Red Riot - Chapter 37 - Red honour

Matsu Uzumaki:- person of high interest to other Shinobi Villages. Recently promoted Jonin. Medical/Taijutsu/Ninjutsu/Sensory speciality (Not that other villages know about two of these!) MC of the story!

Gengetsu Hozuki:- The second Mizukage and trickster Lord of Kirigakure. Master of Illusions and torment 

Himeko - Kaguya clanswoman with her Kekkei Genkai, a Genin and renowned violence enthusiast.

Sharkbait - real name Kenta Nogawa, a Genin that trained with Matsu, skilled combatant, expert bait for sharks.

Idate Hozuki - student of Matsu. Hozuki clansman. Genin. 

Kuroiwa Karatachi - student of Matsu. Karatachi clanswoman. Genin. Capitalist!

Midori Terumi - student of Matsu. Terumi clanswoman. Genin. Straightforward thinking lass with good intentions for most people!

Han:- orphan student of Matsu that is raised by his uncle. Civilian-born shinobi. Genin

Padme Dendenrashi:- Priestess who has a fetish for violence, specifically watching others fight. Her daddy’s rich, sadly and indulges her whims/budget. Was present for Matsu’s fight against Shibito

Ameyuri Ringo (the eighteenth) - the current wielder of the Kiba Blades. Short and aggressive! Family has a tradition of females retaining the same name to further their standing. Jonin of Kirigakure. Family has a certain naming tradition.  

Koremei Tendo - the current wielder of Shibuki. Weapons mistress with a grounding in many styles. Preferred fighting style, Kenjutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and Taijutsu. She's a unit! Big girl! Almost died due to standard Kiri betrayal. Rolled a Nat 20 with her surviving throw, one could say, as Matsu witnessed the act. 

Koda:- Jonin of Kirigakure and a Squad Leader. Bit stiff but looks after his own. 

Uzuo:- Trap specialist Tokubetsu Jonin of Kirigakure.

Minato Namikaze:- Genin of Konoha, applicant at the Hot Springs Chunin Exams.

Mina Uchiha - Genin hopeful that has a secret second job. 

Jiraiya:- the Toad Sannin. Known as a super pervert. Jonin of Konoha. Sensei to Minato and two others. 

Tsume Inuzuka:- Genin of Konoha, applicant at the Hot Springs Chunin Exams.

Shibito: - Iwa shinobi that is involved in hunting groups of Kiri patrols. Encountered Matsu. Currently TK Jonin ranked. (Canonically supposed to die to Minato)

[hr][/hr] 

The Village of Steam had set themselves up as a neutral entity for the sake of restarting the chunin exams. 

They had mostly done this at the behest of Konoha but they were obviously hoping to earn huge profits with gambling and lodging expenses to make up for it.

Their greed presented itself in many forms, but for me, it was only a boon. 

I’d exploited it already by dipping into their coffers with gambling, empowering my allies while also inserting more and more plants and spies throughout their Village. 

Now it was time to use their greed for Midori’s sake. 

Instead of hosting matches back to back, or spread throughout the day, the Leader of Steam had promoted the idea of hosting the semifinals after lunch and then again around dinner. That ostensibly gave the Chunin hopefuls time to prepare for the final match.

But more importantly, the nobles and various groups might not be eager to depart late at night.

At some point, greed gave way to stupidity. 

They couldn’t be blind to the tension building since the other shinobi villages arrived.

There had been notable upticks in violence and injuries since then, and that wasn’t even taking the exams into account. There had been more than a few people that wandered further than they should have, only to be quietly dragged away by another shinobi. 

It was all in the shadows though, where most people didn’t see it happen.   

The Chunin exams didn’t always have that buffer, however. It was raw and in people’s faces.

When the Kamizuru clansman had been torn apart it had been gorey and more than a few nobles had suddenly understood that shinobi wore polite masks around them.

They’d eventually settled down, passing it off as nothing more than Iwa losing on of their only hopes of promotion.

If I could, I wouldn’t have cared about Iwa’s misfortune, but it hadn’t escaped my notice that Gengetsu had been particularly smug when I’d returned with Padme yesterday.

Mu had been still. 

Far too still.

It reminded me of an eel waiting to strike. 

I had to stay aware of Mu and Gengetsu, and watching Konoha kill one of the Iwa nin might have undone everything. 

Thankfully, the Village of Steam wasn’t on fire or being laid to waste.

Yet.

Instead, we were all going about our business, in this case, that meant various people were preparing for lunch. It was a meal I hoped to use to my advantage.

I’d had all the civilian born nin that had come to Steam out and about for weeks now. 

Some of them lingered on street corners, others flirted with maids, or ingratiated themselves with the locals, and some trailed potential targets of interest. 

Over the last few weeks, I had been able to head out occasionally and gather certain titbits of information myself. With that and the earlier spies and plants that Akiko and I had established, I had a plethora of information.

The trick was filtering through it, which took tim,e but with enough intel, you could start to establish patterns. 

Like how Minato had taken various Konoha shinobi with him to different restaurants each day, they hadn’t done all that much of interest initially, and with it happening in front of you, it would have been passed over.

A simple gathering of friends. Nothing all that peculiar. 

But then he did it over and over. 

Different restaurants and slightly different groups with overlapping shinobi drawn from a pool of candidates.

It was never those older than him by more than four to five years and never with Jiraiya there. It was all Minato, holding court. 

And that seemed to be what he was doing. He’d talk with the group and in rare situations, introduce two people who seemingly had never met before despite being from the same Village. 

He’d cover a range of vague interests himself, but he’d ask enough leading questions to draw his group in. This would help them bond with each other and enjoy each other’s company. 

And Minato would sit there in the middle having facilitated it. 

He never displayed this around any shinobi though. 

Whenever another Village’s shinobi came within sight, he and the others would switch topics. 

It was only thanks to the civilian plants that we were able to gather information about what he was doing.

He kept it very low-key and safe. He obviously knew that you didn’t talk about such iidentifying traits in front of other shinobi. They’d use it.

Thankfully, I had other options, like civilians who had been paid to listen to anything foreigners said around them. Some people feeding us information thought they were giving Steam Shinobi intel that could be used in the future. 

They listened dutifully and fed the information along hours after closing, all the while thinking they were contributing to their own Village’s safety and security.

These were the sort of people that passed unnoticed by many, including shinobi.

