Exam Recommendation Slots / Returning to the Village to Prepare for the Exams

Weakening the Five Great Villages and weakening Leaf Village is one of the core objectives that cannot be shaken.

Currently, Leaf Village, Hidden Mist Village, Iwagakure, and Sand Village have all experienced varying degrees of enhancement.

However, the war between Cloud Village and Sand Village against Iwagakure has weakened Iwagakure, as has Sand Village, and Cloud Village, which was already weakened, is now even weaker.

Instigating Ninja World war between the five great villages was still a bit too much; the village chiefs weren't stupid and were on high alert.

Now, only Leaf Village and Hidden Mist Village remain, and Leaf Village, in its full glory, is at its peak.

The fundamental reason why other villages were able to restrain their impulses was the alliance between Hidden Mist Village and Leaf Village.

But by Hidden Mist Village has never been one to be friends with his neighbors.

Black Zetsu wanted Uchiha Shingen to know this.

In order to weaken these villages more effectively, Black Zetsu hoped they would all be prepared.

Before it actually begins collecting the Tailed Beasts, inciting Uchiha Shingen's ambition and getting him to actively collect the Tailed Beasts' Chakra is a worthwhile move to try.

"If you collect them all, you can come back to me." Black Zetsu said this as a final sentence, and then it truly ignored Uchiha Shingen.

Chapter Twenty: Examination Recommendation Quotas

The Daigo Territory's protection mission has finally come to an end.

On the last day of the protection mission, the little guys in Team 7 remained steadfast in their duties.

They are gradually getting used to their new identity.

As students, they are protected, but as ninjas, they are not.

Even if they all have a powerful father.

After the last day, Uchiha Shingen led them to bid a formal farewell to the Daigo Territory, and then embarked on their journey back to the village.

The road leading out of the Land of Rivers is peaceful.

The group also passed through villages that had been destroyed by the Hannya Group. Some villages remained unchanged, with ruins still standing there, bearing witness to what had happened there.

But sooner or later, this place will be occupied by new residents.

Today's miserable state will also be buried.

The Hokage world is generally sparsely populated, yet it's not lacking in people.

There is a lack of cultivated land suitable for direct production.

These are all prime farmlands; there's no worry about a lack of farmers.

After leaving the Land of Rivers, the group entered the Land of Land of Fire, where the situation was quite different again.

People's lives may not necessarily be better, but they are not worried about their lives being taken away at will.

The proportion of undeveloped, wild land within the Land of Fire is no less than that of the Land of Rivers. It is precisely because of these many undeveloped areas that this world has become a stage for ninjas to fully demonstrate their strength.

Uchiha Shingen summoned the Black Snake after a long time, and had it carry everyone forward.

The Black Snake was quite excited to be summoned by spirits again. It enjoyed the fresh air, stretched its body, and occasionally drifted around.

Uchiha Sasuke drooled with envy, wishing he could summon such a large snake someday.

No exaggeration, he has formed a deep friendship with some of the giant snakes in Ryūchi Cave, but unfortunately, with his current Chakra, he can't summon them.

We can only watch helplessly.

Uchiha Shingen was thinking about what Black Zetsu had told him.

The matter of collecting Tailed Beast Chakra could not be kept secret for long.

Presumably, the villagers should know something about it, but no one has said anything yet.

Besides, he was just collecting Chakra, not actually capturing Tailed Beasts. If he were, he wouldn't be able to pretend to be stupid.

The only downside to becoming Uchiha Clan is this: the Sharingan and the Tailed Beasts are inherently linked, which naturally makes people uneasy.

But things still need to be done, and as for why...

The internal conflicts within Hidden Leaf Village have never disappeared; they just aren't escalating now, so they don't manifest themselves.

Once resources are saturated, things will escalate again.

That's how ninjas are; they'll falter when things are tough, and they'll falter even when they've reached the top.

