The Chunin Exams Begin

The engagement ceremony with Hinata was over. After seeing the last of the guests off late that night, Issui and Hinata were finally free. The girl flopped onto the bed and fell straight asleep.

Issui put away all the gifts, then covered Hinata with a blanket before lying down to sleep himself.

July 1, Konoha Year 60.

Team 7 entered the examination hall and found a large number of contestants. Then Kabuto stepped forward to introduce his Ninja Info Cards.

"There's one more person. I wonder if you have any information on him. He's already a Jonin..." After asking about Rock Lee and Gaara, Sasuke suddenly remembered someone his own age who was already a Jonin. He wondered just how strong that guy had become.

"You mean Issui Kanna, right? As it happens, I have his information here. He took the Chunin Exams in Year 58, but none of the contestants could last three moves against him. He's extremely strong and unfathomable. Now, his information... He's the same age as you. His mission record is 80 D-rank, 20 C-rank, 10 B-rank, and 3 A-rank missions. Taijutsu: 10. All other information is unknown. Not one contestant that year could last three moves against him. I've heard he also has a powerful Kekkei Genkai. His mission completion rate is 100%, and he finishes every mission very quickly. You could call him a genius." Kabuto recited Issui's information calmly. The boy might even be stronger than him.

"..."

All the rookies gaped in astonishment. They rarely saw Issui, but he was the same age as them and so much stronger. It was beyond imagination...

Next, Naruto made his declaration, and then came the Sound Ninja's attack. Kabuto pretended to be hit by one of them, and his glasses were shattered by the sound.

"Quiet, you bastards! Sorry for the wait. I'm Ibiki Morino, the proctor for the first stage of the Chunin Exams." Ibiki appeared in the examination hall with all the proctors for the first stage, then pointed at the three Sound Ninja. "You from Otogakure! Don't cause trouble before the exam. Do you want to be disqualified before it even starts?"

"We're terribly sorry. It's our first time taking the exam, so we might be a little excited. We couldn't help ourselves..." Dosu apologized.

"Hmph. I'll take this opportunity to tell you: no fighting or brawling without a proctor's permission. Even if you get permission, you must not do anything that could kill your opponent. Any fool who defies my orders will be disqualified immediately. Understood?"

Zaku snorted, the corner of his mouth twitching. "We really can't underestimate this exam."

"Now, the first stage of the Chunin Exams will begin immediately. Hand in your forms here and receive a numbered tag, then take the seat corresponding to your number. After that, the written test papers will be handed out."

Naruto was shocked. Written tests were what he was worst at...

The first preliminary exam officially began.

Issui sat at the side of the examination room as an assistant proctor, keeping watch over the candidates. The Hokage hadn't ordered him to do it; he had volunteered. Ibiki also wanted to get to know this new genius Jonin, so he let him.

Just as in the original story, Kiba Inuzuka used his puppy Akamaru to peek at other people's papers; Gaara used an eyeball made of sand to look directly at others' papers; Shino Aburame used tiny insects to peek at others' papers; Kankuro used a puppet to impersonate a proctor and take him to the bathroom, where he copied the answers at his leisure; Hinata Hyuga did the test herself; Temari got a set of answers from Kankuro when he returned from the bathroom; Naruto Uzumaki didn't cheat; Ino Yamanaka entered Sakura Haruno's body with her mind and looked directly at Sakura Haruno's paper; Sasuke Uchiha used his Sharingan to copy whatever others wrote; Shikamaru Nara didn't cheat, but it was implied that Ino Yamanaka possessed him and completed the test; Sakura Haruno did it herself; Choji Akimichi also had Ino possess him and answer the paper; Neji Hyuga used his Byakugan to see through bodies and look at others' papers; the Sound Ninja determined what others were writing by listening to the sound of their writing; Tenten used a pen to control a mirror on the ceiling and reflect others' papers; Rock Lee copied the answers when Tenten left the mirror above his head for a while.

They really each had their own tricks. Issui also caught some candidates who were being obvious about cheating, and it felt good. In his previous life, teachers had always watched over him during exams. Now he had finally gotten a taste of being a proctor himself, and it was pretty nice.

At last, when Ibiki presented the tenth question, "courage," more than half the students in the room were frightened away. Then, after Naruto's astonishing speech, many candidates regained their confidence. In the end, 78 people, or 26 teams, qualified for the second stage.

Then Little Anko made a dramatic entrance and announced the start of the second preliminary exam, bluntly declaring that she would cut the number of those who passed to less than half. Of the twenty-six teams, thirteen received Heaven Scrolls and thirteen received Earth Scrolls. The exam would take place in the Forest of Death. Teams that collected both a Heaven and an Earth Scroll within five days and reached the central tower would officially win.

