Suguru reported what had happened in the Chuunin Exams in detail. He also mentioned his suspicions of an incident that occurred on the day of the round-robin duels. Hiruzen listened intently, taking note of the very detached manner in which Suguru made his reports.
It was like he wasn't a participant who had been fighting in the duels personally.
Suguru elaborated on his thorough analyses, making Hiruzen nod. As for Suguru's use of Hellfire Annihilation... Frankly, Hiruzen was shocked.
When he gave the boy the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release scrolls, he expected some form of theoretical result. He did not, however, expect such a destructive jutsu.
'Hellfire Annihilation should be around B-rank... What kind of genin creates a B-rank jutsu..? No, this kid even went to create a Nintaijutsu by himself. Although he's not as powerful as Shisui and Itachi at that age, he's better than them in terms of intellect.'
Hiruzen then began his mental calculations.
'Hiryu Suguru... The best way to describe him would be the word scholar. He's different from Orochimaru and Danzo who pursue strength through their research. Instead, he seems to be engrossed in research as it is itself. The power he gains from it is but an afterthought.'
Hiruzen stroked his beard as he listened to Suguru's continued analysis of the events that transpired.
'If I give him the proper resources, Konoha will find itself experiencing a lot of changes in a very short time. Whether that would be good or bad... I'm not sure. However, I know for a fact that our combat power — as a whole — would increase.'
The Blaze Battle Body that Suguru had created went well with Hiruzen's Fire Release affinity. It boosted his combat strength significantly. Hiruzen never expected to learn such a wondrous jutsu at his age.
By teaching it to the many Fire Release users in the Anbu, the shinobi directly under his command would likely grow by leaps and bounds. Perhaps Konoha would have a new signature jutsu by then.
It was a welcome event, especially after the Uchiha clan's disappearance.
Hiruzen thought, 'I can't let Danzo taint him with darkness... though even I highly doubt it would be possible.'
With the way that Suguru coldly blasted his own fellow Konoha genin with a B-rank jutsu, Hiruzen knew that there was a significant amount of darkness in the boy's heart. It was just that said darkness was sealed behind a more powerful obsession that was neither light nor dark.
It was a rabid desire for knowledge and the events that its acquisition naturally delivers.
"—And that was why I was confident of escaping. Though, it was my miscalculation that the genins would suffer due to my disappearance. I will adjust my strategies to accommodate such factors."
Suguru finally completed his report, void of any emotional ties, and therefore elicited a nod from Hiruzen.
"You've done well." Hiruzen smirked, "You've proven yourself worthy of the Chuunin Rank."
It was at this moment that a masked shinobi entered the Hokage's office, carrying a small green vest.
"Take this vest. Just like the headband on your forehead, it is a sign of your accomplishments." Hiruzen gestured for the Anbu shinobi to hand over the vest.
With two hands and a bow, Suguru received the vest.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen nodded, "Give it a try."
Taking this opportunity, Suguru's eyes flashed with excitement as he slipped his arms into the flak jacket. He felt a sense of warmth and protection from its sturdy material. It was an awe-inspiring feeling.
Suguru had thus achieved the rank of chuunin.
***
Upon leaving the Hokage's office, Suguru sighed. Hiruzen's eyes were observing his every move, deciding his fate depending on how he behaved.
Had he indeed been as they had suspected, Suguru knew that his memories would no longer be his own.
'It seems like they do indeed suspect me of a few things...' Suguru recalled his various actions — his regular disappearances and the fact that he came from outside the village.
Those were already points of contention by themselves. Now, to combine them both? Something fishy was going on.
'Shikaku has probably done a few tests on me already. Luckily, I am not a spy. Instead, I'm a Kinjutsu researcher. I wonder if such a fact never occurred in their unfathomable minds.' Suguru chuckled.
Now that he had Chakra Field Hacking, he could get rid of his regular disappearances and appear more normal. It wouldn't be like before when he had to exploit blindspots in the Anbu's vision. He no longer had to use his Kaisugan as much as he had been thus far.
Furthermore, Hiruzen should already be familiar with the fact that he was the academic type. His disappearances would likely be tied to that.
Suguru's answer to the question, "Where have you been going?"
Would be, "To do secret research!"
And everyone would be forced to accept it.
Suguru found that hilarious. After all, these actions of his had already contributed to the village. Hiruzen wouldn't disallow him, especially when Suguru willingly offered up his results, unlike those secretive clans.
'Though maybe Danzo would be a bit more controlling...' Suguru smacked his lips. 'Which reminds me—'
Suguru entered a dark alleyway and vanished from the chakra field that monitored him. It was the same action he had done many times before but in a slightly different form. The Anbu shinobi who had been trailing him sighed.
"This again,"
However, instead of a very tedious Transformation Jutsu, Suguru began hacking. He could hack at least six different chakra fields with his chakra reserves and current skill level. This meant that even the Root shinobi who had been trailing him, also lost track of him in an instant.
There was no need for a complicated path.
Suguru just put his hands together and changed the way he looked.
'Transformation Jutsu,'
Then, he would walk brazenly through the streets.
There was no need to become a snake full of seals.
Suguru thus headed to his lab.
'It's been a while,' He thought to himself. 'I have so much unprocessed data. The Real Mirage Formation contains way more than Konoha's protective barrier.'
Frankly, Suguru would've understood why there was such a strong opposition to its implementation. The privacy of the common person would be as good as gone with such a formation. Not to mention those with more secrets.
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