"Uncle Sawada, if we all get promoted to Chunin this time, will we be qualified to take on A-Rank missions?" Obito asked curiously.
The ninja leading Obito and the others to the designated entrance was none other than Kazuya Sawada, whom Obito often saw in the mission hall.
"No, but you can freely take on B-Rank missions," Kazuya Sawada replied.
"Whether you take on A-Rank missions depends on Jonin Minato's decision. He has the authority to take on A-Rank missions."
"Minato-sensei is part of our team, so doesn't his authority count as our team's authority?" Obito was a bit confused by Kazuya Sawada's words.
"Once you become a Chunin, it's different from being a Genin. You won't need Jonin Minato to take on missions by yourself. Also, during wartime, Jonin have heavy responsibilities, and if he has other tasks, you'll need to do the missions on your own," Kazuya Sawada explained.
The classification of ninjas is simple, with only upper, middle, and lower ranks, so Chunins are already qualified to lead a team.
As Kazuya Sawada said this, he led them to the 44th entrance.
Because other ninja villages were also participating, there were a lot of people taking the Chunin exam this time. Konoha had 27 teams, and the other ninja villages combined had 17 teams.
Upon arriving at the entrance, Kazuya Sawada didn't open the door immediately. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was 2:00 p.m., with half an hour left before the exam started.
Kazuya Sawada informed Obito and the other two of the exam's start time, then closed his eyes to rest while waiting for it to begin.
"Since we can't go in right now, let's discuss how we should act during this exam," Kakashi suggested after thinking for a moment.
"What's there to discuss? Just find a team, take their scroll, and head straight to the central tower," Obito said, believing that they should follow the rules.
"How do we find them? Do we wander around and rely on luck, head straight to the tower and lie in wait, or make a scene to attract others?" Kakashi responded calmly.
The goal was definitely to steal a scroll and head to the central tower, but there were many ways to go about it.
"Kakashi seems really reliable in this area," Rin said softly with a smile.
Obito decided to go back and study this aspect further, determined to become a ninja with plans and strategies.
Seeing that Rin supported the idea and that Obito didn't object, Kakashi shared his thoughts.
"On the first day, we'll try to search for enemies in the area. If we can collect both the Heaven and Earth scrolls, we'll head straight to the central tower. If we don't succeed on the first day, we'll spend the next two days looking for other teams in areas rich in water and food."
Since there were no shops in the Forest of Death, they had to solve all logistical problems on their own, so Kakashi figured that places with abundant food and water were likely spots to encounter others.
"If we don't find anyone in the first three days, we'll head directly to the area near the central tower and ambush the teams that have already collected both the Heaven and Earth scrolls."
After a brief pause, Kakashi continued, "If you don't have any other ideas, we'll go with this plan."
Rin nodded to show her agreement with Kakashi's plan, and since Obito didn't speak, Kakashi took his silence as consent.
"You can go in now, everyone come over," Kazuya Sawada said to Obito and the others as he took out the key and opened the iron gate at 2:30 sharp.
"Uncle Sawada, once the exam is over, make sure to pick a good A-Rank mission for us!" Obito laughed and waved at Kazuya Sawada as soon as he stepped into the Forest of Death.
"First, focus on passing the exam. Be careful of those Kirigakure ninjas; this Chunin exam is quite dangerous," Kazuya Sawada responded while locking the gate.
Kazuya Sawada wasn't too worried about Obito and his team facing ninjas from smaller villages. Fights between fellow Konoha ninjas usually didn't escalate to lethal levels. The most dangerous were the Kirigakure ninjas, who, like Konoha, came from a major village.
Once inside the Forest of Death, the three of them began following Kakashi's planned strategy.
Kakashi and Obito took positions on both sides at the front, while Rin stayed behind them in the middle. The three of them sprinted swiftly, searching for other teams.
The Forest of Death had a diameter of 20 kilometers, so it was hard for over a hundred regular people to run into each other inside. But for ninjas, with their speed and stamina, the forest wasn't particularly large.
After about an hour of action, Obito's team encountered their first group.
"Hand over your scroll. Since we're all Konoha ninjas, we won't fight you. Otherwise, I can't guarantee your two teammates won't end up seriously injured during the battle," said the tall, thin Konoha ninja standing at the front.
"I know, Kakashi, you're much stronger than me, but even for you, going one against three isn't a guaranteed win. It'd be better to save your strength and go after scrolls from the smaller ninja village teams."
He was four years ahead of Kakashi in school, but since Kakashi graduated early before the third term, his actual graduation time was later than Kakashi's. He knew that Kakashi was a genius who couldn't be judged by age alone.
However, he figured that even a genius like Kakashi might not be able to defeat all three of them together. After all, each of them had four more years of training than Kakashi, which added up to twelve extra years of combined experience.
As for Obito and Rin, he completely ignored them. At first glance, they looked like rookies who had only recently graduated.
"Hey, hey, why are you talking like Kakashi is so strong? I'm stronger than him, alright," Obito couldn't help but interject.
He was speechless—these three didn't even feel confident about winning against Kakashi together, yet they still thought they could injure him, someone who had already beaten Kakashi in a one-on-one fight.
"Who are you?" the tall, thin Konoha Genin signaled to his two teammates with a glance, then asked Obito.
The two companions of the tall Konoha Genin began to slowly spread out, positioning themselves in a triangle formation around Obito's team, ready to prevent them from escaping.
