Night.
At the Yuhi Shinku residence.
In the courtyard of Yuhi Shinku's home, Akiyama Shun and the father and daughter, Yuhi Shinku and Yuhi Kurenai, sat in rocking chairs, basking in the moonlight and feeling the evening breeze.
"Are you really in such a hurry to take the Chunin Exams? Well, your strength is already there, so there's not much point in continuing to be a Genin."
Yuhi Shinku took a sip of water and continued, "But don't get careless. Your team with Kakashi has only two members, unlike the other villages, whose teams all have three. You and Kakashi are at a disadvantage from the start, and since the exams are being held in another village, you could easily be targeted."
Yuhi Shinku wore a very serious expression today as he patiently shared his experience taking the Chunin Exams with Akiyama Shun.
He explained everything in great detail, from the procedure to ways of dealing with all kinds of problems. He went through it all with Akiyama Shun—he might as well have written a ten-thousand-word guide.
"I understand, Uncle Shinku. But I believe in Kakashi's strength, and I believe in my own, too."
After listening, Akiyama Shun replied earnestly. He was truly grateful that Yuhi Shinku was willing to tell him so much.
"Haha, good. It's great for young people to have confidence. Hold on to it. I believe you and Kakashi can do it, too. Just stay cautious and be prepared for anything."
Yuhi Shinku always liked seeing Akiyama Shun's confidence.
"Don't worry, Uncle Shinku. And don't forget, I know the Mystical Palm Technique. If anything happens, at least I can treat it on the spot, right?"
After Akiyama Shun joked, the serious mood immediately lightened.
"Shun, do you want to take some food with you when you leave? I heard the people in Sunagakure eat sand. You definitely wouldn't like that, would you?"
After Yuhi Kurenai said this, Akiyama Shun and Yuhi Shinku both laughed.
"Sure. I'll definitely bring some food tomorrow. Then I'll leave it to you, Kurenai, to pack some for me."
Yuhi Kurenai stood in front of Akiyama Shun with her hands on her hips, looking proud. "Of course! Leave it to me!"
With that, she ran into the house. A moment later, a clatter came from inside. She had probably already started packing food.
Yuhi Shinku watched her with a smile and shook his head, then suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, you haven't met Lord Hokage yet, have you? You'll be leaving the village for the Chunin Exams, so you'll have a chance to meet him then."
The next day.
After getting up, Akiyama Shun first went to the Yuhi residence. With the package Yuhi Kurenai had prepared for him, he arrived at the meeting point right on time.
To his surprise, the Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and several other teams participating in the Chunin Exams were already waiting there.
"Lord Hokage, sorry to have kept you waiting!"
Akiyama Shun immediately bowed in greeting. He had just two words to show:
Loyalty!
The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Akiyama Shun, the stern old man's face broke into a beaming smile.
Just look!
What a good kid!
Talented, polite, and full of the Will of Fire!
"It's all right. We got here early, and you're not late."
As he spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued studying Akiyama Shun, growing more pleased by the moment.
"Come to think of it, this must be our first time meeting. But I'm very familiar with the name of a young genius like you. I was deeply impressed by your article about the Will of Fire. I even kept a copy."
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought again of the article titled The Third Hokage Is the Sun. It was probably the article he'd liked best since becoming Hokage!
Akiyama Shun's face lit up with delight.
"Thank you for the praise, Lord Hokage. I only wrote down what I truly felt."
"It was very well written. I didn't expect you to have the mind of a Hokage at such a young age."
That's a pretty brutal insult, isn't it?
Sarutobi Hiruzen's praise nearly made Akiyama Shun crack.
As he knew, only one person in the original story had ever received this kind of praise.
None other than the most filial person in the world, Kishimoto's most beloved father, Uchiha Itachi!
While Akiyama Shun's thoughts wandered, Sarutobi Hiruzen had come over and patted him warmly on the shoulder to encourage him. Then he walked over to a few nearby Anbu and began giving them instructions.
Kakashi arrived just then. Seeing that Sarutobi Hiruzen was busy, he didn't go over to greet him. Instead, he walked over to Akiyama Shun.
"Akiyama Shun."
Since Hatake Sakumo's death, Kakashi, who had never been much of a talker, had become even more withdrawn. If it hadn't been Akiyama Shun, he probably wouldn't have bothered to speak at all.
After greeting him, Kakashi had nothing else to do, so he kept glancing at Akiyama Shun.
They had always been rivals, so he never would have imagined they'd be taking the Chunin Exams together as teammates this time.
Ever since Akiyama Shun had taught him a lesson with Chidori in the heavy rain six months ago, Kakashi had trained like a madman and taken on missions nonstop. His strength had become incomparable to what it was before!
If he got the chance, Kakashi would really like to find an opportunity to fight Akiyama Shun during the Chunin Exams.
He was genuinely curious how strong Akiyama Shun had become by now.
"Kakashi."
Akiyama Shun politely returned the greeting.
He was used to Kakashi's gaze. Back at the academy, Kakashi and Might Guy had both acted the same way.
As the two greeted each other, Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to have finished giving his instructions to the Anbu. They nodded and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked around at the crowd. "Now we just need to wait for the teacher leading Akiyama Shun and Kakashi's team."
Unlike Akiyama Shun, Kakashi had shut himself off so completely because of his emotional struggles that he basically refused to communicate with anyone. That was why Sarutobi Hiruzen had never assigned him a team leader.
As for Kakashi, Sarutobi Hiruzen planned to give him some time to be alone and sort himself out. After the students at the Ninja Academy graduated, he would assign Kakashi a team leader.
Since Akiyama Shun was taking the Chunin Exams this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen simply assigned Kakashi to his team for the occasion.
The nearby Jonin showed no displeasure at Sarutobi Hiruzen's words.
There was no helping it. Who didn't know who Akiyama Shun's team leader was?
Tsunade!
The granddaughter of the First and the Second, a student of the Third, and one of the Sannin!
If someone that important was late, she must have been busy with something. Waiting a little was no big deal. It wasn't as if a few minutes mattered.
Tsunade knew how important today was and wasn't very late. In less than five minutes, everyone saw her arrive.
But...
Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as he looked in Tsunade's direction.
Why were there two other figures beside her?
Jiraiya and Minato?
What were those two doing here?
Before you continue