Uchiha Yakumaru

"Bloodline limits sure are convenient."

Feeling how much Hyuga Hane had improved, Dai sighed inwardly.

But he quickly composed himself, and the green steam around him surged higher.

"Gate of Limit doesn't seem to have much left to teach you, so let's see how you handle this."

"Eight Inner Gates, Sixth Gate, Gate of View, open!"

As the Gate of View opened and flames clung to Dai's fists, Hane's pupils contracted. He instantly dodged several meters away.

"Morning Peacock!"

Burning fists filled the surrounding area with a barrage of fiery strikes, destroying everything in their path.

So Dai was the one who taught Guy this move? It really is terrifying. Hyuga Hane marveled inwardly.

Guy had been able to hold his own against Kisame after opening the Sixth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates.

If he relied solely on the Konoha Strong Fist Style and Gate of Limit, without using Gentle Fist techniques, he wouldn't be able to withstand a legendary technique like the Gate of View.

"Hane, you're only fifteen. You'll surely be able to open the Gate of View someday, but I can't say for certain whether you'll manage the Seventh Gate beyond that."

Dai looked at Hane solemnly.

"I'll teach you all the Taijutsu moves I've developed. Whether you can use them is up to you."

"Yes!" Hane nodded firmly.

The two trained until late into the night before going their separate ways.

The next day, Hyuga Hane received a notice from Anbu.

The Jonin examination would begin in a day!

Jonin were an important fighting force in any shinobi village, and a key measure of each village's military strength.

Because of the war, Konoha had only around a hundred Jonin left, excluding Special Jonin. Each one was the core member and leader of a squad.

When necessary, they could even become commanders in a theater of war, a testament to their strength and standing.

On the day of the examination, Anbu escorted Hyuga Hane to an underground training ground.

Twenty people had already arrived.

Hane discreetly sized them up. He recognized most of them, though only because he knew their backgrounds and abilities.

The only one he didn't know was the last boy, who wore the Uchiha Clan Crest.

When Hane looked his way, the Uchiha boy sensed it keenly and turned around, meeting a pair of Byakugan.

"..."

A Hyuga, huh.

The boy's expression visibly darkened. He gave a mocking laugh. "Things are all settled in your clan already? You've got time to come take the Jonin exam?"

Recently, the trouble within the Hyuga Clan had caused the Military Police Force plenty of headaches.

Some Hyuga clan members' bodies hadn't been found by the patrols in time, and villagers had seen them. The Military Police Force had handled all the cleanup.

They hadn't caught the culprit, and the higher-ups didn't seem interested in investigating further. The Uchiha in the Military Police Force had been unhappy about it for a while.

Hyuga Hane watched him calmly for a moment, then looked away and began observing the others.

"You..."

The boy grew even angrier at being so blatantly ignored. But when he thought of the Hyuga Branch Family, he remembered them as mostly gloomy, withdrawn people, so the reaction seemed only natural.

He could only say irritably, "Hmph. There's no point observing them. The Jonin exam tests strength. If you're a weakling, don't bother showing up. My name is Uchiha Yakumaru, and I'm a Special Jonin. Pray you don't get matched against me."

Hyuga Hane had originally planned to ignore him, but his expression turned briefly strange. He looked back at the boy.

"Uchiha Yakumaru?"

"What, you've heard of me?" Seeing Hane respond, Uchiha Yakumaru's scowl eased. He folded his arms and looked him over. "You look about fifteen. Is this your first time taking the Jonin exam?"

"If you run into me, you won't even get the chance to show what you can do, let alone become a Special Jonin."

Konoha didn't have a separate examination for promotion to Special Jonin. There was only the Jonin exam.

After all, Special Jonin were shinobi who excelled in a particular area but lacked the overall ability to serve as Jonin. There was no need to hold a separate exam for them.

The village simply recorded the abilities of shinobi who were eliminated during the Jonin exam and selected suitable candidates from among them.

But if they performed too poorly, they could only remain Chunin.

So...

"If you represent the Hyuga Clan and apologize to me properly, I might let you off the hook."

Hyuga Hane didn't respond.

It was clear that Uchiha Yakumaru had mistaken him for a Chunin.

"I haven't heard of you. I just thought your name sounded a lot like Senior Yaku-mi's."

Yakumaru... It was an unexpectedly fitting name for an Uchiha.

Whoever named him had remarkable foresight.

"Uncle Yaku-mi?" Uchiha Yakumaru frowned, his haughty expression disappearing as he looked Hane up and down. "Did you come back from the Mist Village Battlefield?"

Uchiha Yaku-mi was a direct subordinate of Uchiha Fugaku and had always supported him wholeheartedly.

He had been a senior member of the Military Police Force and was also a relative of Yakumaru's. But the needs of the Mist Village Battlefield had taken him there, where he was now active alongside Clan Head Fugaku.

At this, his expression softened. "Since you're Uncle Yaku-mi's comrade, I'll let it go."

"I can go easy on you if we meet, so you'll have a chance to show what you can do."

"Discussing this before the exam—are you trying to get yourself disqualified?"

A gentle voice came from behind them. Yakumaru froze, then reluctantly turned around and saw the smiling Fourth Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, I didn't mean to..."

"I know, but underestimating your opponent is a grave mistake, Yakumaru."

Namikaze Minato smiled warmly. "Hane is a Special Jonin, just like you."

"...?"

Uchiha Yakumaru stared at Hyuga Hane, eyes wide.

A fifteen-year-old Special Jonin, a genius on the verge of becoming a Jonin, and not far behind him—and he'd been pretending to be younger?

A Chunin taking the Jonin exam might be overestimating himself, but a Special Jonin who dared take it was practically guaranteed to pass.

Yet this Hyuga had been observing the Chunin as though he were wary of them, making Yakumaru think he was a first-timer.

What a weirdo!

Ignoring Uchiha Yakumaru's stare, Hyuga Hane respectfully said, "Lord Hokage."

Observing the Chunin and gathering information about them was essential for him. After all, in a few years, they would be Konoha's backbone.

"Mm."

Minato nodded in acknowledgment, then gave Hane an approving look. "Keep up that vigilance in the future."

He had been tested on the battlefield, after all. His mindset was different from Yakumaru's.

Though Uchiha Yakumaru was also a Special Jonin, he was one of the Uchiha shinobi who had remained in Konoha. He had also grown up during the peaceful period between the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars.

He lacked experience in honing his temperament, and on top of that, he had the Uchiha Clan's characteristic arrogance...

Was he treating this exam as nothing more than an optional test?

For a shinobi, even a single Explosive Tag could threaten their life. Chunin were far more dangerous than Explosive Tags.

Underestimate them, and you could easily get caught off guard.

Minato remembered that when he rescued Kushina, the shinobi who had kidnapped her had underestimated him too.