"Uchiha Obito!" Obito replied proudly.
"Never heard of you," the tall Konoha Genin said, shaking his head.
Obito felt his fists clenching, growing tense with frustration.
"You guys should be the ones handing over your scroll. This guy's individual combat power is indeed on par with mine," Kakashi said as he changed his breathing rhythm and entered the Thunder Breathing state.
However, the tall Konoha Genin didn't believe Kakashi's words. Quickly drawing a kunai from his pouch, he responded, "Kakashi, you know, talking like that just makes everyone think you're bluffing."
He obviously didn't believe Kakashi's nonsense. How could some Genin who looked clueless possibly have the same strength as Kakashi?
As soon as the tall, thin Konoha Genin made a gesture, he immediately charged toward Obito. His two teammates, receiving the signal, quickly launched their attacks as well.
"Flame Breathing, Total Concentration!"
Obito pushed his breathing to the limit, inhaling large amounts of oxygen while amplifying his body with Chakra.
Whoosh!
When the tall Konoha Genin reached Obito, he realized that Obito had suddenly disappeared from right in front of him.
"Could Kakashi really not be bluffing?" The thought flashed through the tall Konoha Genin's mind.
Bang!
Using Soru to burst into high speed, Obito instantly appeared behind the tall Konoha Genin, delivering a powerful punch that sent him flying backward, crashing into a large tree.
"So fast!" The tall Genin was deeply shocked.
Bang! Bang!
Before he could think any further, he noticed that his two teammates had also been sent flying just like him.
"Hiss." The tall Genin stood up, wincing as the pain from his injuries forced him to take a sharp breath.
"Damn, we've hit a wall," the tall, thin ninja thought, feeling things were going wrong.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Seizing the momentum, Obito quickly formed hand signs and used Fire Release. With the support of his Flame Breathing, he swiftly condensed a massive fireball, three meters wide.
Seeing that Obito also had an impressive Fire Release technique, the tall Genin's initial thought of risking a fight completely vanished. He quickly shouted, "We surrender! We'll give you the scroll, just stop attacking."
The exam had only just begun, and there were still many opportunities ahead. Getting injured now would severely impact the rest of the test.
Obito, with a smirk, released the unfinished Great Fireball to the side and said proudly, "I told you, I'm stronger than Kakashi. Remember the name—Uchiha Obito!"
"Even if you hadn't said it, I'll remember it now," the tall ninja sighed. At first, when he saw Kakashi's team, he thought he'd gotten lucky. He never expected that this seemingly harmless team had no weak links.
"Here's the scroll," the tall ninja said, tossing a white scroll marked with the word "Heaven" to Obito.
Obito's excitement at discovering it was the Heaven scroll quickly turned to disappointment.
"Now it's pointless; it's the Heaven scroll," Obito sighed.
In this exam, having a duplicate scroll was useless. They needed both the Heaven and Earth scrolls.
Kakashi frowned slightly. Obito's lack of discretion had directly revealed their scroll information to the other team.
"You have a Heaven scroll too? Well, having two Heaven scrolls is useless, so why not just give it back to us?" the tall ninja said with a glimmer of hope.
"Two Heaven scrolls won't help us pass, but we could exchange them for an extra Earth scroll from another team," Kakashi responded, rejecting the tall ninja's request.
Having two scrolls was better than one. Although they were fellow Konoha ninjas, this was the Chunin exam, and Kakashi wasn't willing to return the scrolls they had fought for.
"I can offer information in exchange. I've gathered a lot of intelligence on Chunin exam participants from various villages. Even if it's not useful for the second stage, it might be useful for the third," the tall ninja quickly said.
"That depends on whether your information is valuable," Kakashi replied, not agreeing immediately. Intelligence was indeed important for ninjas.
The tall ninja rummaged through his belongings and tossed two small cards to Kakashi.
"Nara Ensui, Nara Clan ninja, skilled in Shadow Imitation Jutsu, highly intelligent, very calm in battle..."
"Inuzuka Midori, Inuzuka Clan ninja, excels in combat with Nin-Dogs, somewhat reckless..."
Kakashi glanced at the tall ninja with a sidelong look. The cards even had small photos attached, and he was curious about how the other person had obtained them.
"Exchanging the useless Heaven scroll for valuable information is a good deal, right?" Seeing that Kakashi seemed somewhat interested, the tall ninja seized the opportunity to press on.
"I need to verify the accuracy of your information first," Kakashi said after considering, and then named the two Konoha Genin he had met in the first exam.
If the information was correct, it would indeed be very useful, but if it was false, it could have negative consequences.
The tall ninja quickly retrieved the information cards for the two individuals Kakashi had mentioned and handed them over.
After Kakashi reviewed them and found no issues, he agreed to the trade of the scroll for the information.
Although it was basic information, exchanging the extra scroll for it was definitely worthwhile.
"Thanks. If we don't get promoted this time, I'll give you information for free next time," the tall ninja said with a grin as he took back the scroll.
"In that case, we won't need it. We're definitely going to get promoted," Obito replied while looking at the information cards.
"Well, good luck then," the tall ninja said, quickly leading his teammates away.
As they continued forward, they were concerned about encountering other teams. Their condition wasn't great at the moment; Obito's punch had been quite severe.
After organizing the information, Obito and Kakashi's team continued their search for the next team.
However, as they proceeded, they didn't notice a half-black, half-white figure watching them from the darkness.
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