Watching the battle between the jinchuriki and the dark horse, who had not been taken into account before, Sarutobi Hiruzen kept a neutral expression on his face by sheer force of will, although inside he was seething with rage. All the plans, all the calculations, went to waste just because one brat couldn't defeat a girl younger and obviously weaker than himself, despite all the training and surprises he had prepared!
- It looks like your words came true, Hokage-dono," Suna's leader turned to his neighbor, 'these young kunoichi managed to surprise me. It's just a pity your student's genin lost too early,' Hiruzen's ally teased.
- Ha-ha, that Namikaze can be as strong a shinobi as you want, but if he lets a younger girl lead the whole fight, he's no good," Raikage was not left out. 'To be honest, I expected more, just like I expected more from the favorite of the tournament,' he glanced at the Leaf kage with a sneer.
Clenching his teeth, the aging shinobi exhaled quietly and turned to his neighbor with an outwardly calm expression.
- Nevertheless, this kunoichi easily defeated all three of your genin," Sarutobi said, 'considering who their mentor was, I expected more,' he returned the Raikage's remark, hitting the bull's-eye, judging by the hardened face of the big man.
- To be honest, I was most impressed with this Asani," the Kazekage continued, preventing the two kages from fighting a verbal battle, "both for her tactical skills and her curious equipment.
- She's from the team of our local seal master, Ryo Nara," Hiruzen enlightened his colleagues, not to be silent even if the other kage didn't know yet, after the current day, it wouldn't be hard to get that information.
Not that he was trying to hide it.
- Brains and seals, an interesting and effective combination," the muscular blond stroked his beard thoughtfully, "if I'm not mistaken, the second kunoichi who lost in the semifinals was also his student, wasn't she, Hokage-dono?
- You're not mistaken, Raikage-dono, she's also a student of Team Nara," Hiruzen confirmed and didn't hold back, "despite his youth, Ryo will be one of the most effective mentors in the village, managing to pull frankly weak genin to the level you saw today.
- Looks like Konoha can sleep well as long as it produces such talents, Hokage-dono," the blond man hummed, watching as the nine-tailed fox jinchuriki was declared the winner.
- Thank you for the praise, Raikage-dono," Sarutobi feigned a smile.
Even someone completely unfamiliar with him would have realized that at that moment, the Raikage was contemplating the amount of reward to be given for the talented teacher. Hiruzen would have gladly told him about Nara's recently obtained first degree iryonin to increase the size of the target painted on the young upstart's back, but the jonins sitting nearby were not idiots not to put two and two together.
It could always be done through detected spies, with no extra ears nearby, and certainly not in person - after passing the chunin exam, his position would already be precarious enough in the political arena of Konoha to take such a risk.
Losing Namikaze had only made things worse, allowing Nara to gain influence among the main shinobi forces at the expense of his genius. And how to rectify the situation, the aging shinobi didn't know yet. Most of the clans had a grudge against him since the end of the last war, and would gladly take the opportunity to kick him when he was down.
It looked like Orochimaru would be the one to bet on as a possible successor to the Hokage chair. After the tournament, Jiraiya will lose what little reputation he has and few will support his candidacy.
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