Naruto: Hyuga Warlord

Hyuga Soushu had no objection to this mission. In fact, twelve Chunin were assigned to assist him, so essentially he only needed to issue orders and let the Chunin handle the actual work.

For a Hyuga ninja with the Byakugan, eliminating potential threats was an extremely simple task. After all, even advanced traps set by ninja couldn't hide from the Byakugan, let alone dangerous animals lacking intelligence.

However, according to Koharu Utatane's statement at the meeting, even those ninja responsible for pre-exam preparations still had other supervisory or temporary security duties to perform after completing their tasks. Therefore, nobody could simply return home for a nap once the danger elimination in the Forest of Death was done. Furthermore, during the Chunin Exams, all exam-monitoring ninjas had to avoid contact with outsiders. Even Hyuga Soushu was arranged to temporarily reside together with others in the Jonin Unit dormitory.

Considering the mission reward was quite decent, Soushu accepted these requirements. Nevertheless, right after the meeting, he casually called over an administrative ninja to help Might Duy fill out an application form and wrote a brief letter informing Uchiha Mahiru about his upcoming schedule; then ordered that ninja to deliver both the notification of the Chunin Exam registration and the personal letter.

Although individual participation in the Chunin Exam violated the principle requiring Genin to register as a team, and sending letters outward breached the confidentiality regulations before the exam, those administrative ninja had witnessed Soushu confronting Danzo publicly. Thus, they dared not raise any objections and reluctantly accepted this difficult assignment—without any payment!

After all, nobody knew what kind of mess this hard-headed martial legend might stir up if denied. Besides, work was work, and requests were requests—it wasn't worth offending an established Jonin over.

For Soushu, who had been promoted to Jonin purely through battlefield achievements, the Chunin Exam itself wasn't particularly significant, especially considering its emphasis on formalities rather than practicality. However, he also needed to take into account Might Duy's emotional state.

Ever since returning from leave after the western front deployment, most of his time had been spent closely hanging around with Uchiha Mahiru, so he hadn't intensively trained Might Duy much since returning, mostly because he didn't want his own habits interfering with Duy's Eight Gates training regimen. Still, he kept up weekly guidance sessions—even though they often turned into brutal one-sided beatdowns for Duy. But surviving enough of those eventually taught you how to strike back.

Soushu genuinely hoped that Might Duy would achieve something notable in this year's Chunin Exam—an exam unusually devoid of written tests altogether. 

Furthermore, this particular Chunin Exam was strictly internal to Konoha, unlike the usual multi-village competitions with broader influence. As such, there was no need to be overly concerned about inter-village implications. Immediately following the exam, nearly all participants, regardless of their results, would likely be dispatched to various Ninja Force camps desperately short-staffed, filling frontline gaps. Consequently, powerful clans showed little interest in this disguised wartime mobilization, making it truly a rare chance for commoner-ninjas to finally have a level playing field to prove themselves.

As for whether Might Duy could successfully pass the Chunin Exams, Hyuga Soushu wasn't particularly concerned.

If Duy passed, then Soushu—who had arranged for him to take the exam alone—would be seen as a model of discernment, earning Might Duy's deep gratitude and unwavering devotion. If he failed, well then, in future battles, Soushu would simply give Duy a larger share of the credit so that he could rise through the ranks by wartime achievements. At the same time, Soushu could casually mention here and there—openly or subtly—that some unfounded underhanded dealings within the village had cost Duy his promotion. This way, Duy would grow disillusioned with the village and become just as devoted to his teacher instead.

Thus, no matter what, Soushu would never lose; the end result would always be a win-win situation—or more precisely, Soushu winning twice!

"Now this is entertainment!"

Within the Forest of Death, Hyuga Soushu was still highly satisfied with his micromanagement as he directed his twelve subordinates into a frenzy.

Konoha's Training Ground No.44, known as the Forest of Death, was packed with ferocious beasts, venomous insects, and all kinds of deadly natural miasmas—dangers even chunin-level ninja had to watch out for. Therefore, before the exam officially began, all significant hazards needed to be eliminated.

Otherwise, those newly graduated ninja academy students lacking essential knowledge might suffer casualties exceeding half their numbers right within the Forest of Death. Once public opinion flared up, not even the Hokage would escape blame.

"Soushu Jonin, the toxic gas in Sector 6 has been cleared!"

Two exhausted chunin hopped between the trees and arrived before Hyuga Soushu, kneeling on one knee to report.

