Chapter 11

Hiruzen Sarutobi—Mr. Doctor of all Ninjutsu. This famous Shinobi, the third Hokage, who had been retired for more than ten years, was even more famous in this world. And stronger.

In this world, nobody called him the Shinobi God. Instead, they called him the second coming of the Shinobi God, the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Unlike in the official Naruto universe, this did not seem to be a nickname made up by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Especially since his master, the second Hokage Tobirama Senju, the real creator and clever founder of the will of fire, was still alive...

Even though there were rumors that he was even more of a recluse, Tobirama was full of life, and his presence had changed a lot of the history of Konoha. Actually, it was said that his brother, the first Hokage and his wife Mito were still alive, despite being very old... The survival of these two also had an effect on the survival of Uzu country, keeping it from going extinct and turning it into the sea-based power that the Uzumakis are today.

Konoha was the strongest, and it has stayed that way since the five great shinobi villages were made and ever since. Konoha was not, however, impossible to beat.

Without mentioning Kumo, villages like Taki and Ame were stronger, even though politics were still a mess in this world and Hanzo had not died. New alliances had changed the world, and while everyone agreed that Hashirama used to be the strongest Shinobi in the world, he did have some real rivals who gave him trouble in battle back then. Legends of the Sengoku Era got old and weak, and non-civil wars happened in the same way. The second, the third...

First of all, the Uchiha clan did not live in Konoha in this world. They did things their own way and sometimes didn't fight in wars they didn't agree with. They had their own village that was directly connected to Konoha and was part of a division that was connected to Konoha. They also had a UchiKage. Similarly, they made most of their own choices and decisions. Most surprising was that Madara, who all Shinobi thought had been the second-strongest Shinobi ever, and his brother Izuna were still alive.

The Uchihas and their leader, Fugaku, who was biologically related to Madara and was the official and current patriarch, didn't live too far from Konoha. They resided in a town of their own, guided by the collaboration of an Uchiha patriarch, a position passed down through generations, and an Uchikage, who was selected based on their sheer power...

Uchihas thought of themselves as being from and legally from Konoha, and their kids went to Konoha schools, but they weren't from Konoha if they didn't like being from there. They might have thought that the will of fire was a joke... They were known around the world for causing trouble. In the same way, they were still Konoha's official police force in this world, and the Nine Tails attack had never happened, so that was never a big problem.

This world was very different. For example, there was no sage of six paths, no Rinnegan, no caged bird seal for the Hyuga clan, and other villages had more Kekkei Genkai clans, stronger Kages, and so on. Before Shinobi took control of them, the tailed beasts were thought to be immortal spiritual beings, like the demons in Japanese folklore to whom humans made sacrifices. Each used to have its own sacred territories, forbidden grounds, and mysterious dark places of worship in this world.

No one knew how the first people in this world used Chakra or how the Senju and Uchiha came to be, lived, and grew before the Sengoku Era. But that second mystery only needed to be studied and understood by someone like Akira... Shinobi from the rest of the world saw the Senju and Uchiha as just two clans with slightly better bloodline limits than average. That's it.

Even now, there were probably hidden clans and places in this world with bloodline limits that large Shinobi villages and clans hadn't found and recruited yet.

"I…"

Akira was still caught in a lengthy stutter, with wide eyes.

As he unexpectedly encountered a world-renowned legend, he found himself struggling to articulate his thoughts, as his mind raced with the vast knowledge of world history that he had studied and inherited from the previous owner of his body.

"Hum?"

Hiruzen, who was slowly approaching the group of three men, had his face freeze, halting any movement it was making, and scowled. With the sudden sense of quick comprehension, his face relaxed as he approached, saying something, grinning with amusement, while Yashamaru and Shira glanced over at Akira,

"Did I surprise you that much, son?" Hiruzen was suddenly inquiring, sounding like an elderly individual with a wealth of life experience.

"You seem like a good boy, so there's no need to be afraid of me and lose your voice."

He said again, this time standing very close to Akira, Yashamaru, and Shira, with his hands crossed behind his back while he smoked his famous pipe.

