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Ninja from various villages stood scattered throughout the classroom, each group forming small clusters.
As Furen entered the classroom, he suddenly felt something soft press against his back.
"Furen! Why are you so late?" Ino's excited voice came from behind him. "I've been wanting to see you for so long!"
Ino hugged Furen from behind, effortlessly pushing away Tenten and Sakura, who had been holding onto his arms.
"Long time no see, Ino," Furen said, turning around and casually rubbing Ino's waist.
Not yet fully matured, Ino felt her body go weak at his touch, nearly collapsing into Furen's embrace.
Yamanaka Ino's affection level: +2%
Blushing and flustered, Ino quickly pushed Furen away, embarrassed by the attention from the crowd around them.
"Hey, Ino! Get your hands off Furen!" Sakura yelled in protest, seeing the closeness between them.
"Yeah, Ino! Let go of him!" Even the usually quiet Tenten voiced her displeasure.
Hiding the flush in her cheeks, Ino turned to Sakura and Tenten. "Oh, Sakura! Your forehead is still as big as ever! And Tenten, what are you doing here?"
Sakura clenched her fists. "Say that again, Ino! Who has the big forehead?!"
Furen flicked Sakura's forehead lightly. "Stop fighting and get ready for the exam."
"Uchiha Sasuke, the last surviving member of the Uchiha Clan, the son of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki... and this ninja called Tsukiyo Furen, who has the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai," Kabuto Yakushi murmured, entering the exam room shortly after Furen. He pushed his glasses up, the light reflecting off them, hiding his expression.
Kabuto approached with a friendly smile. "I'm Kabuto. You guys must be the new graduates from the Ninja Academy this year, right?"
Furen turned his head slightly. He had already noticed Kabuto watching them from the shadows.
Lowering his voice, Kabuto continued, "Those guys behind you are from the Village Hidden in the Rain. They're not very patient... You'd better be careful not to provoke them."
Recognizing him, Sakura asked, "Kabuto-senpai? Is this your second time taking the exam?"
Kabuto pushed up his glasses again. "No, this is my seventh time. You need to be cautious—there are 154 participants in this year's Chunin Exam."
As Kabuto shared bits of information, Naruto eagerly moved forward, asking him more questions. Kabuto smiled as he pulled out a set of cards with information on the other participants.
Furen didn't bother checking out Kabuto's so-called "Ninja Info Cards," which contained basic intel on the candidates. Furen already knew everything he needed, including Kabuto's true identity.
"I wonder if the Third Hokage, now on guard, will discover Kabuto's true identity," Furen thought to himself, noting that so far, the Third had yet to make any direct moves.
With the exam proctors yet to arrive, Furen turned his attention to the female participants.
"That woman from the Sound Village with the long black hair... her name is Kin Tsuchi, right?" Furen paused, focusing on her. "Let's take a look at her affection level prize pool..."
Activating the special ability granted by the system, Furen's gaze locked onto Kin Tsuchi, and in an instant, her affection level prize pool was revealed.
"The rewards for a 25% affection level draw seem pretty ordinary..." Furen thought as he flipped through the items in the prize pool. But as he casually turned to the next page, his eyes were suddenly blinded by a flash of gold.
"This... what is this?"
Furen's breath quickened as he stared at the rewards on Kin Tsuchi's prize pool's second page—an entire page of golden rewards!
"Edo Tensei Technique! Wood Release! And Hashirama's Cells!!!"
Furen couldn't believe his eyes. He wiped them, but the rewards were still there—all of them real.
Calming down, Furen began to think deeply about Kin Tsuchi's identity. Why did she have rewards related to the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju?
"Kin Tsuchi is just a regular Sound Village ninja, unlike Tsunade, who has Senju blood. But since her prize pool contains these rewards, she must have some connection to the First Hokage..." Furen mused, rubbing his chin as he tried to piece together the puzzle. "What could that connection be?"
After thinking for a while, Furen finally slapped his forehead in realization. He figured out why Kin Tsuchi had the First Hokage's rewards.
"Kin Tsuchi was used as a sacrifice for Orochimaru's Edo Tensei to resurrect the First Hokage!" Furen's eyes widened in astonishment. He hadn't expected to find the most powerful prize pool he'd seen so far attached to her.
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A/N:
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