Joint Chunin Exams!

Superpower... no, money power!

If there was anyone in the ninja world capable of helping Tang Ping retrieve the summoning scroll without having to worry about them pocketing it for themselves...

There was only one person.

Kakuzu!

The future financial director of the 'Akatsuki' supergroup.

His obsession was money.

In other words, there was never any need to worry about him betraying money.

As long as Tang Ping paid him to carry out the task, he could bring back the summoning scroll.

And with his Kage-level strength, along with prior knowledge about the Shuzaki Great Lizard, defeating it head-on might be impossible, but obtaining the summoning scroll would be no problem at all.

As for where the money would come from?

Tang Ping would have been deeply troubled by that before.

But now, he could settle it with a single sentence.

Rich lady, hungry hungry, feed me.JPG

His own fiancée was certainly not short on money.

Of course, there was another benefit to coming clean and asking her for money: he could find a scapegoat for the Summoning Beast.

Otherwise, even if he really found a Summoning Beast, Tang Ping would not dare use it.

But if the Summoning Beast belonged to Uchiha Mei and he was merely 'borrowing' it, then there would be no problem.

After thinking it all through, Tang Ping finally said goodbye to Hinata Cang Yue.

If only there had been a 'system'; then he would have been able to see her loyalty shoot straight through the roof.

But even without a system, it did not mean he could not see the undisguised gratitude and affection Hinata Cang Yue felt toward him.

After leaving the woods, Tang Ping did not spend much time before arriving at the nearby Training Ground.

"Tang Ping!"

Minato Namikaze, who had been instructing the other two members of Team 3, greeted him.

When dealing with the three of them, he usually did not put on airs. He was like a sunny older brother.

His personal charisma was maxed out.

At least, Tang Ping, Yamaa Koji, and Kakashi had all been won over by his charm.

Kakashi in particular, that hopeless tsundere, only had his stubborn words left now.

Though he looked the same on the surface, compared to the dead, icy coldness in his eyes before, there was now a hint of warmth.

Terrifying indeed!

Minato Namikaze's personal charm was fully comparable to Orochimaru's.

Once everyone had arrived, he began checking on the progress of the three of them.

Stamina, hand-sign speed, Chakra control... all of these were things to be assessed.

Only by understanding these things could Minato Namikaze give them targeted guidance.

Of course, these were originally a teacher's responsibilities, not those of a team leader.

But although Minato Namikaze had not accepted Tang Ping and Yamaa Koji as disciples, he still gave them guidance with the utmost dedication.

"Alright, I know you've all worked hard lately!"

Minato Namikaze clapped his hands to draw their attention before continuing.

"Koji, overtraining is not good for your body!"

The first person he addressed was Yamaa Koji, the Tryhard.

Not only did he train to the limit every day, he even added more training in private. If he was not a Tryhard, who was?

In truth, there was something Minato Namikaze had not said.

Training like mad was not the problem. The problem was having enough supporting measures.

For example, all kinds of medicinal herbs and secret techniques were needed to make up for the depletion caused by training.

Kakashi trained even more intensely, yet it had not affected his growth at all because he had sufficient resources to compensate for the strain of training.

"Yes, Teacher Minato!"

Yamaa Koji fell silent.

Because he understood that principle as well.

Though the Yamaa Clan had declined, he naturally knew about such things.

But he pushed himself so hard because his two teammates were simply too outstanding. If he did not work hard, he would become the one dragging them down.

"Tang Ping, you need to keep improving your close-combat skills. Otherwise, once your enemies discover your weakness, they will definitely focus their attacks there. You should also prepare more close-range tactics!"

Minato Namikaze reminded Tang Ping.

With his discernment, he could naturally tell that Tang Ping was indeed not particularly outstanding in close combat.

At least, compared to his other abilities.

Ninjas did not need to be balanced in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Instead, they developed in the directions they excelled in.

But even genjutsu-focused ninjas would try their best to compensate for their weakness in close combat. They might even use it to set traps and lure enemies into them.

So even though he could tell Tang Ping intended to follow a ninjutsu-focused path, he still urged him to improve his close-combat abilities.

As for Kakashi, there truly was not much that required his intervention.

After giving those reminders, Minato Namikaze hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Do you want to register for next month's Joint Chunin Exams?"

This was the mission the Third Hokage had given Team 3.

Normally speaking...

Unless it was wartime, genin needed at least several years of training before applying for promotion to chunin.

But for some people, those restrictions could be completely ignored.

Geniuses!

Take Kakashi, for example. His strength had already rivaled a chunin's right after graduation.

Even Tang Ping and Yamaa Koji had grown quickly and now possessed strength far surpassing that of ordinary genin.

Such a team certainly had the strength to take part in the chunin assessment.

To the major ninja villages, the Joint Chunin Exams were equivalent to showcasing their future military power.

The better a ninja village performed, the greater its reputation naturally became.

For a ninja village, reputation affected everything, from mission commissions at the top to business dealings at the bottom.

That was why even the most precious geniuses had to give it their all for this, and might even be sacrificed for it.

"Teacher Minato wants us to register?"

Tang Ping asked in return.

"Yes!"

Minato Namikaze nodded.

Though this was the intention of the Third Hokage and Elder Danzo, he did not mention it.

"Then please help us register, Teacher Minato!"

Tang Ping agreed without hesitation.

With Minato Namikaze's personality, if he could refuse, he would definitely have advised them not to rush into participating. Since he had not said that, it naturally meant there was no way to refuse.

That was why Tang Ping agreed directly.

Since they could not refuse, they might as well not make things difficult for him.

"Then leave the registration to me!"

Hearing Tang Ping agree, Minato Namikaze finally relaxed and also gave them a promise.

"Over the coming period, I'll give you special training. If there's anything you need my help with, you can bring it up!"

Since Team 3 was being made to participate in these Joint Chunin Exams early, they naturally had to be given benefits.

The previous rewards had also been influenced by this.

Otherwise, even if Team 3 had made contributions, they could not have received so many benefits.

Giving them more benefits was also meant to help them grow faster, so they could perform better during the Joint Chunin Exams.

Taking part in the Joint Chunin Exams was both dangerous and an opportunity.

Just like the future Konoha 12.

By taking part in the Chunin Exams early, they received special training. Naruto obtained Mount Myōboku's summoning scroll, Uchiha Sasuke received the A-Rank Ninjutsu Chidori taught by Kakashi... and so on.

But danger came hand in hand with those gains.

Because it was a joint exam, there would be genin from other ninja villages, and those people would not show mercy.

There were even those who specifically hunted the geniuses of other ninja villages.

That was also why the Joint Chunin Exams were so entertaining and attracted countless spectators.

Kakashi had no interest in the upcoming special training.

The focus of the special training was Tang Ping and Yamaa Koji.

They had never received guidance from an expert on the level of the White Fang before, so this opportunity was incomparably precious to them.