The lights in the hospital hallway flickered on and off.
During the Chūnin Exams, the entire village was heavily monitored, and even the hospitals were expected to remain on alert at all times.
Shinra walked through the dimly lit hallway, moonlight spilling through the windows as his mind remained occupied by his earlier encounter with Danzo.
'According to what I remember, the top officials of Konoha are all missing a screw.'
He frowned slightly.
'Hiruzen was portrayed as spineless in the show. He allowed the head of the Hyūga branch family to be handed over to the Cloud, didn't intervene when Naruto was treated like shit, and most importantly, remained far too lax when dealing with Danzo.'
Shinra continued walking.
'Koharu and Homura are traditional and conservative. I don't remember them having much of an impact outside of agreeing with Danzo when it came to exterminating the Uchiha clan.'
His expression darkened slightly.
'Danzo, on the other hand, was a complete nutcase. He attempted to assassinate the Hokage, collaborated with a rogue ninja, was involved in the extermination of the Uchiha clan, and even played a role in the formation of the current Akatsuki.'
Shinra stopped in front of a ward and glanced at the number.
'That being said, I would've rather one of the other four made me that offer.'
His hand reached for the door handle before he pushed it open.
'If I want that to happen, I need to increase my worth in their eyes.'
The ward was relatively quiet when Shinra entered.
Hyori and Inumaki were already there, sitting near Yogi's bed while Yoshimaru rested on the floor beside them. Both immediately looked toward Shinra when he entered.
Hyori's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're finally here. What took you so long?"
"Someone wanted to have a chat with me," Shinra explained as he approached the bed.
Inumaki tilted his head slightly.
"The masked shinobi?"
"Yeah. He wanted to discuss my performance during the exams."
Hyori studied his expression for a moment.
"That's it?"
"Yep."
She clearly wasn't convinced, but Shinra's answer was vague enough that there wasn't much she could question without knowing what had actually happened.
Rather than pressing him further, Hyori turned her attention toward Yogi.
Shinra followed her gaze and finally looked properly at his former instructor.
Yogi was lying comfortably against the hospital bed, snoring loudly. He looked considerably healthier than the last time Shinra had seen him. Most of the obvious wounds had healed, although several bandages still covered his torso and arms.
"Stop pretending to be asleep, Sensei," Shinra said as he approached.
Yogi opened one eye and looked at him.
"Took you long enough. Can you imagine? The first thing I saw when I woke up was an old man undressing me. At that point, I was certain my students would come and save me, but…" Yogi sighed dramatically.
Shinra raised an eyebrow.
'Yogi during duty and off duty is like an entirely different person. Is he bipolar by any chance?'
"We were participating in the Chūnin Exams."
"I know. Inoichi has informed me."
"And you're still complaining that we took too long to visit you?"
"You brats don't understand how to value your sensei. Back in my days—"
Shinra interjected before Yogi could bore them to death.
"When are you getting discharged anyway? You look completely healthy to me."
Yogi clicked his tongue and looked toward him.
"The medics said that I should be fully discharged in less than a week. They're currently monitoring my condition so that nothing unexpected happens."
Yogi spoke briefly before settling back against the pillow.
For a few moments, the conversation remained light. It was strange seeing Yogi awake again after everything that had happened in the Land of Wind. Even injured and confined to a hospital bed, he still managed to behave almost exactly as he had before.
Eventually, however, his expression became more serious.
"There is something I need to tell you three."
The change in his tone immediately caught their attention.
Yogi glanced between Shinra, Hyori, and Inumaki before continuing.
"I won't be returning to active duty as your jōnin instructor."
Hyori's expression changed.
"You're retiring?"
"Not exactly."
Yogi sighed and looked down at his bandaged arm.
"The doctors weren't entirely sure how much damage I took until they started examining me properly. Apparently, my body isn't going to tolerate prolonged combat anymore. I can still move around and perform basic shinobi duties, but I can't fight at the level expected of a jōnin."
The room became noticeably quieter.
Shinra looked at him for a moment before asking, "So what happens now?"
"The village offered me a position in the Interrogation Department."
Yogi's mouth twisted slightly.
"I was hoping they'd give me something involving paperwork. Unfortunately, they remembered that I'm a Yamanaka."
Hyori couldn't help but smile faintly.
"You're not exactly suited for paperwork. You made us write most of the mission reports just so we could gain experience."
"Exactly! I would've dumped all of my work on some random genin while I got to slack off the entire time. Now I actually have to work myself."
Inumaki glanced at Yogi's bandages.
"So you're staying in the village?"
"Of course. I'm injured, not dead."
Yogi's expression softened slightly.
