Sasuke: Naruto, This Is My Deepest Confession!

"You little brat, are you so terrified of my anger that you've started babbling nonsense?"

The Hokage stared blankly at Kazeka's words, then shook his head and chuckled, a look of understanding in his eyes:

"Perhaps your mind has always worked differently from everyone else's.

You were like this with me, so I suppose you'd be the same way with Orochimaru.

You're still just a child. Other people might be afraid when facing Orochimaru, but you deal with that fear by doing experiments to escape it.

Maybe that's just your own way of letting your emotions out.

Then again, Orochimaru isn't exactly easy to get along with, and you've already endured so much at his hands..."

"Old man Hokage, what are you talking about?"

Kazeka had been the one demanding answers, yet the Hokage was going on about all sorts of nonsense. Kazeka frowned:

"Didn't you hear what I said? Orochimaru infiltrated Konoha. Do you know what you did wrong?"

The Hokage: "???"

"I... I was wrong?"

Hearing Kazeka repeat himself, the Hokage was genuinely stunned.

Then the anger he'd just suppressed out of sympathy for Kazeka surged back up:

"We're discussing how, after seeing Orochimaru, you failed to complete your mission or report what you knew in a timely manner, despite being capable of doing so. How did this become about me?

You little brat, how dare you!"

"What's there to be afraid of..."

Kazeka paid no heed to the Hokage's anger and glared back at him just as irritably:

"I told you ages ago to put me in charge of the village's barrier seals, but the higher-ups kept making excuses and passing the buck.

They said my mental state was unstable, or that I was too young to handle such a large barrier. Whatever the excuse, they wouldn't agree.

Before you started spouting that nonsense, I was the best barrier user in the whole village!

Now look at what happened. You wouldn't put me in charge, so you kept using that same old barrier.

You left the barrier to the same incapable barrier specialists as before, and now there's a problem!

Orochimaru slipped into Konoha without anyone noticing. How huge a failure is that?

If you'd put me in charge from the start, we could've sounded the alarm the moment Orochimaru entered Konoha and quickly pinpointed his location!

Then we wouldn't be in such a passive position now!"

"Don't try to change the subject!"

At Kazeka's words, the Third Hokage's eyes widened:

"Are you going to claim you didn't have your own little scheme in mind when you brought up the barrier?"

"And you don't think it's embarrassing that you let Orochimaru stroll right in?"

Kazeka didn't back down:

"Does that not matter?"

"You..."

The Third Hokage glared again, as if he were about to scold Kazeka.

But in the end, the reprimand never came. He merely sighed:

"Kazeka, the village had its reasons for this.

I know what you're capable of, but there are things that can't be explained in a few words..."

"What's so hard to explain?"

Kazeka sneered, showing the Hokage no deference:

"Some of the higher-ups have left plenty of holes in the village's barrier.

That way, they can carry out certain shameful activities without anyone noticing!

I'm not exactly a paragon of virtue. I can turn a blind eye to some of the village's actions. I'd even accept it if you asked me to leave a back door.

But you, as Hokage, should know about every back door like that!

It's your responsibility as Hokage. You let certain people off the hook because of your personal ties, and now it's come back to bite you!"

Kazeka's barrage left the Hokage speechless. As Kazeka had said, he was responsible for such a major failure!

"This matter was indeed my fault..."

The Hokage spoke softly, giving Kazeka an answer of sorts:

"I'll discuss updating and repairing the village's barrier with them. I'll make sure you're paid a satisfactory amount for your effort."

"Forget it..."

Kazeka wasn't interested. He knew the Third Hokage's character all too well.

As he'd grown older, he'd grown softer and softer, losing the domineering spirit of the Shinobi Hero he'd once been:

"After you discuss it, the result will just be 'we'll revisit this later.'

Some people might even take the opportunity to smear me again and claim I have ulterior motives.

If I hadn't wanted to learn more about barrier ninjutsu, I wouldn't have brought this up in the first place.

When things go well, nobody gives you credit. When something goes wrong, they make you take the blame.

Helping the village repair its barrier without getting anything out of it—only an idiot would agree to that.

I've got other experimental subjects now, so I'm in no rush to work on the barrier..."

"No. Orochimaru's ability to appear without anyone noticing is far too serious. I still need to discuss this properly..."

That was what he said, but Kazeka's sharp eyes noticed that the Third Hokage's expression had visibly relaxed.

Kazeka couldn't help sneering. Just wait until Orochimaru locked the Third Hokage in a transparent little room and beat him senseless. Then he'd know what it felt like!

"Enough..."

The Third Hokage stopped looking at Kazeka and turned his gaze toward the fight below:

"Stubborn old ideas will eventually be discarded. As the new generation rises, these problems will gradually be resolved.

You're still young. Things have to be done one step at a time. For now, let's focus on the fight before us!"

"Leaving the hard problems for the next generation... What a capable Hokage you are!"

Even now, Kazeka couldn't resist taking another jab at the Hokage.

But the Hokage was the Hokage. He faced Kazeka's mockery without so much as a change in expression, as though he hadn't heard a thing!

However, that unflappable composure didn't last long.

Before long, the fight below had him staring in shock, his mouth hanging open!

After the draw, Sasuke was matched against a man named Kabuto Yakushi.

Kabuto Yakushi was tall and wore sunglasses and a black veil, covering his face completely.

The only thing that identified him was a Konoha Forehead Protector.

However, Kazeka knew he was also a Sound Ninja spy sent by Orochimaru.

As a spy, he needed to be clever, but he also needed to be capable in a fight.

He had a special ability: by touching his opponent, he could absorb their Chakra and leave them weakened. He was a truly troublesome opponent.

And his opponent was Sasuke, who had just received Orochimaru's Cursed Seal and was now in a state of extreme weakness and pain.

However, thanks to Kazeka's help, Sasuke had recovered considerably.

Although Kabuto Yakushi's ability caught him off guard at the start of their fight, Sasuke quickly adjusted.

As the fight went on, Sasuke's condition improved. In the end, he even sent Kabuto Yakushi staggering back with a hard punch.

Sasuke took a deep breath, looked up at Naruto in the stands, and spoke with heartfelt sincerity:

"I'll defeat the opponent in front of me, then earn my Chunin qualification step by step. This is my most heartfelt confession to you!"

Naruto: "Σ(°△°|||)︴"