Hokage's Invitation!

Upon hearing Tsunade's verdict, the arena erupted in an uproar.

A Jonin, a core pillar of the village's strength, was being discarded just like that? And sentenced to ten years of solitary confinement, no less!

Even if he were released after ten years, he would likely be a broken man.

This was the harshest punishment they had witnessed since the founding of Konoha Village.

"Thud!"

Noji Daishi stumbled and collapsed to the ground. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his face turned deathly pale in an instant, and he felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss; a chill rose from the soles of his feet, surging straight to his brain!

It was over! Everything was over!

He had assumed that once he became a Jonin, he could run rampant through the village. Unless he defected, the village would surely support him for life, allowing him to stand above others!

But now, with Tsunade's verdict, everything he had built vanished like smoke.

A shell-shocked Noji Daishi was dragged away from the arena by two Anbu ninjas without a shred of mercy.

Tsunade and the other high-ranking officials watched the scene with expressionless faces, their eyes devoid of any fluctuation.

It was true that Jonin were the core strength of the village, and their numbers were the foundation of any ninja village, making them incredibly important. That was why every major village was willing to invest great effort into cultivating a Jonin.

In fact, the high-ranking officials had been well aware of Noji Daishi's past actions in the village. However, considering his crimes were not capital offenses, and setting aside his character, Noji Daishi was indeed a relatively capable ninja who had completed many missions and contributed to the village.

Therefore, the village had only assigned Anbu to monitor him, without taking any concrete action.

But what Noji Daishi did today was a fundamental desecration of the rules of Konoha Village. The threat he posed to the village far outweighed his past contributions.

This was a matter capable of shaking the very foundations of the village; if they didn't deal with it now, were they supposed to wait until the spark started a wildfire?!

Furthermore, because of his past behavior, no one in the village liked Noji Daishi, so as he was dragged away, not a single person stepped forward to speak for him.

Seeing this, Noji Daishi's friend, Kameda Hironori, quickly lowered his head, not daring to utter a word.

Although he and Noji Daishi were on good terms privately, to put it bluntly, they were merely drinking buddies. It was fine to bully civilians or boast over drinks, but to expect them to share a bond of life and death, or to sacrifice themselves for one another, was absolutely impossible.

Seeing that Noji Daishi had completely lost his standing, Kameda Hironori even considered jumping in to kick him while he was down, hoping to earn the favor of the Hokage and the high-ranking officials!

It had to be said, Noji Daishi had truly reached a new low in his conduct!

With Noji Daishi taken away, four Jonin repaired the arena, and the Chunin Exams naturally continued.

After confirming his victory in this match, Takizawa Dan left the arena amidst the awe of the crowd.

Regardless of whether he had chakra or whether his body was frail—

He had defeated Hyuga Niuer and Hyuga Niuda in succession, defeated Nochi Yoshino in one move in front of everyone during the Chunin Exams, and then relied on his physical reflexes to forcefully dodge a full-power strike from a Jonin like Noji Daishi!

This series of combat achievements was already extraordinary, even incredible. After all, even the two consecutive "Rookie of the Year" winners, Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke, wouldn't dare claim they could dodge a Jonin's attack relying solely on their physical body!

Before Takizawa Dan left, a green fragment dropped from Noji Daishi's body.

And before Yamato left, a colorless fragment dropped from his!

This left Takizawa Dan astonished.

Although it was normal for fragments to drop, he hadn't expected two to drop at once!

Moreover, the one from Yamato was actually colorless—meaning it was unrated.

However, considering Yamato's Wood Style was an extremely unique elemental jutsu, it was perfectly normal for the system to be unable to categorize it immediately.

As he left the arena, Takizawa Dan deliberately passed by the two fragments and, pretending to tie his shoelaces, picked them up!

Whoosh—whoosh—

A stream of green light and a stream of colorless light entered Takizawa Dan's mind almost simultaneously!

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the ability: Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique (Condenses a massive volume of water in the air, forming a giant waterfall that crashes down, washing over the entire field! Sweeps away all enemies!)]

[Cooldown: 30 minutes]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the ability: Wood Style: Deep Forest Creation (Forms a small forest in front of the host, allowing free control over the growth and positioning of the trees, granting the host omnipotent control, healing, and lethality within the domain!)]

[The host has discovered a colorless attribute fragment for the first time. As a reward, the ability has evolved to its highest form.]

[The host has obtained the upgraded ability: Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence! (The signature jutsu of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, famous throughout the ninja world! Its power is countless times greater than "Wood Style: Deep Forest Creation"!)]

[Cooldown: 7 days]

[Duration: 60 minutes]

[Host's current abilities: Basic Taijutsu, Basic Gentle Fist, Multi Shadow Clone Technique, Wind Style: Kamaitachi Jutsu, Wind Style: Floating Catkin Jutsu, Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique, Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!]

Glancing at his ability list, Takizawa Dan was filled with astonishment.

Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!

This was the signature jutsu of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama; its power was infinite, capable of single-handedly turning the tide of a battle.

It was just a pity that it could only be used for a maximum of 60 minutes at a time, and once used, it required a full 7-day cooldown!

More importantly, the scale of a jutsu like "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence" was simply too vast. If Takizawa Dan were to release it in the center of Konoha Village, he feared the entire village would instantly turn into a forest and cease to exist.

He lacked Yamato's meticulous patience to slowly restore an entire ninja village, and besides, if any casualties were caused, the consequences would be devastating.

Therefore, Takizawa Dan decided that even though he had mastered a technique as heaven-defying as "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence," he intended to keep it hidden as his final trump card, never to be unleashed unless absolutely necessary.

Having made up his mind, Takizawa Dan left the scene without arousing anyone's suspicion.

Looking at his list of abilities, a sense of satisfaction welled up in Takizawa Dan's heart.

He now possessed quite a few trump cards for self-preservation; if he were to bring all his abilities to bear, he could guarantee a safe retreat even when facing a Kage-level powerhouse.

In this dark ninja world, the more powerful the skills one could master, the greater one's chances of survival.

However, Takizawa Dan felt somewhat hesitant about whether he should return to the ranks of the examinees.

He intended to lie low and grow steadily, and returning to the company of his peers was the best way to remain inconspicuous.

Yet, having just displayed such formidable strength, he feared that if he were to return to the examinees so abruptly, he would be instantly swarmed by an overwhelming barrage of questions and crowds.

For Takizawa Dan, who wished to keep his profile low, this was unacceptable.

But if he did not return to his companions, acting alone would be even more conspicuous, and he might even be blamed by the higher-ups for being arrogant and uncooperative.

Sigh... what on earth should I do?

As he walked, Takizawa Dan felt deeply troubled.

Just then, a masked ninja suddenly appeared right in front of him!

Takizawa Dan's eyes narrowed. An Anbu!

"Takizawa Dan, the Hokage requests your presence!"