A Trial Run Before the Chunin Exams

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe. He tapped its bowl lightly with his index finger, flicking away the drifting ash, then leisurely stretched his aging body.

"The Chunin Exams are about to begin. This generation of youngsters hasn't experienced the kind of slaughter the previous generation did. They may have a hard time adjusting..." Although Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't seen much of the battlefield himself, he wanted the next generation to experience the cruelty of war.

Before that, it was necessary to hold an internal test and weed out the weaker Ninja. After all, the Chunin Exams were also an important occasion for allied nations to assess one another's strength. Konoha couldn't afford to perform too poorly.

"Make the arrangements for now. The trail's gone cold, so we'll need to step up security... Impure World Reincarnation... I really hope it isn't you..." A worried look crossed Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, lined with wrinkles and age spots. A moment later, he gently rubbed his temples and drifted off to sleep.

Tenzo had managed to free up some time today. Since he'd learned that the Third Hokage planned to hold an internal test in the village, he also wanted to introduce Zi Xu and the others to their fellow villagers.

"This test is only for people in the village. Think of it as a preliminary selection. People from all the other Ninja villages will come for the exams afterward, so there's no need to be nervous. You'll have no trouble with the internal test. Right now, I mainly want to introduce you to your fellow students." Tenzo had great confidence in them—or, more precisely, in the clans behind them.

Hatsumi belonged to the Aburame Clan, whose members served in both the Anbu and the Root Organization. The Anbu were under Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Root Organization was headed by Shimura Danzō, who'd grown up practically joined at the hip with Hiruzen Sarutobi. Naturally, they'd show some consideration for the Aburame Clan, which was close to them.

Although Chino was from the Branch Family of the Hyuga Clan, when it came to this matter, she was first and foremost a member of the Hyuga Clan. Hiruzen Sarutobi would have loved to wipe out the Hyuga Clan, but the time wasn't right. So for now, he had to maintain good relations with them.

If the Uzumaki Clan hadn't been wiped out, Zi Xu could have benefited from the same treatment as Chino and the others. But now, Zi Xu was strong enough to stand on his own.

"So we're just meeting the students from our year?" Chino hadn't given the internal test much thought.

Hatsumi, on the other hand, looked unhappy. She'd wanted to combine the Green Silk Worm and the Moonlight Worm into a single insect, and judging by her gloomy expression, she'd failed. The thought that she'd come out just to meet some classmates left her feeling utterly helpless. All she wanted now was to stay home and research the fusion method.

Zi Xu didn't say much. But he figured he'd probably run into Kai and Rock Lee, and he could ask them about the right way to open the Eight Gates.

On the way, they noticed there were clearly more Ninja around them. They were the parents of Ninja from established clans, taking the opportunity to chat with one another while bringing their children to the test. At times like this, parents from Ninja families and ordinary families acted exactly alike.

"Oh, isn't that Shanshan's parent? I heard your Shanshan did pretty well on the exams recently."

"Ah, not at all. It's just a rumor. She only got 90 on the last Taijutsu test. Kids these days are so lazy. I told her to work harder, but she wouldn't listen. Your Cimu's the one who's really impressive—she got a high score of 92 on the last written exam. I wish my kid were as diligent as your Cimu..."

Conversations like that were widespread among the parents. It was practically an ironclad rule; no matter where you went, you couldn't escape the subject.

With Tenzo leading the way, Zi Xu and the others had no trouble squeezing into the classroom. Once the classroom door was shut, it was as though the two worlds on either side had been sealed apart. The hubbub outside faded, leaving only Tenzo's relieved sigh.

Zi Xu carefully surveyed the room. There were plenty of people his age, along with many young adults who were clearly older. They were all taking the test. You didn't have to take the Chunin Exams just once; if you failed, you could keep trying. With a little luck, you'd eventually pass.

It was like taking an English proficiency test: whether you knew the material or not, you might as well sign up. Failing was normal—you could think of it as a donation. Passing by sheer luck was even better, a pleasant surprise. Besides, there was no age limit for the Chunin Exams. You could keep taking them as long as you wanted. By the end, you'd be on such familiar terms with the examiner that surely they wouldn't fail you, right?

In fact, Chunin made up the backbone of the Ninja world. Those above Chunin were elite fighters who had to be dealt with through head-to-head assassination tactics. Those below Chunin were just extras who couldn't undertake overly dangerous missions.

If a Ninja village were compared to an empire, Chunin would be like its soldiers—a force it absolutely couldn't do without. With enough Chunin, it wasn't impossible to wear down a few Jonin through sheer numbers.

