"Yamamura-sensei, the task this time is just to perform well in the Chunin Exam in Konoha, right?" Terumi Mei asked, looking at the now near Konoha, confirming the task details with her guiding sensei.
"Yeah, just perform your usual strength," Yamamura Muneki nodded in response.
Before Konoha's invitation arrived, the Hidden Mist Village never expected Konoha to suddenly invite them to the Chunin Exam. Due to the fact that the Land of Water is an island nation, the Hidden Mist Village rarely participates in activities of the other four major ninja villages on the continent.
However, since the invitation was extended, the Hidden Mist Village was certainly not going to back down and saw it as a great opportunity to both make their name known on the continent and observe Konoha's strength.
Although the Hidden Mist Village rarely participates in ninja world wars, they are not completely indifferent. They do send ninjas to gather intelligence and know that the four major ninja villages on the continent are currently in a chaotic battle.
However, this does not concern Yamamura Muneki and his team members, as their task is simply to achieve a good ranking by defeating Konoha ninjas in the Chunin Exam.
Yamamura Muneki is confident about this because his team includes a ninja prodigy named Terumi Mei, who, at just nine years old, has mastered two Kekkei Genkai and has also trained her Water Release techniques very well.
"By the way, I remember that Shark Face was a Chunin, why is he also participating in the Chunin Exam?" Terumi Mei asked quietly after glancing at Hoshigaki Kisame.
Hoshigaki Kisame's appearance is so distinctive that Terumi Mei remembered him right away. She recalls that Kisame became a Chunin last year through the Hidden Mist Village's Chunin Exam.
"He must have been demoted due to a failed mission. You don't need to look too deeply into it. During the exam, no matter who the opponent is, you must fight with all your strength. The better your performance, the better the rewards from the village," Yamamura Muneki explained casually and then advised.
The law of the Hidden Mist Village is the survival of the fittest, so Yamamura Muneki naturally hopes that his disciple will go further and receive more rewards.
Terumi Mei nodded, no longer asking about Hoshigaki Kisame. Growing up in the harsh and brutal environment of the Hidden Mist Village, she knew that there were things she did not need to know. She only quietly remained wary of this fellow village ninja participating in the Chunin Exam with the rank of Chunin, considering Hoshigaki Kisame to be her greatest rival for the top spot.
As they got closer, Terumi Mei also saw the massive wooden gate of Konoha. Since there are many tall buildings in the Hidden Mist Village, she was not surprised by this; she only felt a surge of excitement because she was about to defeat all the Konoha Genin participating in the Chunin Exam, taking a solid step toward her dream.
"As long as I can secure first place here, I will be valued in the village. Even Genji-sama and the Third Mizukage-sama will look at me with new eyes," Terumi Mei thought to herself.
In a Chunin Exam conducted between two of the five great ninja villages, if a nine-year-old Genin like her reaches the final stage, she will surely be regarded as a genius among geniuses.
Although it is just an exam, Terumi Mei sees it as a significant step toward becoming the Mizukage.
Terumi Mei loves the Hidden Mist Village because it is her hometown. She enjoys the early morning scenes of Hidden Mist Village, where everything is shrouded in white mist and everything looks beautiful. However, she also hates the Hidden Mist Village because the atmosphere there is oppressive, making it hard to breathe, and even the students are forced to fight among themselves.
Terumi Mei does not want to dislike her hometown. To ensure that she will only love the Hidden Mist Village in the future, she wants to become the Mizukage and change the Third Mizukage's oppressive policies to make the Hidden Mist Village a more peaceful place.
As she saw Konoha ninjas seemingly waiting for them at the entrance, Terumi Mei carefully observed each ninja, trying to identify potential enemies she might encounter in the Chunin Exam.
When Terumi Mei saw Mutsuki, Mutsuki was using Identification Jutsu on her, and their gazes met.
Although facing a much older adult ninja, Terumi Mei was not afraid to make eye contact with Mutsuki and tried to widen her eyes to boost her own presence.
However, Mutsuki was not interested in a staring contest with Terumi Mei. With a slight smile, he moved on to identify the next person.
It was late June, and summer had arrived, bidding farewell to spring.
Under the scorching summer sun, Mutsuki's dazzling golden hair looked even more striking, and his long-maintained gentle smile seemed to radiate warmth.
"What's with this person, why does his smile feel so hot?" Terumi Mei muttered to herself, slightly irritated despite her small victory in the staring contest.
