An Old Acquaintance, Once Again

"I'm already very happy with Lord Shingen's words," Rasa said. "I'll give them to you."

"Lord Kazekage, you are a distinguished guest. If you do this, I will be scolded," Uchiha Shingen said with a smile. "I can leave on my own. I also wish the Genin you brought with you the best of luck in this exam."

"Thank you for your kind words. In that case, I won't see you off. Please come visit Sunagakure when you have time. Also, please pass on a message to Pakura: I am very sorry for what happened back then, and I sincerely wish her all the best now."

"Then I thank you on her behalf." Uchiha Shingen bowed. "I'll take my leave now. Thank you for your hospitality."

Okay, let's talk again when we have time.

After bidding farewell to Rasa, Uchiha Shingen left the room, called Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū who were waiting in the corridor, and quickly left the new building.

The two remained silent the entire way until they left the new building and had walked quite a distance before Aburame Torune finally asked, "Shingen, did your conversation with the Kazekage go smoothly?"

"Smoothly my foot, they're old foxes." Uchiha Shingen curled his lip. "It's a mix of truth and lies, but Sand Village's attitude towards revising the alliance treaty will be very firm this time. If they don't change it, this alliance is over."

"Losing the alliance with Sand Village now is probably not a good thing for the village," said Aburame Torune, who has been active on the front lines. "The Iwagakure and Iwagakure are becoming increasingly out of sync, and they might break off the alliance any day. Then, we might end up taking the fall for Hidden Mist Village."

It's not just about blocking a knife; we don't even know if the Hidden Mist Village will stab us in the back!

"The First Hokage was too conservative back then," Uchiha Shingen sighed, looking up at the sky.

Back then, Senju Hashirama stubbornly insisted on using language to persuade others.

In fact, according to Senju Hashirama's original plan, he hoped that all ninjas could put aside their grudges and work together to build a ninja village.

This dream failed when the second ninja village was established, and it also destined that the Hokage Continent could not be unified into a single country.

It was also because everyone had established ninja villages that Senju Hashirama had to settle for second best—hoping for peaceful coexistence between the ninja villages.

That's a realistic situation. Back then, there were quite a few stubborn people. It wouldn't have been a problem for Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara to team up and kill the top ninjas from several villages. But before that, other ninja villages would also destroy Leaf Village because of the risk of losing their neighbors.

Such peace would be meaningless to Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

This remains true even now.

The current Hidden Leaf Village could easily defeat any other ninja village individually, but if all the ninja villages attacked Leaf Village together, it would at least end in a tragic fate, if not mutual destruction.

No Hokage would make such a decision.

Even if Uchiha Shingen were to Hokage, he would still need to cultivate a wide network of allies to avoid becoming a target of public criticism.

Moreover, destroying other ninja villages would be completely pointless; it would only make the situation more chaotic.

If Sunagakure were to truly face collapse one day, Hidden Leaf Village would probably be even more anxious than Sunagakure.

Various interest-free loans will be readily available.

"Forget it, I won't think about it too much. I'll just take it one step at a time. I also need to arrange a meeting with the Kazekage, lest he do something desperate." Uchiha Shingen felt sleepy and couldn't help but yawn.

"Shingen, why don't you go back and rest?" Aburame Torune said. "It's only three days; Kaze and I will be fine."

"Yeah, but don't get too antagonistic with them, lest they go and tattle on you. It's not very useful, but it's annoying."

After giving the two a few instructions, Uchiha Shingen went home.

For the next three days, he took a good break and, apart from his own training time, mainly gave special training to Uchiha Sasuke and the others.

He helped Naruto Uzumaki sign the Summoning Contract for Mount Myoboku.

Rashōmon to Uchiha Sasuke.

As for the Uchiha Clan, he mainly instructed on Ice Release and Body Flicker Technique.

He also taught Neji Hyuga and Hinata Hyuga the principles of Lightning Release Chakra Mode, allowing them to use it as a reference and choose what they could use for themselves.

He didn't teach Karin Uzumaki Clan Ninjutsu, but instead guided her on techniques for sensing Chakra.

Three days is a very short time, and that's all the special training he can achieve.

Three days passed in a flash, and the Joint Chunin Exams finally began.

Chapter Seven: Meeting an Old Friend Again

A week before the Chunin Selection Exam began, Hidden Leaf Village had already officially mobilized according to wartime procedures.

The ANBU and Konoha Military Police Force were naturally all mobilized, no question about it.

On the regular army side, all ninjas in the village had their leave canceled and entered a state of combat readiness.

The government affairs hall continues to operate as usual; it cannot be stopped. The only thing that could make the ninja village stop accepting civilian missions is war.

After all, most of the lower and mid-ranking ninjas rely on civilian missions to fill their pockets.

Unlike Jonin, who primarily focus on national and village missions.

But on this day, the government service hall also seemed deserted.

At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the groups of Genin who were walking out of the Guest House.

These elites, from different countries, villages, and even organizations, had different expressions and states of mind.

Some were brimming with fighting spirit, eagerly anticipating a good fight.

Some people were filled with anxiety, silently wishing that this time they wouldn't have another mishap.

Some people had a little excitement on their faces but were very nervous inside, or vice versa; these were all people participating for the first time.

These hundreds of candidates will showcase the realities of being a top-tier ninja in today's Ninja World to the audience and examiners.

However, they have to report to the Konoha Ninja Academy first.

As the head of the ANBU, Uchiha Shingen's usual image was that of someone sitting in his office, commanding authority, or leading his lackeys on a noisy rampage through the streets.

But from today until the end of the exams, he'll have to act like a nanny, taking his unruly kids to and from competitions, and oh yes, and be a devilish teacher during their breaks.

