Sunlight streamed through the glass, baking the marble windowsill to a scorching heat.
Choking smoke swirled around the beam of light, making the office's atmosphere increasingly heavy.
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe nonstop, clearly troubled by the matter at hand for quite some time.
For the first time in years, the village's two advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, were at odds.
Koharu believed letting this group into the village was too dangerous—especially the Cloud ninja with their shady history, who were surely up to no good in the Chunin Exams. Homura, on the other hand, insisted Konoha had to host the exams and do it flawlessly to avoid looking weak.
The village had lost countless strong ninjas over the years, and the outside world thought Konoha was in decline. Now was the perfect time to flex their strength and shut down the doubters!
Both made solid points, their analyses sharp, but it didn't solve anything.
They couldn't find a good reason to refuse the visitors, nor could they identify someone capable of keeping the four nations' ninjas in check.
Koharu and Homura were great at giving advice, but when it came to getting things done, the two combined couldn't match Danzo's efficiency!
And now, Danzo was holed up in Root, his orders barely reaching anyone's ears. Clearly, Hikari had completely taken control of Root.
Konoha's current predicament could only be solved by her!
Stroking his goatee, Hiruzen finally revealed his true intent:
"The Chunin Exams must go on as planned! I want you to serve as the head proctor for this exam, overseeing all related matters!"
"Me?" Hikari pointed at herself, caught off guard by Hiruzen's sudden appointment.
She'd thought he was briefing her to teach the other villages' ninjas a lesson during the exams—maybe rough up some genin. She hadn't expected to jump from participant to proctor.
A genin proctoring the Chunin Exams? That was very on-brand for Konoha's current state.
"Only you can keep the other villages' team leaders in line. If you don't do it, Konoha's got no one else!" Hiruzen's eyes carried a hint of melancholy. As the longest-serving Hokage, he bore much of the blame for Konoha's decline.
"But the clan heads, plus Kakashi and Guy, should be more than enough to handle the other villages' ninjas, right?" Hikari asked, puzzled.
Even in its weakened state, Konoha could easily muster a dozen elite jonin. How could they not handle a few team leaders?
"It's not that simple," Hiruzen said gravely, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.
"If the clan heads step in, it signals Konoha's desperate. That wouldn't intimidate our enemies—it'd expose our weakness.
"And they'd only hold their own, not dominate. Konoha needs your absolute power—the kind that crushed Black Hoe Raiga in seconds!"
Originally, he'd planned to send the clan heads, but after reading Kakashi's Land of Waves mission report, Hikari's strength was on par with his own—a perfect solution to the current crisis!
"Fine, fine!" Hikari sighed, realizing she couldn't dodge this chore.
Hiruzen had been good to her over the years.
Despite knowing about her bloodline disease, he hadn't distanced himself and even gave her the Forest of Death as a testing ground. Her rapid growth owed much to his support.
She hadn't said it out loud, but she quietly cherished that bond.
Besides, after living in Konoha so long, she felt some attachment to the place. Contributing was only fair.
"Uh—" Seeing Hikari agree so readily, Hiruzen grinned, then, under her curious gaze, added his second request:
"I know you can sustain shadow clones for a long time. Could your real body proctor the exam while your clone participates as a candidate?"
Noticing Hikari's expression shift, he quickly explained, "It's not that I want to burden you!
"But this joint Chunin Exam—other villages will definitely send their strongest genin.
"Think about it: if Konoha's ninjas don't take the top spot or none of them make chunin, it'll look bad."
Talk about playing dirty, Sensei! Hikari thought, eyeing the cunning old man. She could almost feel horns sprouting on her head and a tail growing behind her!
On one hand, she'd be proctoring, intimidating the other villages' jonin. On the other, her shadow clone would be bullying genin in the exam. Not only was she working double duty, testing herself, but Hiruzen had neatly arranged to dominate the four nations' ninjas, from the strongest to the weakest!
"Alright!" Hikari agreed. She was planning to take the Chunin Exam anyway—now she just had an extra job as proctor.
