Kaguya's Legacy

After settling in and making sure there weren't any hidden surveillance seals anywhere in their accommodations, the three Genin left to explore the village of Konoha.

It was very different from Amegakure, more so since today was a sunny day, with clear blue skies as far as the eye could see, something you never saw back in the Land of Rain.

"So this is Konoha? Doesn't look all that impressive to me," Hisame Tōji said as they wandered the streets, with small houses all around, clearly not all that impressive.

"Yeah, I expected a lot more from the so-called greatest shinobi village, but it feels... pretty small," Kirisame Naho agreed.

"Well, the weather is a lot better than back in Ame; it's honestly pretty depressing back home. Though I agree, there aren't any big, tall towers here; that's pretty shocking," Karin half agreed.

She had traveled the world all over, seeing far more than either of the other two, and compared to many places, Konoha was indeed pretty impressive.

But Ame? This small and poor village? It was pretty much unique in the world.

While the rain itself was depressing, it was filled with great towers, reaching high into the sky, glowing signs illuminating the dark days and darker nights.

The sun might never reach Ame, but it had its own charm.

Both Naho and Tōji had never left Ame. They hadn't seen anything outside the steel towers of Amegakure, so Konoha, with its small wooden buildings, seemed underwhelming.

Still, Konoha had its own landmarks, its own famous sights that people would gaze at in amazement.

"The Hokage Monument!" Naho shouted, her eyes glinting as she looked at the large mountainside that had been carved into the shape of four faces.

Despite their dislike toward Konoha, they were still pretty young and easily impressed, and the Hokage Monument was without a doubt the most impressive sight in all of Konoha.

From their current location, they could see all of them with perfect clarity, not like earlier when they first entered Konoha, where half of their faces were covered up by buildings.

"I thought they would be bigger," Tōji said, clearly unimpressed.

Karin, however, was looking at the monuments with great interest, as she had heard plenty of stories about the different Hokage.

The only one she didn't care much about was the third face, the one belonging to their third and current Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Compared to the legendary stories and legacies of the others, he alone was completely unimpressive.

And his title as the God of Shinobi was beyond ridiculous.

While plenty of people had been fooled by his reputation, Karin spent time among the members of the Akatsuki.

She could chat with them whenever they were around, something few people could brag about.

And from their mouths, she had heard plenty of remarks about Hiruzen Sarutobi, and they weren't all flattering.

Kakuzu, in particular, would always scoff whenever someone called him God of Shinobi, and eagerly tell them about how he had once fought Hashirama Senju himself, the true God of Shinobi.

And how Hiruzen Sarutobi was nothing compared to him.

Something Kaguya always agreed with.

Among all the Hokage, the other three had their good points, while Hiruzen Sarutobi's only true claim to fame, at least according to Kaguya, was his three students.

"So much for being a so-called God of Shinobi; the Third looks like a sick monkey," Karin couldn't help but say out loud, earning herself a few dirty looks from some nearby civilians.

Though they wisely kept their mouths shut when they saw their forehead protectors, identifying them as shinobi.

Not that Karin cared what any of them thought.

She was here on a mission, and frankly, the sooner it was over, the better.

Though she could admit she was curious about the Uchiha and Hyūga clans, since Kaguya had told her plenty about them.

That wasn't all; she was even more interested in that blond kid from the Land of Waves, Uzumaki Naruto.

Since he was like her, an Uzumaki, that meant they were family, even if he didn't look at all like one; his hair wasn't even red.

The only remotely impressive part about him was his massive chakra reserves, which weren't even his own, but the Kyūbi's.

Still, now that she had a chance, she did plan to learn more about this cousin of hers.

"Let's keep going; there is nothing interesting here," Karin told the others, ignoring the many stares they were getting.

Perhaps it was the rudeness of her words, but it was true. She had no interest in the Hokage, and since the others were her subordinates, it was better to get moving.

They listened to her, turning away from the monument and continuing their walk.

There were many people on the streets, but most kept their distance, avoiding the three from Ame, and rightly so.

Nobody wanted to get close to shinobi, especially those who weren't from the village.

"Maybe we should look for a training ground? The exams are starting soon; it would be a good idea to get an idea of who we are up against," Naho suggested.

"What's the point? It's not like any of the other shinobi could possibly beat Karin-sama; Ame is going to end up as the final victor for sure," Tōji said, looking down on the other shinobi while fawning over Karin.

"While it's true that I will end up winning, that doesn't mean there aren't going to be a few strong opponents. I heard before we left that the Kazekage sent his children, and among them, one is dangerous," Karin said.

