The Chunin Exams

Thud!

Amid the dull thuds of fists and feet colliding, the two figures each retreated.

They were in a secluded training ground. The two people sparring in the middle were Shinji and Haku, practicing Taijutsu.

Seeing his attack deflected yet again, Shinji furrowed his brow.

After sparring for the past few days, he could clearly feel himself improving. But no matter how much progress he made, Haku always gave him the illusion that one more push would be enough to win!

In the end, though, he was sent stumbling back time and again.

"Let's try the Breathing Technique!" After making up his mind, Shinji looked at Haku. "Be careful. I'm going all out this time!"

Haku nodded in agreement, her expression solemn.

"Total Concentration!"

Whoosh.

After exhaling, Shinji flashed forward and threw a straight punch at Haku's face.

"!"

A flash of surprise crossed Haku's eyes. She hadn't seemed to expect Shinji to suddenly become so fast.

Thud, thud, thud.

In an instant, the two exchanged four or five punches.

With every punch Shinji threw, a mist of breath escaped his lips. Each move seemed to follow a certain rhythm, and both his speed and strength had increased dramatically.

Haku found it extremely difficult to adjust, and for once, a hint of panic showed on her face.

Whoosh.

After another light exhale, Shinji's speed surged again. He blurred past Haku's side, slipped behind her, and followed through with a sweeping kick!

But just as his kick was about to land, Haku sprang into the air with a swish. Not only did she evade Shinji's kick, she lightly tapped her toes against his leg, using it to turn around and return a sweeping kick of her own.

"What?!"

Shinji was startled. With no time to change his move and dodge, he could only raise his arms to shield his vitals.

Thud.

With a dull impact, Shinji was knocked back once again, and the rhythm of his Breathing Technique was disrupted.

Feeling the slight numbness in his arms, Shinji pursed his lips. "Haku, that kick wasn't strong enough. Were you going easy on me?"

Haku panted lightly. "Shinji, I'm already struggling just to block your attacks. How could I have the energy to go easy on you?"

Shinji shook his arms to ease the pain. "You were going easy on me."

Haku didn't continue arguing. Instead, she walked to the edge of the training ground and handed Shinji a bottle of water. "Shinji, let's take a break."

Shinji took the bottle and drank in silence.

He knew Haku had keenly noticed he was reaching his physical limit. She'd secretly eased up on him and even suggested they rest, all to spare his pride.

Reviewing their exchange, Shinji confirmed that the Breathing Technique clearly enhanced Taijutsu.

Without using the Breathing Technique, his Taijutsu skills were nowhere near good enough to pose any threat to Haku.

But once he used the Breathing Technique, even in his half-baked state after only two weeks of training, he could at least give Haku some trouble.

I still haven't mastered Water Breathing. It's too easy for me to lose the rhythm.

Shinji silently reflected on his performance.

Haku took a sip of water beside him and casually asked, "Shinji, can I ask you something? You're already so strong, so why do you still train so hard?"

Shinji grumbled inwardly, If I told you it was to protect the Shinobi World, would you believe me?

Who knew what kind of monster would invade the Shinobi World next? He couldn't afford to slack off.

When Shinji stayed silent, Haku tentatively asked, "Is it because of that person? Why would he do something like that?"

Shinji glanced at Haku, then looked away. "I don't know either."

The person Haku meant was, of course, Itachi Uchiha, who had slaughtered his entire clan.

It was only natural for her to have questions.

Many people in the village wondered the same thing. No one understood why Itachi Uchiha, the heir to the clan, had personally wiped out his own family.

But Shinji had a hunch that Haku cared far too much about him and the Uchiha Clan, even though she hid it well.

The next day.

"What? The Chunin Exams?"

Shinji was taken by surprise in class.

Teacher Iruka was still explaining the Ninja Academy's arrangements for the upcoming Chunin Exams.

In short, the lower-year students like Shinji would be getting a break.

At the mention of the Chunin Exams, Shinji immediately thought of the exams in Naruto's generation from the original story.

