Chapter 76
The fragrant herbal tea didn't do much to help Hiruzen relax. He just felt uncomfortable and tense. And yet he couldn't even show that to anyone. At this point, he didn't know how he should fix his expression and what kind of person he should pretend to be.
A lot of things happened today, but at least it was finally coming to an end. And yet, he was still tense as ever. He felt like a lot of things were happening that he didn't know about, and that made him nervous. So, he drank his tea to hide his expression, as he didn't feel appropriate to pretend to be relaxed either.
Through ordeals and unexpected things, he persevered. And he won. No matter the outcome of this last match, his goals were achieved. If Hayate won, it would only serve as a bonus for him, nothing more. But he neither felt like smiling nor did he want to pretend to enjoy it.
Tomorrow, when people from all over the world sent requests for Konoha's services, they would be sent back way bigger bills than they could ever expect. And just like that, he would break the shinobi economy. But that was needed for Konoha's survival and prosperity.
Well, at least Hiruzen thought so. He could be completely wrong and was going to ruin everything he worked for so hard with this decision. And yet maybe it was for the better in the end, no matter what will happen next.
Thinking about it, either outcome had some benefit for him. And now he didn't know what was better. If it were a mistake and his decision brought ruin, it would be his ticket to retirement; if not, then the village would be stronger in the long run.
The stronger Konoha is, the safer his future will be. There was no way he was ever going to face Orochimaru, Pain, or Obito. Neither any of the other Akatsuki nor any other shinobi from any village.
From tomorrow onward, he would go full on with plans for peace and understanding with each other, so that he could have an excuse to escape any fights that might come to him. It will be time to put on the mask of an old man who only wanted peace.
"Sir? More tea?"
"Yes, please," Hiruzen gave his cup to Shizune, who accepted it and refilled it.
After checking and finishing healing Hiruzen's wound, Tsunade left, still angry and crumpling about how idiotic Hiruzen was. Jiraiya also kept his distance, but he was still tense and close by, watching from a distance.
Though the Fourth Raikage was relaxed and acted calmly, his guards were prepared to throw a fight at any time. And Hiruzen had no idea what was going on in the Raikage's head right now. It was quite uncomfortable, so he tried not to think about it.
The ANBU surrounding them weren't any better. Hiruzen, with his insight skill, could feel their vigilance. Just one wrong move and they would spring out of the shadows to kill or die. Even when Hiruzen knew nothing of the sort would happen, the atmosphere around him made it impossible to relax even a bit.
"Begin."
Before long, the last match of the Chunin Exams began. If not for the proctor's words, Hiruzen would have missed the start. Many people were disappointed that it wasn't Yugito Nii, one of the favorites to win the tournament, who faced Shisui Uchiha, but some unknown genin who got this far through sheer luck.
Hiruzen already knew how many complaints would await him tomorrow from everyone who lost their bets, blaming Konoha and Hiruzen for rigging the matches. But Hiruzen would probably be too busy swimming in all the money he already won to care about it. No matter how true they were.
The Fourth Raikage was too focused on the match to give any attention to Hiruzen's mood. It was clear that the Raikage wanted to see all the secrets that both Hayate and Shisui would reveal in their fight. As they were the future of Konoha, one day, he might have to face them himself.
Hiruzen wasn't that worried about it, though. He already knew what he would do if he ever came into conflict with anyone. He would run as fast as he could and as far as he could. While he lived, there would be no war. No conflict.
And if he couldn't outrun or hide from the war, he would just die first. There was no way he was going to even try to live during a war or deal with the aftermath. Especially when time in his life was already ticking, and there wasn't that much left of his lifespan.
His goal hadn't changed, nor had his mindset. He was no shinobi, nor a Hokage, just a pretender who stumbled his way through. He had no wish to continue to do it any longer, so he had to retire and enjoy the remainder of his life before it was too late.
Before his thoughts could spiral any further, Hiruzen focused on the fight. It had just started, and everyone's attention was pulled down there. On one side stood Hayate Gekko, completely motionless, and on the other side, Shisui Uchiha approached.
Hiruzen didn't know much about genjutsu. Just the jutsu he gained through the system, and the memories he had of teaching the Sannin. There wasn't much he could pass down to Hayate in that short time, but neither did he need to do so.
