Chunin Ninja Exams

"So that was how it was... It was surprising, but I actually felt relieved. So the village hadn't abandoned me after all."

"Sakumo, politics is like a battlefield. So, do you want to become Hokage?"

Though I knew Sakumo could never become Hokage. After all, Minato shone far too brightly.

Nominally, he could be considered the Third Hokage's disciple. He had trained under Jiraiya, mastered the Second Hokage's Flying Raijin, was close to Kushina, the current Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and would earn the title Yellow Flash during the Third Shinobi World War.

Who could defeat a Minato like that and become Hokage?

"Hokage... To be honest, it sounds like a hassle. Besides, given the current situation, it's not like I can become Hokage just because I want to, right?" Sakumo narrowed his eyes and scratched his head.

"Actually, if you want to become Hokage, I have a way. It's just reputation. Rumors can ruin a person, and embellishing things can push someone's reputation to its peak."

Once the Third Shinobi World War began, I would have Sakumo rack up tremendous military achievements first, then I would control the rumors.

It wouldn't help much with the higher-ups' decision, but when it came to stirring up public sentiment, there was no way I could lose to anyone with the wealth of knowledge from my previous life.

Wouldn't a few clickbait articles be easy enough to write?

"Forget it, forget it. Let someone else be Hokage. I'll just do my current job well as a Jonin and train the new generation."

"Is that so? Then forget it."

Either Sakumo or Minato becoming Hokage would be good for me anyway. Although I still hadn't met Minato even once, I believed our paths would definitely cross in the future.

Minato was destined to become Obito's Jonin instructor. Obito was the only Uchiha in this class, and judging by the old Third Hokage's thinking, he would definitely want to ease the relationship between the village and the Uchiha.

The most suitable arrangement, then, would be to have Minato guide Obito and bring him closer to the Hokage faction, thereby easing the relationship between the two sides.

Rin was Obito's friend, and Kakashi and I were as well. For the team to function smoothly, one of us would definitely end up connected to Minato.

Once they were connected to him, I would naturally be connected to him too.

On the way home, I ran into Rin, who had long been "lying in wait" here.

"Rin, why are you here? What a coincidence."

"I heard you went to the Hokage Building, so I waited here to walk home with you."

Rin was still wearing a black V-neck long-sleeved shirt with an apron skirt today, looking petite and adorable.

"Mm, let's go home together."

As we walked, my callused hand held her soft little hand. Our shoulders pressed together as we walked quietly along.

"Oh, right. I still haven't congratulated you on officially graduating and becoming a Genin. Congratulations, Qingyue. You've taken your first step toward protecting Konoha!"

"Thank you, Rin. But you'll be graduating soon too. Your strength is already more than enough."

"Really?"

"Of course. I've been watching you too."

Before I knew it, we had reached Rin's doorstep. I let go of her little hand and told her, before leaving, that I would be taking the Chunin Ninja Exams.

So far, everything had been going fairly smoothly. My relationship with Rin was practically stable already, and once the war ended, I could slowly confess my feelings to her.

As for my strength, I was about to enter the upper ranks of Sword God Style. My Observation Haki had reached an advanced level, while my Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki...

There would always be a way.

I had no leads on a Devil Fruit ability right now, but what I had was already completely sufficient at this stage.

[Lord Qingyue, have you considered what changes might occur on Madara Uchiha's side after saving Obito?]

Huh? Madara...

Ah! I had completely forgotten about that! During the Third Shinobi World War, Madara would very likely begin acting, and he would most likely still choose an Uchiha member to carry out the Eye of the Moon plan.

After the Third Shinobi World War ended, the Nine-Tails Rebellion had originally been launched by Obito. Its purpose was to weaken Konoha's national strength and seize the chance to eliminate Minato.

And Akatsuki had also been destroyed near the end of the Third Shinobi World War through Danzo and Hanzō joining forces, leading to the emergence of a new Akatsuki.

This was impossible. What kind of hell-level dungeon was this Naruto world? There were traps everywhere...

Should Konoha just hurry up and be destroyed instead?

Early the next morning, just after finishing my morning training, I ran into Sakumo Hatake. Kakashi was beside him.

