The Chunin Exams

After returning to the village, Team 7's life settled back into its usual routine, with the occasional dull D-rank mission.

Searching for lost pets, clearing a clogged section of river...

These missions weren't even a warm-up for Yo. Usually, he sent a Wood Clone to handle them.

A Wood Clone was overkill, in fact. A Shadow Clone was enough.

Yo spent most of his time deep in the Back Mountain Forest.

Sometimes he studied Wood Release.

Other times, he studied Chidori and Rasengan, developing them further.

Time slipped by, and before long, another half month had passed.

One evening,

after finishing a day of training, Yo headed back to the village alone.

The last rays of the setting sun draped Konoha in a warm golden glow.

The streets were full of people, and seemed busier than usual.

Yo immediately noticed something was different. There were more ninja from other villages on the streets: Sunagakure, Otogakure, Kusagakure...

Most of these outsiders were young, around the same age as Genin.

Yo stopped in his tracks, understanding at once. The Chunin Exams were here!

The Chunin Exams!

They were an important stage for the major ninja villages to showcase their next generation and test one another's strength.

Of course, they were also a key path for Genin to become Chunin.

Yo's thoughts stirred.

By convention, their graduating class was eligible to participate, having only recently become Genin.

"The Chunin Exams are great!"

Yo's lips curled into a smile.

If all went as expected, Orochimaru would carry out the Konoha Crush Plan during these Chunin Exams.

The Third Hokage would die in battle!

That wasn't all.

Because of the Third Hokage's death, Uchiha Itachi would return to the village, using the opportunity to warn Konoha's leadership.

And that would undoubtedly be the perfect chance to take Shisui's Mangekyo!

Yo knew that one of Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyo was in Itachi's hands, and the other was in Danzo's.

If he could get his hands on both, he'd have a Mangekyo of his own!

Combined with his Sage Body, it would unleash power on par with the Eternal Mangekyo.

"I can hardly wait!" Yo licked his lips.

The Chunin Exams had indeed begun!

After asking Yo, Naruto, and Sasuke what they thought, Kakashi registered his three students for the exams.

The written test began soon after.

The spacious classroom was packed with ninja from all the villages.

Yo sat by the window, looking over the unfamiliar faces in the classroom, especially a few "familiar" ninja.

The Sunagakure trio were easily the most noticeable.

Gaara carried a gourd on his back and radiated a chilling air.

Beside him were Temari, carrying a giant fan, and Kankuro, wrapped in bandages with a puppet always at his side.

They stood on either side of Gaara, their expressions haughty.

On Konoha's side,

besides the classmates he already knew, there were Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten.

And, of course,

there was also a silver-haired young man in round glasses, wearing a gentle, harmless-looking smile: Yakushi Kabuto.

The spy was chatting amiably with several Konoha Genin.

Naruto and the other fools were completely thrown off by a few words from Kabuto, and each of them was now under immense pressure.

That guy Kabuto...

He was doing a good job of staying undercover. Should Yo find a chance to kill him?

Then Yo's gaze fell on someone in the corner.

A girl with messy red hair and thick, round glasses, looking timid and nervous.

It was Karin!

Karin was only a twelve-year-old girl at the time, nowhere near as bold as she'd become later.

She kept her head down, anxiously twisting her fingers together. She didn't seem comfortable in such a lively setting.

Karin's senses were incredibly sharp. She seemed to notice Yo watching her and looked up.

Their eyes met.

Karin froze for a moment, then looked away like a startled fawn.

A clear blush rose on her fair cheeks.

Even the tips of her ears turned pink, and she lowered her head even further.

Twelve-year-old Karin...

She was pretty cute!

Yo looked away. Karin was a pure-blooded member of the Uzumaki Clan, with the Mind's Eye of the Kagura. A healer, and top-tier support!

"Her personality's a little... well... she tends to be a pushover."

"If he could win her over, she'd make a good healer and human radar!"

Just as Yo's thoughts began to wander, the classroom door was shoved open.

A group of stern-looking Chunin examiners filed in.

At their head was a bald man with a vicious expression, a gruesome scar across his face: Morino Ibiki.

The moment he appeared, his imposing presence silenced the whispers in the classroom. You could hear a pin drop.

"I'm Morino Ibiki, the chief examiner for the first test!"

"The rules for the written test are simple: ten questions..."

The written test's rules were harsh, almost absurdly so:

No cheating!

Team scoring!

If anyone was caught cheating, their entire team would be eliminated!

The atmosphere in the classroom turned icy at these rules, and many examinees began to look pale.

The papers were handed out.

The questions covered ninja theory, intelligence analysis, code-breaking, and even obscure strategic simulations...

They were far too difficult for most Genin, who were more suited to fighting.

Yo picked up the paper and quickly skimmed through it. He couldn't answer a single question. He couldn't even understand some of them.

But it didn't matter.

The real purpose of this written test wasn't to see whether they knew the answers.

It was to test their ability to gather intelligence under extreme conditions.

In other words, as long as they knew how to cheat, did it discreetly, and weren't caught, they'd pass.

Yo couldn't even be bothered to cheat.

He knew there was one final question at the end of the test:

It would test whether the Genin had the will to never abandon a mission or their teammates, even under immense pressure.

As long as they chose not to give up, the written test didn't matter at all.

So...

Yo couldn't be bothered to answer a single question. He spent the whole time staring out the window, lost in thought.

The other examinees, meanwhile, were either scratching their heads, sweating nervously, or using every means available to cheat.

The result was no surprise.

Aside from those caught cheating and those who couldn't handle the final question, everyone else passed!

That included slackers like Yo and Naruto, who handed in blank papers.

Naruto really was something else. He couldn't answer a single question. What a clown!

The second test was to pass through the Forest of Death within five days.

The twenty-six Genin teams who passed the written test gathered in front of the iron gates.

Each team received a sealed scroll, which contained the main objective of the test:

Collect both the Scroll of Heaven and the Scroll of Earth, then reach the tower in the middle of the forest within the allotted time.

Team 7 received the Scroll of Heaven.

"Great!"

Naruto's fighting spirit blazed. "We just need to grab another Scroll of Heaven, and we'll pass!"

Sasuke glanced at Yo beside him and said gravely, "Brother, don't get involved once we're in the forest!"

He knew his brother's strength was unfathomable.

If Yo got serious, all the examinees in the Forest of Death probably wouldn't be enough to take him on.

If that happened, the trial in the Forest of Death would lose its value as a chance for Sasuke to hone himself.

Yo shrugged. "All right! I'll let you show off this time!"

"But..."

"If you run into a danger you really can't handle, don't forget to call for help."

"I don't want to lose my foolish little brother and become the Uchiha Clan's only orphan!"

"Hmph!"

Sasuke was used to Yo's teasing way of showing he cared. He snorted and turned away.

But inwardly, he warned himself that he would never lose, and he certainly wouldn't need to ask that guy for help!