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Although Genji had his doubts, regardless of what Mangetsu Hozuki planned to do now, he had absolutely no reason to object.
The ANBU quickly notified the Kaguya clan members searching everywhere for Kimimaro.
"Why call us to the Mizukage Tower now? We have other things to do!"
"You won't send people to help us find Kimimaro, so why call us over?"
"If you have something to say, say it quickly."
When a group of noisy, white-haired strongmen walked in, Genji felt a jolt in his heart.
After all, only he and Mangetsu Hozuki, one old and one young, were in the room. He truly feared Mangetsu Hozuki might speak recklessly and directly provoke these people.
Fighting here would be extremely troublesome.
Mangetsu Hozuki sat on the table, flipping the document in his hand to the back, where a patch of messy, blurry handwriting resided.
"Considering the matter of the Three-Tails, the Kaguya clan has suffered heavy losses in both infrastructure and economy."
"I have decided to specifically assign high-commission missions to you, enabling you to rebuild as quickly as possible."
The noisy group of white-haired strongmen quieted down instantly. Looking at each other, they didn't know what tricks the new Mizukage was playing.
High-commission missions for them?
Could such good fortune fall upon them?
It was known that Yagura, during his reign, desperately suppressed them, both before and after being controlled.
Yagura had always worried about the Kaguya clan issue, assigning them few missions.
Whether the Kaguya clan defected or caused trouble outside, it would be a major headache for Yagura.
So Yagura suppressed them as much as possible within the village, making them quiet down.
Now that Mangetsu Hozuki became Mizukage, he immediately assigned them various high-commission missions? This was simply unheard of.
"These missions have no time limit. Simply put, you can return after completing them."
"However, high commission naturally means high danger. The quantity is limited. Agree quickly, otherwise, some might not be assigned."
After Mangetsu Hozuki finished speaking with feigned seriousness, he waved the documents in his hand at the men below.
"Me! Me!!!!"
"Get back! Get back, don't push me!"
As the Kaguya clan members frantically reached out, scrambling to sign up, Genji finally realized something was wrong.
High commission, danger, no time limit, and limited quantity—linguistic manipulation forcing these people to compete.
This kind of rhetoric definitely wouldn't come from a child like Mangetsu Hozuki!
The image of Hatake Kuroshi's face with a disdainful smile instantly flashed through Genji's mind.
It must be that guy!
These words, this whole affair, were fundamentally controlled by him from behind the scenes.
Using the opportunity of rebuilding, he wants to send the entire Kaguya clan away.
Perhaps because he's a teacher, Hatake Kuroshi accurately grasped what the Kaguya clan needed most... even finding a high-sounding excuse.
"Damn it..."
Genji felt, for the first time, the sensation of being completely played like a fiddle.
Hatake Kuroshi seemed to have calculated everything perfectly.
His hopes of making a comeback using the Kaguya clan were likely completely dashed. Given the current situation, Kimimaro was almost certainly with Hatake Kuroshi.
The Kaguya clan was certainly anxious about Kimimaro, but they kept that human weapon originally to provoke war and show others the terror of their clan.
Now, being able to go out and perform high-commission, dangerous missions—wasn't this a direct way to prove their terrifying strength?
They didn't even need Kimimaro anymore.
Besides, if that kid Kimimaro had any sense, he should know how to act within the village.
Seeing the Kaguya clan members beaming with smiles, leaving one after another with mission papers in hand...
"That person really knows how to manipulate hearts."
Genji had already sunk back into his chair.
His face once again wore that numb expression, like someone nearing death, small eyes hidden in darkness.
"Teacher is amazing, of course. In every aspect."
Mangetsu Hozuki jumped down from the table, responding without reservation, looking boastfully at Genji.
...
The next morning, Ninja Academy.
"Jan, Ken, Pon!" (Rock, Paper, Scissors!)
When Mangetsu Hozuki brought Suigetsu Hozuki jumping up to the third-floor dormitory... he saw two men, at least [height measurement missing] tall, standing in the middle of the room playing rock-paper-scissors.
And the five or six-year-old Kimimaro sat on Shisui's bed, leaning forward eagerly, watching the two.
The scene looked incredibly incongruous, as if the two men and Kimimaro had swapped ages.
"Ah—! How are you so good at this?"
Shisui immediately wailed, dropping his head, looking completely dejected.
"You've lost for three days straight. Still want to play~?"
Hatake Kuroshi grinned, making a peace sign at Shisui.
"What are you guys betting on?"
