Konoha Is My Battlefield!

"Fire is about to spread in the southwest! Second Squad, move in first! Use Wind Release to blow it back!"

"Northeast! Fifth Squad has already used Earth Release to create a firebreak. Put out the fire as quickly as possible!"

"Captain! There's one last squad hiding underwater in the middle of the forest river!"

"What!? Rescue Squad, stand by! Everyone else, follow me!"

"Damn it! The enemy village's ninjas really did sneak in after all! Give it everything you've got, everyone! Protect our forest!"

Konoha, with the highest vegetation coverage in the Ninja World, had its own emergency Firefighting Squad.

It consisted mainly of Water Release ninjas, supported by Wind Release and Earth Release ninjas, and was equipped with a medical unit and an emergency search-and-rescue squad.

It was worth mentioning that the Hyuga had a presence in the Firefighting Squad, too.

Although they didn't use ninjutsu, the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan was excellent for locating people trapped in danger. Advanced Gentle Fist: Rotation could also handle certain emergencies.

Ruohuo hadn't known any of this before.

So when the Third explained these things to him, he listened very attentively.

"I understand, Grandpa Hokage."

"The Konoha Firefighting Squad is just as reliable as the Konoha Military Police Force."

"They're both worth learning from!" Ruohuo said with an earnest, official expression.

The members of the Firefighting Squad would never have guessed that this blaze—which could easily have spread through all of Konoha—had been started by the little boy in the Hokage's office.

A real little boy.

"..."

The Third glanced at the pipe on his desk. Right now, he genuinely wanted to take a long, hard puff.

"Ruohuo... can you tell Grandpa why you started a fire?"

The Third had managed to resist his craving. Compared to the temporary relief, he cared more about teaching the little fellow in front of him.

When a child possessed extraordinary power, failing to guide him properly meant that a disaster like today's certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Fire? What fire?" Ruohuo asked, his eyes wide with confusion.

"Grandpa Hokage, what are you talking about?"

Looking into those clear, innocent eyes, the Third hesitated for a moment, then pointed toward the thick smoke in the distance beyond the window.

"You used Fire Release during the exam and burned down a large stretch of forest. The Firefighting Squad, along with almost all the Jonin and Chunin squads, have been deployed, and they still haven't put the fire out."

"Ruohuo... what you did was extremely dangerous."

For some reason, Danzo's earlier words came back to the Third.

"He dares to cheat today; tomorrow he'll steal Konoha's secrets!"

If the boy dared to set the mountain ablaze today, then without proper guidance, what would he do in the future...?

The Third found himself missing his student.

At least when Orochimaru had been in the village, this child had always seemed perfectly normal.

"But those two seniors told me that the exam grounds were a battlefield."

Ruohuo looked completely serious. "Grandpa Hokage, did I overestimate them?"

"But I left them room to escape..."

"..."

The Third was speechless.

Room to escape...

If I hadn't stopped the exam in time and sent the rescue teams to help, the fire would probably have reached my office by now!

You call that room to escape? Where were they supposed to go, back into Konoha?

And what frustrated the Third most was...

The boy really wasn't lying.

He'd watched Ruohuo's performance at the exam grounds with his own eyes.

If Ruohuo had truly meant to focus on destruction, then judging by Orochimaru's assessment of his abilities, the boy could have caused an even bigger catastrophe...

"But why did you destroy the exam's finish line, too?" the Third asked, rubbing his temples.

"Because I didn't want them to advance," Ruohuo replied matter-of-factly. "It wasn't a real battlefield, but I couldn't exactly let my opponents have it too easy."

"They're all my seniors, and I couldn't really hurt them, so I had to eliminate them from the exam."

Was there anything wrong with that? Not really.

It wasn't as if he could drive every candidate into the ground.

"..."

The Third stared at him, momentarily stunned, meeting those clear, wide eyes.

For a brief moment, he thought he saw Danzo as a young man...

Back then, Danzo had had a pair of clear, bright eyes. He'd been serious and reserved, always saying dangerous things with complete earnestness—and then acting on them.

An absurd thought even crossed the Third's mind.

Ruohuo... really did seem a lot like Danzo?

The Third let out a long breath.

Calm down. The boy wasn't wrong, not really.

Even if the exam grounds weren't a battlefield, the candidates were still opponents.

Ruohuo's actions might have seemed extreme... they were extreme, to be fair, but his reasoning wasn't wrong.

On an actual battlefield, aside from the terrified enemy, nobody in the village would criticize Ruohuo's approach.

This boy... might actually be suited for the battlefield?

Too bad Ruohuo couldn't hear him.

Otherwise, he would have given the Third a thumbs-up and declared on the spot:

That's right, I was born for the battlefield, and I've already made Konoha my battlefield!

"Phew..."

After turning it over in his mind, the Third finally let out a breath.

The boy's way of thinking... was rather unusual.

Not dangerous, exactly, but far too straightforward.

That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

He was still young. With guidance from his teachers and family, he could always be steered onto the right path.

But the real problem was that the boy was exceptionally capable, with astonishing talent. At such a young age, he had already mastered tremendous power.

And he possessed a special Kekkei Genkai.

That was a headache...

Fortunately, he still had a group of old comrades to discuss how to handle things.

He also had an outstanding student who could keep the boy in check.

As for Konoha's losses this time...

Fugaku would probably understand, right?

"Go home for now, Ruohuo."

The Third waved a hand, exhausted in both body and spirit. "Get some rest. As for what comes next..."

The Third paused. The Chunin exam had been called off, but according to the rules...

It seemed Ruohuo no longer had any opponents in the third round?

"Grandpa Hokage, when can I wear a Chunin vest?"

"I already promised my grandmother."

Ruohuo definitely wasn't going to give the Third a chance to dodge the question.

He was eager to unlock his Three Tomoe and start researching his Roar of the Evil Dragon Technique.

Ride a fire dragon and bombard the enemy...

Just thinking about it was thrilling!

Speaking of which, how could he get his hands on Wood Style?

As a Uchiha, it didn't seem like a good idea to bring that up himself, did it?

Maybe... he could ask Orochimaru?

But if he could ask Orochimaru for help, then those other forbidden techniques—Flying Thunder God, for example—sounded pretty tempting, too.

"Well... I still need to discuss it with the other elders, Ruohuo."

The Third didn't give him a definite answer after all.

"Go home for now and wait for the notice..."

Ruohuo waited for a whole week.

During that week, he often went to the Konoha Military Police Force to ask about Taijutsu and genjutsu.

But Fugaku rarely showed up. Ruohuo only saw him a few times, and noticed that he'd suddenly become exhausted, drained of energy and looking haggard, as if his body had been hollowed out.

He also often seemed to start saying something, then stop. Ruohuo had no idea what had happened.

Then, a week later...

Ruohuo received notice that he was to take part in the third round of the exam.

And on that very day...

Orochimaru returned as well...