Chapter 338: Eve of the Chunin Exams
After a play about deep sibling affection was staged in the Hokage Tower, Temari chose to stay, while Kankuro chose to return to the Hidden Sand Village to continue investigating the truth.
Itachi Uchiha looked at the little girl Temari in his office. She was clutching her fan a little nervously. The Fifth Hokage was starting to get a headache.
Karin sensed his mood and lowered her head, pushing up her glasses. "Lord Itachi, when the Chunin Exams are over, I will arrange for her to take refuge in the Land of Waves…"
"…Alright."
Itachi was taken aback. He suddenly understood why Tsunade wanted to cultivate Karin to inherit her position. Which leader wouldn't want such an understanding subordinate?
The next morning.
The Hidden Leaf Village had confirmed the venue and examination methods for the joint Chunin Exams. A group of supervising Jonin entered in a line to report on the graduates' situation and apply for them to participate in the exams.
"I've recently looked at the mission completion status of each squad. Although they have all met the standards for the Chunin Exams, this year is different…"
Itachi looked at the few Jonin standing before his desk, his gaze falling on the couple, Asuma and Kurenai. "This time, it is a joint Chunin Exam held by the three great ninja nations of Fire, Wind, and Water. The situation is rather complex…"
"The number of participants far exceeds the scale of any previous Chunin Exam, and the difficulty has been increased accordingly. I hope you will all carefully consider your subordinates."
"Team 3, confirmed."
Might Guy was the first to speak. His three little darlings had not been able to participate in the Chunin Exams last year, and this year he didn't want them to miss the opportunity for promotion again.
"Team 7, confirmed."
Kakashi Hatake was naturally even less concerned. Among his three subordinates, two of them were basically using cheats. If those two couldn't pass, it was estimated that no one would be able to pass the Chunin Exams this time.
"Team 8, confirmed."
Kurenai Yuhi's brow furrowed, but in the end, she nodded.
"Team 10, confirmed."
Asuma Sarutobi did not hesitate. His team was the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. Although they had not yet fully matured, they should have the confidence to pass the exam.
"Mm."
Itachi Uchiha nodded, casually signed his name on the document in his hand, and handed it to Karin behind him. "Make a list of all the genin from Konoha participating in the joint Chunin Exams, and later, we will tally the numbers with the Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand."
"Two days from now, the joint Chunin Exams will officially begin."
Itachi looked up and then glanced at Yamato behind him. "Tell Jiraiya-sensei that during this period, the village's defense work will be handled by the Defense Department on a rotational basis. As for the matter of public security within the village, I will discuss it with the Military Police Force captain tonight."
"Understood."
After the captain of the Hokage's Guard, Yamato, had nodded, Karin suddenly spoke up, "Lord Itachi, Lady Tsunade and Lord Fugaku have proposed whether to hold the Hokage inauguration ceremony immediately after the Chunin Exams…"
In fact, the Hokage inauguration ceremony had been delayed for more than a year.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was still serving as the acting Hokage, in reality, he had long since faded from the Konoha leadership for various reasons.
In five years, the entire Leaf Village had already acknowledged Itachi Uchiha as the Fifth Hokage. Even the Jonin Council's vote of confidence had passed. All that was left was the white hat on the Third's head and the inauguration ceremony.
Originally, this could have been delayed even longer, but at some point, a trend had appeared in Konoha, criticizing Hiruzen for clinging to power.
'As long as I am alive, no one will be able to take the position of Hokage from my hands.'
It was unknown who had spread this sentence, but it had completely pushed Hiruzen to the forefront of the storm.
And that rebellious disciple of his, Jiraiya, had refused to compete with his own disciple for the position. Plus, his other rebellious disciple, Tsunade, was a staunch supporter of Itachi…
All things considered, of the three disciples Hiruzen had taught, in the end, none of them had chosen to stand by his side.
The old man had thus been forced to announce that he would officially retire this year and hold the Hokage inauguration ceremony.
He could only comfort himself that this was for the sake of a smooth transition of power. After all, from the looks of it, Itachi's administrative skills were quite up to par.
This was probably what they called…
A choice without a choice.
Itachi listened to Karin's words, fiddling with the pen in his hand, his thoughts unknown.
After a long while, he finally nodded. "Mm… then let's start preparing! After the Chunin Exams and the Hokage inauguration ceremony are over, I want to hold a Five Kage Summit!"
The masterminds behind the Akatsuki were Madara and Obito. Theoretically, this was a matter for the Hidden Leaf and their Uchiha clan.
With his and Kitahara's strength, as long as they could find a trace of the Akatsuki, dealing with them shouldn't be a problem…
And in the Land of Waves, there were still two Hokage eagerly tracking down news of Madara and the Akatsuki. And recently, that place had gained another Hokage…
He wondered if the Third would be sent over after his natural death…
This lineup sounded a bit like bullying.
Besides solving the trouble of the Akatsuki, Itachi had another new plan. He would use this opportunity to completely take back all the Tailed Beasts that had been distributed back then.
Because Orochimaru had sponsored a few Hokage, Konoha's hidden power was now unprecedentedly strong. Never mind taking back the Tailed Beasts, even fighting a few wars of national extermination shouldn't be a problem…
In the evening.
After Itachi finished all his official business, he returned home.
He casually patted his little brother's hair, then looked at Kitahara, and then at his mother. "Has Dad not come home yet?"
He had originally planned to discuss with his father whether to add more manpower to the Military Police Force, regarding the matter of maintaining public security in Konoha during the joint Chunin Exams.
"…"
Mikoto Uchiha was stunned for a moment, then looked at him with confusion. "Hm?"
At this time, Sasuke also looked at his older brother, somewhat speechless. "Dad had already gotten off work and come home, but Lord Jiraiya sent someone to ask him to go to the Defense Department for a meeting. It seems it was because of an order my brother issued…"
"…"
This was a bit awkward.
For a moment, he had forgotten that his teacher didn't particularly like to wield power. It was usually the clan heads of the Uchiha and Hyuga who handled the official business of the Defense Department.
"Ahem…"
The Fifth Hokage coughed a few times, then casually took off his uniform and turned the topic to his little brother. "Sasuke, did Kakashi-senpai inform you about the Chunin Exams today?"
"Mm, Naruto, Sakura, and I will definitely pass this exam!"
The little brat clenched his fists, putting on a look of having victory in his grasp. "It's a pity. If only I could have run into that woman Karin during the Chunin Exams…"
"So confident?"
Itachi smiled and flicked his forehead with two fingers. "It seems you all did a good job on your B-rank mission this time!"
"Nii-san, don't always treat me like a child!"
Sasuke pouted with some dissatisfaction. "This time, on our mission, we ran into that guy Zabuza Momochi, and we won!"
"Good."
Itachi ruffled his hair dotingly and said softly, "When it's time for your third Chunin Exam, I'll be in the stands cheering for you!"
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