Free Web NovelChapter 221: The Hokage’s Gift
"It’s been a while, Sensei."
The moment Suzuki arrived back in Konoha, he didn’t waste a single second. He headed straight to the Hokage’s office, respectfully bowing his head to greet his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Despite his internal reluctance to return to the political viper’s nest of the village, he couldn’t deny a faint, genuine feeling of nostalgia upon seeing the old man.
"It really has been a while, Suzuki-kun. How have you been?"
Hiruzen smiled warmly, his weathered face crinkling with genuine happiness. It had only been a few weeks since Suzuki had left for his training trip, yet the Hokage had to admit that without his youngest disciple around, the office felt incredibly dull. No one else challenged him academically or engaged him in such stimulating discussions on chakra theory.
The primary reason Hiruzen favored Suzuki over so many others was because the boy walked the exact same path he did. They both sought to understand chakra at its absolute, fundamental core.
If Suzuki knew what Hiruzen was thinking, he would have simply nodded in agreement.
Neither of them possessed a heaven-defying Kekkei Genkai. They weren’t born with special, world-altering eyes or mutated bloodlines. The only way for them to stand at the absolute pinnacle of the shinobi world was to maximize everything they did have through relentless study and grueling effort. That path was the pursuit of pure knowledge.
While typical shounen protagonists screamed about their dreams or relied on life-threatening trauma to unlock hidden powers, Suzuki and Hiruzen focused entirely on mastering the absolute basics. By refining their foundational skills to an unparalleled degree, they could branch outward, becoming highly versatile shinobi capable of handling any situation. It was a stark contrast to most modern ninja, who hyper-focused on a single, linear specialty.
The Average Ones.
It was perhaps the most fitting, yet ironic, epithet to describe them. But it didn’t matter. History wasn’t written by the one who won a single flashy battle; it was written by the one who survived to the end.
Despite the sheer volume of political hatred directed at Hiruzen—mostly because he operated exactly like a real-world politician, offering sympathetic platitudes while maintaining the ruthless status quo—Suzuki recognized why the man had survived at the top for so long. Compared to the blazing, short-lived legends of the other Hokage, Hiruzen’s deep, enduring political influence was a masterpiece. It was a skill Suzuki fully intended to study and replicate.
"I’m doing perfectly fine, Sensei. But what about you? Have you been looking after your health?" Suzuki asked politely.
"Haha... don’t worry about an old man like me. I’m fine, but..." Hiruzen trailed off, his eyes drifting toward the towering, terrifying mountains of paperwork covering his desk. He let out a profound, bone-deep sigh.
"Would you like me to help you sort those?"
"...Will you?" Hiruzen’s eyes lit up slightly.
It wouldn’t be Suzuki’s first time helping out with the Hokage’s administrative workload. He often took time out of his schedule to help Hiruzen process documents, specifically to build an unshakeable rapport. Suzuki wanted to perfectly maintain his image as the ideal, loyal student. While Hiruzen had initially hesitated, he now fully trusted Suzuki to handle simple, low-clearance reports—like missing pet requests and minor logistical disputes.
Frankly, Suzuki felt that the Hokage’s time was grossly mismanaged. Hiruzen should only be focusing on macro-level issues: global economics, military deployments, and critical infrastructure. Why on earth was the military dictator of a superpower personally reviewing requests to find a lost cat? Those trivial matters should be delegated to the civilian council or the supposedly ’busy’ Village Elders.
Maybe I should develop a custom jutsu specifically to automate administrative sorting, Suzuki mused internally.
With his growing mastery over Fuinjutsu, Suzuki was certain he could write a chakra-based ’program’—a sealing algorithm that automatically filtered, categorized, and delegated reports based on keywords and priority levels. It would save the Hokage thousands of hours.
"It seems you possess a truly frightening talent for medical jutsu," Hiruzen suddenly noted, leaning forward.
His sharp eyes had caught a faint, newly formed crystal-like dot resting perfectly in the center of Suzuki’s forehead. It was small, but to a shinobi of Hiruzen’s caliber, the density of the chakra pooling there was impossible to ignore.
It was the preliminary stage of the Strength of a Hundred Seal (the Yin Seal). It was an incredibly complex, microscopic fuinjutsu that required the user to flawlessly store excess chakra into a single point over an extended period. Once released, it granted the user near-immortality and monstrous physical power.
