Chunin Exams

In the 46th year of the Hidden Leaf, the Chunin Selection Exams officially began on an early summer morning. This was an internal promotion assessment within the Hidden Leaf Village, with eighty-seven genin taking part. They came from the major clans, along with a small number of civilian ninja who had stood out through talent and hard work. The air was thick with tension and anticipation.

The first written exam was held at the Ninja Academy. Uchiha Narong glanced over the test paper. The questions involved tactics, intelligence, geography, and more; to him, they were not difficult. He answered calmly and very quickly. When he looked up, he noticed Hyuga Yutaka in the front row had activated his Byakugan, and the proctor seemed to tacitly allow this "observation." Narong smiled, handed in his paper early, and left.

The written exam eliminated some of those with weaker fundamentals, and the remaining sixty-odd participants entered the second exam—a survival exercise held on the outskirts of the Forest of Death. The rules were to seize the opponent's "Heaven" or "Earth" scroll and gather a pair before reaching the central tower.

Narong was dropped in the southeast corner of the forest and received an "Earth" scroll. He leapt onto the treetops, not rushing to move, instead observing calmly. Sounds of fighting soon rang out in the woods.

Before long, three civilian genin who had temporarily teamed up blocked his path. "Kid, hand over the scroll!" the leader shouted.

Narong did not want to waste time. "I'm in a hurry." Before his words had fallen, his figure was already moving!

"Sharingan Windmill: Triple Blade!"

Kunai turned into cold flashes of light, striking the three men precisely on their wrists and knee hollows. Amid their screams, all three instantly collapsed to the ground, losing their ability to fight. Narong took the "Heaven" scroll he needed, said, "Thanks," and vanished into the forest.

For the rest of the journey, he easily dealt with several more waves of attacks, using only taijutsu and basic ninjutsu. The Sharingan's insight let him handle everything with ease. His performance drew the attention of the chunin proctors watching from the shadows.

As he approached the central tower, he ran into an old acquaintance by a small stream—Hyuga Yutaka. Yutaka had clearly already gathered his scrolls as well and was waiting with his arms crossed. When his white eyes saw Narong, a sharp glint flashed through them.

"Yo, if it isn't Narong?" Hyuga Yutaka's tone carried a familiar hint of provocation. "Looks like your luck's pretty good. You made it this far too. How about it? Dare to have another bout? Just like in the school's practical combat class?" He was hinting at Narong's defeat in their first clash.

Narong stopped and smiled. "Yutaka, you still haven't fixed that competitive streak of yours. You won last time, but that doesn't mean it'll happen again." His tone was relaxed, carrying the familiarity and rivalry only old classmates had.

"Hmph. The Uchiha Sharingan—besides watching movements, what use does it have? Before our Hyuga Byakugan, all chakra flow has nowhere to hide." Hyuga Yutaka assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. "Enough talk. Let's see the truth with our hands!"

"Then let's try it." Narong also put away his smile and grew serious. He knew how powerful the Hyuga Gentle Fist's pressure-point strikes were; he absolutely could not let Yutaka get close.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Hyuga Yutaka charged over, his palm wind fierce.

Narong did not take it head-on. With the two-tomoe Sharingan active, he precisely captured Yutaka's movement trajectory and leapt back to dodge while—

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Multiple fireballs shot out, disrupting the line of sight.

Relying on the Byakugan's insight, Hyuga Yutaka easily dodged them without losing speed. "Useless!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Narong immediately formed hand seals after that. A powerful wind kicked up dust and fallen leaves, instantly interfering with the Byakugan's visual perception.

Taking advantage of this gap, Narong closed in at high speed, his kunai stabbing straight into the opening between Yutaka's technique transitions!

Clang clang clang!

The kunai and chakra-wrapped palms clashed rapidly, sparks flying in all directions. The more Hyuga Yutaka fought, the more startled he became. His attacks were always cleverly avoided, while Narong's counterattacks always managed to find the points that made him most uncomfortable.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Hyuga Yutaka was forced to pull back, striking out a chakra shock wave through the air.

With the Sharingan's dynamic vision, Narong narrowly dodged sideways while his hands flew through seals:

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A huge fireball roared out, forcing Hyuga Yutaka to defend with all his strength.

