On the walk toward the Ninja Academy, Tendo finally pieced together why his boss had staged a dawn raid on his apartment.
It turned out that Mizuki, after being turned into a human spinning top the previous evening, hadn't spent the night nursing his ego in silence. Instead, he'd gone straight to the top, filing a formal grievance with Inuzuka Akita.
In Mizuki's retelling, he was a "pure white lotus" of a shinobi. He claimed Tendo had relentlessly provoked him until he had no choice but to defend himself, and even then, he'd supposedly "held back" out of respect for Akita's department. The only reason he was coming forward now, he'd whimpered, was out of "grave concern" that Tendo's newfound arrogance would eventually bring shame to the Hokage Building.
He was essentially trying to drive a wedge between the rising star and his patron. If Akita shielded Tendo, Mizuki would spread rumors of favoritism; if she turned on him, Tendo's career was over.
What Mizuki hadn't accounted for was that the Inuzuka clan—usually a boisterous lot who solved problems with fangs and claws—had produced a statistical anomaly in Inuzuka Akita. She was sharp, politically savvy, and possessed a "big heart" in every sense of the word. She'd listened to Mizuki's sob story, smiled politely, and shown him the door with a promise to "settle the matter" at the Academy.
After hearing Tendo's dry, condensed version of the truth, she let out a sharp bark of a laugh. "That sniveling little rat. He's got more layers than an onion."
"He even suggested you should 'prove your mettle' by sparring with the Academy's top graduate, Hyūga Neji, during today's ceremony," Akita said, her eyes narrowing as they approached the school gates. "I actually thought he was trying to offer you a graceful way to settle a misunderstanding. Now it's obvious he's trying to feed you to a shark."
[New Quest: Accept the challenge and defeat the Hyūga prodigy, Hyūga Neji.]
[Reward: Byakugan (Purity: Common).]
Tendo looked at the holographic prompt with a flicker of amusement. He felt he should probably join Akita in cursing Mizuki, but the man was inadvertently becoming his most prolific quest-giver.
He knew the name Neji Hyūga. In the early chronicles of this world, the boy was a titan, a genius whose reputation rivaled Sasuke's. Later, of course, he would become a tragic footnote, dying as a human shield in a war of gods. But right now? Neji was the "Peak of the Academy," a combatant who already stood head and shoulders above mediocre Chunin like Mizuki.
Mizuki's trap was clever: if Tendo lost, he was humiliated. If he won, he'd done so by slapping the face of the prestigious Hyūga Clan. It was a lose-lose scenario for anyone who cared about village politics.
Tendo, however, only cared about the loot.
He offered Akita a faint smile—one that was three parts clinical, three parts confident, and four parts pure, unadulterated arrogance.
"Normally, you'd dodge a headache like this," Akita noted, watching him closely. "I didn't expect you to take the bait so readily. You're keeping secrets from me, Tendo-kun."
She didn't press the issue. She knew that a man with secrets was like a well-crafted jutsu—far more interesting when you had to unravel the layers yourself.
The Ninja Academy was the crown jewel of the Second Hokage's legacy. Senju Tobirama had established it to break the clan monopolies and standardize shinobi training. Tendo's feelings on the Second were... complicated. Tobirama's policies had essentially ghettoized the Uchiha, leading directly to their bloody end.
Then again, if the Uchiha hadn't been wiped out, Tendo wouldn't have a System. In a twisted way, Tobirama was his greatest benefactor. By that logic, the entire Leaf high command were his patrons.
Yes, Tendo thought as they reached the training grounds. All benefactors. No enemies here. Just people helping me grow.
He soon spotted his next "benefactor." Mizuki was already there, his face partially bandaged, wincing every time he moved his jaw. But malice is a powerful anesthetic; the moment he saw Tendo arrive, his eyes gleamed with a frantic, desperate hope.
The Academy grounds were sprawling, positioned in the heart of the village for maximum protection. Two classes were currently occupying the dirt lot: the recently graduated Class A, featuring the "Genius" Neji, and Iruka Umino's younger students.
"Hey! It's the guy from yesterday!" a boisterous voice yelled.
Uzumaki Naruto was pointing a finger at Tendo, his orange jumpsuit a loud stain against the brown earth.
"Hello again, Naruto-kun," Tendo greeted, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.
The "Konoha Twelve." They were all here—Sasuke brooding in the shade, Sakura and Ino whispering, Shikamaru looking like he wanted to be anywhere else.
"Sakura, look!" Ino hissed, her eyes wide as she scanned Tendo. "Who is that? He's actually... wow."
"No way, Ino-pig," Sakura muttered, though her eyes lingered a second too long. "Sasuke-kun is still the coolest." Her voice lacked its usual conviction.
"Kiba! Don't tell me you're too shy to say hello to your own cousin?" Akita called out, spotting the boy with the puppy on his head.
Kiba, who usually acted like the alpha of his peer group, wilted instantly. He slunk over, offering a respectful nod to Tendo. In Kiba's mind, anyone who could walk side-by-side with his "demon" cousin without being eaten alive was a man worthy of total reverence.
Mizuki wasted no time. He gathered the graduates and announced a "demonstration match" between Tendo and Neji.
His speech was a masterpiece of passive-aggressive theater: he claimed he had intended to spar with Neji himself to prepare the boy for the "harsh realities" of the field, but due to a "minor training injury," the brave and selfless Tendo had volunteered to step in. He praised Tendo's strength, then leaned in and whispered to Neji—loud enough for others to hear—to "not hold back" and "give it twelve percent," because Tendo could certainly handle it.
He was setting the stage for Tendo's public execution.
Tendo stepped into the center of the ring, the dry dust puffing up around his sandals. He looked at the white-eyed prodigy standing opposite him.
"Ready when you are, kid," Tendo said, his voice as calm as a summer pond. "Let's see if the 'Genius of the Hyūga' lives up to the brochure."