404 Learning Ninjutsu in a Glance

Several more days had passed since the last summoning of the Sage of Six Paths.

Cipher-decoding ninja dispatched by the various villages arrived in Konoha one after another and began their work...

Today was relatively quiet. Shinju slacked off for most of the day, brewed himself a cup of tea, and stood in front of the Hokage Office's massive floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the entirety of Konoha...

On a sudden whim, Shinju asked, "Shikamaru, about how many people are living in Konoha now?"

Without hesitation, Shikamaru rattled off a string of numbers:

"After the Fourth Great Ninja War, quite a lot of new people moved in. The current permanent population is around sixty-two thousand three hundred..."

Shinju was slightly taken aback.

"That many already? No wonder the village's territory has expanded so much... We could practically call it Konoha City now..."

Shikamaru nodded. "That was my count from two weeks ago. It's only going to be more now... After all, you're the Sixth Hokage—your reputation is huge..."

Shinju seemed to think of something, his expression turning sharp.

"With so many new people moving in, the ones doing real estate development in Konoha must be making an absolute killing, right?! (´°Δ°`)"

Shikamaru nodded again.

"They're making money hand over fist. --003d_--003d"

Shinju looked regretful.

"Damn it, how did I forget about such a gold mine?"

"Then those real estate guys—did they bring up shared public area ratios? ∑(°Д°)"

Shikamaru looked confused.

"What's a shared public area ratio?"

Shinju nodded. "Good. It's better if you don't know. (ﾉ∇︎〃 )"

Time flew by, and before he knew it, it was noon. After hastily throwing together a simple lunch, Shinju buried himself in paperwork.

Not long after, Shikamaru walked into the Hokage Office carrying a thick stack of documents.

"Because of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Chunin Exams were delayed by over half a year. Next month it'll finally be time to hold them... These are the lists of ninja from each village participating in the exam..."

Shinju took the documents and was stunned.

"Why is it so thick? (⊙o⊙) When I took the Chunin Exams, there weren't even a hundred candidates..."

Shikamaru explained, "This time is the first-ever joint Chunin Exam held by the Five Great Villages. Plus Grass, Sound, and Waterfall... There are a total of six hundred and twelve candidates..."

"Back then, when the war ended, if you hadn't used the Rinne Rebirth Technique to revive the ninja who died in battle, this list would've been at least half as thin..."

Shinju said proudly, "So you're saying this whole thick stack is basically all the merit I've accumulated! (⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎"

(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)

Shikamaru teased him. "The people you revived were all snatched straight from the Shinigami's hands. It's already impressive he hasn't dragged you down there himself yet. -(￢∀￢)σ"

"Oh right—since this is the first Chunin Exam after the war, and also the first-ever joint exam of the Five Villages, a lot of important figures will be attending. The daimyōs of various countries, the Kage..."

Shinju frowned. "So many big shots coming—doesn't that just add pressure to Konoha's security? Can't we persuade them not to come? Õ_Õ"

Shikamaru: "..."

These big names were willing to attend as a sign of respect to the village.

Other villages would beg for that kind of attention, yet Shinju was actually trying to turn them away... (ー ー゛)

"That's not realistic. Doing that would just make enemies for Konoha. You don't exactly chase people away like that..." Shikamaru felt utterly drained.

Shinju didn't say much more and began arranging manpower and security...

Seeing Shinju fully focused on work, Shikamaru turned to leave the office. Before going, he added,

"Oh, and with the Chunin Exams coming up, don't forget—you're the Hokage. You should give Konoha's candidates a bit of encouragement..."

Outside the office.

Shikamaru happened to run into Ino, who had come to visit Shinju.

As if afraid of disturbing him, Ino asked quietly, "Is Shinju busy in there?"

Shikamaru replied, "Yeah. The new Chunin Exams are right around the corner—he's got a ton on his plate."

Ino sighed softly. "I see..."

Curious, Shikamaru asked, "Did you come because something important came up?"

Ino lifted the lunch box she was carrying.

"I made chicken soup for Shinju. The book says, if you want to capture a man's heart, you have to capture his stomach first... (◔◡◔)"

Shikamaru said flatly, "Did you forget the time Shinju got food poisoning from your cooking?"

Ino looked innocent. "That time someone poisoned it! This time I watched the whole process myself—no one else touched it..."

Shikamaru still had things to take care of. He waved at Ino.

"Go on in. Be careful, keep it quiet, and don't disturb him."

With that, Shikamaru walked away with a sigh.

As a fellow member of Ino–Shika–Cho, he always hoped things would turn out well for Ino.

...

Orochimaru's laboratory.

Orochimaru gazed at the embryo floating in the nutrient solution with satisfaction.

"My perfect child.（ --0027▿ --0027 ）"

"You will help me explore the mysteries of life!"

The moment his words fell, Yamato burst into the lab with a squad behind him.

Yamato shouted, "Orochimaru! The Sixth Hokage ordered you to stop this experiment long ago—how dare you keep doing it in secret! (*Ӧ)σ"

Orochimaru sneered. "That Shinju only has brute strength. He has absolutely no pursuit of science!"

"The more he forbids me from experimenting, the more determined I am to do it! ( ´◔‸◔`)"

As he spoke, Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh.

"Yamato, you included, are all my test subjects. You don't honestly think a handful of you can stop me, do you? My power is far beyond your imagination! ヽ('⌒´メ)ノ"

With that, Orochimaru's arms transformed into writhing masses of snakes, lunging toward Yamato's group!

Facing Orochimaru's attack, Yamato was already prepared.

"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"

"Clang—!"

A row of wooden pillars burst up from the ground, forming a shield in front of Yamato and blocking the snakes!

After stopping the attack, Yamato continued forming seals.

"Wood Release: Four-Pillar Prison!"

"Clang clang clang!!!"

Several thick wooden pillars shot up from beneath Orochimaru's feet, twisting and linking together until they formed a perfectly square wooden cage!!

To deal with Orochimaru's flexible, serpentine body, Yamato didn't leave even a single gap!

Orochimaru didn't take this setup seriously at all. His muffled voice echoed from inside the cage.

"You think you can trap me with this?"

"I can get out anytime I—"

Loud impacts rang out from inside the cage, and it began to shake violently!

"Bang bang bang—!!"

Orochimaru struggled for quite some time, yet the Wood Release prison showed no sign of breaking!!

At last, Orochimaru calmed down. "Yamato, did Shinju give you chakra? Relying on someone else's power—what kind of skill is that? And besides, Shinju is your own student. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)"

Yamato didn't blush or flinch. He replied solemnly,

"Not ashamed at all! When your student makes it big, the teacher benefits too! ヽ( --0027ᴗ--0027 )ﾉ"

...

At the same time.

The Kaguya alternate dimension Shinju had visited before.

Several people who had once met Toneri on the moon arrived here once again.

The one in front frowned.

"So this is the space Kaguya created?"

"Her chakra is so thin it's almost impossible to sense..."