But Hidan and Kakuzu, those rare specimens, would have to go to her Yang Release clone for research!
"One more thing!" Hiruzen raised a finger, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening but free of earlier worry. Hikari's presence solved so many problems. The seed he'd planted five years ago was finally bearing fruit!
"We originally planned to use Training Ground Zero for the second exam, but it can't handle a joint ninja exam of this scale. I need to borrow your Forest of Death."
Hikari's face turned awkward. "The Forest of Death… I've been using it for ninjutsu experiments. There's no forest left."
"No forest?" Hiruzen blinked, caught off guard. Since designating the Forest of Death as a restricted zone, he'd sealed it off with massive earth walls, barring entry to everyone.
Fearing what gruesome experiments his disciple might be conducting, he'd avoided going there himself. He genuinely had no idea what the Forest of Death looked like now.
Recalling the dark, lifeless wasteland he'd glimpsed, he had a hunch. "No big deal. A harsher environment just makes it more challenging!"
It's not just harsher! Hikari didn't know how to break it to him.
She'd used the forest not only to absorb life force with her Reverse Eight Gates but also to test Yin-Yang Release, inscribed ninjutsu, and taijutsu development. The Forest of Death was now a chaotic mess, but as an exam site, it'd definitely be more than adequate!
"Anything else?" Hikari asked bluntly. She was already handling proctoring, the venue, and participating—any more, and she'd be giving the Hokage's inauguration speech!
"Heh, one last thing," Hiruzen said, his smile growing warmer as he looked at his slightly pouting disciple.
"For the final exam, the Kage, daimyo, and nobles from the five great nations will come to watch. Dress nicely. Even setting aside your talent and strength, you're still Konoha's most beautiful flower!"
Hikari blinked, completely unmoved by the old man's flattery. "So, besides smacking down the four nations' ninjas, I've gotta use my face to dunk on Muya too?"
"Exactly!" Hiruzen nodded rapidly, like a chick pecking at grain. Hikari was perfect in every way—except her bluntness and sharp mind made her tough to fool. "Sensei, do we really need to care about those ordinary people?"
With her strength and looks being used to the max, Hikari finally voiced a long-held question.
The power structure of this world was bizarre.
At the top, daimyo controlled economics, military, and politics—everything except ninjas. The Kage solely governed the ninja villages, the ultimate violent force, yet both were considered equal.
That was absurd!
Unless there was a higher ruler above them, how could the moneybags stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the ones holding the guns?
The lower structure was just as odd. Ninjas, a superhuman group, served ordinary people for money, bowing to nobles and daimyo. In status, even a village jonin was no different from a commoner when facing nobility!
The group wielding the greatest power had neither the status nor wealth to match. It made no sense. "Ever wonder why ninjas, with all their power, don't rule but instead toil daily for missions?"
Though Hikari asked tactfully, Hiruzen caught her meaning instantly. Setting down his pipe, his eyes gleamed brightly as he looked at her.
"I'm not the first to ask, am I?" Hikari wasn't dumb—she could tell from his reaction there was more to it.
"If another ninja asked," Hiruzen said seriously, "I'd tell them ninjas don't understand governance or economics. Ruling by force would ruin the nation and plunge the world into war!"
"That's not the real reason!" Hikari shook her head, unconvinced.
"A Kage can run a ninja village, so they could run a nation! Even if they don't know how, they could learn through courses at the ninja academy. There's gotta be a deeper reason."
"Heh, you're not easy to fool!" Hiruzen was beyond pleased with his disciple.
At her age, he was still a hot-blooded kid shouting about bonds and friendship, oblivious to the contradictions between nobles and ninjas.
"Sure you want the real reason? Knowing it might make you lose faith in the Kage and the village," he said, his pupils glinting with a deep, unfathomable darkness.
"Between harsh truth and pretty lies, I'll take the truth," Hikari replied, equally serious, sensing he was about to reveal a shinobi world secret.
