Chapter 64
Miles away from Sunagakure, where the next generation of shinobi struggled and fought to attain the rank of Chunin, Jiraiya, the Sanin, found himself standing outside a cave, rubbing his chin as he examined the massive sealing formula that was trying to keep him out.
"This will take some time..."
.
.
.
TERUMI MEI
The war between Kiri and Konoha had nearly brought her village to its knees. The stupidity of the Third Mizukage had left their village reeling, and even now, she wondered what the man had been thinking when he sent their best forces to attack Konoha.
The entire thing was highly suspect, yet the tragedy was that it was done now. And Kiri had paid a great price for it. Kirigakure had always been smaller than the rest of the Hidden villages, boasting a smaller but more ferocious and elite force of shinobi. The truth was that all alone against any of the three big villages, Kiri did not stand a chance.
Konoha had been ruthless in their strategy, and their forces had set their eyes on the man who had ordered the strike in their land. And so their forces had pushed and pushed, until they had forced the Mizukage-sama to step out of the village.
Until then, Konoha, uncharacteristically, had refused all offers of peace, and it was only after the death of the Mizukage-sama that negotiations began, and a year later, peace was made.
Yet the damage was done, and Kirigakure had been reduced to a hollow state, their pride vanquished, their elites dead, and their heritage destroyed. The village was in tatters and was being eyed by the smaller nations around them, who saw their weakness as an opportunity.
Kiri was in need of allies, and though they had traditionally allied themselves with Iwagakure, their daimyo did not think the Village Hidden in the Stone to be a reliable ally.
In his mind, the most reliable ally that Kiri could have at the current time was Konoha. And loathed as she was to admit it, the old man was right. The thought of making an alliance with Konoha seemed unsavory at first because of the war, but war was common, and over the years, Konoha had clearly eclipsed Kumo and Iwa in might.
While the three villages may have been equal at one time, it was clear that Konoha, with its slew of S-ranked shinobi, was way ahead of Iwa and Kumo, and made for a far more trustworthy ally than Iwa and Kumo.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but as the future Mizukage of the village, she knew that this was the best direction for Kiri. It was why, despite a severely depleted force because of both the war and the abhorrent graduation policies of the Third Mizukage, she had chosen to bring a team to the Chunin Exams, hoping to establish contact with Konoha retinue, which was led by none other than the Seven Headed Demon.
And she glanced to the side and saw him standing there as all of the sensei's waited for their teams to appear. And to this day his age continued to surprise her. He was younger than her, and yet he had been a certified S-rank nin for more than half a decade.
He was perhaps the poster child for the new age of Konoha. Many in Kiri thought her to be his equal, given that they had battled for more than a dozen times during the war, and she was amongst the only shinobi who had managed to survive fighting so many times against him, but they were wrong.
They were very wrong.
She was not his equal, not yet at least. He was clearly stronger than her and could have killed her during any of their encounters, yet he held back, and it would take her years to understand the reason behind his actions.
Peace.
For all their hatred and rage, Konoha understood that an unstable Kiri would only cause more wars. With the Third Mizukage dead, Kiri needed a new figurehead who could consolidate power and lead the village out of its precarious situation.
And somehow, Terumi Mei had been chosen for this task. It hurt her pride as a Kiri shinobi to see her village dependent on the mercy of a foreign nation, but she would swallow her pride and do whatever was necessary to protect her village.
So, she would play her role and play it well. She would become the Mizukage and unite Kirigakure once more, and bring back their prized treasures.
She pushed herself off the wall and walked towards him, not missing how half the eyes in the Hall were trained on her for various reasons. Some eyed her for her figure, others, including Pakura of the Scorch Style, seemed cautious about a fight.
But there was nothing to gain by fighting him. They had done enough of that over the years.
"Izuna-kun," she greeted as the young man turned towards her.
"Terumi," he greeted as she put her elbow on the railing and asked away.
"So, have you given any thought to my offer?" she asked, and saw him look into her eyes.
"Sure, I will take the wager," he agreed and she smiled.
"Good, now we just have to wait for your team to show up," she whispered and he scoffed.
"Don't worry about my team," he suddenly said as the doors opened, and three people walked into the arena down below.
"They are already here...."
0000
ITACHI UCHIHA
Their team was the first to clear the exam. It had taken Anko-san's body one hour to develop anti-toxins against the three poisons and with that they were led into an arena as they waited for the other teams.
The building had comfortable rooms for them, along with a well stocked dining Hall having all kinds of foods and dishes. Anko and Saino-san had vanished into the Dining Hall as soon as they had arrived, while Itachi chose to rest and report to their sensei and his brother.
For the chunin exams, the first two exams may vary from village to village and year to year, but the third exam usually remained consistent.
And so, they waited and waited, and twelve hours later, the total number of teams that had passed the exam was no more than six.
Two teams from Konoha, including their own and Choza-sama's teams. One from Kiri. One from Iwa, and two teams from Suna. And so the initial hundred candidates for the exam had been cut into a mere eighteen, out of which perhaps nine or even fewer would be promoted to chunin.