Among the people his age, Zi Xu spotted a few who caught his attention. One was a boy with a head of blond hair and sky-blue eyes, with whisker-like marks on both cheeks, as if a cat had scratched him. Beside him stood a boy with his hands in his pockets and an arrogant look, a little like Chino when Zi Xu had first met her. For some reason, seeing him made Zi Xu want to punch him. As for the last member of their trio, a pink-haired girl, he barely noticed her.

The reason Zi Xu had paid attention to the blond boy was that, in his perception, the Chakra around him gave off an ominous feeling. Even Natural Energy seemed unwilling to go near him.

" tch." The arrogant-looking boy noticed Zi Xu watching him, clicked his tongue, and turned away. The pink-haired girl seemed to have a crush on him and said something at his side. The blond boy joined their argument, but Zi Xu wasn't interested in any of that.

Chino was also staring fixedly at a certain team. Her emotions were so stirred that Hatsumi had to tap her on the back to remind her to keep it under control.

Zi Xu could more or less guess who Chino had spotted. The only people who could stir her up this much were members of the Hyuga Main House. Sure enough, following Chino's gaze, he saw a girl with similarly snow-white eyes, shyly lowering her head.

Curiously, there was also a strange fellow in the girl's team, wrapped in a pale green coat and wearing sunglasses. Zi Xu sensed something about him similar to Hatsumi's presence. When he asked around, he found out the man was also from the Aburame Clan.

"Hey! Zi Xu! Long time no see! You're here, too!" A familiar voice came from the corner. The exuberant tone made it obvious who it was. It had to be either Rock Lee or Kai, but from the voice, it was probably Rock Lee.

Rock Lee was in a three-person team, too. One of his teammates was a boy from the Hyuga Clan.

"Chino?"

"Neji?"

The two already knew each other. Zi Xu tactfully went with Rock Lee to the side, leaving Neji and the others alone.

After Rock Lee introduced everyone, Zi Xu had a general idea of who they were. Still, there was one thing he found strange.

"Wait... How come Rock Lee's team seems to be the only one made up entirely of ordinary kids?" It wasn't that there were no other Ninja from ordinary backgrounds present. It was just that, among the few teams Rock Lee had introduced, his was the most ordinary.

Zi Xu wondered whether Rock Lee's team had offended someone in the upper ranks. But when he thought about Kai's teaching style, he decided that assigning the teams that way wasn't so strange after all.

"So that blond kid's name is Naruto Uzumaki? He's from the same clan as me? How come he's blond? And the arrogant one is from the Uchiha Clan—Sasuke Uchiha? That makes sense. Hm... hm?" Zi Xu suddenly froze, as if he were a robot that had just encountered a trigger word.

He felt like someone who'd become increasingly aimless in college and happened to see his middle school graduation photo. The person standing in the center, the one he remembered clearly at the time, but whose name he just couldn't recall.

"Naruto... blond idiot... He seems like the protagonist, but why do I remember his name being different? Sasuke? Tch... That has nothing to do with me. So what if he's the protagonist? If he doesn't get in my way, I'll stay out of his business. If he does... then I'll take him on." Zi Xu no longer cared what kind of status the other person had. After taking some time to settle in, he wasn't as afraid of everything as he'd been at first.

Still, he was somewhat interested in Sasuke Uchiha. There had to be a reason he'd survived the night of the massacre.

But even if Sasuke was the protagonist, Zi Xu still had the guts to fight him. He didn't believe his current physique would lose to some so-called protagonist. That was confidence. Besides, if they weren't enemies, that was fine. But if they were...

Zi Xu's expression turned unreadable. Either he'd avoid making an enemy, or, if he did, he'd wipe them out down to the roots—and then douse the ground with gasoline and burn it, too.

"Right, the Eight Gates..."

"Creak..."

A familiar figure pushed open the classroom door once more. He was powerfully built, his back as straight as ever, just like three years ago.

"Hello, everyone. I'll skip the pleasantries. Draw lots and fight your matches. You'll be scored based on your performance. Let's begin." The newcomer was Takeshi Goda. He didn't waste time and briskly had everyone come forward to draw lots.

As Zi Xu stepped up to draw, he met Takeshi Goda's eyes. The man seemed to be saying, "Come on. Let's see how much you've improved."

The results of the draw came in. Their team had been paired with an obscure group whose names Zi Xu couldn't even be bothered to remember. In Chinese, they'd be something like Ouyang Goudan, Shangguan Cuihua, and Zhuge Tiezhu. Since it was a real fight, Zi Xu didn't even have to step in. Chino and the others took care of the opponents themselves.