"Alright!" Hiruzen nodded approvingly, standing and walking to the window. Sunlight bathed his wrinkled face, casting shadows and light across his nose and profile.
"I've got nothing left to teach you about ninjutsu. So here's your final lesson.
"Everything I'm about to say comes from the Second Hokage. The current village-nation structure was designed by him!"
The Second Hokage!
Hikari's eyes brimmed with respect. The deeper she delved into ninjutsu, the more she admired his genius. Her Reverse Eight Gates was built on his shoulders!
"First, a ninja's most important asset is their chakra capacity, which sets the ceiling for their abilities. Chakra comes from mental and physical energy combined.
"Chakra is hard to increase but easy to lose!
"The more a ninja indulges in pleasure and desire, the weaker their mind and body become, leading to chakra decline. Only constant training and combat keep a ninja's strength intact. Ruling a nation offers no benefit to a ninja!"
Hiruzen laid out the truth. If ninjas ruled like nobles or daimyo, their collective strength would decline, leaving them lambs to the slaughter for other nations.
"So you deliberately keep ninjas' quality of life low!" Hikari realized.
Ninjas weaken when they indulge, so the Hokage intentionally keeps lower-tier ninjas struggling, forcing them to chase mission rewards through endless training and fighting until death.
For jonin, where money isn't enough incentive, power is granted to fuel their ambition. In short, ninjas can't be allowed to get comfortable!
"No wonder you're Konoha's top genius!" Hiruzen praised sincerely. Whether ninjutsu or politics, Hikari grasped the core of issues effortlessly.
He continued, "Besides chakra decline from indulgence, ninjas must also be separated from ordinary people.
"If ninjas marry commoners, their offspring's chakra seeds are likely to degrade. Over generations, the Land of Fire would struggle to produce strong ninjas.
"A thousand genin-level ninjas are less useful than one jonin!
"So the Second Hokage advised the First to establish ninja villages, isolating ninjas from ordinary people to prevent bloodline and chakra seed degradation."
Hikari nodded in agreement.
The Second's measures ensured ninjas maintained combat strength. They weren't perfect, but they were undeniably beneficial for the present and future.
Other villages likely copied the ninja village system after seeing its logic.
Tap, tap—
Having explained the village-nation dynamic, Hiruzen turned to the thoughtful Hikari. "What's the relationship between a Kage and ordinary ninjas?"
"Ordinary ninjas strive for a better life, but a Kage's goal is to keep them from it, lowering their quality of life to keep them fighting forever!" Hikari said coldly, cutting through the facade.
"A Kage is tied to the nation's interests. No matter how approachable or kind they seem, it doesn't change their nature.
"Kage and ninjas are rulers and the ruled!"
"Ruler, huh? Pretty blunt!" Hiruzen didn't argue. He gazed silently at the bustling crowd below the Hokage building, like a lonely old man.
But Hikari wasn't letting her teacher off the hook. "The Second said indulgence weakens ninjas, and I don't doubt that. But controlling their quality of life isn't the only solution. You haven't told me everything he said."
Hiruzen's expression shifted slightly, turning to face Hikari as she spoke confidently.
"By controlling ninjas' quality of life and isolating them in villages, you can bind them with money, missions, and rules.
"Then, as long as the daimyo provides enough funds, countless ninjas will willingly serve the Kage.
"It's far more subtle than controlling them with force or authority.
"Daimyo and nobles manage civilians, developing the economy and collecting taxes to fund the ninja village.
"The Kage extracts wealth from civilians through missions, using that money to control ninjas, keeping them fighting to maintain strength and protect national stability.
"That stability fuels commerce, bringing more wealth to the daimyo and Kage, while hiding the class conflict between Kage and ninjas by shifting blame to the daimyo as the easy target—"
Seeing Hiruzen's shocked expression at her exposing the truth, Hikari couldn't help but smile. "If ninjas could freely kill or oppress civilians with their power, they'd realize they don't need to train or take missions to live luxuriously. Your whole cycle would collapse!
"You're right—the shinobi world's truth is brutal!"
---