Chapter 69
Hiruzen was glad he wasn't down here. After watching the previous fight, he realized what he had forgotten. The reality was far more unforgiving than he could imagine. One could never know when they will get hit by it, dragged to the darkest and deepest pits, and left alone to climb out of it. And if they couldn't, they would stay here.
Those two were true shinobi, the most common ones in his village and outside of it. They had no explosive skills that could level whole areas around them, nor were they geniuses who could end fights in mere moments.
They were kids. Trying to prove themselves. And they did it in the most bloody, brutal, and horrifying way possible. Tooth and nail. They ripped each other apart, and Hiruzen was stuck with questions.
Why? Was it for him? For the village? Or for themselves? Was it worth it?
Once again, Hiruzen felt that he didn't belong in this world. How could anyone enjoy watching two kids kill each other like this? All he wanted was for them to showcase their skills, not this. He didn't want to be any part of this.
And yet, here he was. Sitting and watching. And he was supposed to say how splendid the fight was. How proud he was of his shinobi. He was supposed to congratulate his genin on his victory and brag about him to the Raikage. He was supposed to be many things.
Things he wasn't. He only leaned back and looked at the empty air. Here, he saw his stats as the system showed them to him at his command. And now he was sure. The system didn't work for him, but for this world. Otherwise, it would have shown a new quest, a quest to end this shinobi system.
It did not. No matter how loudly he screamed in his head, the system stayed silent. He could only cast his eyes down in disappointment and realization. In the end, he was just a pretender. And he was a fool to think he could deceive even himself.
The Raikage's eyes didn't even flinch at all, not during the fight nor after it. Looking down on these kids with a cold, stone expression. As if it were normal, and it should be this way. They were nothing but lambs for slaughter in his eyes.
Hiruzen knew he would be shot down the moment he mentioned how wrong it was. Especially knowing how much blood ran through the Konoha shinobi's hands. Should he accept it and continue to play this game of pretend?
No, Hiruzen was a greedy man. System or not, he didn't want children to fight and die like this. Not for him. Not for this village. He wanted them to live. Fuck the system. Fuck the rules of this world. Hiruzen would change everything, even if he knew he would fail in the end.
"It seems that the opponent for your last genin isn't going to show up," the Raikage had already forgotten about the previous fight; the last two shinobi were insignificant to him. "How lucky for him."
"Opposite," Hiruzen said, his voice calm as it ever was. "Now he won't be able to show his skills, and he will only have to try harder in his next match."
It made Hiruzen sick that he had to continue to pretend like this. All he wanted was to go to Iruka and check how he was. After all, it was he who put the boy in this situation. It was he who matched that boy with the madman from Amegakure.
"Yet he will have an advantage in his fight."
Cold and calculating, that was what the Raikage was. All he cared about was the advantages, no matter the price. Proud, but always uncertain. He was afraid of Konoha, so he hated it. And now he wanted to take away any advantage Konoha had over his own village.
At first, he thought it was Hiruzen. Since the Fourth Hokage was dead, it was Hiruzen who kept the village together. But now he must have realized that he was nothing but a foundation to what made Konoha what it was.
These kids were what cast the shadow over other villages. The next generation of talents had so far overshadowed other villages. And so, the Raikage realized that Hiruzen wasn't as important a target as he initially thought. And Hiruzen realized what he had to do now.
He was in a position of power. A power he didn't want. So, he would use it until it was taken away from him. So far, he had been careful, afraid of instability and afraid for himself, trying to balance things. But it was time he gave up on that.
Fuck everyone else, if even kids can face death in the eyes and not even flinch. So would Hiruzen. It was only a piece of what war would bring, and it was more than enough for Hiruzen. He won't allow it, now nor ever.
"Shisui Uchiha and Darui, please step down to the arena."
The two most talented shinobi of their respective villages, facing each other as they prepared to prove whose village had prepared them the best. Whose village was teachings were more superior teachings.
It was bullshit. Shisui didn't need anyone to teach him anything. He was just that talented and strong. He would have been fine on his own. It wasn't Shisui who needed the village, but the village that needed Shisui.
And yet everyone would see him fighting for his village. A village that gave him nothing he didn't already have. And the worst part of it was that Shisui probably didn't think so. The boy was kind, and Hiruzen had only used him for his own goals.
"No bet this time?" the Raikage asked. "The Uchiha brat surprised me in his last match. But Darui now knows of his opponent's tricks. Though I don't imagine it will be an easy fight, even knowing it."
"Do you believe Darui will win?"
"Isn't this part of our duty?" the Raikage asked. "No matter the situation, no matter the enemy. I will always believe that my shinobi can win. No matter how many times they might fall, I believe they will rise only stronger and better."
"And if they don't rise again and get buried under the dust and dirt?"
"There will always be someone to rise, even if they have to walk over their comrades' bodies."
