Losing to another man when fighting over a man was the most tragic thing of all.
In the end, Yuhi Kurenai was not as relentlessly clingy and irritating as Sakura in the early days of Shippuden.
Once she realized that Uchiha Mai wanted to join Master Minato's team with Might Guy, she unwillingly sat down on the ground, signaling that she had no intention of competing.
If you could not hold onto the sand, you might as well scatter it.
There was a kind of love called letting go, giving up forever for love. If my leaving let you have it all, let true love take me away—breaking up~
Hilarious. They had never even been together, so what was there to break up over?
In less than a minute, Uchiha Mai had swept through everyone except Might Guy like an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves. Of course, that was partly because he had launched sneak attacks and partly because his opponents were complete trash.
Still, the decisiveness and strength Uchiha Mai displayed had shocked the spectators. In the neighboring set of Battle Through the Heavens, they would probably have cried, "Terrifying indeed!"
Did Uchiha Mai currently possess Chunin-level strength? He did not think so. In terms of taijutsu and chakra-enhanced throwing techniques alone, he might have reached the Chunin threshold, but he was far lacking in ninjutsu.
Even if he counted as a Chunin, he would be the weakest kind. Kakashi had become a Chunin in his second year after graduation, yet he had not advanced to Jonin until he was twelve or thirteen.
Six-year-old Kakashi and eleven-year-old Kakashi had both been Chunin. Could their strength possibly have been on the same level?
Of course not.
Uchiha Mai had read many Naruto fanfics in his previous life, and some readers often mocked the power-ranking systems their authors created.
They would say things like, "Special Jonin, Jonin, Elite Jonin, Pseudo-Shadow Level, Kage Level—there was never such a classification in the original story. Do you even understand Naruto, author?"
If everything had to be exactly the same as the original, then why the hell were you reading fanfiction?
True enough, Konoha did not have such detailed classifications as Pseudo-Shadow Level and Kage Level, just as society would not openly divide people into ranks based on whether they had money.
But what was the real situation? Was it not still true that whoever had money called the shots? Not everything needed to be said aloud.
Where there were people, there was society. Uchiha Mai had experienced firsthand that many Konoha ninja privately rated and labeled other ninja based on their achievements and strength.
They were all from the same village. Did anyone seriously think others did not know who had what achievements or how strong they were?
People naturally formed opinions and slapped labels on you in their hearts, just like how people at gatherings in his previous life would take one look at what car someone drove and label them rich, poor, or somewhere in between.
A Genin fresh out of the Ninja Academy was called a greenhorn. Someone who had muddled through for several years was called an old hand; a newly promoted Chunin was called a rookie, while one who had taken on many Chunin-level missions without getting killed was called an experienced Chunin...
The official system did not distinguish so finely, but people did. Combat experience, instinct for danger, breadth of experience, decisiveness—there were real differences in all of those.
Uchiha Mai wished he could divide Genin and Chunin into Genin Levels 1 through 10 and Chunin Levels 1 through 10, so he could clearly judge his own strength and how much he had improved.
Like in an online game, only by seeing the experience bar rise could one receive positive reinforcement. Keeping himself motivated to grow stronger was important too.
Overall, Mai was probably at the level of a bottom-tier Chunin. Taking down a few rookies one by one in a minute was simply normal performance for him.
Uchiha Mai slowly turned around, raised two fingers, and smiled at Master Minato. "Sir, only two people are still standing now."
Namikaze Minato: "..."
After a long silence, Namikaze Minato scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Um, Uchiha Mai, that is your name, right?
"This was actually a test of teamwork, to assess your understanding of the Will of Fire and see who would be willing to step forward, sacrifice themselves, and help others..."
Master Minato rambled on, roughly repeating what the Third Hokage had taught him before he came.
It was quite awkward. Minato did not think he had said or done anything wrong. The Hokage had told him to say that, so why had they suddenly started fighting?
Uchiha Mai: "..."
Now it was Uchiha Mai's turn to be speechless.
You motherfucker... are you messing with me?
I thought you, Master Minato, with those thick brows and big eyes, were an honest man. Never expected you to be like all those mediocre fools, playing such a boring trick.
What now? This was a test of self-sacrificial spirit, yet without a word, I knocked out four competitors. Wouldn't that mean...
At the critical moment, Uchiha Mai had a flash of inspiration and said, "Then you should choose me even more."
"Oh? How so?" Minato was somewhat puzzled. You beat up your teammates and classmates, and you still had an excuse?
Uchiha Mai flattered him, "To be honest, the moment you entered the classroom, I recognized who you were.
"Your noble golden hair, your handsome, sharply defined features as though sculpted by gods and demons, your tall and upright build, and your sunny, confident smile all gave you away.
"You must be Jiraiya's disciple, Konoha's Little Sun, the Elite Jonin Namikaze Minato."
Master Minato nodded repeatedly as he listened. Well said! Every word hit the mark. It was just a little too blunt; he was getting embarrassed.
After his embarrassment passed, Minato rubbed his head and asked in confusion, "Those are indeed facts, but what do they have to do with you beating them up?"
"They have everything to do with it!"
Uchiha Mai slammed one fist into his other palm and continued arguing, "A team led by an Elite Jonin must be an elite squad.
"Even if you made allowances for new members, you would still take on dangerous missions relatively often, traveling in and out of dangerous regions and placing yourselves in danger.
"Letting ninja without sufficient strength join such a team would be bad for both you, Minato-senpai, and them.
"If something went wrong, not only might they lose their lives, but you, Minato-senpai, would also be put in a difficult position. If you saved them, you might miss the best opportunity in battle. If you prioritized the mission, that would be heartless.
"The fact that I took those four down so easily clearly shows that they are not qualified to join your team, Minato-senpai.
"I did all this for them—for you."
Uchiha Mai wore an expression of if I do not enter hell, who will? He had nearly moved himself to tears. Was this not the Will of Fire?
"Ummmm..."
Namikaze Minato stroked his chin and pondered for a moment. What he said made so much sense that Minato found himself unable to refute it.
Wait, there was still one last loophole. Namikaze Minato looked toward Might Guy.
Uchiha Mai calmly explained, "As for Guy, although he comes from an ordinary background and does not understand ninjutsu, his true strength is greater than that of the other four.
"Guy's taijutsu skill and talent are no weaker than mine, and his diligence surpasses mine tenfold.
"Someone talented and hardworking like him will definitely become a Jonin in the future. By then, he can use his immense chakra reserves to compensate for his lack of talent in ninjutsu."
What was talent for ninjutsu?
It meant sensitivity to elemental chakra, control, affinity, and so on. In most of those areas, having enough chakra could solve the problem.
Hand seals existed to better control chakra and cast the same ninjutsu with less expenditure.
With absurd amounts of chakra, anyone could become amazing. So long as they were not brain-dead, if they had Senju Hashirama's chakra reserves, they could learn a few random ninjutsu and become a walking artillery platform. Clap their hands together, and all kinds of ninjutsu would blast out in a wild barrage.
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