As for the work of the ANBU...

Just leave it to Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū.

We've already done three days' work, so what's another two or three months?

That's good.

After two or three months, it will be almost fully fermented.

In short, from today onwards, he will be a Jonin leader and examiner.

That's what it means...

"So why aren't you in the exam hall? Why are you fighting here instead?"

Uchiha Shingen glanced at Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki were scratching their heads and grinning foolishly at him.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the two of them who got into a fight; they got into a fight with someone else.

His gaze swept past the two men, Uchiha Shingen saw Yuki Rock Lee looking at him with respect.

"Master Shingen, thank you so much for your guidance back then!"

Rock Lee immediately bowed at a ninety-degree angle, making a sound as if the wind was blowing.

"Rock Lee," Uchiha Shingen still liked this kid very much, "Do you find the life of Genin boring?"

Who wouldn't like a hardworking, good student?

Especially those from their own village.

However, a fight still broke out.

In the original timeline, Rock Lee had two people who wanted to challenge him during this period.

The top student in his year Neji Hyuga.

The top student, one year below him, Uchiha Sasuke.

But in this timeline, the first place winner is Konohamaru Sarutobi.

As for why Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki were ranked so low, just look at their humanities exam papers—their scores were absolutely outrageous.

They feel they can't live with themselves without giving him a good beating.

However, because their martial arts skills were so outstanding, they were tied for second place. Rock Lee was well aware of this; the two of them, not Konohamaru Sarutobi, were tied for first place in martial arts.

And so everything happened naturally.

"No! I think it's great! Teacher Kai takes good care of me too!" Rock Lee was full of energy. Compared to when he was at school, his expression was even more determined. The thick bandages on his hands and the exaggerated weights on his legs showed that this child had the same ridiculous perseverance as in the original timeline.

In the original timeline, if he hadn't been severely injured by Gaara, he could have gone much further.

Only Rock Lee is capable of inheriting Might Guy's mantle.

"Yeah, Rock Lee, you're an excellent ninja, so never learn from those two idiots, understand? They'll corrupt you." Uchiha Shingen patted Rock Lee on the shoulder.

"No, Shingen- sensei, Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun are both incredibly strong, true geniuses! Therefore, I wish to challenge them. Please allow me!"

No, actually you're a genius yourself, haven't you realized?

The Eight Gates is something that can't be forced through sheer willpower and effort.

"Alright, I allow it. However, since this is a fair and square competition, let's save our energy for the match. Now... report for duty! Also, don't reveal your trump cards to outsiders, understand?"

If Uchiha Shingen hadn't sensed their Chakra and taken a quick look, these guys would have revealed their techniques in front of passing out-of-town ninjas.

"Alright!" Naruto Uzumaki roared with excitement, "Rock Lee! I'll beat you!"

"Me too, Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun. I'm taking the exam to test my abilities, so please take it seriously when we fight."

Uchiha Shingen nodded in satisfaction and prepared to leave using the Body Flicker Technique.

"Hey? Teacher, aren't you coming with us?"

I'm just slacking off. Thanks for the invitation. Please don't disturb your teacher. I'll make a cool exit using the Body Flicker Technique.

"It's you taking the exam, not me. Are you afraid to even come in if I don't take you?" Uchiha Shingen sternly. "Naruto, I didn't raise you to be such a spineless person."

"No way! These guys are nothing!" Naruto Uzumaki retorted. "Sasuke, Hinata, aren't you right?"

"Hmph! Don't drag me into this, I didn't say anything."

"Please... please don't argue..."

Taking advantage of their bickering, Uchiha Shingen quickly ran away.

With Uchiha Shisui at the exam hall entrance, there's no need for him to nag.

He didn't care whether the children could pass the first round.

It's not worth worrying about, that would be a lie.

In this timeline, Uchiha Sasuke hadn't awakened his Sharingan, and Naruto Uzumaki didn't have the Nine-Tails. Moreover, both of them were in the same league when it came to humanities subjects—hopelessly terrible.

However, they all possessed intelligence-gathering Ninjutsu taught by Uchiha Shingen.

Naruto Uzumaki was a bit rusty, having only recently signed a contract with Mount Myoboku, but Uchiha Sasuke was quite skilled.

As for Hinata, putting aside her Byakugan, she ranked second in the humanities, just like Sakura Haruno, who ranked first, both of whom far exceeded the level expected of a graduated Genin.

As for the exam papers, Uchiha Shingen Hinata Hyuga Sakura Haruno are both true academic geniuses who can answer them without any tricks.

So what's he worried about? Go eat breakfast.

Walking into the commercial street, you'll see many ninjas.

There are a lot of ninjas having breakfast here today, and most of them are from other villages.

Since becoming the head of the ANBU, Uchiha Shingen has rarely had a hot meal in the morning.

For a ninja, holding a public office means drastically reducing the time they spend training. Therefore, ninjas would not take on public office if they had the opportunity.

After becoming the head of the ANBU, Uchiha Shingen clearly felt that he had less time to train, and there were even times when he didn't train for a day or two in a row, and he couldn't even eat breakfast on time.

He finally got this opportunity, and he's going to start practicing again.

We can't be like Hatake Kakashi, who has clearly been slacking off since leaving the ANBU, but he's been watching 18+ content Tenten.

To put it bluntly, Hatake Kakashi's physical abilities have been declining in recent years due to a decrease in the intensity of his training.

When physical strength declines, Chakra levels decrease, and overall strength diminishes.

This phenomenon is not unique to Hatake Kakashi; it is also seen in Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Fugaku.

Uchiha Shingen certainly didn't want this to happen to him.

Let's have ramen instead.

With that thought in mind, he headed to Ichiraku Ramen Shop.