It was thanks to them that I was able to drip-feed Minato information about various delicacies around the Village. These were small idle conversations that just happened to occur within earshot of Minato.

Talking about the sauces used in one place while a different man lauded the barbecue of another establishment, fish dishes or specialised steam buns all set up to waft past Minato and his group. 

Initially, it became a bit of a game to do it with more and more degrees of separation. 

I had found that in the Village of Steam it was rather easy to get people to do as you wished. Small suggestions or a fortunate note. They were all so… relaxed, and susceptible. 

Not at all like Kiri civilians who harboured caution in their hearts. 

To get them to buy a meal and have them take it with them? Child’s play. Letting them ‘sample the sights and smells often worked better.

Tsume Inuzuka being part of the group certainly helped. 

Minato would lead a small cadre of shinobi to those establishments for any meal times. With that setup, I began to prime certain locations with informants, never the same faces, though. 

Minato would walk in and be directed to bench seats in front of the servers or to tables that happened to project conversation. 

Slowly, I learnt things about Minato and his friends.

Oddly, their conversations often had me curling my lip in disgust. So many of them appeared to have numerous interests. They would talk of shopping for dresses or bags or even small ornaments. They spoke of hobbies like tea ceremonies, calligraphy, or fine dining. 

They had a spread of hobbies that made me green with envy. 

These were not shinobi who had to fight for their place within the Village. These were pampered shinobi with time to spare. 

To be certain of the intel I had procured, I tapped some of the cryptologists and intel specialists we’d brought to Steam the night before I set the plan in motion.

At first, they turned up their nose at the intel.

Then I told them what I wanted to do with it.

They rather liked the idea of poisoning a Chunin hopeful, especially one quickly becoming the favourite to win the final exam. 

The specialists put me to shame with their inferences and intel teased from idle comments. 

I knew that Minato was angling for the role of Hokage, but the specialists, without my knowledge, quickly began to flag Minato as a Leader candidate. 

“Look here, how he’s leading conversations and establishing groups. He’s setting himself up as a little nobleman with a court. Must be angling for a high position, something that requires multiple Clans backing him up,” one man said as his eyes skimmed over report after report. 

“Hmmm ANBU Commander?” suggested a woman as she arranged sheets before herself, trying to form a pattern from the various seating arrangements. 

“Could also be the Jonin commander, or…” the woman shook her head. “It would depend on Jiraiya gaining the hat first,” she muttered. 

I blinked. “What’s that?” I asked. 

The woman glanced up at me, her eyes blinking rapidly. She seemed puzzled by my being there with them, despite my delivering the intel. 

“Oh, it’s just that there has always been a direct link from Hokage to Hokage in the past. Shodaime was Hashirama Senju followed by his brother, then we got his student. Most likely, the course of the hat from there is either another Sarutobi or one of his students. Most people are tracking Orochimaru but Tsunade is also another strong candidate due to her lineage and her sensei,” replied the woman. 

“But if Jiraiya were to take the hat, people would start considering Minato, no?” I prompted. 

The woman nodded her head quickly. “Indeed!” 

The man snorted. “You’re extrapolating from too little data. It could go to another entirely. Also, I don’t buy the whole inheritance story that Hiruzen and his friends cooked up for the Daimyo and the rest of the Village. They were supposed to be his guards, and yet they survived, and he died? Yeah, don’t buy into it!”

The woman sighed. “I’m working off the data I have, and it fits with idiotic sacrificial tendencies that Konoha shinobi are known to exhibit. They get weird like that!” 

I hummed in thought. I hadn’t ever heard people talking about it in that regard but I suppose having the students who were supposed to be Tobirama’s guards suddenly return with their sensei dead and one of their own announced as the successor. 

It did paint a very odd picture. How did the Senju react to the story? How did the Daimyo react?

I shook it off before coughing. “So, my plan?”  I suggested to get things back on track.

The pair of intel specialists glanced up at me. “Hmmm? Oh! The plan to poison the kid.”

“The kid from Konoha!” agreed the other. 

I resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. 

Intel specialists were a bit… different from the usual shinobi. I suspected it was because they were too stuck in their heads. Considering their ages, they had to have survived the graduation process on merit somehow, or else they were people who got through thanks to connections. 

I nodded. “Yes, that plan.”

“Eh, it should work,” replied the woman as she returned to shifting pages around. 

I sighed and glanced around. “Can I get those sheets back?” I asked. 

Both of them glared at me, and I think the kunoichi was halfway ready to fight to the death then and there over the idea that I’d take away her pages.

I decided to let them keep the pages of intel.

I had an idea of how they survived graduation. 

Someone had thrown a book into the ring and told them the others wouldn’t let them read it, and then nature had taken its course. 

I set to work, knowing I’d need to be lucky for the timings to work out properly. 

The first step was the handoff of the poison I’d secured. 

I’d spent half an hour with the poison specialist explaining that no, I did not want the boy dead, merely hampered. 

They’d stared at me like a normal person would if you told them you killed their pet. The only difference was I suspected this shinobi wouldn’t have minded as long as you did it with poison. 

I wasn’t sure if they kept records on previous graduations, but I suddenly wondered if reading such reports would be a good idea. How many monsters were walking around Kiri?

Probably more than I liked to admit, I thought, as I inspected the poison meant for a boy that was standing in my way. 

I handed the poison off at a dead drop with instructions on what to do with it. 

From there, it traded hands until it reached a very specific restaurant, where a server spread the liquid into a particularly pungent dish. 

I sat back as other tendrils came to work, nudging Minato and his fellows into action with happenstance and subtle hints. Never anything overt and it would take the same person time to backtrack that there even had been anything more at play than people going about their lives.

When Minato arrived at the restaurant, the dish was already prepared for him. 

I couldn’t get too close to the restaurant lest I be linked to it more than I likely would be. 

I couldn’t see if it all went to plan. 

I could see that none of the other genin and chunin Minato brought with him were getting agitated. That had to mean something right?

Surely they’d be more reactive if something had been picked up. 

I leaned back in my chair and exhaled slowly. It was frustrating not being able to trick him into drinking it myself. 

Part of me wished I had more time for this plot. Thanks to earlier work, I had a lot of support in place, but this still felt entirely too slapdash for my sensibilities.

I wouldn’t be confident in how it would turn out until Minato worked his chakra coils, which most likely wouldn’t be until the match with Mina Uchiha. 

