Jonin Promotion Examination

Jonin Promotion Examination

Hyuga Yuto walked down the street, eating takoyaki from a box as he went.

Ten days had passed since the day he returned to the Hidden Leaf Village.

The atmosphere was growing increasingly tense.

Even on the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, fully armed ninja could be seen everywhere. Quite a few wore gray armor, the sort of equipment only issued during major wars and rarely seen in peacetime.

Three days ago, the Hidden Leaf Village had begun enforcing a "lockdown policy," barring all outside ninja from entering. Even within the village, masked ANBU would occasionally inspect suspicious individuals' identities.

However, Hyuga Yuto had never been questioned. Those pure Byakugan eyes were a pass throughout the Hidden Leaf Village; the ninja world had never seen a living Hyuga traitor.

—At least, not yet.

After finishing his takoyaki, Hyuga Yuto stretched and continued walking.

Normally, he would have been sparring with Tsunade at the Senju Clan Grounds by now. But today, the branch family youth was headed somewhere else.

The Hidden Leaf Village's Jonin promotion examination would be held today.

Unlike the public, large-scale Chunin Exams, Jonin promotion examinations were rarely seen by ordinary ninja. They were usually conducted in secret, with major figures of the village serving as witnesses and examiners. Even the Hokage would attend.

It was not just the Hidden Leaf Village; other ninja villages also kept their Jonin examinations private. There were many reasons for this, but the most important was to "protect Jonin intelligence from leaking"!

Jonin were the outstanding elite of a ninja village. They trained new blood, led teams into battle, commanded major wars, researched ninjutsu—ranging from fledgling squad leaders to advisers and even candidates for the Kage... The quantity and quality of Jonin could be said to be a crucial indicator of whether a nation was strong.

Having lived in the Hidden Leaf Village for thirteen years, Hyuga Yuto was very familiar with it. Following the map Tsunade had given him last night, he took turn after turn and soon reached the end of a certain street.

He triggered the mechanism, and a hidden door slowly appeared. Hyuga Yuto entered and followed the underground passage downward, soon arriving in a small chamber with steel walls.

Ugh... such a cliché mechanism... Hyuga Yuto complained inwardly the moment he entered.

Bang!

An iron gate dropped behind him, sealing the tunnel. The steel walls instantly flipped over, revealing countless kunai and shuriken. The mechanisms roared to life, launching them all at Hyuga Yuto.

The branch family youth tilted his head. In the next instant, his body spun at high speed, and a spherical chakra barrier appeared around him without the slightest gap.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang...

Kunai and hidden weapons from all directions were deflected and knocked down. Not one broke through his defensive perimeter.

—Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Palm: Heavenly Spin!

This was a secret technique passed down orally through generations of the Hyuga main family. It was a high-level taijutsu technique known as "perfect defense," something the branch family had absolutely no chance of learning. More than ten years later, even Hyuga Neji would have to comprehend it on his own through sheer talent.

Likewise, Hyuga Yuto could master Heavenly Spin through talent alone.

Training in Monster Strength had deepened his understanding of the "fist" more and more. After cultivating the Yin Seal, his control over his body and chakra had become increasingly terrifying. Moreover, from reading manga in his previous life, he already knew the general principle behind Heavenly Spin. Mastering this secret technique was only natural.

After the storm-like barrage of hidden weapons ended, Hyuga Yuto lightly waved a hand and stopped Heavenly Spin. Broken and warped kunai littered the floor, while the steel walls had been pitted and dented by the rebounding weapons.

The branch family youth raised a foot, about to look for an exit, when he spotted several sheets of paper stuck to the floor.

Explosive tags!

"Ha... now that's a little more creative." Hyuga Yuto chuckled. Without hesitation, he activated the Body Flicker Technique and dashed to a wall in an instant. He twisted his waist, raised his elbow, and threw a punch in one fluid motion.

Boom!

Tremendous force erupted outward, blasting a huge hole through the steel wall and the thick concrete behind it. Hyuga Yuto completely ignored the explosive tags detonating behind him and continued smashing forward through the opening.

Rumble, rumble, rumble... Hyuga Yuto understood a little why Teacher Tsunade liked smashing rocks and trees with her fists. Watching everything before him shatter beneath his punches was genuinely stress-relieving.

This bold tunnel-boring did not last long. Soon, Hyuga Yuto felt the resistance ahead vanish. He finally burst through the thick wall of piled concrete and arrived at a vast underground plaza.

Hatake Kakashi, with snow-white hair and a half-face mask, was already standing there.

He seemed somewhat surprised by Hyuga Yuto's method of arrival. Pointing at the hole that had been punched through the wall, he asked blankly:

"Yuto, you... why did you destroy the examination site?"

"The examination site?" Hyuga Yuto straightened his clothes, smoothing every wrinkle flat. "I thought that was a test of our sustained destructive capability."

"...Of course not." Kakashi looked a little frustrated. "That was just an appetizer, basically the preliminary round. It was only meant to test our overall qualities as ninja. It was actually a pretty ingenious design. After getting through that hidden-weapon chamber, we were supposed to receive a scroll. Following the route marked on it, we would have to undergo several more trials before reaching this place. Along the way, it would test our intelligence-gathering ability, adaptability, speed and endurance, whether the types of ninjutsu we knew were diverse enough..."

"Oh." Hyuga Yuto smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Kakashi. I got through it too easily... But I believe that when carrying out a mission, a ninja should not be bound by any restrictions."

When Hatake Kakashi heard the first half of that sentence, the vein between his brows had nearly started twitching in anger. But when he heard the latter half, his eyes widened in admiration.

A ninja should not be bound by any restrictions... Hyuga Yuto was still the same as before... Sometimes he said things that were really impressive...

The white-haired Kakashi shrugged.

"You're right. A ninja must indeed be prepared to do anything for the sake of a mission."

Hyuga Yuto was only one year older than Kakashi, so they were practically the same age and rather familiar with each other. Waiting around in silence was boring, so they chatted idly. The atmosphere was not awkward.

Gradually, several more people arrived. Unlike Hyuga Yuto and Kakashi, these people were all robust adults in their twenties or thirties. Their manner was mature, and they were seasoned ninja who had carried out nearly a thousand missions.

Normally, ninja were promoted to Jonin at around the age of twenty-eight. For Hyuga Yuto and Kakashi to become Jonin at such an age was already enough to be called astonishing. If not for factors such as the approaching war, they could never have been promoted so quickly.

After waiting a while longer, no one else appeared.

Tap. Tap.

Calm footsteps rang out as several important figures from the Hidden Leaf Village appeared one after another.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Tsunade were among them.