After all the teams had set out, Issui quietly entered the examination grounds. He wanted to see just how strong Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, really was. But the Forest of Death was too large, and finding him would be difficult, so Issui chose to wait for Anko to discover Orochimaru's infiltration. By following Anko, he would be able to find Orochimaru.

After waiting a long time, Issui was thoroughly fed up. Anko was eating dumplings and drinking red bean soup, living an absurdly comfortable life, while Issui could only watch. Come to think of it, he really hadn't eaten his fill that morning. Hinata had to enter the exam grounds to take the test, so he had only been able to find something quick to eat on his own. Issui had sent Haku out on a mission a few days ago, and she still hadn't returned. Life without a woman to take care of him was really hard.

Finally, a proctor came to the examination grounds and reported the discovery of three corpses to Anko. Damn it, things could finally begin. Following Anko to the scene, he found that the faces of the three Grass Ninja Genin corpses were completely blank, a terrifying sight. Orochimaru really was a freak...

Anko sent an assistant proctor under her to report to the Third, while she followed the trail herself. Issui followed shortly after.

By the time they found Orochimaru, it was already dusk, with the sun setting.

"Heh, heh, long time no see, Anko..." Orochimaru said, looking at her.

Anko said, "You're an extremely dangerous criminal listed in the S-rank bingo book now, so I'm going to risk my life to defeat you here. Because that's the duty of someone who learned everything from you and once served under you, Orochimaru!"

The result was obvious: Anko was no match for Orochimaru. She didn't even get a chance to exchange blows with him, and naturally, her plan to take them both down with Twin Snakes Mutual Death couldn't be realized.

Orochi's target was obvious: Sasuke Uchiha. It seemed he had already placed a Cursed Seal on Sasuke. Orochimaru also threatened Anko not to stop the exam, or else...

After speaking with Anko, Orochimaru was about to leave when he suddenly sensed a hostile Chakra presence. Is someone else here? I'd better test them. This person's hiding method is pretty good; he actually escaped my senses. Konoha really does have plenty of talented people. "Well, Anko, someone followed you, and you didn't even notice. Konoha really is a gathering place for geniuses. If he hadn't let his killing intent show, I wouldn't have discovered him. Come out, whoever you are..."

"What? Someone followed me?" Anko was stunned. Who was it? Could it be Kakashi?

"Haha, Senior Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, you really live up to your reputation. You actually saw through my hiding. I was planning a sneak attack, too. You really didn't give me any face!" Issui had no choice but to leap out from behind a large tree. Orochimaru's killing intent was so strong, much more tangible than his own.

"Y-you're Issui Kanna! Hurry and get away! He's not someone you can deal with. You have no idea how terrifying he is. You may be a genius, but you're far too inexperienced compared to him..." Anko was alarmed when she saw that it was Issui. Another overconfident genius had come to challenge Orochimaru. Wasn't that asking for death?

"Hmm, Issui Kanna. I've heard your name recently. They say you're Konoha's youngest Jonin. What do you say? Interested in serving under me? Konoha is a decaying building that will bury your talent," Orochimaru said. This boy was far stronger than Anko, about as strong as Kakashi, but still a long way from matching him. However, he had heard that Issui's Kekkei Genkai was extremely powerful. How wonderful it would be to have him as a subordinate. His talent was much greater than Sasuke's. Given a few years to grow, he might become another Kage Level ninja.

"No, no, Senior Orochimaru. Although I've heard about your exploits, I don't really agree with you. I've always hated darkness. Besides, while I was on a mission recently, I heard that Senior Orochimaru was soundly defeated by the rogue ninja Uchiha Itachi and forced to flee. I'd like to test my own abilities too, you know?" Issui had directly exposed Orochimaru's deepest scar.

"What? That brat Uchiha Itachi, the one who wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan, actually defeated Orochimaru? That can't be true, can it?"

"Hmph, it seems I need to teach you a lesson, brat. You should know to respect your seniors. It looks like even a brat like you is looking down on me now. I really have to show you what I can do. I might even kill you!" Orochimaru was finally enraged. He had always been very confident, but ever since that day, when Itachi had injured one of his arms and forced him to flee, he had wanted an Uchiha body even more. He hadn't expected this brat to know about that too. If I don't teach him a lesson, it looks like he'll go around telling everyone how weak I, Orochi, am. A long-absent killing intent suddenly welled up from the depths of his heart. Come on, brat. Let me see what strength you have that makes you dare look down on me, Orochimaru!

"Senior Anko, please get clear of here first. Don't worry, it'll be fine. I just want to test myself. Besides, he's infiltrated the exam grounds and seriously threatened the order of the exam. If we don't give him a warning, Konoha will lose all face in front of this evil man. I'm not confident I can defeat him, but if I want to escape, I don't think anyone can stop me." Issui created a Shadow Clone to take Anko aside, far from the center of the battlefield.

A fierce battle was about to begin...

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