The Chunin Exams

"Lord Zabuza, I..."

Haku was crying again, head bowed as he stood before Zabuza.

The matter in the Land of Waves was completely settled.

They had now reached a northern port in the Land of Earth by ship.

Zabuza snorted. "Don't forget your place, Haku."

"You're nothing but a tool."

Haku's shoulders began to tremble.

Zabuza turned away, unable to bear looking at him. The words caught in his throat. "You saw what happened in the Land of Waves. Blood Gold is stronger than me, and a better person, too. If you follow him, you can have a future in Iwagakure."

"Lord Zabuza..." Haku collapsed to the ground. "You know I don't care about having a future."

Zabuza forced himself to harden his heart and demanded, "Haku, haven't you noticed how useless you are?!"

"Go to Iwagakure and work hard to get stronger. Come find me again when you're good enough!"

That might make it easier for Haku to accept.

It would give him something to hold on to.

Once he grew accustomed to Iwagakure, made new friends, and found someone else to rely on,

he would soon forget Zabuza.

Zabuza's heart felt as though it were being cut to pieces. He said to Jingxin, "Take good care of him."

Jingxin nodded. "I will. I hope you make a good start in the Land of Snow."

That was right. After Jingxin recommended it, Zabuza had ultimately decided to take 290 million ryo and settle in the Land of Snow.

As far as Zabuza was concerned, nothing much ever happened in a remote backwater like the Land of Snow.

The Kirigakure Anbu would never track him down in a place like that.

Half an hour later, Zabuza boarded the ship heading out to sea.

Haku knelt on the ground, staring blankly as Zabuza grew farther and farther away.

"Come on." Jingxin patted Haku on the shoulder. "Work hard to get stronger in Iwagakure. That way, you'll be able to help Zabuza more."

Haku looked up sharply, his tear-streaked face full of surprise. "Blood Gold... L-Lord, you... you'll let me go see Lord Zabuza again?"

"Of course." Jingxin had already removed her mask. Smiling, she said, "The Land of Snow isn't far from here. Once you can stand on your own, you can visit him... or even stay for a few days."

Haku wasn't a bad person.

He knew how to be grateful.

Iwagakure would provide Haku with everything he needed.

His heart would always belong to Zabuza, but he would never become a missing-nin.

That was enough for Iwagakure.

Besides, Jingxin was getting all of this for free.

As for the ten million ryo she owed Zabuza?

Easy.

She could pay him back after he'd spent the 290 million ryo by his 200th birthday.

Jingxin brought Haku back to Iwagakure.

The gate guards saluted and let them through. The two headed toward the Tsuchikage Building.

Tsuchikage Office.

"You're back."

"We're back."

Ōnoki looked at Haku. "An Ice Release user?"

"His name is Haku," Jingxin said.

Haku stepped forward and bowed. "Lord Tsuchikage."

Ōnoki looked him over. "Ice Release is a fine Kekkei Genkai. From now on, this is your home."

Haku's body trembled slightly.

Home...?

"I'll take care of the paperwork," Ōnoki said. "Starting today, you're an Iwagakure Ninja. We'll provide you with a place to live, ninja tools, basic training, and everything you need to get by."

"Thank you, Lord Tsuchikage."

Ōnoki called in an administrative ninja to take Haku away.

Only the two of them remained in the office.

Ōnoki picked up a document and handed it to Jingxin. "An invitation from Konoha. The Chunin Exams."

"Hmph! They still suspect you're here, but they have no proof. That's why they invited us to take part—to keep an eye on us."

Jingxin glanced over the document.

Ōnoki asked, "What do you think?"

"We should participate."

"Why? Iwagakure and Konoha don't get along. And you... Although you're strong now, you're still growing. The longer you stay under the radar, the better. There's no point in going now."

Jingxin let him in on the secret. "Do you remember the last time I left the village? I went to gather intelligence. Something will happen during Konoha's Chunin Exams this time."

Ōnoki looked surprised. "Something will happen? What do you mean?"

"The Konoha Crush." Jingxin explained, "Sunagakure and Otogakure will join forces to attack Konoha."

The office fell silent for a while.

Ōnoki spoke cautiously. "If that's true... Iwagakure should stay out of it."

"But there's a lot to gain."

"Oh? Let's hear it."

As one of the two most famous old foxes in the Ninja World, Ōnoki couldn't have missed the opportunity here. He was testing Jingxin. He'd said they should stay out of it mainly to give her plenty of time to grow.

"If we go, Konoha will have to ask for help when it's in danger. We can use that opportunity to demand some military funds. And we can also get compensation from Sunagakure. After their attack fails, Iwagakure can act as a mediator and claim a share of it."

"Also... I have a personal target: Shimura Danzō. He'll die during the Konoha Crush."

He didn't want to come into contact with strong opponents like Itachi Uchiha or Obito Uchiha too early.

But that didn't mean Danzō warranted such caution from Jingxin.

Ōnoki knew what had happened between the Uchiha and Konoha. Danzō had been one of the main culprits.

"Hmm..." Ōnoki considered it carefully. "You're right. But killing Danzō will be risky. I won't stop you, but you'll have to use your own judgment."

Ōnoki didn't doubt the accuracy of Jingxin's intel. It was just that the whole thing sounded too absurd.

Had Sunagakure gone crazy? Why would they join forces with Otogakure to take out Konoha?

Had Rasa run out of gold to mine in the desert and gone broke?

Even if they replaced every team in the Chunin Exams with elites,

even with an attack from both inside and out,

that was still Konoha.

Even if they got Iwagakure involved, their chances of success wouldn't be great, would they?

"This time... you'll also take part in the Chunin Exams as a Genin." Ōnoki made his decision. "If we're going to get involved, we might as well make a big splash."

"Konoha invited Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and all those little ninja villages nearby to the Chunin Exams. They want to show off their strength, nothing more."

"Since Konoha went to all the trouble of setting up the stage, we might as well take advantage of it."

Jingxin hadn't expected Ōnoki to change his mind so quickly. "I'm participating too?"

Ōnoki laughed. "Did you forget? You're Anbu and an Iwagakure Ninja, but you've never taken part in the Chunin Exams."

"Who says an Anbu member or an instructor can't be a Genin?"

Jingxin laughed, too. "All right."

"Then we have four main objectives." Ōnoki offered his analysis. "Judging by Sunagakure's plan, they'll probably make their move during the final round of the exams. That's when the most spectators will be gathered, so they'll cause the most chaos."

Ōnoki's analysis was spot-on. Jingxin nodded. No wonder he was a seasoned veteran at Kage Level.

Ōnoki continued, "First: Konoha wants to show off its strength, so we'll steal the spotlight! Sunagakure will make a big deal of this, and news will spread far and wide. That'll help raise Iwagakure's reputation. I refuse to believe any Genin can beat you."

"Second: Use the opportunity to get Konoha's 'military funds.' It's time they shared some of their powerful jutsu."

"Third: Get compensation from Sunagakure. That backwater might not have anything good to offer, but even a tiny mosquito is still meat."

"Fourth: Kill Shimura Danzō and avenge Kintsuchi!"