The Hokage Was Jealous

Facing Senju Tōsu's question, Shimura Danzō maintained his aloof, cool-guy demeanor and did not bother answering such a pointless question.

"Hiruzen, the Ninja Academy needs to change!"

After leaving those words behind indifferently, Shimura Danzō's figure dispersed into a cloud of mist. Clearly, the one who had come was not his real body, but a Shadow Clone.

Danzo was worth dozens of ryō a minute. How could he possibly have the time to come watch children playing at fighting in person?

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not surprised that this Danzo was merely a Shadow Clone. He had noticed it from the start. As friends of many years, he was very familiar with Danzo's scent. A Shadow Clone was only a creation of chakra and could not carry the original body's scent.

"You little pervert, I quite like you. Gather here at this time tomorrow. From now on, you're one of Tsunade's people!"

Using the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Shimura Kentei, Tsunade left those words with a smile. Then she grabbed her still-unconscious younger brother and leaped away.

Standing where he was, Shimura Kentei put on just the right expression of bafflement and misery, while inwardly rejoicing.

The Fat Sheep capture plan had been a complete success!

There might be some aftereffects, but it was no big deal. With his physique, he should be able to withstand them.

"So awesome!"

As a first-year freshman, Minato Namikaze was overflowing with excitement. His sparkling eyes were fixed on Shimura Kentei, clad in that magnificent battle suit.

Although this senior had repeated three years, he had crushed every graduating student, and so many people had not even managed to force him to make a move.

That was at least Special Jonin-level combat power. A Jonin under thirteen had never appeared in Konoha's history!

It was not just Minato Namikaze. Students from every grade of the Ninja Academy were filled with admiration and envy.

"Shikaku, did you see what happened?"

Inoichi Yamanaka asked solemnly. Even now, he had not figured out how that Ino-Shika-Cho team had lost.

"The problem should be that battle suit. Let's go ask those three older clansmen."

Shikaku Nara rose and walked toward the graduating-class clansman. Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi hurried after him. They all wanted to know how those three older clansmen had lost.

It was not only the Ninja Academy students who were curious. Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others in the main stands were equally curious.

"Little Kentei, you're very good. Very good indeed. Konoha needs talents like you!"

Looking at Shimura Kentei standing before him, Sarutobi Hiruzen wore an approving smile. As he spoke, he prepared to step forward and pat the boy's shoulder to show his appreciation.

But the moment he raised his hand, he jerked it back as if shocked by electricity. His old eyes widened.

He looked at his right hand, then at Shimura Kentei's outrageously gorgeous battle suit. Sarutobi Hiruzen was completely bewildered. Then he raised his hand again and brought it closer, only to feel the chakra in his arm's meridians faintly showing signs of losing control.

"Sealing Crystals?"

His gaze finally landed on the several green crystals embedded in the battle suit, and Sarutobi Hiruzen's face twitched.

Had this kid gone insane?

"They really are Sealing Crystals?"

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's cry, Tokugawa Hyuga could not help crying out as well. He had long suspected that Shimura Kentei's battle suit incorporated a great many Sealing Crystals.

After all, there were not many materials in the ninja world capable of disrupting and blocking the Byakugan's penetrating vision. Sealing Crystals were among them.

Though he had never seen the things himself, he had read records concerning them.

He had simply not dared to be certain before, because Sealing Crystals were far too potent. They could significantly affect even Kage-level powerhouses.

Shimura Kentei had clearly used Chakra Threads earlier, so it should have been impossible for him to possess Sealing Crystals.

Could it be that the boy could still condense Chakra Threads while under the interference of Sealing Crystal radiation?

Tokugawa Hyuga shook his head slightly and cast that thought aside.

That was simply impossible!

"Hokage Uncle, you have sharp eyes. My Sagittarius Battle Suit indeed incorporates quite a few Sealing Crystals!"

A smile appeared on Shimura Kentei's face as he openly admitted it, with no intention of hiding the matter.

Even if he did not say anything, these people would be able to guess it afterward. Besides, he had never intended to conceal it.

With this battle suit's defensive power and properties, it was nearly immune to all ninjutsu and genjutsu. Any technique based on chakra could be disrupted and weakened. It was practically unbeatable.

Even if others learned the battle suit's secrets, it would be difficult for them to counter it. Below Kage level, he was practically invincible.

Of course, if his opponent knew Forbidden Jutsu such as the Four Symbols Seal or the Reaper Death Seal, he would naturally run as far away as possible. Those Forbidden Jutsu were the truly unbeatable, unsolvable ones!

His battle suit still fell far short.

"You brat are ruthless enough. You actually used Sealing Crystals to forge a battle suit!"

It took Sarutobi Hiruzen quite a while to recover. In the end, he could only describe it with one word: ruthless.

Whether Shimura Kentei was naturally immune to the radiation effects of Sealing Crystals or had adapted to that radiation through some method, his battle armor was, in any case, extremely difficult to deal with.

He even suspected that Enma, transformed into the Adamantine Staff, would be affected by Sealing Crystal radiation. If that were true, even if he personally moved to capture this kid, it would take some effort.

"You have quite a good talent, but don't get arrogant. The battle suit may be impressive, but it isn't invincible. If this old man brought an axe down on you, even if I couldn't destroy the armor, I could still kill you with the shock."

Torifu Akimichi, who had remained silent at the side, spoke with a genial smile, warning Shimura Kentei not to become complacent. That was a great taboo for a ninja.

Just as there was no perfect technique, there was no perfect ninja tool. Even if this battle suit was truly powerful, Shimura Kentei himself was still too weak.

"Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Torifu. Your nephew understands!"

