Chunin Exams

After all that trouble, this mission naturally came to nothing.

Shikaku told Asuma and Kurenai the mission's true purpose, leaving both of them deeply surprised.

When they returned to Konoha to report on the mission, not only did their records not gain a failed C-rank mission, they instead gained a successful S-rank mission.

It turned out that the Third Hokage believed Shikaku's group had already forced all the Hidden Mist ninja lurking in the Land of Waves into the open.

Although they had not figured out what those ninja were doing in the Land of Waves, they had at least confirmed the intelligence that a large number of Hidden Mist ninja were present there.

Since this mission involved the peace between two major ninja villages, and the enemy's troop deployment far exceeded Konoha's,

the mission was therefore classified as S-rank and deemed a success.

As for the original C-rank mission, it had merely been a fake mission the village used as a cover.

However, Toru's greatest gain from this mission was not the so-called S-rank mission reward, but the Sharingan.

Toru awakened his Sharingan at the age of ten. Even among the entire Uchiha clan, his talent could be considered first-rate.

Of course, compared to Toru's own talent, his talent for the Sharingan was actually nothing remarkable.

Fortunately, it did not matter if it was unremarkable, as long as it did not hold him back.

This awakening also proved that awakening the Sharingan did not necessarily require losing friends or family. The key seemed to lie in one's own emotions.

Looking back, Toru recalled that he seemed to have been controlled by his emotions at the time. That furious rage was something he had never experienced before.

Even his total Cursed Energy had increased since then.

So perhaps the key to awakening and evolving the Sharingan was not necessarily experiencing something horribly tragic. At its core, it required emotional stimulation; it was just that most such stimulation came from tragic events.

Thus, Toru believed that most Uchiha had reversed the cause and effect behind awakening the Sharingan.

To verify this hypothesis, Toru used the Six Eyes to carefully study his own brain structure.

He discovered that the part connected to the Sharingan through Chakra was indeed the emotional center.

The principle behind awakening the Sharingan was that, after the emotional center was stimulated, it secreted a special kind of Chakra. That Chakra acted upon the optic nerves, causing the eyes' form to change.

Once he understood the principle, an idea emerged in Toru's mind.

If he used the negative mental energy within Cursed Energy to stimulate the emotional center, perhaps it could produce a similar effect.

Toru immediately began experimenting. Sure enough, through the Six Eyes, he observed that special Chakra being secreted.

Unfortunately, under such stimulation, the special Chakra was secreted very slowly.

After a year of gradual progress, Toru finally changed both eyes from one tomoe to two tomoe.

Although this method could not compare to the rapid improvement offered by traditional methods of awakening the Sharingan, it was stable.

One tomoe at ten, two tomoe at eleven.

At this pace, he would be able to awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan at twelve or thirteen.

As for the higher-level Mangekyō Sharingan, Toru was still uncertain whether this method would work on it.

Over this past year, Toru had improved not only his Sharingan, but also his overall strength.

Toru now believed that among jonin, ordinary jonin were no match for him, aside from exceptional figures like Shikaku and Minato.

Shikaku's Shadow Imitation Technique could bypass Limitless's defense and control Toru, while Minato's Flying Thunder God was elusive and unpredictable. Even now, Toru had yet to see through its principles with the Six Eyes.

Minato in particular made Toru feel that his strength had already surpassed the level of jonin.

Even if Minato became Hokage one day, Toru would not find it surprising.

But that did not mean Toru feared Shikaku or Minato. If they truly fought, the outcome would still be uncertain.

At the very least, neither of them could break through Limitless's defense head-on.

Having reached this level of strength, Toru felt it was time to seek promotion. The Chunin Exams were also due to be held soon.

One day, Toru came to Shikaku's house.

Shikaku's wife, Yoshino Nara, answered the door. Yoshino wore the classic motherly hairstyle: a smooth, low ponytail. If she had braided it too, it would have been even more classic.

Yoshino was strict with her husband, but she was very gentle toward outstanding juniors like Toru.

"Toru, what brings you here?"

Toru bowed with a smile. "I came to see Teacher Shikaku."

Using the Six Eyes, Toru sensed that Shikaku was home, along with two other Chakra signatures at the jonin level.

Under Yoshino's guidance, Toru went to see Shikaku.

Shikaku was playing Shogi with Yamanaka Inoichi on the tatami.

Shikaku stroked his beard with an inscrutable expression, while Yamanaka Inoichi across from him scratched his head in frustration, clearly at a disadvantage.

Beside them sat a stout, red-haired man with an endearingly simple appearance. His body could only be described as enormous, and though his face was covered in thick flesh, he wore a gentle, amiable smile.

In Konoha, ninja with such physiques generally came from the Akimichi clan.

This man was Choza Akimichi.

By now, Toru had learned about Konoha's various clans, large and small. He knew that the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans had been close allies for generations and were collectively known as the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans.

The Yamanaka were Ino, the Nara were Shika, and the Akimichi were Cho.

"Teacher Shikaku, Uncle Inoichi, Uncle Choza."

Toru greeted them first.

Shikaku and the others warmly greeted Toru as well. Shikaku gestured for him to sit down and said, "Come sit and wait for a bit. Let me finish this game."

Toru obediently sat down and watched the match.

Shikaku's skill was clearly superior to Inoichi's. He advanced with unstoppable momentum, while Inoichi scratched his head but had no power to fight back.

In the end, Inoichi's king piece was trapped with no way out.

"Check." Shikaku smiled smugly, the two scars on his face twisting with the expression.

Inoichi let out a long sigh and declared that he was done playing, much to Choza's delight as he watched the spectacle.

Shikaku turned to Toru and said, "You came because of the Chunin Exams, didn't you?"

Toru was somewhat surprised, but he affirmed it. "As expected of my teacher. You guessed what I was thinking."

Toru's flattery only earned a chuckle from Shikaku. "You brat never gets up early without profit. What good could it be for you to come looking for me?"

"The only reason you could have for coming to see me lately is the Chunin Exams coming up soon."

"Don't worry. I've already written your recommendation letter. I asked Inoichi and Choza to come over today to discuss the Chunin Exams, since I'm one of the examiners this time."

Toru then wanted to ask for the recommendation letter. Registering for the Chunin Exams required a recommendation letter from one's superior.

"Play a game with me first, then I'll give it to you. You know how to play, right?" Shikaku said.

Toru moved over to the Shogi board and nodded. "Asuma taught me."

"Asuma isn't much of a player either. How about this? I'll give you the first move." Shikaku was quite confident in his Shogi skills.

Inoichi and Choza also stayed behind, sitting at the side to watch the two play with the mindset of enjoying a show.

At first, Shikaku did not take it seriously, treating Toru merely as a diversion.

But before long, Shikaku realized something was wrong. The game became increasingly difficult, and he hurriedly drew upon nearly twenty years of Shogi experience.

Even at the end, the two remained evenly matched. In the end, Shikaku narrowly defeated Toru by a slim margin.

Without changing his expression, Shikaku wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Looking at Toru's calm expression, he thought, This brat probably even went easy on me to save my face.

"Looks like I still need more practice." Toru humbly conceded defeat.

"Indeed." Shikaku replied guiltily. He then pulled three recommendation letters from his robe and said, "The Chunin Exams will be easy as pie for you. The three of you probably won't need me to worry about you."

Toru accepted the recommendation letters. "I'll do my best to pass in one go and not bring shame upon you, Teacher."

Toru then left with the recommendation letters for the Chunin Exams.

"Your disciple is no ordinary one," Inoichi remarked.

Shikaku nodded. "Yes. No ordinary one."