Chapter 33 : Chunin Exams(1)
The Third Hokage and Danzo were at each other's throats.
Danzo, usually composed, looked utterly deflated.
Homura and Koharu, standing to the side, barely held back their laughter at the rare sight of their old comrade being put in his place. As ninjas of the same era, they had all been acquaintances for decades, but moments like these reminded them of their shared history.
For the first time in years, the Third Hokage and Homura noticed something unusual—when Koharu smiled, there was a certain charm about her. The deep lines on her face, the slight curve of her lips—an unexpected beauty hidden beneath the years of war and leadership.
"Why didn't I notice this when we were younger?" Hiruzen wondered silently.
Even the ever-stoic Danzo cast a brief glance at Utatane Koharu. But, unlike Danzo, Hiruzen immediately averted his gaze. He had a lustful heart but lacked the courage to act on it, especially when the wrath of Sarutobi Biwako, his formidable wife, loomed over him.
The mere thought of Biwako catching him looking at another woman sent a shiver down his spine. Kneeling on a washboard was not a fate befitting the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.
He still remembered the time he and Jiraiya had been caught peeping at the women's bathhouse. Biwako had dragged him through the streets, showing no regard for his title. The entire village had seen his humiliation firsthand. The memory of villagers whispering behind his back was enough to keep him from making the same mistake again.
"Ahem—"
A cough snapped him out of his thoughts.
Mitokado Homura, regaining his composure, said, "Third Hokage, what are your thoughts on the upcoming Chūnin Exam?"