Shikaku has been feeling extremely uncomfortable these past few days.
What made him uncomfortable wasn't Kizaru appointing him as the assistant principal and assigning him tasks.
Truth be told, since Kizaru appointed him three days ago, he hadn't assigned him a single task.
Instead, using the position of assistant principal as an excuse to help Kizaru, Shikaku enjoyed skipping classes with his two buddies.
But this joy lasted only for two days. It vanished because of the arrival of one person.
Damn Hyūga, damn Byakugan!
With his hands behind his head, Shikaku, who had just sneaked into the training room on the first floor to nap, was caught by the newly appointed disciplinary director, Hyuga Hiashi.
Walking expressionlessly in front, Hiashi brought Shikaku to the principal's office.
Knocking, hearing the permission to enter, Hiashi opened the office door.
"Principal, sorry to disturb you!"
After a formal courtesy, with a hint of disdain, Hiashi, accompanied by the reluctant Shikaku, entered the office.
In the office, Kizaru leaned back against the chair, his long legs crossed and resting on the table.
Seeing this scene, Hiashi, from the etiquette-conscious Hyūga clan, instinctively frowned.
He really wanted to remind Kizaru that such behavior was not good for the school.
But considering that Kizaru was the principal, and after spending these few days with him, Hiashi could only hold his tongue.
"Principal Kizaru, during class time, student Nara Shikaku skipped class and went to sleep in the training room on the first floor.
After I found him, his teacher, Kiyoshi, told me that he left pretending to help you with something.
I would like you to tell me, did you assign anything to Shikaku today?"
Staring at Kizaru, Hiashi asked.
With a playful smile, Kizaru stroked his chin and looked at Shikaku with a smirk.
Noticing Kizaru's gaze and smile, Shikaku rolled his eyes in resignation, pursing his lips.
"Hehehe! About that! I did indeed assign him something."
As Kizaru spoke, both Hiashi and Shikaku were taken aback.
Hiashi hadn't expected Kizaru to cover for Shikaku at this time.
And Shikaku didn't expect Kizaru to be willing to lie to cover for him.
Thinking about this, Shikaku looked back at Kizaru, feeling a bit touched!
This guy Kizaru is still quite righteous!
"Kizaru..." Not liking this kind of covering behavior, responsible Hiashi was about to point out Kizaru's problem.
"I assigned Shikaku to clean up the entire school's hygiene. I wonder how he's doing?" With a lewd smile, Kizaru interrupted Hiashi.
Stunned, Shikaku hadn't expected Kizaru to be so ruthless!
Cleaning the entire school's hygiene? This is much more difficult and troublesome than being scolded and punished by Hiashi.
Hearing Kizaru's words, the not-so-stupid Hiashi also understood the principal's meaning.
Nodding, Hiashi was satisfied with Kizaru's punishment for Shikaku.
"I understand! I will supervise Shikaku properly and make sure he completes his work today." With a serious expression, Hiashi said solemnly.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Hiashi-sensei!"
"Not a problem! It's my duty!"
Nodding with a smile, Kizaru raised his right hand towards the forlorn-looking Shikaku and waved his fingers.
"Damn it! This jerk Kizaru!"
Complaining bitterly in his heart, Shikaku, looking miserable, was led out of the office by Hiashi.
After the two left, Kizaru bent down to open the drawer under the desk.
It was getting late, with only an hour and a half left until three o'clock, when it was time to get off work.
After the lunch break, having just started the afternoon shift for half an hour, Kizaru was ready to make a cup of coffee and wait for the end of the day.
Such a hassle!
Reaching into the drawer, before he could take out the coffee, Kizaru sensed someone entering the office, but not through the front door.
Closing the drawer and straightening up, Kizaru looked towards the front of the desk.
In front of the desk, a masked ANBU ninja stood silently.
"Brother, would you like a cup of coffee?" With his hands on the desk, Kizaru smiled and asked.
"Kizaru, the Hokage-sama has something to discuss with you. Please head to the Hokage Building immediately."
After conveying the message, the ANBU ninja disappeared from the office using Body Flicker Jutsu.
"Sensei, you're getting better and better at bossing people around."
