Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Asuma looked out to the gates of Iwagakure. Next to him were his and Kurenai's students. Asuma's team consisted of Ino, Choji, and Tenten, while Kurenai's team was made of Kiba, Hinata, and Sakura. So far, they were solid teams who didn't falter in any of the tests. Too bad their luck ran out when they chose their matches in the final round.

It smelled fishy how the six of them chose each other for the upcoming matches. But Asuma didn't say anything to Tsuchikage and even had to hold Kurenai back from commenting on it. She was very close to her team. Maybe because it was her first team of genin, she was way too overprotective. Well, that was one of the reasons Asuma liked her so much.

Iwagakure wasn't one of the friendliest places Asuma had been, and the resentment toward Konoha was still present. The rocky mountain range that surrounded the village was less overbearing toward them than some of the shinobi in this village. Still, at least Raikage was with us now, and Shinobi from Kumo was a lot friendlier.

Asuma liked them for the most part but did feel a bit weird about some of them trying to hit on his team. He would understand the older boy named Atsui trying to get close to Ino, as Yamanaka's heiress was very popular among guys her age. And at least he wasn't that forward, unlike a certain girl named Karui. Her personality was as fiery as her red hair, and she seemed to have set her eyes on Choji.

The poor boy looked out at the place with her clinging to him, and Karui seemed to derive extreme pleasure from teasing him. The last member of their team, Omoi, was the only normal one among them. When their sensei, Samui, wasn't present, he was left to look after his team. Well, now, at least they didn't cause any trouble with two Kages waiting by the gates to the village for the Fifth Hokage to arrive.

Standing with two Kages was a bit tense for Asuma, especially when he was representing his village. Still, he had no choice but to keep close to them as he had to observe them. As the Fifth Hokage said, it was extremely rare that Iwagakure would invite Konoha to their village. Asuma had to observe them and make sure nothing missed his notice, at least until the Fifth Hokage arrived.

Finally, a carriage appeared, closing into the village's gates. Kiba and Hinata looked more excited than the others. It wasn't surprising, as he had heard from Kurenai that all they had done the past few days aside from training was talk about the Fifth Hokage. Kurenai even got a bit jealous of the attention the Fifth Hokage had from her students. She wouldn't acknowledge that the Fifth was their first sensei.

An old man driving the carriage was one of the ANBU; Asuma had seen him with his father many times. Tsuchikage and Raikage stopped their chatting and looked at the carriage as it stopped. Anko climbed off the carriage, and they waited for the Fifth Hokage to follow her. But to annoyance everyone else, Anko closed the doors to the carriage as nobody else was coming down.

"What is this?" Tsuchikage asked, and Asuma already knew he would have to listen to the old man's rants. "Where is he?"

"Anko?" Kurenai was happy to see her friend but was worried about the Fifth Hokage's absence.

"Don't look at me," Anko shrugged her shoulders. "All he said was that the carriage was moving too slow, so he would go ahead. I thought he would already be with you all."

"Hmm, did he get lost?" Raikage asked, amused by the situation.

"That's why younglings shouldn't take positions they are not ready for," Even as Tsuchikage said, he wasn't looking at the Konoha shinobi but at his granddaughter. "Well, we can't delay the final test any longer. Close the gates. Since he made us wait, he can wait until the Chunin Exams are over to come. I won't let anyone interfere in it once it starts."

Asuma hoped that Kaen Uchiha had a good reason for not showing up. Not only did he seem to disappoint Kiba and Hinata, but he also left them to deal with the fallout. As the most senior shinobi of Konoha, it was his responsibility to apologize to Tsuchikage and Raikage. And Asuma was left with no other choice but to gather the genin and follow the Kages to the arena.

"This place is more dreadful than I expected," Anko said as she looked around. "Some color would liven up the place. Then maybe they wouldn't wear such dour faces all the time."

"Do you really don't know where the Fifth Hokage is?" Asuma asked, as he knew Anko was one of the closest people to the Fifth.

"That asshole said he was bored, and since we are close, he will take a look around," Anko replied, seeming to be as much annoyed as was Asuma.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. All he had to do was cheer on his students and watch their fights. He was sure that the Fifth Hokage would want a complete report of the fights and not only of their genin. They needed to look out for the talent of the other villages, too. Asuma was so immersed in his mind that he almost hit the backs of the Kages.

They stopped just before entering the arena. Lifting his eyes, Asuma saw what they saw. There was already someone sitting on the high seat reserved for the Kages.

…

"You late," Kaen said as Tsuchigake and Raikage came to their seats. "I was beginning to get bored while waiting for you two."

"How did you get here without anyone noticing you?" Tsuchikage didn't like that Kaen was already here.

"I walked in."

The Third Tsuchikage didn't like that answer very much. His face hardened, and he stared menacingly at Kaen. Kaen smiled at him and relaxed in the middle of the three seats prepared. It was obviously Tsuchikage's seat, but Kaen didn't care and dared him to ask for his seat back. Raikage watched it from the sidelines but didn't interfere.

"So, you, the famous Kaen Uchiha, the youngest Hokage in history?" The Raikage asked as he looked over Kaen. "It is nice to meet you finally."

"Likewise," Kaen replied with a slight bow as he tried to discern what the Fourth Raikage was thinking. "So, are you going to stand the whole time?"

"I heard many things about you, and it seems what they said about your arrogance was true," The Tsuchikage said as he took his seat to the right of Kaen.

"It must be good to be young," Raikage added as he sat left of Kaen.