That was the problem with her sensor ability; she could feel someone's chakra no matter where they were, and even if they tried to hide it.

Though she wouldn't recognize it as belonging to that person unless she had met them and had a chance to feel their chakra.

So while she could sense there were a few others with huge chakra reserves, she didn't know who they were.

Except for one.

Shukaku.

The One-Tail.

While she had never met the One-Tailed Beast before, Kaguya had warned her about him before setting out, so when she noticed that powerful chakra filled with murderous intent and rage, she instantly knew who it belonged to.

With two Jinchūriki taking part in the exam, there were indeed plenty of dangers, so while there was no question about who would win in the end, that didn't mean they could look down on everyone.

Not that she was looking down on them, but she had earned that right because she was stronger than them.

"Ah, I didn't know about that. Well, they are going to be a problem, but Karin-sama is going to deal with them," Tōji laughed, causing Naho to roll her eyes at his antics.

"I'm going to try, but there is a possibility that we might have individual fights, and if that happens, it's possible you two might get matched against them, and in that case, there isn't much I can do," Karin told them honestly.

Karin was a shinobi, and their kind dealt in information, so she was well aware of how the Chūnin Exam usually went.

First, a non-combat test, followed by some kind of combat test involving teams, before individual fights, but there could always be some differences.

Kaguya had explained Konoha's layout for this year's exam.

First, a written test.

Followed by a team survival battle royale.

And finally, an elimination-style tournament.

But there was a change, a second elimination round between the second and third tasks.

She could carry her team through the second task easily, but she couldn't help them with an elimination round.

"Even if we aren't as strong as you are, Karin-sama, we can still easily deal with a few losers. They all look down on our Rain village; it's time they learn their foolishness," Tōji boasted, unconcerned.

Karin didn't like his attitude; he was clearly too full of himself.

Naho wasn't any better. She didn't say anything, but her expression clearly showed that she agreed.

Both had never left the village, never faced shinobi from the great villages before, but Karin had trained on the island of blood; she had fought in the great arena.

And she had learned from Kaguya herself.

She understood that there was a massive gap between the smaller and larger villages, and while Rain was clearly far stronger than other small villages, that was only thanks to the Akatsuki.

On the highest level, Amegakure beat any other village, but the lower levels of their shinobi? There was still a large gap.

"Just remember to follow my commands without hesitation; then there will be no challenge passing the second round. As for the third, that's everyone for themselves," she reminded them as they walked through the village.

And while Konoha lacked great steel towers and massive high-rises, it was clearly rich.

All around, merchants sold their wares.

Trade was in full swing.

Food stalls lined the streets, and the air was filled with the delicious smell of freshly cooked food.

Plenty of people were out shopping or eating, all of them looking like they had more than enough money to spend.

"Wow, Konoha is so rich," Tōji said, looking at a few of the stalls that were selling weapons, with many people eagerly buying them up.

"We are in the Land of Fire, the richest of the Five Great Nations. Of course they are rich, and the Third Hokage is a skilled administrator; he is turning the village into a major trading hub, and the fact that they haven't had any major wars in over a decade helps," Karin told him, though her eyes were on the weapons and armor for sale.

All of them were clearly of poor quality, mass-produced for the masses, not something she would buy.

She didn't use that kind of stuff often, but she still had a true chakra metal blade, forged by some of the best swordsmiths of the Land of Iron.

But compared to some of the stuff she saw back in Ame, even this poor-quality stuff wasn't bad.

Though she was certain that there was even better stuff hidden around; these shops here clearly catered mostly to Genin and poorer shinobi.

A true Tokubetsu Jōnin or higher would never use this kind of stuff.

"Konoha gets rich, while our Land of Rain suffers. Truly unfair," Naho whispered, resentment overflowing from her voice.

Karin didn't say anything; she knew that Amegakure was the best place to be right now, better than any other village.

Konoha might be richer, but their military force was far below that of Amegakure.

And that was what mattered for a shinobi village, military strength.

Konoha was living on borrowed time. Their golden age would soon come to an end, and then they would face the reality of the world.

The reality that the Akatsuki would bring.

But, well, that was for later. Right now, they had to focus on the exam, and that meant they had to find a good training ground to get ready.

And no, Karin wasn't planning on training; that was pointless. What she wanted was to find the best training grounds, because that would be where her competitors would be training, getting ready for the exam.

And she would be able to spy on them, ensuring that there wouldn't be any surprises in store for them.

Support me at /unknownfate - for the opportunity to read up to 30 chapters ahead.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!