The Exams Are Underway / The Exams Are Over

"The other Uchiha Clan are quite similar," the White Snake Sage said. "Sometimes when I'm bored, I watch the Uchiha Clan; it's quite interesting. You'll see."

It shook its head, showing Uchiha Shingen the crystal ball on its hat.

A scene was reflected inside the crystal ball.

It was an older man, wielding ink with an extremely sophisticated posture on his desk, his expression one of utter satisfaction and rapture, his emotions perfectly captured.

The words he wrote were photographed up close by a crystal ball, which deliberately magnified the image.

Uchiha Shingen: "..."

The current head of the Uchiha Clan, assisted by the Hokage of Leaf Village, has utterly disgraced himself in Ryūchi Cave. Is there any hope for him?

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"How about it? Pretty interesting, right?" The White Snake Sage spoke with the familiar, playful snake tone. "I've been thinking, even the children in this cave couldn't write like this with their tails. This guy's talent is quite terrifying. Why don't you let him try cultivating immortal Senjutsu? I think it's a good idea."

"Well..." Uchiha Shingen was always careful to maintain Uchiha Fugaku's image when he was out and about, and this time he did his usual thing. "You know, geniuses always have some special hobbies that ordinary people can't understand. After all, who can write seriously and still write like this? Obviously, this is all on purpose!"

To make his argument more convincing, Uchiha Shingen gritted his teeth and forced himself to speak:

"This seemingly bizarre behavior is actually a pursuit of individual liberation and spiritual transcendence. We call this 'the spirit of unrestrainedness.' After all, the Uchiha Clan has always been bound by both spiritual and practical constraints. In the past, it was to relieve and express dissatisfaction with reality, but now it is mostly to express the joy in one's heart. It is all about being unrestrained and doing whatever one pleases."

Was the White Snake Sage a snake, or not a human? Uchiha Shingen hoped his explanation would be plausible...

"Is that so?" The White Snake Sage was taken aback and began to think seriously.

Then it realized that what Uchiha Shingen said made a lot of sense.

After all, it's illogical that a human could write words that even a snake couldn't write with its tail, yet a human could write them with their hand.

"You Uchiha Clan are quite something," the White Snake Sage exclaimed. "I never thought I could see through a human. It's been a long time since I've seen such a profound human. I will continue to observe him, and one day I will understand him."

"I'm glad you're happy." Uchiha Shingen maintained his smile.

He really did his best; whatever happens in the future, he can't be blamed.

"So..." The White Snake Sage withdrew her technique, the image in the crystal ball disappeared, and she looked down at Uchiha Shingen, "What else do you want from me today?"

"Immortal, do you and the immortals from the other two holy lands visit each other frequently?"

What do you think?

The White Snake Sage said something, then turned his head to look to his left.

Uchiha Shingen followed its gaze.

There was a section of stone wall where part of the White Snake Sage's body was visible. Most of it had disappeared into the earth, and only a small part was visible, which looked like it hadn't moved for many years.

"Actually, 'going around' is a descriptive way of saying that you, Immortal, sometimes chat and gossip with those two, don't you?"

"I haven't spoken with the people of Shikkotsu Forest, and I don't recommend you go there. It's not an environment humans can get used to." The White Snake Sage exhaled another puff of smoke. Judging from the force and shape of the smoke, Uchiha Shingen concluded that Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest definitely had a bad relationship.

"But as for that Toad on Mount Myoboku..." The White Snake Sage's tone softened somewhat, "I don't know if it's sleeping. If it's not sleeping, I can ask it for you, but whether the Toad is willing or not is not my decision."

"That's enough, Sage." Uchiha Shingen was overjoyed.

The White Snake Sage is reliable!

Ryūchi Cave, you're a true friend!

It's obvious that the White Snake Sage and the Great Toad Sage have a decent relationship, otherwise they wouldn't have said that.

Uchiha Shingen only wanted to learn Senjutsu, and for Mount Myoboku, having another person to practice Sage Senjutsu without needing Summoning Contract was no big deal, and they would most likely not refuse.

For these secret realms, the Summoning Contract is the core interest.

However, the Senjutsu that are precious to humans are nothing special, especially since they only require teaching but not guaranteed mastery or the provision of supporting services.

