Young Master, Please Become the Hokage Chapter 7

Every movement was incredibly fluid.

In less than two minutes, Akira Sarutobi had completed all the taijutsu techniques from the D-rank and C-rank levels.

After finishing the set, Akira felt warmth spreading through his entire body, streams of heat coursing continuously within him.

Generally, when there were no missions, Akira would practice taijutsu for at least four hours a day, along with the sword techniques taught by Hatake Sakumo.

Then he would spend several hours training in ninjutsu and genjutsu.

He also read books and studied, constantly replenishing his knowledge.

Thanks to inheriting the talent of his cheap father, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Ninjutsu Doctor, Akira possessed terrifyingly sharp memory and learning abilities.

Strictly speaking, Akira's own talent was in no way inferior to one of the Three Ninja, Orochimaru.

It was just that Akira kept a very low profile and never deliberately showed off, so even Hiruzen Sarutobi himself hadn't seen the true potential of his eldest son.

"Young Master, the exam is tomorrow. Aren't you going to rest well tonight?"

Beside him, Ino Yamanaka rested her chin on both hands, elbows on the stone table in the yard, gazing at Akira as he trained.

"A-Hui, I've told you many times—the ninja world is full of dangers. Only with strong power can you control your own fate... or else..."

Akira turned his head, his eyes like starlight.

"Do you want to spar with me?"

Hearing Akira's suggestion, Ino shuddered, clearly recalling some terrible past experience.

Sparring in taijutsu with the Young Master? She'd have to be crazy to do that!

People really could die!

Because the Young Master could kill a cow with a single punch!

"I-I'll go train now..." The girl immediately stood up and obediently went to practice the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

Akira turned back and continued his taijutsu training.

Under a sky full of stars, his sweat-drenched figure stood out starkly in the darkness of the night...

Chapter 8 + Chapter 9. Ruins of the Land of Whirlpools

The next morning.

Akira Sarutobi fastened the forehead protector that marked him as a Konoha Ninja, put on his vest, and headed to the entrance of Konoha with Ino Yamanaka.

Early in the morning, the village gate was already bustling with people.

As the center of the Land of Fire, a prosperous city rivaling the capital itself, Konoha's hustle and bustle far surpassed that of other towns.

"Young Master Ryo, good morning."

"Young Master Akira Sarutobi, good morning."

Familiar and unfamiliar faces appeared one after another, greeting Akira.

Akira responded to each of them.

After more than ten minutes, everyone had gathered.

As Utatane Koharu stepped forward, the crowd quieted down from their murmurs: "Next, I will explain the specific details of the exam..."

The person in charge of the Jonin Exam naturally couldn't be a jonin.

Just as the Chunin Exam for genin was usually overseen by Special Jonin or Jonin as examiners, this exam was led by Utatane Koharu.

In addition to overseeing the exam process, she would also ensure that all enemies were truly eliminated.

Utatane Koharu's role was that of examiner and combat reserve.

If, by any chance, the examinees present couldn't complete the objective... then Utatane Koharu would step in directly.

The official databook, the Book of Soldiers, described Mitokado Homura's strength as on par with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

And Utatane Koharu's strength was second only to Mitokado Homura. With such a powerhouse backing them, everyone felt confident about the exam and was in a very relaxed mood.

As Utatane Koharu explained, the specific details of the exam took shape in everyone's minds.

The destination was the Ruins of the Land of Whirlpools. It would take two days to get there and two days to return.

Adding in the carpet search, combat, and expulsion of the exam mission, the entire process would likely last 10 to 15 days.

"Young Master, that means we have to prepare for not coming home for half a month..."

Ino whispered quietly to Akira.

"Don't worry, I've packed all the seasonings..."

Seeing Ino's excitement, Akira shook his head slightly.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha's main opponents were Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Amegakure... and other ninja villages, mostly land battles.

The Ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, however, was a maritime region.

Clearly, Ino Yamanaka was extremely eager to see the ocean, and on top of that, she wanted to cook seafood, take a seawater bath, sunbathe on the beach... things like that.

"This isn't a vacation."

Akira Sarutobi reminded her.

The Land of Whirlpools was most likely occupied by Kirigakure ninja.

"Why not Kumogakure?" Ino Yamanaka asked, like a curious child.

"Kumogakure's style is like lightning, like a gust of wind. Once they've plundered enough, they sweep away from the pillaged place like a whirlwind... Kirigakure, on the other hand, is like a bloodthirsty shark, constantly circling nearby, waiting for more prey to fall into the trap..."

Akira Sarutobi explained.

"I see... As expected of young master, truly knowledgeable." Ino Yamanaka praised sincerely.

