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"The Chunin Exam is finally starting."
Kurenai clenched her fist, looking forward to it, and said, "Let's head to the examination site."
Rumi also spoke up, "Let's go."
The three of them usually followed Yōichi's lead. With Yōichi absent and no temporary team leader assigned, they usually followed Kurenai's lead, especially before the individual matches, with Rumi and Kazuhito listening to her.
They had heard that due to the large number of participants, the Chunin Exam would be divided into three stages, ending with the individual combat phase, possibly leaving only about a dozen competitors.
Upon reaching the exam venue, they found two classrooms, each accommodating over a hundred people. Kurenai and her team were assigned to Room 201.
"Kurenai, you're here too, I knew you'd participate," Asuma approached them near the entrance, smiling at Kurenai. Despite having been defeated by them before, Asuma still took the opportunity to strike up a conversation.
"Yes, Asuma, you're participating in the Chunin Exam as well?"
"Almost everyone from our class is here. This time, we'll see who can become a Chunin."
Asuma, who had mastered two Fire Release techniques at home, was brimming with confidence. He leaned closer and said to Kurenai, "Kurenai, if I become a Chunin, let's go have a meal together, okay?"
"Let's see when the time comes, Asuma, but I think the one who will become a Chunin will be me."
Kurenai finished speaking, spotting Kakashi in the crowd. They had been told by their teacher Yōichi that their biggest competitor in this Chunin Exam, aside from ninja from other villages, would be Kakashi.
An early graduate, Kakashi had become a Chunin three years ago, and although it was unclear why he was participating again in the Chunin Exam, being praised by their teacher Yōichi meant Kakashi was undoubtedly their strongest competitor.
Despite a period of self-degradation after losing his father, being able to become a Jōnin at twelve and developing an incomplete A-rank forbidden technique spoke volumes of Kakashi's talent.
Now, with Sakumo alive and continually refining the White Fang sword technique, even Yōichi couldn't guess Kakashi's current strength, only speculating that it might be close to a Jōnin's.
"Kakashi, I will definitely surpass you in this Chunin Exam!"
"Yes, yes, I hope you make it to the final round."
Kakashi responded indifferently to Obito, not seeing where Obito had put in any effort, considering that simply practicing a few ninjutsu techniques could hardly be called trying.
Back when he was tasked with training under Yōichi, he would train until he could barely stand.
"Alright, that's the spirit of youth, Kakashi! Let's have a decisive battle when the time comes."
"Idiot!"
"There are too many people..."
Soon, the classroom filled up, with thirty genin teams from Konoha alone, plus additional teams from Rock and Cloud villages, totaling over two hundred participants.
In total, two hundred and sixty-seven genin were participating in the Chunin Exam, hence the use of two large classrooms.
"Silence!"
A cloud of smoke suddenly appeared in the classroom, and then ten Konoha ninja appeared, led by an interrogator from the Torture and Interrogation Force.
Besides this Jōnin, fifteen Chunin appeared on the walls around the classroom.
"Everyone, take your seats immediately and prepare for the first round of the Chunin Exam."
Seeing the proctor's serious demeanor and cold expression, the genin quickly found seats as directed.
"Now, I'll explain the rules of the exam. You have one hour for the Chunin-required knowledge test. There's only one rule: if a proctor catches you using any methods other than answering the questions, your entire team will be disqualified. If there are no questions, then let's begin the exam."
The implication was clear: if you aren't caught, it's not a problem. With so many participants and only a handful making it to the end, many would need to be eliminated in the first two rounds.
Kurenai quickly grasped the nature of the situation, as did many other participants.
The proctors didn't prohibit them from eliminating each other, but obvious and foolish tactics would also lead to disqualification; the Chunin Exam was almost like a survival of the fittest right from the start.
"Let's give it a try, fortunately, I learned some sound-based illusions from Teacher Yōichi."
As the exam papers were distributed, Kurenai didn't rush to answer but instead discreetly formed hand seals under the table while rhythmically tapping on the surface.
Thump, thump-thump-thump, thump-thump
Rumi and Kazuhito, hearing the tapping, quietly blocked their ears, not wishing to be accidentally affected by Kurenai.
Kurenai wasn't the only one acting; other genin who had guessed the exam's true nature began using various covert methods, not just cheating but also disrupting other contestants.
The proctors observed all these tactics, intervening only when the tactics were blatantly obvious.
Whoosh!
A proctor threw a shuriken, striking right next to a Grass Village genin's hand, startling him enough to drop the mirror he was hiding.
"You're disqualified, along with your teammates, numbers 148 and 156. Leave the examination hall."
The Grass Village genin, not willing to leave quietly, stood to curse.
"Get out!"
Before he could speak, the Torture and Interrogation Force Jōnin appeared beside him in a flash, grabbing and hurling him against the wall.
"Anyone disrupting the exam is at my discretion to incapacitate!"
Under the Jōnin's forceful threat, the other two Grass Village genin didn't dare utter a word and promptly left the classroom.
"Numbers 71, 3, and 62, you're disqualified!"
"Numbers 32, 5, and 19, you're disqualified!"
Several minutes into the exam, consecutive disqualifications, including several teams from Konoha, added significant pressure to the remaining contestants.
However, some, like Kurenai, remained unfazed. Though she hadn't answered a single question, the tapping continued unabated.
"Using sound to cast illusions, she's Kurenai, that Uchiha clan leader's student, no wonder."
The Jōnin proctor had noticed early on that Kurenai was casting an illusion. This technique was subtle enough to catch even Chunin off guard, so he didn't intervene.
But he soon realized that Kurenai was attempting to cast a wide-range illusion to ensnare everyone in the classroom.
