405 Learning Ninjutsu in a Glance

Orochimaru's plot to escape and cultivate an embryo quickly reached Shinju's ears.

So Orochimaru, who hadn't been out of Konoha Prison for long, successfully got himself thrown back inside.

After being locked up again, Orochimaru was still indignant.

"Shinju, you shouldn't interfere with my scientific research!"

"Ignorant! Anyone who doesn't know how to properly use their own power is ignorant!!"

Shinju couldn't hear Orochimaru's furious shouting. And even if he could, he probably wouldn't bother responding.

At this moment, he was in the Hokage's office, discussing with everyone how to deal with the embryo Orochimaru had created...

Homura Mitokado spoke up with a proposal:

"Just erase it directly... He never should've existed in this world to begin with..."

"Who knows what Orochimaru intended to do by creating him..."

Tsunade immediately objected:

"The one at fault is Orochimaru, not the child. The embryo has already developed—it's equivalent to a five- or six-month-old fetus. Doing that would be murder..."

As she spoke, Tsunade looked toward Shinju at the head seat.

"Shinju, give us your stance."

Once she said that, everyone's gaze fell on Shinju, waiting for his final decision.

After a long silence, Shinju frowned and said,

"Keep him."

Koharu Utatane immediately asked in confusion,

"Keep him? Do you mean leave it unattended, or have Konoha raise him?"

"If you ask me, since we can't raise him and can't kill him, we might as well leave him in the culture tank and pretend we never saw him. ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"

Shinju: "..."

"Classic bury-your-head-in-the-sand logic."

Koharu Utatane: "..."

Shinju thought for a moment.

"Hand him over to the Konoha Research Institute. I'll have someone raise him."

Tsunade nodded.

"I agree..."

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado sighed.

"Then we can only agree as well."

Ever since Shinju took office as the Sixth Hokage, the two of them were basically decorative pieces in meetings—their words carried no weight at all...

Still, the two old-timers knew their place. They understood that this was now a young person's era, and they also hoped Konoha would grow better and better under Shinju's leadership...

...

Konoha Research Institute.

Katasuke stared at the culture tank Shinju brought in, baffled and shocked.

(꒪⌓꒪)

"Sixth Hokage-sama, what is the meaning of this?!"

Shinju said,

"This child is your responsibility from now on. Don't let him die. Report any changes to me immediately, until he reaches the state of a full-term, normally born child."

"I—"

Katasuke was about to refuse the task, but before he could finish, Shinju cut him off.

"Redeem yourself through merit. I haven't even punished you yet for the last chip theft. (′д｀σ)σ"

Katasuke: ´_＞`

"Yes, Hokage-sama! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

After giving Katasuke a full rundown of everything related to raising the child, Shinju returned to his office and finished handling the remaining documents.

Once everything was done, Shinju glanced at the clock on the wall.

"It's already six-thirty..."

"Damn it, when will I finally get to live a nine-to-five life? ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶"

...

The next day.

The door to the Hokage's office was pushed open by Sasuke.

"Shinju! Look what good stuff I brought you! (⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎"

Shinju raised his head, his gaze landing on the chakra armor in Sasuke's hands.

"Raimon finished it this fast?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Of course. All company resources were funneled to him. If he couldn't deliver, there'd be no reason to keep him."

Shinju asked curiously,

"How much did it cost?"

Sasuke thought for a moment.

"All expenses combined... around ten to twenty million. ( ´▽` )"

Shinju: (⊙o⊙)

"Hold on!"

"You call that 'around'?"

"Do you know how much money we have left right now?(ಠ .̫.̫ ಠ)"

Sasuke looked completely unconcerned.

"This is the first one, after all. The machinery and processes for making the armor all require trial and error. Higher costs are normal. The cost will definitely go down later."

Shinju replied,

"That may be true... but after the Fourth Shinobi World War, village commissions dropped. It feels like none of the major villages are that wealthy. Who would spend that much on a single suit of armor? •﹏•"

Sasuke said,

"Who says these armors can only be sold to shinobi?"

Shinju answered,

"Chakra armor—if not sold to shinobi, then to who..."

He stopped halfway through, a flash of inspiration lighting up his mind.

"Right! Sell them to those life-loving nobles and high officials! (´◊ω◊｀)"

"In that case, defense alone won't cut it. Contact Katasuke at the Konoha Research Institute later and see if offensive scientific ninja tools can be installed onto the chakra armor... Try to produce a batch before the Chūnin Exams!"

Sasuke nodded.

"Alright!"

...

Cloud Lightning Gorge.

Killer B was thinking over a new song.

"The rhyme scheme here's hard to handle... It doesn't flow well when sung all the way through. And this 'heart-throbbing' line—it's too cliché..."

After pondering for a long while, Killer B picked up the draft and started singing:

"Yo yo~ I'm Killer B..."

Suddenly!

"Swish—!!"

A pitch-black spatial vortex appeared in midair!

Immediately after, a gigantic figure burst out of it!

The man was huge, wielding a red axe, and he came crashing down from the sky, slashing straight at Killer B!!

Battle-hardened Killer B reacted instantly, rapidly retreating to open some distance.

Once he got a clear look at the attacker, Killer B realized something was wrong!

"Horns on your head, all-white outfit... You guys are here to send Ōtsutsuki Kaguya off, aren't you? (⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎"

The hulking figure opposite him: ▼_▼

"Kaguya, that traitor, isn't worthy of me sending her off!"

"Hand over the Eight-Tails inside you!!"

...

Deep in the primeval forest.

The tailed beasts lay scattered on the ground, barely clinging to life...

...

Peaceful time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day before the Chūnin Exams.

To allow for sufficient rest, all examinees participating in the Chūnin Exams arrived at the test site a day in advance, including the daimyō who came to watch.

Early that morning, Shinju arrived at the village entrance. He looked up at the road leading to Konoha's gates, his expression complicated.

About half an hour later, Shikamaru arrived.

"You're here so early—waiting to welcome guests? I thought someone who dislikes diplomacy like you wouldn't show up." Shikamaru joked.

After that line, Shinju didn't respond for a long time.

Shikamaru said,

"Why so quiet? Up too early and got morning grumpiness?"

Several seconds passed after Shikamaru finished speaking. Shinju, who had been staring at the distant sky, finally replied:

"Shikamaru, I have a bad feeling."

Shikamaru clearly hadn't realized the seriousness of it yet.

"What do you mean? I heard you're planning to showcase your company's newly made chakra armor after the Chūnin Exams. Is there something wrong with the armor?"

Shinju: _

"That's not what I mean."

"I just feel like something's going to go wrong during the Chūnin Exams..."

Shikamaru laughed.

"Who would dare cause trouble inside Konoha? Shinju, you must be too tired lately. Go back and get some rest—I'll handle the welcoming..."