Indeed, she felt that Mutsuki's smile was uncomfortably warm to her.
Terumi Mei rarely saw others smile. In the early days of school, it was fine; everyone would play and laugh together. But after a year, it became less common because, apart from herself, everyone else might be an enemy. In such a situation, how could there still be playing and laughing together? Cold, cruel smiles were more likely.
The elders' conversation didn't take much time. After exchanging a few polite remarks, the Hidden Mist team followed the welcoming Konoha team into Konoha, heading towards the hotel in the main area of the city.
Terumi Mei didn't know much about Konoha, only that it was a ninja village of the same level as the Hidden Mist Village, and its leader was called the Hokage.
This was her first time in the Land of Fire. Although she had previously left the Land of Water on missions, she had only gone to nearby islands rather than mainland countries.
"Hmph, our Hidden Mist Village has more impressive buildings," Terumi Mei thought proudly as she looked at the mostly two-story houses.
The Hidden Mist Village has many grand stone buildings that look very spectacular.
Hidden Mist Village, win!
After arriving at the designated hotel, Terumi Mei set down her things and asked Yamamura Muneki if she could move freely. She hadn't found any potential opponents among the Konoha welcoming team, so she wanted to go out and gather intelligence.
"It's fine to move freely, but be careful not to cause trouble. After all, this is another village. It's best to stick with your teammates," Yamamura Muneki replied.
Terumi Mei selectively ignored the latter part of Yamamura Muneki's advice. The reason was simple: her two teammates were the type of ninjas she disliked, and apart from the mission, she did not want to act with them.
Terumi Mei started by exploring the surrounding areas, familiarizing herself with the nearby routes to avoid getting lost.
Initially, she was only focused on comparing the size of the buildings. However, after carefully observing the streets and pedestrians in the main area of Konoha, she realized that Konoha was more prosperous than the Hidden Mist Village.
"There are so many shops, it feels like there are stores everywhere, and the smell is so sweet! It's desserts!" Terumi Mei suddenly found herself standing in front of a dessert shop.
Looking at the pictures of the desserts on the sign and the sweet aroma wafting out, Terumi Mei instinctively wanted to go inside. However, she used her strong willpower to stop herself after taking just a half step.
"Terumi Mei, you're here to gather intelligence, not to buy desserts!" Terumi Mei reminded herself.
Although desserts are delicious and much better than the various seafood with fishy smells, becoming the Mizukage and changing the Hidden Mist Village is evidently more important.
Forcibly shifting her attention from the dessert shop to the people around her, Terumi Mei noticed the differences in Konoha.
Although not everyone was smiling warmly, Terumi Mei could feel the relaxed atmosphere—it was light and not heavy at all, unlike the atmosphere of a village at war with other ninja villages.
Terumi Mei had to admit that in terms of prosperity and village ambiance, Konoha was more comfortable.
Hidden Mist Village, temporarily at a disadvantage!
"What kind of village is Konoha, really?" Terumi Mei decided to continue observing.
"You've been standing at the dessert shop entrance for a while. Do you need any help?" Obito, who was planning to ask Mutsuki for advice on how to improve their results, noticed a red-haired girl standing motionless at the dessert shop and approached her.
"Did you forget your money and want to eat something? I can lend you some."
While thinking about Konoha, Terumi Mei instinctively stepped back and gathered Chakra, ready to use Lava Release at any moment upon hearing the stranger's voice. After she understood the situation, she realized she was still standing at the dessert shop entrance.
"I'm not here to buy desserts," Terumi Mei stated, making it clear that she wasn't someone who lacked judgment.
"Then why have you been standing here without moving?" Obito scratched his head in confusion.
"Hey, you're not a ninja from our village."
As Obito scrutinized Terumi Mei out of curiosity, he realized that her headband was not from Konoha but had a pattern he had never seen before.
"Could you be a spy infiltrating the village?" Obito immediately jumped back, looking at Terumi Mei with caution, ready to enter Total Concentration Breathing and activate his Sharingan.
"There's no way a spy would wear their own village's headband," Terumi Mei couldn't help but retort, finding Obito's words absurd.
Although she did want to gather intelligence, it didn't amount to espionage.
"Perhaps that's exactly the kind of psychological tactic a spy would use to blend in with others," Obito's gaze revealed a sense of wisdom, as if he had seen through everything.
Terumi Mei: …
"I mean, there is a possibility that I'm a Hidden Mist Village ninja invited by your village for the Chunin Exam," Terumi Mei directly revealed her identity.