Currently, the Tailed Beast Chakra he has not yet collected consists of Sand Village (One-Tail) from Shukaku, Hidden Mist Village (Three-Tails -Tailed) and Six-Tails Saiken) from Isobu, and Son Goku (Four-Tails) and Five-Tails Kokuō) Son Goku Iwagakure.

On the surface, most people probably only know that he obtained the Chakra of the Eight-Tails Gyuki, the Nine-Tails -Kurama, and the Two-Tails Matatabi, but in reality, he also stole the chakra of the Seven-Tails Chomei Chakra.

It must be said that the difference in Jinchūriki be quite significant.

Compared to Jinchūriki Karatachi Yagura, the female ninja named Fu is indeed far inferior, even though they are both Jinchuriki.

"Teacher." A weak voice came from beside me.

Uchiha Shingen, who was sitting on the snake's head enjoying the breeze, turned his head and saw Hinata Hyuga tugging at his sleeve beside him.

"What's wrong, Hinata?"

"Teacher, Naruto and Sasuke both so amazing. I feel like I haven't been of much help."

Upon hearing Hinata Hyuga's words, Uchiha Shingen simply turned around to face her.

Why do you think that? Did they bully you?

"No, that's not the case anymore." Upon hearing this, Hinata Hyuga stopped playing with her fingers and hurriedly waved her hand, "Naruto and Sasuke have been very kind to me."

"That's good. This year's Joint Chunin Exams will be held in the village. I'll recommend the three of you to participate." Uchiha Shingen felt that this year's exams would definitely have something special going on, most likely what Black Zetsu meant by "we'll talk about it after this year."

However, he had a feeling that this time it might not be Mining Shadow causing trouble.

After several encounters with this mining expert, he discovered that apart from a flaw in her parenting methods, she was quite capable in every other aspect.

Even though Uchiha Shingen excluded the Land of Wind from the association's system, this Mining Kage still managed to secure benefits for Sunagakure by leveraging the spillover effects of the association's system.

Becoming a ninja was probably the wrong career choice.

In any case, the situation in Sunagakure in this timeline is much better than in the original timeline.

Therefore, it's highly unlikely that a desperate counterattack against Leaf Village, as happened in the original timeline, will be carried out.

"Huh? Me... I can do it too?" Hinata Hyuga was a little confused.

Of course she knew what the Joint Chunin Exams were; she never slacked off in class.

The promotion system for Konoha Ninja is considered a basic component of the humanities curriculum at the Ninja Academy.

Otherwise, they wouldn't even know how to get promoted, like a demon ninja.

But she also knew what participating in the Joint Chunin Exams meant.

The Chunin promoted through the Joint Chunin Exams and the Chunin the Hokage Building's selection process are completely different things.

The latter is something you can work your way up through seniority, experience, and connections.

The former represents the most elite group of Genin in the village.

Because the Joint Chunin Exams are a stage that showcases the strength of ninja villages even better than the Ninja World War.

The Ninja World War didn't have a group of quality customers acting as spectators; all that existed were rumors and gossip flying around.

For the Genin participating in the Joint Exam, taking the exam is essentially equivalent to carrying out an A-rank mission.

"Why not?" Uchiha Shingen retorted. "I've seen how well you, Sasuke, and Naruto have worked together. I'll also recommend Neji Hyuga, Haku, and Karin to participate. The six of you are my top picks. Of course, intensive training is a must, so you need to be mentally prepared."

"Ah?"

"No need for 'ah.' With Hiashi -sama guiding you in Byakugan and Gentle Fist, I will also teach you Medical Ninjutsu. Although I am not as good as Lady Tsunade, with your abilities, learning Medical Ninjutsu will be very useful."

"Okay... okay, teacher."

"Hmm, be braver. Your main problem is that you lack confidence, or rather, you're unwilling to hurt people. In that case, you can choose the path of medical-nin. As far as I know, Gentle Fist itself also has medical applications."

Hinata Hyuga seemed relieved, yet also somewhat dejected.

