In mid-October, the graduation exams for fifth- and sixth-year students at the Ninja Academy arrived right on schedule.
The order of the exams was based on the students' previous results. For example, the two students going first from Class A were the classmates tied for first place: Hideaki Uchiha and Kyo Sarutobi.
Their names alone made it easy to guess that Hideaki Uchiha was almost certainly Kagami Uchiha's posthumous son, while Kyo Sarutobi was probably Sarutobi Hiruzen's eldest son, who had never been named in the original story.
"Hideaki," "Kagami," and "Shisui" together formed the phrase "clear mirror, still water," which suited the Uchiha Clan's literary naming style perfectly.
Meanwhile, "Kyo" meant "today" when translated directly from the romanized Japanese. It was also related to the name of the Third's newborn younger son, Asuma, since "Asuma" meant "tomorrow" when translated directly from the romanized Japanese.
However, these two young masters were even more low-key at school than Touma and Shibi.
There was a friend named Haruno Kizashi often seen with Touma and Shibi, so it wasn't realistic for them to keep completely out of sight. The two young masters, on the other hand, always went to and from school alone. The guards assigned by their clans had never even shown up.
So even Ise, their homeroom teacher, who cared deeply about Hideaki and Kyo, didn't know their true identities.
Since neither boy had an edge over the other in theory or practical combat, they weren't assigned Chunin or Genin opponents for their graduation exam. Instead, they were made to settle things between themselves.
Touma and Shibi had gathered what information was publicly available about the two before. It was an unspoken tradition before graduation exams, one the school even encouraged.
After all, shinobi were held to very strict standards when it came to gathering intelligence on missions.
They had to ensure their intelligence was accurate and exclusive. That could provide great indirect help as they faced enemies and carried on with their missions.
There was no need to mention that Hideaki was skilled with the Sharingan. He had awakened it at six and gained two Tomoe at ten. Judging by how often he used it now, he would probably awaken the three-Tomoe Sharingan in another two or three years.
Neither the Uchiha Clan nor Konoha's leaders had ever doubted that Kagami's son would awaken the three-Tomoe Sharingan.
In fact, many people with an in-depth understanding of the Sharingan believed Hideaki Uchiha had a real chance of awakening a Mangekyō of his own before adulthood.
Of course, if his progress continued at this steady pace and he avoided any major disasters, Hideaki was unlikely to develop a Kekkei Genkai disease.
Most Kekkei Genkai diseases were caused by an immature Kekkei Genkai awakening too early. A weaker constitution couldn't adapt to the unusual changes brought on by the awakening, triggering a chain reaction of genetic breakdown.
Yes, the Shinobi World already had the concept of genes. It just wasn't called "genes." Like in the world of One Piece, they were called "Lineage Factors."
At present, the Land of Fire was the only country in the Shinobi World with extensive research into Lineage Factors. The capital even had an institution dedicated to testing them, and most of the related technology was secretly supported by Orochimaru.
Orochimaru hadn't told Touma any of this. Touma had stumbled upon a draft of a reference book on Lineage Factors, compiled by Orochimaru, in the laboratory beneath his home. The book named "Kazuki Fujimoto," now regarded as a leading authority in the field, was in fact Orochimaru's pseudonym.
As far as Touma could tell, the name "Kazuki Fujimoto" had first appeared six years ago, around the time Orochimaru had just graduated from the Ninja Academy.
His original theoretical model hadn't come out of nowhere. He'd been inspired while poring over scrolls left behind by the Kusanagi Clan. More than three hundred years ago, the clan had experimented with merging Kekkei Genkai. One result was the "Chimera Technique," which later came into Hiruko's possession.
Orochimaru wasn't particularly interested in the ancient technique and had no intention of learning it. Instead, he tried to break down its underlying principles, take what was useful, and develop a technique of his own.
Back to Hideaki Uchiha: Touma found it hard to believe that a prodigy of his caliber would go unmentioned in the later part of Naruto Shippuden. That could only mean one thing: before Hideaki had a chance to make a name for himself, another great nation had already targeted and eliminated him.
His current opponent, Kyo Sarutobi, had inherited his father's talent for Fire Release and Earth Release. He was highly adept at combining the two.
From Touma's perspective, both boys had the strength of an ordinary Chunin based on combat ability alone. Against an opponent whose nature was a bad matchup, they could even perform at the level of a Special Jōnin!
One relied on genjutsu paired with the Second Hokage's Water Release; the other paired Taijutsu with the Third's Fire Release. They fought evenly matched, giving the younger students watching from below a glimpse of just how powerful the senior students could be.
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched from outside the arena, his face betraying no particular emotion. The four companions who had come with him—Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Torifu Akimichi—were another story. They suddenly became fired up, shouting themselves hoarse as they cheered the two boys on.
What surprised Touma was that Hideaki's supporters were Shimura Danzō and Mitokado Homura. Those two were among the village's most outspoken opponents of the Uchiha.
Seeing the confusion on Touma's face, Shibi's father, Shishin Aburame, who was sitting with them, explained the reason.
It turned out that among the Second Hokage's six bodyguards, Kagami Uchiha, Shimura Danzō, and Mitokado Homura had formed one team, while Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Torifu Akimichi had formed the other.
The leaders responsible for making decisions on the fly for each team had been Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Kagami Uchiha, who was stronger and had better judgment of the big picture, hadn't become a leader for two reasons. First, he had stepped aside out of friendship with his classmates. Second, he'd feared the Uchiha Clan elders would use the opportunity to meddle in the Hokage's affairs. To avoid trouble, Kagami had kept himself out of the running.
To make matters worse, after the First Shinobi World War ended, Kagami's injuries rapidly deteriorated. In the end, nothing could be done for him; he had suffered too much to recover. Most of his wounds had been sustained while shielding his teammates.
Shimura Danzō's feelings for Kagami Uchiha ran deep. In fact, during the first few years after the Third took office, rumors circulated in the village that Danzō was in love with Kagami, which was why he'd never accepted any of the marriage matches proposed by his clan.
The rumor spread far and wide. Some authors living in the capital even used it as the basis for several bestselling romance novels.
The most famous was called The Sea of Hidden Mirrors. It sold several million copies in the Land of Fire alone, and after it was introduced to other countries, its sales climbed to nearly ten million.
Touma had seen the book in Jiraiya's possession. Every time Jiraiya read it, his cheeks turned bright red. Then he'd give Orochimaru a strange look, and because of that look, Jiraiya had taken quite a few beatings from him!
Of course, no one in Konoha could get their hands on the book now. Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen enjoyed seeing Danzō made fun of, he couldn't allow baseless rumors like that to keep spreading. So, a few years ago, the book had been banned in the village.
After hearing the story, Touma couldn't resist wanting to see for himself what the book was really like. After all, in any world, there were no shortage of fans who loved pairing men together. And being able to enjoy real-life gossip while indulging in it was the perfect way to stir Touma's inner gossip enthusiast.
He had a feeling that once he'd read The Sea of Hidden Mirrors from cover to cover, he'd find the perfect weapon for defeating Danzō!
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