The next second, Ebisu felt three sinister gazes turn toward him. The killing intent in their eyes made his whole body tremble.
"Bastard!"
"I was so close! Just a little closer and I would've kissed him, you bastard Ebisu!"
"Prepare yourself. You're already dead."
Sitting on the floor, Ebisu shivered against the wall, certain his end was near.
"Wait! This has nothing to do with me. It was the Third Hokage! The Third Hokage told me to come find Uchiha Hanazuki. I had nothing to do with it!"
"Huh? Was it the Third Hokage's order? It must be an important mission. I'll be off, then. Bye!"
Hanazuki's figure blurred. He vanished from where he'd been pinned on the sofa, and when he turned around, Ebisu had disappeared too.
Meanwhile, at Training Ground 3, Hanazuki let out a long breath and sighed.
"I'm saved. I almost ended up being squeezed dry until I was nothing but a husk. You came just in time, Ebisu-senpai. What happened?"
As Hanazuki sighed with relief at having narrowly escaped with his life, Ebisu fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
"Damn it, how am I worse than that brat? Is it my looks? My personality? My ninjutsu? Why does that guy get to have girls on both arms, while I still don't even have a girlfriend? Damn it!"
Hanazuki's mouth twitched. Only then did he remember that the man before him was Ebisu, known as a lecher who kept his desires under wraps. After a moment's hesitation, he offered a little comfort.
"Calm down, Ebisu-senpai. With your charm, you're sure to find a girl who likes you."
"Really?"
Ebisu snapped out of his despair. His expression beneath his sunglasses was animated as he pressed Hanazuki for an answer.
"So how big is the difference between us?"
"There isn't much of a difference. If I had to say, it's only about this much."
Hanazuki smiled faintly and brought his index finger and thumb closer together until barely a hair's breadth remained between them. Ebisu perked right up.
"You're—you're a good man, Uchiha Hanazuki! Thanks for encouraging me. I'll work even harder and become a ninja worthy of surpassing you!"
"More importantly, why did the Third Hokage want to see me?"
"Ah! That's right. I almost forgot about the main thing. What just happened was such a shock, I nearly blacked out."
"The Third Hokage wants you to go to the Mission Briefing Hall right away. There seems to be an urgent situation. But if it's a high-ranking mission, why would he ask you, a Genin, to handle it?"
"Speaking of which, what was that ninjutsu just now? How did we get from your house to Training Ground 3 in an instant...?"
When Ebisu finally came to his senses, he realized that Uchiha Hanazuki had vanished without a trace.
"He disappeared again? Was that the Body Flicker Technique? Why would a Genin know a technique of that caliber?"
Only the ninjas who had taken part in the Battle of Kikyo Pass knew that Uchiha Hanazuki had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique and become Orochimaru's disciple. Most of them were Konoha's Jonin and clan heads.
It was wartime, and most Jonin were rushing between battlefields. They might know the truth, but the Chunin and Genin had no idea.
Hanazuki himself had stayed home and out of sight, putting the Third Hokage and Danzo off their guard. Naturally, he had no intention of going around advertising his strength.
In the Third Hokage's study, inside the Hokage office building.
"Ebisu said you wanted to see me. What is it?"
"You're here already? Uchiha Hanazuki, I didn't call you here for any other reason. I have a very important mission to entrust to you."
"Do you know about the Land of Water?"
After a moment's thought, Uchiha Hanazuki nodded slightly, unsure what Sarutobi Hiruzen was getting at.
"I've heard of it. The Land of Water is apparently a poor and warlike nation. It was also one of the great nations that first attacked the Land of Wind during the Third Shinobi World War."
"Exactly. Most of the Land of Water's territory consists of islands. Its people live in poverty, and the country is shrouded in mist all year round. It rarely communicates with the other great nations."
"But that's precisely why its people dare to brazenly invade other countries and plunder them. And with the strength of the Kirigakure Ninja, they're a real headache for Konoha."
The brush stopped. A calligraphy painting titled "Will of Fire" was complete. Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction, while Uchiha Hanazuki remained expressionless, unsure what to make of it.
"So what's my mission?"
"Konoha can no longer afford an all-out war. Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato were full of praise for your performance at Mount Kikyo against the Sand Hidden."
"So, the mission I'm assigning you is to provide battlefield support."
Hanazuki raised an eyebrow. Battlefield support? Which battlefield? Was Konoha currently fighting any large-scale battles against the other great nations?
"To prevent another incident like Mount Kikyo, where the enemy slipped unnoticed into the heart of the Land of Fire, you're to operate alone and guard against potential attacks from the other great nations."
An odd silence settled over the room. Sarutobi Hiruzen kept his back turned, waiting for Hanazuki's answer.
"I understand, but I'll need..."
After leaving the Third Hokage's office, Hanazuki's expression remained calm, as though the harsh mission hadn't upset him.
When he returned home, he found a row of gleaming black Specialized Kunai laid out on the tea table among the three servings of pastries. They looked like a silent threat.
"One, two, three... A standard three-person Anbu squad? This is why I hate the damned recommendation system."
He wanted to climb to the very top step by step, but his Uchiha identity meant he couldn't even be a candidate for... the Hokage. The damned recommendation system couldn't even manage democracy and fairness!
In his inner world, Hanazuki said nothing, but his expression made it clear he was in a bad mood.
"What's wrong, brat? Have you finally reached your limit? Then join forces with me and turn the whole world upside down! Wahahahaha!"
Hanazuki ignored the Black Nine-Tails, who was frantically trying to tempt him into letting the flames of war spread again.
The Rasengan spun rapidly at his fingertips as he carved his own chakra markings into each of the Specialized Kunai, each one sturdy enough to withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Kurama, why do you think humans are so greedy for power? Is it because they fear growing old, or because they're afraid they'll lose others' approval once they lose their power?"
"I'm not human, so what the hell would I know? I just know that anyone who tries to mess with me gets slapped to death."
The Black Nine-Tails lay in his little den, answering without even lifting his head. He didn't notice the killing intent that flashed briefly in Hanazuki's eyes.
"What makes humans human is that they never learn from history. Looks like the only answer is to destroy it all."
"I'll be the one to end the age of shinobi."