The first written exam was easy for Genma. He had an enormous reserve of knowledge—enough to qualify as a Jonin.
He finished and handed in his paper after half an hour, which made Uchiha Obito, still chewing on his pen as he agonized over the questions, incredibly envious.
"Man, I wish I'd taken my studies seriously."
Uchiha Obito sighed to himself, full of regret.
After leaving the examination hall, Genma thought for a moment, then created a clone and had it activate Wood Release Chakra Mode.
He knew ordinary Sensory Ninjutsu would never be able to find White Zetsu.
But Wood Release Chakra Mode might.
After all, White Zetsu was a plant person!
Once it had activated Wood Release Chakra Mode, Genma's clone immediately used the Transformation Technique, turned into a crow, and flew near the Uchiha Clan's residential district.
It didn't enter the Uchiha Clan Compound. The Sharingan could see chakra. Its Transformation Technique could conceal its chakra from ordinary Sensory Ninjutsu, but it could never fool dojutsu like the Sharingan or Byakugan, which could see chakra directly.
He had to admit, White Zetsu's Transformation Technique was incredibly powerful. Even the Byakugan couldn't see through it.
The crow landed in a tree. As it looked toward the Uchiha Clan Compound, its senses spread out around it.
Genma's clone sensed the area with great care, trying to make its perception as precise as possible.
But even after nearly exhausting its chakra, it still couldn't detect White Zetsu.
Perhaps it had already hidden itself. Or perhaps it wasn't monitoring the Uchiha Clan at all.
Back at home, Genma received the clone's memories and felt a little disappointed.
"If Uchiha Madara really isn't monitoring the Uchiha Clan, then Uchiha Obito becoming Madara's pawn might actually have been a coincidence."
Following that line of thought, Genma couldn't help wondering, If Uchiha Obito hadn't been around, would Uchiha Madara have specifically sought out another Uchiha to serve as his replacement after his death, keeping watch over Nagato and guiding him to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan?
But since the Rinnegan is in Nagato's possession, shouldn't he be the first choice? Otherwise, Madara should have transplanted the Rinnegan into a suitable Uchiha.
"The Battle of Kannabi Bridge really was a major turning point in fate."
Genma sighed to himself.
Unfortunately, the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was something he could hardly change for certain.
Or rather, even if he took Team Kakashi's place and took part in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, he couldn't be sure that Kakashi and Uchiha Obito wouldn't end up reliving the original timeline in another battle.
"Still, although Kakashi hasn't graduated early or become a Chunin at six, he's definitely much stronger than he was at the same point in the original timeline."
Putting those thoughts aside, Genma continued studying Sealing Techniques.
In the entire shinobi system, Sealing Techniques were exceptionally special.
They could even be considered one of the few shinobi powers capable of dealing with the Otsutsuki.
I need to learn them. Later, I'll go wild rewriting the setting!
Three days later.
The second round of the Chunin Ninja Exams began: the team battle.
It was completely different from the Chunin Ninja Exams in Naruto's era. The team battle was more like a tournament.
It was held at the training ground, without an audience. Teams drew lots and took turns fighting at their assigned times.
At two in the afternoon, outside the training ground, Genma and the others saw their opponents.
"What are the odds!"
Genma raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. The team across from them consisted of Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, and Tobitake Tonbo, whose head was wrapped in bandages. At a glance, the bandages seemed to cover his eyes, and his Forehead Protector was tied around his neck.
They were all former classmates.
After exchanging greetings, both teams entered the examination grounds.
At the examiner's signal, the teams lined up across from each other, more than ten meters apart.
On Genma's side, Yamashiro Aoba stood at the front, with Genma and Shizune side by side behind him.
On the other side, Sarutobi Asuma stood at the front, with Yuhi Kurenai and Tobitake Tonbo side by side behind him. Both teams had formed a triangular formation.
Once the examiner saw that both sides were ready, he raised the triangular flag in his hand, then brought it down.
Begin!
Yamashiro Aoba immediately formed hand seals. Sarutobi Asuma charged forward, while Tobitake Tonbo raised his hand and threw Shuriken to cover Asuma, then rushed in after him.
Yuhi Kurenai formed hand seals, and her figure quickly vanished from Genma and the others' sight.
A Genjutsu!
Genma raised his hand and threw Shuriken, knocking Tobitake Tonbo's Shuriken out of the air, then launched a Genjutsu.
Demonic Illusion: Spider Binding!
Sarutobi Asuma, charging straight at them, fell under the Genjutsu. His body suddenly toppled forward like a piece of wood.
"Damn, it's the Binding Technique!"
Sarutobi Asuma realized he'd been caught and immediately tried to release himself from the Genjutsu, but couldn't.
Tobitake Tonbo, behind him, was startled. He hadn't expected Sarutobi Asuma to be taken down at the very start.
He was just about to form hand seals and release the Genjutsu when Yamashiro Aoba's Great Fireball Technique came roaring toward him.
He had no choice but to use the Body Flicker Technique to dodge.
After taking care of Sarutobi Asuma with a Genjutsu, Genma flashed behind Shizune and reached out to seize Yuhi Kurenai by the neck as she crept forward under cover of the Genjutsu.
Boom!
The ground exploded. Genma slammed Yuhi Kurenai into it. Her head rang, and her entire body went limp, leaving her unable to muster an ounce of strength.
Watching this, the examiner couldn't help twitching an eyelid. That guy really doesn't go easy on the girls!
What he didn't know was that Genma had held back eight-tenths of his strength.
If he'd used all of it, Yuhi Kurenai's neck would have snapped.
After letting go of the dazed Yuhi Kurenai, Genma turned to see Yamashiro Aoba and Tobitake Tonbo already locked in combat.
They were evenly matched in Taijutsu, and neither could gain the upper hand in a short time.
Genma immediately joined in, using Lightning Flicker to boost his speed and easily take down Tobitake Tonbo.
"Team Sakumo wins!"
The examiner waved the flag and announced the result.
Shizune hurried over to revive Yuhi Kurenai, while Genma released Sarutobi Asuma from the Genjutsu.
Climbing to his feet, Sarutobi Asuma blushed a little. "Genma, I didn't expect your Genjutsu to be even better than Yuhi Kurenai's."
It was the first time he'd been taken down in a single move by someone his own age.
Genma smiled. "You just don't know enough about me."
Caught off guard, even Hatake Sakumo, a Jonin, wouldn't be able to break his Genjutsu.
After all, Hatake Sakumo might not have been especially skilled at casting Genjutsu, but he was exceptionally good at dispelling it.
Sarutobi Asuma smiled wryly and shook his head. "The gap between us is just too big."
Yuhi Kurenai came over. She didn't blame Genma for being rough with her; instead, she said in shock, "Genma, you're incredibly strong. You're way beyond what someone your age should be capable of."
Shizune explained from the side, "Genma has mastered Lady Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred."
Yuhi Kurenai understood. Then she said, "I hope I get to fight you in the third round, so we can test our Genjutsu against each other."
Genma nodded. "If we get the chance, sure."
That was the end of the second round.
The two teams left, making room for the others to fight.
But as soon as they stepped outside, they saw Kakashi and Nohara Rin waiting.
"Kakashi, Rin!"
Genma greeted them with a smile. After thinking it over, he turned to Yamashiro Aoba and the others. "You can go ahead. I'll stay and watch Kakashi and the others fight."
At that, both Shizune and Yamashiro Aoba decided to stay and watch.
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