Selection

Guy possessed no Kekkei Genkai of his own, but having devoted himself to the Steel Fist, his perception was far from weak. At such close range, Hyuga Kagami's use of Rotation naturally could not escape his notice.

But Guy did not think much of it. Hearing Hyuga Kagami call it a Forbidden Technique, he immediately praised him. "I didn't even notice when you activated it. Your Forbidden Technique is really amazing!"

Like Pain's Shinra Tensei, Rotation was powerful because it required no hand seals and could be activated at will the instant a thought arose.

Those unaware of it were highly likely to fall victim to it upon their first encounter.

Back then, even an expert as formidable as Sasori had carelessly allowed Hyuga Kagami to seize the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, instantly reversing the battle.

At this point, Hyuga Kagami put away his smile and solemnly warned him, "Remember, this is my secret. You are not allowed to reveal it to anyone else, not even comrades from the village!"

Protecting the secret of Rotation was also one of the reasons Hyuga Kagami had not chosen to capture the mission targets alive, instead killing them on the spot.

Guy nodded. "I understand. I won't tell anyone."

Hyuga Kagami was fairly reassured when it came to Guy. Although he looked somewhat comical, he was, at heart, a ninja who followed the rules closely.

After returning to the village, Hyuga Kagami and Guy headed straight for the Mission Center.

After handing in the mission, the Mission Center raised the permissions of Hyuga Kagami's team once more, opening all high-difficulty A-rank missions to him, including assassinations.

That was because Hyuga Kagami had performed exceptionally well in this mission.

Not only had he swiftly eliminated every mission target, but he had also brought back the corpse of a Kirigakure ninja with a Kekkei Genkai. It could be said that he had exceeded the mission requirements.

A ninja's corpse was, in a sense, a source of intelligence.

The corpses of Kekkei Genkai ninja in particular held even greater research value. Thus, during wartime, every major ninja village had formed elite corpse-retrieval teams specifically tasked with collecting the bodies of Kekkei Genkai ninja left on the battlefield for study.

Over the next several months, Hyuga Kagami and Guy became mission fanatics. As Chunin, they completed two A-rank missions and five B-rank missions in succession, becoming minor celebrities in the village due to their high completion rate.

The Mission Center receptionists even began actively screening missions for Hyuga Kagami and making things convenient for him.

After completing another B-rank mission, Hyuga Kagami was on his way home when he suddenly felt someone watching him...

Without drawing attention to himself, he observed his surroundings, his brows knitting slightly.

Although the surrounding streets were bustling with people, no one was spying on him from the shadows. With the Tenseigan, he was absolutely certain of that. Yet the sensation of being watched remained, leaving him puzzled.

Very quickly, he recalled a Forbidden Technique, one the Third Hokage had used before.

The Telescope Technique!

"Is the Third Hokage watching me? It seems my efforts these days have finally brought me into his view!"

Having guessed that the Third Hokage might be observing him, Hyuga Kagami did not pay much attention to it.

The Third Hokage's surveillance was evidently an examination before putting Hyuga Kagami to use. Otherwise, with the village's current situation and his heavy official duties, the Third Hokage would not have had the leisure to observe a mere Chunin.

This occasional surveillance continued for about a month.

Hyuga Kagami had always been cautious. After guessing that the Third Hokage was watching him, he became even more careful. He displayed no unusual behavior, spending every day on mission after mission, so he was certain the Third Hokage would not find any trace of suspicion.

Sure enough, not long afterward, Hyuga Kagami received an internal assessment notice for promotion to Special Jonin.

Special Jonin could already be considered high-level combat power for the village. Although the village could mobilize more than ten thousand ninja during wartime, there were in fact only a few hundred Jonin in total, including Special Jonin.

In other words, out of every hundred ninja in the village, only a few were Jonin or Special Jonin. The remaining ninety-odd were Chunin and Genin.

Such a ratio meant that Special Jonin were genuine members of the command echelon. During wartime, a single Special Jonin could even command several four-man squads on missions.

The assessment was held at an Anbu base, where Hyuga Kagami spotted many familiar faces.

Among them were Chunin around his age, such as Guy, Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Iruka, Mitaraishi Anko, Shiranui Genma, and Gekkō Hayate. There were also many elite Chunin who had reached middle age, and even the figure of Uchiha Shisui, the Uchiha Clan genius who was several years younger than him.

Guy called out from afar, "Kagami, over here! Over here!"

Hyuga Kagami walked over and greeted the classmates from his generation gathered together.

In the past, Hyuga Kagami would have felt somewhat constrained around this group. After all, ninja was a profession that valued strength. Without strength, even classmates from the same generation could not grow close.

But now, Hyuga Kagami could interact with these classmates calmly. Mentally, he even faintly looked down on them from above.

Seeing Hyuga Kagami's indifferent expression, Asuma asked with a grim face, "Hey, I heard that you and Guy completed several A-rank missions. Is that true?"

Upon hearing Asuma's words, Kurenai, Iruka, Anko, and the others gathered around. Clearly, they were interested in the matter as well.

Hyuga Kagami nodded. "Yes."

Guy burst into laughter. "Well? I wasn't lying, was I? We really completed several A-rank missions!"

As someone who was always mocked by everyone, Guy had always listened to others boast. Today, it was finally his turn to boast, so naturally he was in exceptionally high spirits.

Having been shown up by Guy, the perennial loser, no one was in a good mood. They all felt competitive, and as they chatted, the topic turned to this Special Jonin assessment.

Asuma glanced around before lowering his voice to those beside him. "I heard there are more than two hundred Chunin participating in this assessment, but only around fifteen Special Jonin slots!"

"Hiss..."

Everyone sucked in a breath.

More than two hundred people competing for around fifteen slots meant thirteen or fourteen people fighting over each position. The intensity of the competition was easy to imagine.

Iruka said dejectedly, "Looks like I have no chance."

Genma and Hayate sighed as well. Like Iruka, they clearly lacked confidence.

Seeing Iruka and the others sighing, Asuma looked displeased. "Hey, can't you have a little confidence? That bastard Kakashi is already a Jonin. How can we hang our heads during a Special Jonin assessment?"

As the Hokage's son, being overshadowed by Kakashi had always been a sore point for Asuma. Sometimes, the Third Hokage even used Kakashi to lecture him, leaving him deeply frustrated.

Guy, who shared the same sore point, clenched his fists and agreed. "That's right! We have to catch up to Kakashi!"

Hyuga Kagami, meanwhile, took the opportunity to observe the other competitors. He roughly counted them, and there were indeed more than two hundred Chunin taking part. However, almost none of them possessed more chakra than he did, so he remained quite confident in himself.

At that moment, Uchiha Shisui approached and said, "Senior, thank you for looking after Itachi before. He has mentioned you to me many times, saying that you are a very outstanding ninja!"

Hyuga Kagami studied him. "You are Uchiha Shisui?"

Shisui said apologetically, "Forgive my rudeness, Senior. I am Uchiha Shisui."