Commentary

A few minutes ago, somewhere in the mountainous area of the exam grounds.

Long hung up the communicator, clasped his hands behind his back, and continued to observe the images on the various large screens surrounding him.

This was the monitoring room for the Chunin Exams' field exercise, where the vast majority of the exam area was under all-weather surveillance via Water Style and electronic monitoring equipment; it was also the final destination for the intelligence-gathering examinees.

A silver-haired, purple-eyed boy who looked like a teenager and wore a Jonin uniform walked up to Long and asked, "Has anyone started moving yet?"

"Yes." Long kept his eyes fixed on the screens as he replied, "It is examinee number thirteen, Kanna; he inquired about the coordinates of number eight, Tsukiyo Usagi."

This boy was Yagura, whom Fuyuki had mentioned; he was currently observing the Chunin Exams in his capacity as a Jonin.

"Lord Long, a call from examinee number fifteen, Ringo Ameyuri," a Chunin shouted.

Long covered his headset and nodded, "Put the call through."

After the crackle of static, a cold, clear female voice rang out.

"Proctor, is it? I request the coordinates of examinee number five."

"Number five, Yuji, are you sure?" Long asked indifferently, following exam protocol. "Each call costs ten points; if your score is insufficient at the time of final settlement, you will be disqualified."

"No need for reminders, I am sure."

"Then wait a moment." Long looked up, his gaze sweeping across the screens, and he quickly locked onto Yuji.

After telling Ringo Ameyuri the coordinates that were constantly scrolling on the screen, the call ended.

"Lord Yagura, there is a result," a Chunin sitting at the console suddenly called out.

"Oh? How did it go?"

"Fuyuki Sanzenryo was defeated and fled; he seems to have been injured, but due to the Hidden Mist Technique, we were unable to discern the specific details of the battle," the Chunin replied.

"Is that so? It seems he is still a bit inferior to Zabuza," Yagura nodded, sighing.

Long also heard the Chunin's report, but he showed no reaction.

Before Long could even rest for a moment, another exclamation came.

"Attention everyone! Examinee number thirteen, Kanna, is charging toward examinees number eight and nine. The coordinates are in the Tiger Sector. He is moving very fast; he is expected to reach the target location in four to five minutes. Will relevant personnel please prepare for surveillance."

"Keep only the surveillance on all examinees, turn everything else off!" Long immediately ordered. "Switch the feed to Kanna! Track him the whole way!"

In this exam, every battle needed to be recorded and filed, not only to evaluate the examinees' grades but also to judge their abilities, character, potential, and other aspects.

Kanna was an examinee being watched with particular focus; many people wanted to know if this son of the Mizukage Aide would surpass his father or prove to be a disappointment.

Soon, all the staff in the room were in motion, adjusting channels and then aiming the feeds at Kanna.

On a screen to the left, Kanna stepped on the water without haste, then suddenly vanished from the screen and appeared in the next frame. The Chunin in charge of that channel reported helplessly, "There is quite a bit of lag in the equipment for dynamic tracking..."

"No matter." Long waved his hand, his gaze shifting across the screens until, four minutes later, Kanna exited the jungle and reached the rear of Tsukiyo Usagi and the others.

"Lock it here!" Long said decisively. "60-degree full surveillance!"

The view shifted, and images of Kanna from different angles appeared on the screens.

"Translate!" Long beckoned, calling over a beautiful, long-haired woman with glasses.

"What is he saying? Read it out for everyone."

The female ninja nodded, staring intently at Kanna's lips.

Everyone on site knew a little bit of lip-reading, but in specialized fields, one must defer to the experts; this female ninja was a master in this regard. After all, everyone had different speaking habits, and some even had verbal tics; to accurately identify lip movements required special training.

"He said twelve words: 'Very good, so many people, more than enough.'"

"'No need for such trouble, I will just finish you all off.'"

The female ninja translated Kanna's words sentence by sentence, and a recorder nearby noted them down. This was also an important piece of data for judging a ninja's temperament; some departments had very strict requirements for their members, and personalities that were flighty or eccentric would be rejected.

After hearing these few sentences from Kanna, everyone felt that this was a confident, arrogant child—perhaps even conceited.