A shinobi dies for the village to live on. Bullshit. Pretentious bastards like the Raikage might think like that, but why was the village built if not to protect the shinobi? Nothing changes, not until someone decides that it has to change.
"You wanted a bet," Hiruzen said. "I give you one. Shisui will win, so I will bet that he will win without using any ninjutsu."
"Arrogant," the Raikage replied. "And what if he uses it?"
"I will lose, and I will not only repay the one million you already lost, but I will also give you what you desperately want."
"And how would you know what I want, when you wouldn't listen to me?"
"You want everything; I will give you everything," Hiruzen replied. "My retirement, a statement that Konoha apologizes and recognizes all the wrongdoing it has done during the war. Whatever it might have been, I will recognize it."
"Anything?"
"Yes."
"And what do you want in return?"
"Ten million ryo," Hiruzen replied.
The Raikage bit his lip. That kind of gamble he couldn't refuse. Money was money; it wasn't that important to a militant village like Kumogakure. They would have to tighten their belts for a while, but it wasn't anything they wouldn't be able to handle.
But getting an apology and recognition of their wrongdoing for anything the Raikage could think of was a political victory that would put down Konoha's reputation to the dirt, not something they could recover easily. The problem was, how could the Hokage promise something like this? The consequences were enormous. Unless he didn't even for a second believe that Shisui would use ninjutsu to win.
"Very well," the Raikage couldn't refuse a chance like this, no matter how small it might be.
Hiruzen didn't smile at the Raikage's agreement and only instructed Shizune to inform Shisui that he wasn't allowed to use ninjutsu in this match while there was still time before the match started.
Ten million ryo would be enough to run the village for a while. At least until others accepted that the new prices were set in stone and Hiruzen wouldn't budge from this decision. Until the rich became desperate for their services, no matter the price.
And here he was using Shisui once again. But this time, he promised himself it would be the last time. And it was time things started changing. He would push reforms until he was questioned and deemed unable to continue to work as the Hokage. He would force his retirement one way or another.
…
Just as Shisui prepared for the proctor to announce the start of the match, he caught a piece of paper flying to him. Before anyone noticed, he took it and read it.
'No ninjutsu.'
Shisui glanced at where the message came from and found Shizune nodding to him. Then he glanced at the Third Hokage, who looked down at him. His eyes were hidden under the shadow of his hat, but he felt how heavy his gaze was on him.
"Begin."
The proctor said this after waiting for a second for Shisui to return his attention to his opponent. He had seen Darui fight before; he was fast, skillful, and calculating. Now, Shisui wondered if he was better than him in all of these aspects.
A sword was a tool, at least to him. But to someone like Darui, it was an extension of his body. The way he moved with the sword was far superior to Shisui's skills. But it was still a tool that had weaknesses and strengths.
Darui was fast, too fast for such a simple thrust. Shisui's eyes could follow the sword; it had no intention of harming him. No, this attack was to stop Shisui from doing anything. It was a placeholder to dictate the pace of the fight from now on.
Shisui turned his torso and evaded the sword by an inch. He waited a second more for Darui to get closer before drawing his kunai, aiming to cut his eye, only for Darui to tilt his head back and avoid the slash. He showed off his dynamic vision and superb reflexes.
The first exchange between them came to a draw, and they passed by each other. But Darui only needed a second for lightning to gather around his hand. That surprised Shisui, since he didn't expect any of his opponents to know how to weave signs with only one hand.
Still, Shisui moved faster than Darui could throw his lightning at him. From the first bout, Shisui realized it was a fight of speed, something he was more confident about than anything else.
A kunai was as dangerous as a bolt of lightning if either didn't hit anything. But Shisui knew to look underneath the underneath. And he saw that the jutsu shot at him was just a distraction to make him avert his eyes from Darui's feet.
Shisui couldn't dodge this. Darui pushed off his feet with lightning seemingly pulsing through them as he blitzed at Shisui. Shisui could only block it with his kunai as Darui's sword desperately tried to go through it and cut him down.
The force alone broke Shisui's kunai, but that one second he was able to buy was enough to jump away. Using the force from Darui's attack, Shisui rolled on the ground, gaining distance before getting back on his feet. The moment Darui stopped, Shisui threw his broken kunai to buy another second to think.
Without ninjutsu, it sure was quite challenging. And Darui was careful not to meet Shisui's eyes, so he would need more time to get Darui under his genjutsu. And time wasn't something Darui wanted to give.
Everything was in motion. To win, Shisui would have to adapt. He could see it now, this match wasn't to prove to the Hokage and others that he had what it took to be a chunin, but a chance to improve himself.
The Third knew how strong he was, so he gave him a challenge to push him further. He wouldn't gain another opportunity like this ever again. He wouldn't disappoint the Third and would defeat Darui without any ninjutsu, just with the speed of his body and his reactions.
Even in situations like this, the Hokage thought about Shisui's future more than he himself. He could only thank the Hokage for trusting him and showing him a path he should take to improve himself.
A.N. As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.