Interestingly enough, he wouldn’t be as hampered as I might have assumed for that match, as he’d invited her along to dine with him before their match.

I wasn’t sure of the politics at play, but I suspected it said more about Minato’s charisma than anything else. 

Those intel analysts didn’t understand how close they’d come with their predictions. I kept their names and faces in mind for the future. 

With the poison hopefully delivered, I slunk away to talk with Midori. For all the good it would do to poison Minato, Midori still had to beat an Aburame. We had a plan in place, but that didn’t mean I could neglect her final preparation.

I returned to our home base and spent the last hour before the fights with Midori. 

We didn’t talk about the coming match, but I did have her lie down so I could continue working on her chakra coils. It wouldn’t produce any noticeable benefits for the fight, but she found it relaxing. 

When it was time for the fights, I once more took up my position in the above railings, watching as the exam proctor announced the first match.

Interestingly, there had been a change in the format. 

Midori was going first. 

I glanced towards where Minato and Mina Uchiha were. 

Both were looking sickly, and they were being fussed over by their sensei. I frowned. They shouldn’t have any signs like that. Was this sabotage from my poisoner? Or was this Konoha’s treatment method to expel the poison from their systems? 

This wasn’t how things were supposed to have played out. 

They weren’t supposed to have discovered the poison until too late. 

Then again, no plan survived contact with the enemy. 

Konoha was flexing its control of the matches, which was the only reason I could think that Midori would fight first. 

The trick would be if they could heal or flush it before then. 

Thankfully, nothing I’d seen or heard indicated that Tsunade was here. If she had been I wouldn’t have attempted this plan.

I watched as Minato and Mina were fed charcoal and the occasional purgative, which caused them to spew into buckets while their sensei watched on. 

At first, both appeared doubtful of each other, only to scowl.

With eerie synchronisation, they turned and stared at me. 

I met their suspicious looks with my doubt. 

They wouldn’t find a flicker of guilt from me. 

Jiriaya continued to stare while the other Jonin clicked his tongue and turned away. 

I drummed my fingers in annoyance before deliberately turning my attention to Midori’s match.

An Aburame was frankly an annoying foe to face.

You had to assume that the instant they stepped onto a battlefield their kikaichu were mobilising, if not already mobilised.

We weren’t allowed to prepare the field before matches but Aburame would be able to sneak their insects in, I had no doubt. 

It would be up to Midori and the jutsu she’d had since I took her on as a Mudanin. She hadn’t been good at it back then, but a lot could change with—

“I forfeit!”  announced the Aburame within seconds of stepping on the field.

Everyone stilled. 

That… I hadn’t been expecting that…

The Aburame boy turned and bowed to Midori and then the proctor. “Apologies, but I used much of my swarm to defeat my opponent yesterday! I could fight you, but any more damage to my swarm would take months or longer to see my swarm return to anything viable for missions.”

He turned and offered a bow to the Hokage, who nodded in return. 

Gengetsu openly sneered, but I could see the glint of amusement in his eyes as they darted to that of Minato and Midori.

I could only gape. Had no one told him about Minato and Mina’s state? That his forfeit wasn’t just his own retreat but that he was setting them into a bad situation?

Intel that I’d gathered on him flickered through my mind. He’d had a sensei, but the man had been standoffish with Jiraiya. 

Was this internal Konoha infighting? That… I hadn’t expected that.

No one else had, as the nobles all groaned, and I spotted Hiruzen glance towards the suddenly far less smug Jonin.

I suspected that the bookkeepers had just done very well for themselves. 

Midori, dumbfounded by this result, offered her opponent a bow as the match was called in her favour. She glanced up at me and mouthed a question, but I just waved her off. Sometimes you just got lucky.

I had to admit, it felt weird.

The Exam Proctor was quick to summon Minato and Mina down for the next match

Neither arrived, and a stir went through the crowd. 

Hmmm, intentionally delaying? I mused as I watched a kunoichi working over Mina while Minato waited, still looking sick. 

So they were prioritising Mina over Minato eh?

Jiraiya looked mutinous as he glared daggers into the back of the healer's head, but they didn’t mind, merely continuing to heal Mina, who was looking marginally better.

“Konoha! Send out your fighters! Or I will forfeit both contestants!” snapped the Proctor. 

I held back a scoff. That was a hollow threat, and everyone knew it. 

Steam had invested too much in getting people to stay. Konoha not getting a chance to field their shinobi would lead to resentment. It might not be Steam’s fault, but it would be their shame. nevertheless.

The Proctor understood this moments after he’d said it, as his face twisted into an ugly expression, only to curse. “You have five minutes before both are forfeit!” he snapped. 

He even drew out a small sand timer and set it on a raised stone plinth. 

Everyone’s eyes locked onto it.

My attention turned away from the theatrics below and instead to the crowd, where I was watching their reactions. Koremei, Padme, and her father had all departed yesterday. 

Interestingly, I could spot some other faces that I’d grown used to seeing were also vacant. 

I made notes of them for later use. It was worth knowing who Lord Dendenrashi would shelter in a bad situation.  

The sand continued to pour, and as we approached its running out, a hush fell over the building as the proctor leaned down to inspect it.

Jiraiya, having only just gotten Minato in front of the healer, cursed and leaned in to give his student some final advice. Then he nudged him. 

Minato stumbled, looking lost and vulnerable. Something about his expression tickled my mind, though. He was faking it… Wasn’t he?

I almost felt bad, but then I hardened my heart and watched Mina stalk onto the battlefield with a murderous expression. Her eyes were already blazing red, and she glared up at me.

Oh? Looks like someone’s been running their mouth.

I felt the chakra slam into me as my world shifted. AI found myself standing on red and black kaleidoscope world that was entirely barren plain. Across from me stood the only other occupant of this world.

I locked eyes with Mina Uchiha who sneered at me. 

“You must think youself—” Yeah, no, I thought to myself.

I flexed my chakra, and the illusion shattered like glass in the grip of a giant. 

Without a second to question the intelligence of what I was about to do, I stabbed my chakra into her and cast my voice. 

“You tread into deep waters wearing your ignorance as pride,” I whispered into her ear.

With my message delivered my chakra vanished from her coils.  

Mina was left staring up at me in shock. 

The Proctor blinked and glanced at me. I smiled innocently back, and he swallowed nervously as he turned away, no longer willing to look my way. 

