Chương 87: Chapter 88

"Hokage-sama, the participants are ready and the spectators are all gathered as well." Konan told me as I finished tying my hair in a ponytail and was wearing the famous white and red attire along with the hat that all previous Hokage wore before me

"Perfect, let's begin the opening ceremony." I replied before teleporting the both of us to the arena, appearing just behind my seat which was slightly isolated and had a small balcony to allow speeches as I was settled on the highest platform

Tsunade did come to see the final stage but she was sitting a bit further to the right of me with a couple of our close friends.

Kushina wasn't there and Minato only left a clone because fate decided that this week would be the birth of Naruto, and Kushina started to feel pain last night, meaning that the moment of birth was soon, extremely soon.

It wasn't supposed to be so early but this wasn't something I could control anyway.

Also, Tsunade wouldn't be the one helping Kushina since she was herself pregnant with our second child, as such, the most trusted female medical-nin working under Tsunade was to be the one helping with her delivery.

I couldn't help but feel uneasy though so I left a few clones hidden to guard Kushina.

Nevertheless, all ten Genin who made it past the second stage were in the arena as well as this year's referee who was none other than Hizashi Hyūga.

While he did pass most of his time at Rōran, he still had a great house within Konoha to accommodate his family since his now pregnant wife was still a Princess, as such, they switched between the two places whenever they wanted.

Well, until Sāra gets crowned because she wouldn't be able to leave as easily as today when she becomes a Queen.

Nonetheless, the crowd was extremely noisy but it was time for me to stand on the balcony and do my little speech so, the moment I stood up there, I snapped my fingers and created a powerful sound blast that made their roaring stop as they now looked at me.

'Hm, I like this trick' I thought with a smile before coughing in my hand to prepare myself for the speech

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome and thank you for gathering here today to watch our next generation of shinobi take part in the Chūnin selection examination!" I started to declare as all eyes were on me

"Some of you may have noticed already from the look of the arena but this year's examination will be unlike any other." I then stated which made most of them wonder about what changed and the reasons behind it

"That's right, this year's final stage will not consist of a classic tournament where Genin will face each other randomly, no, instead, they will have to fight a copy of themselves made after thoroughly gathering information about their abilities from up to a few months ago." I first explained as they silently listened to me since only the sound of the wind could be heard

"This will allow us to see how our next generation of shinobi improved in such a short amount of time but also make them showcase their full potential." I finally added before sitting back down since it was now Hizashi's job to entertain the public as the referee

The order of passage was chosen randomly and the first one to go was none other than Shisui.

When he entered the arena, something came out of the tree and when it was fully formed, everyone could see a perfect copy of Shisui with a wooden texture instead of normal human skin to help the onlookers differentiate them.

Anyway, Shisui had two options.

One, he fights by using tricks and showing off his skills as a shinobi, making the fight last for a bit and still impress the public.

Or two, he shows off that he's the best genius from the Uchiha Clan since Madara by using his Susanoo, something that could be risky but it would be a great stepping stone if he wants to become the Sixth Hokage in the future, after Minato's reign as the Fifth.

That's if he wants to.

"Participant number one, Shisui Uchiha, are you ready?" Hizashi asked as he was between Shisui and the clone I made based on his skills a few months ago

"Yes." Shisui replied as he closed his eyes when Hizashi started the countdown

"The first match will begin in three... Two... One... Now!" Hizashi exclaimed as he moved outside of the arena while Shisui's clone disappeared from everyone's sight in an instant

'This kid, so he decided to pick the second option uh' I thought as I smirked inwardly when I saw the clone strike Shisui with a Kunai while releasing the Great Fireball Jutsu by doing the hand signs with just one hand, a deadly move now that he closed the gap with his body flicker

Unfortunately for the clone, Shisui opened his eyes the moment the match started and revealed his Sharingan along with a humanoid light-green shape around himself.

While it was not the complete body, it wasn't just the skeletal Susanoo but a fully humanoid upper body Susanoo with a drill-like lance in its right arm.

