Chapter 53: Hiruzen Sarutobi Wants to Flex His Muscles
Time passed in a flash.
A month later, in the Raikage's office.
"The Chunin Exams?" the Fourth Raikage said, looking at the message from Konoha with a distinct lack of interest. "What is Konoha up to now?"
Caw!
The cry of a raptor echoed from the sky. Two hawks circled above the Hidden Cloud.
The Raikage's beautiful secretary, Mabui, leaped out the window and returned a moment later with two secret letters.
The Raikage took them and scanned their contents, his eyebrow rising. They were messages from Kumo's spies in Iwagakure and Sunagakure. Both villages had agreed to Konoha's proposal for a joint Chunin Exam.
"Just an ordinary Chunin Exam, and yet the Hidden Stone and Hidden Sand are surprisingly enthusiastic," Dodai remarked from the side. "We don't know Kirigakure's position, but with Konoha, Iwa, and Suna all in agreement, our opinion and the Mist's don't really matter anymore."
In recent years, while there had been constant friction and scheming between the Five Great Nations, there had been no major, overt conflicts. Even if both the Cloud and the Mist disagreed, it would only be a three-to-two vote.
"For Konoha to propose a joint exam at this time," Mabui said, "they likely want to use it as an opportunity to flex their muscles and restore their prestige as the number one village."
"I was thinking the same thing," Dodai said, nodding in agreement.
Konoha was still the number one village, but it had been greatly weakened in recent years. After the Third Great War, in which they were the victors, they had, shockingly, paid a huge sum in war reparations to the defeated Hidden Cloud. The Nine-Tails' attack had destroyed half the village and claimed the lives of the Fourth Hokage and his wife. Of the Sannin, Tsunade was wandering the world, Jiraiya was incommunicado, and the only one left to prop up their image, Orochimaru, had defected two years ago. And then there was the recent incident with Hyūga Hizashi.
All of these events had caused Konoha's image to plummet.
After two years of recovery, the Third Hokage was likely planning to use the Chunin Exams to sweep away all the negative press and put the village back on a path to prosperity.
Iwagakure and Konoha were mortal enemies. For them to agree so readily, they were probably just looking for a chance to gauge Konoha's true strength.
As for Sunagakure... The Land of Wind was barren and imported a large amount of food from the Land of Fire every year. When Konoha wanted to hold a joint Chunin Exam, they were in no position to refuse.
"Dodai," the Raikage said, lifting a dumbbell, "Konoha may not be what it used to be, but their foundation is still strong. Our genin are no match for theirs."
"Lord Raikage," Dodai said, shaking his head, "isn't Neji still a genin?"
The Raikage put down the dumbbell. "I have absolute confidence in that boy," he said, hesitating. "But Konoha is a den of dragons and tigers. If he goes there, will he be able to make it back alive?"
"We'll be sending him as an official participant," Dodai said with a dismissive laugh. "If Hiruzen Sarutobi dares to touch him, he wouldn't be Hiruzen Sarutobi."
The Raikage fell into a thoughtful silence. Dodai had a point. Hiruzen was old. He was no longer the "God of Shinobi" he had once been.
Smack.
The Raikage clapped his hands together. "Alright. We'll send Neji. Let's give Konoha a little shock."
Dodai's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint in them. "Lord Raikage, this Chunin Exam... is an opportunity."
"What do you mean, Dodai?"
The next morning, Neji received a message from the ANBU. He was to report to the Raikage's office.
When he arrived, three other people were already there. One was his captain, Yugito. After a half-month of recovery, her leg had fully healed. The other two were a man and a woman, both with dark skin. The man, who had short, white hair and a long sword strapped to his back, looked familiar. It was the civilian genius, Darui. In the original story, he would become the Fifth Raikage. He possessed the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai and had mastered the Third Raikage's secret technique, Black Lightning. The other, a young red-haired girl who looked as if she had just graduated from the academy, was someone Neji didn't recognize.
"Lord Raikage," Neji said, bowing respectfully.
"Neji," the Raikage said with a hearty laugh, "Konoha has proposed a joint Chunin Exam between the Five Great Nations. Dodai and I have decided. Yugito will be the team leader, and the three of you will represent the Hidden Cloud."
"A joint exam between the Five Great Nations?" Neji's eyes narrowed.
"Yes. Suna and Iwa are both very enthusiastic. We don't know about Kiri. And some of the smaller nations will be participating as well."
"I see." Neji nodded, but a thought nagged at him. Even though it's a joint exam, it's still just the Chunin Exams. Why send Yugito? And Darui... he was promoted to Jōnin six months ago and is now in the Raikage's Guard. This is about more than just the exams.
Thinking of the Hidden Cloud's usual methods, Neji understood. The Chunin Exams were just a cover. They had another mission. He just didn't know what it was yet.
"Darui, Karui," Dodai said, "you must show the other nations the power of the Hidden Cloud in these exams."
"Yes, sir!" they said in unison.
"Alright, you may go and prepare. You will be leaving with Yugito this afternoon."
After the two of them had left, the Raikage clapped Neji on the shoulder, a friendly smile on his face.
"Neji, do you know why I had you and Yugito stay behind?"
Looking at the Raikage's deceptively simple-looking expression, Neji had to suppress a laugh. He put on a look of confusion. "Please enlighten me, Lord Raikage."
The Raikage downed a glass of ice water. "The Chunin Exams are just a big performance put on by Konoha. The village doesn't really care about them."
"Your team has three missions to complete during the exams."
"Three missions?!" Yugito exclaimed.
"That's right, three," Dodai confirmed. "The first is to make contact with our mole in Konoha."
"A mole?" Neji asked.
The Raikage nodded. "Neji, do you remember how you came to the Hidden Cloud two years ago?"
At the mention of the Kumo delegation, Neji understood. So that was how Toroi had managed to sneak into the Hyūga compound and kidnap Hinata. It had been with the help of a mole. The whole incident had been strange from the beginning. The Hyūga were a clan of dōjutsu users, with the ability to see through walls and over long distances. Without an inside man providing intelligence, not even ten Torois could have infiltrated the compound undetected.