"I'm not thrilled about losing field duty, but it could be worse. The Interrogation Department needs experienced shinobi too. If I can still contribute to the village, then I don't have much reason to complain."
Shinra nodded quietly.
"At least you'll still be doing something useful."
"Exactly. See? That's the attitude I expect from my students."
Hyori folded her arms.
"Former students."
Yogi stared at her.
"That was fast."
"You literally just told us you're no longer our instructor."
"Technicality."
Shinra shook his head before changing the subject.
"How long until the transfer?"
"Once the Chūnin Exams end. I'm technically still registered as your sensei, but the paperwork should already be moving through the administration."
Yogi paused for a moment before looking at the three of them.
"Speaking of the Chūnin Exams, how far did you actually get in the exams?"
Inumaki answered first.
"We were the first team to reach the tower."
Yogi's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Really?"
"Not only that, we broke the village record set by Itachi," Hyori added. "It took us only fifty-three minutes."
Yogi looked genuinely surprised.
"Fifty-three? How?"
Shinra nodded.
"We secured both scrolls very quickly during the first part of the exam. We encountered a team from Tanigakure."
"And?"
"We defeated them and took their scrolls," Hyori explained. "We didn't kill them."
Yogi's expression relaxed slightly.
"Good."
He looked between them.
"How did the fight go?"
Hyori briefly explained the encounter, including how Shinra had created an opening and how she and Inumaki dealt with the other members of the team.
Yogi listened carefully, occasionally asking questions about their positioning and teamwork.
When Hyori described the way she had closed the distance against Keita, Yogi smiled slightly.
"I really am a great teacher."
Hyori stared at him blankly.
Yogi had certainly played a major role in developing her battle skills, but watching him casually take all the credit still felt a little scummy.
Shinra quietly observed the lively atmosphere and smiled.
Yogi noticed anyway.
"You think this is funny?"
"A little."
"As expected from my student. You've inherited my sense of humor as well."
The conversation continued for several minutes as they described what had happened inside the Forest of Death. They explained the other teams they had encountered, the tower, and the various battles that had taken place around them.
Yogi listened with genuine interest, occasionally offering advice or pointing out mistakes in their decisions.
When they finally finished explaining what had happened, he leaned back against the pillow.
"Sounds like you three managed yourselves fairly well."
Hyori smiled slightly.
"That's high praise coming from you."
"Don't get used to it."
Before anyone could respond, the door to the ward opened.
Inoichi stepped inside.
His eyes immediately settled on Yogi.
"You're awake."
Yogi looked toward him.
"Unfortunately."
Inoichi's expression remained completely flat.
"You're as annoying as ever."
"That's not very kind, Clan Head."
Inoichi ignored the comment and walked farther into the room.
"Your transfer has been approved. Once the exams officially end, you'll report to the Interrogation Department."
Yogi nodded.
"Understood."
Inoichi then turned toward the three younger shinobi.
"And I wanted to speak with you as well."
The mood became slightly more formal.
"On behalf of the Yamanaka clan, thank you for bringing Yogi back alive. Without your intervention, the outcome of that mission could have been considerably worse."
Hyori shook her head.
"We were a team. We weren't going to leave him behind."
Inumaki nodded in agreement.
"Of course."
Yogi smiled.
"See? My students actually care about me."
Inoichi gave him a long, unimpressed look.
Yogi's smile disappeared almost immediately.
"All right. I'll stop."
Shinra remained quiet as he watched the exchange.
'Inoichi knowing about the mission isn't particularly surprising.'
Shikaku had been present when they gave their report, and Inoichi was the head of the Yamanaka clan as well as one of Konoha's jōnin. Considering Yogi himself belonged to the Yamanaka clan, there was little reason to believe the mission details had simply stopped with Shikaku.
'The real question is how much he knows.'
Shinra's eyes briefly settled on Inoichi.
'Does he know about Sasori? My encounter with the Third Kazekage's puppet? Or does he only know the general details of what happened?'
There was no way to tell from his expression.
Inoichi eventually broke the silence.
"Normally, this information should've been relayed to you by your instructor, but since he is unfit, I will inform you myself. The preliminaries for the final stage of the Chūnin Exams will be held in two days."
Hyori blinked.
"That soon?"
"Yes. The remaining participants will be narrowed down during the preliminaries. The final stage will take place afterward."
Yogi glanced toward his students.
"Then you have two days to prepare."
Shinra nodded slowly.
Two days.
That was enough time to recover, review what he had learned from the Forest of Death, and prepare for the next stage.
Unlike the previous phase, there would be no teams to hide behind and no forest large enough to plan around.
The next battles would be individual.
And this time, everyone would be watching.