_________ POV Yue _________

"Haah..." A long but quiet sigh left my lips as I stared out the window of my small room.

I was not expecting some huge penthouse, but at least I hoped that I'd get a larger bathroom for myself.

Whatever, I got accustomed to living in smaller spaces with the Dark Brotherhood. I guess I'm just not used to staying in other villages yet.

Still, I feel as if I've come here for nothing in the first place. I mean, this entire journey was bullshit, we weren't even told that we were being tested, but we were expected to act our best...

It just feels unfair! Yep, that's the word. Unfair.

And that stupid anbu had the gall to say that Teacher knew I'd fail... As if! Teacher trusts me and knows I'm strong, if anything, I'm sure he'll protest this when he gets here!

Yep, I just need to wait for him to show up and this misunderstanding will be cleared up... In the meantime, I should at least continue training.

Not like I have anything else to do in this dump of a hidden village...

_________ POV Narration _________

Unbeknownst to Yue, Ken was already within the Hidden Leaf Village.

He had 'seen' the entire scene that Yue had made with the Anbu in charge of her examination. He also knew of her failures in that first phase of the exam.

Inexcusable mistakes that could have put her entire team in danger had it not been for the other members of the squad.

First, it was Bull, who acted quickly and prevented a large bloodbath from occurring in that inn, which would have ruined their infiltration.

Then it was Morita and Tatsukio, who saved her from gaining a grave injury and becoming a burden to the rest of the squad.

He couldn't help but become disappointed in her slightly.

It seemed that her talent for killing didn't quite extend to a talent for assassination or shinobi work in general.

Or it was more fitting to say that her princess-like upbringing affected her attitude and temper towards certain things.

Sure she was the most patient and perfect student Ken could ask for, and acted as nothing but nice around him. But in general, despite her talent and strength, she made for a rather lacklustre assassin.

Morita and Tatsukio were very good examples of perfect assassins. Both assassins were extremely talented, extremely hard-working and deserving of their ranks within the Brotherhood.

They were leaders, born and bred.

Bull was also a better assassin than Yue for the most part, despite his ferocious style of fighting and lacklustre stealth skills.

His strength was in his body, but his mind didn't fall far behind either. His temperament and patience were far better when compared to Yue.

And patience was crucial for an assassin.

Overall, the Brotherhood had plenty of great prospects, and they were all abiding by Ken's teachings for the most part when out on missions, even mock missions.

Yue was the only example that Ken could find.

She often went on a limb and started doing her own way. And it often endangered her needlessly.

Now, against easy opponents like bandits, it wasn't such a big deal. It was a mistake, sure, but it was not life-threatening.

She could afford to show off and display her 'art' when fighting nameless goons and bandits who didn't know which end of their swords to hold onto.

The problem came along when she started displaying her attitude in more serious fights.

In the war, Ken had to learn that Yue's life was saved at least twice by the Raikage before all of the children were told to no longer engage in the war and retreat further into the ruined compound.

The Raikage helped a lot more of the children than just Yue. He had essentially crushed all the runts of the Shinobi Alliance with his bare hands whilst he was resting after fighting a Tailed Beast.

But Yue was the strongest among the children that the Raikage had to help, and that in itself spoke volumes of her carelessness.

'What a mess... At least this Chunin Exam will be a good lesson for her.

People weaker than her will be advancing without any issues, while she's stuck watching on the sidelines.

Strength is not everything in the world. That is a lesson that she needs to learn urgently before she gets herself killed...'

The Blind Assassin did feel that he was lacking, to not have been able to instil that lesson into her properly.

But it was not exactly a lesson that could be taught easily either. Yue always nodded her head and agreed with him on anything he said, she always looked to please him and keep up appearances.

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If she knew that, besides the Anbu, Ken was also observing them during their journey, then she likely would have acted her very best, acted like the best assassin in the world would want her to act.

But that was the exact reason why Ken decided to observe their exams. He needed to know just how bad the situation had gotten with her.

It seemed that the older she grew, the more arrogant she became.

'Haah... Teenagers and their hormones. I'll admit that I was uncontrollable at that age, but still... I'll have to address her flaws next time when I meet her officially...' Ken decided to start making his way towards the Hokage's office after he finished studying his students.

He walked through the streets of Konoha for a few good moments, his civilian disguise allowing him to waltz around unhindered.

"Sir Ken?"

Or so you would think.

Ken tilted his head as he turned to the side. He had felt a familiar presence within the crowds, but he wasn't expecting it to be one of the few people who could recognize his disguise.

"Minato?" The Blind Assassin walked towards the young teen with a warm smile on his half-covered face.

His large bangs swayed from side to side, sometimes revealing small glimpses of his features underneath.

Minato sweated a bit as he felt the man approach, despite focusing so much on him, he couldn't even hear his steps, it was a bit unnerving.

The Young Teen did end up learning that Ken was the strongest assassin and bounty hunter alive after all. A figure on par with their great Hokage.

Not only that, but he was strolling around in the streets freely without any shinobi tailing him or observing him.

Of course, none of those details kept Minato from feeling excited.

"I was so sure that was you! It's been so long..." Minato shook his fists, a wide and warm smile spreading on his face as his spiky hair moved around wildly.

