After saying goodbye to Konan, Anyo went straight to the Hokage Office. The lights were still on. Sure enough, the Third was as hardworking as ever.
Anyo knocked on the door, and the Third's voice soon came from inside. "Come in."
He pushed the door open and glanced around. Tsunade had already finished her report and left, leaving the Third alone in his chair, smoking his pipe, an enduring look of worry on his face. It seemed Orochimaru's departure had dealt him quite a blow.
Seeing that it was Anyo, the Third composed himself and asked calmly, "I'm curious. Where did you go during those two months away from prison? What did you do?"
Not much. Just killed a Kage and founded an organization, that was all.
Of course, he couldn't tell the truth. Anyo could only offer the same line he had used to put Tsunade off earlier. "A friend ran into trouble. I went out to save him, then took him somewhere safe and got him settled. It took a little time."
If the Third kept pressing, Anyo could only bring up Takigakure. He believed that with Genno's intelligence, even if the Third sent someone there, Genno would be able to dispel his suspicions.
Fortunately, the Third had only asked in passing. After receiving an answer, he didn't press further. Instead, he took out a document and handed it to Anyo. "The village will soon be holding the chunin ninja exams. To prevent any accidents during the exams, I've been struggling to decide which medical ninja to assign to provide support. Since you're back, I'll leave this mission to you."
The chunin ninja exams? Anyo had almost forgotten. This wasn't wartime, and ninja promotions were decided through exams. Triple leaps like Kakashi's were exceedingly rare; the process was