The Hokage: I'm Going to Take the Blame for Danzo?

They arrived at the examination grounds.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi took his seat in the stands, everyone else sat down behind him.

Only Chiga, Murata, and Ryōichi remained on the field.

Ryōichi-sensei held a stopwatch and said solemnly to Chiga, "This examination is a practical battle. Uchiha Chiga, you must defeat Murata-sensei or last ten minutes in battle to pass. Understood?"

"Understood."

Chiga nodded.

"Then, the examination begins!"

Ryōichi-sensei pressed down on the stopwatch.

At the same time, Murata's hands rapidly formed seals, and he shouted, "Water Release Mist Technique!"

In an instant, the field was shrouded in thick mist, making it impossible to see even one's own hand in front of one's face.

Although the Hidden Mist Technique was a specialty of the Land of Water, quite a few ninjas in Konoha could use it as well.

"This..."

Chiga's expression froze.

Was there really any need to take a graduation examination this seriously?!

Although everyone already knew that he possessed the Sharingan, there was no need to target him so fiercely right from the start.

In such dense mist, not even the observational ability of the One-Tomoe Sharingan, let alone the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, could see clearly.

After all, the Sharingan's observational ability could not compare to the Byakugan.

Chiga had originally intended to rely on his Sharingan and swordsmanship to drag things out for ten minutes.

That way, he could graduate without exposing too many of his abilities.

But looking at the dense fog and sensing wisps of killing intent coming from all around him, Chiga understood that without using other methods, he could forget about lasting ten minutes.

"Troublesome!"

Chiga moved quickly while forming seals with both hands.

There were many ways to overcome the Hidden Mist Technique, but the most effective and simplest was Wind Release.

Fortunately, he had already learned two Wind Release techniques, one of which was specifically capable of dispersing the Hidden Mist Technique.

"Wind Release—"

Chiga finished forming his seals and took a deep breath, about to release Wind Release and disperse the mist.

Unexpectedly, Murata had already appeared silently behind him.

Murata lowered his body, gripped his Samurai Sword with both hands, and slashed toward Chiga's waist.

Not good!

Chiga caught sight of Murata from the corner of his eye. If he wanted to release Great Breakthrough successfully, Murata would inevitably cut him in half.

For the sake of his future happiness, Chiga could only swallow back his Wind Release. He stomped hard and leaped to the side.

The Samurai Sword whistled past, and Chiga narrowly dodged it.

After forcibly suppressing his ninjutsu, his insides churned like a raging river. It was only because Chiga had a large amount of Chakra that he could force it back down.

Seeing that his surprise attack had failed and that Chiga had actually endured the backlash from failing to release his ninjutsu, Murata was slightly surprised.

But he did not continue attacking. Instead, he leaped backward and disappeared into the mist again.

"Chiga wanted to use a ninjutsu, but Murata-sensei struck at him, so he couldn't release it. His Chakra is also in a bit of disorder."

"Then isn't Chiga in danger? Less than a minute has passed!"

"Could he fail to graduate?"

"I think it'll be difficult!"

"My Chiga-san just happened to run into a powerful opponent. Otherwise, he definitely could have graduated!"

"Wait, when did Chiga-san become yours?"

"Ever since he awakened his eyes last time!"

Because the mist blocked the Ninja Academy Students' view, they could not know what was happening on the field. Only Hyuga Toji of the Hyuga clan could relay the scene to them through his Byakugan.

"His timing is precise, and his attacks are decisive. This Murata-sensei is no ordinary person."

"In the mist, the Sharingan has already lost its effectiveness. Besides, Murata appears to be a ninja proficient in Water Release. The two methods this Uchiha boy is strongest in are both being countered. It'll be difficult for him to last ten minutes!"

Although the mist blocked the Ninja Academy Students' vision, it was not enough to obstruct Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others. Everyone had ways of sensing what was happening on the field.

"If Chiga has no other methods, he'll be in trouble."

Even Kakashi, at his current level, probably could not defeat an opponent of this caliber.

Minato's expression grew slightly solemn, while Kushina beside him gripped his arm tightly, her face extremely grim.

She might not think things through, but she was not stupid.

Against an opponent of this strength, lasting ten minutes would be difficult. Even lasting three minutes would already be an impressive feat for a Ninja Academy Student.

Although she knew that accepting Chiga as her disciple had been somewhat willful and would bring him unnecessary trouble, she had not expected them to tamper with his graduation examination.

Kushina turned her head and said through gritted teeth with a mocking tone, "Hokage, you really act one way in public and another in private!"

Clearly, Kushina believed that Hiruzen Sarutobi had tampered with the examination.

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."

Well, this is a rare sight. I never thought that one day I'd have to take the blame for Danzo?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi explained, "Kushina, I've been dealing with the village's miscellaneous affairs lately. How would I have the time or inclination to interfere in your private affairs?"

He clearly did not want to take the blame, or Kushina would pester him to death in the future.

"Hmph! If Chiga fails to graduate, just you wait!"

Kushina obviously did not believe him. If Minato had not been holding her back, she would already have laid hands on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Meanwhile, the battle on the field had fallen into a standoff.

Chiga could not find his opponent and did not dare move recklessly.

Murata was waiting for Chiga to reveal an opening so he could deliver a fatal blow.

By now, Chiga understood. This teacher had definitely been carefully prepared for him by someone.

If every graduation examination were conducted by teachers this serious and powerful, hardly any Ninja Academy Students would be able to graduate.

Did they expect the cannon fodder to act as their own cannon fodder?

At that thought, Chiga sneered, activated his Sharingan, and drew his Samurai Sword.

He swept his gaze across the surroundings and said coldly, "Murata-sensei, if you don't attack soon, ten minutes will be up!"

Murata did not reply, but he understood that Chiga was right. Since Chiga had drawn his Samurai Sword, it meant that he wanted to engage in close combat.

He hesitated for a while. According to Chiga's records, swordsmanship was also one of Chiga's strengths.

Normally, he should not advance and fulfill Chiga's wishes.

Even if he could not find an opening in Chiga's defenses, he could still attack with ninjutsu.

However, Chiga would then be able to observe his Chakra flow with the Sharingan, which would instead expose his position.

But after thinking it over, Murata decided that how strong could a seven-year-old brat's swordsmanship possibly be? Moreover, the information he had been given stated that Chiga was merely an ordinary ninja who had awakened the Sharingan.

If that was the case, Chiga's swordsmanship was probably only considered excellent among the Ninja Academy Students.

What was more, the mist was his home ground, and his opponent's Sharingan could not display its full power.

Murata did not want to wait any longer. When he saw Chiga relax slightly, he used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared behind Chiga.

Here he comes!

Chiga had been paying attention to everything around him. When he saw Murata appear, his eyes immediately flashed with brilliance.

Thank you for Akabane Natsuha's tip~