The battle fell into a brief stalemate. Both of them were panting slightly as they looked at each other, a little more recognition in their eyes.

"Hmph. Looks like you haven't trained for nothing these past few years." Hyuga Yutaka shook out his hand.

"You too. Your Gentle Fist's gotten even stronger." Narong smiled. "Still want to continue? The tower's right ahead."

Hyuga Yutaka glanced at the tower close at hand, then looked back at Narong and lowered his stance. "Forget it. It's pointless. We've got all the scrolls anyway. Better save some strength for the next round. But next time, I won't hold back."

"Anytime." Narong also put away his kunai.

The two of them actually stopped at the same time with tacit understanding, then entered the central tower one after the other. They were among the first group to arrive.

Only a little over ten people passed the second exam. The final arena matches were personally hosted by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, with the clan heads and jonin mentors seated in the stands.

The arena matches were determined by drawing lots. Narong's opponents in the first two rounds were of average strength. He still did not use any powerful ninjutsu, advancing easily with only outstanding taijutsu, basic Fire Release, Wind Release, and the Sharingan's insight as support. The strength he displayed was steadily at the chunin level, causing waves of discussion in the stands.

"That kid from the Uchiha is very solid in the basics."

"His movements are clean and efficient, and his tactical awareness is pretty good too."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Narong below the arena and silently smoked his pipe. Orochimaru sat not far away, the corner of his mouth carrying an almost imperceptible curve.

In the semifinals, Narong faced a genin from the Inuzuka Clan who fought together with a ninken. The battle was quite intense, and the Inuzuka Clan's offense was fierce. But in the end, Narong used the Sharingan to detect a slight disharmony in the coordination between the ninken and its master. With a clever "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Red," he forced the ninken back, then closed in with taijutsu and defeated his opponent, advancing to the finals.

His final opponent was Might Guy! Guy had also swept through the other bracket, breaking into the finals with powerful taijutsu and basic ninjutsu.

"Narong! This is the ultimate showdown of youth!" Guy's blood was boiling.

"Come on, Guy!" Narong also said with a smile.

Guy knew Narong's strength well, so he went all out from the very start, directly opening the first three gates of the Eight Gates. Green steam swirled around him, and his offense came like a raging storm!

Cries of shock erupted throughout the stands.

Narong's expression grew grave. He controlled the Sharingan at the two-tomoe stage and pushed his own speed to the limit, weaving and dodging through Guy's fierce assault, occasionally using exquisite taijutsu to block and counterattack.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" He was even able to seize an opening to form hand seals, sending a large expanse of flames forward and forcing Guy to dodge.

"Composite Ninja Art: Blazing Breakthrough!" A huge fire tornado formed from wind and fire followed closely after, making even Guy, with three gates opened, feel pressure.

The battle was fierce, and the scene fell into a deadlock for a time. In the end, relying on superior chakra control, tactical choices, and the Sharingan's precise prediction, Narong seized a tiny flaw after one of Guy's all-out attacks. A swift taijutsu counterstrike hit Guy in the side of the abdomen. Though he did not use full strength, it was enough to break Guy's balance. Then his kunai stopped in a feint at Guy's throat.

"I won." Narong's breathing was slightly rough as he withdrew the kunai.

The green steam around Guy dissipated. He rubbed his side, then immediately grinned and laughed, giving a thumbs-up. "Hahaha! Beautiful fight, Narong! As expected of my lifelong rival! I accept this loss wholeheartedly!"

The Third Hokage rose and announced, "Final match, winner: Uchiha Narong!"

Applause rang out. In the end, a total of six people were promoted to chunin in this exam: Uchiha Narong, Hyuga Yutaka, Might Guy, along with two other clan children and two outstanding civilian geniuses.

Narong stood in the arena, sensing the faintly approving gaze from Orochimaru in the stands, and also saw Uchiha Fugaku give a slight nod. He had successfully been promoted and displayed his strength to just the right degree, neither overexposing his trump cards nor failing to win recognition.

The Chunin Exams came to an end, and Uchiha Narong's name began to be remembered by more people. Guy had also been promoted to chunin earlier than in the original story.