Huh, nice to have confirmation that all the training I’d been doing with Gengetsu had benefited me. 

Then I noticed the rest of the Konoha shinobi’s reactions. Many of them looked at me like I’d just confirmed their suspicions. 

Minato was watching me, and I could see his eyes flicking about me documenting every little detail he could.

So, this is how one becomes a Villain?

I didn’t say anything to deny what I’d done now or prior to the match. Konoha had already made up their minds, so there would be no point. 

The fact that I’d struck back at Mina was enough for some of them to see me as in the wrong. I merely sighed and flicked my fingers dismissively. 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bothered by their reactions. There were people down there I’d grown up in my first life as examples of badass shinobi. 

Men and women of substance. 

And here they were judging me. 

It stung. Only a little, but it was still there. 

Then I pushed the pain away, rejecting it. They knew nothing of the road I’d had to travel to get here. I’d done what I had to give my student a fighting chance. 

She hadn’t been nurtured in a safe and supportive environment. She didn’t have a Sannin backing her up. She hadn’t been handed a summoning jutsu. 

She had Kiri, me, and whatever teachings I could garner for her. 

I would not regret boosting her chances.

Her success meant things could improve for Kiri.

I’d poison Minato all over again if I had to for that.

The proctor finally got on with it, raising his hand and slashing it through the air. “Begin!” he shouted. 

Mina exploded forward, kunai launching out as she closed with Minato. 

Minato retreated, flicking kunai back with the clang of metal hitting metal to show that they’d neutralised each other. 

Mina kept pushing, though, focusing on ending this match as quickly as possible. 

It made sense. The faster she could finish, the faster she could recover. Whoever had been healing the two had spent most of their efforts on Mina. 

Minato staggered under the onslaught, darting this way and that, only to be hounded back. 

More than a few of his kunai bounced erratically, and occasionally, he had to block with a kunai only to have it sent skittering off.

Mina finally closed enough to throw a punch that smashed through Minato’s paltry defences. Minato was launched into the air, and two more kunai clattered to the ground. 

“A-activate!” Minato wheezed while soaring through the air, his hands forming a chakra formation seal.

Mina stiffened and her eyes flitted to the kunai that Minato had dropped, only for the seals to fizzle and for nothing to happen. 

Minato hit the ground and rolled. “Damn it!” he growled. 

Mina relaxed and gained a little more confidence. 

I narrowed my eyes and began inspecting the kunai a little more closely. Minato could channel chakra so activating a seal shouldn’t have been an issue. It was control that he was lacking right now…

Mina sprinted at Minato, only for Minato to flick out four more kunai and smile at her.

Mina tried to skid to a stop, but it was already too late.

With six kunai embedded around her, Minato flexed his chakra properly and activated a small seal. 

Mina found herself suddenly in the middle of a wave of explosions that only radiated inwards. 

I hummed. Clever. It was like he’d laid claymores with directed charges instead of the standard explosion tags. 

When the smoke settled, Mina was revealed on her face and smoking slightly. 

Minato grimaced and shot me a reproachful look. I stared back blandly. Yeah, don’t blame me for your methods of bringing her down. 

I had to give it to him though, if he hadn’t done anything, he’d have looked bad in front of his fellow Konoha nin. By looking up at me, he’d reminded them of their earlier ire and redirected some of his own issues.

The kid was dangerous in more ways than one.

Mina was quickly cleared of any lasting injuries with the medic pulling her over to begin working on her while Minato presented himself to Jiraiya with a downcast air. 

I rolled my eyes. Kid was selling the act well. 

I glanced towards Gengetsu, who looked extremely pleased with himself. Hirzuen looked intrigued by how things were playing out. Reto and Ei the second, appeared neutral, but Mu looked like a statue.

He had a stillness about him that made me think of sudden, unstoppable movement. 

Before the proctor could announce the intermission, Mu stood, and everyone fell silent as his chakra washed over the stadium. 

“I find this farce sickening. Konoha, Kiri and Kumo have obviously tainted the supposed neutrality of the Chunin exams!” he proclaimed. A few nobles that must have been slow on the uptake gasped at this ‘reveal’. Otherwise faked shock. A few shrugged as though to say, ‘and?’. 

Mu gestured towards where the Leader of Steam was seated with the Daimyo of other nations and flicked dismissively. “I have borne this insult long enough, but I tire of the rank greed you display. Begin the final match now!” he commanded. 

The Leader, called out like he had, stiffened. 

Then, tellingly, he flicked his eyes to Hiruzen, Ei, and Gengetsu, looking for assistance. 

Before Hiruzen could speak Ei snorted. “Eh, he’s out of line, but he’s not wrong. You’ve made a farce of this exam by dragging it out. Shinobi are meant to endure hard times! Give us the fight now!” 

Gengetsu flicked me an amused look. He knew what I’d done and how Mu’s annoyance was playing into our favour. 

I don’t think Mu cared. He wanted to get to what happened after the exams were concluded. 

Reto leaned back, amused at how things were progressing. 

Hiruzen didn’t have to look towards Gengetsu to know what he thought; he merely glanced towards Minato and Jiraiya who were imploring him to delay. 

Hiruzen tapped the armrest of his chair once, twice, thrice. With each tap, his chakra pulse,d and the other Kage turned to inspect him.

“I see that patience for many has worn thin. The differences in how another nation conducts their Exams have grated on you, and you find yourselves unable to adapt.” 

Ah, he was throwing it back in their faces, was he? 

None of them flinched.

Ei outright sneered. “Eh, I think I’ve endured enough. Give the people what they want! Let’s see them fight now, and then we’ll give promotions to those who deserve it!” 

Gengetsu bobbed his head up and down in agreement, his pompadour hairstyle bouncing with the motion. 

Mu flexed his fingers. “The fight begins now, or Iwa and its nobility will withdraw now.” 

One or two nobility spluttered at this but Mu glanced in their direction and they fell silent.

The Leader of Steam grimaced as murmurs from various nobles began. 

While some had been swayed by Hiruzen’s words, more were getting antsy. They wanted blood. They’d been offered fights, and to have things end as quickly as they had for two matches, with a forfeit and another quick trap, had surprised them and left them wanting more. 

The Leader of Steam made a gesture, and the proctor bowed his head. 

“It is the people’s will that the fight between Minato of Konoha and Midori of Kirigakure begins now!” 

