Hiruzen and Shikaku were waiting in their office. By now, they had already received the news about the results of the in Exam, and to say they were delighted would be an uatement. Well, at least Hiruzen was. Konoha didn’t just win; it won uniterally—all the top positions beloo Konoha. But Shikaku didn’t share that enthusiasm at all.

  Not only was Konoha showing off, but it had also demeaher vilges as well.

  “Kumogakure lost, Darui and Kaida fought, and Darui was hospitalized. And Itachi won against Deidara when he was flying in the air, and still won easily. How is this a good situation? Both Kumogakure and Iwagakure are now going to get active. The number of ninja we’ll o send to outposts is w—not to mention the ce of them targeting our ninja when they go on missions,” Shikaku ranted with a cigarette in his mouth. Normally, he wasn’t allowed to smoke in front of Hiruzen, but he was so worried that he fot his manners for a moment.

  And Hiruzen didn’t do anything about it either, partly because he was happy about the success of their pn, and also because he uood why Shikaku set.

  “Don’t worry, Shikaku. I know you’ll be able to ha easily,” Hiruzen said with a smile.

  ‘That’s what I’m worried about. I knew you’d increase my workload again,’ Shikaku thought. But he didn’t try to evade this work because, now with Danzo gohere weren’t many people smart enough to handle such situations alone.

  “But there’s something else I’m worried about. Iwa now has two flying ninja, which will increase their danger level,” Hiruzen said.

  “But it’s not necessarily a bad thing. With Ierformance, Kumogakure will be a little wary of them as well. The ces of them f an alliance will not be high in this case. Also, both of them are still not ready for war, so there isn’t anything major they could do anyway,” Shikaku replied.

  “But once war starts, that boy’s flying birds will be very lethal otlefield,” Hiruzen said.

  “Yes, Lord Third. And with his performance report, it’s only a matter of time before he’s cssified as an S-rank ninja. He might even lead Iwa after Onoki. If he participates in battle, we’ll have to deploy at least two S-rank ninja to ter him,” Shikaku said, analyzing the possibilities.

  “Yeah, uhe younger geion produces someone like Minato, then such threats will beeaningless,” Hiruzen thought. But Shikaku didn’t sense any longing in Hiruzen’s words; instead, there was anticipation, as though it was not a mere wish but a certainty. Before he could ask further—

  Knock, knock

  “e in,” Hiruzen said.

  “Sir, Jiraiya-sama and the others are here. They’re requesting to meet you,” Hiruzen’s secretary said.

  “Send them in,” Hiruzen replied, a natural smile repg his serious expression.

  The secretary nodded a. After ten minutes, Jiraiya and the three newly promoted iered the Hokage’s office.

  “Good evening, Lord Third,” all three of them greeted, followed by Jiraiya’s “Hello, Sensei.”

  “Good evening,” Hiruzen replied, nodding to Jiraiya.

  “Good job—no, great job, everyone. I have to say, you exceeded my expectations by a lot. Your performan the in Exam ectacur, and it had the desired effect. Konoha’s reputation, which had taken a hit, is now bound to improve as merts and spectators who saw the matches start to spread the news far and wide. It ossible because of you, so as promised, you may each request a jutsu from me,” Hiruzen said with a smile.

  “Lord Third, I don’t know much about the field I want to pursue at the moment, so I would like to ask for a jutsu after some time,” Kabuto said.

  “I’m perfectly fih that. Explore everything you , and when you’re sure what you want to learn, just e to me,” Hiruzen said with a grandfatherly smile.

  “Okay, Lord Third,” Kabuto replied.

  “What about you, Itachi?” Hiruzen asked.

  “I’ve already learned an S-rank jutsu, Lord Third, and I need some time to master it. So I would also like to wait before choosing,” Itachi said.

  “Okay, then we only have Kaida, who already has a jutsu in mind,” Hiruzen said, turning to Kaida. He remembered when they had taken Kaida’s aptitude test to see if he had any potential for space-time jutsu.

  ---

  (Fshback...)

  Kaida had just pleted his training for the day, and though he was exhausted, he felt anticipation. Hiruzen had asked him to e to his office after training to check if he could learn the Flying Raijin Jutsu or not. So after finishing up, he went to Jiraiya.

  “Sensei, I should head to the Hokage Building. Lord Third asked me to e to his office at 5. It’s already 4:30.”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” Jiraiya said.

  “You’re ing with me, too, Sensei?” Kaida asked.

  “Of course. I also want to know if you learn that jutsu,” Jiraiya replied.

  Kaida nodded, and both left for the Hokage’s office.

  …

  “Lord Third asked me to meet him today,” Kaida told the receptionist.

  “I know, sir. Lord Third is waiting for you in the basement,” the receptionist replied with a smile. Kaida nodded and followed Jiraiya.

  “Good evening, Lord Third,” Kaida greeted.

  “Hello, Sensei,” Jiraiya added.

  “Good evening to both of you. As punctual as ever. Just wait a minute, Kaida. The preparations will be done soon,” Hiruzen said.

  Kaida and Jiraiya waited. Kaida stood in the er, while Jiraiya watched the array Hiruzen was making with curiosity.

  After some time, the array was plete. When Hiruzen passed a little chakra into it, it glowed momentarily before settling.

  “Everything is ready. Just wait ten more minutes, and then we’ll start,” Hiruzen said, then Poof!

  ‘A shadow e? I didn’t even notice,’ Kaida thought.

  “Alright, let’s start the procedure,” Hiruzen said, reappearing instantly after his e disappeared.

  “Let’s begin. Jiraiya, go stand in that er and take Kaida with you in case something unusual happens,” Hiruzen instructed.

  “Unusual?” Kaida asked.

  “These are seals I learned from one of the most powerful Uzumaki when it es to fuinjutsu. I haven’t actually used them sihen, so although I’m sure nothing will g, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious,” Hiruzen expined. Kaida nodded.

  “Go and stand in the ter, Kaida, with your eyes closed. Let me know if you feel anything, and if you , point in that dire,” Hiruzen said.

  “Yes, Lord Third,” Kaida replied, doing as instructed.

  Once Kaida was in position, Hiruzen eled chakra into the array, causing the closest seal to Kaida to glow. Kaida sensed a shift in the airflow from that dire, though it wasly that—more like a simir sensation. As instructed, he pointed in that dire.

  Hiruzen and Jiraiya smiled as Hiruzen activated the seals one by one, and Kaida kept pointing them out—sometimes accurately, and as the distancreased, sometimes incorrectly.

  “Good job, Kaida. You open your eyes now,” Hiruzen said.

  “How did I do?” Kaida asked eagerly.