While Hiruzen possessed the theoretical knowledge to understand the seal, he knew his own limits. That specific jutsu originated from the First Hokage’s wife, Mito Uzumaki.
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Even though she had passed away decades ago, Hiruzen could still vividly remember the terrifying, absolute coldness of Mito’s gaze whenever she looked at him and the other Elders. Despite being hailed as the ’God of Shinobi’, Hiruzen freely admitted he lacked the sheer, overwhelming presence to ever face Mito Uzumaki.
Even setting aside the jutsu’s intimidating origins, accumulating that seal required flawless, microscopic chakra control. One single mistake, one momentary lapse in concentration while storing chakra directly against the brain, and the user could instantly die or be permanently lobotomized. The risk was astronomical.
For his young student to have already initiated the seal meant that Tsunade had not only taught him her most guarded secret, but that she actively trusted him with her legacy.
As expected of my student, Hiruzen thought, a deep sense of pride swelling in his chest. Suzuki truly never let him down. "You’ve done an absolutely spectacular job mastering her medical jutsu."
"Thank you, Sensei. But if it weren’t for you discovering me and taking me under your wing, I never would have had the opportunity or the political backing to learn from Tsunade-sama in the first place."
While Suzuki’s relationship with Tsunade had recently crossed several highly inappropriate boundaries that went far beyond ’mentorship’, he wisely decided to keep that information buried in the deepest trench of his mind.
"Nonsense," Hiruzen chuckled, shaking his head at the boy’s humility. "If you lacked the raw talent and the drive, Tsunade wouldn’t have given you the time of day. You reached this point entirely through your own blood, sweat, and tears."
"Even so, Sensei, without you opening the door, I would still be nothing."
"Suzuki..."
Hiruzen’s heart warmed. He absolutely loved hearing those words. Compared to the constant, grating complaints of his former teammates on the council, or the stiff, terrified respect he received from his Anbu, Suzuki’s calm, sincere gratitude was incredibly refreshing.
Sensei...
Suzuki sighed inwardly, maintaining his flawless ’loyal disciple’ persona.
Hidden in the shadows of the office rafters, Neko—better known to Suzuki as Yugao—violently rolled her eyes beneath her porcelain Anbu mask. She knew exactly what kind of ruthless, manipulative predator was hiding behind that polite smile.
"You must be exhausted from your travels. You should go home and rest," Hiruzen said gently. "I assume Kurenai and your teammates have already briefed you on the upcoming Chunin Exams?"
"Yes, Sensei. They intercepted me on the way here." frёewebηovel.cѳm
"I know you’re already thoroughly prepared, so I won’t lecture you. Just go out there and do your absolute best."
"Thank you, Sensei. I won’t let you down."
Suzuki already knew his objective. He had to completely dominate the Chunin Exams. He needed to definitively separate himself from the rest of his generation and establish his absolute superiority.
However, achieving massive fame naturally brought massive danger. Knowing this, Hiruzen suddenly opened a highly secure drawer in his desk, retrieved a heavy, black-bound scroll, and slid it across the table to Suzuki.
"Sensei?" Suzuki blinked, genuinely surprised.
"I can see that your talent for Fuinjutsu is blossoming," Hiruzen smiled knowingly. "So, I want you to try and study this."
"..."
Suzuki stared at the scroll, temporarily at a loss for words. He didn’t need to open it to know what it was. The sealing matrix on the cover was unmistakable. It was the legendary space-time jutsu used by the Second and Fourth Hokage: the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique).
Yet, before Suzuki could even instruct the Manager to begin scanning and analyzing the priceless scroll, the quiet corridor outside the office suddenly erupted into a chaotic, noisy argument.
"It’s completely your fault for rushing in and making a mess!" a shrill, feminine voice yelled.
"Ugh... I’m so hungry..." a deeper, muffled voice complained.
"...Can you guys just let me sleep?" a third, incredibly lazy voice groaned.
"All of you... can you please just be quiet for one second?" a gruff, mature voice sighed heavily.
Without a single knock, the heavy oak doors to the Hokage’s office were shoved open, completely shattering the formal atmosphere.
"Old Man, I’m back," the man leading the group announced casually, a lit cigarette dangling from his lips.
Hiruzen rolled his eyes in sheer exasperation, massaging his temples.
Suzuki turned around, looking at the unexpected guests. It was Team 10: Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. And leading them was the Hokage’s estranged, rebellious son.
Asuma Sarutobi.
