Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin)

After the battle between Akiyama Shun and Hatake Kakashi concluded, the award ceremony did not begin immediately.

After all, anyone could see that Hatake Kakashi had been beaten up by those few punches from Akiyama Shun and was in dire need of medical attention; no matter how important the ceremony was, the wounded had to be considered first.

Once Akiyama Shun helped Hatake Kakashi out of the arena, Hatake Kakashi was promptly taken away by several Konoha medical ninjas for treatment.

"You really are full of surprises."

Tsunade leaned against the wall, a faint smile on her face as she looked at Akiyama Shun.

"Is that so? I personally feel that me taking the championship is nothing to be surprised about."

Akiyama Shun waved his hand dismissively.

"That's not what I meant. Never mind, congratulations on winning the championship!" Tsunade said, giving Akiyama Shun a thumbs-up.

Afterward, Akiyama Shun left the Chunin Exams venue with Tsunade.

In reality, when Akiyama Shun had drawn Ice Release and obtained Haku, he had already prepared an explanation for its origin.

Unfortunately, his preparations turned out to be unnecessary.

Upon meeting Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, they didn't mention the matter at all.

They only praised Akiyama Shun's performance, completely ignoring the situation regarding his Ice Release.

It was only when he was leaving that Sarutobi Hiruzen patted Akiyama Shun on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Child, do not be timid; unleash your Kekkei Genkai to your heart's content. Always remember, Konoha will forever be your strongest backing."

After Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, Jiraiya, Namikaze Minato, and even Tsunade, who stood behind him, looked at Akiyama Shun and offered him encouraging expressions.

Huh? Was I being timid?

Akiyama Shun scratched his head in confusion, though he still agreed verbally.

"I have always trusted Konoha, and in the future, I will certainly unleash my Kekkei Genkai to the fullest!"

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction and gave Akiyama Shun's shoulder a light pat.

"Go on. Hatake Kakashi should be treated by now, and the award ceremony is about to begin. Go and enjoy the cheers that belong to the champion!"

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the Chunin Exams award ceremony officially began.

When Akiyama Shun stood on the podium as the champion, the entire venue erupted in thunderous cheers.

His performance was well-deserved; he had crushed his way through the tournament, and the grand finale featured a spectacular display of ninjutsu offense and defense against Hatake Kakashi, topped off by his stunning use of Ice Release.

From this moment on, the name Akiyama Shun was no longer limited to just "Konoha Genius"!

"Congratulations, Akiyama Shun. From now on, you are a Chunin of Konoha."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen presented the award personally, and the moment Akiyama Shun reached out to accept his Chunin certificate, his rank finally changed.

[Name: Akiyama Shun]
[Ninja: Hatake Kakashi (Youth), Haku, Yakushi Nonō, Uchiha Itachi (Rookie), Gekko Hayate, Uzumaki Naruto (Academy Student), Shiranui Genma, Haruno Sakura, Konohamaru Corps]
[Summoning Beast: None]
[Secret Scroll: Earth Style: Rock Fall (LV2), Water Style: Water Shield (LV1), Forbidden Jutsu: Yin Healing Wound Destruction (LV1)]
[Artifact: None]
[Rank: Chunin (3200)]
[Gold: 2324]

The instant he saw his rank upgrade, Akiyama Shun immediately claimed his welfare reward. Just as he had expected, 3200 gold was in his hands!

5524 gold!

That was a total of 34 pulls, enough for three ten-pulls!

Akiyama Shun looked around at the lively scene, the champion's podium beneath his feet, the Third Hokage in front of him, and the Third Kazekage not far away.

This place was truly a land of good fortune.

It was time to pull, wasn't it!?

Let's go!

[Summoning Beast]

[Shukaku Fragment X1 (3/100)]

[Secret Scroll]

[Water Style: Water Shield Fragment X3 (3/10)]

[Lightning Style: Earth Flash Fragment X1 (4/5)]

[...]

[S-Rank Ninja]

[Otsutsuki Toneri (Final Chapter) Shards X4 (8/100)]

[Rank A Ninja]

[Haruno Sakura Shards X4 (12/40)]

[Rank B Ninja]

[Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin) Shards X16 (40/40)]

[Uzumaki Kushina (Winter Limited) Shards X4 (4/40)]

[Rank C Ninja]

[Uchiha Madara (Youth) Shards X2 (2/10)]

[Senju Tobirama (Youth) Shards X1 (1/10)]

[...]

As expected, my luck in this place is truly decent.

Not only did I pull a Summoning Beast equivalent to an S-Rank ninja, but I also got quite a few Rank B ninja shards without having to rely entirely on the pity system.

It's just...

Why are there only 4 shards left for [Kimimaro]? I didn't pull a single one in these 30 draws, yet [Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin)] popped up four times?

What kind of logic is that?

There isn't much to say about the Rank C side. After [Uchiha Madara (Youth)] appeared, this [Senju Tobirama (Youth)] followed the scent and showed up too, though it's a pity neither resulted in a full card.

However, if he had to choose, Akiyama Shun was looking forward to [Uchiha Madara (Youth)] the most. For no other reason than the fact that he possesses the Sharingan!

After organizing his gains, Akiyama Shun immediately synthesized [Orochimaru (Konoha Sannin)].

Now, counting [Haku] and [Hatake Kakashi (Youth)], he already had three Rank B ninjas!

Seeing the uncontrollable smile on Akiyama Shun's face, Sarutobi Hiruzen assumed he was simply happy about the awards ceremony.

The awards ceremony didn't take much time and concluded quickly.

Throughout the entire ceremony, besides Akiyama Shun, the two others who received the loudest cheers were Kakashi and Karura.

Although these two lost, their combat performance was witnessed by everyone present.

It is no exaggeration to say that if these three were separated and placed in any previous ordinary Chunin Exams, they would have become champions with crushing force without any suspense.

Karura was simply too unlucky; she happened to run into Akiyama Shun and Kakashi during the Chunin Exams, which is why she fell in the quarterfinals.

The Chunin Exams concluded perfectly.

The people from Konoha prepared to leave. They had come here specifically for the Chunin Exams, and now that the exams were over, it was naturally time for them to go.

After all, Konoha had such a pleasant environment; they had no reason to stay here and keep eating sand.

And so, amidst the "joyful" send-off from the people of Sunagakure—who were, in reality, filled with reluctance—the Konoha group departed Sunagakure.

On the road back to the village, Jiraiya would pull Akiyama Shun aside from time to time to discuss the content of his books.

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't hear what they were talking about, he felt very gratified every time he saw the two of them huddled together in private discussion.

Possessing both literary talent and a firm Will of Fire, especially with such exceptional ability as a ninja.

Simply perfect!

That night, Jiraiya called Akiyama Shun to a corner once again to ask about potential themes.

"Teacher Akiyama Shun, do you have any recommendations regarding themes?"

If other ninjas were to see this, it would be hard to imagine that Jiraiya, one of the Sannin who shook the Ninja World, would show such a humble and eager-to-learn expression toward a student.

"Hmm, how about 'Small Horse Pulling a Big Cart'?" Akiyama Shun replied casually.

"Ah? What does that mean?"

Jiraiya decided to listen humbly; every time he asked Akiyama Shun for advice, he learned quite a bit of new knowledge.

"Well, it means..."

As Akiyama Shun explained, Jiraiya nodded continuously, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"So that's it! Teacher Akiyama Shun is truly learned and talented!"