As Kakashi, Rin, and Minato walked away from Konoha Hospital, Minato glanced at Kakashi, who wore his usual indifferent expression, but beneath that mask, Minato could tell the loss of Obito had affected him.
Seeing Kakashi like this gave Minato a headache. It had taken him some time to bring Kakashi out of his father's shadow, and now, with the loss of Obito, it seemed like they were back to square one.
If not for Rin's presence, Minato wondered what might have happened to Kakashi. She had become the emotional anchor for Kakashi.
Thinking of Ryou, Minato suddenly asked. "Kakashi, what do you think about Ryou?"
Kakashi glanced at Minato, "Should I think about him, Sensei?" he replied flatly, showing no interest. Minato expected such a response, but it still left him speechless.
Rin, however, couldn't help but laugh at Kakashi's bluntness.
Minato shook his head with a sigh and said in a more serious tone. "Don't underestimate him, Kakashi. He's very strong. He has the potential to reach Kage-level strong man."
However, Kakashi remained uninterested as if the conversation about Ryou was a waste of his time.
"If possible, we should go and watch the last round of the Chunin Exam. We might see his wonderful performance." Minato suggested.
Kakashi shrugged, offering no real promise to the idea. Rin, on the other hand, nodded her head in interest. "Of course, Sensei."
She found Ryou completely different from the boy she once knew. The Ryou she knew wasn't nearly as strong as Minato-sensei describes. He's an average boy with no particular skills. 'How did he become so strong?' Rin was curious.
---
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting an orange glow over Konoha, Ryou made his way to the training ground where Shisui and Tenga, were waiting.
By the stream, Shisui and Tenga sat on a large stone, grilling fish over an open fire. The smell of sizzling fish filled the air, blending with the peaceful sound of the flowing water.
"You're late, Ryou," Tenga called out, seeing approaching Ryou.
When Ryou arrived and sat next to them, Shisui noticed the bandage on his hand. He asked quickly, "What happened to your hand?"
Ryou explained without concealing anything. "I was trying to combine Fire and Water chakra to create a new Nature transformation, a Kekkei Genkai. But... it wasn't as easy as I thought. The wild nature of the Fire chakra burned my hand when I made a slight mistake."
Shisui's eyes widened in surprise. He then shook his head and said, "You're trying to create a new Kekkei Genkai? That's not something most people would even think to attempt, because it's very dangerous. People may even lose their lives in the process."
"You are crazy, Ryou, have you mastered it?" Tenga asked with interest.
Ryou shook his head. "Not even close. The Fire chakra went out of control before I could even stabilize the Water chakra. It's a lot harder than I expected. I'll try again after I improve my chakra control."
At that moment, the fish on the grill began to sizzle, Shisui stood up and handed him and Tenga a piece. "Let's eat."
Ryou accepted the grilled fish, and as they ate together, the conversation shifted to many topics; reminiscing about their missions, sharing jokes, and finally, they began to talk about the Chunin exams.
"Shisui, what do you think?" Tenga asked, wanting to hear his thoughts.
"I've spoken to some of the seniors in my clan. They mentioned that the Chunin Exams change depending on who's conducting them. The exam format and the evaluation process change every time so that the genins won't come prepared based on that." Shisui said, taking a bite of fish.
"Don't overthink the Chunin exams. We'll find out what it's all about when we go there the day after tomorrow," Ryou said casually.
After that, they spent some time training together before deciding to call it a day.
--
Two days passed quickly, and the morning of the Chunin Exams finally arrived. Ryou, Tenga, and Shisui made their way to the exam venue after having a light breakfast.
As they approached the entrance of the exam hall, they noticed several teams already gathered. The buzz of chatter and the movement of Genin filled the once-empty hall. After a quick glance, Ryou estimated around ten teams, making it roughly thirty Genin in total.
Among them, Ryou spotted some familiar faces who were his classmates, from his time at the Ninja Academy.
Not just him, Shisui and Tenga also noticed a few familiar faces after scanning the crowd. "Looks like most of the academy graduates are here," Tenga muttered, observing some of the teams he thought were strong.
Especially Hyuga, Uchiha, Yamanaka, Nara, and other genin's from prominent clans.
Suddenly, the doors to the exam hall swung open, and a Jonin accompanied by a group of Chunin examiners entered, calling everyone to gather in front of them. The crowd quickly hushed, and all eyes turned toward the front.
The Jonin proctor stepped forward, his stern gaze sweeping across the assembled genin. He spoke in a loud and clear voice, "Welcome to the Chunin Exams. This is your opportunity to prove how capable and strong you truly are.
The Chunin Exams are divided into different rounds, mostly starting with a written exam. However, since we only have ten teams gathered today, we will proceed directly to the second round."
--
The Chunin Exam had officially begun. Ryou, Tenga, and Shisui found themselves standing at the edge of a vast, heavily wooded area on the outskirts of Konoha.
This forest resembled the Forest of Death, swarming with wild animals and hidden dangers.
The proctor of the Chunin exam had just explained the rules: their objective was to reach one of five designated safe zones scattered throughout the forest. However, the task was far from simple.
The area was filled with examiners disguised as enemy shinobi, along with chakra-sensing barriers and explosive tag traps hidden within the forest.
To make matters more challenging, other genin teams were also competing for the same safe zones. Since there are only five teams, it means the other five will be eliminated.
They had to find and occupy the safe zone before the other teams could, for a better position. With only four hours on the clock, they had to hurry.
--
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