He had completely ignored the strategy Long had set—stealth, infiltration, and waiting for an opportunity—choosing instead to go it alone, charging straight into the enemy camp for a frontal assault.

This was undoubtedly very irrational. Although the ninja world generally worshipped lone heroes, from a rational standpoint, maximizing advantages and ensuring the highest possible mission completion rate was what mattered most.

"Action capability: S; Personality: B," Long mused.

To go straight to finding the enemy for a big fight as soon as the exam started showed decent action capability, but his personality was poor; at the very least, many leaders did not like to see subordinates who were this "impulsive."

Capsizing in the gutter was a phenomenon that existed in every era. Look at Hanzo of the Salamander from Amegakure; he was known as a demigod, yet his temperament was cautious to the extreme. He forbade anyone from approaching him without permission, was protected by guards twenty-four hours a day, and even when dealing with unknown rookie ninjas, he would use his full strength, or even resort to despicable and dirty means (like when he kidnapped Konan to deal with Yahiko).

If even a legendary ninja who had reached the pinnacle of the ninja world was that careful, it showed just how cruel the world was. While Kanna's drive was worth praising, in Long's view, it would be better to be a bit more restrained and steady.

On the screen, Kanna rushed forward, knocking over Yong Kong with a single Water Style: Water Cannonball, then struck with the Pulse-Severing Style, knocking Kazama to the ground and even scaring him into admitting defeat.

"Ninjutsu: B-rank; Taijutsu: A-rank," Long evaluated, and the recorder nodded and noted it down.

But just then, Kanna on the screen suddenly spread his arms.

"Kanna, no need to waste time; let me end this battle."

The female ninja was still intently identifying Kanna's lip movements and body language, translating professionally.

"One move, I only need one move to finish you all."

"Take this."

The female ninja's words carried no emotion, leaving her tone flat, yet everyone present could easily imagine just how high-spirited Kanna must have been when he spoke them.

"Looks like he's about to unleash his ultimate move," Long murmured, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

The next moment, a situation occurred that caught everyone off guard.

In the footage, with Kanna at the center, a visible ripple of air surged outward at high speed. Loose stones, stagnant water, weeds—everything on the ground was swept up. Then, Yetsuki and the other ten were struck as if by an invisible giant hammer; their bodies first buckled into a concave shape before they were instantly sent flying backward.

Zzzzt. The screens flickered one after another, then dissolved into a sea of black-and-white static.

The room fell into sudden silence.

"The... the surveillance equipment has been destroyed," a ninja stammered.

Long took a deep breath and said in a low, heavy voice, "Calculate the range."

The ninja began scribbling on paper. Ten seconds later, he looked up and said, "The results are in. It was a powerful shockwave with a diameter of at least twenty meters, or perhaps some kind of invisible attack."

Long nodded, scanned his surroundings, and asked loudly, "Did anyone record the footage from just now?"

"Here!" a ninja reported, raising his hand. He pressed a few keys on the console, and the static-filled screen rewound, returning to the moment just before Kanna raised his hand.

"Four times slow motion!" Long ordered.

The footage played again, and this time, everyone saw it clearly.

When that visible "shockwave" slammed into Yetsuki, her facial muscles instantly collapsed, and her clothes were pressed tightly against her body. A deep red hue appeared on her exposed skin, followed by the splitting of numerous wounds. Before the blood could even spray out, it was forced back by an invisible power, forming a crimson film over her skin. Finally, she was sent flying in defeat, and the screen turned back to static.

The footage recorded by this ninja only focused on Yetsuki, but the other examinees had undoubtedly suffered the same fate.

"Blood squeezed beneath the surface of the skin by some invisible force, then bursting through before it could dissipate, huh?" Long's expression turned grave. "Dispatch the medical team for rescue. Move quickly."

"Recorder, make a correction. Regarding the ninjutsu: S-rank!"

"Kanna should have earned enough points. Record it! Chief Examiner's remarks: Combat prowess far exceeds his peers; personality is straightforward, impulsive, and full of drive; possesses considerable self-confidence. Recommend him for promotion to Chunin!"