Muttering, Kizaru stood up.
The ninja academy was right next to the Hokage Building, very close by. Walking leisurely, Kizaru took less than ten minutes to reach the Hokage Tower.
Ascending to the second floor, remembering what Sarutobi-sensei had said about not being polite in requests, Kizaru didn't knock. He simply pushed open the door to the Hokage's office.
"You're here, Kizaru!" Smoking by the window, Hiruzen heard the sound of the door opening behind him.
"Sarutobi-sensei, do you have something good to tell me?"
Teasingly speaking, Kizaru walked to the front of the Hokage's desk, sidestepping and sitting directly on the table.
Removing the pipe from his mouth, Hiruzen turned around to face Kizaru.
"The time for the Chunin Exams has been decided." Holding the pipe, Hiruzen looked at Kizaru and stated the reason for summoning him.
"The Chunin Exams! But haven't I been promoted to Jounin by you?" Playing with the pen on the desk, Kizaru asked.
"I want you to serve as an examiner for the Chunin Exams."
"Examiner? That's really troublesome!"
"The Chunin Exams are scheduled for the 5th day of next month, right here in Konoha."
"All five major village will participate except for the closed-off Kirigakure. Even smaller village like the Ame, Kusa, and Taki will participate."
Pausing momentarily, Hiruzen looked at Kizaru, emphasizing the importance of this upcoming Chunin Exams.
"This Chunin Exams will be the largest scale since the establishment of the village system. Not only will a large number of foreign ninja gather here, but also the nobles, elites, and celebrities from various countries will come to watch."
"It's the best stage to showcase the village's strength and enhance its reputation, without any mishaps!"
"So, I hope you will preside over this Chunin Exams as an examiner, ensuring the order and smooth progress of the exams."
Finishing his speech, Hiruzen, who had been watching Kizaru all along, still felt a bit regretful.
If Kizaru's fame hadn't spread so widely on the battlefield of Amegakure, it would have been perfect.
With Kizaru's age and strength, if he led the team to participate in the Chunin Exams, Konoha would definitely be able to showcase the strength of its younger generation in front of the elites from various countries.
Unfortunately, Kizaru's current reputation in the ninja world was too significant. If he participated, the other villages wouldn't cooperate.
According to the intelligence received by Hiruzen and his own analysis, the Land of Wind, Earth, and Lightning were willing to cooperate with Konoha in hosting the Chunin Exams for two reasons.
Firstly, because of Konoha's formidable strength, they had to give Konoha face.
Secondly, these three countries wanted to use the outstanding performance of the younger generation in the Chunin Exams to restore their reputation lost during the Second War.
"What a big trouble you've given me, Sarutobi-sensei!" Shaking his head with a smile, Kizaru complained to Hiruzen.
"For this Chunin Exams, other villages may send their Jinchuriki to increase their prestige."
"If the Jinchuriki goes berserk, besides me, only you have the ability to restrain the Tailed Beasts within the village," Hiruzen continued to explain."
"I understand. It just so happens that I was complaining about being too bored in the village lately." Nodding, Kizaru said with a smile.
Hearing Kizaru's words, Hiruzen was taken aback. If Kizaru intervened and seized the Tailed Beasts of other villages during the Chunin Exams, it would lead to an international conflict! Konoha's reputation would also be tarnished!
Not knowing whether Kizaru was joking or not, Hiruzen hurriedly said, "What I mean is for you to intervene when the Jinchuriki goes berserk, not to seize the Tailed Beasts!"
"Hehehe! Just kidding, Sarutobi-sensei!" Watching Hiruzen being startled, Kizaru said with a smile.
"A joke? I almost had a heart attack because of you!"
If it were anyone else making this joke, Hiruzen would definitely know it was a joke!
But Kizaru, this disciple of his, is actually capable of doing it, and quite easily too!
So, the joke Kizaru made didn't necessarily sound like a joke to Hiruzen.
Shaking his head helplessly, Hiruzen said with a heavy heart, "Kizaru, as I'm getting older, some jokes shouldn't be made lightly."
"I'm really sorry, Sarutobi-sensei!"
