Author Note: I won't do any events, or post multiple chapters, or anything similar. I will post one chapter a day, and that's it. I need to balance my expectations and workload better, I was very close to hating this, as my note before said... this used to be fun, and somewhere along the way, I killed that feeling.
I was able to recover my spark, my love for writing... and I don't wanna lose it again, so from now on, any projects I take on will remain on the one chapter a day schedule, that being said, if something unforeseen happens this schedule is subject to change.
And like always, remember if you want to read up to 42 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
I'm currently updating the novel 1 or 2 chapter a day in patreeeeon. On chapter 104 right now.
Discord invite: https://discord.gg/XHduApz
Enjoy you sexy bastards.
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[Sarutobi Hiruzen - POV.]
I was sitting in my office, as per usual, trying to focus on the endless stack of paperwork in front of me. Honestly... this is one the worse things about having the hat, and to this day, I have no idea how this happens.
I call it... the paperwork curse, why? well, because no matter how much paperwork you manage to complete, there's still twice as more on your desk. It never ends, never... I have more than three squads around just to help me with the paperwork at all times, and we never finish, if only money multiplied like these damned documents...
"Kami... is this all there is for old Hiruzen?" I muttered, contemplating my endless suffering, and how hard would it, realistically speaking, to force Jiraiya to take the hat, freeing me from the curse.
Who am I kidding? That old brat will never take the hat, not even if I made it law for all Kunoichi to be naked on the office, even then... he would reject the offer, after all, he already knows about the curse.
As I lamented about my lack of successors, and Anbu operative burst through the door, his mask barely concealing the look of pure panic on his face.
"Have you ever heard of knocking?" I sighed, rubbing my temples. Was it really that hard to be a bit.. civilized? I know we are all ninjas, but not because we are it means we have to do everything like one, especially not when in the village.
"Lord Third," he began, his voice trembling slightly. "We have a… situation in the Forest of Death."
I put down my pen. "What kind of situation?" I asked.
Our intel hadn't foreseen any kind of danger for the exams, but still... anything involving other villages was a gamble, a big one at that, something you couldn't fully prepare for, not when old grudges, money, bloodlines, and more were on the line.
"What's the situation?" I asked, preparing for the worse.
"It's... it's Team Yamato," the Anbu operative stammered. "They're... well, they're eliminating everyone."
I blinked, trying to process what I was hearing. "Eliminating everyone? What do you mean?"
Of all the things, of all the possibilities running in my mind, this hadn't been one... not even by a long shot.
The Anbu operative hesitated, clearly struggling to find the right words, and I honestly couldn't blame him. "They've taken down almost every other team in the forest, Lord Third. And... well, they're doing it with alarming ease."
I stared at him for a moment, feeling a twitch in one of my eyes, maybe both. "You're telling me that those three are single-handedly wiping out every other team in the Forest of Death?"
The Anbu operative nodded, his silence confirming the absurdity of the situation. "And they are doing it separately, Lord Third."
They fucking WHAT?!
I felt a bead of sweat form on my forehead. This was not how the Chunin Exams were supposed to go. Sure, I knew those brats were the best we had to offer this year, they were the prodigies, geniuses, the best of this generation... but this was... this was something else entirely.
"They've collected more scrolls than we even provided for the exam!" the Anbu operative added. "And, well... the other teams aren't even fighting back anymore, they're just giving up, Lord Third."
Was this some kind of joke? The Forest of Death was supposed to be a place where future Chunins proved their worth through grit, strategy, and combat, not by setting up a collection box for scroll donations!
Wait a moment... did he say they somehow collected more scrolls than the amount provided for the exams? How... how is that possible?
You know what? I will ignore that for the time being.
"Are you sure this isn't just some elaborate genjutsu?" I asked, clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, this was all some sort of prank. Genins enjoyed pranking me, so it wouldn't be that out of the question, and every now and then, we had the occasional genius in the art capable of tricking even the Anbu.
Like Kurenai did for her graduation prank, making an entire squad of Anbu feel as if they had spiders and worms crawling inside their body, laying eggs. Utterly disturbing, and very concerning.
Hm... I worry for my son.
"No, Lord Third," the Anbu operative replied, shaking his head. "We've confirmed it multiple times. It's real. Team Yamato is just... too strong."
I sank back into my chair, running a hand through my hair in frustration. "I need a drink..."
The Anbu operative shifted uncomfortably. "What should we do, Lord Third? Should we... intervene?"
I waved my hand dismissively, feeling one of my eyes twitch. "Intervene? How? Are we supposed to just waltz in there and ask them to tone it down? 'Excuse me, young geniuses, could you please stop being so competent? You're making the other teams and villages look bad!'"
I could feel the beginnings of a headache forming. This was a disaster. The other villages were going to think we were cheating just for the sake of humiliate them. I mean, sure, this was an event to show off how strong the new generation was, but it was expected all villages would have a few participants left before the end of the exams, but… this was a bit too much.
"Lord Third, it seems that as we speak, Team Yamato is approaching the tower," the Anbu operative said, his voice breaking through my spiraling thoughts.
I groaned, slumping over my desk. "Of course they are. Why wouldn't they be? They probably finished the second phase in record time too, didn't they?"
The Anbu operative nodded. "They didn't break the record, but their time is in the top ten…"
"Well... at least," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "I really need to retire."
"That's not all," the Anbu muttered.
I glanced up, feeling the need to knock my Anbu out, if anything to silence him for a bit. "What is it?" I asked, bracing myself for yet another layer of disaster.
The ANBU operative hesitated for a fraction of a second, just long enough to make me want to retire even more, before he finally spoke. "Takeshi Arata… well… he killed 25 participants."
....
.....
...
"He… what now?" I replied.
"Takeshi Arata killed 25 shinobis during the exam."
I blinked, struggling to process the information. "Killed… as in…?" Please say killed is now also used as way to describe incapacitated or sleeping soundly.
"As in... we might need to offer the other Kages a few coffins... I guess?" the ANBU clarified, his tone neutral, but doubtful.
"Twenty-five?" I repeated. "He… killed twenty-five genin?"
The ANBU operative nodded once. "Yes, sir."
I slumped back in my chair, the full impact of what I'd just heard hitting me like a ton of bricks. "Twenty-five…" I muttered, my mind racing. This wasn't just an overzealous display of skill, this was a massacre! The implications of this were enormous, and none of them were good.
"Yes, twenty five," The Anbu nodded.
"How… how did this happen?" I asked, more to myself than to the ANBU operative. "The kid isn't that kind of kid... I mean, he's not against killing, but he's not one to look for the opportunity. Did something go wrong? Why in the world would he…?"
The ANBU operative remained silent for a moment. "As far as we know, he was targeted by Suna, who alone represents 18 of the kill count. Why this happened? We don't know, yet."
I rubbed my temples, trying to stave off the impending aneurism that was was starting to shine in the back of my head. "This is a catastrophe," I whispered, the words barely audible. "How am I supposed to explain this to the other Kages? They will never believe me it was all the work of a single kid..."
Suna would deny sending 18 genins to kill Takeshi…
I could already imagine the outrage, the accusations, the demands for answers. This was no longer just a simple exam, this was a diplomatic disaster waiting to explode.
I looked up at the ANBU operative, my voice strained as I asked, "Has anyone else been killed?"
"Itachi killed six participants," the ANBU replied. "And Shisui has killed one, but that was mostly an accident, the kid slipped trying to avoid Shisui, and his head got impaled by a tree branch."
"I need a drink…" I muttered.