Yashamaru spoke on behalf of his stuttering, stammering, and shocked nephew, clarifying by saying,

"Sorry, I forgot that this kid really looks up to you, Your Excellency. He even has posters of you in his room. This must have been a shock to meet you like this... Give him a few seconds to come to terms with the reality of the current situation."

Yashamaru wasn't lying; there were radios and TVs in this non-modern world. The presence of posters wasn't a problem, and Akira did have posters of Hiruzen in his room. This wasn't really a problem for anyone except the jealous, envious, and talkative dad that Rasa could sometimes be when his children openly admired people from Konoha.

Suna has always been allied with Konoha. In addition to the fact that there could only be funny and very minor internal family and village controversies about a Suna youth being found with posters of a Konoha Kage in his room, Akira was known in his family to have two elemental affinities similar to Hiruzen.

Aside from his Sarutobi clan, which focused on fire and not always the earth element, Hiruzen was known to have used fire and earth the most, even with all of his other affinities.

Hiruzen, as doctor Ninjutsu mister and master, seemed to have always been the object of Akira's admiration.

The way the current meeting was going wasn't surprising to Yashamaru, however Yashamaru didn't know that he was misunderstanding the situation a bit. Akira definitely had a great level of admiration for the third Hokage. However, he was currently more scared to death than just in simple stuttering awe.

People in this world might think they know a lot about the details of Hiruzen Sarutobi and his legendary records, but Akira, who was from another world, actually knew more than anyone else…

Akira eventually calmed down, though, when he remembered that Hatake Sakumo was still alive, the Senju clan hadn't been slowly eradicated despite some of their talented members and successors dying in similar-looking circumstances, and Danzo didn't seem to have the same level of influence in this world, even though he was also well-known.

Swallowing his saliva, which had been stuck in a lump in his throat, Akira, who definitely didn't want to sound impolite, finally replied,

"I'm Akira, your excellency, yes. It's me. I'm very pleased to meet you."

He still had very little idea why Hiruzen could be here except for some nefarious plotting or scheming, but he decided to quickly act normal. It wouldn't benefit him to appear too intelligent, but appearing foolish was also not advantageous for him.

"Hummm. Nice to meet you, too, young man... "

Hiruzen nodded, carefully examining Akira's details and stance as if he were an expert or searching for something. He smiled and then turned to Yashamaru, his face now directed towards a slightly less nervous, but still anxious Shira.

He asked,

"The other one must be your student, Shira, then, Yashamaru?"

Yashamaru responded,

"Yes, Your Excellency, this is my best student, Shira, who excels in taijutsu."

"He is a taijutsu prodigy capable of facing average jonin and retreating with his life relatively unharmed. He can even hold off some and fight on equal ground with a low jonin of low talent."

Yashamaru finished explaining and placed his hand on Shira's head, saying,

"Come on, give him your respectful greeting, Shira."

Shira introduced himself and politely greeted,

"Pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency the third."

Just like Akira, Shira didn't dare to ask why the man was here and just anxiously looked, waiting. There was bound to be an explanation; he wouldn't be here randomly to meet with inconsequent small fry like them.

"Hummm." Hiruzen nodded once more, appearing just as gentle and intrigued as before. After a brief pause and exhaling smoke from his pipe, he said,

"Yashamaru, it seems like you didn't explain to them why I'm here, huh?"

Yashamaru politely smiled and rubbed his head as he replied,

"I didn't think it would be appropriate for me to say it if the plan was suddenly canceled and terminated, Your Excellency."

Hiruzen hummed and nodded, saying, "You did well thinking about it like this… Rasa, that kid really has a smart boy working for him, on his side."

Yashamaru smiled and accepted the praise, saying,

"Thank you, but you're being too generous with your praise."

As Akira listened to the small talk, he wondered why the old monster Hiruzen was present.

Suddenly, Hiruzen turned on his heels and finally gave the first hint, saying,

"Alright, follow me you kids. We need to discuss those chunin exams."

Chunin exams?