This raised a cheer from the crowd.

Minato swallowed. Jiraiya once more leaned down and whispered in his ear. I caught something being handed to him, but couldn’t catch what it was. 

Midori glanced up at me one last time for a sign of how to proceed. 

I nodded and raised a fist in salute like I had done back at the Skull Cliffs when I’d been motivating my students. 

In a synchronous motion, Kirigakure Shinobi  hroughout the building copied me. 

It wasn’t just the civilian-born shinobi either.

Every Kirigakure shinobi, clan or otherwise, copied me.

Midori blinked in shock, then a quiet, “Heh!” caught everyone’s attention.

Eyes turned to find Gengetsu with his fist raised. For a full second, he looked regal, but then he smirked, and the effect was gone.

Still, the effect was widespread. Nobles were whispering, Konoha was shifting.

And Midori strode forward with all of Kiri at her back.

The tide was rising.

[hr][/hr] 

Midori’s mind raced. That… that wasn’t something she’d ever expected in a thousand years to happen. Everyone had acknowledged her. 

Midori locked eyes with Minato, which was a relief. If it had been Mina Uchiha she wouldn’t have, but then again her sensei had been adamant that Minato was the threat, and once more he’d been proven right.

Minato was the threat. He had Toad summons, Sealing jutsu, taijutsu, speed, and a dangerous mind that she’d seen in effect for quite a while now. 

She felt almost lacking in a way.

She’d had to have her sensei even the scales by poisoning Minato.

Still, you took the situation before you, not the one you desired or wished for. 

Midori began to bounce lightly, rewarming her muscles and getting her weight shifting so she was ready. 

Across from her, Minato smiled politely. He had a handsome face, she idly noted. 

It would be a shame when she broke it. 

It may be cathartic.

The proctor inspected both of them and raised his hand. 

Minato gave her a small nod as he shifted into a chakra channelling handseal. 

The proctor paused, which only played into Minato’s gambit better. 

Minato wasn’t performing a move; he was preparing to perform one. The proctor realised this a moment later and slashed his hand down. 

“Begin!” he shouted, and Midori accelerated into a headlong sprint. 

She didn’t go for a shunshin immediately as she wanted to see Minato’s reaction. Committing to a blind strike wouldn’t work on someone ready for them. 

Minato, rather than trying to throw kunai or lay a trap for her with seals, began to glow blue.

Damn, that was always a warning sign. 

Instead of controlling what he was doing, Minato went the other way, dumping everything he had into the next jutsu. 

His hands blurred, and he knelt. “Summoning Jutsu!” he roared as he bit open an old cut on his finger. Blood sprayed out, only for Minato to slam his hand into the ground, and a circle of text appeared for half a second. 

Midori was close, close enough to be blown backwards as a huge smoke cloud erupted from the point of sealing and something big thumped onto the ground.

Midori threw herself backwards and gritted her teeth. 

Damn, he’d gone there. 

Matsu had warned her that Toad summons had some strong fighters. Summons that were as big as some of the tallest buildings within Kirigakure. It was all a matter of the amount of chakra that Minato could use. 

Thus the importance of disrupting Minato’s chakra control so he wouldn’t feel comfortable relying on summons. 

The problem was that a rat, when cornered, will often turn to desperate measures. 

The chakra smoke cleared, and Midori decided to focus on the good news. 

Minato hadn’t summoned something bigger than a building. 

He hadn’t summoned anything beyond a huge plume of chakra smoke. 

He’d flubbed the jutsu.

“Shit!” Midori cursed, regretting her decision to back off.

You never wanted to give someone who had demonstrated tactical brilliance a second of downtime. That stunt might have cost Minato a lot of chakra but there were ways to get it back, and she’d seen the pill bottle Jiraiya had handed off to Minato.

Pills that she did not have.

She unsealed a large fan that she’d bought months ago to help propagate her Clan’s jutsu from a shop selling ‘shinobi goods’. It was a glorified noble’s tool, but it could move air fast. 

Midori lifted it over her shoulder and swung it hard.

The surrounding air whooshed away, and a solid path of smoke cleared away, revealing Minato crouching with a corridor of explosive tags leading up to him. 

She returned the fan to a storage seal and started throwing kunai at the blond leaf nin. 

Minato darted to the side blindingly fast, displaying a speed that he’d only hinted at in previous matches but that Matsu had made sure to highlight.

He was fast, but Midori wasn’t intimidated. 

With him in motion she performed a shunshin on an intercept course, bringing her kunai up to deflect a barrage of kunai that came at her landing point, only to flip backwards as an explosion tag landed at her feet. 

With the explosion knocking her backwards, she lost sight of Minato for a second.

But he also lost sight of her hands. 

Midori flashed through handseals. 

When she began as a Mudanin, she was terrible at her Clan’s jutsu. Compared to others in her clan, she was still bad, but right here and now, it was good enough.

She landed and exhaled a huge stream of mist into the air. 

“Boil Release Skilled Mist Technique!” she thought to herself as she pushed her chakra through her mouth, unleashing a light mist that didn’t look all that intimidating. 

It still had Minato backing up as it enveloped the battlefield. 

He raised his head and began sniffing like a ninken only to flick his hand a moment later.

The sound of metal whistling through the air caused Midori to kneel as a trio of kunai sailed through where she’d been moments before. 

She noted the tags on them were each fizzling as they passed her. 

The crowd above her gasped in shock as some of her mist drafted upwards a light breeze started circling the metal railings. 

Whoops! She’d forgotten about them!

They were just lucky that her Boil Release was only strong enough to sting the eyes and exposed skin. She had a cousin that could use his Boil release to eat through metal.

Thankfully, it had proven strong enough to disrupt the seals on Minato’s tags. Both the ones he was throwing, and the traps he might have already laid. 

Midori stood and channelled chakra into her lips and nose as she took a fortifying breath. 

Right, that was Minato’s explosive seals and his ability to summon a Toad. Time to close out this match she thought to herself as she sprinted at him.

Minato drew out a breathing mask that he slapped into his mouth. He had just enough time to take a huge breath before Midori was on him. 

They began a frantic bout of taijutsu with Midori on the offensive, throwing jabs and feints in equal measure, only to tank a feeble-looking blow and clock Minato in the face. 

She then slipped in close to tangle her legs in his and bring him down, a hand slipping into her kunai pouch as she did so.

