The Hokage's office.
After the Chunin Ninja Exams preliminaries ended, the Hokage gave the ten contestants a month.
A month later, once the daimyos and prominent figures from various countries had gathered, the final round would begin.
But Hongshi was summoned to the Hokage's office the very next day.
Inside the office, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura stared at Hongshi and Yuhan.
Yuhan remained as serene as ever, not the least bit nervous under the gazes of Konoha's four leading figures.
As for Hongshi...
"Zzzz..."
Utatane Koharu said, "So this is his narcolepsy."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Yes. He's been like this since I first started paying attention to him. Ask Danzo. He knows more about it than I do."
Danzo kept his eyes shut and ignored Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe. "Yuhan, we called you two here today because we have some questions."
Yuhan smiled. "Lord Third, please just ask whatever you want to know."
"Mm." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Utatane Koharu. "Go ahead."
Utatane Koharu was the only woman among the four, and she had a piercing eye. "Brat, how long have you been a ninja?"
"Two months, counting from when Hongshi taught me my first ninjutsu."
Utatane Koharu was startled by the answer. "Hiruzen, is that true?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff. "(•̆ᵕ•̆)◞ Ask Danzo about that. He knows more about it than I do."
Danzo said slowly, "Yes. Kakashi brought her back from the Land of Waves a little over two months ago. Hieimon Akagami, who's on the same team, is her younger brother."
Utatane Koharu continued, "Brat, you've only been a ninja for two months, yet you defeated Rock Lee, who's trained for over a year. Isn't that a little strange?"
Mitokado Homura pressed further. "And this Rock Lee has learned the Eight Gates Released Formation. Defeating him so easily doesn't make sense."
Utatane Koharu said, "Third, you were there at the time too. What happened?"
The Third said, "(•̆ᵕ•̆)◞ Ask Danzo! He knows more about it than I do."
Danzo said, "...Ahem. Yuhan has an exceptional talent for water release and chakra control. Hongshi also has considerable talent for developing ninjutsu, and he developed Water Release: Water Human Technique specifically for her."
Mitokado Homura said, "Water Human Technique? I've never heard of it. Third, you're the Professor of Ninjutsu. Surely you know about it."
The Third said, "Ask Danzo! He knows more about this."
Danzo said, "Fuck. The Water Human Technique uses the principles behind water clones to mold water into a designated shape, then infuses it with large amounts of chakra. Because water is soft, ordinary taijutsu has trouble breaking through it."
Mitokado Homura nodded. "I see. Water release would indeed be rather troublesome for a taijutsu specialist."
Utatane Koharu said, "Brat, this big, black, bald fellow Hongshi knows the forbidden technique One's Own Life Reincarnation. How much do you know about that?"
Yuhan said, "(•̆ᵕ•̆) Ask Danzo! He knows more about it than I do."
Danzo said, "(°ー°〃)??? A few months ago, Naruto Uzumaki and Hongshi stole the Ninja Scroll together. Naruto learned Multi Shadow Clone. Although Hongshi read through all the forbidden techniques, judging by the intelligence the Anbu gathered, I estimate he only learned one as well. After all, he's even stupider than Naruto."
Yuhan smiled. "Yes."
"Zzzz..."
Mitokado Homura exclaimed in shock, "What?! The Ninja Scroll? The scroll containing all of the Second's forbidden techniques?"
The Third said, "About that... (•̆ᵕ•̆)◞ Ask Danzo! He knows more about it than I do."
Danzo said, "Motherfucking cunt. Mizuki had tricked Naruto and Hongshi into learning the location of the Scroll of Seals. Besides, I thought that with their intelligence, they'd only manage to learn one technique at most, so I didn't send the Anbu to stop them."
And so, Yuhan was interrogated for an hour. Just as Utatane Koharu was about to ask her next question, someone suddenly kicked open the door to the Hokage's office.
"Grandpa! Try the ninjutsu I just learned, kore! It's a powerful ninjutsu Boss Hongshi taught me. Take this, kore!"
The Third said, "Σ(っ°Д°;)っ Konohamaru, get out!"
Utatane Koharu said, "Oh! Isn't this the Third's grandson, Konohamaru?"
Mitokado Homura said, "So full of energy. Let's see what ninjutsu you've learned this time."
The Third said, "No, no, no, you don't want to."
Konohamaru shouted, "Shadow Clone Technique: Transformation! Harem Technique!"
The Third sputtered, "Pfft!"
Mitokado Homura said, "Ohohoho!! What an excellent ninjutsu!"
Danzo said, "(´-ι_-｀)..."
Utatane Koharu said, "(งᵒ̌皿ᵒ̌)ง⁼³₌₃ What kind of ridiculous ninjutsu is this?!"
Yuhan said, "..."
Konohamaru said, "∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll) Don't hit me, Big Sister Yuhan!"
Hongshi said, "State freeze!"
Just as Konohamaru's Harem Technique drew the attention of the Third and the other three, Hongshi suddenly opened his right eye and used his Rinnegan's ability.
Everyone except himself and Yuhan remained frozen. "Holding five people at once is a bit taxing! Keep this up for a little while, and a thousandth of my chakra will be gone."
Yuhan said, "Boss, could you stop talking?"
He walked up to Danzo. "Let me see where you hid the First's things."
"Mind Layer Diving!"
But when Hongshi tried to probe the information in Danzo's mind, he discovered that some memories were protected by a certain power.
"Hmm? A technique that defends against genjutsu?" Hongshi chuckled. "A cheap trick."
He increased the strength of Mind Layer Diving slightly, broke through the protection, and successfully read Danzo's memories.
With limited time, Hongshi read only a small portion of his memories and learned the whereabouts of the First's scroll.
"All right, I've got the information." Withdrawing Mind Layer Diving, Hongshi returned to his previous pose. "The rest will have to wait until another opportunity."
"State restore."
An hour later, Danzo and the other two left the Hokage's office, giving the still-sleeping Hongshi a long look before they went.
Konohamaru was also taken away by Ebisu, who had come for him.
Only after seeing the three leave did the Third breathe a sigh of relief. "Hongshi! You idiot! Stop sleeping!"
Hongshi obligingly woke up. "You called?"
"We've received an A-rank escort mission, and I intend to send your Team 13."
Although Hongshi knew what was going to happen, he still asked, "But we're only genin. How can we take an A-rank mission?"
The Third continued, "During the Chunin Ninja Exams, we discovered that Orochimaru had infiltrated the village. His objective is still unclear, so all jonin must remain in the village to maintain intensive defenses."
Yuhan asked, "But wouldn't it be even more dangerous without a jonin instructor?"
The Third said, "That's why I've decided that the three members of your Team 13, Goshi Hyuga's team, will go together with the three members of Team 3, Team Guy."
Yuhan said, "That bushy-browed guy? How annoying!"
Hongshi, however, immediately perked up. "Oh! Team Guy? This should be interesting! All right, Team 13 accepts this mission."
The Third nodded and took a scroll from his drawer. "The scroll contains a Summoning Technique. You can use it in an emergency."
Hongshi asked, "With so many people, shouldn't we decide who gets the final say? Well, leave that job to me!"
Yuhan said, "Tch!"
The Third took a puff. "Exactly. So Yuhan will be the commander for this mission. I'll inform Team Guy."
Hongshi said, "∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll) I object!"
The Third shouted, "Shut the hell up!"
Yuhan covered his mouth with his sleeve. "Hehehe. Don't worry, Lord Third. With me there, I won't let them cause trouble."
The Third said to Hongshi, "All right, go back and get ready. I'll tell Yuhan the mission details first. The mission starts at noon three days from now."