The Closer One Gets to Ink, the Blacker One Becomes (Seeking Follow-ups on Tuesday!)

Watching the match?

No, Kazekaze Genma is here to witness the legendary scene!

The group chatted idly while they waited, and before long, Might Guy and the others arrived.

As the time drew near, Might Guy and his team had already entered the exam grounds, but Uchiha Obito had yet to show up, leaving Shizune and Yamashiro Aoba to exchange glances.

Kakashi couldn't help but complain, "I told you I wasn't wrong, didn't I?"

"It's because you always spoil him, Rin, that his habit of being late never gets fixed."

Nohara Rin felt a bit embarrassed, but she still comforted Kakashi with confidence, "It's fine, Obito must have been delayed by something."

"He'll definitely make it in time for the exam!"

Kakashi snorted, "Who knows?"

Fortunately, Uchiha Obito did not betray his title as the ultimate last-minute arrival king. Seeing that time was running out, he finally came sprinting over, panting, "Sorry, I'm late!"

Nohara Rin breathed a sigh of relief and said happily, "See? I told you Obito would make it!"

Kakashi, however, was full of irritation. He put one hand on his hip, pointed at Uchiha Obito, and shouted with wide eyes, "Hurry up, we're about to be disqualified!"

Seeing that Uchiha Obito had finally arrived, Shizune and Yamashiro Aoba couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief for him.

Kazekaze Genma, who was just there to watch the show, spoke up, "Alright, get in there!"

The three of them went inside, while Kazekaze Genma and his two companions watched the match from behind the iron fence.

"With Kakashi's strength, he shouldn't have any problems, right?" Shizune asked.

Kazekaze Genma nodded, "Kakashi will definitely be fine."

"Might Guy and the others have decent strength, but compared to Kakashi, there is still a significant gap."

The current Might Guy is not yet outstanding; he is merely average.

He won't become extraordinary until he masters the Eight Inner Gates Formation Technique.

However, the highlight right now is on Uchiha Obito.

As the examiner waved the flag, the battle began.

Uchiha Obito immediately leaped forward to launch an aggressive attack, forming hand seals to unleash the Great Fireball Technique.

But as he inhaled, a candy in his mouth blocked his throat, preventing his chakra from flowing, and his face turned red from the strain.

Watching Uchiha Obito get kicked away by Might Guy, Shizune and Yamashiro Aoba were left dumbfounded.

This is just too ridiculous!

Coming back to his senses, Yamashiro Aoba adjusted his sunglasses, "We must take this as a warning."

Shizune looked at his sunglasses, "Aoba, do you want to take those off?"

Yamashiro Aoba hesitated.

Kazekaze Genma laughed, "Sunglasses are indeed not suitable for night combat unless they are specially customized."

"But in daytime combat, sunglasses do have their uses, such as blocking glare."

Yamashiro Aoba nodded, "I'll try getting some custom ones, and if that doesn't work, I'll take them off at night."

Nodding, Kazekaze Genma glanced at the battle, which was nearing its end, and said, "Let's go, the final round is in three days."

The three of them turned and left.

Meanwhile, in the exam monitoring room.

In front of the screen, watching Uchiha Obito's embarrassing display, Namikaze Minato felt very awkward.

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched and couldn't help but sigh, "This child..."

Namikaze Minato quickly said, "I will do my best to guide him."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, took a puff of his pipe, and asked, "How much do you know about Kazekaze Genma?"

Namikaze Minato was taken aback, "Eh, this... I wouldn't say I know him well."

"I've only heard Kakashi mention that Genma's strength is unfathomable."

"Furthermore, he possesses extraordinary talent unlike anyone else, capable of developing ordinary ninjutsu in incredible ways."

Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered, "If that's what Kakashi says, it seems the two of them will provide a very spectacular duel in this assessment."

Namikaze Minato smiled, "Sakumo-senpai also holds Genma in very high regard, and as far as I know, Genma has a very good relationship with Tsunade-sama."