[Here]

"This..." "No way..." "How..?" many people in the crowd started to be shocked by the apparition of something they haven't seen in their life, only the Uchiha or the old folks remembered and knew what Shisui just 'summoned' was

Turning my head to where Fugaku was, he also looked at me and saw my smug face since I was the one helping Shisui with his Mangekyô and his Susanoo, something that made him chuckle as he patted his son's head on his right side, seemingly in awe after witnessing an eight years old boy achieving such a feat.

'Now that I think about it, Itachi is supposed to be sick, isn't he? I should take care of it at some point' I thought as I remembered that he was to die young even if he wasn't killed by Sasuke in the canon

Even though I said that the clones could do everything the one they were based on could six months before, I did not allow the clone to use Shisui's Mangekyô since it was too dangerous to be shown.

Regardless, the Susanoo around Shisui simply took on the clone assault with ease before literally smacking it down until nothing was left.

'Come on, now everyone will believe that the clone was weak' I thought as Shisui took care of his clone in such a quick manner it felt like he was facing a civil instead

Thankfully, my worries proved to be wrong since the moment Hizashi declared Shisui's victory, the whole arena was filled with an incredible uproar caused by the crowd, reminding me that they were not doubting my words.

'I forgot that their trust in my words is beyond my comprehension' I thought as they were indeed amazed by Shisui's display by I needed the next participants to show some kind of trouble for the greater good

'*sigh* Anyway, I think the next one is Gai- uh?' I thought but interrupted myself when I sensed something

"Yuichi-sama, I felt someone unusual enter Konoha's vicinity." Konan warned me as she whispered in my ear and confirmed my suspicion

"I know, I will switch with my clone. Let the final continue and watch over Tsunade and the children for me." I said as I prepared a barrier around the arena in advance just in case something like this happened

I knew that Black Zetsu planned to make Konoha suffer some damage to slow us down since we were growing too quickly after winning the previous wars without that much of an issue.

Because of this unprecedented growth, his plan of capturing the Tailed Beasts would be harder, as such, he needed to do something the moment an opportunity showed.

And the best thing to do such a thing was to free some Tailed-Beasts and make them wreak havoc by using Chikako's Mangekyô ability.

'If he wants to see Konoha fall under chaos, then I shall show him exactly what he wants' I thought as I smirked and prepared my countermeasure since Black Zetsu was currently watching from afar

*Black Zetsu's POV*

'Seems like the plan began' I thought as I saw the explosion happening in the Senju Clan Compound and the Five-Tails beginning to boil everything around it while the One-Tail was released a bit further to make sure that the destruction they brought would affect even more space

The more damaged Konoha becomes after today, the easier it will be for me to prepare for the capture of the Tailed-Beasts in the near future.

I would like to do it today, but unfortunately, that Hokage wouldn't let me off easily... I can only slow him down until I gather competent enough shinobi and catch the Tailed Beasts that are not in Konoha.

'As much as I dislike the Uchiha, they are too useful to pass by and so easy to control as well' I thought since this girl's Mangekyô ability allowed me to have a useful pawn within Konoha

"Ooh~ Seems like the boy began his part within the plan too." I said out loud when I noticed the Two-Tails appearing where the arena was located

Thanks to the boy, I learned where the One-Tail and the Five-Tails were kept and how to get access to them, that's how Chikako was able to control and free them.

On the other hand, I asked Shisui to secretly do the same with the Two-Tails and maybe the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, if he could, as long as he didn't bring any kind of suspicion on himself.

He had to use his Mangekyô ability before the day of the Chūnin final stage to make them willingly release the brainwashed Tailed-Beasts.

If he does get caught, however, then he would have to flee with his mother and join me earlier than I intended, it would be annoying if he got captured because I would lose a useful pawn since he was tasked to kill himself by immolation if it happened.

I can't risk him leaving anything behind because of that resurrection technique, though I took a sample of him beforehand just in case.

I should keep my advantage of being unknown to the Hokage or anyone else as long as they can stand in my way.