They expressed milder reactions than Kaen expected. He thought that at least Tsuchikage would try to lecture him about manners and similar things. But there wasn't even an outburst of anger as the old man seemed to accept Kaen's actions calmly. Maybe Tsuchikage was a calmer person than Kaen thought he would be, or Tsuchikage had already made up his mind on what he was going to do with Kaen and didn't want to show anything to him.

Kaen was keener on the second option. Old people like Tsuchikage don't let go of their resentment so easily. Kaen noticed that the village lacked security for its size. Kaen took a stroll around the village and tried to find out Iwagakure's strengths and weaknesses from outside, but he didn't expect so little resistance, as he was able to sneak around as he wished easily. Something was fishy.

It was clear that most of Iwakagure's shinobi were sent out somewhere or hiding, and Kaen suspected they might be at the Land of Grass. It was too early to say, though. He would have to wait for Anko's and Yugao's reports. But If Tsuchikage wanted to do something, now was the perfect time to do it while Kaen was busy dealing with Orochimaru.

"How amusing," Kaen commented as he saw the roster of the matches. "Kiba Inuzuka vs Choji Akimichi. It should be a fun fight."

"Hmm, these two?" Raikage asked as he observed the first opponents. "Isn't Kiba your former student? I heard he was quite talented in taijutsu. But I didn't hear anything noteworthy about Choji. All I know is that he is the heir of the Akimichi clan."

"All I will say is that Kiba won't lose to anyone when compared to their physical strength," Kaen replied to Raikage as he narrowed his eyes at Kiba's chubby opponent. "But Choji has gained quite a bit of weight from the last time I saw him."

"They talented, I will give you that," Tsuchikage added. "They passed the previous tests with flying colors. But a direct fight is a different thing than simulated missions. My village prides itself on the physical training every shinobi goes through. And that Akimichi boy would need to gain more weight for his defenses to be of any use."

"Yes, the Akimichi clan is most famous for their Multi-Size Technique, with the current head of the clan able to turn himself into a Giant," Kaen told the common information that almost every village knew. "Too bad I never seen them in action. But I can only pity those who stood against him in the previous war."

"Hmph, my village still managed to defend against him," Tsuchikage understood that Kaen's words were a jab at their history. "The only one that gave us too much trouble was that accursed Fourth Hokage of yours. Too bad for your village that he died prematurely."

"Is it?" Kaen asked with a hidden smile. "If the Fourth Hokage were still alive, I wouldn't the Hokage. And that would be the biggest loss my village could ever experience."

"Confidence is good, but too much of it will only harm you," Raikage didn't like Kaen's comment as he held great respect for the Fourth Hokage. "For all your big talk, you have yet to prove yourself."

"Hopefully, for your sake, I won't need to," Kaen replied with a cold smile.

They stopped talking at that moment as the match was about to begin. Kaen could tell that Tsuchikage wasn't happy that Konoha had the same number of genin in the final test as they had. Raikage didn't seem to care, as from what Kaen knew, Kumo only sent one team, and that team passed all the tests easily.

What surprised Kaen the most was the last team—the team from Takigakure, a village hidden in Waterfall. Kaen recognized the mint-haired young woman among the rest of the participants—the Seven Tail Jinchiruki. Kaen had kept his eye on Fuu, as she would be a target of the Akatsuki. Too bad Kaen didn't know much about her, and his and her village weren't that close.

Kaen thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to contact them and offer an alliance between the villages. Maybe he could invite them over for the next chunin exam in Konoha. Kaen wasn't willing to give the Akatsuki any of the Tailed Beast. But to stop them, he would need the villages with the Tailed Beast to cooperate with him—well, for most villages.

It wouldn't be too bad for Konoha if Iwagakure and Kumogakure were to lose their Jinchuriki. Those two villages have only gotten stronger over the years, while Konoha has fallen the most since the last war. It started with the Fourth's death, Orochimaru's defection, and, most importantly, Uchiha's clan massacre. Still, even with all those losses, Konoha stood on top of the powerhouses of the Elemental Nations.

"Impressive speed," Raikage said as the fight between Kiba and Choji progressed. "That boy moves similarly to his pet. Unpredictably, but precise."

"The Akimichi's boy is losing his defense," Tsuchikage commented as Kiba's relentless attacks were pushing Choji back. "As impressive as his defense is, he lacks skill in attacking, making all his efforts useless."

"Not everything is as it seems," Kaen said, acting smugly as he could guess what Choji's ultimate weapon was.

Raikage narrowed his eyes as he continued to focus on the match. Tsuchikage seemed displeased at how competent Konoha's genin were. The longer the fight lasted, the more nobles and people from various places would see why Konoha was and is considered to be the strongest village. Kaen wasn't against additional missions coming to his village since he needed money to fund his projects.

"Ha, this is the end," Tsuchikage said with a laugh as Choji collapsed after Kiba, using his claws, made a nasty cut on his back.

But as much as Tsuchigake wanted it, his words wouldn't come true. Kaen was getting excited as he saw Choji take something from his pocket and drop it into his mouth. Kiba, knowing it was never a good thing to let his guard down, went to finish Choji.

Kiba's claws mercilessly tried to end Choji, and the proctor was about to interfere, but it wasn't necessary. Blue butterflies made of chakra started filling the arena as Choji suddenly disappeared and appeared behind Kiba.

A.N. I have some bad news. I will be gone from May 6. I have been selected to do mandatory military training for nine months. I will post as usual until the end of April and then post the rest of the chapters I have on my pa treon before I am gone. I don't know how much free time I will have in the military, but from what I hear, I should have weekends off, even if not all of them. So, I will try to write as much as I can on weekends and holidays. Thought I would probably have to drop most of my stories until I finished my training. I want to focus on ending "What is dead may never die" and continue "Will of embers." Thanks for reading and support.