Let That Child Participate in the Chunin Exam!

The Hokage's office.

The central domed building in the heart of Konohagakure.

A ninja from the Anbu knelt on one knee, reporting the latest news to the old man seated at the desk as if speaking mechanically: "Hokage-sama, we've received a report from the second alert zone. There were violent tremors near Training Ground Nine..."

"Mmm."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing his kage hat, nonchalantly puffed on his pipe, his head bowed as he flipped through a stack of papers. He seemed unconcerned by the Anbu's report, casually remarking, "If I recall, Training Ground Nine is designated for the Anbu training classes..."

Anbu training classes.

The Anbu training classes were nominally under the Anbu's jurisdiction.

However, most people within the Anbu knew that the Anbu training classes were actually Danzō Shimura's Root Organization, and the Root Organization's actual strength far exceeded that of a mere class.

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja responded and continued his report: "From a distance, a forest appeared at Training Ground Nine in a short period of time..."

"Oh?"

The Third Hokage, still puffing on his pipe, continued to meticulously review the papers in his hand: "This situation, it sounds somewhat familiar..."

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja quickly lowered his head to explain to his superior: "Tenzo, who was recently transferred to the Anbu by Hokage-sama, unleashed a Wood Style ninjutsu called Wood Style: Birth of the Sea of Trees within the Anbu training grounds, creating a sea of trees in a short time. We preliminarily suspect someone used the same Wood Style ninjutsu at Training Ground Nine."

"Mmm, no need to investigate further."

The Third Hokage nodded, still seemingly unconcerned, and continued looking at the papers in his hand: "I already knew about this. Danzō, the Shadow Advisor, already informed me that there is another Wood Style bloodline user within the Anbu training classes."

Clearly.

The Third Hokage had lied to his subordinate.

After all, he had recently mobilized Anbu personnel to surround Root, appearing aggressive and ready to suppress Root, and had snatched a Wood Style bloodline user from Danzō's command...

Now that he knew Danzō had another Wood Style bloodline user under his command, should he mobilize the Anbu to surround Root again and snatch the second Wood Style bloodline user?

Such a thing...

Could not be done twice.

Especially with such a short time since the last incident, doing the same thing to Danzō Shimura in such a short period would inevitably cause Danzō to feel resentment and anger.

If that Wood Style bloodline user had good talent, he could find another opportunity to transfer him to the Anbu in the future. There was no need to provoke Danzō at this moment.

Konoha needed Danzō to handle some of the dirty work.

The ninja world was still not peaceful; great nations and ninja villages were still engaged in covert struggles, with espionage, infiltration, assassination, and theft never ceasing;

Konoha's internal affairs were also unstable. The Uchiha clan, the strongest of the noble ninja clans, was ambitious, and the conflict with the village was escalating daily, with the potential for conflict to erupt at any moment;

These matters...

Required Danzō Shimura's assistance.

However...

He had to give Danzō a warning now.

He needed to let Danzō know that he was watching his every move.

He had to make Danzō put away any improper thoughts now, and not dare to repeat an assassination attempt on the Hokage from years ago just because he had another Wood Style user under his command.

That old friend...

Narrow-minded yet cowardly...

Once given an opening, he would be scared enough to hide in a sewer.

"Alright."

"There's no need to discuss this further."

"The most important matter now is the Chunin Exam for the second half of the year."

The Third Hokage continued to flip through the stack of papers in his hand. These were the registration forms for Konohagakure's Chunin Exam for the second half of the year, the most crucial assessment in the entire village.

The significance of the Chunin Exam lay in talent selection.

Konohagakure had a vast number of genin, who formed the foundation for the village to accept low-level ninja requests and were an important contributor to Konoha's prosperity. However, they could only make a living by accepting C-rank and D-rank ninja requests throughout their lives.

The nature of chunin, however, was different.

If a genin performed exceptionally well in the Chunin Exam and was promoted to chunin by the village, they would essentially have a stable, chosen career.

Chunin could undertake lucrative B-rank combat request missions, work in certain village departments, and even have the opportunity to join the Anbu.

The Chunin Exam was Konoha's highest-level standardized test.

Konohagakure held two Chunin Exams each year, occasionally co-hosted with other small and medium-sized ninja villages. Without exception, the pass rate for each Chunin Exam was extremely low.

Since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, the ninja world had entered an era of peace. The Chunin Exam had taken on new significance, becoming an important occasion to showcase Konoha's national strength.

Konohagakure's main source of revenue came from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and ninja request missions.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire often came to watch the Chunin Exam to decide whether to increase or decrease financial support; other small country Daimyo or nobles would also come to determine whether to assign high-level request missions to Konoha.

Besides that…

The most important thing, of course, was to awe and attract Konoha's allies.

Generally speaking, smaller ninja villages would seek alliances with the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations. These smaller villages often compared the national strength of the various Great Nations' ninja villages and chose to pledge allegiance to the stronger ones.

In peacetime, the Chunin Exam was undoubtedly the most direct way for smaller ninja villages to observe Konoha's national strength, which also forced Konoha to attach even greater importance to the Chunin Exam.

"Are all the registration forms for the Chunin Exam here?"

The Third Hokage slowly lowered his pipe and suddenly asked, "Did Uchiha Itachi, that kid, apply for the Chunin Exam by himself?"

"Yes."

The ANBU ninja nodded and explained, "According to the information we've checked, Uchiha Itachi's teammates all died in a mission two years ago…"

"Since then, Uchiha Itachi has never formed a team again, and he has barely participated in any missions. Naturally, he doesn't have any teammates to participate in the Chunin Exam with…"

"However…"

"For the past two years, Uchiha Itachi has been training with Uchiha Shisui, and he even assisted Uchiha Shisui in completing a cooperative assessment mission…"

"Even though that assessment mission was interrupted, it allows us to determine that he is an excellent ninja, capable of completing the Chunin Exam on his own."

"The only unfair part is the three-person cooperative combat assessment."

"There have been many precedents in the village."

"For example, when Kakashi Hatake's teammates, Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara, participated in the Chunin Exam, due to the lack of a third teammate for the three-person cooperative combat assessment, even though Kakashi Hatake, who was in the same class, had already become a Chunin, he was still deemed capable of assisting his two teammates in the final three-person cooperative combat assessment of the Chunin Exam…"

"However…"

"Uchiha Itachi's only teammate is Uchiha Shisui. Having the renowned Leaping Shisui, a Jonin, participate in the Chunin Exam would be a bit…"

"Hahahaha…"

The Third Hokage interrupted his subordinate with a laugh and waved his hand, "That would be bullying these children too much, and it would turn this exam into a joke."

"Yes."

The ANBU ninja nodded and then looked up at the old man, continuing, "However, Uchiha Itachi is indeed capable of passing all the exams alone. Uchiha Shisui mentioned that Uchiha Itachi's performance in every training aspect is excellent…"

"Alright, let's do it this way this time!"

The Third Hokage nodded and said, seemingly casually, "Kakashi, Tenzo, go to the ANBU training class and deliver a registration form…"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

Two masked figures quickly stepped forward!

The Third Hokage looked at one of them, his eyes becoming sharp, "Go tell Danzō to have the child with Wood Style participate in the Chunin Exam as well!"

Please collect!

There should be a chance to test the waters tomorr