Chunin Assessment

Dan Katō took Nichigetsu on missions, and the two once again became mission fanatics. Nichigetsu began taking on C-rank missions, since they paid considerably better.

Sometimes, even Dan Katō felt they were taking on too many missions. Whenever he wanted to take a break, Nichigetsu would shake his head helplessly and mutter, "Sigh, is this what it means to want to become Hokage? Lady Tsunade doesn't like people who lack motivation."

Dan Katō immediately sprang back to life and continued taking missions.

They caught fugitives, fought bandits, resettled refugees, and sometimes hunted down rogue ninja who had committed crimes. Nichigetsu soon saved up a tidy sum. Of course, he would never slaughter an entire bandit stronghold, wipe out a bandit den, or massacre rioters. He wouldn't do anything so cruel and pointless. After defeating the bandits and fugitives, he tied them all up and handed them over to the Land of Fire authorities to be imprisoned. Putting those prisoners to work building roads and reservoirs was the best way to make use of their abilities.

Dan Katō often sparred with Nichigetsu. Nichigetsu's endless array of techniques taught Dan Katō a great deal, and Dan Katō also passed on all his combat skills and experience. Drawing on his own knowledge, Nichigetsu had created several Gentle Fist finishing moves, such as [Gentle Fist Art: Five-Finger Heart-Piercing Break]. They required medical knowledge of human anatomy to use, and they were Nichigetsu's trump cards. Bringing them out without warning could catch an opponent off guard and secure victory.

Nichigetsu was fascinated by the methods ninja used to conceal themselves during missions. Dan Katō therefore taught him how to control his breathing, suppress fluctuations in his chakra, and move silently. This was the Stealth Technique. Nichigetsu quickly grasped the essentials. When he hid, his opponent would be all but unable to sense him unless he chose to reveal himself.

Dan Katō had to leave on a mission for a while, so Nichigetsu moved his "bedroom" into the Forest of Death to improve his survival skills and gain real combat experience. Yes, the very same Forest of Death from the second round of the Chunin Ninja Exams—the place teeming with giant beasts and poisonous insects.

Nichigetsu explored the forest during the day and slept there alone at night. Every day, he fought wild animals, used the Stealth Technique to hunt, and gathered poisonous insects.

Take the giant centipedes, for example. Centipedes were valuable medicinal ingredients, used to clear the channels and disperse nodules. A centipede that large was especially useful; even its venom was valuable, so it was worth studying. Then there were the giant leeches. Leeches had great medicinal value and could even draw blood toxins from the body.

At first, the giant beasts in the Forest of Death were furious to find a little boy trespassing in their territory. They roared and charged over, intending to eat the insolent brat. Before long, however, they came running back with anguished cries, with Nichigetsu hot on their heels. The beasts felt cheated. It turned out the kid had been pretending to be weak to lure them in. Their hearts must have been ice-cold with fear.

Nichigetsu chased them with a kunai in hand, shouting, "Hey! Don't run! I'm not going to kill you! I'm just collecting medicinal ingredients!"

The beasts ran even faster when they heard that, but they couldn't outrun Nichigetsu's Ninja Footwork. "Roar! Awooo!" A moment later, the forest rang with the beasts' heart-rending howls.

After beating the giant beasts to a pulp, Nichigetsu really didn't kill them—but he didn't let them off lightly, either. If a giant bear attacked him, he would beat it up and then cut off one of its paws to roast for dinner. A giant tiger would lose its tail, which Nichigetsu would stew for lunch. A great bull would lose its beautiful horns, which Nichigetsu kept for medicine.

The poisonous insects had it worst of all. Centipedes, scorpions, spiders, and wasps were all dried and used as medicine. He even raided giant black ant nests. They were high in protein and could treat rheumatism—why pass them up? Eventually, all the giant beasts and poisonous insects hid from Nichigetsu, the scourge of the forest. He couldn't even find a decent-sized animal to hunt anymore, so after a month and a half, he got bored and left.

Later, when ninja came to the Forest of Death for the Chunin Ninja Exams, they found that the largest beasts had either lost a limb or broken a leg. Stranger still, the animals weren't afraid of adults, but they turned and ran as soon as they saw a child. There were also far fewer poisonous insects.

The danger of the Forest of Death had dropped dramatically, allowing a large number of Genin to pass the forest test. The Third Hokage had no choice but to announce that the second round of the Chunin Ninja Exams would be held again. Eventually, the Forest of Death was disqualified as an exam site, and it took several years for it to recover.