Just as everyone thought that the fight was over, just like it was in Shisui's first fight, as Shisui approached Hayate and lifted his hand to finish it, it would have been anticlimactic, but fast and efficient. Sadly for Shisui, Hayate couldn't be defeated that easily.
What Hiruzen quickly learned about Hayate was that even though he didn't possess anything special, maybe because of his illness, his mind was very mature. His whole demeanor was very stable. There wasn't much that shook him.
It wasn't just his thoughts that reached far further than anyone else's at his age, but his emotions were very mature. He understood many things about himself and others. So, he willingly let himself get tortured by Inoichi Yamanaka to build up immunity to genjutsu.
It was something Hayate asked for, not something Hiruzen wanted. From the very beginning, Hayate was prepared to face Shisui. He succumbed to everything Hiruzen would throw at him to get faster than anyone else, because even though he never thought he could win, he wasn't someone who could accept a loss.
He put everything he had into the training, and that's why Hiruzen was prepared to trust him fully and bet on him. Win or not, to Hiruzen it didn't matter. Because he was proud of Hayate, for he had achieved everything he had now through his hard work, and now he had a chance to show it off.
Shisui's eyes must have been barely faster than Hayate's movements, as he barely managed to step back as Hayate's sword flew before his face. The fight had only begun, and now Shisui must have realized it wouldn't be over so easily.
Hiruzen felt conflicted, just showing how much he couldn't control his emotions or think of the bigger picture, unlike those kids. And yet they were still kids, and Hiruzen felt bad that they had to even fight each other in this simulated war setting. But he also felt unbearable pride in them, showing off their skills.
Skills they worked on for countless hours and put endless effort into. They deserved to be admired and acknowledged just for that. So even when they fought each other brutally, without holding anything back, trying to kill each other as anything less would be disrespectful, Hiruzen wanted to see more.
Shisui, whose skill improved with each minute just from experience and watching others, created distance from Hayate, who had gone through hell and back just for this moment. Even the Sharingan couldn't fully follow Hayate as he rushed forward, trying to cut down Shisui.
"Now I must know, what is the Will of Fire?"
Hiruzen pulled his sight from the fight to look at the Fourth Raikage, who now looked at Hiruzen with curious eyes. It would probably be bad if he ignored the Raikage, but he had no idea what to say. Should he copy what he knew? It was the safest way, he guessed.
But then again, what did he know? Was the Will of Fire about family? Village? Now that he thought about it, it just didn't feel right, like he was missing something. Well, he was just going to think of something, as the Fourth Raikage's gaze felt far too intense to ignore.
"Will of Fire can be anything. It is for an individual to decide, as it can't be controlled, just guided," Hiruzen replied as he looked back at the fight, as he didn't want the Raikage to see his expression. "It is a source of warmth, light, and protection to those whom they care about, and it is danger and destruction to those who pose a threat. The Will of Fire is both; once it becomes just one of these things, it loses the will and only becomes fire. It is up to the individual to decide which part they want to focus on, as long as both parts stay within them."
"I see."
He does? Hiruzen just spouted out what was on his mind, as he really didn't know. It felt like the definition was changing for him every day. And now that he thought about it, he had just said what it was for him at this moment.
How truthful it was, Hiruzen himself didn't know. Well, as long as the Raikage was fine with it, Hiruzen had no problem with that definition. He might even keep it. What he wanted to focus on now was the fight between two of his proudest genin.
In the seconds Hiruzen had a conversation with the Fourth Raikage, the situation seemed to have changed drastically. Shisui had adapted to Hayate's speed, and now he could confidently deflect all of Hayate's attacks.
It seemed like he had learned from his previous fight, but Hiruzen thought that Shisui already had this kind of skill to begin with. Of course, it wouldn't end easily, but he just didn't think that Hayate was so cunning.
Well, he needed at least this much to defeat someone like Shisui. Letting Shisui get used to this kind of speed, while he could be twice as fast, was ingenious. A bit more, and Shisui would completely exhaust himself, and when the time was right, Hayate would then unleash his true power and finish the fight in one attack.
At least that's what Hiruzen thought. There was no way for him to know what was happening in Hayate's mind. Shisui didn't rush to finish the fight either, conserving his strength, as he mostly dodged and deflected Hayate's slashes.
Every time he saw it, he always found how impressive Hayate's swordsmanship was. It was fast but elegant, though that was pretty much all he knew how to describe it, as he did not know much about swordsmanship.