Seeing Kizaru's response, Hiruzen knew that his disciple Kizaru didn't really take his words seriously.
Sitting back down with a helpless expression, Hiruzen looked up at Kizaru and said, "I've entrusted the specific arrangements to En and Shinnosuke. You can discuss with them when the time comes."
"Sarutobi-sensei, for this Chunin Exams, will there be several Genin teams from the village participating?"
Kizaru raised this question because he thought of his own disciple, still a Genin, Might Duy!
Under Tsunade's continued treatment, Duy's old injuries from previous training had already healed.
Coupled with the supplementary nutritional medicine provided by Tsunade, Duy's physical fitness had greatly improved compared to before.
"And, during this time, Duy has started following Kizaru to learn the Navy's Six Styles and has already mastered the basics of Shaving and Finger Spear, showing remarkable performance."
With a slightly worried tone, Hiruzen replied, "There are six teams in total."
In the past few years, among the graduates, apart from Kizaru, the only one Hiruzen saw potential in was Minato.
As for other ninja, there was also Itachi Uchiha. If he could be further stimulated, there might be hope for him to reach the level of a Kage in the future.
To ensure a backup for the results of this Chunin Exams, Hiruzen had already notified Jiraiya to bring Minato back to the village within a week.
"Did you call Minato back?" Seeing Sarutobi-sensei's expression, Kizaru knew what he was worried about.
Nodding, Hiruzen said, "I'm planning to temporarily form an elite team for Minato."
"An elite team!" Kizaru exclaimed with a touch of admiration, drawing out his words. Rubbing his chin under Hiruzen's gaze, he recommended his own disciple.
"I have a candidate here that I can recommend to you."
"Who?" Hiruzen asked curiously.
"My recently acquired disciple, Duy!"
Hearing the name from Kizaru, Hiruzen hesitated for a moment before vaguely recalling the hot-blooded Genin in the village who excelled in Taijutsu and performance art.
"His strength?" Hiruzen asked with some concern, looking at Kizaru.
"He has mastered an S-rank forbidden jutsu, the Eight Gates, and possesses extraordinary talent and strength in Taijutsu beyond ordinary people."
"Eight Gates? How many gates can he open?" As a ninja instructor, Hiruzen, who was knowledgeable, had heard of this forbidden jutsu from the Second Hokage.
From the scrolls left by the Second Hokage, there were also records of this forbidden jutsu.
"The Sixth gate, Gate of Wonder!" Hiruzen showed a serious expression. He hadn't expected that there would be a ninja in the village who knew about this forbidden jutsu and could practice up to the sixth gate.
"It's my mistake not to have noticed such talent." As the Hokage, Hiruzen had a barely acceptable advantage — he dared to admit his mistakes.
Of course, admitting mistakes didn't mean he wouldn't make the same mistakes again.
Given Kizaru's reminder and knowing Duy's talent and strength in Taijutsu, Hiruzen didn't care why Duy knew the Eight Gates. After all, this person had already been accepted as his disciple by Kizaru.
In any case, Duy naturally belonged to the Hokage's faction in terms of political stance.
"Recently, he has been practicing Taijutsu with me and has shown good performance. He already has the strength of a Jounin."
Hearing Kizaru's confirmation of Duy's strength, Hiruzen nodded in approval.
"I understand. I'll arrange for him to join Minato's team."
After saying that, Hiruzen looked at Kizaru expectantly, wanting to see if his most outstanding and considerate disciple could recommend one or two more talents to completely resolve his worries.
"I heard that Nawaki has been performing well under Orochimaru-senpai's guidance." Understanding Sarutobi-sensei's intention, Kizaru smiled and hinted.
Laughing, with his questions resolved in his mind, Hiruzen looked at his most excellent and considerate disciple and felt satisfied to an indescribable extent.
Taking Kizaru as his disciple from Danzo's hands was truly the most correct decision he had made in his life!
"Kizaru, thank you for your hard work! Go back and rest early!" With a kind expression, Hiruzen spoke with gentle concern.
"Goodbye then! Sarutobi-sensei!"
Pushing away from the desk, Kizaru waved goodbye with a smile and left the Hokage's office.