Chapter 129: The Price of Alliance (4)

Chapter 129: The Price of Alliance (4)

"Chunin Exams? That sounds dumb, right, Alpha? It should be merit and the ability to survive that gives us the position of Chunin and NOT some exam" Before Tsume could spiral out, Kai pats her head and ruffle it just rough enough so that she lets out a cute groan instead of nonsense from her mouth and comments, "Relax, you're already a Chunin. No one's asking you to give a theoretical exam."

They did not escort Hiruzen back. Instead, Sakumo used the job well done to bring his team for another impromptu vacation and this time it was a scenic waterfall where they camped.

Sitting on a log and waiting for their fish to fully cook under the glimmering starlit night, Sakumo smiles and adds, "Kai is right. But so is Tsume. The Chunin rank has always been a watershed. It's a level of strength that makes up most of the force of a village but the idea is... beneficial. As the young Third Kazekage said, this idea opens up the villages to outsiders. Spectators from every level of the hierarchy will be able to view the skills of our genins."

Minato finally couldn't hold himself any longer and questioned, "Why? Revealing skills to so many... would be counterproductive."

Sakumo shrugged, "Everything in life has its merits and demerits. We make decisions when certain merits outweigh demerits."

Now Kai was in that meeting, too, unbeknownst to his team leader but it IS expected of his nature to be sarcastic and question these decisions... so he does it, "What are the merits?" He picked up one of the metal rods spit-roasting the fish and handed it while hot itself to Tsume who, understandably just pulled out the fish itself instead of touching the hot pipe which barely affected Kai.

"The merits are no, thank you, I like it a bit more cooked," Sakumo holds the metal spike from Kai easily, pulls out another fish, and hands it to Minato before placing the spike above the roast, and continues, "The merits are transparency. Others get to know what Shinobi are capable of. What they pay for. We are tools, that is an undeniable truth. But Hokage and the Kazekage believe that the Chunin Exams could be... something the world of Shinobi need. It's a sport. The exams, I mean. It's a simple concept but in our world... shifting the usual sport of blood to the actual competition may have unpredictable changes."

"Some would expect shinobi like us to NOT look forward to risks that cannot be predicted," Kai smirks while chewing on his fish.

"The current prediction is a war on Konoha... could things get any worse?" Sakumo gives a like-minded smile, too.

"So, Sakumo-san, how does this competition works? What are the criteria to become a chunin for the new genins?" Minato inquires, too, while Tsume watches and eats quietly. She's already a Chunin. The rest of the suckers who have to go through theoretical exams have nothing to do with her!

"The details are yet to be confirmed. First, Sunagakure needs to compensate us enough to pull Konoha into an alliance with them. That's the kind of thing you guys are better off not knowing," Sakumo chuckles and finally picks up his fish that was roasted too well... crispy black.

"Would you look at that?" Sakumo smiles earnestly, "This is the condition of half the Suna forces... burnt and dry."

Kai purses his lips. Let no one think he was a racist... because that is kind of the same thing Sakumo unintentionally may have played at here.

'Would you look at that... from bad puns to bad racist jokes... Some may even consider it a growth. A very bad kind, of course...'

---

The matters of Chunin Exams were of no consequence to Kai... at least, at the moment. He is no Kage and the job's responsibilities did not haunt him just yet. Besides, Sakumo was right about one thing, an actual sport can do wonders. It was truly a 'small' concept with a large shift in the paradigm. However, since this matter was known only to Hiruzen and Sakumo... and will most likely be passed on to the Uchiha-Hyuga-Aburame Advisors, Kai kept the information close to himself.

The grind was already laid down for him.

The Chakra Origin Seal.

The pale blue flicker in the tube began to take shape and looked like a specter of the Second Kazekage Shamon!

But...

"Hmm?" Kai frowns the moment he observes it and then looks back at the body turned into chakra.

'Mother... fucker. Uzumaki Clan really got THAT close to forming something similar... wait, no. My skill is extrapolated BECAUSE there is nothing written present. But is all Uzumaki inheritance written?' Kai had no way to confirm that and... the more he looked at the ability to seal the soul and form spiritual consciousness... the more he came to realize that the step of forming everything into a chakra may not be as BIG as he considered.

Sighing softly, Kai crushed the tube promptly and let the Second Kazekage die in peace, in the soul, at least. He just did all that for the grind for his current skill and nothing more. The man had not offended him in any manner and Kai didn't think of raiding the fallen's consciousness. Again, he had done things worse than this, but this wasn't an order from any superior and he could just be himself.

Besides, Shamon has successors. His skills have not died out and Kai will have his chance at learning more at an appropriate time.

{A/N: Again, this is no act of charity but Kai's own mind seeking new knowledge at his own pace. If I really made him the kind that loved to spread himself out and stretch thin then this novel would not have lasted this long.}

And just like that, Kai picked up the fallen glass shards and turned them into chakra... and then a pencil, and then a few books. He even went ahead to form clones and turn THEM into chakra... but the moment he tried it, the clones dispersed themselves and his chakra rushed back. Again, he could only turn anything non-sentient into chakra and tried to find a loophole using clones but that did not work.

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Alternate Title: A Moment's Honor; Simple Grind is the Best Grind; Correction, Grinding Mikoto is Best

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A/N: As you can somewhat understand, I'm not just keeping Uzumaki alive for fan hype. Their skills even in Canon and the barest bit of their treasures which include the mask of the Shinigami can be used for so much more lore. Hope I can unravel it in a savory manner~

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