Chapter 42

  The Hokage's reception room. 

As soon as the door opened. We tensed up amicably. A man in a black kimono, with pale skin and long, straight black hair, walked smoothly and evenly through. He stopped at the exit to the stairs, turned his head so that we could see his profile. 

- Kato Dan-san, it was nice to see you..." A yellow eye with an elongated pupil examined Dana-sensei, then turned to Senju Anzu, then looked at Uchiha Torio. I was ignored by Orochimaru again, and now it was a little frightening. 

"He knows!" - was my first thought, but I quickly silenced it, not without the help of successful Concentration. 

- ... and your charges. I'll be looking forward to your new accomplishments," he left the room without waiting for a reply from Sensei.

- Eh. It's always difficult with him," the captain rubbed his temples.

Anzu whistled:

- Biju! He's so scary... - and then slightly audibly - ...and cool.

- Goosebumps," Torio said. He moved his hand away from the hilt of his sword. 

- Come in, the Hokage is waiting for you. 

  Hokage Cabinet. Sarutobi Hiruzen, Kato Dan, Uchiha Torio, Senju Anzu, and Kumagai Aki. 

Hiruzen was smoking his pipe and thinking. Five people slowly entered the office, soon one came out at his request.

*♪ Pfft-pfft ♪

- Dan-san, hello," Hiruzen smiled welcomingly at his student's husband.

- Hokage-sama," Kato Dan bowed to the head of the village.

- I take it these are the younger generation of Konoha heroes? Well done! They accomplished a difficult mission without casualties, surprising the old man. Not every team of chunin can do something like that, and some of the Jonin couldn't have done it," the Hokage said cheerfully.

- Hokage-sama," the genin immediately responded. They bowed more deeply than their captain. 

A boy with bronze skin and eyes, his hair a little darker but the same bronze color, spoke up. He was wearing a hoodie (shinobi style) with a black tiger on the chest. 

- Sensei did most of the work. We just got in the way. I do not dispute the decision of the authorities, the people in charge of ranking know better, but I see the reward as the village's investment in me. I believe that I am obliged to work even harder to justify the trust of the people who believed in me and my friends," the genin informed the village head in a steady voice without a shadow of embarrassment.

  Senju cast a brief glance at Kumagai and nodded cautiously. The Uchiha, on the other hand, simply nodded, as soon as he realized what his comrade had said. 

- It's good that you're not proud, but thinking straight," the Hokage said, leaning back in his chair.

His mind was working at full speed as always. Eyes looked and saw. His ears listened and understood. 

Three genii, three destinies. 

Uchiha is the weakest link of the team. His low amount of chakra (for an Uchiha), average control, and the peculiarities of his upbringing (what can a swordswoman teach?) have buried his potential as a nin, and if he had been trained by a real Uchiha, he could have been a versatile shinobi, but what doesn't happen doesn't change. Uchiha Torio is good at Kenjutsu, and even though he has a chance, with the help of Kato Dan, to become a sword master, which is a solid B-ranked Jonin, maybe in time he can expand his HCC and "melt" his chakra to reach A-ranked Jonin. 

The other two are the other two. 

Kumagai Aki. A failed experiment? Well, the boy might not be able to pass on his genes to his offspring, but he had potential... Hiruzen had seen many geniuses and could say with certainty that Aki was one of them. 

"You should be able to adapt Orochimaru's failed jutsu! Even I couldn't improve those kites any faster!" - Hiruzen marveled at Aki's talent in ninjutsu. And after all, Aki's mother was good at nin too!

Once again, Hiruzen regretted the loss. A useless genome that might not even show itself yet... Konoha would be better off with a family of strong shinobi. Who knows, maybe with the right approach Kumagai would even be able to get some specialty in his genome....

"Another reminder to you, Hiruzen. Interfering with a fetus developing in the mother's womb must be forbidden!" 

*♪ Pfft-pfft ♪

Reflections raced through the Hokage's mind at an incredible speed. 

Parallel to his musings, the Hokage spoke and praised. Ranting and admonishing. Leading up to the topic of discussion.

Meanwhile, reflections touched on the last representative of team No. 12.

Senju Anzu. A smile almost came to the Hokage's lips. 

It was a good thing Tsunade-chan hadn't listened to her elders, but had insisted on doing her own thing. Hiruzen saw the Honey Kunoichi Institute as a subdivision of the ANBU, where only girls and boys who couldn't rise above genin were accepted, but not clan and hereditary ninjas who ruined their potential with a profession that a weak-blooded ninja could do without problems.

Of course, Hiruzen thought it wouldn't hurt to teach Anzu the techniques of the Honey Senju, her mother's family. It would be useful in life, but dedicating one's life to something like that? Especially given Anzu-chan's potential? 

"How lucky her husband will be!" - thought the old pervert dreamily. It was unacceptable that such a talent should be used by anyone, Anzu should please the one and only one, the one she chose, not the one the customers pointed to. 

-...It's pathetic to see the way a ninja betrays his village," Hiruzen monologued in parallel to the reasoning:

- And you were right to eliminate the threat to the village. The Hyuga clan has a very specific tradition. They're proud and don't like to air their problems in public. However, that doesn't mean Konoha won't try to help its children, even if they don't want to!

"Hyuga Hiami has been walking on the edge for a long time now. I've been telling him not to be so fiercely traditional. Not only has he created slavery in MY Konoha, but he dares to torture MY ninja," Hiruzen thought to himself once again.

Right now, he had four plans in the works to reduce the tension within the Hyuga. Hiruzen was still leading the Gemini plan, and if the calculation proved true and the twin brothers Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi stopped practicing "punishment," "first night," and "hiding secrets," then extreme measures would not be necessary. Hiruzen didn't like extreme measures, but he could sacrifice the lesser to save the greater. 

- Destroying the Nukenin is a dangerous and thankless job. There will always be someone who cared about the traitor. But we cannot allow those who have betrayed their oaths, who have denied all the good that Konoha has done for them and their families, who have done wrong with impunity, who have defamed the sheet protector, even if it is crossed out. However, in addition to the traitors, there are those who are forced to leave due to circumstances... Don't worry, the one you defeated is not one of them," Hiruzen frowned. 

- Besides verbal thanks, a decent reward, I have something else for you," after saying that, Hiruzen took out three books from the table, each with the following hieroglyphics inscribed on it: The Bingo Book. Publisher for ANBU. Konohagakure no sato.

- Every month you can exchange the Book for a new edition. I have decreed it. Accept this reward also as a request to destroy those who betrayed my trust and the trust of all of Konoha everywhere and always. 

The boys, bowing, accepted the gift.

- You've shown yourselves well. You've done well," he said, puffing on his pipe and smiling affably at the most important ninja in the area. 

*Pf-Pfu*.