Shimura Kentei nodded obediently to show that he understood. These were all good friends of his black-hearted father's, so there was no need to show off before these elders. Acting obediently now could not go wrong.

"Brother Torifu, you can't break this battle suit either?"

Senju Tōsu was greatly surprised, and the others were equally puzzled.

They all knew Torifu Akimichi's fighting style. He had personally forged an enormous steel axe over ten meters long from refined steel, using it in conjunction with the Super Expansion Jutsu.

With the Super Expansion Jutsu, one swing of that axe was more powerful than the First Hokage's Monster Strength Technique. And since it was a refined steel giant axe and pure taijutsu, it would not be affected by Sealing Crystals.

Even that kind of power could not destroy a suit of armor?

"The main body of this thing is probably heavy gold. Even if I could smash it flat, it would return to its original form afterward. Pure physical force alone can almost never destroy it. At least, my strength isn't enough, unless I had a divine weapon like a top-grade Kusanagi Sword."

After drawing the chakra from his right arm's meridians, Torifu Akimichi knocked on the battle suit covering Shimura Kentei's body and spoke with obvious envy.

Naturally, he knew about heavy gold. He had even once considered making an axe blade for his steel giant axe out of it. Even plating a single layer over it would have been fine.

Unfortunately, heavy gold was too expensive. Even with his family's wealth, he still had not saved enough.

"The heavy gold found alongside gold mines?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's old eyes widened again. He felt jealous. Intensely jealous.

Although he had never seen heavy gold, he had heard of it. It was considered the most expensive metal in the ninja world, not inferior to Chakra Metal in the slightest.

And heavy gold was extremely dense. At the same volume, its price far exceeded that of Chakra Metal.

If this whole battle suit had truly been forged from heavy gold, its cost was easy to imagine.

Where had this kid gotten so much money?

Heavens have mercy, he was the mighty Hokage, yet he was now so poor that he could barely afford Master Yunzhongniao's latest work. Meanwhile, this brat was so wealthy. How was he supposed to find any balance in his heart?

This was unfair!

"Looks like the Shimura Family made quite a bit of money from Xinhua Bookstore."

Honoka Uchiha suddenly remarked, giving everyone's expressions a subtle change.

Naturally, they all knew about Master Yunzhongniao's famous Yellow Volumes, and they also knew how profitable those Yellow Volumes were.

Leaving aside the profits from selling the Yellow Volumes themselves, the derivative merchandise alone was immensely lucrative. For example, the many outfits based on illustrated characters from those works were highly popular, while all kinds of figurines were outrageously expensive and still sold extremely well.

The profits involved were measured in hundreds of millions. Xinhua Bookstore had been established by the Shimura Clan several years ago, and the Shimura Clan also secretly controlled all that derivative merchandise.

If the Shimura Clan had not been fairly powerful, and if Shimura Danzō had not been Konoha's publicly acknowledged number-two figure, they would have long since stepped in to seize a share.

It was not that they had no principles. The profits were simply too tempting.

"Little Kentei, from today onward, you are a ninja who can stand on your own. This is your forehead protector!"

Seeing that the atmosphere was wrong, Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up a forehead protector from the nearby table and handed it to Shimura Kentei, signaling for him to get lost quickly.

Naturally, he could tell that Honoka Uchiha's words carried ill intent. If Shimura Kentei remained here, there was no telling what kind of trouble might arise!

"Hokage Uncle, uncles, farewell!"

After giving everyone a junior's salute, Shimura Kentei quickly withdrew and headed straight for Konoha Hospital.

He wondered how Jiraiya, that tool, was doing now!

"Since everyone is here, let's discuss how to arrange the children from this graduating class. Should they return to the Ninja Academy and study for another year, or should they graduate and become ninjas?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a drag from his smoking pipe and raised the crucial issue.

The ordinary-class graduates did not matter much, but the Elite Class consisted mostly of outstanding young members from the major ninja clans. If they truly had to go back and study for another year, it would not only be a great humiliation for those young geniuses, but would also make the ninja clans lose face.

But letting those youngsters graduate would be hard to justify as well. In the previous battle, they had not even managed to force Shimura Kentei to move. A few Chakra Threads and the battle suit's wings controlled by those threads had stopped them. Throughout the entire fight, they had not even harmed a single hair on him.

That result was truly too ugly to look at!

"The current graduation assessment at the Ninja Academy is indeed too simple. The basic Three Body Techniques alone are not enough to make someone a qualified ninja.

I suggest increasing the difficulty of the graduation assessment and including actual combat. Elite Class members, in particular, must reach Chunin-level combat power before they are permitted to graduate."

After a long silence, Senju Tōsu voiced his opinion.

"Seconded!"

"Agreed!"

"I support it!"

Everyone unanimously approved the proposal. They all knew it was not that those youngsters were inadequate, but that they had simply been too unlucky to encounter a freak like Shimura Kentei.

There were actually quite a few geniuses among them. Though they could not compare to the likes of Orochimaru and Tsunade, they were still not bad. Some had already reached Chunin-level combat power, such as Uchiha Mikoto.

Of course, Senju Nawaki counted as well. Although that kid did not seem particularly bright, and his earlier performance had been rather embarrassing, his combat power was definitely no weaker than that of a Taijutsu-specialized Chunin.

Keeping such geniuses in the Ninja Academy would be purely wasting time. Graduating as soon as possible and entering the ninja world was the proper path.

While Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others discussed how to handle this graduating class, Shimura Kentei removed his battle suit and went to Konoha Hospital to visit poor Jiraiya, that tool.

When he saw Jiraiya's condition, Shimura Kentei could not help feeling guilty.

Miserable. Too miserable. It was unbearable to look at!

What exactly had that woman Tsunade done to Jiraiya?--

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