The first stage of the Chunin Exams was about to begin.
Kyoshin led Kurotsuchi, Deidara, and Karin toward the examination hall.
The mont they reached downstairs, they heard sounds of fighting coming from ahead.
A thick-browed, big-eyed Lee in a green jumpsuit was currently chasing Sasuke around and beating him up.
And the more he fought, the more excited he beca.
"So that's the Sharingan? Good! Next, I'm going to use my true speed." Lee crouched down, seemingly preparing to remove his weights.
"That's enough, Lee." A middle-aged man with the exact sa thick eyebrows and green jumpsuit stood atop a turtle.
Might Guy looked sternly at his student.
"Have you forgotten what I told you? Sparring between comrades shouldn't go too far!"
Lee instantly wilted. "Sorry, Guy-sensei. I just wanted to prove that hard work can surpass genius too."
Naruto was utterly stunned by Lee and Guy's horrifying appearances.
"Ahhh?! There's another kappa?!"
"What do you an, kappa?" Might Guy flashed two rows of gleaming white teeth. "I am Konoha jonin Might Guy, your teacher's friend! And I should remind you that in my matches against Kakashi, my number of victories is higher than his!"
'Kakashi-sensei...'
'Would lose to soone like this?'
Team Seven looked at Guy with deeply suspicious expressions.
"Hey... can you move aside already?" Deidara's patience was nearly gone.
Only then did the Konoha ninja notice there were other people present.
Might Guy burst into hearty laughter.
"So it's the little ones from the Hidden Stone~ Don't be so angry~ At the very least, we're all getting along peacefully and taking the exam together."
Naruto blinked repeatedly. He looked at the Hidden Stone uniforms on their bodies, then at the Anbu mask covering the upper half of Kyoshin's face. Suddenly, he smacked his forehead.
"It's you!" Naruto pointed at Kyoshin, speaking loudly. "The guy from the Land of Waves! The Hidden Stone Anbu!"
Everyone's eyes instantly gathered on Kyoshin.
'Anbu?!'
Neji suddenly frowned, surprise appearing in his gaze, 'Judging by his age, he should be around the sa as us.'
Originally, Kyoshin had intended to quietly bring his team to the exam hall, but since Naruto recognized him, he could only nod.
Naruto's eyes lit up. He ran over in a few quick steps and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for saving us back then!", He raised his head, smiling brightly.
"My na's Uzumaki Naruto! I'm the man who's destined to beco Hokage!"
Sasuke walked over beside Naruto and studied Kyoshin carefully. He could sense the calm, restrained aura around him.
"A strong person like you is participating in the Chunin Exams too?"
Deidara suddenly laughed before Kyoshin could answer.
"Who says Anbu can't still be genin? Mm~"
"Hahaha!" Might Guy laughed boldly. "Looks like another genius just like Kakashi~ This Chunin Exam should be very exciting."
"Alright, ti's about up. All of you head into the exam hall! I hope you all achieve good results!"
"Wooooh!! This is youth~"
"Yes! Guy-sensei! Waaaaah~"
Tenten and Neji quietly moved several steps away from the two lunatics.
———
The examination hall was located in the large classroom at the end of the third floor.
When the doors opened, over a hundred genin had already gathered inside.
Ever since graduation, the Konoha Twelve had never gathered this completely before, so everyone was chatting and catching up.
Kyoshin led the other three to so seats and sat down. Almost imdiately, he sensed a scrutinizing gaze drifting across him.
Beside Sakura, Ino frowned, her eyes locked onto Kyoshin.
'That figure looks very familiar.'
Short black hair. Straight back. The way he stood, walked, even his footsteps.
Ino's small rosy nose twitched slightly, and her eyes narrowed.
'Even the sll is...'
Kyoshin glanced at Ino, then guiltily avoided her gaze.
Right then, a gentle-looking young man with glasses walked toward the Konoha genin.
"Hey, could you all quiet down a bit?" Kabuto Yakushi reminded them. "Pay attention to the way everyone around you is looking at you."
