Konoha Gathering

Looking at his newly increased Chakra, Qingshui smiled with satisfaction.

The maximum he could gain at once was only 100 points, and sometimes it was as little as 10, but little by little, it all added up.

Based on his experience working at Konoha Hospital for a month, his Chakra increased by about 300 points a day on average.

If he worked every day for a month, he could gain nearly 9,000 points of Chakra.

He now had nearly 80,000 points of Chakra. In three months, he would surely break 100,000 and reach B-Rank, earning another treasure chest.

In the first treasure chest, Qingshui had found a Copy Scroll and successfully obtained the Rinnegan.

It was an even better reward than the Color Orb.

So he was full of anticipation for the second treasure chest he was about to earn.

The system's products were always top quality.

Whether he got another Copy Scroll or a scroll with some other function, Qingshui was sure he wouldn't be disappointed.

Time flew by, and more than twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.

With the Joint Chunin Exam about to begin, Ninja from the other Ninja Villages began arriving in Konoha one after another.

Another group of Ninja arrived at the Konoha Gate.

If Qingshui had been there, he would surely have recognized someone in the group.

Scorching Style Pakura!

They were the Ninja sent by Sunagakure to participate in the Joint Chunin Exam, led by the two Jonin Pakura and Rasa.

"Friends from Sunagakure, please follow me. Konoha has already arranged accommodations for you."

As the host village, Konoha had naturally made all the arrangements in advance.

"Sorry for the trouble."

As they followed their guide to their lodgings, Pakura and Rasa could clearly sense several Anbu Ninja watching them from the shadows.

Neither of them was surprised.

They would have found it strange if Konoha hadn't assigned Anbu Ninja to keep an eye on them.

Besides, they had come to participate in the Joint Chunin Exam, not to carry out some Konoha Crush Plan.

So they didn't mind Konoha Anbu watching them.

"The accommodations are a little basic. I hope you don't mind. If you need any help, feel free to contact me."

After showing Pakura and the others to their lodgings, the guide left.

"Teacher, can we go out and have a look around?"

Hearing her subordinates' request, Pakura nodded. She wanted to explore the village herself, too.

On the way there, she had already noticed how much more prosperous Konoha was than Sunagakure.

"Rasa, are you going out?"

"Don't forget why we're here. Instead of spending your time wandering around, you should be training them so they don't bring shame on the village during the exam."

In other words, he wasn't going out.

Looking at Rasa's stern expression, Pakura thought he was no fun at all.

They'd only spent three days on the road. What was wrong with taking a little time to relax?

There was no need to cram at the last minute just yet.

"Fine. Stay here if you want."

With that, Pakura took her three subordinates out.

Rasa's three subordinates could only watch enviously as the four of them headed out.

"What? You want to go out, too?"

Rasa's emotionless voice made the three of them hastily shake their heads.

"Remember, you represent Sunagakure. Don't be like Pakura. She couldn't even complete a B-Rank mission, and damaged the village's reputation."

Rasa was referring to the mission to capture Okubo Yahiko.

It had been a mission issued by a noble of the Land of Wind. Because it had failed, the noble had become extremely dissatisfied with Sunagakure.

Of course, Pakura had no idea that Rasa was criticizing her to the three of them.

The mission's failure had indeed been her fault, but she had made up for it afterward by completing several A-rank missions on her own.

Walking through the streets of Konoha, Pakura and the others experienced a way of life they could never have found in Sunagakure.

The villagers living in Konoha always seemed to have smiles on their faces.

And Pakura could tell their smiles weren't forced. They came from genuine happiness.

That was a sight almost impossible to find in Sunagakure.

"Teacher Pakura, do you think Sunagakure could have a life like this someday?"

The speaker was Misaki, the only female Ninja among the three subordinates.

As a girl, she tended to be a little more sentimental.

"If we all keep working hard, we can change Sunagakure!"

Pakura didn't dare say that Sunagakure would someday be like Konoha. The gap between them was simply too great.

"Huh? Isn't that the Konoha Ninja we met in the Land of Rain?"

Suddenly, Pakura's other two subordinates, Jin and Gousuke, spotted Qingshui. But because he was wearing sunglasses, they sounded uncertain.

Pakura followed the direction they were pointing.

Qingshui was just coming out of the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, apparently after finishing his meal.

Pakura's subordinates had spoken loudly, so Qingshui noticed them, too.

"Didn't expect to see you again so soon. You're here for the Chunin Exam, too, right?"

"It really is you!"

"That's right. We're all going to become Chunin this time!"

Jin and Gousuke answered one after the other.

Pakura, however, had lost to Qingshui before and didn't know what to say, so she remained silent.

"Then I hope you get what you want. But if you run into me, I won't go easy on you."

On his first day back from the Land of Rain, Qingshui had learned about the Joint Chunin Exam from Hiruzen Sarutobi. He also knew he would be teaming up with Kushina.

He certainly wouldn't refuse the chance to become a Chunin.

After becoming one, he would earn a higher salary working at Konoha Hospital.

But at his words, the confidence Jin and Gousuke had just shown wilted at once.

"That's it. We've lost our chance at winning this Chunin Exam. You're so strong that you're definitely the strongest Genin in the whole exam."

As soon as he finished speaking, a mocking laugh rang out.

Everyone looked up at once and saw a group of Ninja from Kumogakure.

They had arrived in Konoha that very day, too. They'd gone out to eat and happened to overhear the conversation, so they laughed without hesitation.

In their eyes, Killer B was the strongest Genin in this Chunin Exam.

As for Qingshui, he looked like an unusually old Genin. In their view, someone that old who was still a Genin obviously lacked talent.

"The idiots from Sunagakure really don't know anything. They think someone with no talent like him is the strongest."

The remark immediately enraged Jin. "You bastard! Are you looking for a fight?"

"Huh? I'm just telling the truth."

"Damn it!"

Seeing how much the other Ninja looked down on him, Jin could no longer hold back and was about to attack.

But Qingshui stopped him.

"This is Konoha. Leave this kind of thing to us Konoha Ninja."