Making History

The four members of the Sunagakure team froze in place.

Kato Yo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and pulled out the Heaven Scroll with trembling hands.

A wise man knew when to yield!

When faced with a super-genius who was clearly in a league of his own, it was better not to resist.

The two teammates beside him looked as if they wanted to speak, but hesitated.

Passing the Chunin Ninja Exams was important, of course, but staying alive mattered more.

As for the Sunagakure ninja on the ground, he was already pretending to be dead.

Uchiha Ryūha took the scroll. It felt heavier than expected.

He didn't even glance at the four Sunagakure ninjas. He turned and walked back to his teammates.

Looking at the ferocious tiger before him, he sighed.

It seemed impossible to tame it. He might as well learn the Summoning Technique after the Chunin Ninja Exams.

It was a shame Kido didn't seem to have any way to tame beasts.

"Let's go."

Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki snapped out of their daze and hurried after him. As they passed the Sunagakure team, they held their backs straight—though their legs were still a little wobbly.

They'd thought they would have to face life-and-death crises to take part in these Chunin Ninja Exams.

They hadn't expected that all they had to do was cheer from the sidelines.

Only after Team Seven had disappeared into the depths of the forest did Kato Yo's legs give way. He nearly collapsed to the ground.

"What... what kind of jutsu was that?" he murmured. "He didn't make any Hand Seals at all... I could barely even sense his Chakra..."

"Is this what Konoha's top talent is like?" Xinyuan Yi felt ice-cold from head to toe. He looked at the tiger still twitching on the ground.

He formed Hand Seals and used Fire Release to end its life.

Central Tower, at the heart of the Forest of Death.

When Team Seven pushed open the heavy iron door and entered the spacious hall,

the examiner seated behind the long table froze for a moment, then instinctively looked up at the timer on the wall.

[Second Exam Start Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes ago]

The examiner blinked, then looked again at the four members of Team Seven, who were completely unharmed and whose clothes were barely even wrinkled. His voice was full of disbelief:

"You... got the scrolls?"

Ryūha didn't answer. He simply placed the Heaven and Earth Scrolls on the table.

The examiner picked up the scrolls and carefully checked that they were genuine, then looked over the three members of Team Seven.

The two Genin were pale but excited, while the Uchiha boy... was so calm he looked as if nothing had happened.

"Everything checks out..." The examiner wrote down the time on his clipboard. His pen paused, but he couldn't help asking:

"You... didn't run into any other teams? Or... wild beasts?"

Uchiha Ryūha adjusted his glasses. "We did.

"A Sunagakure team, and a tiger."

"And then?"

"The Sunagakure team handed over their scroll. The tiger fell asleep."

The examiner: "..."

He opened his mouth. Looking at Uchiha Ryūha's calm face, he eventually swallowed the words "Are you kidding me?" and said stiffly:

"Team Seven, you've passed.

"Please wait for the other teams in the lounge."

Uchiha Ryūha nodded and led his teammates toward the passage on the side.

The examiner watched them go, then looked again at the glaring "2 hours and 15 minutes" on the timer.

He picked up the communication device beside him and lowered his voice:

"This is Central Tower. Team Seven... Uchiha Ryūha's team has arrived. Their time was 2 hours and 15 minutes.

"They... look as if they haven't been in a fight."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the device before a dignified voice replied, "Understood."

Hokage Building, monitoring room.

A huge crystal ball floated in midair, displaying scenes from different parts of the Forest of Death.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe as he quietly watched Team Seven enter the tower on the crystal ball.

Behind him stood Uchiha Fugaku and the Jonin leading the Kumogakure team.

The man was middle-aged, with dark skin, a muscular build, and a lightning-shaped tattoo on his face. His name was Yotsuki Hayato.

And Yotsuki Kagura?

After losing to Uchiha Ryūha, he was still in the ninja hospital.

"Two hours and fifteen minutes..." Yotsuki Hayato folded his arms, his voice deep. "A new record for the fastest run through the Forest of Death.

"The previous record also belonged to a Konoha super-genius, Uchiha Shisui. He did it in about two and a half hours."

His gaze settled on Ryūha, sharp and intent. "And he's completely unharmed.

"Clan Head Fugaku, your Uchiha have produced quite an extraordinary kid."

Uchiha Fugaku kept his expression neutral, though an almost imperceptible flicker passed through his eyes. "Ryūha certainly has talent."

"Talent?" Yotsuki Hayato scoffed. "Was that 'Seal-less Sealing Jutsu' just now talent too?

"Clan Head Fugaku, let's be frank. A jutsu like that... it's already beyond the scope of a Kekkei Genkai, isn't it?"

Fugaku fell silent.

The Third Hokage slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, the haze obscuring his expression.

"Performing jutsu without Hand Seals..." he murmured. "The last time I saw that kind of ability was with the First."

The monitoring room fell silent.

The First, Senju Hashirama.

The man known as the "God of Shinobi" really could perform Wood Release without Hand Seals.

He could even perform jutsu with a single Hand Seal that would take ordinary ninja dozens.

But what kind of level was that?

The pinnacle of the Shinobi World. A legendary existence.

And now, an eleven-year-old Uchiha boy had displayed a similar quality?

"It's not just the lack of Hand Seals." Yotsuki Hayato stared at the crystal ball, his expression grave. "That jutsu's effect just now... it instantly robbed its target of the ability to move.

"The range was precisely controlled, and it lasted exactly as long as necessary. 'Talent' can't explain that.

"It takes a terrifying degree of Chakra control and a profound understanding of the principles behind Sealing Jutsu."

He turned to the Third Hokage. "Lord Hokage, is this Uchiha Ryūha really only a Genin?"

The Third Hokage didn't answer directly. He watched Ryūha's calm profile on the crystal ball and said slowly:

"Jonin Hayato, the purpose of the Chunin Ninja Exams is to showcase the strength of each village's next generation.

"Konoha has its geniuses. Doesn't Kumogakure have them too?"

Yotsuki Hayato narrowed his eyes, then gave a cold snort and said nothing more.

But the atmosphere in the monitoring room had already changed.

Last year, Kumogakure had kidnapped Uzumaki Kushina, and relations between the two great ninja villages had grown tense.

Now the situation had deteriorated even further.

Uchiha Ryūha.

His name, along with the labels "jutsu without Hand Seals," "a genius comparable to the First," and "fastest run through the Forest of Death,"

began to leave a deep impression on the minds of the Third Hokage, Uchiha Fugaku, and Yotsuki Hayato.

As time passed, the story quietly spread.