Chapter 32.1- One Thousand Hands

It was perhaps a failing of mine that when I had been told of this mission, I had spent all my time thinking about myself, and not the people who would be joining me on this undoubtedly difficult mission. I doubted I’d be getting any one of the Village’s heavy hitters since they would have been placed in charge of the mission instead of me if that were the case. I even doubted I’d be getting many Jounin. The way Hiruzen had phrased it, it had seemed like only those who would find no use for themselves anywhere else would volunteer for this particular mission.

That was why when Izuku and Uzume were the first to walk into the room with Jounin vests around their frames, I nearly did a double take. Toshiro, Kizuru, and Omoikane came in next, whispering among themselves before snapping to silence once they came face to face with an amused Hokage. They joined the Uchiha in their bowed positions. Uraume, Inukuro and his ninken, and Shiba were next. The former Team 1 had remained together even after all three of them had been elevated to Chunin.

“Only three more now” Hiruzen said, and I had a fairly good guess of who the last three would be. I couldn’t believe he had done this. My entire genin class. Part of me wanted to believe that it was just a happy coincidence. That they had volunteered of their own free will to join me on this mission. But I wasn’t stupid. This was just the kind of shit Hiruzen would pull. He wouldn’t even see it as the manipulation it was. He would see it as helping. What did he ever enjoy doing more than poking his nose into situations that were none of his business. I could bet already that he saw it as an opportunity to drag me even closer to the village and ensure I’d put in my best here.

Sadly, my reputation for being a bit of n arsehole when I was younger had not left with time. Even Hiruzen feared that I’d fail to value the lives he put me in charge of so he was taking it into his own hands and assigning me this team. It didn’t matter in the end, I thought. I never planned on wasting the lives of my men. And this lot were a better group than most. They had rare kekkei genkai and skills that made them worth something. Even Toshiro, the most normie of them all, had become a terror with his mix of genjutsu and kenjutsu. The last time we’d fought, he even managed to catch me in one. Not for long, of course. But the fact that he had managed to fool a Byakugan user with his illusion was a credit to him. It was why he was one of only two of those from my graduating class to advance to the rank of Tokubetsu Jounin.

Speaking of that, the other, and her teammates walked in next.

A/N: Welcome to Arc 2