Uchiha Shingen indeed had no need for the two Toad to perch on his shoulders.

He possesses Ice Release and Susanoo, so he doesn't need teammates to help him buy time.

"Then I'll come see you again in a while." Uchiha Shingen was in a very good mood as he bid farewell to the White Snake Sage. "By the way, next time I come, I might bring someone with me. I hope you'll allow that."

"Oh?" The White Snake Sage became interested. "Is it that little fellow who writes? That's fine. My opinion remains unchanged: he has great talent and can try learning Senjutsu."

"No, it's another contractor, Orochimaru's former apprentice." Uchiha Shingen was somewhat embarrassed.

"Ah... that's it..." The White Snake Sage was clearly disappointed. "You can do whatever you want with it."

"Okay... then I'll take my leave now..."

"Okay, go ahead, just come back in a year."

Chapter Forty-Eight: The Exam is in Progress

After bidding farewell to the White Snake Sage, Uchiha Shingen immediately used the Reverse Summoning Technique.

He reappeared in the room.

The ink on the ground had faded and lost its original luster.

The mineral powder used to conduct Chakra in the ink has been completely used up.

Minerals that can conduct Chakra are a broad category, but the best conductive ones are mainly found in the Land of Wind. They have many uses. Besides being used to make weapons, they are also used to mix into the ink for sealing scrolls and Summoning Scroll. The type of mineral and the ratio determine the quality of the ink.

However, ever since Leaf Village and Sand Village formed an alliance, they have been frantically importing goods through Sand Village to make a profit from the price difference. They are not only enjoying being middlemen, but also greatly reducing the cost of their own use.

Nowadays, even Chunin can afford this kind of ink among Konoha Ninja. Those like Uchiha Shingen, who like to make their own sealing scrolls, use even more, buying quite a lot every month. Compared to before the alliance, the Chakra ink on the Leaf Village market is now generally of higher quality, but the price is less than half of what it used to be.

Kuangying made an indelible contribution to this.

Otherwise, why would Uchiha Shingen always call him "Minekage"? It's just a sentimental feeling.

The ink on the floor had completely dried. Uchiha Shingen still had some morals; he wouldn't leave someone's floor untouched after smearing it. He used Boil Release and Scorch Release to clean it up properly before leaving the room.

He didn't spend that much time in Ryūchi Cave this time; he should go check out the exam venue.

After leaving the hotel, he asked a nearby Sand Ninja for directions to the exam venue and headed in that direction.

In the original timeline, Leaf Village used a large open-air stadium for gambling... no, for one-on-one exams.

That wouldn't work in Sand Village. Given its environment, if it were made to be open-air, everyone would turn into a little yellow man after one round of exams.

Therefore, its examination venue is indoors.

This is a very large clubhouse, quite close to the Kazekage Building, and security is very tight.

This is not for the protection of the test takers.

It's not so much about protecting the audience, but about protecting those viewers. There are not only villagers from Sunagakure, but also a group of VIP customers. Sand Village's arrangement is understandable, as Leaf Village in the original timeline did the same thing.

There were Sand Ninja standing guard at the entrance. When they saw Uchiha Shingen, they quickly opened the door.

After thanking the other party, Uchiha Shingen entered the room, walked through the hall, and went up the steps marked with directions to the second floor of the building.

He emerged from the area where the team leaders' seats were located.

"Lord Shingen!" Hatake Kakashi waved to him from the second row.

Pakura was also sitting there.

Uchiha Shingen walked over.

As he passed by, the leaders of the small ninja village stood up and saluted him.

These were not all allies of Leaf Village; some were allies of Sand Village and Iwagakure, but they dared not neglect Uchiha Shingen.

In the five great villages, a Jonin is not necessarily a high-ranking member of the village. After all, there are only so many positions available. For example, an ordinary Jonin is essentially just a high-level enforcer.

But Jonin level of a Five Kage is definitely a high-ranking person. Regardless of whether he has an actual position, his influence is undeniable.

It would be strange if these small ninja villages dared to be negligent.

Seriously speaking, if Uchiha Shingen disliked someone and went back to the Hokage and said, "I think OOO from XX village is hostile to Leaf Village," the Hokage would not think he was talking nonsense, but would really think about it carefully.

