Naruto: What Kind of Starter Pack is 13 Years Late?

"Kakashi, Takemi, you're here."

Inside the Hokage Office, Takemi and Kakashi had just arrived when Asuma greeted them with a smile.

The other Jonin also nodded in acknowledgment, but Hiruzen's face was stiff.

He still remembered what Karin had told him back then, it had instantly sent him to the hospital.

Kusagakure was despicable but they couldn't control the development model of small Ninja villages, and Kusagakure was also considered their ally.

But now, Takemi and Nagato's combined assault caused them significant losses.

Even if Takemi couldn't be blamed for this, such losses were devastating.

"You're here, so let's begin."

However, Hiruzen ultimately didn't say too much. There were still many troublesome matters to attend to.

"I've called everyone here today for two reasons. One is about the Genin assessment. This time, Iruka and Mizuki will be in charge of the assessment, and the test they've set is Clone Jutsu."

Clone Jutsu wasn't a difficult technique. In fact, general students coming out of the Ninja Academy were usually tested on the Three Basic Jutsu in rotation.

After all, the Three Basic Jutsu could be considered the foundation for commoners to enter the world of Ninja, and it also widened the gap with Ninjas from other clans.

Otherwise, commoners would probably find it difficult to graduate.

Of course, there were also some commoner geniuses, such as Takemi.

But these matters were for the squad leaders to handle. In fact, for those who lacked talent but still graduated, the squad leaders would send them back.

"I hope everyone will take responsibility and properly instruct your future subordinates and students, understood?"

"Yes."

Everyone nodded, but Takemi's eyes were a little strange. He felt as if Hiruzen kept looking his way?

"That's strange. Kakashi-sensei, aren't you quite responsible? Why does Hokage-sama seem so worried about you?"

"..."

Kakashi didn't want to speak. He really wanted to ask if Takemi had a clear understanding of himself.

But in the end, he couldn't say it, and besides, Hiruzen had already spoken.

"There's one more thing I hope you'll pay a little attention to. Mizuki's situation seems a bit off."

"Mizuki? One of the assessment instructors this time?" Guy asked, somewhat puzzled.

Although he no longer had students to lead, this meeting wasn't just about Genin matters.

"Yes, because this Chunin Exam is very special, I've been making preparations in advance, and I unexpectedly discovered that his situation isn't quite right."

Hiruzen nodded, calmly taking a puff from his pipe.

"He occasionally appears near my house, and he seems to be investigating the scroll of Seals, which caught my attention."

"And Mizuki himself... perhaps he craves power too much. I eventually found him observing Naruto at the Ninja Academy."

"Naruto?"

At this, the Jonin present became a little uneasy.

Asuma thought for a moment and asked, "You're not arresting him yet? Do you want to figure out who's behind him?"

"Exactly." Hiruzen nodded, his gaze becoming solemn.

"This matter is too important to be careless, not only because of Naruto himself, but also because of this Chunin Exams. That's why I haven't tipped him off, but..."

At this point, his gaze turned to Takemi.

"Takemi, you're the youngest here, and you have a good relationship with Naruto. I hope you can look into this and see what he's really trying to do."

[New Side Mission Obtained]

[As a white-haired character, of course, the goal is to clear as much as possible]

[Resolve the trouble with Mizuki and investigate the secret behind him]

"Yes."

Takemi nodded, looking at the newly appeared mission. He wasn't particularly surprised.

After all, after he had angered Hiruzen into the hospital, he had been relatively well-behaved, turning down who knows how many outrageous missions during that time.

For example, Ino's [Golden Pistil Budding], and Shikamaru's [Your family's deer can not only sell antlers, but the meat is also good], and so on.

Anyway, few of them were reliable, so he didn't dwell on finally encountering one that was.

"It just means I can't wait for Naruto's exclusive mission to just fall into my lap."

While it was a bit regrettable that he couldn't be lazy, the Mizuki incident seemed fine.

If he remembered correctly, he had once killed his own teammate during a mission and was coincidentally witnessed by Orochimaru.

In the end, Orochimaru left him a Curse Seal and told him to come find him later.

It's just that his assassination of his teammate was too crude, and Hiruzen discovered the anomaly.

Although there was no direct evidence, Mizuki's dream of 'progress' was shattered, and he seemed to be full of resentment.

"This is a good opportunity to draw out Orochimaru..."

While he wasn't sure how this Chunin Exams would turn out, all Five Great Ninja Villages would gather, and even the Kage of each village would come.

Takemi didn't think everything would be peaceful.

"Even if Orochimaru isn't involved, will the Fourth Raikage just be there for show?"

Thinking of the Fourth Raikage's demeanor back then, he couldn't help but shake his head, but he thought this was good too.

In fact, he even wished for things to get as chaotic as possible, after all...

"With so much preparation beforehand, Konoha couldn't possibly take so long to react."

Watching Hiruzen shift the topic to the second important item, which was about the defense strategy for this Chunin Exams, Takemi's mind began to wander. With such emphasis, once something happened, Konoha would surely react immediately.

"Then, once the personnel are evacuated, I can let 'Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki' come out and move around, after all..."

He had been very well-behaved during this time, not wanting to cause trouble and quietly absorbing the changes brought by his last power-up.

After his bloodline development reached 40%, he could feel that his changes were significant.

Besides his skin becoming much paler again, he felt as if something was brewing on his forehead.

"Especially in the center of my brows, it always feels strange."

He even suspected that his jinx had come true—was he really going to grow a horn?

"Or, like Madara, is it actually nurturing a new eye?"

The Ōtsutsuki bloodline was too peculiar, especially for someone like him who started from scratch, it wasn't so friendly.

But no matter what, this time he really planned to get some good activity in.

"Let's just consider it a way to get used to the power of my other identity..."

While Takemi was still in a meeting at the Hokage Office, a group of young students at the Ninja Academy seemed relatively relaxed.

"Finally graduating!"

There were more students this year, and compared to previous years, this batch of students was quite special.

The heirs of Ino–Shika–Chō, the genius of the Aburame Clan, the young master of the Inuzuka Clan, the orphan of the Uchiha Clan, the young lady of the Hyuga Clan, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

To put it bluntly, this was the most concentrated batch of Konoha's rich kids.

"Yeah, finally graduating. I just wonder what the test will be this year."

Ino leaned by the window, glanced at the lazy Shikamaru, and asked curiously, "Shikamaru, do you know?"

"How would I know such things?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Even if he knew, he couldn't just blurt it out.

"But don't worry, this assessment won't be difficult. You guys wouldn't fail even this kind of assessment, would you?"

"Tch, I'm going to be Hokage! What's a mere assessment!" Naruto immediately got excited, clenching his fists and shouting loudly, which made others look over.

"You idiot, keep your voice down!"

Sakura couldn't hold back and immediately yelled at Naruto, then belatedly looked at Sasuke, her face instantly filled with tenderness.

"Honestly, this guy is too much."

"Damn it, arrogant Sasuke..."

Naruto gritted his teeth at this scene, but Sasuke scoffed dismissively.

"Idiot."

"Hey, you wanna fight?"

"I don't have time to waste on you. You'd better think about how to deal with the exam."

Perhaps from spending so much time with Takemi, and not yet having been 'critically hit' by Itachi with Tsukuyomi, his mental state was still good.

Seeing Naruto about to jump up and down, he ignored him, and his expression instantly became serious.

"Besides, instead of worrying about that, you should think about who the examiner will be this time. If it's him..."