Selection

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

But he did not dwell on it. When Kagami said it was a Forbidden Technique, he immediately praised him. "I didn't even notice when you activated it. Your Forbidden Technique is really incredible!"

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 could easily fall victim to it during their first encounter.

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

At this moment, 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 in the village!"

Protecting the secret of Rotation was also one of the reasons Hyuga Kagami had chosen not 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. Though he looked somewhat ridiculous, he was, in essence, a ninja who followed the rules closely.

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

Once they turned in the mission, the Mission Center raised Hyuga Kagami's team authority once again, granting them access to all high-difficulty A-rank missions, including assassinations.

That was because Hyuga Kagami had completed this mission exceptionally well.

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

To a certain extent, a ninja's corpse was a source of intelligence.

The corpses of Kekkei Genkai ninja held even greater research value. Thus, during wartime, every major ninja village had formed elite corpse-retrieval teams specifically to collect the bodies of Kekkei Genkai ninja left behind on battlefields for research.

Over the following months, Hyuga Kagami and Guy became mission maniacs. As Chunin, they completed two A-rank missions and five B-rank missions in succession, becoming moderately well-known figures in the village due to their efficient completion rate.

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

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

Without giving anything away, he observed his surroundings, his brows knitting slightly.

Although the streets around him were crowded with people, no one was secretly watching him. Of this, he was absolutely certain with his Tenseigan. Yet the sensation of being watched remained, leaving him puzzled.

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

Telescope Technique!

Was the Third Hokage watching me? It seemed my efforts these past days had already brought me into the Third Hokage's sight!

After guessing that it might be the Third Hokage watching him, Hyuga Kagami did not pay it much attention.

The Third Hokage's surveillance was clearly an inspection before he intended to put Hyuga Kagami to use. Otherwise, given the village's current situation, the busy Third Hokage would have no leisure to observe a mere Chunin.

This intermittent surveillance continued for about a month.

Hyuga Kagami had always been cautious. Once he guessed the Third Hokage was watching him, he became even more careful. He displayed no unusual behavior, spending every day either on missions or preparing for missions, so he was certain the Third Hokage would find no flaws in him.

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

Special Jonin could already be considered part of the village's high-level combat strength. Although the village could mobilize tens of thousands of ninja in wartime, the actual number of Jonin, including Special Jonin, was only a few hundred.

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 or 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, including Guy, Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Iruka, Mitaraishi Anko, Shiranui Genma, Moonlight Hayate, and others. There were also many elite Chunin who had reached middle age, as well as someone even several years younger than him: the Uchiha Clan genius, Uchiha Shisui.

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

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

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

But now, Hyuga Kagami could interact with these classmates calmly. Mentally, he even faintly felt as though he stood above them.

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

At Asuma's words, Kurenai, Iruka, Anko, and the others gathered around. Clearly, they were also very interested in the matter.

Hyuga Kagami nodded. "Yes."

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

As someone who was always mocked by everyone, Guy had always listened to others brag. Today, he finally got a chance to brag himself, so naturally, he was in exceptionally good spirits.

Having been shown up by a dead last like Guy, no one was in a particularly good mood. They all felt competitive, and as they chatted, the topic shifted to this Special Jonin assessment.

Asuma glanced around before lowering his voice to the people beside him. "I heard there are more than two hundred Chunin taking this assessment, while there are 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 obvious.

Iruka said dejectedly, "Then I guess I have no chance."

Genma and Hayate also sighed, clearly just as lacking in confidence as Iruka.

Seeing Iruka and the others sighing, Asuma looked displeased. "Hey, could 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 echoed, "Right! We have to catch up to Kakashi!"

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

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

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

Shisui said apologetically, "My apologies for the discourtesy, Senior. I am Uchiha Shisui."