Chunin Exams IV

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Kakashi and Anko Mitarashi appeared nearby with several Anbu. The signs of a major battle here were obvious, especially since Sasuke had used an A-rank jutsu and Exploding Tags. They surrounded Sasuke and Naruto, carefully observing their surroundings. It seemed Orochimaru had already left.

"Let's escort the two of them to the tower first. We'll discuss everything else later," Kakashi said. The traces of battle showed that their opponent was powerful, and Sasuke's jutsu had been completely ineffective. It was better to return first, lest they be attacked again. The group moved quickly and returned to the tower a few minutes later. Only then did Sasuke relax. He felt that his Sharingan had evolved, but this was not the time to inspect it. He shut it down for now; he could look at it later. He had used up quite a bit of Chakra.

"How was it? You weren't hurt, were you?" Kakashi asked.

"No. That guy liked to talk, so the fight didn't last long. Naruto and I also used Shadow Clones as much as possible. As long as he didn't eliminate all the clones at once, we could stall for time." Sure enough, talk-no-jutsu was still the strongest thing in the Hokage world.

"Describe what he looked like," Anko Mitarashi asked. She already had a pretty good idea who it was. The traces left behind explained plenty. Sasuke described Orochimaru, and Anko Mitarashi visibly became agitated. She suddenly clutched her shoulder; her Cursed Mark was probably starting to hurt. Was that why she could only be a Special Jonin?

"Do you know who attacked you?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke nodded. "If I'm not mistaken, he was probably Orochimaru, one of the Three Legendary Sannin. He felt even more dangerous than Zabuza. I originally hadn't planned on getting here so quickly, but the moment the second exam began, I felt like I was being watched, so I was especially cautious. However, he didn't leave a mark on me. Instead, he used Naruto's blood to track us." After saying that, he glanced at Anko Mitarashi. Her nasty personality was truly deadly.

Anko flushed, knowing that Orochimaru had tracked Sasuke and the others because of her. Fortunately, it had not led to disaster. "You did very well. You were the first to pass the second examination. Your arrival time will be calculated according to Sakura Haruno's time. You have five days to rest here. Anbu will protect you, so you may train or rest." With that, she hurried away.

"Very good. You all performed well." Sakura had arrived as well, coming to see whether Sasuke was safe. "The Anbu have already begun searching, so you don't need to worry." Sasuke did not believe they were truly safe. "Kakashi-sensei, I think he disguised himself as a Jonin leading a team from another village and hid among the people from the various villages. His purpose in coming to Konoha definitely wasn't just me. I think the village should strengthen its defenses during the Chunin Exams to prevent a surprise attack." Sasuke still said it. Though the Third Hokage was no longer in his prime, he was still a good person. It would be best if he did not die.

"That makes sense. I'll report it to the Third Hokage. Is there anything else?" Kakashi asked. He understood Sasuke's intelligence, which was why he asked. "He should act during one of the exam stages. I'm not clear on the specific events, but it should be something that draws a lot of people. The village will have to prepare for that itself."

"Alright, get some rest. I'll go report this first, then I'll come back. I'll stay with you these next few days. If there's anything you don't understand about training, you can ask me anytime." With that, he vanished.

"Sasuke, it's so great that you're alright." Sakura finally stepped forward. "Yeah, it was really thanks to you. If you'd been any later, we would have been in danger. That guy was terrifying."

"What was terrifying about him? I didn't see anything," Naruto said. That single-celled animal was truly happy. Ignorance was fearlessness, and that probably described him perfectly. Sasuke could not be bothered to explain. He simply sat down and began restoring his Chakra. He could not let down his guard these next few days, but he needed to find an opportunity to examine his eyes. He still did not know exactly what new ability they had gained.

Next, Konoha became relaxed on the outside but tense within. The Anbu began secretly monitoring the people from each village. After hearing Kakashi's report, the Third Hokage felt that the other party would likely act during the final round of battles, so he slowly began making preparations. Meanwhile, the Genin taking the exam were still fighting desperately for their lives. Five days were not easy to endure.

Kakashi returned quickly. He was worried about his students, so after making his report, he came straight back to protect them. Sasuke seized the opportunity to ask about Lightning Style Jutsu and learned quite a few D-rank and C-rank Lightning Style Jutsu from Kakashi. He could not chew more than he could swallow; it was better to master lower-rank jutsu before learning higher-rank ones. In this way, Sasuke now had all three elemental types of jutsu, and he could develop them gradually in the future.

Sasuke found some time to look in a mirror in the bathroom. It really was Four-Tomoe, which excited him for a long time and proved his theory correct. After it stabilized a few days later, he understood the Four-Tomoe's function: Tsukuyomi. He had not expected the Four-Tomoe to be Tsukuyomi. However, it was not as powerful as Itachi's; it could only last twelve hours, and the damage it inflicted on an enemy's mental strength was probably not very high either. It seemed this would increase with the degree to which his eyes developed in the future. Since Mangekyo was called Mangekyo, how could its abilities have only two aspects? That was clearly wrong. Too many steps were missing, so it was incomplete.

Sakura felt that the gap between herself and Sasuke was growing wider and wider, so recently she had been secretly studying the basics of Medical Ninjutsu. She hoped to improve in this area, but Medical Ninjutsu was not easy to learn. Even as a top student, she struggled with it, after all, she did not have Sasuke's photographic memory.

Naruto wanted to go out and practice Water Walking, since he still had not learned it. However, Kakashi did not allow it; it was too dangerous outside. It seemed this was his fate with Jiraiya. Just wait slowly, young man. Five days passed like this, and the second examination ended. Sasuke and the others were notified to gather.

Quite a few people stood in the third examination arena. Including them, there were only twenty-one people, seven teams. It seemed nothing had changed. The strong were strong, and the weak had been eliminated. Ninjas truly were cruel.

This miniature battlefield known as the Chunin Exams was really something. Even those from the same village had brutally competitive relationships. So would his opponent still be Akado Yoroi? Many people in his previous life believed there was something fishy about the matchups, and Sasuke agreed. Then he just needed to take the other man out. That guy was nothing more than trash who absorbed Chakra.