A small, unassuming house somewhere within Konoha, near its western edge, stood quietly, its windows open, letting in the refreshing breeze. It was immaculate and silent for a reason: a baby was sleeping in his crib. And if anyone knew how fussy one could get when woken up for their much-needed siesta, then it was Sakumo Hatake, as he had been raising his son since his wife had passed away in childbirth. Sometimes, it was harder than it looked, especially because he shouldn't have been left alone just like that. And... That thought... It still haunted him when the house became silent like this... But his little one was more important.
Trying to shake away his thoughts, Sakumo was now sitting at the low table near the center of the living room, doing his job as silently as possible, reading and going through all the tests from the Chūnin exams. The dimming sunlight of the early evening was faintly let through the thin paper walls, casting a golden glow across the papers in his hand as he crossed out some answers, rating the rest pretty low, then moved on to another questionnaire, starting from the beginning again. Everything was in its proper place in his home, including the brushes he used, his gear hanging behind him from a wall hanger, his own reference documents, and even the kettle, now empty, sitting beside him.
With another paper done a few minutes later, he began stretching, his eyes moving towards the crib, eventually smiling to himself. He couldn't help but do so, watching the silver hair on the top of the head of his son, his tiny fingers curling and uncurling with instinctive, unconscious motion... His son. He still couldn't believe it, but it was the case... and if not for him, he wasn't sure what he would do. He swore he would take care of it, his wife made him so... And he would not break that promise.
Trying not to think too much of memories that still hurt a lot, Sakumo adjusted his hold on his brush, picking up another exam paper, slowly furrowing his brow. This one was... way too clean. At first glance, he thought someone had managed to cheat their way through perfectly, which should have been impossible. Even if he just sent a Shadow Clone, that meant he was there with all his knowledge intact, and no Genin could trick him and all the other proctors.
"Minato Namikaze..." He muttered, reading the name on the top of it, "Hm... Now I see." Starting from the beginning, he looked it through once again, and then left it ungraded, reaching for another paper... "Renjiro Uchiha." But... Once again, his brows had lifted because he expected a paper copy of Minato's work, but beside the mathematical parts, it was different. Very... different. "What a... dangerous mind..." He muttered with shock, just as a knock sounded at the door.
Glancing at Kakashi, his newborn son hadn't woken up to the noise, so he made sure to move as silently as possible, walking out and holding back from scolding the one who came to visit him.
"Come in." He stepped aside as the door slid open, gulping down his urge to scold his guest as Hiruzen Sarutobi walked past him, wearing his Hokage uniform, taking his hat off and hanging it up right next to the door as if it were just a normal piece of clothing. His gaze softened almost immediately as it fell upon the child in the crib, the lines on his face deepening slightly, and he let out a sigh, patting Sakumo's shoulders.
"Once again, I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage. Please, let's talk in the living room."
Hiruzen already knew his way around, so he walked ahead while Sakumo closed the door behind him and stepped after him. By then, the Hokage had settled down at the same table where Sakumo was reading the papers, watching as one of the most famous shinobis in Konoha's ranks began brewing tea for him.
"How is he?" The Hokage asked, breaking the silence.
"Healthy," Sakumo said as he looked towards Kakashi, but said nothing more than that, and Hiruzen only nodded slowly, accepting the answer for what it was.
"That is good."
The silence that followed them again was not awkward, and it was kept up until Sakumo was done with the tea, serving it up without spilling a drop and sitting down opposite the Hokage.
"I did not expect you to take responsibility for the exams so soon," Hiruzen said after a moment, "I thought you would send in your request to find a replacement for you."
"I can handle it," Sakumo's eyes flickered briefly, though his expression remained composed. "The clone is sufficient for the job, and by the time they reach the tournament phase, I will be there personally."
"I was asking... What about you? Not what you feel about your duty." He asked again, making sure his intention was understood by him.
"..." Sakumo did not answer immediately; instead, his gaze remained fixed on Kakashi, then finally smiled as he answered, "As long as he is fine, I am too."
