Naruto: Assistant to the Hokage

Hokage's Office.
The central dome building in the heart of the Hidden Leaf Village.

An Anbu ninja knelt on one knee, speaking mechanically, reporting the latest news to the elderly man sitting at the desk: "Lord Hokage, we received reports from the second warning zone. There has been a severe tremor near training ground No. 9…"

"Mm."

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, wearing a conical hat, carelessly puffed on his pipe while reading a stack of papers, seemingly uninterested in the Anbu report. He casually remarked, "I remember that No. 9 training ground is assigned to the Anbu training unit…"

The Anbu Training Unit.

Officially, the Anbu Training Unit falls under the Anbu's jurisdiction.

However, most of the Anbu members are aware that the Anbu Training Unit is actually the "Root" organization led by Danzo Shimura. In reality, the Root has grown far beyond the scale of a mere unit.

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja responded, continuing the report: "From a distance, it appears that a forest suddenly emerged at No. 9 training ground…"

"Oh?"

The Third Hokage, still holding his pipe, kept flipping through the stack of papers without looking up. "This situation seems somewhat familiar…"

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja lowered his head quickly and explained, "Recently, the Anbu member, Tenzo, whom you transferred to the Anbu, used a Wood Release technique called Wood Style: Birth of the Tree Sea in the Anbu training ground, creating a forest in a short time. We suspect someone might be using the same Wood Release technique at No. 9 training ground."

"Mm, no need for a detailed investigation."

The Third Hokage nodded, still uninterested, his attention on the papers. "I already knew about this. Danzo has already informed me about a Wood Release bloodline user in the Anbu Training Unit."

Clearly, the Third Hokage was lying to his subordinate.

Not long ago, he had dispatched Anbu to surround the Root, looking poised to suppress it and forcibly take a Wood Release bloodline user away from Danzo's command…

Now, having learned that there was another Wood Release user under Danzo's command, was he supposed to send Anbu to surround the Root again to capture the second Wood Release user?

Such a thing…

Could only be done once.

Especially considering how recently the last time had been. If the Third Hokage acted the same way towards Danzo again in such a short period of time, Danzo would surely grow resentful and frustrated.

If the new Wood Release user had good talent, the Third Hokage could just wait for another opportunity to recruit them into the Anbu; there was no need to provoke Danzo at this time.

Konoha needed Danzo to handle certain unsavory issues.

The ninja world was still unstable, with major ninja villages engaged in both open and covert battles. Espionage, infiltration, assassination, and sabotage had never ceased.

Internally, Konoha was also facing unrest, with the powerful Uchiha clan growing more ambitious. The conflict within the village was escalating, and a confrontation could break out at any time.

These issues…

Required Danzo's help to manage.

But now…

It was time to give Danzo a warning.

Let him know that the Hokage was always watching his every move.

He needed to make sure Danzo put away any inappropriate thoughts and didn't dare to repeat the assassination attempt on the Hokage that happened years ago, simply because he had another Wood Release user under his control.

That old friend…

Narrow-minded but cowardly…

Once caught in a mistake, he would immediately hide like a rat in a drain.

"Alright."

"No need to discuss this further."

"What's most important now is the upcoming Chuunin Exams."

The Third Hokage continued flipping through the stack of papers, which were the registration forms for the Chuunin Exams in the second half of the year. This was the most important evaluation for Konoha.

The significance of the Chuunin Exams was to select talent.

There were a large number of Genin in Konoha, who were the backbone of the village's low-level mission tasks. They were essential for maintaining the prosperity of the village but could only sustain their lives by taking on C-rank and D-rank missions. However, Chuunin had a different role.

If a Genin performed well in the Chuunin Exams, they would be promoted to Chuunin and essentially have a fixed job to choose from.

Chuunin could take on lucrative B-rank combat missions, work in various village departments, or even join the Anbu.

The Chuunin Exams were Konoha's highest-level exam.

Konoha held two Chuunin Exams each year, sometimes in collaboration with other small ninja villages. The passing rate was always very low.

Since the Third Great Ninja War, the ninja world had entered an era of peace, and the Chuunin Exams gained new meaning as an important venue to showcase Konoha's strength.

Konoha's finances primarily came from the Fire Country's Daimyo and ninja mission tasks.

The Fire Country's Daimyo often watched the Chuunin Exams to decide whether to increase or reduce their financial support. Other small country Daimyos or nobles would also attend, using the event to determine whether to entrust Konoha with higher-level missions.

Furthermore…

The most important aspect was of course to impress and attract Konoha's allies.

Generally speaking, smaller ninja villages were courted by the five great countries' ninja villages, and these smaller villages often compared the strength of each major ninja village before choosing to ally with the stronger one.

The Chuunin Exams were undoubtedly the best opportunity for smaller ninja villages to observe Konoha's strength in peacetime, which made Konoha place even greater emphasis on the exams.

"All the registration forms for the Chuunin Exams are here?"

The Third Hokage slowly put down his pipe and suddenly asked, "Did that little Uchiha Itachi apply to participate in the Chuunin Exams alone?"

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja nodded and explained, "According to our information, two years ago, Uchiha Itachi's teammates were all killed during a mission…"

"Since then, Uchiha Itachi has never formed a team again and has hardly participated in any missions. Naturally, he didn't have any teammates for the Chuunin Exams…"

"However…"

"In these two years, Uchiha Itachi has been training with Uchiha Shisui and even assisted him in completing some collaborative assessment tasks…"

"Even though that assessment task was interrupted, it's clear that he's an excellent ninja capable of completing the Chuunin Exams alone."

"The only unfair part is the three-person collaboration battle."

"There have been many precedents in the village."

"For example, when Anbu Captain Kakashi Hatake's teammates, Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin, participated in the Chuunin Exams, they lacked a third teammate for the collaboration battle. Even though Kakashi had already become a Chuunin, it was decided that he could assist his two teammates in the final collaborative battle…"

"However…"

"Uchiha Itachi's only teammate is Uchiha Shisui, and to have the renowned Shunshin Shisui, a Jonin, participate in the Chuunin Exams seems a bit…"

"Hahahaha…"

The Third Hokage laughed heartily, interrupting his subordinate, and waved his hand, "That would be too much for the kids. It would make the exams a joke."

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja nodded and looked up at the elderly Hokage, adding, "But Uchiha Itachi really does have the ability to pass all the exams alone. Uchiha Shisui mentioned that Itachi's training results have been outstanding…"

"Alright, we'll leave it at that!"

The Third Hokage nodded and seemingly casually said, "Kakashi, Tenzo, go to the Anbu Training Unit and deliver a registration form…"

"Understood, Lord Hokage!"

Two masked figures quickly stood up!

The Third Hokage's gaze became sharp as he looked at one of them: "Go tell Danzo to let that child with the Wood Release come and participate in the Chuunin Exams too!"