Chunin Ninja Exams

Early the next morning.

As usual, Akiyama Shun went to see Tsunade. Under normal circumstances, the two of them would then head to the Mission Assignment Hall.

But today, something unexpected happened.

Akiyama Shun had only just arrived at Tsunade's house. Shizune hadn't even left for school yet when someone knocked on the door.

Shizune opened it and saw Jiraiya.

"Lord Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya's appearance gave Shizune a fright.

He looked extremely excited. His eyes, bloodshot from staying up all night, swept around the room before finally landing on Akiyama Shun.

"Just as I thought! I went to your house and couldn't find you, so I knew you'd be here!"

Huh?

You went to my house looking for me?

Akiyama Shun stared at Jiraiya, dumbfounded. He could guess that Jiraiya was looking for him because of the book, but he hadn't expected Jiraiya to be quite so determined.

"Jiraiya, what are you talking about? Why are you looking for Akiyama Shun? I'm warning you, I won't let him read those kinds of books."

Tsunade furrowed her brows and sternly warned Jiraiya, even raising a fist to emphasize her point.

"No, you don't understand."

Under normal circumstances, Jiraiya would have backed down at the threat. But this was different. This was important!

"Huh?"

While Tsunade and Shizune stared at him in confusion, Jiraiya walked over to Akiyama Shun.

He pulled Akiyama Shun down to sit, then took the seat across from him.

Jiraiya sat more solemnly than ever, his expression exceptionally serious.

The sudden change left Tsunade and Shizune stunned. Shizune simply hadn't expected Jiraiya to take Akiyama Shun so seriously. But Tsunade knew him well, and she understood that if a man like Jiraiya was acting this serious, then the matter had to be extremely important.

What was it?

Had the kid come up with another powerful ninjutsu she didn't know about?

Tsunade's mind raced through the possibilities.

At last, Jiraiya spoke.

"Teach me how to write!"

"!!!"

What the hell are you talking about?!

The moment Jiraiya finished speaking, Tsunade and Shizune couldn't hold back any longer.

You put on such a serious face just to ask Akiyama Shun to teach you how to write?

Wait!

Tsunade frowned, suddenly realizing that something wasn't right.

Akiyama Shun was just a little kid. What could he teach Jiraiya about writing?

Wasn't Jiraiya's Tales of a Gutsy Ninja almost finished? Why would he need Akiyama Shun to teach him?

If it wasn't Tales of a Gutsy Ninja, then all that was left...

The two books Jiraiya had given Akiyama Shun yesterday suddenly came to mind.

"Of course. If Lord Jiraiya wants to learn, I'd be happy to teach him."

Akiyama Shun smiled and nodded. Before Jiraiya could even celebrate, Tsunade was already in front of him, grabbing his collar and lifting him off the ground.

"What do you want Akiyama Shun to teach you to write, you bastard?!"

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

Hearing that Jiraiya had already started calling him teacher was the last straw for Tsunade.

"Oh, and I have to praise our teacher, too. He's incredibly talented. I only had to tell him what kind of story I wanted, and he wrote it this well."

Jiraiya even looked a little proud as he said it.

Tsunade couldn't take it anymore. She smashed Jiraiya in the face with a Strength of a Hundred punch. His body crashed through the wall and went flying!

After dealing with Jiraiya, Tsunade turned to look at Akiyama Shun, her expression complicated.

Not long after they had first met, Tsunade had realized Akiyama Shun's talent wasn't merely exceptional; it was remarkably versatile.

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

He was even this good at gambling and writing erotic stories?

Mid-June.

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

Over those five months, Tsunade and Jiraiya had gradually grown used to Akiyama Shun's various extraordinary talents.

For instance, when it came to writing erotic stories and gambling, he could be called the undisputed best in the Ninja World.

Every day, aside from completing missions, Akiyama Shun helped Tsunade make money and set aside time to teach Jiraiya how to write.

He was practically taking excellent care of two of the Sannin.

Well, Yugao was also learning swordsmanship, but she was the least worrisome. Her talent with a sword was already quite good, and with just a little instruction, she could apply what she'd learned to new situations.

During this time, whenever Akiyama Shun saved up enough for ten draws, he used them.

Among the divine weapons, the Kusanagi Sword had the most fragments, with five in total.

Among the summoning beasts, Gamahiro had the most fragments, with twelve!

He had gained another secret scroll: [Forbidden Technique: Yin Healing Wound Destruction]. Of course, this wasn't Naruto Mobile Game, so the secret scroll didn't grant super armor.

[Forbidden Technique: Yin Healing Wound Destruction] was simply a Medical Ninjutsu. By anticipating an opponent's attack, the user could heal before the enemy struck, reducing the damage taken to a minimum.

With this secret scroll and the Mystical Palm Technique he already knew, Akiyama Shun's ability to stay alive had become terrifying. Even many jonin couldn't compare to him.

Among the S-rank ninjas, Uchiha Itachi (Susanoo) and Hozuki Gengetsu (Second Mizukage) had the most fragments, with eight each.

Among the A-rank ninjas, Namikaze Minato (New Year's Limited) had the most, with twelve.

Among the B-rank ninjas, Haku and Kimimaro both had thirty-six fragments. They'd be unlocked as soon as he got lucky with a draw!

Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin) had reached twenty-eight fragments.

He had a scattering of other fragments as well.

Among the C-rank ninjas, he had gotten Shiranui Genma, Haruno Sakura, and the Konohamaru Corps. They barely improved his combat strength, but they were still somewhat useful.

He had a few other C-rank ninja fragments, too.

As Akiyama Shun was going over what he'd collected in the past few months, someone knocked on the door.

He opened it and found Tsunade there.

"Teacher Tsunade, sorry, I was just thinking about something. Let's head to the Mission Assignment Hall now."

Akiyama Shun had barely taken two steps when Tsunade stopped him.

"We don't need to go today. Didn't you say you wanted to take the Chunin Ninja Exams? I have some news. The exams are in half a month."

After speaking, Tsunade paused to give Akiyama Shun a moment to take it in, then continued, "Unfortunately, since Konoha hosted the previous exams, it's our ally Sunagakure's turn this time."

Akiyama Shun was familiar with Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Its location was terrible, which meant the village's economy was poor, too. The people there could eat sand until they were full every day.

It was also the fuse that ignited the Third Shinobi World War.

And it was the first to withdraw from the Third Shinobi World War.

"By the way, the Chunin Ninja Exams are usually held in teams of three, but everyone else already has a team. Since you graduated early, there are only two Genin in your graduating class, counting you. That kid is the only one who can team up with you."

That kid?

Akiyama Shun already knew who Tsunade meant.

"Kakashi."