It might not be long before Leaf Village's ANBU come to conduct special operations.

That's what the Dark Side of the Ninja did back then: if they suspected someone of being hostile to Leaf Village, the Root would come knocking on their door to offer help.

This is pretty much how Uchiha Shingen is seen by the ninjas from other villages now; they're all afraid he'll cause trouble if he's unhappy.

There are not many ninjas from other villages who can communicate with him with a calm mind these days; it's just a few Kage, or people like Kitsuchi Terumi Mei.

Many team leaders were meeting Uchiha Shingen for the first time after arriving in Sunagakure. To be honest, their first impression of him was quite good, because Uchiha Shingen was nothing like the bloodthirsty and brutal figure portrayed in the rumors.

Until they saw Uchiha Shingen and Sasori of the Red Sands fight.

They came to a new understanding of a Ninja World fact: descriptions of bloodthirstiness and brutality are sometimes not specifically directed at anyone, but simply because the difference in strength is too great; you can die without the other person noticing.

The team leaders, having learned from the past, rediscovered their reverence for the White Ghost of Leaf Village.

Uchiha Shingen greeted the team leaders with a smile and then sat down in his seat.

Kakashi is on the left, and Pakura is on the right; he's in the main position.

When he first sat down, Uchiha Shingen intended to stretch out his hands to touch the ground, but then realized that if he did so, his right hand would land where it shouldn't.

Enchanting the armor of their former heroes in front of the Sand Village Villagers is not in keeping with his current status.

After all, they represent Leaf Village, so they need to be careful about their behavior.

So he switched to a tactical lean back.

Have our people entered the game yet?

"This is already the second round," Hatake Kakashi said. "Some people were eliminated in the first round, and we only have Mitarashi Anko and Inuzuka Hana left."

"Oh? That intense?"

"Yes, there are many talented people. Deidara from Iwagakure and Kimimaro from Hidden Mist Village performed the best. Together with our two, we should be the most outstanding this time."

"Hmm? Does Sand Village have any outstanding talents?"

"Yes, they have one puppeteer who's alright, but their best ones all went missing during the first exam."

This is truly a sad story.

"Anything else?" Uchiha Shingen asked, suppressing a laugh.

"No, they're all behind the previous four. So all the betting now revolves around those four. The Sand Village leader just said that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, five Chunin titles will be awarded this time."

Uchiha Shingen nodded.

After all, they are the organizers; it's impossible for them to have no spots available.

The Joint Chunin Exams by the major ninja villages are meant to select the best candidates for promotion, with the others merely serving as runners-up.

But the small ninja villages still enjoy this practice. While the large ninja villages eat the meat, they also get the soup, and they gain more than they lose.

Unless you're extremely unlucky, like this time with Rain Village.

And speaking of Rain Village...

Uchiha Shingen glanced at the Jonin leading the Rain Village team.

The Jonin sat quietly in his seat, and after noticing Uchiha Shingen's gaze, he bowed slightly.

Their manners were impeccable, but they lacked the obvious servility often seen in smaller ninja villages.

Rain Village Hanzo had long since become decadent, only concerned with consolidating his power. If the leader was like this, his subordinates were no better off. The Rain Ninja under his command were also lacking in spirit. Those Rain Ninja full of confidence and ideals were a thing of the past, existing only in the memories of Amegakure.

Unless...

"What's wrong?" Pakura asked.

She noticed that Uchiha Shingen kept staring at the Rain Ninja.

"It's nothing." Uchiha Shingen withdrew his gaze and looked at Pakura. "But you seem rather uninterested."

"No... it's just that things weren't quite what I expected after I came back this time." Pakura shook his head. "It's okay, it doesn't affect me."

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Exam Ends

"Actually, I can understand how you feel to some extent."

"Uchiha Shingen said."

Pakura turned to look at him.

"Life is something we all live through. Whether it's the sweet and the bitter, the joys and sorrows, the partings and reunions, once you've tasted it, it's just a memory, almost like a dream," Uchiha Shingen said. "Those who said they'd never leave you can become strangers with just one small thing. Those who said they'd never abandon you will one day drift away with the wind. You have to get used to things changing and people changing."

"Sometimes you really talk like an old man," Pakura frowned. "Seeing you always laughing and joking, I thought you were quite optimistic."