"Are you sure you want to do this, Orochimaru?"
It was a bright, sunny morning.
The Third set down the Chunin Exam application in his hand and looked at Orochimaru, who stood before his desk.
Orochimaru had tied up his long hair that day. He wore a green flak jacket, carried a long sword on his back, and had all his gear in place, including arm guards and leg wraps.
"As this child's teacher, I believe he's ready to become a Chunin, sensei."
Orochimaru's answer left no room for argument.
But the Third shook his head. "These are unusual times. You should understand what becoming a Chunin means right now."
"This child has a special identity, and his Fire Style talent is unprecedented... Are you sure you want to do this, Orochimaru?"
It was the same question, but with a deeper meaning behind it.
War. The battlefield.
In just two short months, the embers left by the Second Shinobi World War had spread like wildfire.
After ten years of recovery, every country and every village had regained its military strength.
A new Shinobi World War had broken out. It was clear this one would be even more brutal, and no shinobi village would be able to stay out of it.
And at a time like this, becoming a Chunin...
"As this child's teacher, I believe he's ready, sensei."
Orochimaru answered with the same words.
"For Ruohuo, continuing to take Genin missions would be a waste of his talent and a loss for Konoha."
That was high praise, to say the least.
Especially coming from Orochimaru.
The Third was slightly taken aback, but soon accepted it.
Ruohuo could release the other nature transformations he had "partially" learned in the form of Fire Style.
This was no secret to Konoha High Command.
After all, even with his high-level clearance, Orochimaru didn't have the authority to teach Ruohuo so many jutsu on his own.
That required the Hokage's authorization.
The Third still remembered how astonished he'd been when he learned Ruohuo had this "ability"...
Using Fire Style to perform other nature transformations while retaining some of their characteristics...
Nothing like this had ever happened before. If it could be mastered, it might bring about a revolution throughout the entire Ninja World!
So the Third had approved it right away, authorizing Orochimaru to observe the boy and see if he could uncover this new way of performing jutsu.
Unfortunately.
Based on Orochimaru's observations, the boy's ability seemed to come from his Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan.
Every time the boy performed one of these "mutated" Fire Style techniques, it strained his eyes, making it impossible for him to keep his Sharingan active for long...
Orochimaru called this phenomenon a "mutated Sharingan, a mutated Kekkei Genkai."
Clearly.
The boy's situation was one in a million.
It was unheard of even within the Uchiha Clan.
And because of this, the boy had become a highly sought-after prodigy in the Uchiha Clan.
If something unexpected happened on the battlefield...
"Let me think it over a little longer."
The Third waved a hand, still unwilling to agree on the spot.
"Whatever the case, he only graduated from the Ninja Academy two months ago. It's still a little too soon..."
"I understand, sensei."
Orochimaru raised two fingers. "But if possible, please give the boy a chance."
"He really wants to become a Chunin... As his teacher, I have to support him."
As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru's body vanished in a puff of white smoke—it had been a Shadow Clone.
The front lines were already at war.
As the Hokage's disciple, Orochimaru was heading out to carry out an S-rank mission at the front.
Needless to say, an S-rank mission was dangerous.
"Picking this particular moment to say all that... Hah!"
The Third chuckled and shook his head.
Orochimaru had always been his most cherished and most accomplished disciple.
He had been the one to bring out Orochimaru's talent and teach him to become the man he was now.
The Third had long considered having Orochimaru succeed him as Hokage. If not for his personality, perhaps...
"It seems this child really is having an effect on you too, Orochimaru."
The Third looked again at the Chunin Exam application.
In the candidate photo, the boy wore a serious expression, his large eyes clear and resolute.
"...All right."
"As your teacher, I have to support you too, Orochimaru."
Thump—
The Hokage's official seal came down on the application.
"You're taking the Chunin Exams?"
At the Konoha Military Police Force, Fugaku held Ruohuo's Chunin Exam admission ticket, unable to hide his surprise.
"Yeah. Teacher Orochimaru thought I was ready, so he submitted my application before leaving for his mission. Grandpa Hokage approved it."
"If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be a Konoha Chunin soon."
Ruohuo answered casually.
Just as he'd said, everything had gone smoothly.
Orochimaru supported his bid to become Uchiha Clan Head and submitted the application after two months of training and observation.
And the Third had actually agreed!
Of course, even if he hadn't, Ruohuo had a plan B. It would only mean exercising his clan-head privileges a little early and using Fugaku's official seal...
Now that he had his Chunin Exam eligibility, Ruohuo felt all sorts of rewards beckoning to him.
The Three Tomoe Will of Fire, a B-rank main skill slot, and a B-rank Clan Mission reward...
The clan reward was a mystery, but judging by the previous rewards, it shouldn't disappoint.
And that main skill slot could completely transform a jutsu—even send it soaring to new heights!
Thanks to having a good teacher.
Ruohuo now had a whopping twenty-five C-rank jutsu in his arsenal. That was quite a lot.
Because of Fire Style's characteristics, most of those jutsu overlapped in function. Only a handful could really serve as standard weapons.
The main skill slot had a preview function, so Ruohuo tried them all one by one.
Most reduced the chakra cost and increased the power.
But there was one exception: the Fire Style jutsu Ruohuo had mastered the longest, and the very first one he'd learned—the Great Fireball.
[Main Skill 1 (C-rank): Fire Style: Great Fireball. Main Skill Boost: Power ↑200%, Cost ↓50% (minimum chakra cost: 10)
Main Skill Trait: Absolute Control. Aside from its method of activation, you can freely control this jutsu's form.]
Freely control a jutsu's form...
Honestly, based on Ruohuo's experiments, that one trait alone could replace most Fire Style techniques!
Of course, "mutated Fire Style" was the exception.
Although he didn't mind showing off his talent in front of Orochimaru, Ruohuo wasn't foolish enough to reveal everything.
Besides pretending the techniques took a lot out of him and acting like he couldn't learn them,
Ruohuo often weakened them to throw off Orochimaru's observations.
The true power of most of his mutated Fire Style techniques was far greater than Orochimaru's assessments suggested...
Add in the genjutsu he'd learned from the Uchiha,
and Orochimaru's estimate of his strength was at least seventy percent off...
When you're out in the world, it never hurts to keep a trick up your sleeve.
"Fine..." Fugaku returned the admission ticket to Ruohuo and patted him on the shoulder.
"Good luck, Ruohuo. Don't feel pressured... You're already the pride of the entire Uchiha Clan. It's all right if you fail."
"Your safety comes first."
Fugaku meant every word.
It was a heartfelt concern from the clan head for a younger member.
Especially since that younger member was now the Uchiha Clan's greatest prodigy.
"By the way... You don't have any teammates, do you, Ruohuo?" Fugaku finally realized the problem.
"Don't worry, Big Brother Clan Head."
Ruohuo rose onto his toes and patted Fugaku's shoulder in turn.
Fugaku's face darkened.
"I'm Orochimaru's disciple, and the Uchiha's greatest prodigy. I don't need teammates."
Ruohuo spoke confidently.
"Besides, Teacher Orochimaru put me through two months of Chunin Exam training. During that time, I found a way to clear the exams with one hundred percent efficiency."
"Maybe by this time tomorrow, I'll already be a Chunin."
Before you continue