Akira was immediately confused upon hearing… His initial guess was connected to the classified information he had collected about lax and corrupt Daimyo officials from the land of water who accepted bribes.

He now realized that he appeared to have been mistaken.

He and the group followed Hiruzen to a small red hut hidden somewhere behind the town down the valley.

Akira expected to meet ANBU or something similar, even though Hiruzen was retired. However, there was no one besides Hiruzen and a member of his Sarutobi clan who was serving them hot drinks.

As Hiruzen started to explain why he was here, Akira suddenly realized that he was completely wrong about the nature of Hiruzen, even if it could just be a coincidence.

Hiruzen tasked them with protecting someone during the Chunin Exams, specifically a youth whom he had recently adopted.

That young person had an ice bloodline limit, and individuals from other Konoha forces didn't want to see the Sarutobi Clan adopting him.

The Sarutobi only managed to successfully adopt him because they were known for their fire affinities, and couldn't offer the optimal environment and teachers for his training and development.

That young person was Haku, and it seemed like Akira, Gaara, and Shira, who were outsiders, didn't have any involvement in village politics, so they were the most suitable individuals for this protective task that would be rewarded by the Sarutobi clan. They also had enough strength to ensure his safety against not only Konoha chunin participants.

News of the famous Water country Ice bloodline finally being acquired by Konoha, too, had already spread far and wide.

This would cause more than a few problems because the Sarutobi clan was seriously planning to adopt Haku and marry him to one of their own daughters from the clan in the future.

The member of the Sarutobi clan who was explaining all of this in place of their clan patriarch Hiruzen was still talking about the details of the mission that Rasa accepted under the conditions of a new alliance with Konoha when Akira smiled.

Haku was a boy, but he was alive and had been rescued by Zabuza from the Land of Waves in this world.

This could only mean one thing about Konoha's team 7, whose whereabouts and team composition Akira had never fully investigated in the previous months…

They were most likely the same and stronger. It was interesting because the current Jinchuriki of the nine tails of Konoha was most likely Mito if the rumors of her being alive were true.

After completing his duties as a retired elderly man taking care of his family and clan, Hiruzen departed after explaining the mission and the rewards his clan would provide, in addition to the renewed alliance he would attempt to persuade the current Hokage to agree to.

Even though Akira and Shira were not ordinary chunins, they were still insignificant to him.

Although they were interesting seedlings that he regretted not being a part of Konoha, they were small fry among small fries at their level of strength.

He wasn't stingy, though.

After receiving a polite and timely reminder from Yashamaru, Hiruzen taught Akira the shadow clones and Shira a taijutsu technique that could assist with his current problem.

He smiled and invited the two boys to meet him at the Sarutobi clan in Konoha once the exams began.

While he didn't worry about them making it to the finals of the competition, he wanted to see their progress after a month.

Yashamaru, his nephew, and Shira had returned to their inn room from town just minutes after the unexpected meeting that was a surprising task offered by a previous Kage.

The two teenagers were reminded that they didn't need to be concerned about the higher, more complex levels of politics involved, which were handled by Rasa, Yashamaru, and Hiruzen.

They just had to complete the protection task.

It was at that moment when Akira thought of something and asked before going to sleep,

"Wait. Is it me, Shira and Gaara, right? Sir, what about Temari and Kankuro? I thought I was supposed to be on a team with them."

Yashamaru shook his head and replied, while yawning and stretching,

"A lot of things have changed since the moment I sent the traveling hawk, and now…"

"These exams are much more complex in terms of politics and strength than we previously thought with your dad. Even Kumo and Iwa are participating. Temari and Kankuro will not be participating with you three this year."

"I will be taking care of all three of you, Gaara and Shira, while Baki remains in Suna."

Akira nodded in surprise and then said, "Good night, then."

"Goodnight, kids."

"Goodnight, Akira, sensei."

Both Yashamaru and Shira were also prepared to sleep. The night training had been postponed following the meeting with Hiruzen.

The day had been filled with emotions, information, and food. Tomorrow would be a new day, with a long journey back to the land of wind.