She felt that if she didn't clarify things soon, this Konoha ninja, who seemed both foolish and talkative, might actually consider her a spy and attack her.
Although she didn't believe this seemingly similar in age Konoha ninja could pose a threat to her, she remembered that she was in Konoha, and creating conflicts with Konoha ninjas outside the exam arena was unwise.
"Huh? Are there other ninjas from different villages participating in the Chunin Exam?" Obito asked in shock.
Terumi Mei thought that Konoha must train ninjas in a much gentler manner compared to the Hidden Mist Village. In the Hidden Mist Village, someone as clueless as Obito might have failed the graduation exam.
"So, you're my opponent in the Chunin Exam," Obito said with some excitement. He hadn't expected there would be ninjas from other villages in the Chunin Exam. If he could defeat all the outside village ninjas and secure first place, it would make him look even more impressive in Rin's eyes.
"You're participating in this Chunin Exam?" Terumi Mei examined Obito, surprised that she encountered someone she could gather intelligence from so quickly.
"Of course," Obito said, giving himself a thumbs-up. "Not only am I participating, but I'll also become a Chunin directly!"
Terumi Mei looked at Obito's foolish demeanor with skepticism. After all, becoming a Chunin at that age would be quite an achievement.
Terumi Mei never compared herself to her peers; her rivals were always older ninjas. This confidence came from her dual Kekkei Genkai—she was invincible at her age!
"My name is Uchiha Obito. Since you're not facing any difficulties, I'll say goodbye," Obito waved to Terumi Mei and turned to find Mutsuki.
Although he said he would become a Chunin directly, Obito's heart started to tremble at the thought of the first stage of the Chunin Exam being a theoretical test.
"All-powerful Mutsuki Sage will surely solve this problem," Obito prayed with his hands together, trusting Mutsuki Sage without question.
"Such a strange ninja. Do all Konoha ninjas act this way?" Terumi Mei wondered, watching Obito.
He said goodbye because she wasn't facing difficulties—would he really help a ninja from another village whom he had just met?
...
Not knowing whether Mutsuki was at home, Obito went directly to the southern forest. Even if Mutsuki himself wasn't there, it was very likely that there would be a Shadow Clone of Mutsuki.
Obito's judgment was correct. After some searching, he spotted Mutsuki instructing Shisui on Fire Release techniques. It was unclear whether this was the real Mutsuki or a Shadow Clone.
"Yumi-sensei." Obito jogged up to Mutsuki and called out, then immediately bowed with his hands together.
"Please help me improve my theoretical exam scores!" Obito said with a sincere expression, looking at Mutsuki with a request.
Smack!
Mutsuki's finger precisely tapped Obito's forehead.
"What's wrong? Didn't you always say that theoretical knowledge is unnecessary?" Shadow Clone Mutsuki said with a smile.
This was a Shadow Clone created that morning, easily able to guess that Obito's request was related to the Chunin Exam.
"I do want to, but the theoretical exam is still a part of it," Obito groaned, holding his head with his hands.
"I've already told Rin-chan that I'll definitely become a Chunin this time. If I fail the theoretical part, Kakashi will definitely laugh at me, and Rin-chan will be very disappointed."
He spoke with confidence about becoming a Chunin in front of others, but was genuinely desperate when begging Mutsuki for help with the theoretical part.
"Just come to my house tonight; there are resources there that can solve your problem," Shadow Clone Mutsuki said with a smile, pulling Obito up.
Mutsuki had set the questions for this Chunin Exam and had anticipated that Obito might face such issues. After setting the questions, he prepared several practice papers with similar questions for Obito to use.
If Obito absorbed the knowledge smoothly, he could perfect the exam himself. Even if he didn't, it would lessen the pressure on Kakashi and Rin to help Obito.
"Is it a Sage tool that can instantly impart a lot of knowledge?" Obito looked at Mutsuki with anticipation.
He wished for a way to imprint knowledge directly onto bread so that eating it would increase his knowledge. That way, Kakashi might not be able to surpass him in terms of knowledge, and when it comes to eating, Obito didn't think he was any worse than Kakashi.
Shadow Clone Mutsuki smiled without speaking. It would be great if such things existed; if they did, he would have used them to study Medical Ninjutsu long ago.
"Is it going to be practice papers?" Obito began to sweat.
He recalled the terrifying memories of losing track of time while doing practice questions, which he now found frightening.
Shadow Clone Mutsuki nodded with a gentle smile.
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