Departure, Chunin Exam!

"Orochimaru, are you certain you want to do this?"

The morning sun was bright and clear.

The Third set down the Chunin examination application in his hand and looked at Orochimaru, who stood before his desk.

Today, Orochimaru had his long hair tied up, wore a green flak jacket, carried a long blade on his back, and was fully equipped with arm and leg guards.

"As this child's teacher, I believe he is prepared to become a Chunin, Sensei."

Orochimaru's reply was airtight.

However, the Third shook his head and said, "These are special times. You should know what becoming a Chunin entails."

"This child's identity is unique, not to mention his unprecedented talent for Fire Style... Are you certain you want to do this, Orochimaru?"

The same question, now carrying a much deeper meaning.

War. The battlefield.

In a mere two months, the embers left over from the Second Shinobi World War had ignited like a wildfire.

After ten years of recuperation, every nation and every village had restored its military strength.

A new round of the Shinobi World War had broken out, and it was foreseeable that this conflict would be even more brutal, with no ninja village able to remain unscathed.

To become a Chunin at a time like this...

"As this child's teacher, I believe he is ready, Sensei."

Orochimaru used the exact same words in response.

"For Ruohuo, continuing to perform Genin missions is a waste of his talent and a loss for Konoha."

This was an incredibly high assessment.

Especially coming from the mouth of Orochimaru.

The Third was slightly startled, but he soon relaxed.

Ruohuo could release "partial" ninjutsu he had learned—techniques other than Fire Style—in the form of Fire Style.

This was no secret among the upper echelons of Konoha.

After all, no matter how high Orochimaru's clearance was, he could not have taught Ruohuo so many ninjutsu on his own authority.

That required the Hokage's authorization.

Heaven knows how shocked the Third had been when he first learned of Ruohuo's "ability"...

To trigger other ninjutsu using Fire Style while still retaining certain characteristics...

This situation was unprecedented; if it could be mastered, it might bring about a revolution for the entire shinobi world!

Therefore, the Third had approved it immediately and authorized Orochimaru to observe the child to see if this brand-new method of ninjutsu activation could be deciphered.

Unfortunately.

According to Orochimaru's observations, the child's ability likely stemmed from his Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan.

Because every time the child activated this "mutated" Fire Style, it placed a burden on his eyes, making it impossible to maintain the Sharingan for long periods...

Orochimaru called this phenomenon a mutated Sharingan, a mutated Kekkei Genkai.

Clearly.

The child's situation was one in ten thousand.

Even within the Uchiha Clan, it was unheard of.

And precisely because of this, the child had become a red-hot genius within the Uchiha Clan.

If an unexpected situation were to occur on the battlefield...

"Let me consider it further."

The Third waved his hand, still unable to agree on the spot.

"Regardless, he only graduated from the Ninja Academy two months ago. It is still a bit too early..."

"I understand, Sensei."

Orochimaru held up two fingers. "But if possible, I ask that you give the child a chance."

"The child truly wishes to become a Chunin... As his teacher, I must support him."

As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru's body turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished—it was a Shadow Clone.

The front lines had already engaged in battle.

As a disciple of the Hokage, the mission Orochimaru was about to execute was an S-rank frontline assignment.

Since it was an S-rank mission, the danger involved went without saying.

"To specifically choose this moment to say such things... Heh!"

The Third smiled and shook his head.

All along, Orochimaru had been his proudest and most outstanding disciple.

It was he who realized Orochimaru's talent and molded him into what he is today.

The Third had long harbored the idea of having Orochimaru succeed him as Hokage; if not for his personality, perhaps...

"It seems this child is truly influencing you as well, Orochimaru."

The Third looked once more at the Chunin exam application.

In the candidate photo above, the young boy's face was solemn, his large eyes clear and resolute.

"...Very well."

"As your teacher, I must always support you, Orochimaru."

Thud—

The official seal of the Hokage was stamped upon the document.

"You're going to participate in the Chunin exams?"

At the Konoha Military Police Force, Fugaku held Ruohuo's Chunin exam admission ticket, the look of astonishment on his face refusing to fade.

"Yes, Teacher Orochimaru felt I was ready. He submitted the application for me before heading out on a mission, and the Hokage approved it."

"Barring any accidents, I will soon be a Konoha Chunin."

Ruohuo replied nonchalantly.

Just as he had said, everything had gone quite smoothly.

Orochimaru supported his bid to compete for the position of Uchiha Clan head, and after two months of special training and observation, he helped him submit the application.

And the Third actually agreed!

Of course, Ruohuo had a Plan B if he hadn't; it would have been nothing more than exercising the clan head's authority early and using Fugaku's official seal...

With the Chunin exam qualification in hand, Ruohuo felt various rewards were already beckoning to him.

Will of Fire Three-Tomoe, a B-rank main skill slot, and B-rank clan mission rewards...

The clan rewards were unknown, but based on previous ones, they shouldn't be disappointing.

In particular, this main skill slot could be described as a complete transformation for ninjutsu, even a meteoric rise!

Because he had a good teacher.

Ruohuo currently had a reserve of twenty-five C-rank ninjutsu, which was truly a bit excessive.

Limited by the nature of Fire Style, most of these ninjutsu had overlapping functions, and only a few could truly serve as conventional weapons.

The main skill slot had a trial function, so Ruohuo tested them one by one.

They basically all reduced consumption and increased power.

But there was one exception: the Fire Style Ruohuo had mastered the longest and the first one he had ever learned—Great Fireball.

[Main Skill 1 (C-rank): Fire Style · Great Fireball. Main Skill Boost: Power ↑200%, Consumption ↓50% (Minimum chakra consumption is 10%)

Main Skill Trait: Absolute Control. Aside from the activation method, you may control the form of this ninjutsu at will.]

Control the form of the ninjutsu at will...

To be honest, according to Ruohuo's experiments, this single trait alone was enough to replace most other Fire Style techniques!

Of course, excluding "mutated Fire Style."

Although he didn't mind showing his talent in front of Orochimaru, Ruohuo wasn't foolish enough to hold nothing back.

Beyond pretending that his consumption was high and pretending he couldn't learn certain operations, Ruohuo also frequently lowered the power of his techniques to influence Orochimaru's observation records.

The true power of most of his mutated Fire Style techniques far exceeded Orochimaru's assessments...

Coupled with the genjutsu he learned within the Uchiha, Orochimaru's evaluation of his strength was at least 70% behind the reality...

When walking the world, it's never wrong to keep an ace up your sleeve.

"Very well..." Fugaku returned the admission ticket to Ruohuo and patted him on the shoulder.

"Good luck, Ruohuo-kun. Don't feel any pressure... You are already the pride of the entire Uchiha Clan; even if you fail, it doesn't matter."

"Safety first."

These words from Fugaku were sincere.

They were the genuine concern of a clan head for a junior.

Especially since this junior was currently the number one genius of the Uchiha Clan.

"By the way... you don't seem to have any teammates, do you, Ruohuo-kun?" Fugaku finally noticed the issue.

"Don't worry, Clan Head-dage."

Ruohuo stood on his tiptoes and patted Fugaku on the shoulder in return.

Fugaku's face darkened.

"I am Orochimaru's disciple, and the Uchiha's number one genius to boot; I have absolutely no need for teammates."

Ruohuo said confidently, "Besides, Teacher Orochimaru put me through two months of special training for the Chunin exams, and during that time, I already found a way to clear them with one hundred percent efficiency."

"For all I know, by this time tomorrow, I'll already be a Chunin."