One thing worth mentioning was that, among the teams taking the test, Zi Xu didn't see Nohara's team—the one that had included Uchiha Gen, who died during the night of the massacre. Back then, Hatsumi had been heartbroken for a long time because Nohara had killed her little bugs.

But after the night of the massacre, Zi Xu hadn't paid attention to Nohara's team, so he'd only just realized they were gone.

Takeshi Goda watched as they won the fight quickly. Most of the matches between teams ended up being one-sided. That was, of course, deliberate on the part of the higher-ups. They couldn't let the strong teams fight one another while the weak ones advanced by luck.

When all the battles were over, Takeshi Goda read out the names of the teams that had passed from the list in his hand. As expected, Zi Xu and the others were on it. He was a little disappointed that his son, Nobita, hadn't passed, but he quickly adjusted his attitude.

"Those who passed are qualified to take the Chunin Exams. The Chunin Exams aren't just about fighting; there's a written test, too." The kids present already had their own teachers, but Takeshi Goda still couldn't help mentioning it. It was probably a professional habit.

Afterward, the teams that had passed were sent out, leaving the teachers behind to discuss something.

"Are all the Ninja villages coming to the Chunin Exams...? This is an opportunity. But the Caged Bird Curse Seal is still a problem..." Zi Xu thought the Chunin Exams presented a perfect opportunity. If he could make something happen during them, perhaps he could use the chance to...

Zi Xu thought about how to cause trouble during the Chunin Exams, but he didn't have enough time to master Armament Haki, let alone its advanced form, Flowing Cherry Blossom.

"Hm? Why are those two fighting?" He heard the sound of fists and feet colliding up ahead. A group of students had surrounded Rock Lee and Sasuke, who were fighting at that very moment.

"What happened?" Zi Xu patted a few students who were watching and asked. After hearing the story, his expression turned complicated.

"Wanting to see how far he's gotten with his Taijutsu? That sounds familiar." He guessed that Rock Lee kept improving by fighting powerful opponents.

"He's getting beaten pretty badly. How is Sasuke so bad at Taijutsu? He can't even react in time?" Zi Xu found it strange. How could the last sapling of the Uchiha Clan be this weak? His reflexes and physique were both lacking. So why was he so arrogant?

Actually, Zi Xu had planned to sit there and watch the excitement. But then he wondered if Rock Lee beating up the last sapling of the Uchiha Clan might lead to trouble. The higher-ups had wiped out the Uchiha Clan, but their public explanation had been that they were at fault for failing to protect them.

Now that the last Uchiha was right here, the Konoha higher-ups probably wouldn't stand by and let him be put in danger. Otherwise, Konoha would be contradicting its own excuse.

Once he'd figured that out, Zi Xu pushed through the crowd. He hadn't known Rock Lee for long, but he liked the guy. He didn't want Rock Lee to get singled out because of this. Zi Xu was strong enough to face Konoha's retaliation alone, but Rock Lee wasn't.

Rock Lee hadn't even taken off his weights. In an instant, he flashed behind Sasuke, and the bandages on his hands began to unravel, seemingly about to wrap around him. As someone who also trained in Taijutsu, Zi Xu could tell at a glance what Rock Lee was planning.

He burst through the crowd and shoved Sasuke away just as Rock Lee's bandages were about to catch him. At the same time, he grabbed Rock Lee, who had already leapt into the air, and pulled him down.

A huge cloud of dust burst up from beneath their feet. The pink-haired girl helped Sasuke up after he'd been thrown away, but he kept staring at the cloud of dust.

As the dust settled, Zi Xu stood shoulder to shoulder with Rock Lee. The bandages had come loose. Rock Lee picked up the weights scattered on the ground; they were what had kicked up the dust.

"...Tch..." Sasuke's pupils contracted rapidly. All this time, the title of genius had felt like a joke. Those two could suppress him with Taijutsu alone, leaving him unable to fight back. What right did he have to take revenge on that man?

Zi Xu also felt that Sasuke was weaker than he'd expected. He couldn't help doubting his memory again. Was this really the protagonist? Had he remembered wrong after all? Why did it feel like even Hatsumi could beat him? Black Zetsu was obviously the real protagonist. This guy was way too weak...

"You two... At the Chunin Exams..." Sasuke clenched his teeth. He had to surpass those two. If he couldn't even beat them, he might as well forget about revenge, go home, and prepare to die.