The Exams Begin

"Tomorrow, you'll be taking the Chunin Exams, right?" After the lesson ended, just as Kagetsu was about to leave, Namikaze Minato suddenly spoke up and asked with a smile.

"Yes, Senior Minato." Kagetsu nodded.

"Do your best. Because of the Chunin Exams, I can rest in the village for a few days." Namikaze Minato said.

"I understand." Kagetsu nodded again. He knew Namikaze Minato was telling him not to worry about him suddenly leaving the village during this period and to focus on the Chunin Exams.

The next day.

The Chunin Exams venue.

The first exam was, without question, a written test. The Konoha Ninja Academy had specially cleared out classrooms for the Genin from allied villages participating in the Chunin Exams.

Here, Kagetsu's group of three also saw ninja from other villages wearing forehead protectors marked with all sorts of symbols.

Kusagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Amegakure...

There were around two hundred people in total.

The written test itself was relatively simple. Whether it was Kagetsu or Shisui, the questions on the paper posed no difficulty at all. The only uncertain factor was Anko, who had grown increasingly unwilling to use her brain after teaming up with Kagetsu and Shisui.

After the written test results came out, Anko finally let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw her name on the list of those who had passed.

After the written test came the team competition, simulating a ninja squad accepting a mission and successfully delivering intelligence to its destination.

Naturally, all kinds of obstacles would arise during the mission, such as poisonous insects, wild beasts, enemy attacks, and so on. The assessment itself was inherently competitive and eliminatory.

The venue for Konoha's second round of the Chunin Exams was the Forest of Death.

"After the first round, there are still ninety Genin left, making thirty Genin teams. According to the mission requirements, we need to seize a different intelligence scroll from another team.

"In the best-case scenario, fifteen Genin teams advance. But because of various accidents, and because we might seize duplicate intelligence scrolls, fewer people will actually pass.

"What should we do?"

Inside the Forest of Death examination grounds, Kagetsu's group crouched together on the branch of a massive tree and discussed their plan.

"Let's go straight to the destination and wait. If we run into anyone on the way, we can make a move then." Hearing Shisui's question, Kagetsu recalled the list of those who had passed the first written test. There was no one on it whose name felt familiar to him, so he answered directly.

The second exam had a time limit of five days, but Kagetsu had no intention of wasting five full days in the Forest of Death.

"Wait at the destination and ambush people? That's pretty overbearing." Shisui immediately understood that Kagetsu wanted to play the fisherman. At the same time, though, he understood that if their luck was bad, such behavior could provoke the hostility of multiple teams.

Still, he did not refuse. He believed in his own strength, and even more so in the strength of his teammates.

Anko cared even less. She actually looked eager to give it a try. She stood up on the branch, energetically pointed toward the target location in the Forest of Death, and was the first to rush off.

"Save some stamina." Kagetsu and Shisui exchanged helpless looks before following after her, reminding her as they ran beside her.

"Quit nagging!" Anko stomped hard on the branch beneath her feet, leaped high into the air, and accelerated.

"Someone's coming."

A brown-skinned man with well-proportioned muscles, sunglasses, and a Kumogakure forehead protector suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Where?" His teammates immediately formed a triangular formation, their backs facing each other as they vigilantly watched all directions.

"Charging straight at us without concealing themselves. Are they complete rookies who don't know how to hide?" The man in sunglasses pointed in a direction and made a hand signal. His two companions understood at once and disappeared into the ground together.

Just as Kagetsu's group of three burst out of the forest, flat lightning bullets flickering with electric light abruptly shot out from the dense leaves ahead.

"Watch out!"

While still in midair, Shisui grabbed Anko by the collar and, in the nick of time, shifted through the air to dodge the lightning bullets before landing.

As though he had anticipated Shisui's movements, a figure leaped up and rapidly formed hand seals in midair. The instant the three landed, he unleashed a ninjutsu as well.

Water Release: Great Trumpet Technique.

A thin stream of water sprayed from his mouth, taking on the shape of a trumpet by the time he landed. A massive current battered the ground, its force making Kagetsu and the other two, standing at the center of the impact, unable to keep their footing.

Then, in the very next moment, a web-like bolt of lightning spread across the ground and flowed into the water. The blinding electricity was instantly conducted into the bodies of the three, who were still scrambling to recover.

Lightning Release: Earth Run.

"Konoha brats, huh? There's even an Uchiha among you? Goodbye!" The first man to use Lightning Release: Lightning Rat Violent Quake descended from above with a long blade in hand, preparing to cut down the unsteady and paralyzed Kagetsu and his companions one by one.

