrible things.
"Senpai, he has observed each of you. Each of your virtues and faults, he has managed to understand you even if you don't understand him. To you, Hyuga Hinata."
The man looked at Hinata with a kind expression on his face.
"Me?"
"Yes, Senpai's very words were, Hyuga Hinata, what you're missing is heaven."
"The... heaven?"
Hinata looked at the man with a confused expression on her face. In response to that, the man smiled slightly before answering.
"'If you don't possess heaven, gain knowledge and prepare yourself' That is what is written on the wall and that is what you are lacking. Hinata, your mind a doesn't have enough knowledge about this world, I assure you that when you know more about the world, your ninja path will be easier."
The man nodded his head as he smiled. Somehow, Hinata understood the words she had heard.
(So... I'm missing the sky).
For a moment, her gaze fixed on Toru and a faint smile formed on her mouth.
"Next up, Yamanaka Ino. Senpai left me the following: Ino, what you're missing is land."
When she hears that, a small vein rose on Ino's forehead.
"The earth? I think sensei is wrong. I am beautiful, strong and smart. I don't think I lack anything."
The man cocked his head. He had already heard from Yamato himself that Ino can be a bit selfish and vain at times, and that is somewhat problematic.
(Ha~ at least it's no worse than I imagined).
"No, no. I'm sure you're missing the land. If Senpai said so it must be true. But, earth is not always physical strength, but also mental strength."
The man looked at Ino with a neutral expression as he spoke. For some reason the golden-haired girl remained silent.
(Mental strength... There's no way I-)
Ino managed to remember it 'Cowardly, useless and pathetic' she could remember it clearly, as if it happened yesterday.
"Now you understand, don't you?" The man smiled as he saw Ino's reaction.
"Shut up! Better take care of your own problems!"
"Hahaha, it's okay. I won't talk about it anymore."
Picking up the mask from the floor, the man put it back on before speaking.
"Finally. Asahi Toru, Senpai said: 'There's no need to tell him anything, after all, sooner or later he'll figure it out on his own'"
The man adjusted his mask, he felt a little uncomfortable by Toru's silence.
"I know, I didn't understand it the first time he said it. I guess he knows something about you that you don't even know yourself. But now, tell me, what do you think about what sensei said?" With a smile on his mouth, the man looked at Toru.
"I should ask him myself."
Toru folded his arms. He was sure Yamato would say he was missing the sky, but he wasn't and that was something that made Toru uncomfortable.
"Hahaha, well said. You're always so interesting."
The man burst out laughing a little. After that, he stood up and mine the children in front of him.
"Uh... since we're done with this heaven and earth thing, you'll now have to accompany me on the way to the next test.
"There's going to be another test!"
Ino had had enough, test after test, first an impossible test to solve, then a survival test where they were nearly killed by a snake-faced madmanAnd now there was more!!!!! For her something like that was already at a much higher level of stupidity.
"I'm sorry for you guys, but I didn't create the chunin exams. For now just follow me, we'll know more about it when we get there."
Walking relaxedly, the man began to whistle as he made his way to the largest door in the room. Hinata and Ino followed him, but Toru stayed a little behind, as he was thinking about something.
(I'll have to figure it out myself, eh.... I wonder how I'll find out what I'm missing?)
-Somewhere else-
Anko touched her neck in pain. In the same place she felt pain there was a black mark made of three Tomoe.
"So it came back..."
The old man wearily took a puff of smoke from his pipe. Not only did he have to take care of the chunin exams, but also this unwanted 'visitor'.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything against him."
Anko lamented as she looked down at the ground. She had been completely defeated by Orochimaru and it made her blood run hot with anger.
"But he's one of the legendary Sannin, how could he do something like that?" one of the ninja behind Anko's back spoke.
"Hm... Maybe there's something that wants him to be in our village."
Another of the ninja spoke, but this only made the old man, better known as the fourth Hokage, sigh wearily.
"Yes, there was something he was looking for..."
Still in pain, Anko looked up and looked at the Hokage. Hiruzen sighed and said something that made Anko's eyes widen in surprise.
"He was looking for someone, wasn't he?"
"That's right... he was looking for two children, the first one was-"
"Uchiha Sasuke..."
Hiruzen closed his eyes as he placed one of his hands behind his back. He could already imagine who the second boy Orochimaru was looking for was, but that was something Anko didn't know.
"Ha~ You all remember the Asahi clan, am I wrong?"
Hiruzen looked at the people present as they spoke. They all nodded in response.
"I think it's the clan that was exterminated along with the Uchiha clan" Anko said.
"Indeed, just like the Uchiha clan, the Asahi clan also had a survivor. His name is Asahi Toru, he is in this chunin exam."
Hiruzen took another puff of smoke. At the same time, Anko didn't know what to say. As far as she remembered, the Asahi clan was a clan of blacksmiths, they were in charge of Konoha's weapon supply, but.... Why was the Hokage mentioning the Asahi clan all of a sudden?
"That boy, he's the second thing Orochimaru was looking for."
When she heard that, Anko stood up from her seat and looked at the Hokage.
"What? But if the Asahi clan is nothing special, they were just a clan of blacksmiths who contributed to Konoha's military strength. Why would Orochimaru try to do something with a child who has nothing special compared to an Uchiha?"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and spoke with seriousness in his voice.
"You're wrong, Anko."
"Huh?"
"Although this is something few of us know... the truth is that the Asahi clan was formed by a small group of members of the Uchiha clan. These were ninja with no talent for ninjutsu, plus none of them were able to develop the Sharingan. Basically, Asahi Toru is a descendant of the Uchiha."
"What? That's ridiculous, so that kid can have the Sharingan?"
"Hm... It seems you didn't hear right. The members of the Asahi clan are descendants of the Uchiha clan, yes, but these do not have the ability to awaken the Sharingan. From the beginning they never could, however, as time went by, although their blood relationship with the Uchiha was disappearing, they gained surprising abilities. One of them was a strange intelligence superior to that of anyone in the village. I'm not sure if you know that the Asahi were also our scientific researchers. In addition to being talented at silent assassination."
Anko was speechless. She didn't know any of that, indeed, she was sure only those in high command did.
(No way... If Orochimaru even gave the cursed seal to those children...)
Now that Anko knew something important about the Asahi clan, she couldn't help but worry even more.
"For the time being let's keep the situation, we'll take care of everything in due time. Right now we have to take care of the chunin wannabes."
"Yes! Hokage-sama!"