But in reality, the Chunin Exams were held every three years.

The scale varied from one exam to the next.

Naruto's exam had been unusually large. Under normal circumstances, they were smaller.

The exams weren't always held in Konoha, either. In principle, any village allied with or cooperating with Konoha was eligible to host them.

"That's great! We get a break!"

"I heard a lot of villages are sending people this time."

"Does that mean there'll be a good show?"

The students were all beaming, as if the village were holding a festival.

In fact, the Chunin Exams weren't much different from a festival. During the final round, villagers could even buy tickets to watch.

After leaving the Ninja Academy, Shinji and Haku wandered the streets.

Suddenly, a commotion rose in the distance.

Shinji looked toward the noise and saw a procession approaching from the end of the street. In the middle of it was a lavish carriage.

Haku looked over too. "That looks like the emblem of the Land of Demons. Is the Land of Demons Miko attending the Chunin Exams as well?"

Shinji's face stiffened. "The Land of Demons Miko?"

"Yeah. The person in that carriage is probably the Miko of the Land of Demons."

Why did she come all the way to Konoha? Could my genjutsu have worn off? Shinji's heart skipped a beat. He followed the procession's path with his eyes and wondered, Are they heading to the Hokage Building?

Noticing Shinji's troubled expression, Haku asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Shinji shook his head and left the street.

Even though he knew it was unusual for Shion to appear in Konoha at this point, he couldn't do anything about it.

This was the heart of Konoha, only a few streets away from the Hokage Building. Any action he took could lead to unpredictable consequences.

The only thing he could do now was pray that Shion hadn't yet broken the psychological suggestion he'd placed on her.

Shinji spent the day on edge.

No ANBU came to take control of him, and no rumors about him or the Mangekyo Sharingan spread. It was as if the Land of Demons Miko's arrival had nothing to do with him.

Later that day, delegations from Sunagakure, Kusagakure, Amegakure, Takigakure, and Kirigakure arrived in Konoha one after another.

Hearing the news, Shinji was full of doubts.

From what he remembered, relations between Konoha and Kirigakure were very strained. Kirigakure had seemingly never sent anyone to take part in Konoha's Chunin Exams.

The other villages had also sent noticeably more people than usual.

So taking part in the Chunin Exams is just an excuse. The real reason these villages came is to verify the rumors that the Uchiha Clan was wiped out.

It didn't take Shinji long to figure out why these villages were so eager to send people to this round of the Chunin Exams.

After all, the Uchiha Clan was a prestigious clan with a history spanning nearly a thousand years. It had stood at the top of the Shinobi World even before the major ninja villages were established.

So the news that the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out was a bombshell for the entire Shinobi World.

That evening, Shinji didn't let up. He kept sparring with Haku, practicing Taijutsu.

During a break, he wiped away his sweat with a towel and asked as casually as he could, "Why did the Land of Demons send someone to the Chunin Exams? Do they have a ninja village too?"

Haku shook her head. "I've never heard of a ninja village in the Land of Demons."

"Then why did the Land of Demons Miko come to the village?"

Haku smiled. "I'm not sure, but I heard the Miko of the Land of Demons spent the whole day walking around the village, visiting all sorts of shops."

"Oh."

Shinji replied thoughtfully.

Rustle.

Suddenly, a sound came from the bushes at the edge of the training ground.

Shinji and Haku looked over.

A figure emerged from the bushes.

She was petite and wore a gorgeous dress. Her cheeks were puffed out as if she were chewing something, and she held a skewer of three-colored dango in her hand.

Shion?!

Shinji was startled. He recognized her.

The figure who had hurriedly scrambled out of the bushes was none other than the Land of Demons Miko they'd just been talking about.

Shion apparently hadn't expected to find anyone in such a secluded place. She gestured for Shinji and Haku to be quiet, then gathered up her dress and tried to sneak away.

But after taking just a few steps, she suddenly stopped. Tilting her head, she hurried over to Shinji and stared straight at him. "You—"