"Excellent! The work is progressing smoothly!"

Soushu was very pleased with their performance, but before these two overworked and overtired chunin could even enjoy a moment's relief, he promptly issued new orders:

"Ten minutes for your meal, thirty to rest. Then Sector Nine and Ten are next for you two!"

"We understand."

Though weary, the two ambitious chunin accepted the order and immediately unsealed rice balls prepared in advance from their sealing scrolls.

Soon after, the other ten chunin who had completed their own clearance tasks returned, reporting to Soushu and receiving new assignments.

"Soushu Jonin, would you mind telling us about the Land of Rain?"

Seizing a brief moment to catch his breath, an eager chunin asked, "You're a hero of both the battlefield in the Land of Rain and the swift strike campaign in the Land of Rivers, so surely you must…"

"Do you see those two monkeys over there?" Soushu interrupted directly, pointing toward two distant monkeys fighting over food.

"Monkeys?"

The group of chunin immediately followed his gaze.

Two monkeys whose fur looked nearly identical were fiercely battling over scattered unripe fruits on the ground. Their loud, fierce screeches echoed as they fought to kill each other and claim all the fruits.

The thing is, even though the forest was dangerous, animals living in the wild here never struggled to find food.

Even though it was the depth of winter, the warmth radiating from the scattered natural hot springs had preserved the low-lying berry bushes in the forest. This allowed animals without hibernation habits to find food and survive within these warm zones.

"Why are they fighting? Aren't there still plenty of berry bushes?"

A somewhat youthful-looking Chunin asked with confusion: "Instead of fighting, why not just gather berries from another bush?"

"Besides, during their fight they trampled on berries already fallen on the ground. Honestly."

"After all, they're just mindless monkeys. What do they know!"

The Chunin began chatting idly.

To them, it was just another boring fight between wild animals.

But one pineapple-haired Nara kept watching the monkeys' brawl for quite some time, his expression growing increasingly pensive.

"Nara? What's wrong?"

His companion thought it was strange and gave him a gentle nudge. "Aren't you going to eat? We still need to rest up before continuing our work!"

"Hyuga Soushu, I..."

Nara gently shook his head, signaling to his companions that he was fine. Then he turned and bowed deeply to Hyuga Soushu, asking earnestly, "Do you mean to say war is as absurd as monkeys fighting over berries?"

"No!"

Hyuga Soushu shook his head firmly, immediately denying the suggestion. "War among ninja is far more foolish than monkeys fighting over already harvested fruit!"

"Huh?"

The Chunin looked at each other in confusion.

Such words really shouldn't have come from someone like Hyuga Soushu—who's known to be all about the Martial Faction!

Isn't the martial faction's stance about survival of the fittest?

"What exactly do you mean?"

Nara was equally puzzled.

"I mean the scale of war is too small. It cannot completely eliminate all the monkeys at once, creating eternal peace for generations of Ninja World."

"The only way to stop war is through war itself," Hyuga Soushu continued, gesturing toward the two brawling monkeys, "just like these disgustingly stupid monkeys here."

"Now tell me, how would you resolve their conflict?"

"Separate them?"

"Provide sufficient food?"

"[Genjutsu] control them!"

The Chunin who mentioned [Genjutsu] could actually be considered talented. Hyuga Soushu couldn't help but glance at him a few times—this idea at least coincided with Uchiha Madara's approach.

"Soushu Jonin, what do you think?"

After discussing among themselves, the twelve Chunin found logical flaws in each of their proposed solutions. They turned back to Hyuga Soushu seeking an answer.

"I just said it," Hyuga Soushu replied, "Only by waging war can peace be preserved."

He reached into his Ninja Tool Pouch, retrieving two kunais, which he hurled toward the still-brawling monkeys.

"Puchi!"

The sharp ninja tools pierced flesh, and before they knew it, the two monkeys had become nothing more than fuel for philosophical debates back in Konoha, collapsing lifelessly on the spot.

All twelve Chunin fell silent in shock.

"Wherever there are people, conflict is bound to follow — this problem has gone unsolved for countless years."

"But if we can't fix the problem itself, we can still ensure it never resurfaces by removing those who cause it."

Hyuga Soushu said calmly, "This is the most efficient and effective method!"

"Incredible! That's why Lord Soushu is hailed as the rising supernova of the Martial Faction!"

The chunin broke out in a cold sweat, but deep down, they couldn't help agreeing — there was some truth to what Hyuga Soushu had said!

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