Su Zheng's Chunin Exam

In Amegakure, the leader's office.

"Lord Rui, the war with the Sand Village is basically over, and Leader Hanzo will be returning to the village in a few days. We've won!" a ninja from the intelligence department happily reported the front-line situation.

"Mhm!" Kaiyu Rui, sitting in the leader's seat, waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

The Chunin happily left the office, eager to share the news with everyone. The war, which had lasted for a month, was finally coming to an end!

Kaiyu Rui, seated at his desk, smoked his cigarette and thought for a long time before speaking, "Immediately halt all ongoing missions and wrap up any loose ends. Hanzo is returning!"

"Yes, my lord!"

A trusted ninja appeared and then vanished.

The Land of Rain had two major clans: the Kaiyu clan and the Hirare clan. The Kaiyu clan was the backbone of Amegakure, and the previous leader was a ninja from the Kaiyu clan.

Hanzo was originally created as a "weapon," but unexpectedly, he became a powerful figure, gradually exceeding the Kaiyu clan's control. Ever since his rise to power, he had been distancing himself from the Kaiyu clan.

Now, the majority of Amegakure's ninjas were trained by Hanzo, which had weakened the Kaiyu clan's strength, naturally causing their dissatisfaction.

As for the Hirare clan, they were the imperial clan of the Daimyo and were also under Hanzo's control. Their strength had greatly diminished, and they naturally wished to eliminate Hanzo as soon as possible!

The escort mission for Su Zheng and his companions was also part of the plan. By killing Su Zheng, Hanzo's beloved nephew, they intended to frame the Sand Village and incite conflict between the two. However, they didn't expect Su Zheng's strength to repel them.

Kaiyu Rui narrowed his eyes, re-evaluating the feasibility of the plan. His face, shrouded in smoke, appeared even more sinister.

Su Zheng, unaware of these dark schemes, was diligently training, preparing for the upcoming war with the Leaf Village.

In the past few days, as he had predicted, his Sharingan had evolved into the Two Tomoe form without any discomfort.

Su Zheng had a premonition: perhaps his Sharingan was not affected by bloodline limitations. When he awakened the "Mangekyo" Sharingan, he might not suffer the gradual blindness that afflicted the Uchiha clan with usage. Could this be the true Sharingan?

He shook his head. It was still a long way off; why think so much about it!

Yesterday, he had already heard the news: "The war has ended, and Lord Hanzo will be returning soon!"

Today, he had matters to attend to and needed to make arrangements in advance.

After breakfast, leaving the two girls at home, Su Zheng went out.

He arrived at Shota's house. His parents had already left, and only Shota was still sleeping in.

"Hey, Shota, wake up! The sun is already shining on your butt!" Su Zheng patted Shota's drooling sleeping face.

"Mmm~" Shota, still groggy, rubbed his eyes and sat up, replying, "Oh, it's A Zheng. What brings you here?"

"Do you know that our war with the Sand Village is over, and Lord Hanzo will be back in the village soon!"

"Oh, I know. The whole village knew yesterday."

Remembering something, Shota said happily, "A Zheng, you won't believe it, Maki kissed me yesterday!"

He then put on an enraptured expression and added, "That was my first kiss. You have no idea how it felt, tsk tsk tsk..."

Su Zheng froze on the spot. He had originally intended to tell Shota about his plan to go to the battlefield, so his good friend wouldn't resent him for keeping it a secret.

But at this moment, he suddenly realized that Shota and Maki didn't harbor deep hatred for ninjas from other countries, nor did they have strong motivations. Perhaps they should pursue love and other ordinary pursuits, rather than being caught up in the tragedy of ninjas.

Perhaps he had been the one pushing them all along, urging them to train hard and protect the Land of Rain. But what did they themselves think? Su Zheng felt a pang of confusion.

"A Zheng, what's wrong?" Shota called out, seeing Su Zheng lost in thought.

"Oh, it's nothing. Congratulations on your relationship taking another step forward."

"I just came to see you. I'll be heading back now."

"Oh, okay."

Leaving Shota's house, Su Zheng felt a sense of wavering. Was it possible that he was inadvertently forcing them to keep up with his pace, or even asking them to help him achieve his dreams?

Looking at the drizzling rain, Su Zheng found his answer.

"What? You want to apply for the Chunin exam?" Kaiyu Rui looked at Su Zheng in front of him with some surprise.

Hanzo was about to return; what was his purpose in applying for Chunin at this time?

"Yes, my lord. I believe I am ready to be promoted to Chunin."

"Alright, I approve. Prepare for the Chunin trials then!"

"Yes!" Su Zheng turned and left the office, heading towards the training grounds.

Kaiyu Rui watched the empty room, his thoughts racing. His promotion to Chunin should have no connection to Hanzo's return. Moreover, their plan had been halted, and there was no way they could find any traces. Besides, he was just a Chunin; Su Zheng had even injured Shinamura.

After careful consideration, Kaiyu Rui decided to witness Su Zheng's true strength firsthand and assess his potential threat. The plan could not afford any missteps.

At the training grounds, ninjas who were working rushed out to watch, as news had spread that the genius of Amegakure, Su Zheng, was undergoing his promotion assessment. The stands were filled with people, discussing and analyzing.

"How many Chunin do you think Su Zheng can defeat this time?" one ninja asked.

"How many? Don't you just need to defeat one Chunin to be promoted?" a young ninja asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"You don't know about that!" a young Jonin quickly interjected. Seeing everyone's attention focused on him, he cleared his throat and explained, "Our Hidden Rain Village isn't like those major villages. The Chunin exam includes subjects like intelligence analysis, survival, and combat. We only need to defeat one Chunin."

A ninja eagerly asked, "That still doesn't explain why it's a multi-person assessment!"

Seeing the crowd's impatience, he stopped playing coy and replied, "Geniuses like Su Zheng can't be treated like ordinary ninjas. Thus, there's a rule to test future potential: the more opponents you defeat when promoted to Chunin, the higher your future achievements will be!"

As the crowd glared at him, the young Jonin quickly said, "The highest record was set by Lord Hanzo: defeating three Chunin. Second place belongs to Lord Kaiyu Rui, who fought to a draw with three Chunin. Since then, there have been no records of fighting three Chunin!"

"So Lord Hanzo could defeat three Chunin even as a Genin, truly amazing!"

"Yeah, he truly is our leader, the 'Demigod' of the Ninja World."

"Then, how many Chunin do you think Su Zheng can defeat?"

"I think two is his limit," an overcast-looking ninja said.

"No, I think he can fight three. Don't forget, he achieved that feat before!"

That's right, when escorting supplies, their team encountered a Sand Village squad with one Jonin and three Chunin, and they still defeated the Sand Village.

"Did you see it yourself?" the overcast-looking ninja retorted.

"I..." The other ninja was stunned.

No one had seen it. Who knew if Hanzo had done it to protect his nephew.

As soon as this was said, the crowd's discussion became even more fervent.

Before long, it was time to reveal the answer. The two large gates opened, and Su Zheng stood facing two Chunin.

"He's out, only two opponents?" The ninjas who guessed wrong felt a bit dejected seeing the two Chunin standing opposite Su Zheng, forming hand seals.

"See, see, I told you two was the limit," the overcast-looking Chunin said, extremely pleased, as if he had won a grand prize.

The young Jonin, however, frowned as he looked at the two ninjas below, remaining silent.

A light rain fell on the arena. The referee ninja looked at both sides, waved his hand, and jumped to the side of the field.

"Begin!"

As if a starting gun had fired, after the voice ended, the two standing Chunin, Kawachi and Yamashita, immediately attacked, rushing towards Su Zheng.

Su Zheng seemed dazed and remained in place. Kawachi was incredibly fast, and a smug expression appeared on his face as he made contact with Su Zheng's body.

But that person dissolved into a splash of water in the rain.

"It's a trap! Retreat quickly!" The two, who had just reacted, retreated rapidly.

"Earth Style: Rock Pillar Spear!"

Dozens of sharp stone pillars rose up, piercing the two swiftly!

Similarly, the two dissolved into splashes of water, disappearing into the rain.

This scene stunned everyone, their eyes wide. They hadn't seen when any of them had used a water clone.

Kaiyu Rui sat on the high platform, his eyes slightly moving, "This kid's combat experience is extremely rich."