She leaned in to put the blade to his neck as he fell, only for him to suddenly surge with chakra and vanish in a huge puff of smoke. 

Midori coughed in surprise, only to growl. 

Damn it! She’d almost had him! 

She whirled, seeking him only to find him struggling to get up. It seemed his desperate, uncontrolled replacement had seen him landing awkwardly. He’d done something to his right arm. 

She leapt at him only for Minato to snap up and meet her charge with a powerful kick using his whole body to empower the blow. 

Asshole had bluffed being injured!

Rather than attempt to block, Midori used one of her sensei’s tricks to shoot two thin chakra strings into the ground and tug herself out of danger. She hit the ground, skidding past Minato on her knees. 

As she passed him she swept her kunai in low and caught him in the calf.

“Gah!” he shouted as she tore through his mesh underarmour. He swung down, and from her compromised position, it was all she could do to skip away. 

Minato threw something into his mouth and crouched down.

Instantly, his skin turned red, and surge of blue chakra billowed around him. 

Shit! He was getting desperate!

Minato knelt flicking his hands desperately through handseals as he used the blood from his calf to complete the summons jutsu.

Midori didn’t back off this time, instead trying to close and end the match.

This time, Midori was caught mid-leap as something answered the summons.

Midori landed and found herself facing a toad four times her height and with a huge belly. Its tiny legs looked incapable of carrying its weight, but its eyes were locked on her.

“You need help with her?” rumbled the toad to Minato who was kneeling atop the Toad’s head. 

Minato nodded, unable to talk because he was biting so hard into the breathing mask. Tears were streaming down from his eyes. 

Midori cursed, wishing not for the first time that her Clan jutsu was more potent. 

Before she could lament her missed chances any more, the Toad opened its mouth and a tongue shot out and wrapped around her torso.

She had a second to realise what was about to happen before suddenly being dragged into a toad’s mouth where she was encased in squashy, wet walls. 

Then the toad closed its mouth, and Midori found herself in a nightmare of flesh and darkness.

“Do you—” Minato hacked a cough as the acid burned his mouth. “Surrender?” he wheezed. 

Midori couldn’t see him, but she wanted to glare at him. 

Fuck him! She wasn’t giving up!

 She put both hands to the side and began to pump one furiously back and forth. 

She’d only pulled this off once before, but she’d cracked the code with that success.

If you used two hands you could stabilise and push the power of the jutsu higher.

A huge Rasengan formed in her hand, easily the size of her head.

She gleefully twisted in the fleshy embrace and slapped it into the top of the mouth. 

A second later, she was expelled out, and she slid across the floor as the toad slumped to the ground. 

Blood and chunks of flesh rained down around her. 

Midori staggered to her feet and found Minato sitting on his backside, covered in gore, staring at the now very dead toad. 

“Gama—” Minato started to shout only for Midori to shunshin in close and place a kunai right against his throat. 

She glared at him hard. “Give me a reason,” she growled, ignoring the way something wet slid down her face even as she gave the warning. 

Minato stared only to shift and look at her blankly. “You killed him…” he whispered. 

Rather than respond she twitched her kunai and cut Minato to remind him of his position. Now was not the time for questions but for surrendering.

Something in Minato hardened at that moment, and Midori knew he wouldn’t go down quietly.

They twitched, only to find two other forms looming over them like they’d always been there.

Midori had her arm clasped in a giant man’s grasp, while a much smaller hand lay atop it. 

Another small hand lay on the giant man’s chest.

Jiraiya, her mind supplied. 

That was the giant… 

Although some considered him a bit of a kook, Matsu treated him with respect. He didn’t even sneer when referring to him as one of the Sannin. 

Matsu himself was dwarfed in his position, standing calmly iin frontof Jiraiya, but he didn’t look scared.

He met Jiraiya’s angry look with bland indifference. 

“Let. Her. Go,” he calmly stated, meeting Jiraiya’s eyes as a small groan of leather sounded out. 

Midori swallowed unable to look away as Jiraiya narrowed his eyes only to exhale through his nose. “She was going too far,” Jiraiya declared. 

“He wasn’t accepting his situation,” Matsu replied without missing a beat.

Jiraiya flicked his eyes about. “She killed his summons. He wasn’t thinking right.”

“He should have considered that before summoning a companion to fight his battles. And I better not so much as hear a croak around her. If you have to remind the Toads that when you fight you often get hurt.”

“Hmph!” Jiraiya huffed and let Midori go. 

Midori stepped back into Matsu, who moved with her. The warmth of his body was a silent reassurance that he had her back. 

Minato stayed kneeling, his eyes still pouring with tears like small rivers. He watched Midori and Matsu back up another step, and Midori felt something tightening in her gut as Minato’s eyes narrowed. 

Well, she’d just made an enemy for life, it would seem. 

She was about to ask her sensei to get her out of there, only to stiffen as the Exam’s Proctor spoke up. “The victor! Midori Terumi from Kirigakure!”  

Matsu stepped out from behind her and took her hand in his. He ignored the gore that covered her and instead raised her hand high to the applause of nobles that surged as Kirigakure shinobi started to clap along with them. 

They kept it refined and polite but that they applauded at all was notable. 

The Proctor then announced that specific candidates from the Shinobi Villages would be honoured with promotion to Chunin. 

“From Kirigakure! Midori Terumi, Han, Idate Hozuki, Kenta Nogawa, and Daito Igara!”

Midori gaped. That was three of their four-man team elevated to Chunin, with Kuroiwa probably not getting a promotion due to not making it to the third stage. Kenta… Sharkbait got through, and so did Daito? That made five of the twenty that made it through!

Matsu had also stated that others would be promoted upon their return to Kirigakure, but that for now the internationally acknowledged Chunin would have their time in the sun. 

Han started to twitch.

Idate slapped him on the shoulder. “Stop crying, you’re making us look bad idiot!” he growled as two shinobi from Kumo were read off as Chunin. 

Han coughed. “Just got something in my eyes, is all.”

Midori chuckled, still feeling delirious that she’d won. 

Both Steam and Suna had two shinobi promoted which seemed odd as only two had made it to the third round proper…

Rain received a promotion, with Han glaring at them.  

When Iwa only had one Genin promoted Mu rose and stalked away. 

Midori swallowed as Gengetsu continued to applaud the decision long after it was polite to, his mocking claps filled the arena and felt like drums of war rather than praise.

