Ninja Tournament Arena

Minato Namikaze's meaning was, of course, not entirely clear to Long Ye.

But to him, this was an inevitable result.

Because, at the end of the day, he was not from Konoha. His sense of belonging to the village came mostly from a few friends.

So when he swore that he would give up everything for Konoha—including his friends and even his own life—it had only been words spoken during the oath.

"Sensei!!"

Seeing Minato trail off halfway through his sentence and stare into the distance, Obito called out softly.

Minato came back to himself, smiled, and said:

"As I said, since Long Ye didn't get a bell, he naturally isn't qualified to participate in the team combat round. However..."

"He simply can't participate in the team combat round. As an Elite Jonin of Konoha, I'll recommend him directly for the individual combat finals."

"What!!"

Obito and Rin were overjoyed.

"This is amazing!"

Rin jumped for joy.

Obito nodded repeatedly, looking as though he had known this all along.

Only Kakashi remained composed, a hint of relief in his eyes.

In his heart, the reason he had been able to land that blow and cut through the tree just now was largely because Long Ye had held Minato back for him.

Now that he heard Long Ye would be recommended for the exams, he felt somewhat relieved.

"Minato-sensei, had you already decided that no matter who failed to get a bell this time, you'd recommend them directly for the Chunin Exams?"

Rin asked happily, her little face flushed.

Minato smiled, which counted as an admission.

"All right. I still have to congratulate you all. You've learned how to work together. You all performed excellently in that fight just now. No one rushed ahead for credit, and no one held the others back. There are still a few days before the Chunin Exams, so you need to maintain this state..."

"Minato-sensei, I understand. I'll do my best to help Kakashi and make sure he doesn't become our weak link. Just watch my performance in the Chunin Exams."

Obito pushed up the sunglasses on his head and spoke with high spirits.

Kakashi glanced at him and said coldly, "Since we can all take the exams, the person Sensei should recommend should be Obito. He's a burden. Not only is he useless, he'll hold us back. He might even be worse than Rin and me when fighting the three members of another class..."

"Kakashi, what are you talking about? Do you think I'm still the same old me? I've awakened the Sharingan. I could take on three of you at once without a problem. Want to try?"

Obito exploded in fury at being looked down on.

"As long as you aren't afraid of getting injured and being unable to take the exams afterward, I'm always ready."

Kakashi adopted an air of complete indifference toward him.

"I'm so tired! Not again!"

Rin wore a helpless expression and had no choice but to step in once more to stop the two of them from arguing...

Over the next few days...

The three of them kept practicing their teamwork for the team combat round of the Chunin Exams.

Since Minato had recommended Long Ye, allowing him to participate directly in the individual combat round, he didn't join them.

But that didn't mean he could slack off or stop training. Almost every morning, Rin went to find him right on time.

Given Rin's personality, she would still find a way to treat Long Ye to a meal even when money was tight. Now that she had tens of thousands of ryo, she naturally made no exception.

As Long Ye had said before, Rin treating him to meals had practically become part of their routine.

Thus, over the next few days, aside from sleeping at night, the two were almost inseparable.

Including Obito and Kakashi, they were still one another's most important companions, but Rin and Long Ye seemed to share something different.

All these changes had happened within just a few short days.

With Minato's guidance and Rin's urging, Long Ye's training progressed by leaps and bounds, including his chakra training.

Now, he could even rely on chakra alone to reach the top of a ten-meter-tall tree with ease.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

The annual Chunin Exams had finally arrived.

The Ninja Tournament Arena was packed with people.

Long Ye was determined to achieve a perfect record in the final individual combat round and advance to Chunin.

Only by winning every match could he complete the Devil side mission with one hundred percent completion and obtain forty Devil Points.

Those forty Devil Points, added to his current sixty, would make exactly one hundred. He would then officially fulfill the requirements to advance to One-Star Devil.

I have to succeed. Once I obtain the Human Modification Devil Fruit ability, I'll be able to perfectly transplant a Kekkei Genkai.

Standing on the arena's second floor, Long Ye watched the people arriving below and muttered to himself.

"Hey, Long Ye!!"

A sudden voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He looked toward the source of the voice, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

It was Rin and Kakashi.

As for Obito, there was no sign of him. As expected, he was late again.

At that moment, the two of them arrived at the arena under Minato's leadership.

The moment Rin entered the arena, her eyes darted around as she searched. She immediately spotted Long Ye.

Since Long Ye didn't have to participate in the first "team combat round," he hadn't come with them and had arrived here ahead of time on his own.

He raised a hand and waved to Rin.

The first floor of the arena was where the two sides competed. The second floor was the waiting area, which could also be called the spectator stands.

There were no seats in the spectator stands. Everyone simply leaned against the railing.

Under Minato's leadership, the two of them reached the second floor, and Rin immediately ran toward Long Ye.

"Long Ye, do your best later! You were even able to capture a Jonin alive, so you definitely won't have any trouble with this Chunin Exam!"

Rin raised her delicate fist and earnestly cheered Long Ye on.

All the participants were on the second floor, so her words inevitably reached the ears of those nearby, drawing widespread attention.

"Capture a Jonin alive?"

When they saw that the person Rin was talking about was Long Ye, some looked disdainful, some laughed aloud, and others looked at him with contempt, as though he were an idiot.

To everyone listening, this was clearly absurd. They assumed Rin was simply boasting wildly.

Feeling the mocking and wary gazes around him, Long Ye sighed helplessly.

Rin's faith in him even exceeded his own.

As for capturing a Jonin alive, that achievement had been filled with coincidences and would be extremely difficult to replicate.

Kakashi came over right after Rin. He said nothing, merely extending a fist toward Long Ye.

Long Ye clenched his fist and bumped it against Kakashi's.

At this point, although the upheaval in Kakashi's family had made him somewhat withdrawn, his heart was not cold.

After spending these days with him, Long Ye had grown familiar with him. Their friendship was not as deep as his bond with Obito and Rin, but they had still acknowledged one another as companions.