"It is said that his talent in Medical Ninjutsu is astonishing."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded; he was aware of that much.

Genma's medical skills had already surpassed those of his mother, Ritsuka.

At this age, it is indeed astonishing.

"Let's take a look at the exam three days from now!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen said.

Namikaze Minato nodded: "Yes!"

After parting ways with Shizune and the others, Genma returned to the forest to train.

To fully transform from the Wood Release Chakra Mode into a true Kekkei Genkai, he could not stop his cultivation; he had to absorb the power of plant cells every day to alter his constitution as much as possible.

Fortunately, possessing a chakra volume on par with the One-Tail significantly increased his endurance; otherwise, with his initial chakra levels, such a subtle transformation would likely have taken a decade.

After eating his fill, Genma pondered to himself: "First, I need to modify the Summoning Technique to call Nawaki's soul back from the Pure Land and overcome Tsunade's Hemophobia."

"That will surely net me a significant amount of Setting Value. Once I secure Wood Release, my next step will be to accumulate enough Setting Value to modify the Chakra Refinement Technique again."

"The vast, omnipresent natural energy will be the next version."

Genma had already thought through his future path many times and had multiple plans in place.

But regardless of the path, chakra remained the core of everything.

As the days passed, the third stage of the Chunin Exam soon began.

This time, it was held in a massive indoor training ground.

All the genin participating in the third stage gathered here, standing on the spectator stands surrounding the arena.

Beneath the giant stone statues of the Hokage, a Special Jonin stood as the proctor.

The names of the combatants were displayed on an electronic screen.

Genma was long past being surprised by this.

The technology in the Naruto World had always been a mystery.

Take air conditioning or electricity, for example; these things were already widespread, not just now, but even back in the era of Senju Tobirama.

Computers were used extensively at the Konoha Hospital.

There were also many other highly advanced medical devices.

At this moment, Genma knew that the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was surely watching them from in front of a monitor.

Once everyone had arrived, two names immediately appeared on the electronic screen.

"Shizune, Nohara Rin!"

The proctor shouted loudly.

He hadn't expected the first match to be between two medical ninjas.

Genma was lost in thought.

It seemed this wasn't necessarily a random matchup.

"I'm going then."

Shizune said.

Genma smiled: "Believe in yourself, you can do it."

Yamashiro Aoba said: "Good luck!"

Shizune nodded, then leaped from the spectator stand and landed in the arena.

Not far away, Nohara Rin entered the arena amidst the cheers of Uchiha Obito.

The proctor, Hisato Yuto, glanced at the two and asked: "Are you ready?"

Shizune and Nohara Rin exchanged a look, then nodded in unison: "Ready!"

Hisato Yuto immediately raised his hand and swung it down: "Begin!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Shuriken flew through the air; both girls chose to test each other with ninja tools almost simultaneously.

With a metallic clatter, the shuriken fell to the ground.

Shizune raised her hand, firing a Sleeve Arrow, and immediately charged toward Nohara Rin.

Nohara Rin was startled and flipped out of the way of the Sleeve Arrow, but Shizune seized the opportunity to close the distance, wielding a Kunai to launch a fierce assault, forcing Nohara Rin into her own offensive rhythm.

On the spectator stand, Uchiha Obito watched nervously, shouting "Go!" repeatedly.

Kakashi snapped: "Shut up, idiot!"

Just as Uchiha Obito opened his mouth to retort, Kakashi added: "You're only going to distract Rin."

Uchiha Obito opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally gave up unhappily before saying worriedly: "Kakashi, Rin looks like she's losing ground!"

"Will she lose if this keeps up?"

Kakashi analyzed calmly: "It won't be that fast."

"Although Rin has fallen into her opponent's rhythm, Shizune does not possess an absolute advantage either."

"There is no significant gap between the two in terms of taijutsu."

Uchiha Obito let out a long sigh: "That's a relief."

"As long as Rin holds on, she will definitely win!"

Kakashi, however, was not so optimistic, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward Genma not far away.

With a companion like that, Shizune likely won't be taken down so easily, right?