"I see... Well... Tell me," Hiruzen continued, sipping on his tea, changing the topic, "What did you see?"
The shift was immediate because Sakumo's posture straightened as his hand moved towards the papers, picking up the last two, regarding them for a moment before setting them down, making them face Sarutobi.
"The batch we have is uneven, and I mean our people." Sakumo began, sounding very much analytical.
"It was expected; they were born in peace."
"Yes. However… there are outliers." He quickly added, tapping the two papers.
"I see their names," the Hokage said with a knowing smile, "But first, let's hear the others; leave these two for last."
"Sure," Sakumo agreed, adjusting his thoughts, "The Hyūga twins demonstrated efficient use of their Byakugan, predictable, but effective. I expected nothing less, so I wasn't that impressed... Too... Textbook-like. They will do well, as usual for their clan, but they will achieve nothing outstanding. I would rate them mediocre at best; their top position may be a mid-to-high-level Jōnin, but nothing more than that."
"And the others?"
"The Ino–Shika–Chō trio is just as functional as the other Jōnins have been talking about. With ample concentration on them, they will be an exemplary team. I would put them at the same level as the twins will reach. There were a few other individuals who looked promising but... Nothing I would mark as noteworthy."
"Your grading is still as harsh as ever." A faint smile crossed Hiruzen's face, shaking his head, "Not everybody can be like you."
"It's a question of training. The Second Hokage raised you, you raised the Sannins... Even I turned out to be fine, despite studying under Danzō-sensei. I am the prime example that no matter the teacher, it can be done, so I am not going to lower our shinobi's rating just because it's peacetime at the moment. We both know it won't last forever."
"I hate that I agree with you..." He muttered, reaching for his pipe, then halting his hand before even picking it up, and instead, he just asked for a refill of tea. "And the foreign participants?"
"Nothing that we can't deal with. If anything, Amegakure stands out the most."
"Hanzo's lot..." Hiruzen's gaze darkened slightly. "I guess, they have the type of experience that the others don't."
"For sure. They have killed," Sakumo nodded, "And not just once or twice. They will be dangerous when we move onto the forest part of the exams."
"Make sure nobody dies," He said, and it was an order, "We don't want issues, we are here to simply demonstrate our power, that's all I want."
"I will make sure of that," he nodded, accepting the order, then reached to the side and tapped two papers, signaling that he really, really wanted to talk about those two. "They finished first."
"Really?" Hiruzen leaned forward, his interest also piqued, and argued no further, "Opinions?"
"Let's start with his," Sakumo pushed the first sheet straight in front of him. "Namikaze Minato."
"Hmmm..." Hiruzen scanned it quickly, his expression shifting almost immediately. "Very… Clean. I'm impressed."
"It is already Jōnin-level thinking," Sakumo agreed. "Every answer follows a clear progression of thought, and there is zero unnecessary deviation. He minimizes risk while maximizing the outcome, and he reminds me of myself when I was his age... no. A bit older... I am putting him down as a High-level Jōnin candidate. It could even be Sannin-like with proper guidance."
"Jiraiya would agree with you," Hiruzen nodded, chuckling a little, "He likes the boy very much, too. I am surprised how much in fact."
"I can see why." Then Sakumo placed the second paper directly on top of Minato's. "…And there's this."
"..." The Hokage's eyes moved across the page... and stopped abruptly. His gaze lingered on the first few questions, then, like someone who had noticed a trap, they sharpened and narrowed as his tone became eerily quiet, "…What is this?"
"Renjiro Uchiha."
"I know, I meant..." Hiruzen read in silence, once, then again, more slowly this time, "These are not standard responses."
"No..." Sakumo said with a sudden, cold chuckle, "They are not even... I don't know how to take this... At first, I thought of Lady Tsunade's idea of assigning a medical ninja to every team, and how vehemently she fought for it before leaving the village. I am saddened she left, because her tenacity and ideas would be great to have... but then I read more about the boy's opinions, and I had to realize, they are more than just convictions. It is not at all like Lady Tsunade's thoughts, their origin is... I don't know. A Genin has stumped me, Lord Hokage. And that's a first! These things he mentioned, calling them... Wartime Doctrines... The examples he gave... I wouldn't believe it's his if I wasn't there when he wrote them down."