They were gathered in the Hall, as the Kazekage-sama appeared on the stage, flanked on the sides by the famous Gokyudo.
"Congratulations to each and everyone of you who has survived the first two trials," began the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa of the Golden Sand.
"Through the first two exams, you have shown your mettle, but the true test of a shinobi is battle, and that shall be your third and final exam," and he had guessed as much.
"The exam will take place in a week's time. Each of you will be paired against a random opponent before the final tournament, and the winner shall have the opportunity to advance to the chunin rank," and that seemed fairly simple.
"But before that, there is one more matter that I must address," and this time, he saw those eyes land on him.
"Itachi Uchiha, step forward." Each and every eye in the room turned towards him as Itachi stepped forward towards the stage.
"As the victor during the first stage of the exam, you shall be granted a special reward. Unlike others whose opponent shall be chosen randomly, you will have an opportunity to choose your own opponent for the final exam...."
.
.
.
"You want us to do what?" questioned Anko-san as they all stood in front of their sensei.
"I want you all to go and enjoy yourselves," she repeated, much to their surprise, as all three of them exchanged glances, perplexed that perhaps their sensei had been exchanged.
"Are you really Konan-sensei?" questioned Saiko-san, as Anko nodded.
"You did not even allow us to relax during the journey," complained Anko, as their sensei raised a brow.
"So, do you want the day off or not?" she questioned, and all of them quickly nodded.
"Of course," they answered in unison.
And so, they were off to explore Sunagakure, and were soon hauled to a restaurant by Anko-san. They sat there, exploring the foreign cuisine, when suddenly they were interrupted by three unexpected guests.
"Excuse me," the intruders cut in as the three of them all looked to the side, and saw a boy their age, looking down at them as he gave them a wild smile. He had light blue hair, and his teeth were razor-sharp, and the headband around his neck told him that he was a Kiri shinobi.
And he was not alone behind him were his two teammates, one of whom had white hair and was looking straight at him, while the other one seemed to be looking at all this rather nervously.
"I was hoping that we could all step out for a moment," began the sharp-toothed Hozuki boy.
"There is something we wish to discuss with you, Konoha lot," he demanded, and it was Anko-san who replied.
"And who the hell are you to demand that!" she challenged, as the boy smirked.
"Me! I am the person who is going to revive the legacy of Kiri's Seven Ninja Swordsmen," he challenged, not backing down, and those teeth and that giant blade at his back told him exactly who he was.
A Hozuki kenjutsu user. He was probably related to the shinobi who had been the previous leader of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, a Hozuki clan member who could use all the blades. His brother had mentioned that his own mastery over the blades came from copying him.
"Go away, we do not have the time to waste on you lot," Saiko-san cut in as the boy frowned, and made to pull out his blade.
"I am afraid you will..." but he was stopped as the white-haired boy stopped his teammate as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I apologise on my friend's behalf," he began, perfectly polite, as he gave a small bow.
"But would you please mind stepping out of the restaurant for a few seconds?" he asked, looking straight at him as he spoke.
"There is something I must say to you, brother of the Seven-Headed Demon," and he was right. He was talking to him.
"And why should we let him go?" asked Anko, and his next words made it so that it was she who pushed him out of the table, as the white haired shinobi offered to pay for their meal.
He was a bit surprised that Anko-san had sold him out just for dango, but he would have come regardless of their offer.
"So, what do you want to say to me?" Itachi asked as they stood in the back alley, and he could sense a few Suna shinobi observing their interaction
"My name is Kimimaro and I apologise for the behavior of my teammate," he began, as he looked him in the eye.
"I wanted to talk to you because I wish for you to choose me as your opponent for the final exam...."
0000
Back in Konoha, Minato stood on the side of the room as he watched the Iryo-nin prepare Rin for her procedure. A whole floor of the Uzumaki tower had been modified for the procedure.
"Are you sure that this will work?" he asked, and the Senju Princess sighed.
"I don't know, but all I can say is that this is the best chance that she has," and that was enough for him.
"But should you still be here?" she suddenly questioned making him frown.
"What do you mean?"
"The Chunin exams. I heard that two of our teams made it to the last round. It is custom that a Kage usually attends the ceremony as a guest if the teams from their village make it through," and indeed it was tradition, and given that there were only a few days left in the Final Stage, he should have left by now.
That was if he was a regular shinobi.
"There is no need to worry about that," he replied.
"I gave Izuna-kun one of my kunais before he left. I can simply teleport a few miles away from Suna and then reach the village in a few hours," and he could teleport inside the village, but that would be grossly impolite.
And Lady Tsunade shook her head in disbelief.
"I should have guessed that," and he did not wish to leave his student like this, not when she had no one besides him as family.
"Moreover, in case of an emergency, Izuna-kun has more than enough infamy and popularity to replace me in that booth," she said, nodding.
"That he does..."
0000
Read ahead and support me on Patre 0n. Help me write this and other such stories by becoming a Patr 0n. It would be pretty awesome of you and would mean a lot to me.
www.Patre 0n.com/Drkest
Have a nice day!