Chunin Exam

Early the next morning.

Akiyama Shun went to find Tsunade as usual; under normal circumstances, the two would have headed to the mission assignment office afterward.

However, today, there was an unexpected turn of events.

Akiyama Shun had only just arrived at Tsunade's house, and Shizune hadn't even left for the academy yet, when a knock sounded at the door.

Shizune opened the door to find Jiraiya standing there.

"Lord Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya's current appearance gave Shizune quite a start.

At this moment, Jiraiya looked incredibly agitated. His eyes, bloodshot from staying up all night, scanned the room rapidly before finally locking onto Akiyama Shun.

"I knew it! I went to your place looking for you and couldn't find you, so I figured you'd be here!"

Huh?

You actually went to my house to look for me?

Akiyama Shun stared at Jiraiya, dumbfounded. Although he could guess that Jiraiya was looking for him because of that book, he hadn't expected Jiraiya's initiative to be so terrifying.

"Jiraiya, what are you talking about? What do you want with Akiyama Shun? I'm warning you, I won't let him read that kind of book."

Tsunade furrowed her brows, issuing a stern warning to Jiraiya while simultaneously brandishing her fist.

"No, you don't understand at all."

Under normal circumstances, Jiraiya would have been intimidated by the threat, but things were different now; this matter was of the utmost importance!

"Huh?"

Under the bewildered gazes of Tsunade and Shizune, Jiraiya walked over to Akiyama Shun's side.

After pulling Akiyama Shun down to sit, he took a seat directly across from him.

At this moment, Jiraiya's posture was unprecedentedly solemn, and his expression appeared extremely serious.

This sudden turn of events shocked Tsunade and Shizune. Shizune was simply surprised that Jiraiya would treat Akiyama Shun with such gravity, but Tsunade, who knew Jiraiya well, understood best: for a man like him to show such a serious attitude, it was enough to prove the gravity of the situation.

What could it be?

Could it be that this kid had invented some powerful ninjutsu that she didn't know about?

Tsunade's mind raced, constantly weighing the possibilities.

Finally, Jiraiya spoke.

"Teach me how to write books!"

"!!!"

What kind of nonsense are you spouting!

As soon as Jiraiya's words fell, Tsunade and Shizune both lost their composure.

You put on such a serious expression, and it was just to have Akiyama Shun teach you how to write books?

Wait!

Tsunade frowned, suddenly realizing that things weren't that simple.

Akiyama Shun is just a child; what could he possibly teach Jiraiya about writing?

Wasn't Jiraiya's book, Tales of a Gutsy Ninja, already nearly finished? Did he really need Akiyama Shun to teach him?

If it wasn't about Tales of a Gutsy Ninja, then that only left...

In Tsunade's mind, the image of the two books Jiraiya had given Akiyama Shun yesterday suddenly surfaced.

"No problem. Since Lord Jiraiya wants to learn, I am certainly willing to teach."

Akiyama Shun nodded with a smile, but before Jiraiya could even express his joy, Tsunade had already reached him and grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him into the air.

"What are you trying to get Akiyama Shun to teach you, you bastard!"

"You have no idea how talented my teacher is!"

Hearing Jiraiya already calling him "teacher," Tsunade completely lost it.

"Oh, and I have to praise my teacher—his talent is truly immense. I only mentioned the genre, and he was able to write something this good."

As he said this, there was even a hint of pride on Jiraiya's face.

Tsunade could no longer hold back; she slammed a punch fueled by her Chakra Enhanced Strength into Jiraiya's face, sending his body crashing through the wall as he flew backward!

After dealing with Jiraiya, Tsunade turned her head, her gaze fixed on Akiyama Shun with a complex expression.

Not long after they had first met, Tsunade had realized that Akiyama Shun's talent wasn't just good—it was comprehensive.

But she hadn't expected it to be comprehensive to this extent!

Is he even this good at gambling and writing erotica?

Mid-June.

Five months had passed since Akiyama Shun first agreed to teach Jiraiya how to write his books.

During these five months, Tsunade and Jiraiya had gradually grown accustomed to Akiyama Shun's various peculiar talents.

For instance, his skills in writing erotica and gambling could be considered the absolute strongest in the Ninja World, leaving everyone else in the dust.

Every day, aside from completing missions, Akiyama Shun spent his time helping Tsunade earn money and carving out time to teach Jiraiya how to write.

One could say he had taken excellent care of two of the Sannin.

Well, there was also Yugao, who was learning swordsmanship, though she was the least of his worries; Yugao possessed natural talent for the blade, and with just a little guidance, she could draw inferences about other cases from one instance.

During this period, Akiyama Shun would perform a ten-pull draw whenever he saved up enough for one.

Among the artifacts, he had the most shards for the Kusanagi Sword, totaling five.

Among the summoning beasts, he had the most shards for Gamahiro, with twelve!

He had gained a new secret scroll, [Forbidden Technique: Yin Healing Wound Destruction]. Of course, since this wasn't the Naruto mobile game, the effect of this scroll was not "super armor."

[Forbidden Technique: Yin Healing Wound Destruction] was simply a medical ninjutsu that allowed the user to predict an opponent's attack and heal themselves before the strike landed, minimizing the damage received.

With this secret scroll combined with the Mystical Palm Technique he had already mastered, Akiyama Shun's survivability was now terrifying, surpassing that of many jonin.

Among the S-rank ninja, he had the most shards for [Uchiha Itachi (Susanoo)] and [Hozuki Gengetsu (Second Mizukage)], with eight shards each.

For the A-rank ninja, he had the most for [Namikaze Minato (New Year Limited)], with twelve shards.

Among the B-rank ninja, both [Haku] and [Kimimaro] had reached thirty-six shards; he only needed one lucky pull to unlock them!

[Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin)] had reached twenty-eight shards.

The rest were scattered fragments of various others.

Among the C-rank ninja, he had pulled [Shiranui Genma], [Haruno Sakura], and the [Konohamaru Corps]. While they offered minimal improvement to his combat power, they were still somewhat useful.

There were also several other C-rank ninja shards.

As Akiyama Shun was tallying his gains from the past few months, a knock sounded at his door.

Akiyama Shun opened the door to find Tsunade standing there.

"Teacher Tsunade, my apologies, I was lost in thought. Let's head to the mission briefing room now."

Akiyama Shun had only taken two steps when Tsunade called him back.

"No need to go today. Didn't you say you wanted to participate in the Chunin Exams? I've received word—the exams are in half a month."

After saying this, Tsunade paused to let Akiyama Shun process the information before continuing, "Unfortunately, since the last exam was held here in Konoha, it's now the turn of our ally, Sunagakure."

Sunagakure—a village Akiyama Shun was quite familiar with, being one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

The village's geographical location was abysmal, which led to a poor economy; the villagers could eat their fill of sand every single day.

At the same time, it was the spark that ignited the Third Shinobi World War.

And, well, it was also the first to be knocked out during that same war.

"Right, the Chunin Exams are generally for three-man squads, but everyone else already has their own teams. Because you graduated early, there are only two genin in this year's cohort including you. The only person available to team up with you is that kid."

That kid?

An image already surfaced in Akiyama Shun's mind.

"Kakashi."