"I must remind them, otherwise if someone gets caught, it would embarrass all the proctors."
The Jōnin proctor thought to himself, then used a signal only they could understand, warning them not to fall for Kurenai's illusion.
"Genjutsu: This Is Not The Place!"
As the last tap sounded, Kurenai's illusion took effect, impacting everyone in the classroom.
Suddenly, the scene before everyone's eyes shifted, plunging them into an illusion, although the proctors quickly dispelled it.
"Huh? Why am I back here, mom, what are you doing here?"
"A ramen shop? Wasn't I in an exam?"
After the successful deployment of the illusion, many genin who were unaware of the illusion saw their surroundings change drastically.
Seeing many fall for the illusion, the proctor smirked, pleased with his work in reducing the number of participants, confident he had outperformed the neighboring room.
————————————
At the Hokage Building.
Although the Chunin Exam had begun, the Cloud Village's leading ninja showed little interest in the exam itself. Dodai directly went to the Hokage Building, hoping to initiate a second round of peace negotiations.
Compared to the Chunin Exam, they were more concerned about the whereabouts of the Two-Tails.
Coincidentally, Yōichi, Minato, and other leading Jōnin were at the Hokage Building, along with Sakumo, who had come to watch Kakashi's performance.
Seeing Dodai intent on negotiating, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, called over Minato and others.
"Hokage-sama, the Raikage has shown great sincerity this time, offering four long-heritaged Rikudō tools from Cloud Village, along with the previous terms," Dodai said gravely. "Just return the Two-Tails, and Cloud Village will quickly deliver their sincerity."
Hiruzen was tempted, but he turned to Yōichi and asked, "Yōichi-san, what do you think of Dodai-san's proposal?"
"It's not very good. Yugito is a ninja of Konoha now, and we don't have a tradition of betraying our comrades."
Yōichi instantly dismissed the proposal, then coldly looked at Dodai and said, "It was already generous of Cloud Village to admit defeat, although I know your kind lacks honor. Perhaps I should have followed your example and sent back A's corpse!"
Dodai's face darkened as he retorted, "Continuing the war wouldn't necessarily have been favorable for Konoha!"
"Why didn't you continue the war then? It's just the death of an heir."
Yōichi sneered, "The Third Raikage wants a son and benefits; he thinks he can have everything? Are you dreaming?"
This remark angered Dodai, who clenched his fists, insulted not only towards the Raikage but also mocked himself.
Sakumo shook his head, thinking it was typical of Yōichi to provoke the Cloud ninjas like this.
"Hokage-sama, are you going to let others mock us during negotiations? Regardless, we are envoys from Cloud Village."
"Let me correct that; you are shameless Cloud ninjas who refuse to accept defeat even after losing a war," Yōichi interjected.
Dodai, enraged, pointed at Yōichi and warned, "Don't go too far, Cloud Village won't let this slide."
Zzzt!
A flash of lightning flared as Yōichi instantly appeared beside Dodai, grabbing his neck and slamming him to the ground.
Bang!
The floor cratered under Dodai's head, and Yōichi also pinned his other arm behind his back.
"This bow is for you to thank the Hokage-sama. If it were up to me, you Cloud ninjas would have been killed upon entering Konoha, sparing you the chance to stand here and spout nonsense."
Yōichi's strength was not something Dodai could resist, especially with the Chakra Mode active; any resistance, and Yōichi could snap his neck.
Hiruzen's expression changed as he called out, "Yōichi-sas, enough!"
Sakumo approached Yōichi, placing a hand on his shoulder and saying, "Let it go, Yōichi-san."
Seeing Sakumo intervene, Yōichi finally released Dodai, warning him, "Cut out your tricks. If I catch you loitering near Uchiha lands again, even if you're a competing genin, I'll have the police force execute you on the spot."
"Hokage-sama, it seems we're not needed here. I'll go check on the exam site with Yōichi-san."
As tensions rose, Sakumo, fearing Yōichi might kill Dodai on impulse, spoke to Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's grim expression eased slightly as he replied, "Yes, go ahead, Sakumo-san."
Sakumo nodded, then pulling Yōichi along, said, "Come on, Yōichi-san, let's go have some red bean soup."
With that, Sakumo led Yōichi out of the Hokage's office. Hiruzen sighed, relieved but also realizing that Minato had just witnessed the Uchiha's way of handling matters.
Jiraiya, catching Hiruzen's glance, stepped forward to help Dodai up, then said, "Dodai-san, today was an accident. Let's talk another day."
Dodai ignored Jiraiya and the Third Hokage, leaving the office without a word, his departure leaving Hiruzen with an even more displeased expression.
Afterward, Hiruzen addressed the remaining people, "You may leave now. Minato, Jiraiya, stay behind."
Once the others had left, Jiraiya spoke up, "Don't be mad, old man. You knew Yōichi and the Cloud ninjas don't get along. Why did you let him come? Looks like the peace talks are going to fail again."
"I thought he would respect my position as Hokage... The Uchiha temper really is too much," Hiruzen lamented, lighting his pipe and taking a puff before turning to Minato, "Minato, if you become Hokage, you'll encounter even more frustrating situations than I have. Try to get used to it."
Jiraiya interjected, "Hey, old man, I'm still here as his teacher. Why are you skipping over me and picking Minato?"
He knew Hiruzen favored Minato, and his comment was meant to lighten the mood.
Hiruzen, somewhat annoyed, looked at Jiraiya and replied, "If you were serious about handling Hokage duties, I'd recommend you to the daimyo in a heartbeat!"
"Forget it, let Minato be Hokage. He's more suitable than I am."
Jiraiya quickly shook his head, still eager to travel the ninja world, perhaps even encountering Tsunade once the wars subsided.
(End of Chapter)