Kiba noticed the Konoha forehead protector on Kabuto and asked, "Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before."
Kabuto modestly bragged about himself a little and ntioned that he had gathered a lot of intelligence for this Chunin Exam.
"If you need information, I can help. After all, I've already taken this exam many tis."
Naruto curiously leaned closer.
"Oh? Senior Kabuto even has information on ? Am I super strong or sothing?"
"Ahem~" Kabuto pulled out a stack of cards from his pocket and, like a magician performing a trick, found Naruto's profile.
"If we're only looking at the data, Naruto-kun should rank within the top twenty."
Naruto imdiately looked smug and shot Sasuke a triumphant look.
Ignoring him completely, Sasuke asked Kabuto, "Do you have information on Neji?"
"I have information on everyone." Kabuto crouched down. "Of course I have information on Hyuga Neji. Next, let introduce the people most worth paying attention to."
The first card.
"Hyuga Neji. A genius from the branch family of Konoha's Hyuga clan. Possesses the Byakugan bloodline limit and has extrely high mastery over taijutsu and Gentle Fist."
"Based on the intelligence, his strength should place him third in this Chunin Exam."
The second card.
"Uchiha Sasuke. The most closely watched genius among Konoha's rookies. Possesses the Sharingan bloodline limit, though his mission record is relatively limited."
"So I ranked him fourth."
Then ca the third card.
"Deidara. A genius from the Hidden Stone Village. Possesses the Explosion Release bloodline limit. Mission records show he has completed multiple B-rank missions and even A-rank missions."
Everyone present knew exactly what an A-rank mission implied.
People had already started secretly wondering which one among the Hidden Stone participants was this so-called Deidara.
"However, because he usually operates together with a squad, I ranked him second."
The fourth card.
"Gaara. A genin from the Hidden Sand Village. The One-Tail Shukaku's jinchuriki. Intelligence records show he has completed eight C-rank missions and one B-rank mission."
"Worth ntioning is that the B-rank mission was completed solo, and he returned completely unhard. He's an extrely dangerous individual."
"So first place goes to Gaara."
Low murmurs spread through the classroom.
At the back of the room, the corners of Gaara's mouth curled upward slightly.
Kabuto's praise had put him in an excellent mood. On top of that, for reasons he didn't understand, as long as that masked man was nearby, Shukaku would imdiately stop screeching in his head. Gaara had been living extrely comfortably these past two days.
No, to be more precise... He had been sleeping unbelievably well.
However, Kabuto's introduction was not over yet.
"There's also one particularly special existence." Kabuto pulled out another card of a different color. "Kintsuchi of the Hidden Stone Village."
"Because the confidentiality level of his files is too high, the information I could obtain is extrely limited, making it impossible to accurately judge his strength."
"But one thing is certain. He has previously served as both an Anbu operative and the supervising jonin of a genin squad in the Hidden Stone Village."
"Even so, he has never participated in the Chunin Exams before, and he isn't very old, so he ets the qualifications for this year's exam."
The classroom instantly fell silent.
'Supervising jonin?'
'What the hell, this guy's here to stomp newbies?!'
Whenever this happened, Naruto's mood would sink a little.
"So that masked guy's called Kintsuchi? Too bad Kyoshin isn't here, otherwise he'd definitely be way stronger than him!"
The Konoha Twelve all fell silent at those words.
They all knew just how monstrous Kyoshin's talent had been.
Unfortunately, sothing had happened during that mission...
The mont Ino heard the na, her entire body shook violently. She suddenly turned toward the masked Hidden Stone Anbu.
When it ca to understanding Kyoshin and knowing what really happened, Ino absolutely knew more than anyone else.
After that incident back then, she had pestered her father with questions for years.
Her heartbeat seed to skip a beat.
Quietly, Ino moved closer to Hinata and whispered sothing to her.
[🙇🏻 You Can Support the Story Through P@treon—AmbitiousTranslator. It also has 40 Chapters of all the novels and fanfics. Thanks for reading~]
User Comments
0 comments from readers