Chapter 35: Might Duy

“Are you accustomed to being in the presence of authorities?”

Although he was thinking about other things, it wasn’t difficult for Yujin to respond to the Hokage’s inquiries.

“Not much.”

“You seem quite calm for someone meeting the Hokage.”

Hiruzen observed Yujin calmly but couldn’t really find anything, which truly surprised him.

“I have perfect control over my physical and emotional functions due to my training, so I can remain calm in the most difficult situations.”

“Hoho, and what kind of training is that?”

Hiruzen was curious about Yujin and how he accumulated so much strength.

“Martial arts.”

The Hokage put his hand on his chin and thought for a long time, trying to understand what martial arts meant. In the village, something similar would be taijutsu, but it was far from the same.

“I think I’ve heard of something like that ... Martial arts.”

Hiruzen has access to all the knowledge present in the village—things only the Hokages would know. The only other person with such access would be Mito, and that’s because of her influence as the wife of the First Hokage, the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki, as well as the numerous contributions she made to the village.

She literally built the village with her own hands, so it’s not strange for her to have the same influence as the Hokage.

“Well ... Let’s leave it at that; I’ll look into it further later.”

As they conversed, Hiruzen walked around the room, circling Yuji slowly, observing him. Yujin didn’t react to the Hokage’s actions, but he was starting to feel displeasure.

Suddenly, without any warning, the Hokage moved. With a kunai in hand, he attacked Yujin from behind, aiming for his neck. It all happened in less than a second.

When Hiruzen snapped back to reality, Yujin had already turned around, using his left hand to stop the kunai and his right hand to throw a punch at the Hokage’s head.

Everything happened so fast that even the Hokage was surprised. He knew Yujin could thwart the attack, but he didn’t expect a counterattack. When he tried to think about how to defend himself, the punch stopped just inches from his face.

Along with the halted punch, a gust of wind hit his face, and papers in the room started flying everywhere. Although the wind that came with the punch was powerful, Hiruzen made an effort not to be affected by it and stood still, locking eyes with Yujin.

“You’re better than I thought.”

“That was very rude.”

Yujin seemed quite relaxed as he said that, but there was displeasure on his words. Hiruzen couldn’t see any caution on his part, so he wanted to know how he would react but didn’t anticipate the speed and fluidity of his response.

“Impressive. I apologize. I just wanted to test you so I can confirm your skills.”

The Hokage slowly sheathed the kunai, returned to his desk, and began searching in some drawers. A few seconds later, he handed three scrolls to Yujin and explained.

“I’ll give you a chance. I’ve specially chosen these three missions for you. If you can complete them perfectly, I’ll allow you to take missions up to A-rank in the future.”

Yujin looked at the three scrolls in his hand and nodded. Tsunade had already discussed with the Hokage the type of work he was willing to do, so he didn’t question it.

“I wanted to ask something before I go.”

Hiruzen waved his hand, giving permission, while calmly smoking his pipe.

“If I complete these three missions, will I also be treated as a resident? I know that currently, my status is that of Tsunade’s guest, something I intend to change if possible.”

The Hokage nodded slightly and explained.

“If you can complete these three missions, I’ll give you permission to live here. You’ll be treated like any other resident.”

Satisfied, Yujin left the Hokage’s office.

The Hokage remained silent after Yujin’s departure. Initially, he planned to talk more with Yujin, try to better understand what kind of person he was. However, after hearing the words “martial arts,” he decided to cut the conversation short and test him to see how strong he was.

He had read about “martial arts” in some village scroll and planned to find out what it was before Yujin returned with the mission results. He thought he could learn more about Yujin just through conversation, but this need for research intrigued him even more. The little test earlier also yielded interesting results.