________ POV Narration ________
The talk about the next few phases of the Chunin exams was not quite as eventful nor was it as important.
The real reason they were there was to speak about finances and the states of their villages.
Still, a few good points were brought up during the discussion about the attendees.
"I feel as if the situation is a bit unfair. All things considered, people like the One-Legged Devil of the Dark Brotherhood shouldn't really be competing with rookies..."
The first one to bring it up was none other than Yorrihiko, the Leader of the Uzumaki.
His concern was certainly well-founded. Tatsukio was not only the most skilled among the dark brotherhood recruits, he was also already on par with plenty of the Jonin who were supposed to supervise the Exams under Sakumo's orders.
"Well, I heard the Leaf's Jinchuriki is participating as well, supposedly the girl's quite powerful, even if barely, she seems able to tap into the tailed beast's chakra.
And I've heard that a user of the Adamantite Sealing Chains is participating as well from the Uzumaki side..."
The Raikage was quick to come to Ken's defence however, quickly pointing out that the year's Chunin Exams were stacked with talents and children that really should have already been promoted to Chunin all things considered.
"Hell, even we have brought the Two-Tails Jinchuriki over for her to gain some experience. Despite her young age, she's already able to almost fully control a cloak of chakra."
A continued, speaking with a bit of pride as he talked about the recruits that he was bringing over as well.
"Hmm... I guess it is fair to say that all of us have brought our best. I also brought only the most talented children along, but they are mostly already able to completely coat their blades in chakra and one can even use flying wind slashes with some degree of proficiency."
Mifune sweated a bit as he felt somewhat inadequate.
It was true that the samurai trainees he had brought were decent in strength. But compared to some of the other competition they were indeed lacking.
"It seems that we all figured it would be ok to send our best. They are still just recruits, lacking experience much like the rest, some of the more inventive recruits may be able to overcome a difference in power.
The life we lead isn't all about frontal combat at the end of the day." Ken sighed as he found the entire situation to be interesting.
At the very least, the Chunin Exams would be interesting to watch.
Even if the final significant phase of the exam was a tournament, it was still not bound to end as the strongest winning. Shinobi tended to always fight using tricks, the same for Ken's assassins.
Mifune's Samurai were also likely coached on what to expect when faced with Shinobi as well, so the results weren't bound to be as cut and dry.
"Things could turn out interesting this year..." The Raikage smiled as he looked at everyone present with a bit of excitement glinting in his eyes.
The first one to leave was Yorihhiko, especially after learning that his daughter was supposedly out on a date.
Poor Minato had no way of knowing what was coming his way...
Ken did put in a good word for him, not that it would've been needed. Kushina was likely stubborn enough to fight with her father, especially if he tried to reach out and get involved with her love life.
Despite technically being the princess of the Uzumaki Clan, she didn't have any political ties to the Whirlpool except for her bloodline, so there was no such thing as an arranged marriage or anything for her.
After his abrupt departure, the meeting didn't last much longer, the Raikage and Mifune left rather quickly, each tending to their own business.
The Raikage did invite Ken for a drink, but the Blind Assassin had to refuse, stating that he still had some business with the Hokage to sort out, much to the surprise of said Hokage.
The young assassin's interactions with Hiruzen had been rather scarce throughout their meeting, and subsequently even after it.
Jiraiya did return to the Dark Brotherhood to continue learning from Ken, but that was about the extent of Ken's interactions with the Leaf.
No one knew about Ken's extracurricular activities within the Leaf either, as he had been extremely secretive about contacting the 'leader' of the Information Guild.
Hiruzen was a bit confused, but he just assumed that Ken likely wanted to speak about the arrangements with Jiraiya and the length of his tutorship when it came to Senjutsu.
Which was quite convenient for him, as he also wanted to speak to Ken at some point regarding that.
Jiraiya had already improved by leaps and bounds in a relatively short time. He had been stuck for a long time, not being able to become a perfect sage, but with Ken's help, he had already achieved that state and could maintain it for at least 2 minutes even without Ma and Pa's help.
It was monumental progress for someone with as little talent as Jiraiya.
Senjutsu was admittedly very difficult to master, but Ken's teaching methods were so 'out there' and 'revolutionary' when compared to the toads, that even someone with lacking talent could become a perfect sage.
Ken was such a great teacher that Hiruzen thought about sending more people for him to train.
Of course, it was going to be with a trade, Hiruzen was aware that he would likely end up paying a steep price, but having more people capable of Senjutsu in the village was never a bad thing.
After Mifune and the Raikage left, the Hokage gestured for Ken to follow him to his office, a more private setting.
The Blind Assassin obliged, getting up and heading for the office while swaying from side to side rhythmically.
"Hey, one of you should go call the current leader of the Uchiha." The Assassin craned his neck to the side and 'looked' at some of the people clinging to the ceiling in the hallway.
The Hokage was once again surprised, but he nodded and waved for his Anbu to listen to Ken's request.
"Do you perhaps have a job for the Uchiha? They are quite skilled in various affairs, so I would not be surprised."
Hiruzen remembered Fugaku Uchiha, the Young Head of the Uchiha, quite fondly.