The Blind Assassin took a short pause, realising just how much energy the young man in front of him had.

'He seems to have gotten stronger... I guess I can talk to him for a bit. He is quite the interesting child after all.'

"It's been quite a while, yes. Let us talk over some ramen." Ken patted the young teen on the shoulder and pulled him off to the side.

Minato nodded and smiled, walking alongside the infamous assassin without skipping a beat.

"Actually, I know just the place! I was heading there right now!"

The two of them chatted a bit as they walked to the ramen shop that they both knew best... Ramen Ichiraku.

Ken sighed as he felt it.

'What a small world...'

He felt that the world was even smaller when he realized that another familiar presence was at the Ramen Shop.

"Minato! You're finally here!" A girl with flowing long hair, dressed in the clothes that a young kunoichi would usually wear, complete with the headband firmly tied on her forehead.

Ken felt her chakra, he immediately recognized it. Both her's and the beast within her.

'Kushina...'

"Kushina! You won't believe who I've run into!" Minato ran forward and immediately sat down near his crush.

Ken trailed right behind him, stepping through the blinds and revealing himself to the people inside the small stall.

Kushina seemed to size him up for a moment, displaying some suspicion and... disappointment?

It didn't take long for her to recognize Ken though, and her suspicion immediately turned to happiness.

"Oh! It's Lord Ken!" She sat up and ran to the Bounty Hunter with excitement. She seemed to want to hug him at first, but stopped herself right before that, standing in front of him and bowing slightly without saying anything.

"That's certainly a reaction... What are you doing?" Ken asked as he felt emotions swirling within the young girl.

"Thank you!" She shouted as she continued bowing her head.

"For what?" Ken tilted his head, confused for a moment.

"For keeping your promise and telling my brother to visit me!" She affirmed, her gaze still fixed on the ground and her emotions still like a whirlwind within her.

Despite her being filled with thankfulness and positivity, Ken could also feel another source of emotion within her, and that was only filled with malice and hate, all directed towards him.

'... Why does the 9-Tailed Beast hate me? Gyuki(8 Tails) seemed just fine with my presence...'

Ken pondered that for a few moments, before realising that Kushina was still in front of him, bowing her head.

"Oh... Girl, just raise your head. There is no need for this. I am relatively friendly with your clan, I had no reason to refuse your request..."

Ken immediately placed his hands on the girl's shoulders and pulled her up, shaking her a bit before turning her around and pointing towards the chair she had been previously sitting on.

"T-thanks anyway! I mean, you didn't need to help me, but you decided to do so anyway... So I appreciate it."

Ken sighed and just shook his head. Muttering a short 'You're Welcome Then' before walking up to a stool beside Minato and sitting down.

Kushina nodded her head and went back to her seat.

The shop owner looked at Ken for a few seconds but didn't react to him outwardly in any way.

Minato immediately ordered a bowl of ramen for each of them, saying that it was on him.

"Still... I wasn't expecting to run into you here..." The little girl sighed as she turned her head towards Minato. Then, under her breath, Ken managed to hear something else as well "I mean, it was supposed to be a date..."

At that moment, Ken's head snapped towards Minato.

"Kid... Say, did you perhaps plan to meet up with Kushina here before running into me?" The Blind Assassin felt the need to confirm that.

"I mean, yea. She just returned from a mission and I figured we'd spend some time together... But running into you was great! She wanted to thank you for a while now!" Minato exclaimed as he looked back at Kushina, who nodded.

"Well... There's not exactly any need for me to stick around in that case..." Ken slowly stood up, patting his shoulders and nodding towards the Shop Owner.

"W-wait! I figured we could spend some time together! Chat a bit, you know?" Minato didn't seem to want his friend to leave just yet.

"Kid, I hate to break it to you, but I dislike being the third wheel on a date..." Ken tilted his head at the boy's insistence and decided to just be straightforward about it.

"Date?" Minato's tone was filled with confusion, and instantly Ken felt the atmosphere turning.

The Ramen Shop Owner also stopped cooking for a moment to look over at the boy with a concerned gaze.

Kushina stood there, with a stiff smile on her face.

Ken now felt the girl's emotions match that of the tailed beast trapped within her.

'... I honestly feel bad for this kid... He's just that oblivious, isn't he? And here I thought he was a romantic, going out of his way to track her down and save her...'

"Look kid, the point is, I ain't sticking around. You can spend some quality time with Kushina, yeah?" Ken clapped his hands and turned around to leave.

"B-but I already ordered you a bowl!"

"Don't care!"

Ken walked off without saying anything else, and Minato seemed to become a bit discouraged.

"It's fine Minato..." Kushina immediately moved to comfort him, patting his back.

"Oh... Right! I forgot that you eat a lot. I guess it's fine then!"

The Shop Owner then looked at the boy with a bit of pity, before shaking his head.

Needless to say, Minato went from being patted on the back, to being punched in the face.

And Ken, who was still nearby, couldn't help but rub his forehead in frustration.

'What a mess... I feel sorry for the little Jinchuriki at this rate...'

Ken shook his head and decided to head elsewhere, taking his stroll further away from those embarrassing scenes.

'I'll go and rest somewhat soon... I still have that meeting with the Hokage in the morning...'