You call this a Genin?

Zou Hyuga looked frighteningly pale. Supported by Oto Uchiha, he used Medical Ninjutsu to treat himself.

They slowly shuffled toward the Third, their eyes filled with the frustration and dejection of defeat.

An act had to be convincing from start to finish. Once Zou reached the Third, he said weakly:

"Lord Third, I'm sorry. We really don't have the temperament or strength to remain Chunin. Please let us go back to being Genin."

As he spoke, Zou and Oto lowered their heads. Beneath the afternoon sun, the shadows at their feet stretched longer and longer, forlorn and alone.

The Third watched them, the hand holding his pipe trembling slightly.

If he hadn't watched the entire fight, he might really have fallen for it.

They could still put on a lively performance after taking a hit from Lightning Release Ninjutsu, and they had held their own against Kakashi's swordsmanship for several minutes.

He wanted to call Asuma over to explain just what "not strong enough to be Chunin" meant.

"Asuma, come here." The Third called Asuma over.

"What is it... Third?" Asuma was reluctant, but he came over anyway.

"What would you say the general strength of the village's Chunin is right now? And where do these two stand?"

The Third looked at Asuma. He knew Zou and Oto were beyond Genin level, but he wasn't sure exactly where they stood.

It had been far too long since he was a Chunin. Even as a boy, he had been promoted to Jonin after only a few months.

Asuma shook his head. He wasn't sure either. Chunin wasn't a classification of strength; plenty of Chunin were weaker than Genin, such as the kind of Genin Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha had been before.

The two had even worked together to ambush and kill a Kumogakure Jonin captain.

The Third nodded lightly, then looked at Zou and Oto and said slowly, "You have successfully passed the Chunin assessment and are now officially Chunin."

"?"

Question marks were written all over Zou Hyuga's and Oto Uchiha's faces.

When a "?" appeared, it usually meant the problem wasn't with me-it was with you!

They had clearly failed, so why were they still Chunin? Shouldn't they have been demoted to Genin?

A ruler's word was no joke...

As the leader of a village, he ought to act like a Hokage. Couldn't he make his word count?

"Lord Third, I believe we're unsuited to the position of Chunin..."

Zou tried to explain and salvage the situation, but his verbal persuasion was interrupted before it could take effect.

"Zou, I've read your previous mission records. All of them..."

The Third narrowed his eyes, extinguished his pipe, and scrutinized Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha.

"Your luck on your previous missions... was quite remarkable. You even encountered Ninja on D-Rank Missions... and you have a record of killing a Jonin. Yet now an ANBU Special Jōnin defeated you in an instant. Does that sound plausible?"

Zou pretended not to notice the flaw in the Third's words and waved his hands repeatedly. "It was the Explosive Tags. I'm very weak without Explosive Tags. My Gentle Fist can only handle children under ten in the clan..."

The Third nodded, reluctantly accepting that explanation, then turned to Oto Uchiha.

"Oto, you've awakened the Sharingan, haven't you? Why didn't you use it during the assessment?"

Oto's face stiffened. She hurriedly looked toward Zou, only to find that he had already turned his head away.

Taking a deep breath, Oto gradually grew serious and met the Third's eyes. "Lord Third, I will never use my Sharingan against my comrades in the village. That is my principle."

Meeting Oto's gaze, the Third first grew solemn, then nodded in satisfaction.

He was very pleased with her answer, not merely because of her words, but because of her everyday actions.

She was one of the few Uchiha clan members who possessed the Will of Fire. Perhaps she could one day change the awkward situation between the village and the Uchiha.

Zou looked at Oto in disbelief and mentally gave her a thumbs-up.

This wasn't just applying what she'd learned. She'd mastered it without a teacher!

Why hadn't I thought of that excuse? Better remember it. It might come in handy later.

Beside them, Asuma's jaw nearly hit the ground.

An outside observer could see things clearly. He felt that his father, the Third, had apparently been taken in by these two.

Was Konoha about to slide into an unpredictable abyss?

He didn't dare imagine any further. He had to warn the old man immediately and bring him back to his senses before it was too late.

Just then, Asuma looked toward Zou and noticed him watching him with a complicated expression.

Kakashi had also appeared at some point and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Asuma looked at Kakashi in surprise. He had recognized Kakashi earlier from his weapon and hair, but why was Kakashi stopping him too?

Left with no choice, he stopped in his tracks and swallowed his words.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha had saved his life. Constantly targeting them like this really was going a little too far.

Only after that thought did Asuma notice that the Byakugan watching him had turned away.

Behind his mask, Kakashi also sighed inwardly. Oto's words had reminded him of Rin and Obito.

She had the identity of an Uchiha clan member, and the personalities of Rin and Obito.

He was even a little envious of that Hyuga Branch Family member named Zou.

After hearing Oto's words, the Third fell silent for a long time before looking at Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha again.

Both their strength and their understanding of the Will of Fire placed them among the most outstanding Ninja.

If he were thirty years younger... no, twenty, he would have immediately taken them as his students.

He would have nurtured them into trusted followers loyal to the village and the Hokage, so they could become outstanding Jonin in the future.

But he was already in his fifties, a very advanced age in the Shinobi World. The only other Third in the same position was Iwagakure's Ōnoki of Both Scales.

Still, he was more fortunate than Ōnoki. He had an outstanding successor and would soon become the first Kage to retire while still alive.

But he couldn't give up on such outstanding talents either. At the very least, he had to change their desire for an easy life and make them strive to improve.

At that thought, the Third's eyes shifted toward Zou and Oto, and a subtle smile curled his lips.

That smile made Zou's and Oto's scalps prickle and their limbs tremble.

Shaking with rage and cold! When would Konoha's Genin... Chunin finally be able to stand up for themselves?

Just what was the Third, the very embodiment of cunning and deceit, planning to do to a pair of Ninja who couldn't even truss up a tailed beast?

After considering for a moment, the Third said slowly, "Zou, Oto, I've just given this some careful thought. I believe Konoha's Chunin instructors need considerable strength to protect the Ninja Academy's students. They are the village's future..."

"Don't worry, we're capable of protecting the students!" Zou and Oto said in unison.

If they couldn't be Genin, they at least had to keep their positions as Chunin instructors. The pay wasn't high, but the job was safe enough and left them plenty of free time.

If even that fell through, they could only go work part-time at the Konoha Ramen Shop.

"Words alone won't do. You couldn't even beat an ANBU Chunin..." The Third whistled, then continued, "Don't worry. This time, it's a genuine Genin, and not an ANBU elite either..."

Zou and Oto looked at the Third with expressions that said, Like hell we believe you. He was no longer worthy of their trust.

In their minds, the Third had already been placed in the same category as Asuma Sarutobi: an S-rank enemy who ruined their peaceful lives.

Shortly after the whistle, under Zou's watchful gaze, a Genin about the same age as the Third walked in with an iron pot on his back.

This fellow really was a Genin, but wasn't his name Kosuke?!