A Special Exception for Me!

The next day.

The ninjas from Yukigakure and Hoshigakure arrived in Konoha one after another.

Hoshigakure was nothing special; its ninjas were all dressed ordinarily. Yukigakure, however, was entirely different. Though they had traded their padded coats for lighter clothes, every one of them wore strange mechanical devices. At first glance, they looked like armor, but a closer look revealed that they didn't protect any vital areas.

As more and more ninjas from other villages poured into Konoha, the village grew livelier, but it also gained many more sources of unrest.

After all, nearly everyone sent by the various villages to take part in these Chunin Ninja Exams was a prized prodigy, and prodigies were often arrogant.

So even before the Chunin Ninja Exams began, fights and challenges were breaking out one after another.

It wasn't only Konoha's entrants who were being challenged; the villages were challenging one another, too. Before long, some of the village's busybodies had even put together a challenge ranking.

The rules for making the list were simple: you had to defeat at least one opponent in a fair fight.

At the top of the list was Ringo Ameyuri of Kirigakure, who had defeated seventeen opponents in just a few days.

Since arriving in Konoha, she had spent nearly all her time issuing challenges, except when she went to Konoha Hospital for treatment. With her formidable strength and Lightning Blade Kiba, ordinary opponents were no match for her.

In second place was Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure.

Third and fourth were Darui of Kumogakure and Gaara of Sunagakure, respectively.

Ninjas from Otogakure, Kusagakure, and Takigakure had also made the list.

What puzzled many Konoha villagers, though, was that not a single one of Konoha's many prodigies had appeared on it.

This led some villagers to wonder whether the