The target of one of Team 7's missions came from a rather influential family!
After they completed the mission, that family placed a huge bounty on their heads!
Anyone who joined in could claim a reward. That time, the three of them were surrounded by more than thirty killers registered with the Bounty Exchange!
There were too many powerful opponents. No matter how desperately they fought, they could not break free. Naruto even unleashed the Four-Tails and nearly lost control!
At the critical moment, Tenka appeared, and the numerous killers suddenly dropped to their knees and begged for mercy!
But Tenka remained expressionless. Before the stunned eyes of the three youngsters, he merely activated his Byakugan!
That group instantly turned into sheets of bloody rain that scattered everywhere!
Afterward, Tenka led the three of them in an assault on that family, sparing neither men nor women, young nor old!
He slaughtered every last one of them without mercy!
Even now, Team 7 still remembered the terror and pleading in those children's eyes!
They wanted so badly to live that even Sasuke felt some pity for them, let alone Naruto!
Yet their teacher had seemed like a killing machine devoid of all emotion!
There had not been the slightest hesitation in his attacks. With one opening and closing of his Byakugan, all that remained were clusters of bloody mist!
The three discovered that compared to using a sword, when their teacher used the Byakugan, he did not leave behind even a single corpse!
Only then did they understand that during that training ground session, their teacher had already been holding back greatly by using a sword!
After killing everyone, Tenka looked at them and left them with a single sentence:
Put away your pathetic compassion. Once someone becomes your enemy, you must exterminate them completely!
Leaving behind future trouble is the stupidest thing you can do!
That had been the most terrifying day of the three's lives. Even though they had long grown accustomed to killing!
But whenever they recalled that bloody scene, their faces still turned a little pale!
At the Bounty Exchange, they had also learned of another title their teacher possessed: the White-Eyed Demon!
All three unanimously agreed that the title suited him perfectly!
The scene they had witnessed with their own eyes made their teacher at that time no different from a demon that had crawled out of hell!
As they looked at Konoha before them, never before had they wanted to stay for a few more days as much as they did now!
Their teacher's missions grew more and more deranged each time, more brutal than the last!
Over the past twenty-some days, aside from that one time when the gap in strength had been too vast and their teacher had intervened!
Every other time, even when they had suffered severe injuries due to inexperience, he had remained unmoved!
After this experience, the three truly believed that their teacher meant every word he said!
Once they left Konoha, whether they lived or died depended entirely on themselves. As long as their opponents were not overwhelmingly stronger than them, he absolutely would not intervene!
Walking down the familiar streets and watching people come and go around them, the three finally felt it.
I had returned to the human world!
"Rest for two days!"
After turning in the mission, Tenka said the same thing!
Yet it made the three of them shudder. They desperately wanted to ask, "Teacher, can we rest a few more days?" But they did not dare!
This time, they were truly exhausted in both body and mind, especially mentally. They desperately wanted more time to recover!
Even Sasuke, that training fanatic, wanted a few more days to rest this time!
But as they watched their teacher's back recede farther and farther away, none of the three dared to speak!
"Sigh!"
"Cherish it!"
"My two days in the human world!"
"Who knows whether I'll even make it back alive in two days!"
Naruto let out a deep sigh. There was nothing he could do. Compared to his teacher, he was not even worth a strand of hair; he could not fight against someone so far above him!
"Shut up!"
"I will definitely survive!"
Sasuke spoke as though making an oath, then left alone. He had to recover within these two days.
"Even Sasuke has been driven crazy by Teacher!"
"Sakura, how are you planning to spend these two days?"
"I'll ask Ino to go soak in the hot springs with me. I think that would help me recover faster!"
"Good idea. Count me in. I need to recover too!"
"No, I think out of the three of us, you're the one who doesn't need to recover!"
Sakura left as well. Naruto watched her departing figure before finally dropping his earlier antics!
The worry in his sapphire-blue eyes finally surfaced!
"Let's go have a bowl of ramen!"
"I really miss that feeling!"
Naruto muttered softly to himself as he headed toward Ichiraku Ramen!
On Tenka's side, before he had even reached the Hyuga Clan, a hawk hovered in the sky.
"Caw..."
After calling out a few times, it flew away. Tenka knew it was a notice summoning the Jonin!
But... what the hell did that have to do with me?
He lifted his foot and continued toward the Hyuga Clan. Before he had taken more than a few steps, an Anbu appeared before him and cautiously said,
"Ten... Tenka-sama!"
"The Hokage requests your presence to discuss the Chunin Ninja Exams!"
Tenka fell silent...
The Chunin Ninja Exams? It seemed they needed his nomination as their team-leading Jonin before they could participate!
Then he would go!
"I'll be there!"
"Yes!"
Upon receiving his reply, the Anbu inwardly sighed in relief and hurried back to report!
Tenka was the only one who required an Anbu to notify him. The Third Hokage knew that even if Tenka saw the ninja hawk, he would not come!
In the Hokage's Office, everyone except Tenka had already arrived!
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Tenka slowly walked in. Though he had not released any killing intent, the ninjas still felt the temperature drop by several degrees!
"Good!"
"Now that everyone is here, the main topic today is the Chunin Ninja Exams!"
"Those who believe the teams they lead have suitable candidates may begin recommending them!"
The others began making their recommendations one by one. The students they led had graduated in the previous class or even earlier classes, and Might Guy was among them!
The Third Hokage nodded and recorded them one by one, then raised his head to look at the teachers leading this year's newly graduated students!
"Then, do any of this year's newly graduated teams have suitable candidates to recommend?"
"I need not repeat the requirements. The recommended Genin must have completed more than eight missions!"
"In fact, having two to three times that number is generally the safest!"
"Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura will participate!"
The moment the Third Hokage finished speaking, Tenka immediately spoke up. Unlike the others, he did not guarantee them in his own name!
There was no need for that. If Hyuga Tenka said they could participate, then they could participate whether they were qualified or not!
"Team 8: Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Kiba Inuzuka. In the name of Kurenai Yuhi, I recommend them for the Chunin Ninja Exams!"
"Team 10: Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino. In the name of Sarutobi Asuma, I recommend them for the Chunin Ninja Exams!"
Just as the Third Hokage nodded and prepared to write them down, Iruka still stepped forward!
"Wait, please wait a moment!"
"My apologies, Hokage-sama, but the students recommended by the three Jonin were all students I previously taught!"
"I don't think they are suited to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams yet!"
The Third Hokage looked at Tenka. He did not know about the others, but Tenka's Team 7 was definitely capable!
"Tenka, what do you think?"
Tenka looked at Iruka and coldly said:
"You could not last even one move against any one of them in a one-on-one fight!"
"You are a Chunin. Why can't they participate?"
"What?"
"Gasp..."
Some ninjas who had never heard of Team 7's exploits exclaimed in shock, and Iruka was stunned as well!
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