After a month and a half of training, Dan Katō concluded that Nichigetsu was qualified to become a Chunin. Nichigetsu also didn't want to be relegated to odd jobs when he went to the battlefield.

Dan Katō therefore suggested to the Third Hokage that Nichigetsu be given a Chunin assessment. The Third Hokage hadn't expected Nichigetsu to improve so quickly. He had only graduated a few months ago, and now he was ready to take the Chunin assessment. When Dan Katō recounted how Nichigetsu had snatched the bells, the Third Hokage nodded repeatedly. Nichigetsu really could become a Chunin. Naturally, the Third Hokage would have preferred him to keep his abilities hidden a little longer, but when he saw the determination in Nichigetsu's eyes, he decided to approve the assessment. After all, even gold had to be brought into the sunlight to shine.

It was wartime, so the Chunin assessment was naturally less complicated than it had been in Naruto's time. It didn't involve competition between ninja villages; they only needed to confirm that Nichigetsu had Chunin-level strength. The Hokage's office notified the relevant people that Nichigetsu would be taking the assessment. After all, it was impossible to become a Chunin without letting everyone know.

The news spread quickly: a five-year-old named Hyuga Nichigetsu, who had graduated only recently, was going to take the Chunin assessment. It made a much bigger splash than the news of his graduation at age five a few months earlier. Before long, most of the ninja still in Konoha had heard about it. Ninja everywhere were talking about it.

"Hey, I heard there's a five-year-old taking the Chunin assessment."

"What? Can he even pass?"

"No idea. I heard he graduated from the Academy just a few months ago."

"He graduated at five?"

"Yeah. Lady Tsunade took him as her disciple, so they made an exception and let him graduate early."

"Oh, that kid. Didn't he get in through connections? Why's he taking the Chunin exam now? What a joke."

"Is he planning to use connections to become a Chunin?"

"No way. The Chunin exams are strict. There are plenty of people keeping watch."

"Right, there's no way to cheat. Besides, why would he need to? If he cheats his way into becoming a Chunin, he'll have to take Chunin missions. Without Chunin-level strength, he'd just be getting himself killed!"

"Now that you mention it, could this kid really have the strength of a Chunin?"

"A five-year-old Genin is possible. A five-year-old Chunin? I doubt it."

"Hey, stop guessing. We'll find out once the assessment's over. Too bad we have missions to do, or we could go watch."

"Boring. What's there to see? Maybe the Hokage's office will come out and refute the rumor in a bit."

Dan Katō took Nichigetsu to the Chunin assessment. They entered a large building with a spacious arena and a two-tiered gallery around it. Quite a few people were already standing in the gallery. The Third Hokage stood in the middle, smiling at Nichigetsu. Nichigetsu bowed slightly to him, then secretly glanced around the gallery, a little surprised.

"The one on the Third Hokage's left, with bandages covering half his face and a sinister look, must be Shimura Danzō. Has he already had an ordinary Sharingan transplanted into his left eye? And the bespectacled man on the right, along with the woman with her hair tied up, must be Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Looks like Torifu Akimichi and Kagami Uchiha have already passed away."

"Wait, Hiashi and Hizashi are here too, along with the clan head and several elders? A few members of the Uchiha Clan are here as well. Are they elders? Are the Akimichi, Yamanaka, Nara, Aburame, and Inuzuka Clans all represented? Huh? Are those people from the Hatake and Kurama Clans? Wow, I'm only taking an exam. Did this really need to draw so many people? The Third Hokage was right. I've attracted quite a bit of attention. Good thing the Third Hokage found me a teacher to back me up. Once I become a Chunin and go out on missions, we won't have to get in each other's way."

Though those thoughts ran through his mind, Nichigetsu still bowed to everyone in the gallery.

The Third Hokage nodded and announced, "The assessment may begin!"

A Jonin came over to Nichigetsu and said, "I'm the examiner. Genin Hyuga Nichigetsu, since this is wartime, the Chunin exams have been simplified into an assessment. The rules are simple: you need only defeat the examiner to prove that you have Chunin-level strength. Then you'll pass. Understand?"

"So they've just taken the third-round Chunin exam and turned it into an assessment," Nichigetsu thought to himself. He nodded. "Understood!"

The Jonin nodded. "All right, let's begin the assessment." He pointed to a side door and called out:

"Hyuga Nichigetsu, this is your opponent! Come out, Chunin Hyuga Hiroshi!"