The Hokage saw him as yet another promising figure residing within their village. After his encounter with the Tsuchikage during the last war, he also gained a rather fitting nickname.
Wicked Eye Fugaku, after he had tortured the Tsuchikage into unconsciousness through ocular Genjutsu.
Relations between the Uchiha and the Village were also at an all-time high now that Danzo was not around to sow any discord between them.
Ken and the Hokage reached the office promptly, and Hiruzen immediately sent all of the anbu in the room away with a wave of his hand.
The Blind Assassin was an ally, so there was no need for protection in that regard.
Fugaku also reached Hiruzen's office quite quickly, the man seemed to be quite dutiful.
"Lord Hokage, Lord Ken..." The Uchiha Clan Leader bowed his head slightly as he entered the room before he proceeded to stand by the Hokage's side with his arms crossed.
Ken sat on a comfortable chair in front of the Hokage's desk, and Hiruzen himself took his usual seat.
"Now then... What is it exactly that you want to speak about? And why did you request for Fugaku to be present?" Hiruzen spoke as he slowly replaced the tobacco from his pipe.
"Well, first off, you may want to refrain from smoking for now, as you may choke on the smoke after hearing what I am about to tell you." Ken slowly leaned into the table and took off his mask, revealing a rather amused smile.
"Hmm? I doubt I would lose my composure in such a manner..." The Hokage responded with a slightly amused smile of his own, while Fugaku just eyed Ken with a wary gaze.
The Clan Leader was still quite wary of Ken, especially since the man seemed to have a way of getting into the village at will...
'No need to be too stressed for now, since we're allies... But this is still quite concerning...'
Alas, there wasn't much the 'Wicked Eye' could do except for listening on as Ken opened his mouth to explain a few things.
"A small part of my plan that I had not mentioned previously during the war that signalled the founding of our Alliance...
I had used the opportunity granted by you all and your assistance to go after the true perpetrator behind it all..."
The Hokage seemed a bit taken aback, he had wondered what Ken had done during the war specifically. He did know that Ken was also facing a rather difficult opponent, but he was not aware of any details.
Still, he listened intently as he filled his pipe with new tabaco.
"I managed to run into someone I'd rather call a 'relic of the past'. I'm sure you would agree... A hunchback old man with long spiky hair, his eyes bore the Sharingan, and he claimed to be named Madara Uchiha..."
Hirzuen immediately coughed out, as he had been inhaling when Ken had spoken Madara's name.
Fugaku's eyes also widened, before narrowing and becoming judgemental.
"Madara Uchiha? As in, one of the founding fathers of the Leaf Village? The very same man that had sought to destroy it afterwards?" Hiruzen immediately asked for some further clarification.
"The very same Madara Uchiha...
I was unable to find any records of Madara's death, nothing besides the fact that Hashirama had returned to the village injured one day and that he had claimed that Madara was dead...
When I visited his supposed grave within the Leaf earlier this week, it was also empty. At this point, I am inclined to believe him."
Ken spoke in a rather eloquent tone. He had done his research, he had exhausted every avenue that he had when it came to finding out more about how Madara had survived, and how he was still alive to that day.
And he had not managed to find much, which was why he found himself in front of the Hokage and Fugaku.
And judging by their reactions, Ken doubted that he'd get much more new information from them.
"So... Madara Uchiha was not only alive but in good enough health to orchestrate such a large-scale war...?" Hiruzen's entire face seemed to be twisted in discomfort.
"Well, his health at that time is debatable. He was in no state to fight anyone, let alone someone like me or you...
But he was alive and kicking, his vitality seemed to be constantly being replenished by some weird statue or construct that I buried alongside him..."
Ken crossed his arms and slowly reached into his sleeve, taking out a small scroll.
"This is all of the information that I could find. It is not much, and that statue is currently still buried there.
I figured I would reach out to you for help excavating it, we may also look into and find Madara's body. I can very much confirm that he is dead this time around regardless..."
Ken placed that scroll on the table and slowly leaned back into his seat, crossing his arms and finally allowing the two men in front of him to speak.
"T-that's... A lot to take in..." Fugaku seemed to also be quite shocked at the turn of events. Hearing about a supposedly long-dead ancestor of the Uchiha Clan still lurking in the shadows with ill intentions was certainly concerning...
If Madara had gone ahead and somehow turned the entire world against him, he would have brought a lot of trouble to the Uchiha Clan as well by extension.
Fugaku, as well as the Leaf, were rather fortunate that Ken was the one to actually find Madara.
"I'll also have to look into this personally... We can talk about excavation afterwards, I will look through some old records. I'll contact you soon if I find anything..."
The Hokage sighed and slowly started to look over the information that Ken had given him.
It was indeed not a lot, but at the very least he was able to deduce with some confidence that he had spoken to the real Madara...
"I'll leave the two of you to mull over this information, maybe the two of you will be able to find out more than I have... We'll keep in touch." Ken then vanished from the room, heading elsewhere to handle a different commotion.
'Why does Yue have to start acting up at a time like this?'
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Hope you liked the chapter!
Yue shenanigans next chapter :) We'll be getting a tad more insight in the princess during this ark and the following
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