Two heads, looking like they were carved from the same mold, looked curiously at them.
Same straight white short hair; Suigetsu looked somewhat cuter, the bangs in front also longer.
"Oh, Kimimaro doesn't want to sleep alone. If he comes to our dorm, one of us has to squeeze onto a bed with him."
"Shisui has already lost for three days~"
Hatake Kuroshi, as if deliberately mocking, gestured the number three in front of them while speaking.
Shisui didn't mind squeezing onto a bed with a child, but he lost three times in a row! He never lost this much even when playing with Itachi!
Mangetsu Hozuki and Suigetsu exchanged glances, tilted their heads slightly, deliberating, then suggested.
"...You could also find a place to add another bed."
"Ah—Mangetsu, don't say it out loud! Let him lose for two more days."
"Eh?!"
"If you lose, you just say buy a bed!? You...!"
Shisui, who had been seriously playing rock-paper-scissors, paused, then realized Hatake Kuroshi had been acting all along.
Hatake Kuroshi didn't know how well Suigetsu and Kimimaro would get along, but currently, he was the only available peer of similar age.
Kimimaro didn't talk much, always observing everyone with intensely curious eyes.
After all, before this, the number of breathing sounds he had encountered was countable on one hand.
Mangetsu Hozuki briefly introduced Suigetsu and left. Anyway, with Hatake Kuroshi here, Mangetsu Hozuki wasn't too worried his younger brother would get beaten up.
If nothing else, their family's Hydrification Technique was quite adept at dodging attacks.
"Suigetsu... ah, same age. They should probably get along."
"We have class soon, so you two have to go downstairs to play."
Hatake Kuroshi thoughtfully observed the two obediently nodding little white-haired heads.
"Shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Both Kimimaro and Suigetsu were at the Ninja Academy for the first time.
School was something Suigetsu somewhat understood before; at least Mangetsu Hozuki would tell him bits and pieces.
But this was truly Kimimaro's first time seeing so many people sitting in one room. He investigated curiously.
Two heads squeezed against the classroom window, looking inside. Hatake Kuroshi stood at the lectern, grinning and talking about something~
Ninja Academy studies weren't like ordinary schools. Besides some necessary basic calculations, the focus was still on practical combat training.
So Hatake Kuroshi mostly taught some basic courses in the morning, similar to physics-math problem calculations.
Suigetsu and Kimimaro listened by the window with furrowed brows for a while, finding they understood each word but felt completely lost when put together.
"Can brother even understand this stuff?"
Suigetsu frowned pretentiously. He had seen Mangetsu Hozuki practicing that... speed kill line thing before.
Swish, a water line could be spat out. But the name was too long and awkward. Mangetsu Hozuki told him several times, but he only remembered the last three characters.
Although he also learned and trained with Mangetsu Hozuki, he could barely reach the level of knocking over a few wooden boards... only to be evaluated by his brother as 'Isn't this basically the same as Wild Water Wave?'.
This remark severely damaged Suigetsu's confidence, making him want to see how Mangetsu Hozuki's teacher actually taught.
But looking now, regardless of who the teacher was, Suigetsu's hope of learning that move seemed somewhat slim.
"Forget it. Why aren't you talking at all? Let's go, let's go look elsewhere."
"Besides being big, there's nothing here."
Suigetsu turned his head, pinched Kimimaro's cheek, and dragged him towards the open space outside the classroom.
"I can stay anywhere. It all feels very interesting..."
Kimimaro frowned, looking like he could be pushed around.
This was the first time he met someone his own age who wasn't afraid of him.
Although being dragged around everywhere, he felt quite pleased inside.
As for Suigetsu, he usually followed Mangetsu Hozuki around at home.
Rarely coming out, seeing Kimimaro look at everything with fresh eyes greatly satisfied his desire to have a little brother figure.
Hatake Kuroshi didn't pay much attention to their movements. After all, making ninjas sit down and do calculations, eighty percent would die on the spot... otherwise, why would so many cheat during the Chunin Exams back then?
It was perfectly normal for these two kids to lose interest and slip away.
As class neared dismissal, Hatake Kuroshi sensed the students' gazes seemed to drift towards the window, as if something very attractive was there.
This had never happened before.
Shisui also seemed hesitant at the door, wanting to come in but feeling inappropriate, looking back and forth outside like a bugged character.
As the dismissal bell rang, the students rushed out in a swarm.
The large crowd seemed to be muttering something.
"Woah!!! Got it down? Got it down?!?!"
"Won't doing that kill you?"
"Looks so scary."
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