"Qingyue, today is the special Chunin Ninja Exam for you and Kakashi. Go to the Hokage Building and see the Third Hokage now."

"Alright. I'll go home, change clothes, and head over immediately."

After arriving at the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage led us into a lecture hall. Test papers had been placed on two seats.

The written portion was just ordinary questions. There was no test of intelligence-gathering ability, nor was there any test of cheating.

The questions were all basic ninja exercises—simple arithmetic and common knowledge. Even someone from my original world could answer them after attending two classes.

As expected, Kakashi and I both passed with perfect scores.

Next came the familiar Forest of Death. Several Genin were hiding in the forest with scrolls. Finding them and taking their scrolls counted as success.

"So this is the Forest of Death. It really is gloomy."

After entering the Forest of Death, I immediately headed toward the center, then spread out my Observation Haki to search for traces of people.

Since they were Genin, they would definitely reveal plenty of flaws. Their breathing, for example...

The moment I thought that, I sensed breathing. I placed my hand on my sword hilt, calmed myself, and used Observation Haki to lock onto that person's position.

"Hah..."

Once I was ready, my legs moved in quick succession as I charged toward the front left. In an instant, my ninja blade was already resting against the neck of the Genin who had still been looking around nervously.

"So fast..."

"My apologies, but I'll be taking the scroll."

I completed this stage in less than ten minutes. Kakashi followed soon after, only a few minutes behind me.

The final round was a fight between Kakashi and me. Combined with the results of the previous two rounds, it would determine whether we were qualified to advance to Chunin.

"Sakumo, you were right. Whether it's your son Kakashi or Qingyue, they are both new pillars of Konoha."

After only the two earlier tests, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already certain of it.

More than anyone, he knew that war was about to arrive, so he desperately hoped that more new flames would ignite in the village.

"They will surely become Konoha's pillars, and in the end, become the foundation that nurtures new flames for Konoha."

On the field, Qingyue and Kakashi formed the Seal of Confrontation toward each other. Once the referee announced the start, battle was ready to erupt at any moment.

[Given Kakashi's personality, he'll definitely use a feint first, then attack immediately after confusing me. But at the same time, he'll be wary of my Water God Style swordsmanship.]

After staring at each other for a second, Kakashi made the first move. There was no feint at all. He simply raised his ninja blade and charged straight at Qingyue.

[Head-on?]

His rhythm disrupted, Qingyue immediately twisted aside to avoid Kakashi's charge. Then his Observation Haki suddenly warned him from directly above. Looking up, he saw three kunai dropping straight down.

After using Water God Style swordsmanship to perfectly deflect every kunai, he ducked beneath Kakashi's swing with Observation Haki.

At the same time, seizing an opening from Kakashi, Qingyue raised his left elbow and struck Kakashi in the abdomen, sending him flying.

The elbow strike, wrapped in powerful Battle Aura, slammed heavily into Kakashi's abdomen with force comparable to a Rasengan. That one blow alone made his face twist as stomach acid surged up.

However, Kakashi did not stop moving because of it. Instead, he quickly widened the distance and pulled out a kunai from his clothes.

But in that instant when the pain struck, Kakashi revealed the slightest opening. Qingyue seized that very moment.

Sword God Style swordsmanship activated. Qingyue left his entire body undefended, focusing solely on Kakashi as he mobilized the Battle Aura wrapped around him and gripped his ninja blade tightly.

[Don't think about anything. Don't analyze...]

In that instant, Qingyue completely emptied his mind. Even his expression became vacant as the Battle Aura around him grew increasingly intense.

Silent Sword activated.

A sharp whistle split the air. In the blink of an eye, Qingyue's ninja blade had appeared before Kakashi, knocking the short blade from his hand.

Kakashi had not even reacted to losing his weapon before the edge was already pressed against his neck.

The speed was so fast that even the referee failed to see it clearly. Only after a long pause did he come to his senses and announce the end of the match.

[Congratulations, Lord Qingyue. You have officially entered Sword God Style: Upper Level and learned Silent Sword, a simplified version of Light Blade!]