Uchiha Shingen knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Don't underestimate Medical Ninjutsu, Hinata," Uchiha Shingen laughed. "Medical Ninjutsu, when used well, is a divine skill. Being good at fighting but not healing is useless. I don't think Sasuke and Naruto have the talent for it; they'll all have to rely on you."

Upon hearing this, Hinata Hyuga's eyes lit up, and she perked up completely.

Chapter Twenty-One: Returning to the Village to Prepare for the Exam

When Team 7 saw the familiar Leaf Great Forest again, they felt a sense of warmth from the lush forest before them.

This was the first time they had left their village for over a month on a mission, and seeing every blade of grass and tree in their hometown evoked different feelings.

Their expressions did not escape Uchiha Shingen's notice.

"Doesn't the village look different now than before?" Uchiha Shingen asked with a smile.

All three nodded.

It's definitely different now.

"That's normal. This is called a sense of belonging. The world is vast, but this is the only place that can accommodate you."

Compared to the villages of the past, the ninja village provides the ninjas with this sense of security.

Hidden Leaf Village was the first ninja village in this world. When it was first established, even a hot-tempered man like Uchiha Madara was stunned.

Uchiha Madara truly did his utmost to protect Hidden Leaf Village, earning him the title of "Leaf Village Asura Konoha Shura."

During that brief period, much of the enmity between the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan was resolved, as feelings naturally developed when everyone began fighting side by side.

When Uchiha Shingen led the three to the gate, the gatekeeper was still a Hyuga Clan. Seeing that his clan leader's little darling had returned, he registered them while praising Hinata Hyuga.

This made Hinata Hyuga the fast track, feel quite embarrassed.

Beside them was a long line of people from all walks of life from outside the village.

"Teacher, why are there so many people in line?"

"To allow the ninjas who have completed their missions to complete the procedures for returning to the village as quickly as possible, it's natural that they need to be divided into groups," Uchiha Shingen said. "However, there aren't usually this many people coming into the village at once; they're probably people preparing for the Joint Chunin Exams."

The Joint Chunin Exams are a major annual event in the Ninja World, usually held once or twice depending on the scale. However, the event was suspended due to the previous war between Sand Village, Iwagakure, and Cloud Village. This year's exams in Leaf Village have accumulated quite a few "exam materials".

This also means that participants will face even fiercer competition.

"Teacher, when does the exam start?" Naruto Uzumaki asked immediately, while Uchiha Sasuke's eyes widened with anticipation.

They've finished being moved and are now in the "when can we show off?" phase.

After this mission, they were all full of confidence in themselves.

"It won't be that fast. This is just the prelude. The preparations for the exam will take at least two or three months," Uchiha Shingen said with a smile. "You are all newbies, and there are some prerequisites for participating in the Chunin Ninja Exams. You don't have enough missions. Before the exam starts, you need to complete more missions. This mission is classified as B-rank, so you should do more D-rank missions from now on."

"Oh..."

Their disappointment was palpable.

Although they often slacked off in class, they came from ninja families and knew the significance of a D-rank mission.

Aside from wartime, D-level missions typically involve searching for people or items in villages, or even helping others with chores.

This is so different from what they imagined ninjas to be.

Not to mention they had just completed a B-Rank Mission, experiencing real combat between ninjas.

"Don't underestimate D-rank missions. I won't help you with these missions; you'll have to do them yourselves." Uchiha Shingen felt that Team 7 really needed to grind some D-rank missions to get them focused.

Although this mission was classified as B-level, he actually did most of the work.

The only real-world combat experience he ever had was one he watched from the sidelines.

In his view, the Team 7 is not currently capable of carrying out B-Rank Mission independently.

A C-level mission is just passable.

D-level missions are now actually the most suitable for them.

"Teacher, you underestimate us." Naruto Uzumaki said smugly, "I'm the future Hokage, a D-rank monster, I can handle that all by myself."

"Then I'll see how you perform." Uchiha Shingen said with a smile.

This little guy, who's never done any work before, somehow managed to finish it all by himself with such ease.