Facing the Third Mizukage's kind yet expectant gaze, Araki scratched his head and tentatively voiced his thoughts.
"I think we could offer prizes that would help them improve their strength, drawing capable genin to take part in the selection tournament. As for what exactly the prizes should be, I haven't decided yet."
"Use prizes to attract them... So you intend to hold a large-scale selection tournament?"
The Third Mizukage pondered.
"Yes. Since I don't know which genin in the village are fairly capable at present, this is the only option I have."
Ever since graduating, Araki had been carrying out missions at an extremely fast pace. In just over half a year, he had visited three of the Five Great Nations, leaving him hardly any time to stay peacefully in the village and rest.
The only genin he had even interacted with were the two companions on his own team.
Yet his social circle could not exactly be called small.
After all...
He had laughed and chatted with the Flower of Cloud;
Thrown his arm around the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki;
Formed a severed-arm bond with the Third Hokage;
And shared the hatred of gouged-out eyes with Shimura Danzō;
It was worlds apart from ordinary genin, who spent every day cooped up in the village doing missions and constantly ran into their peers.
Of course, this was really all Zabuza's fault.
Even if he had wanted to interact with his peers, there had been no one to interact with.
But in the Third Mizukage's eyes, this was hardly a flaw. On the contrary, it earned his praise.
"Not familiar with the other genin? That's no problem. Later, I'll have them compile a list of genin and give it to you. It will include assessments of their strength and potential, so you can