"A pity he couldn't release the Seven-Tails, but it should be enough chaos to divert the Hokage's attention away from the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki as well as the pests around her." I said as I didn't want my plan to fail by targeting the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki since he gave me a bad feeling

"That's it! Destroy the village for me so that I can peacefully proceed with my mission for the several years to come!" I once again said out loud as I finally saw the Nine-Tails in all its splendor destroy the surroundings as its eyes reflected the Sharingan

The 'peace' currently established will also cease since humans from other villages will take advantage of Konoha's predicament to take their revenge.

Humans are so easy to predict.

'Mh? Eh, so the Hokage choose to take care of the Two-Tails first since his daughter was around' I thought as I saw crystal prison appear out of nowhere as it completely locked the Two-Tails within

'Aah~, how unfortunate, he doesn't even know that his daughter has been already brainwashed by Shisui and would kill herself the moment he asks her to' I thought as I had to be fully prepared against this man who somehow could use multiple bloodlines-related techniques

He's too dangerous but I can't kill him since he's the only one that can be used to replace Madara as the host... His daughter's life should be enough to keep him at bay.

Nonetheless, while the Two-Tails didn't have time to do something, the Five-Tails was able to melt a large portion of Konoha just by moving around while releasing a highly acidic boil, his speed and the acidic mist made it hard for Konoha's shinobi to stop it.

Back at the Senju Clan Compound, I saw the One-Tail throw a tantrum and destroy most of the facilities around but it was only for a while as I noticed a large number of Uzumaki surrounding it and pushing it back within a barrier.

Shisui told me that the current Hokage saved some remnants from the Uzumaki Clan and that they lived in the Senju Clan Compound, a little bit bothersome but I precisely asked for Chikako to make the One-Tail stay behind, after all, he was the less useful of them all but still required time to be sealed again, even more under this berserk state.

He was but a mere distraction that prevented the Uzumaki from helping with the other Tailed-Beasts.

However, the best element in this attack was the Nine-Tails who directly launched a Tailed Beast Ball toward the village center, creating a giant explosion that obliterated anything within, be it buildings or living beings.

As I waited for the smoke to dissipate, I was glad to see that the Hokage couldn't be here in time to prevent the Tailed Beast Bomb, not that he could.

'It's a bit unfortunate that most of the village's inhabitants are within the arena' I thought as it lessened the number of casualties I expected my plan to do, though most of the spectators were civilians or the direct family of the participants

"I would have preferred another Tailed Beast Ball to be thrown but that blond guy and his wife made up their mind." I said out loud as I saw the chains that restricted the Nine-Tails and the sealing technique they prepared to stop it

'If the next Jinchūriki ends up being this child, I will need Shisui to brainwash him too' I thought before seeing another commotion near the arena

"Seems like it's already over." I said out loud as I saw the Five-Tails running towards the arena but he was quickly stopped by the Hokage who used his Wood Release to seal back the beast without getting hindered by the acidic most protecting it

"You're here." I then said as I sensed Chikako coming back toward me before asking "How did it go?" even though I knew most of it

"The attack was a success, many shinobi, and civilians, died along with the destruction of most of the village's structures... The next Hokage in line also sacrificed himself to seal the Nine-Tails." Chicago started to explain as she kneeled like usual before continuing "Shisui should not be suspected since I sent a clone to the arena as a bait, turning the Hokage's suspicions on me even there."

"Good, good! This should give us enough time now... I will let you gather the shinobi on the list, they will be useful pawns to gather the Tailed-Beasts outside of Konoha." I exclaimed before giving Chikako a scroll with names of multiple lawless and powerful shinobi

It doesn't matter if they refused, Chikako just needs to have eye contact and they will become loyal to me.

She truly is the best pawn I could get, more useful than that crippled Madara, at least... But I still need him, after all, he's the one I have to use as a host for the Ten-Tails, at least, the easiest choice.

Only then could I achieve the mission I was given by the Ōtsutsuki Clan... And hopefully become one of them myself.

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[A/N: Putting aside that it's been a while, and the fact that I somehow always write just before becoming busy again, stress relieving I guess, I told you before that I changed Kaguya's backstory but the same is true for Black Zetsu, so yeah, what I'm writing is NOT to be considered canon.]