Hokage Tower, third floor.
Kitahara Kaede stood outside the office and straightened his collar.
The door was ajar, and the smell of tobacco drifted out.
"Come in."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, a pipe at the corner of his mouth and a document in his hand.
Kitahara Kaede pushed the door open, stepped inside, and came to a halt.
Hiruzen didn't speak right away. He lowered his head, flipped through two pages, closed the file, then looked up and studied him for a few seconds.
"The exam results are in."
Hiruzen pushed the file to the center of the desk.
"You lost a few points on the written test. Two of your answers in the general knowledge section weren't precise enough. But you got full marks in combat, trap setting, and tactical judgment."
He paused.
"The examiner's comment was: 'Fights like a veteran who's seen fifty battles, not a fifteen-year-old Genin.'"
Kitahara Kaede didn't respond.
Hiruzen wasn't surprised.
He took a neatly folded Green Flak Jacket from his drawer and placed it beside the file.
"Try it on."
Kitahara Kaede picked up the jacket and put it on. It fit perfectly.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, switched the pipe to his left hand, and spoke as casually as if they were chatting.
"Your file says your parents passed away not long after you were born."
But his gaze stayed fixed on Kitahara Kaede's face.
"Yeah."
There was little inflection in Kitahara Kaede's voice.
"I was very young. I don't remember much."
He didn't avoid Hiruzen's gaze, lower his head, or deliberately stiffen his expression.
Hiruzen rolled the pipe halfway around between his fingers.
He wasn't asking because he didn't know. The file made it perfectly clear.
He wanted to see what expression crossed this fifteen-year-old's face when he