The First Round Ends

By the time Jiogan and Might Duy reached Kurama Feiyun and the others, the three giant snakes had already been dealt with. The price was that Might Duy's two teammates, Kusama and Tōji, had been eliminated. They had already been injured, and this time their wounds had worsened, leaving them no choice but to stop at the first round.

At this point, only fourteen examinees remained in the first round, with two hours left before it ended. As long as no one else was caught, these fourteen would be the only ones advancing to the second round!

The two hours quickly passed. A Signal Flare announcing the end of the first round went up from the Central Tower area, and the successful examinees immediately headed there. The second round would be held at the Central Tower.

After an hour of travel, Jiogan, Kurama Feiyun, Inuzuka Yoru, and Might Duy arrived at the Central Tower and were led to the lounge to rest.

The second round was scheduled for the next day, allowing examinees who were injured or overly exhausted time to recover.

In the end, thirteen people passed the first round. That was because one unlucky fellow ran into Orochimaru, who was in a bad mood after nearly being tricked and was on his way back to the Central Tower!

Outside the lounge, Jiogan met Anima and Okamura Taro, who had also passed the first round. After plenty of twists and turns, the two had successfully made it through as well.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they returned to their respective lounges to rest and conserve their strength for the second round's combat examination.

The second round's combat examination was not the Anime Timeline format of examinees fighting one another in pairs. Instead, the examinees would face experienced Chunin. Victory or defeat would not be the final criterion; their performance during the battle was what mattered most.

In Konoha's Hokage's Office, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the Hokage's seat. Across the desk stood Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.

"Orochimaru, it is against the rules for you to personally take part in this Chunin Exam, and you have driven the pass rate far too low!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Teacher, although I acted personally, I did not use strength beyond the level of a Special Jonin. If they could not pass, that only proves their training was insufficient! It does not count as breaking the rules!" Orochimaru retorted.

"That may be true, but your reputation speaks for itself. When the examinees see you, they probably cannot even bring out seventy percent of their full strength," Jiraiya shot back.

"I do not wish to argue with an idiot," Orochimaru said.

"What?! Orochimaru! What do you mean by that, you rotten snake?!" Jiraiya immediately blew up.

Tsunade shook her head helplessly and punched Jiraiya on the head, putting an end to the farce.

"Teacher, come to the Central Tower to watch tomorrow's examination. There is a very interesting little fellow among this batch of examinees," Orochimaru said.

"Oh?! An examinee who has caught your attention has certainly made me interested. What is so special about him?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, taking two puffs from his pipe.

"He is extremely special. He is proficient in Water Release Ninjutsu and Sensing Ninjutsu, and his Taijutsu Skill is also very high. He has already developed Ninjutsu of his own, and his combat instincts are exceptional. When I made my move this time, he nearly caught me off guard!" Orochimaru said.

Hearing Orochimaru say this, Jiraiya and Tsunade, standing nearby, both became interested.

Tsunade said, "For someone to nearly catch you off guard in front of a schemer like you? That is too exaggerated!"

"No, that boy's overall strength has already reached the threshold of a Jonin. Teacher, after the Chunin Exam, I intend to have him join the Anbu under my command," Orochimaru said.

Those words made Jiraiya and Tsunade look at him anew.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had remained silent until then. Now, he spoke. "Orochimaru, the little fellow you are talking about should be Jiogan, right?"

Orochimaru froze. "Teacher, so you already know him. It seems he entered your sights long ago."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer. His gaze drifted out the window as he recalled a conversation in the Hokage's Office from half a month earlier.

Half a month ago, after fighting Jiogan, Maruboshi Kosuke had sighed over Jiogan's talent and acknowledged his bonds with the village and his companions. So he had sought out Hiruzen Sarutobi, hoping to pass down to Jiogan the Water Release Ninjutsu that Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had taught him. He also hoped the village would take notice of Jiogan and provide him with more resources so that he could grow faster.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had not doubted Maruboshi Kosuke's words. During the first-round examination, he had used the newly developed Telescope Technique to watch the entire battle between Jiogan and his own disciple, Orochimaru, and had found it deeply unbelievable.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi spared his prized disciple's pride and did not mention that he had watched the entire battle.

"Let us wait until after the Chunin Exam. Once I have met Jiogan in person, we can make arrangements," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Then, Teacher, tomorrow's second-round battles...?" Orochimaru asked.

"I will watch them," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Teacher, let the two of us come too! I am quite interested in that brat who nearly caught Orochimaru off guard," Jiraiya said.

Tsunade nodded as well, indicating that she wanted to go.

Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed, and the three left the Hokage's Office.

At the Central Tower in the Forest of Death, Jiogan practiced Tai Chi in the lounge, replenishing the Chakra and qi he had expended during the day. Before long, all of his losses had been restored.

At that moment, heavy rain began to fall outside. Jiogan looked through the window, and his thoughts could not help returning to that moment of enlightenment during the Patrol Mission in the southeast of the Land of Fire. Ever since that enlightenment, he had felt something indescribable whenever it rained.

Jiogan leaped out the window and entered the woods, allowing the rain to fall over his body. He opened his body and mind, letting every part of himself merge with the rain, merge with heaven and earth!

His soul rose once more. Jiogan could sense everything within the area covered by the rain: peaceful Konoha, hurried villagers holding umbrellas, his family's Fruit Shop, where his mother was closing up for the night, the entrance to Konoha, where the Shinobi on duty were changing shifts, the Forest of Death, where a herd of wild boars led their young through a mud pit in play, large birds in the forest spreading their wings in their nests to shelter their chicks from the rain, and the Shinobi on watch around the Central Tower, standing guard from concealed positions.

His soul returned to his body. Jiogan opened his eyes and exhaled a stream of white vapor—the Heaven and Earth Qi his Dantian could no longer contain. The qi in his Dantian had grown again, roughly one-third larger than before. His Chakra capacity had also risen once more, reaching the equivalent of sixty C-rank Ninjutsu. Beyond that, his control over Water Release had improved further.

However, this was neither the time nor the place to test Ninjutsu.

Jiogan returned to the lounge and lay down on his floor bedding. My Qi Sensing Technique feels even stronger in the rain than Nagato Uzumaki's Rain Tiger At Will Technique. Not only does it consume neither Chakra nor qi, it actually makes them grow!

He would have to seize every opportunity to train on rainy days from now on. Soon, the Second Shinobi World War would break out. He needed to find a way to join the battlefield in the Land of Rain. In the Land of Rain's environment, his strength would surely undergo explosive growth.

I wonder what kind of opponent Orochimaru will arrange for me tomorrow. An ordinary Chunin will not be enough to watch! Jiogan thought, then fell asleep to rest.

Jiogan could never have imagined that his opponent tomorrow would be that legendary man! And his opponent had not been arranged by Orochimaru, but personally arranged by Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi!