Fifteen Years Old, Genin?

[Name: Uchiha Shinmoku]

[Age: 15]

[Height: 173cm]

[Weight: 60kg]

[Affinity: Fire, Lightning, Water, Yin]

[Ninjutsu: Body Flicker Technique, Shadow Clone Technique;]

[Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu, Great Fireball Technique, Great Dragon Fire Technique, Great Fire Annihilation;]

[Lightning Style: Spider Web, Lightning Strike, Four-Pillar Bind, Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Super Vibration Lightning Blade.]

[Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Flower Mirror.]

The personal panel sat on the left side of the system interface, while the right side displayed completed missions, currently showing only one line.

In the center, the word [Return] was displayed, with a progress bar underneath that was 90% complete.

Shinmoku speculated there were two possibilities.

One was the progress of returning to Konoha.

The other was related to the Uchiha; due to the clan's annihilation, the only ones known to the ninja world were the brothers Itachi and Sasuke. Cloud Village knew a bit more, but whether it was him or those two brothers, everyone was in a state of dormancy, so this mission might refer to the Uchiha returning to the public eye.

He believed the second possibility was higher and would only be verified once he returned to Konoha.

The path through the forest became increasingly clear, and they finally arrived at Konoha.

The Konoha gates were not far off, and Shinmoku reminded them, "Headbands."

There were two long lines at the entrance, with more people than usual, all from other villages, and security had been tightened as they checked people one by one.

What kind of event was this?

In theory, they didn't need to queue, but since only the Third Hokage knew their identities, they not only had to wait in line but also wait for someone to report their arrival and have the Hokage verify their identities.

What a hassle. Shinmoku couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Uchiha... Shinmoku?"

Just as he was feeling annoyed, a voice filled with hesitant surprise came from behind him.

"Yo!" Shinmoku turned around. "Isn't this Neji?"

"And Senior Guy, Lee, oh! Tenten, you've become prettier."

Shinmoku had become a genin in his third year, while Neji and the others were in their first year at the time.

Neji liked to challenge those above his grade, and as for Lee, he was always competing with trees, making it hard not to notice him. As for Tenten, he could only say that he paid attention to any cute girl.

"You! You're still alive?" Neji looked a bit flustered.

"I went on a mission, so..." Shinmoku scratched his hair.

"Uchiha?" Tenten noticed the way Neji addressed him, first with a question, then tilting her head. "Do we know each other?"

"Ah! How heartbreaking!" Shinmoku clutched his chest. "Have you already forgotten me?"

"I... I..." Tenten blushed slightly.

"Why are there so many people at the village gate?" Shinmoku asked.

"The Chunin Exams."

"As I thought."

[Mission: Chunin Exams]

[Participate in the Chunin Exams, Difficulty D~A, rewards determined by performance]

[Uchiha, fifteen years old, genin?]

"..."

I'm a Special Jonin in Cloud Village!

He really wanted to retort to the system like that, but considering it was a moron, he decided against it.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Shinmoku suddenly stop talking, Tenten asked in confusion.

"It's just, I suddenly remembered, I'm still a genin."

"!!!"

In an instant, three gazes shot toward him in unison.

"What? I'm very weak, don't pay attention to me."

Only a ghost would believe you. Being slightly older than them and having wandered outside for so many years... the title of Konoha's strongest genin was about to become a subject of controversy.

"Can you take us into the village?" Shinmoku continued. "I don't want to queue."

"Of course."

After entering the village, the progress bar remained unchanged; it seemed the second hypothesis was correct.

Along the way, they chatted sporadically. When they reached a fork in the road, Shinmoku bid farewell to Kai Team and turned toward the Hokage's office.

"Knock, knock."

"Lord Hokage."

"You've returned?" The old man smiled kindly, his face full of wrinkles, as if he had known all along.

"Yes." Shinmoku was not surprised by this and proceeded to take out two scrolls.

Past intelligence reports had been for specific missions or conflicts, emphasizing immediacy.

This was the final report, containing data on all the ninjas he had encountered. Of course, the information was not exhaustive; the Raikage rarely used his full strength, and Killer Bee had been kept confined in Cloud-Thunder Gorge, so he had never seen him, knowing only that he was a perfect jinchuriki.

The other scroll was a combat briefing.

The Hokage certainly had other sources of intelligence, but they wouldn't be very detailed. While on the ship, he had pondered this issue and ultimately decided to write the report as thoroughly as possible without exposing too much of his own information... after all, one had to present a token of loyalty.

After silently browsing through them, the Third Hokage set the scrolls down.

"You've worked hard. Although it was forced to a halt, the mission was a success. You may choose a non-forbidden S-rank ninjutsu or receive a reward of two million ryo. What reward would you like?"

"Um... can I really choose a ninjutsu?" Shinmoku probed.

"Of course."

"Then, is the Flying Raijin Jutsu possible?"

"It is possible," the Third confirmed, "but that technique is extremely difficult. To date, only the Second and Fourth have mastered it. Are you sure?"

"I want to try."

Space-time ninjutsu was incredibly rare and had an extremely high ceiling; it was useful for both fighting and fleeing. Since the opportunity was there, he definitely had to take a gamble.

Admittedly, the requirements for learning the Flying Raijin were harsh, demanding talent in space-time ninjutsu, sensory aptitude, agility, and high-precision chakra control, but he met all the talent-based criteria, so there was still a chance.

"Very well." The Third looked toward Shinna. "And you?"

"I don't want anything."

When facing the Hokage, Shinna remained as cold as ever.

"Very well. Elephant."

A masked person wearing a grey-white vest appeared out of thin air in the room; it was an Anbu operative.

"Take them to collect their reward."

"Yes!"

"Uh... one more thing." Seeing that the Third intended to see them out, Shinmoku quickly added, "Can we participate in the Chunin Exams?"

"The Chunin Exams? Oh... you are still genin." The Third looked thoughtful. "You may, but you must gather three people. That is the rule."

"Understood."

In a secret room, the Anbu took out two versions of the Flying Raijin scrolls. "You may only view them here; you cannot take them away. You may come at any time until you have learned it or given up."

"Understood."

Taking advantage of the time while the Anbu took Shinna to collect their reward, Shinmoku activated his Sharingan. He had the ability to copy, so he might as well use it; running back and forth was quite troublesome.

Upon exiting the secret room, he looked at Shinna. "Do you have any friends who are still genin?"

"No."

"Alright, then... Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The clone put on a mask, and they pushed open the office door once more.

"Lord Hokage, the team is complete."

"Hm?"

The Third was puzzled at first, but the next moment, he revealed a knowing smile.

"Very well, you may participate."

The Chunin Exams were a time to showcase strength to the daimyo of various countries and ninjas from neighboring villages; naturally, the more strong individuals there were, the better.