Merely defeating Sasuke was not enough for Bai to solidify his position as the top student.
But it was more than enough to firmly cement his reputation as a genius!
After the practical combat practice concluded, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked everyone about their dreams.
Bai naturally gave the standard answer—wishing to become the Hokage!
While this response might not completely satisfy Hiruzen, it was impossible to fault.
Afterward, everyone headed home.
Originally, Bai intended to help Hinata rebuild her confidence, but as soon as Hiruzen Sarutobi departed, Hinata was whisked away by Hiashi Hyuga.
Left helpless, Bai had to wait for another opportunity.
Bai had someone picking him up too.
Seeing Anko Mitarashi walk over, Bai clicked his tongue softly: “Auntie Sweet Potato, why is it you?”
“Heh!” The moment Bai spoke, Anko vanished with the Body Flicker Technique and reappeared beside him, hooking an arm around his neck while her scarlet tongue licked his cheek.
A venomous snake slithered up Bai’s pant leg, flicking its tongue as dark snake eyes stared eerily at him.
Anko teased, “Brat, your Sister Kurenai isn’t here today—aren’t you scared of losing your life?”
Bai rolled his eyes at Anko, devoid of any feeling of being threatened, asking nonchalantly: “Did you pass your Special Jonin exam?”
Mentioning that, the dangerous look on Anko’s face vanished instantly, replaced by subtle disappointment and gloom as she sighed: “If only it were that easy!”
Hearing this, Bai didn’t mock her; instead, he patted Anko’s back in comfort.
Truthfully, with Anko’s strength, she was fully qualified to be promoted to Special Jonin.
Her power was by no means inferior to Kurenai Yuhi’s, not to mention she held a summoning contract with Ryuchi Cave.
Not all summoned beasts in Ryuchi Cave were as bad-tempered as Manda; Aoda had a decent temper.
Unfortunately, her greatest asset was also her downfall.
Anko was Orochimaru’s disciple; though spared from purges, she would never have the chance to become a full Konoha Jonin in this lifetime, with Special Jonin as her absolute ceiling—once someone became a full Jonin, they gained voting rights for the Hokage.
While practically symbolic, those rights would never be granted to someone tainted by connection to Orochimaru.
Anko was actually among the lucky ones; Orochimaru’s former Jonin subordinates were either dead from high-risk missions or exiled to distant borders.
“Hmph!” Anko hummed softly, her mood brightening considerably.
Tucking Bai under her arm, she smiled half-jokingly, “You really are something, beating even the second young master of the Uchiha clan.
Do you know that when you held that kunai to Sasuke’s throat, Itachi Uchiha leaked actual killing intent!”
Though Bai possessed power superior to Anko’s, he lacked battlefield experience and wasn’t particularly sensitive to intent to kill; besides, he had been fairly far from Itachi, so he hadn’t noticed.
Anko had no reason to fabricate this to scare him.
Bai paused for a moment before letting out a dry chuckle, thinking to himself that Itachi Uchiha truly lived up to his reputation.
“You can still laugh?
Itachi Uchiha is a genius ninja that even Orochimaru fears!” Seeing Bai laugh, Anko flared up in frustration, bringing up the name she hated mentioning most just to make him realize the gravity of the situation.
Bai shook his head serenely, speaking with profound sarcasm: “How could that be?
The great Itachi Uchiha is a genius who possessed Hokage thinking at age seven—he wouldn’t stoop to my level!”
“Why do I feel like that’s not a compliment?” Anko’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Bai sneered internally.
Of course it wasn’t a compliment; Bai found it utterly ridiculous!
As a fictional character, artistic polishing made Itachi Uchiha compelling, but in a real world, Bai saw him as nothing more than a joke.
What bullcrap about having Hokage thinking at seven—just look at how previous Hokage actually acted!
During the First Hokage’s reign, the Senju clan was an absolute dominant force; one could even say Konoha belonged to the Senju!
During the Second Hokage’s reign, Tobirama Senju felt the Senju clan had become a burden to Konoha and dissolved the clan into the general populace.
Though losing their grand clan name, the Senju truly integrated into Konoha, while the core lineage still maintained massive influence!
Tsunade was literally called the Princess of Konoha!
During the Third Hokage’s reign, the Sarutobi clan practically became the overlords of Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi literally named his grandson Konohamaru, claiming it was so he would inherit his will and protect Konoha—though his real intentions were blindingly obvious—and even arranged a Special Jonin as his personal tutor from childhood.
The Fourth Hokage’s reign was brief, and aside from his wife and child, he was alone without a huge clan backing him, a hot-blooded young man who ultimately sacrificed himself for Konoha.
Yet at his final moment, he left something tremendously crucial for his only son—power!
Sealing half of the Nine-Tails inside Naruto gave him a painful childhood, but guaranteed that Naruto would hold an indispensable status in Konoha in the future.
Furthermore, he left his own and Kushina’s chakra inside Naruto, ensuring Naruto could almost certainly enter Tailed Beast Mode—essentially delivering Naruto to the doorstep of Beyond-Kage level the moment he was born!
In reality, a huge portion of Naruto’s tragic childhood was the handiwork of Danzo and the Third Hokage.
That was something young Minato Namikaze likely never foresaw before his death.
All in all, while the Hokage truly possessed the Will of Fire and genuinely protected Konoha, their family was also something they protected at all costs!
Now look at what the so-called seven-year-old with Hokage thinking, Itachi Uchiha, actually did?
Slaughtered his entire clan…
And look who praised Itachi for having Hokage thinking at seven—it was Hiruzen Sarutobi!
Bai practically wanted to applaud!
And as for Itachi undercover in the Akatsuki later on, Bai had no idea what he was even spying on; across six or seven years, Jiraiya had to trade his life just to uncover the most basic abilities of the Rinnegan!
Jiraiya truly died an unnecessary death…
Itachi might have passed intelligence to Danzo, but Danzo had repeatedly broken promises and betrayed trust—did Itachi somehow still fail to see Danzo’s true nature?
From the Nine-Tails Incident to Orochimaru’s invasion during the Chunin Exams, Root didn’t show a single operative!
Even during Pain’s invasion later, Root and Danzo were nowhere to be seen.
Of course, by the time Pain invaded, Itachi was already long dead.