Having read all kinds of books since childhood, Akira Sarutobi could analyze all sorts of matters to a considerable extent without even relying on his memories as a transmigrated Hokage scholar, simply by staying indoors and understanding the ninja world.

Knowledge is power.

And intelligence... could often determine the life or death of an individual, a team, or even a village and a nation.

"Alright, that's the gist of it."

Utatane Koharu finished her briefing and began dividing into teams.

Ino Yamanaka, Ruri Hyuga, and Shirakumo Hayama were grouped with Akira Sarutobi.

Minato Namikaze, Kushina... and others formed another group.

Thus, team numbers of four people each were continuously assigned.

"..."

When Utatane Koharu called out Kushina's name, Akira Sarutobi couldn't help but take an extra look at her.

The beautiful red-haired girl was different from yesterday's outgoing cheerfulness.

Today, her face was tinged with an indelible layer of sorrow.

Kushina's homeland was the Land of Whirlpools.

The destruction of her country had left her depressed for a long time. Later, with Minato Namikaze's companionship, she gradually emerged from her psychological shadow.

Last year, Minato Namikaze saved Kushina, and they pledged their love under the moonlight. From then on, whenever Kushina carried out missions, Minato Namikaze was always by her side.

Such an arrangement meant that Minato Namikaze was a protector, protecting the orphan of the Whirlpool, and even more so... protecting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

Generally speaking, the choice of a Jinchuriki was always someone close to the Kage.

For example, the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Mito, whose husband was the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

So if anyone wanted to marry the Jinchuriki Kushina, they needed a close connection to the Kage.

In other words.

Minato Namikaze... was being groomed by Utatane Koharu and the other higher-ups as the next Hokage.

Mulling over these matters in his mind, bringing Kushina on this mission was probably also because they valued her origin from the Land of Whirlpools.

The official formula book said: The Uzumaki Clan was Konoha's ancestor of Fuinjutsu.

Enemies had been entrenched at the Ruins of the Land of Whirlpools for years, refusing to leave. They were surely searching for something.

And the only one who could truly unearth the legacy of the Uzumaki Clan was Kushina, the orphan of the Whirlpool.

So, Kushina likely bore an additional secret mission assignment.

"A single assessment, laden with multiple political considerations. Both to quell civilian conspiracy theories and to excavate the legacy of the Land of Whirlpools..."

Akira Sarutobi shook his head inwardly, even more certain that this trip might turn out to be very dangerous.

Before long, everyone set off.

Teams of four traveled together.

Utatane Koharu also had a squad of Anbu following her, which further confirmed Akira Sarutobi's earlier speculation.

Leaving Konoha, the group sped along. The sun rose high and set, the stars shifted.

Two days later, the team arrived near the sea area of the Land of Whirlpools.

Whoosh...

Waves surged.

Everyone released chakra from their feet and stood on the water's surface.

No need for boats; crossing the sea with their bodies alone—that was a ninja.

Seeing the coastline appear before them, Utatane Koharu nodded: "We've arrived... the Ruins of the Land of Whirlpools."

As relatives of the Senju Clan and allies of Konoha, the fall of the Land of Whirlpools was a great loss to Konoha.

Utatane Koharu, striding onto the beach, had eyes as sharp as blades. She swung her right arm and issued the command: "The assessment... begins! Drive out every enemy... without leaving a single one!"

Shwish!

The next moment, each team sprinted off in different directions, beginning a grid-by-grid search of the island nation that was the Ruins of the Land of Whirlpools...

As the sound of the waves gradually fell behind them, the group crossed the beach and entered the jungle.

Because it had long since fallen to ruin, the Land of Whirlpools site was overgrown with green vegetation.

"The Land of Whirlpools may be small, but its terrain is complex. At full sprint, it takes about three hours to cross the entire country. Still, in terms of area, it's considerably larger than the Land of Waves and such," Akira Sarutobi explained the state of the ruins as they went.

Shirakumo Hayama, who had joined their team, was a peer who rarely smiled.

He had also been Akira's classmate in the past.

A long blade hung at his waist, and he specialized in sharp wind-release swordsmanship and ninjutsu.

Crack.

Hayama stepped on something. Looking down, it was a bleached white skeleton!

As the group advanced further, more and more bones appeared in various poses, scattered across the scene.

"These remains..." Hayama's gaze sharpened, his expression growing even more solemn.

"They're the bones of the Land of Whirlpools' people," Ino Yamanaka said, her tone softening considerably, no longer her usual cheerful self.

At the very back of the team, Ruri Hyuga stared at the bones, her thoughts unknown, but the gloomy aura radiating from her grew thicker and thicker.

"The Land of Whirlpools was our ally. Even if it's become ruins, this is still the land where its people once lived..." Akira glanced briefly at Kushina's nearby team.