The entire assault began and ended in an instant, leaving almost no time for thought. The three worked together flawlessly, and their timing was exceptionally precise.

Since they did not follow up with any additional ninjutsu, they were clearly extremely confident in their coordination.

Yet in an instant, the three felt their bodies lose control.

"What is this?" The Kumogakure man in sunglasses, still gripping his long blade, looked at the Wooden Stake fragments scattered all over the ground, then slowly lowered his gaze toward his feet.

A shadow stretched from behind him and connected to him, then linked the shadows of his other two companions as well.

The last thing he saw was an Uchiha boy with red Sharingan eyes and a Short Sword in hand, along with a girl holding a Kunai, flashing to their sides and cutting their throats.

"Fishing successful!"

Anko paid no attention to the steaming blood spraying everywhere and excitedly began searching the bodies. When she had left the village with Orochimaru to carry out missions, she had long since seen dead people and killed opponents herself.

"This is what we need." After finding Kumogakure's scroll and checking the code on it, Anko happily stuffed it into her pouch.

"Now that we have the intelligence scrolls, let's keep moving. Don't be so conspicuous this time." Kagetsu said.

He had no desire to make a name for himself here or stop anyone else. He only wanted to reach the destination as quickly as possible and end this round of the exam.

The destination for the second round was a massive gourd-shaped building in the Forest of Death. Chunin wearing flak jackets patrolled and conducted inspections around it.

After handing over the two intelligence scrolls and having them verified, Kagetsu's group received the scrolls back and was allowed inside.

"You passed unexpectedly quickly." Inside the spacious building, a hoarse yet magnetic voice suddenly sounded behind them.

The three turned around to see Orochimaru, dressed in a Jonin flak jacket, standing with his hands in his pockets and looking at them.

"Come with me. The exam isn't over yet, and you'll need to stay here for a few days. You're the first group to arrive, so you can choose your rooms first." Orochimaru turned and gestured for them to follow.

"If we pass one more exam, can we become Chunin, Orochimaru Sensei?" Anko asked excitedly as she followed behind him.

"Not necessarily, Anko." Orochimaru replied as he walked.

"Huh?" Anko looked stunned at Orochimaru's answer. Could it be that even after completing all the assessments, they still might not become Chunin?

"The Chunin Exams are like the bell test—the result is not fixed. The organizers decide what kind of people can advance to Chunin based on their needs.

"Of course, the requirements differ from village to village. As the host, Konoha only provides the venue and exam questions. The requirements for advancing to Chunin do not have to be the same.

"For small villages like Kusagakure and Amegakure, teams that successfully pass the second round are generally promoted to Chunin after returning to their villages.

"The ninja villages of the Five Great Nations have higher standards for Chunin. Of course, during wartime and in the period after a war, those standards also decrease." Orochimaru said softly.

"What the heck!" Anko puffed out her cheeks, looking thoroughly unhappy.

"Ninja are consumables during wartime. So, during war, ninja are the easiest to die and the easiest to advance.

"But in peacetime, having too many Jonin and Chunin becomes a heavy burden on the village's economy and resource allocation. When there are enough people, the prices for Jonin missions, Chunin missions, and Genin missions differ enormously.

"So you'll find that during war, ninja appointed and promoted to Chunin on the battlefield spring up like mushrooms after rain. But in peacetime, when advancing solely through the Chunin Exams, the village's requirements are much higher. There have even been Chunin Exams where only a single Genin was promoted to Chunin."

Orochimaru rubbed Anko's head and stopped at the door of a room.

"This is close to my room, so you can stay here. Also," Orochimaru said, his gaze falling on Kagetsu, "Minato is also one of the proctors for these Chunin Exams. He doesn't stay here, but he comes every day.

"Before the third round begins, you can go directly to him and continue your Sealing Technique lessons."

Kagetsu quickly nodded. The reason he had passed the exam so quickly was to free up as much time as possible to learn Sealing Technique from Namikaze Minato for a while longer.

After all, Namikaze Minato did not have much time to rest. He could leave the village to carry out missions at any moment. Even when he returned to the village, he usually spent his time with Kushina. And after becoming a Jonin, Namikaze Minato would also need to consider taking on a team.

The time Kagetsu could spend learning Sealing Technique from him probably would not last long. Naturally, he needed to seize every moment.

If he wasted this opportunity, he had no idea when the next one would come.