Neither Key or Beast received a promotion. 

Konoha… received three promotions with Minato, Mina, and the Aburame she should have fought in the semifinals all stepping forward. 

Midori stared up at the crowds of nobles as they applauded her and her fellows one more time.

Knowing you would never be in a situation like this again was rather strange.

As everyone departed the stadium,, she idly toyed with the storage scroll containing her Chunin flak jacket. Han and Idate had already donned theirs, but she hesitated. 

Matsu noticed as he slipped in next to her. “Want to talk about it?”

“I’m just stunned that it’s over and that… well, I won… I never would have thought I’d make it this far when I failed graduation.”

“From Mudanin to Chunin in less than a year… wow, calm down, my record is under threat,” he teased. Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You earned this. You’ve risen from a bad situation and become stronger for it.”

“Thanks sensei,” she replied only to slump. “Guess I don’t get to call you tha—”

“Nah, I’m always going to be your sensei. You can’t just get promoted and think you can drop it like that. Also, you’re nowhere done on lessons to learn, that way lies mediocrity, and that isn’t you.” 

Midori felt herself perking up. She glanced behind her. “Still, shame I won’t ever get to experience that again.”

“Eh, nah you will any time you take your own students to the Exams.” 

Matsu winked at her. “It’s just as rewarding, trust me.” He flicked his eyes to where the boys were both walking together with their chests puffed out while Kuroiwa baited them into getting into a fight with each other. 

Neither was taking the bait though which just made Midori smile more.

Maybe they had grown up?

Then Kuroiwa said something, and they spun on her together, only for Kuroiwa to make them trip each other up as she darted back to Midori. That set them off, and Midori laughed long and loud.

She had no idea how things would change now that she was a Chunin, but that could wait. Today was hers. 

[hr][/hr] 

I watched my students bounce around in delight for a while, not willing to murder their joy in its infancy. 

We got back to our lodgings and were met with stern-faced shinobi sharpening blades and preparing themselves in a way that I’d witnessed only for those during the war.

They wrote final letters to those they loved and rewound bandages, a nervous energy returning to those who knew they were likely to see battle soon. 

Ameyuri Ringo stalked up to me. “You’re with me. We’re to follow the Mizukage’s guard detail from a kilometre back.” 

I flicked my eyes towards my students and the various other shinobi that I looked after. Ameyuri grunted. “They’re to head back in a day… once things have calmed down,” she said, answering my unasked question. 

That got a nod from me. What else was there to say? The Mizukage led, and we followed. 

“Think we’ll be close enough to watch them fight?” I asked. 

“Yeah,” she replied with a toothy grin. “The trick will be not getting caught in the middle of it. They’re not going to hold back,” she gushed. 

My team were a little sad that they wouldn’t be with me but I was quick to console them. They were good but this wasn’t a fight they were ready for. 

For that matter I wasn’t sure I was ready for it. 

The boys were still a bit confused about what was going on, which didn’t surprise me in the least.

They’d been so focused on the Chunin exams and doing well, they hadn’t noticed the currents moving around them. I could only clap them on the shoulders, drop a stack of ryo bills into Midori’s hands and leave them to it. 

“Stay out of trouble,” I ordered as I turned and joined a group running headlong into it. 

We walked out of Steam as a platoon of ten shinobi, all of us Jonin with Ameyuri being the only shinobi I was familiar with but the others I’d seen around enough to know of. 

A tall man stepped forward and nodded at me. “Heard good things about you Jonin Matsu. You’re going to operate as our squad’s sensor nin, give us early warning. I’m Jonin Koda and I’m Squad Leader of this group,” he said waving a hand towards the gathered shinboi.

Ameyuri chuckled. “You ain’t in charge of me!” 

Koda huffed. “You are attached to my group, until your objective presents itself I hope you’ll follow orders,” he stated calmly. 

Ameyuri nodded. “I can accept that,” she replied. 

Koda huffed a breath out and shot me flat look. “Take note Matsu, Tehre are going to be Swordsmen about. You follow my lead firs and foremost unless you get separated. Don’t think for a second if you encounter any other Swordsmen that they will kep you in mind. Some of them might even use you so be careful.” 

He then made a sign and the squad fell into a diamond formation with me in the centre and Koda to my right. 

“Get us situated,” barked Koda to my right as we leapt into the trees. 

“We’re a bit behind the Mizukage’s group… how many are there supposed to be?” I asked as I noted another two groups of Kiri nin racing out of the Village of Steam parallel to us. 

Koda snorted. “There’s four that we know in the guard detail. Three of them are of the Seven, but then there’s bound to be ANBU circling with him.” he gestured around us. “I know of three other groups like ours that will be working around the edges of the fight, cleaning up the Iwa scum that might interfere. Expect plenty of them. Iwa nin breed like rats.” 

I glanced around, noting the various clan emblems on display in our group. There were three Hozuki, two Yuki, Ameyuri, myself, and three more minor families that were not of note. That everyone here was Jonin was the more interesting fact. 

Also of note was the group that was shadowing us. Unlike the other groups of ten that I registered, this group was made up of only three shinobi.

A smaller group to help them escape notice.

Hello Kori Yuki, come to make sure Gengetsu dies have we? I thought to myself. 

With the knowledge that he was lurking at what he must assume was beyond my range, while being within his was telling. 

The Byakugan had made him sloppy.

I pushed my sensory range out further, pushing for as much accuracy as possible. I started picking up other groups of shinobi that I vaguely recognised as having been within other Villages' camps. 

Mostly Konoha and Kumo though.

“Got a few campers hiding in the trees, up ahead,” I announced as we continued up.

“Which Village?” asked Koda. 

“... Kumo,” I said a moment later as I matched their chakra signatures with those I knew. 

“Let them know we spotted them but don’t fight just keep moving. If any Konoha nin or Rain shinobi are close, tell us,” he growled. 

At that I fed approximations of where each shinobi was hiding. We ran past the group with at least two of our group observing each spot, letting the ‘hidden’ shinobi know we knew about them but otherwise not acting. 

When we passed, the group fell away, and I relayed this information to Koda. 

He merely grunted and signalled for us to keep running.  Ameyuri grumbled at the lost chance to ‘thin the herd’.

We ran for roughly an hour before anything else of note happened.

At first it was just a minor flutter of chakra but it was enough to have me twitching. “Contact!” I called as in front of us the forest erupted into an explosion.

