Chapter 59

— Why sweat the small stuff — I bet they'll definitely have to repair the wall!

— The floor will get smashed no matter what — take it!

The commander glanced at his suddenly animated subordinates, who had begun guessing various degrees of damage to the Raikage's tower, and wisely chose to remain silent. Given the destructive tendencies of the ruling clan and their similarly unruly successors who became leaders of the hidden village, this kind of amusement had turned into a sort of national sport among the chakra users of Kumogakure no Sato.

Instead of worrying about a potential failure with the higher-ups, the kunoichi and shinobi of all ranks and strengths eagerly started betting on the extent of the destruction the Raikage would wreak upon learning of his subordinates' latest blunders.

— Hey-kun, are you placing a bet? — called out the jōnin to the boy hiding his face in his hands.

— I bet the top floor of the tower will have to be rebuilt, — he replied resignedly, lowering his hands.

While such bets were a source of entertainment for the rest of the village, members of the ruling clan (excluding the Kage, of course) silently endured and did everything in their power to keep knowledge of this little amusement from reaching the Raikage. Attempting to forbid it would be pointless — it would require reprimanding almost every available force in the village.

— So, the bank is collected, and the one who predicted the damage most accurately wins the pot, — the kunoichi concluded. — Taichō is appointed as the judge, being the most unbiased party in the bets.

— If you're finished, let's continue, — Harudo shook his head but made no objection to the suggestion. — We'll see the potential of the genin in the exam, but we should keep an eye on Nara — having a second-degree iryō-nin at fifteen is already a very serious claim.

— Not to mention his ability to block Ai-kun's attacks, even if not at full strength, — the one-eyed veteran grunted. — If nothing is done, in a decade Konoha might have a second Tsunade, only with balls.

The jōnin nodded in agreement. Facing a high-level iryō-nin capable of almost instant self-healing and with immense combat potential is a real nightmare for almost anyone, and anyone who has fought a Senju can attest to that. If the opponent also has Uzumaki chakra reserves, it's better to order a grave in advance. It's better to address such a problem before it becomes a serious threat than to deal with the consequences later.

— So, for now, we just observe, assess capabilities, and look for weaknesses, and what to do with that information next — let the Raikage-sama decide, — concluded the commander. — I won't keep you any longer — you can go and rest.

  ***

— What are you doing?

— Huh? — I looked up from the scroll.

— I'm asking what you're doing? — Uchiha repeated, curiously examining the almost drawn seal on the half-meter scroll.

— Something that could increase my clanmate's chances of surviving the upcoming trials, — I replied, returning to the slow and careful drawing on the paper.

— Hmm, it looks a lot like a supply scroll, — Shinji rubbed his chin. — But how will it help right now?

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