Though looking from a distance, and seeing how hard it was for Shisui, Hayate's skill with his sword was quite impressive. Shisui was probably quite exhausted, as he hadn't used any ninjutsu yet, relying only on his taijutsu, since genjutsu wasn't working on Hayate.
…
Calm and steady breathing. Hayate steadied his stance once again as he locked his eyes with Shisui's. It did feel unfair. Hayate was in his best condition. Shisui clearly wasn't. And yet, there was no pity nor mercy left in him.
He knew what kind of person he was. Normal. Even below average. Always sick, always playing catch-up with others. He was neither smart nor strong. But even so, he didn't hate himself for all he was lacking; he simply hated losing.
After he was given a chance that he never expected, to train under the Third Hokage himself, Hayate promised himself that he would never lose. It was an arrogant and stupid promise, but he was serious when he made it, even if no one would ever know of it.
With his mind set, Hayate had only one goal, and it was to win. Seeing as his sword glided along Shisui's kunai, Hayate once again picked up his speed, increasing it just slightly so Shisui would never be comfortable with it.
It was about time, seeing sweat droplets go down from Shisui's forehead. While Hayate's breathing was steady and calm, Shisui's was not. It was ragged and sharp, yet Shisui still had strength left in him.
Genius, a label that Hayate believed wholeheartedly when he was in the academy. Everyone knew who Shisui was. His skill, his talents. There was no question about that label sticking to him. And yet, what difference did it make?
Everyone gets tired. Everyone bleeds. And everyone makes mistakes. Those kinds of labels weren't created to make the geniuses different from any of them, but to make them, the normal people, different from the geniuses. To create distance between them.
Of course, he would lose. He was just a normal kid; he had no special talent. It was only natural. A month ago, Hayate would have thought the same. But he trained until he couldn't move, and he prepared until there was nothing left for him to do.
And now, he was ready to go beyond his limits and step over the labels that defined them all. It was time to end this. Step by step, he would destroy what was Shisui Uchiha and win as Hayate Gekko. He refused to see any labels in this fight. They both were shinobi, and that was all that mattered.
Increasing his speed just a little more, to the very limit of Shisui's reaction speed, Hayate circled Shisui. The red eyes continued to follow him, but soon they were distracted by the illusory clones that Hayate left with each step he took.
Of course, Shisui was able to see through them, but that split second, his attention diverted from Hayate, was all he needed to overpower Shisui with his speed. Even while he wasn't using all of it, his legs burned in pain, and his eyes could barely manage the blur before them.
In one month, there was no possibility of learning what the Third Hokage wanted from him. To fully master this movement technique would take a lifetime, but even if it was just the start, it was the edge he needed to push him forward.
Once he saw that Shisui's eyes were half a second away from him, a half a second too late to react to him, Hayate slashed down. His sword cut through the air, straight toward Shisui's neck. It was close, but not close enough.
An explosion rang out as Hayate was thrown away, crashing through the ground, rolling further and further away before coming to a sudden stop. Now, Hayate understood that Shisui wasn't breathing heavily just because he was getting tired, but because he had been holding a fireball in his mouth all this time, waiting for an opportunity to use it.
Hayate's sword clashed with the thrown kunai, deflecting them away. Dust and dirt covered his eyesight, but aside from a few bruises and burns, he was completely fine. Still, now he had entered Shisui's world.
He could see nothing. Well, if he couldn't see what to cut, he was going to cut everything around him. Even though Hayate had been had, it only gave him more confidence. Because Shisui used a jutsu at the last moment, it meant he was in no condition to use it again as easily.
Breathing out, Hayate prepared. He didn't know any useful or powerful jutsu he could use, but he believed in what he was taught by the Third Hokage. Speed was everything he had and could use.
His arm muscles screamed in pain as he put chakra into them. The second the dust moved, Hayate's sword moved too. He didn't see, nor did he know, where Shisui was hiding. He could only swing his sword in the direction where he sensed his movements.
The dust moved away from the pressure emitted by his sword, cutting cleanly through it. And just like that, a clear line was made. Now it was time to repeat it hundreds of times, and he had to do it in a couple of seconds.
He could only use his full speed a couple of times before he collapsed from pain and exhaustion. This would be one of those times. As the Third Hokage taught him, he will use it all in one moment. And the second time he will use it, he will cut down Shisui Uchiha.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.