Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 89: Shikaku: If They're Genin, What Does That Make Me?

"Lord Fuji, I'll head to the Chūnin Exams venue now."

Pakura bowed respectfully after everyone else had left, then turned and departed.

"Fuji, was there really a need to involve her in the Chūnin Exams?"

Emerging from the shadows, Shikaku Nara, who hadn't participated in the welcoming ceremony, approached and asked, "And honestly, was there even a need to hold the Chūnin Exams during this time?"

He understood the purpose behind Fuji's timing, but there really weren't many suitable candidates in Konoha.

The preliminary rounds, overseen by Fuji, had already concluded, leaving only 24 participants for the public finals. Now, Fuji wanted Shikaku to take charge—it was troublesome.

Fuji smiled lightly. "It's a rare occasion for the Fourth Kazekage to visit. Letting him witness Konoha's strength seems like a good idea, doesn't it?"

"How much strength can be seen from a simple genin competition? Most of Konoha's prodigies in the next generation have already been promoted to chūnin," Shikaku muttered, his lips twitching.

"And some of them are like that one from earlier—still genin at thirty, despite their age. I'm not sure that reflects well on our supposed depth."

"Don't be so sure," Fuji chuckled softly. "Don't worry about it. By the way, how's the matter with the jōnin? Any other developments?"

"No."

Shikaku sighed, understanding that Fuji was referring to the jōnin advocating for Minato to assume the position of daimyo.

"However, we did uncover some chūnin and genin with similar ideas—some of whom turned out to be spies from other villages."

This was something Fuji had expected.

The apparent tension between the daimyo of the Land of Fire and the Hokage was bound to attract the attention of other nations, who sought to fan the flames and "help" Konoha establish its Hokage as daimyo.

"There were spies from Iwagakure and Kumogakure, as well as some from smaller shinobi villages. The Yamanaka clan has already read their memories and confirmed their identities."

Fuji said, "Send me the list of other implicated shinobi."

Assuming Fuji merely wanted to double-check, Shikaku handed him the list without hesitation.

"These are all Konoha-born shinobi. Their neighbors and peers know them well—it's highly unlikely they're anything other than loyal Konoha ninjas."

Fuji nodded noncommittally. "Which genin haven't been on missions recently or participated in the Chūnin Exams?"

Shikaku, ever familiar with Konoha's personnel files, quickly identified a group.

"Most of them are genin with little potential, stuck in the rank for years without promotion. That's why they didn't participate in the exams."

Fuji scanned the list, raised his right hand slightly, and two shinobi appeared behind him, ready for orders.

Shikaku noticed them immediately—one from the Kuki clan, the other from the Tōno clan. They weren't part of the divided ninja clan agreements, which meant they had likely joined under Fuji's leadership due to his influence.

Shikaku frowned slightly at the realization.

Meanwhile, Fuji issued his command: "Bring all the shinobi on this list to the northeast training ground."

"Understood!"

The two shinobi vanished, and Fuji turned back to Shikaku.

"I'll handle this. The Chūnin Exams are in your hands," Fuji said.

Shikaku sighed, his expression tinged with resignation.

Why all the fuss over an exam?

Even Jiraiya had been brought in to oversee the final rounds. What could possibly happen? It's not as if any genin could kill a special jōnin exam proctor.

Yet when Shikaku arrived at the exam venue and saw the matches via surveillance, he fell silent.

Flawless use of the Body Flicker Technique. Battles ending in mere seconds. Even the special jōnin acting as proctors failed to react immediately, pausing for a moment before declaring the winner.

And this didn't happen just once. Several participants displayed strength equivalent to that of a full-fledged jōnin.

These are Konoha's genin?

If they're genin, then what does that make me?

This is terrifying.

"Where did these ninjas come from?" Shikaku asked dryly, turning to an ANBU operative nearby.

"Apparently, Lord Fuji found them among former Root spies. I didn't know they were this strong," the ANBU replied, his tone equally bewildered.

Root spies… and they're this powerful?

From Shikaku's experience, the shinobi on-screen weren't just ordinary jōnin—they were elite-level, potentially stronger than him.

Using shinobi this skilled as spies? Root must have been insane.

Konoha didn't even have that many jōnin to begin with! Why hadn't these talents been kept in the village?

Danzo had truly wasted a lot of Konoha's potential.

As Shikaku watched yet another participant win easily, looking utterly bored, his thoughts drifted to Root under Orochimaru's leadership.

Root had no genin. Every member was at least chūnin level, many of them elite shinobi, whether from civilian backgrounds or prominent clans.

However, most of the spies sent abroad were unrelated to Konoha's clans. These were individuals Danzo had personally trained and were generally not supposed to be this powerful.

Shikaku had assumed that these former spies Fuji uncovered were no stronger than mid-level chūnin. He hadn't anticipated this level of strength.

Shaking his head, Shikaku asked, "Why didn't Orochimaru take these shinobi with him? Why are they under Fuji's command?"

"It was on Lord Hokage's orders," the ANBU replied succinctly. "It pertains to the reorganization of Konoha's intelligence network."

Shikaku nodded, deciding not to press further, though his mind continued to turn over the implications.

Reorganizing the intelligence network was indeed necessary.

Previously, Root had managed Konoha's external intelligence, but with key spy lists no longer in Konoha's possession, significant gaps existed in their surveillance of other villages.

It made sense to entrust this task to Fuji.

Orochimaru's Root couldn't be fully trusted yet, and new spies couldn't be drawn from Root's ranks.

Meanwhile, Root's power was already formidable enough, making further expansion unwise.

Still, Shikaku couldn't help but notice how rapidly Fuji's influence was growing.

Within just over a month, Fuji had absorbed part of Root's resources, gained the allegiance of certain clans, and cultivated his own network of supporters.

In contrast, Uchiha Fugaku's backing had grown far more slowly.

To be fair, this had less to do with Fuji himself and more with Danzo's actions.

Danzo had essentially handed Fuji the role of Hokage's advisor, authority to liaise with the daimyo, and parts of Root's resources.

Shikaku himself had also contributed to Fuji's growing influence.

After their discussions, Shikaku had subtly steered certain clans toward Fuji. It was better for them to align with Fuji than risk forming alliances with the Uchiha, which could destabilize the village.

As for Tsunade and himself, Shikaku knew neither of them was interested in such power plays.

But looking at it now, Fuji's authority encompassed parts of the Hokage's duties, overshadowed the two elders as a clan leader, and granted him significant independence due to his control of the intelligence network.

This was essentially the same position Danzo had once held.

The difference was that Fuji had achieved in a little over a month what had taken Danzo decades.

Shikaku chuckled to himself but found little humor in the situation. He decided to bring it up with the Hokage later.

(Chapter End)