Asuma, their lifelong nemesis

Early the next morning.

After his morning workout, Zou Hyuga put on his Ninja Academy teacher's vest and stepped out of his home.

As a disciplined teenager, Zou Hyuga exercised every morning.

He ran a hundred laps around the courtyard, practiced a complete Gentle Fist routine, and drank a cup of hot milk to welcome another happy day of teaching.

Once he was ready, Zou Hyuga headed to the crossroads, where Oto Uchiha had already been waiting for quite some time.

Zou Hyuga was about to bring up the aftermath of yesterday's experiment when he noticed that Oto looked rather troubled.

"What happened?"

Zou Hyuga frowned. Had Root made a move? Had that bastard Danzo discovered Oto's strength after all?

Whatever had happened, that fellow Danzo surely had something to do with it.

The gloom on Oto's face lasted only a moment before she recounted everything that had happened in the clan compound yesterday.

"Uchiha Fugaku refused to run?"

Zou Hyuga nodded. "Your clan leader is a rare smart one! He's different from the others."

With the Sannin and Minato Namikaze around, the Uchiha had no chance of winning the election at present.

Uchiha Fugaku had acted reasonably enough. At least he had not foolishly jumped into the race for Hokage and made himself everyone's target. He counted as an Uchiha with a functioning brain.

That was quite rare for someone with three tomoe or the Mangekyo Sharingan.

As though she had sensed what Zou Hyuga was thinking, Oto Uchiha shot him a fierce glare.

"Your Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Seal system doesn't seem much better!"

At the sudden mention of the Caged Bird Seal system, Zou Hyuga's expression darkened a little before returning to normal.

In fact, he had come up with a solution to the Caged Bird Seal system long ago, and it had been verified as feasible.

All he had to do was kill every member of the Hyuga Main Family, and the Caged Bird Seal's restraints would naturally disappear.

Simple, brutal, and direct-and it would solve the problem once and for all.

But he could never do that, nor did he have the strength. What he wanted was a peaceful life, to live safely in the Shinobi World.

After trading a few barbs, much of the gloom faded from their faces.

Most things in life did not go as planned. They had grown used to that while carrying out missions away from the village.

They were already quite satisfied to be teaching peacefully at the Ninja Academy like this. Everything else was for those important jonin to worry about.

One afternoon a few days later, Zou Hyuga put away his lesson observation notes and walked into the teachers' office.

As a newly hired teacher, he worked diligently and eagerly maintained a good impression among his colleagues.

He also took a serious, responsible approach to teaching the academy students, who were not yet ten years old.

"Another busy, fulfilling day!"

Watching the students leave school, Zou Hyuga sighed as he always did. Oto Uchiha, beside him, voiced the same sentiment. Once again, they were standing together.

They had once been teammates, and now they were colleagues at the Ninja Academy.

It was perfectly normal for them to go places together.

"Are we going there today?" Oto Uchiha asked, looking at Zou Hyuga.

"We still need to go today," Zou Hyuga replied at once.

That night, he had stayed up comparing the experimental data. He had gained some insights, but no actual breakthrough.

Perhaps they would need to repeat similar experiments dozens of times before they could truly apply the results to a human body.

Then he could hide behind Oto and serve as a massive chakra battery.

Having made their decision, the two prepared to head to the Forest of Death in the hills behind Konoha. Barring any surprises, they would arrive in a little over ten minutes.

Just then, a figure appeared before them and blocked their path.

"Who are you?"

Oto Uchiha warily studied the figure before them. The person was wearing a mask.

And the only people allowed to wear masks in Konoha were the ANBU who served directly under the Hokage.

"We're just chunin teachers. What can we do for you, sir?" Zou Hyuga stepped forward and asked politely.

The ANBU before them wore a fox mask. His build and the sword at his waist were also very familiar.

With that conspicuous head of white hair added to the mix, his disguise was utterly pointless.

It was about as effective as Might Guy putting on a mask and shouting "Konoha Whirlwind!"

After just a few days apart, Kakashi had become an ANBU 007... elite. How lucky.

Still, what did this fellow want with him?

He had once been a veteran Konoha genin, and now he was an honorable chunin teacher, utterly loyal to the village and a staunch supporter of the Will of Fire.

Would the ANBU come knocking even for an upstanding person like him?

"Lord Hokage summons you!" The voice beneath the fox mask held no emotion.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha exchanged a glance, nodded, and followed the ANBU operative Kakashi.

An ANBU serving directly under the Hokage had brought orders from the Third. They had no right to refuse, unless they wanted to defy the Hokage.

Along the way, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha exchanged looks, but still could not work out the reason.

Had their resale of mission spoils been discovered?

Or had their daily training caught the ANBU's attention?

Neither should have happened!

No ANBU should have been able to conceal themselves from the scrutiny of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and the Byakugan.

They had little time to think before the three of them arrived at the Hokage building.

Looking up at the Hokage's office on the third floor, Zou Hyuga recalled how, a few days earlier, he had appealed to the Third with reason and emotion, even going so far as to praise the Will of Fire with the Third at its center, before finally obtaining a letter of recommendation from him.

It might have been called a letter of recommendation, but what ninja at the academy would dare refuse to hire the two of them?

Upon reaching the third floor, Kakashi pushed open the door.

Silent throughout the journey, he finally spoke as he looked at the Third. "Lord Third, I've brought them."

The Third nodded slightly and motioned for Kakashi to stand aside, then scrutinized Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha.

After Asuma had complained to him that day, he had made time to investigate their records carefully and question other ninja who had taken part in their missions.

To his surprise, he discovered that the experiences of these two youngsters, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha, defied description.

They encountered bandits and wild beasts on D-rank missions, and ninja on C-rank missions.

On their only B-rank mission, they had encountered a team of jonin from Sunagakure. Every mission they carried out seemed to jump up a rank out of nowhere.

Yet they had survived all those dangerous missions.

That proved their strength was far beyond the level of genin. Even among chunin, they would count as elites.

That was why he had summoned Oto Uchiha and Zou Hyuga, not merely because of Asuma's few remarks.

Zou Hyuga looked calmly at the Third, but the man's smile unsettled him. He wore the same expression himself during experiments, as though he had found an intriguing new toy.

"Lord Third..." Zou Hyuga tried to explain something, or at least ask why they had been brought here.

Just then, the door to the Hokage's office was roughly shoved open from outside, and Asuma strode in excitedly with a cigarette between his lips.

"Old man, did you take care of what you promised me?"

Zou Hyuga stopped trying to explain. He and Oto Uchiha both turned to look at Asuma Sarutobi.

They figured they now understood why they had been summoned.

Asuma Sarutobi truly was their lifelong nemesis.