For a moment, Sakumo remained silent, letting Hiruzen finish reading and watching as he leaned back slightly, exhaling.
"Supply disruption through targeted ambush rather than direct confrontation…" Hiruzen murmured, tracing a line on the paper with his finger. "Decentralized command structures… rotating strike units… Dropping qualified shinobi behind enemy lines to use guerrilla warfare to ambush key supply depots and prevent the enemy from relaxing or retreating. Forcing sleep deprivation on them to force a mistake out of the enemy. Using long-range jutsus as... what did he call it?" He shrugged, reading the papers again, finding the word, "Artillery? Fake surrender to draw out enemy leaders and assassinate them?"
Sakumo nodded every time he asked a theoretical question, feeling just as stumped as Hiruzen did.
"Yes... And there's more."
Hiruzen's gaze returned to the paper, going into the details and examples.
"Take out messengers, focus targeting on medical ninjas, which would prevent the enemy from recovering their combatants. Pre-place explosive tags at key locations and lure the enemy in... Use shadow clones as fast relays and communication tools between troops... Always strike at night and continue disrupting sleep cycles... Leave marked, maimed survivors at key locations to spread fear... Always use different tactics to prevent the enemy from reacting. Strike against unguarded targets behind enemy lines and instigate revolts within the civilian population to weaken the enemy's cause. Haaaah..." The silence that followed was... very heavy. "Does he understand what he wrote?" Hiruzen asked quietly after a minute or so, and watched as Sakumo considered it.
"I think… Only partially."
"He writes with very much certainty to my eyes."
"Yes, but without awareness of the consequences of his suggestions." Sakumo added, "He is still a kid. Sharp and brutal... but a kid. I don't think he could do it if faced with the actual choice. Many adults can't."
"He needs to be taught to value life a bit more... If we place troops under his command, I don't know what would happen to them or how the other nations would look at us." Hiruzen placed the paper down slowly, smiling a little, "But... this is not the first time he did something similar."
"Like?" Sakumo asked, finding himself a bit taken aback. That was... news.
"Jiraiya told me about something he did while visiting the Uzumakis. His idea was about how the others could airdrop shinobi into their island, avoiding their natural defenses."
"Impressive!" Sakumo exclaimed, his eyes glinting, quickly thinking the idea through and finding it fascinating, "Very... impressive!"
"They have been working on establishing a defense against such a possibility," The Hokage said, raising his cup to his lips, "I will personally go there in a month, right after the exams are over, to establish a deal in helping them out with the planning."
"What should we do with his ideas here?" Sakumo asked, while Hiruzen fell silent for a bit, taking a deep breath.
"Copy it and share it with only the people who are my trustees. Keep it confidential."
"I don't think that's a good idea... This could change... things."
"I know... But I would be a bad Hokage if I didn't use it." He muttered, showing that he had a hard side; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived for so long. But then he smiled again, changing the topic once more, "And they did not cheat?"
"No. They didn't need to. More than that, the Uchiha kid ran counter-intelligence on the other children. He was the only one who did so, preventing everyone else from copying them."
"That's... rare."
"Little… Monsters. Both of them!" Sakumo exhaled quietly, also smiling.
It was then that Kakashi stirred, a faint sound breaking their talk up as Sakumo looked at him instinctively, but the little one just shifted his position in his crib, continuing to sleep.
"I will announce the gradings tomorrow," Sakumo continued, "What grade do you want me to give the two?"
"Why are you asking me? You are the leader of this exam." Hiruzen said, slowly beginning to stand up, patting down his robes.
"If I rate them too high, the others will want to see their papers."
"And then you tell them, they can't. Be truthful! They wrote revolutionary solutions. Or... Go with the second option." He chuckled, looking into his eyes, "Show them Minato's papers, and tell them Renji just copied his."