In front of the ninja academy, Yujin admired once again the faces carved on the wall and entered the place.

He gained access because of Tsunade.

Days ago, Tsunade had spoken with the Hokage so that Yujin could work with him. Hiruzen only set one condition; Yujin had to meet with him for a conversation.

The Hokage's goal was to better understand Yujin through this meeting and determine if he was a trustworthy person. Due to the circumstances, Yujin had postponed this meeting a bit and decided on today because of the ritual that would take place in two days. He knew the Hokage would be present to ensure everything went smoothly, so he didn't want this meeting to occur at such a critical moment.

He also needed time to better understand the culture of the new world; he didn't want to make a mistake in front of the most powerful man in the village, the equivalent of a feudal lord.

Armed with the knowledge gained through Tsunade and the biography found in the bookstore, Yujin was confident.

A subordinate came to fetch him.

On the way, he didn't encounter children or teachers as he expected. Although the administrative area of the village was in the academy, they were still separate.

When he first learned that the Hokage's office was in the academy, Yujin was surprised. He didn't expect the Hokage to work near studying children; it didn't make sense to him.

Only when Tsunade explained did he understand the intentions behind it, and he was surprised by the simplicity of the idea.

The Hokage being in the academy served as a form of protection for the future of the village, the children, as well as inspiration. Knowing that the most powerful and important man in the village was nearby always impressed, inspired, and uplifted them.

It was a symbolic decision, as if this decision meant that the Hokage was directly linked to the future of the village, but it was also practical, as it meant he would always be ready to protect the children.

It was one of the first times Yujin felt admiration for the Hokage.

Although he didn't encounter students or teachers, the hallways were filled with people bustling around. Where the Hokage's office was, that's where the administrative center of the village was, so the place was crowded.

One of the people he passed, however, caught Yujin's attention. It was a tall man with bandages over his right eye. As soon as Yujin registered under the man's gaze, he felt a high level of hostility. No one around noticed, and the man himself worked to conceal it, but Yujin could feel it and watched him carefully for the few seconds he could.

For some reason, he seemed even more dangerous than Orochimaru, something that worried him. This concern increased when he realized the man had just left the Hokage's office.

The man disappeared down the corridors, but Yujin remained on guard the entire time. He could sense the man's genuine desire to kill him, something he didn't feel even from Orochimaru.

Taking a deep breath, he thanked the man who brought him to the office and entered after knocking on the door and receiving a response.

The first thing he saw when he entered the room was stacks and stacks of papers, something he had never seen before. He had seen many books in Tsunade's training and research facilities, but never this amount of paperwork that practically filled the room. Tsunade had told him before that the Hokage was the busiest man in the village, but seeing the absurd amount of papers was still disconcerting.

"Good afternoon, Lord Hokage. My name is Yujin."

Even though he couldn't see the most powerful man in the village behind all the papers, he felt the presence of a person behind the pile and greeted him. As always, Yujin was respectful in his greetings; just as he did with Mito, he bowed slightly and made the typical gesture from his homeland.

"Hohoho, good afternoon, Yujin. I've heard many good things about you... Perhaps too good."

Feeling the acidity in the man's words, Yujin became worried but didn't react. A few seconds later, the man spread the papers a bit and finally showed his face.

He looked tired, with bags under his eyes. Black hair, he seemed to be around 40 years old, and wore a strange hat with the symbol of fire, a symbol that existed even in Yujin's original world, with the same meaning.

"Hmm... You're a handsome man. Young, strong, intelligent, handsome, sensitive... I understand how you managed to seduce Tsunade."

Although Hiruzen's words were hostile, Yujin couldn't feel hostility, which intrigued him. He chose to remain silent, hoping that the man would continue and maybe understand the meaning of the words.

"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with seducing a woman. Tsunade is beautiful, strong, kind, intelligent, powerful... You two make a good pair."

The man suddenly took a moment to light a pipe, leaned back in his chair, and released some smoke.

