Where Mu Feng would go!

"Do you want to take him as your student?"

Up in the stands, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru and asked.

"I'll leave everything to you, teacher!" Orochimaru replied with a smile, sounding remarkably humble.

"Oh, you were never this obedient before!" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked away and rose to his feet. "I already have other plans for that child. He's an Uchiha, so having him study under you wouldn't be ideal!"

Orochimaru seemed to have anticipated this outcome. He showed no surprise and said nothing more.

Still, after the match in the Chunin Ninja Exams, Mu Feng had certainly caught Orochimaru's attention.

Everyone else was shocked by Mu Feng's strength, but Orochimaru was more interested in how Mu Feng had forcibly deactivated the Eight Gates Released Formation yet remained capable of fighting for a while, even performing delicate chakra manipulation such as coating a weapon with lightning release chakra.

As Konoha's master researcher, Orochimaru was arguably the village's foremost expert on the human body. He had studied the Eight Gates Released Formation too, but had soon discarded the forbidden technique. What he had always wanted was immortality, not a short-lived burst of power followed by an early grave.

Hiruzen Sarutobi left, and Orochimaru did not linger long before leaving the arena as well.

Meanwhile, in the infirmary.

"Mu Feng, that last jutsu of yours was so cool!"

"Mu Feng, you're amazing! You even beat a ninja that strong!"

"Mu Feng, are you hurt? Let me take a look!"

After Namiashi Raidō escorted Mu Feng to the infirmary, he was soon driven out, because Kurenai Yuhi and the other students from Mu Feng's class had rushed in.

They had all been fairly familiar with Mu Feng before, but now they blinked at him like curious children, as though they had never known him at all.

The few who were close to Mu Feng kept worrying about his health, while some of the others talked about how amazing he was and asked him what he had been thinking during the fight.

"Mu Feng, what should we do if we run into an opponent like that when we take the Chunin Ninja Exams? I couldn't escape a water prison that huge!"

"You couldn't escape? Haha, then you'd just have to wait to die!"

"Bullshit! I was asking Mu Feng. What's it got to do with you?"

"If you can't escape, it's simple. Just take that guy down inside the water prison!" Mu Feng said with a faint smile.

"Beat him inside the water prison? How is that possible?" Guy asked in disbelief.

Seeing Guy like this, Mu Feng found it rather funny.

You were the one who beat Kisame to a pulp in the original story! Have you forgotten?

"Guy, if you can open the Eight Gates Released Formation up to the Seventh Gate, you'll be able to defeat Kisame. Open all Eight Gates, and you can kill him instantly! But you know what happens after you open all Eight Gates!" Mu Feng said.

Those words gave Guy a tremendous boost of encouragement and confidence.

"Mu Feng, don't worry! I'll definitely keep at it!"

Just then.

"Everyone, clear out. The patient still needs to rest!"

A medical ninja walked in and addressed the group.

Hearing this, Kurenai Yuhi and the others reluctantly left the ward. Peace finally settled around Mu Feng, and he enjoyed a good sleep.

The next day, Mu Feng received a summons to the Hokage Building.

Mu Feng knew this meant he had passed the Chunin assessment and that Hiruzen Sarutobi was going to issue him his Chunin certification.

The certification itself was secondary. What concerned Mu Feng more was how Hiruzen Sarutobi would assign him. Would he put him in a regular mission team, have him join the Anbu, or make him Orochimaru's student and have him train under him?

Of those three possibilities, Mu Feng preferred joining the Anbu.

For one thing, the identities of Anbu members were confidential, at least to most ninja. Some members did not even know one another's identities, though they worked well together.

Mu Feng had quite a few secrets, and joining the Anbu would make it easier to conceal them. Of course, he could manage that in a regular mission team too.

But the Anbu had another advantage: their missions were generally difficult, with plenty of combat and tracking. A regular mission team, on the other hand, might end up taking jobs to find stray cats and dogs.

Mu Feng did not want to waste his time on missions that ordinary people could complete. He wanted combat assignments, and perhaps one of them might even trigger a system mission.

Besides, Mu Feng figured he was quite likely to join the Anbu.

Otherwise, there would have been no need to take him along on that previous Anbu operation.

That Anbu squad had been strong enough to handle the Kirigakure Ninja in the outpost with confidence, even if they had to pay a small price.

In any case, Mu Feng would have to wait until he met Hiruzen Sarutobi to find out the actual outcome.

While Mu Feng was on his way to the Hokage Building.

An uninvited guest had already arrived there: Shimura Danzō, known as Konoha's king of taking the blame, a figure worthy of the title Pot Kage.

Danzo controlled Konoha's Root and the village's underground fighting forces. He was also adept at using schemes to secure benefits for Konoha.

In the original story, Amegakure had shown signs of rising thanks to Hanzo of the Salamander and the emergence of the Akatsuki. It was Danzo who had used a scheme to sow discord, manipulating Hanzo of the Salamander, Nagato, Yahiko, and the others, plunging Amegakure into internal strife.

Hanzo of the Salamander was killed, Yahiko died in battle, and Nagato was left barely alive, greatly easing the pressure on Konoha.

Beyond that, the destruction of Konoha's Uchiha Clan was also inseparable from Danzo's plotting, and he had certain ties to Orochimaru as well.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi represented Konoha's bright, public face, then Danzo represented its shadow. Together, they controlled the entire village and sought to keep Konoha stable.

But both men lacked power. Neither possessed the First Hokage's overwhelming strength nor the Second Hokage's mastery of ninjutsu.

Under their leadership, Konoha's strength and deterrent power were actually declining steadily. They could not even keep the Uchiha Clan under control.

And now, Danzo's purpose in coming to the Hokage Building was quite clear: he wanted someone assigned to him.

After this Chunin assessment, only three people had been promoted to Chunin.

Mu Feng Uchiha, Hokado Hyuga, and Shiosui Nara.

Hokado Hyuga and Shiosui Nara already had teams, so their promotions to Chunin would not affect their assignments.

That left Mu Feng as the focus of the two men's struggle.

"Lord Hokage, you should understand the Uchiha Clan's position in the village very well. Besides, the other teams are already full! Why not transfer him to Root? Root needs a pair of Sharingan too!"

Danzo narrowed his eyes, his voice betraying neither sorrow nor joy.

"I decided where Mu Feng would go long ago! He has already taken part in an operation alongside the Anbu!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude toward his old friend was cold as well. The two often clashed over how Konoha should be governed.

Yet when it came to matters involving Konoha's interests, they could still unite.

Their relationship was difficult to explain in just a few words.

"Oh? As far as I know, the Anbu's roster is fairly settled right now. There don't seem to have been any personnel changes recently!" Naturally, Shimura Danzō had done his homework before coming to ask for someone.

But just as his words fell.

Knock, knock, knock-

A knock sounded at the door.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo, Mu Feng Uchiha is here!"