From the north and south two forces moved on our position looking to pincher us between them while ahead of us the Mizukage vanished from my senses only for more eruptions to let me know a fight was taking place. 

“North and south closing on us one minute! Twenty nin in each group!” I called out. 

Ameyuri shifted to the south with Koda me and two others. The other five turned to the northern group and moved to get space from us.

Ameyuri shifted up next to me as she drew the Kiba blades. “If we encounter Shibito, his head is mine. I got a mission from Daddy Dendenrashi, alright?”

“Ah? He’s all yours?” I replied. 

Ameyuri grinned. “Good stuff, didn’t want you to think I was cutting in on your kill list,” she replied before locking eyes to the south. 

It wasn’t worth asking if that was a real thing. It was Kiri, of course people create ‘kill lists’ for themselves. 

We so needed healthier hobbies. 

Grudges should be left to fantasy dwarves.

While a minute was an eternity for fights, it still seemed to drag on, even with one shinobi darting forward and laying a few quick traps that earned him a nod from Koda.

The trap specialist then slipped into the ground, ready to ambush from below. 

When the group moving to intercept us came into view, all of us shifted positions, making it harder for the group to hit us as a wave of kunai shot forward. 

None hit, but it kept us moving. 

Then the Ia group entered the trapped field and explosions, kunai and even sharpened sticks tore through them. Damn, that was impressive. 

The Trap specialist then popped out of the ground and hurled a water jutsu, breaking the groups focus further.

“Attack!” Koda roared.

I saw two Iwa Shinobi shift into eight as they performed a basic illusion, only for the real bodies to fade away. 

Ameyuri met this with a sweep of her blades, sending a wave of electrical energy forward to dispel the illusions. 

A moment later the actual two shinobi leapt up from the ground floor at us, we darted back as a stray jutsu threatened us but I wove my chakra into an illusion of my own.

The two close-range attackers stiffened as a whirling screech filled the air behind them.

They both turned, hurling rocks and flames from their fists behind them.

Ameyuri and the Koda took their exposed backs as the offering it was and punched holes into both of them.

Ameyuri landed atop hers with a feral glint her gaze already turning to another opponent. 

Koda fell back next to me, his head on a swivel. “Nice trick! They’ve been hearing that jutsu so much from your students, you practically conditioned them to fear it!” he chuckled. 

I smirked. “I figured,” I replied drily. 

Koda waved a hand to the north. “How’s the other group going?” he asked. 

I grimaced in response. “Not as well,” I replied. “Two of them are dead on our side but they otherwise have the Iwa nin on the run.”

“Shit,” Koda cursed before shaking his head. “Nothing to do about it.” his eyes flicked towards the fight as the Iwa nin we’d been tangling with turned and fled as they realised they were outgunned. 

Before we could pursue Koda held up a fist. “Hold! Don’t pursue! Iwa nin are known to bait traps like this! Next trick of theirs will be human waves! Prepare to face them!”

He glanced, “Injuries?” he barked earning a few raised hands. The trap specialist limped out from behind a tree and raised a shaky hand. “Got clipped,” the man announced.

I dropped down next to him and dug the kunai out of his thigh.

Before he could even protest the action I had his leg numbed and I began healing.

Koda hummed. “Good, we’ll need you Uzuo! No more recklessly engaging the enemy like that!” 

Uzuo, the trap specialist, bowed his head. “Y-yeah, gotcha boss. And thanks little man,” he muttered to me. 

Another explosion erupted to the east, and I licked my lips as I finished healing Uzou.

“That one felt closer?” I asked. 

 Koda stiffened. “Eeposition!” he called. 

We moved two kilometres back after gathering up the northern group. We sealed up the two dead shinobi and quickly moved on. 

This proved to be a wise choice as a huge plume of smoke announced that Gengetsu had summoned his Clam. 

In response, a small white figure appeared in the sky and a huge explosion swept through the forest. 

Ameyuri grinned into the sky. “Fucken hell they’re really going at it! Come on Gengetsu finish the job this time!” 

Koda shifted. “You understand that you’re speaking treason. Our Illustrious Leader never failed to—”

“Oh save your brown nosing for when we’re in front of Gengetsu, and don’t try and threaten me with that shit Koda! I’m just part of this mission, not under your command!” Ameyuri barked as she stabbed a Kiba blade towards him.

Koda pursed his lips even as he worked with Uzuo to set traps around us. “Village paramet—”

“Urgh I can’t believe you ever made Jonin with that stick up your ass making you this stiff!” Ameyuri groaned. She turned towards me. “Please tell me some more people are coming towards us that I can kill?” she asked. 

I nodded. “Yeah, I’d been about to announce them. Seems Koda was right. Iwa’s sending human waves at us. I have a rough count of fifty shinobi? Chunin levelled with four or five Jonin mixed in?”

Koda cursed while Ameyuri grinned wider. “Fuck yeah!” 

I coughed. “I don’t think they know our position as they are sweeping the area around the fight,” I announced, my eyes flicking to the east to indicate which ‘fight’ I was referencing.

Another rumble ran through the area and I swallowed. Was feeling a bit too widespread to be just a ‘fight’. 

Koda nodded. “We will choose our battlefield.” he pointed to Uzuo from earlier. “Uzuo prepare some more traps further afield, chakra and basic, we’ll feed them in if we can.” 

He glanced around at our squad. “Some of you might have to run interference or as bait to help thin the numbers.”

I coughed again. “I might have something to fill that role perfectly”

Everyone in our group glanced at me, and I answered by forming a specific handseal that was unique to a cluster of jutsu.

I pushed my chakra through the precise tenketsu and couldn’t help but grin as I announced my new favourite jutsu.

A quarter of my chakra should be enough for this, right?

“Shadow Clone Jutsu!” 

Chakra smoke erupted around me, and when it cleared, I had the joy of looking at five copies of myself all with identical grins. 

“Oh, I could get used to this,” I declared in stereo. 

I turned back to Koda as our grins turned savage. 

I almost pitied those poor Iwa shinobi.

Almost.

[hr][/hr] 

A.N. Thanks goes to my patreons for your continued support!

Hope this chapter was enjoyable to read. I didn’t want to completely leave you on the edge so I made sure the fight was well underway before wrapping things up.

I’m sorry but blame the Chunin exams. They needed to be given the right amount of attention rather than being breezed over.