"You two are so perfect that it's strange, do you understand my concern?"

Yujin continued to be silent, but he began to understand where the Hokage was going.

"We are in the midst of a war, and I don't know if you are aware, but Tsunade has been crucial. Suna has always been an expert in poisons, but their knowledge on the subject seems to have increased lately. At the beginning of the war, many ninjas were dying, not during the battle, but after it, because of the poison. Tsunade was decisive in this regard, creating antidotes for all the poisons that Suna unleashed upon us."

Smoking a bit more, the Hokage let the information sink in for Yujin and then continued.

"Only against Hanzo did her abilities fail, so perhaps you realize how important she was during all this."

Yujin raised his eyebrows, hearing the name for the first time. When Hiruzen saw Yujin's confusion, he explained.

"Hanzo is the current leader of Ame. He was causing trouble, so we sent Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraya to assassinate him, but he was more powerful than I expected and managed to defeat them. He has a potent poison because of his salamander, and no one has been able to create an antidote so far, not even Tsunade."

Ame is the name of one of the hidden villages, Amegakure, or the Hidden Rain Village. It seems to be a small village, not very powerful. When he first appeared in this world, he was in a forest near that village, something Tsunade mentioned before. But she didn't talk much about the village or mention this Hanzo.

"With this, you have an idea of how important she is. Currently, she is one of the candidates to be the future Hokage, along with Orochimaru, Jiraya, Sakumo, and others. Therefore, don't find it strange my suspicions when someone so valuable to the current war situation suddenly has an unknown person around her. We ninjas are naturally cautious. We are experts in infiltration for information gathering or espionage. I wouldn't be surprised if you were an agent from some village, seeking information or intending harm to Tsunade or the village."

Again, he paused, letting the words sink into Yujin's mind while smoking his pipe. Throughout the conversation, Hiruzen did not break eye contact with Yujin, assessing him at all times, even the slightest changes in him.

Unfortunately, even with his experience, he couldn't find anything, something that actually made him even more suspicious.

"You... are strange."

Standing up, the Hokage walked around the desk and approached Yujin.

He observed him more closely, trying to intimidate him a bit with his presence, but felt nothing from him, only calm. For some reason, Hiruzen couldn't even feel the caution that a normal person would normally feel in his presence, which made him increasingly cautious.

"Are you accustomed to being in the presence of authorities?"

The question seemed like the beginning of an interrogation, something that made Yujin dissatisfied. Although he understood Hiruzen's suspicions, he felt that he was going too far. Yujin had no reaction because he didn't feel hostility from Hiruzen, even when he tried to be intimidating. Being sensitive to others' emotions, he could feel the man's caution, but not hostility, only curiosity.

Because of this, Yujin realized something.

Hiruzen wasn't cautious about Yujin because he thought he was a spy. He has many different ways to find out if someone is a spy. Normally, spies are hard to find because they don't attract attention. It's not like he could employ all methods to find the spy in each of the village's people, so Yujin, who suddenly appeared and drew attention from the first day, had a minimal chance of actually being a spy.

After using all the methods he could, he knew that Yujin was not a spy.

What intrigued Hiruzen about Yujin was his very existence.

Hiruzen could feel the strength emanating from Yujin's body, which made him curious because he doesn't have Chakra... Or at least didn't have it until some time ago.

He also had Yujin investigated to see if he found anything about him, but even after using all the connections he had, he found nothing, as if Yujin suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

A person this strong can't just appear out of nowhere.

The more he investigates and assesses Yujin's existence, the more curious he becomes.

Of course, Hiruzen didn't plan to explain this to him; not that he needed to, Yujin realized it, which made him feel even more relaxed.

'Well, I guess this is a success... But why did that man I met in the corridor have so much hostility towards me?'

Yujin was calmer when he noticed the lack of hostility in the Hokage. After all, he saw that man leave the Hokage's room, so he thought Hiruzen had said something to him, creating the hostility. That's why he was worried before entering the room.

Why was that man hostile?