Jinchūriki

"It's fine. Just call me Kazan. I'm not used to people calling me by my surname."

Kazan waved a hand. He didn't care about such things.

"Then... Kazan..."

"Yeah, that's it. Keep it up. You can become popular too, Aburame."

"..."

Why did he ask me to call him by his name, then call me by my surname?

Shibi Aburame didn't understand.

Father, dealing with other people really is difficult.

"Let's go in too. The exam's about to start."

Tsume Inuzuka pushed open the door and led the way into the classroom.

The moment the door opened,

dozens of gazes swung toward them.

Including Konoha's, there were more than sixty Genin inside.

They paused when they saw Kazan, then quickly went back to normal.

Kazan was definitely the youngest candidate in this batch.

Next came a ninja from one of Kumogakure's teams, who was only a little older than Kazan.

Yugito Nii.

"The Two-Tails' Jinchūriki?!" Kazan's pupils contracted slightly.

Kumogakure was actually willing to send its Two-Tails into the Chunin Ninja Exams.

"They're going all in."

These Chunin Ninja Exams were more important than Kazan had thought.

Early in the Shinobi World's history, Hashirama Senju had convened the first Five Kage Summit.

The summit had been meant to help the villages forget their grudges, forge a peace treaty, and create a peaceful world together.

As a gesture of sincerity, Hashirama Senju had captured eight Tailed Beasts. He kept only the strongest, the Nine-Tails, for Konoha and distributed the other seven among the villages.

Supposedly, even keeping the Nine-Tails had been at Tobirama Senju's insistence.

The God of Shinobi didn't care about the Tailed Beasts.

Short on resources, Sunagakure chose not to take another one. Instead, it gave up its claim in exchange for resources that could help the village develop quickly.

The Sand ninja already had the One-Tail, Shukaku. They didn't need any more.

It sounded ridiculous. Hashirama Senju had caught the Tailed Beasts, and Sunagakure stood to benefit for nothing. It had no grounds to demand more.

Yet its request was granted, and Sunagakure received a vast amount of resources at that summit.

Kumogakure, which revered strength and believed power was all that mattered, paid some resources and received the Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails.

After that,

Kumogakure became the only village to keep researching how to make Tailed Beasts a regular part of its fighting force.

And it had succeeded!

This generation's Jinchūriki were Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, and Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki standing before him.

"Killer B has already won over the Eight-Tails by this point. What about her?" Kazan couldn't be sure.

Tailed Beasts were the Five Great Shinobi Villages' ultimate weapons, meant more to deter other villages than anything else.

Their status was comparable to nuclear warheads!

But most of those warheads hurt their own side before they ever killed an enemy.

Tailed Beasts were especially sensitive to the malice in humans, and they hated being sealed inside human bodies and stripped of their freedom.

Whenever a seal broke, the Tailed Beast went berserk and caused heavy casualties.

As a result, Jinchūriki through the generations had been treated like a plague in their villages. Everyone avoided them.

Kumogakure was the exception.

Killer B, that extraordinary man, had moved the Eight-Tails with singing, dancing, and rap...

Well, it was really down to Killer B's personality. The Eight-Tails sensed none of that filthy malice in him and gradually came to accept him.

Kumogakure also knew of a place called the Waterfall of Truth, where people could confront the deepest darkness in their hearts.

That helped Jinchūriki form friendships with their Tailed Beasts.

Unlike the other villages, Kumogakure was among the few that could deploy Tailed Beasts on the battlefield.

"How interesting. If I run into her later, I've got to fight her!"

Kazan fixed his gaze on the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.

With his Observation Haki, he could sense the monster living inside Yugito Nii.

"Yugito."

"What is it, Matatabi?"

"Watch out for that Konoha brat. He's got his eye on you."

The Two-Tails, Matatabi, spoke to Yugito through their shared consciousness.

She sensed a fierce desire to fight coming from Kazan.

Unlike the malice she felt from most people, that Konoha brat's desire was so pure it made even Matatabi tense up.

"A brat?"

Yugito Nii looked in the direction Matatabi indicated.

It was a Genin even younger than she was.

"Has Konoha run out of people? They're sending a kid like that to the Chunin Ninja Exams."

"Lord Raikage must have worried too much. Konoha isn't as strong as we thought."

Her village had chosen her as a Tailed Beast's vessel when she was young, making her the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki.

Though she had endured plenty of hostile looks and hatred, the Third Raikage had always encouraged her. Later, with Killer B's help, she had learned to control her Tailed Beast.

Now the whole village had accepted her.

She had been sent to these Chunin Ninja Exams with an important mission.

"Don't underestimate him, Yugito."

Matatabi had no proof, but her instincts told her Kazan was far from ordinary.

"I know. I'll be careful."

Yugito turned away and didn't look at Kazan again.

"Got your eye on that girl from Kumogakure?"

Tsume Inuzuka chuckled, wearing the knowing look of someone who had been there herself.

"Yeah, but not the way you think."

"If you end up alone with her later, don't hesitate. Run."

A Jinchūriki who could fully control her Tailed Beast would be at least Kage Level when she went all out.

Shinku Yuhi had told him that the other villages might slip dangerous surprises in among their candidates for these Chunin Ninja Exams.

Kazan just hadn't expected Kumogakure's surprise to be this powerful.

They had put a nuclear warhead on their team!

These villages were already preparing for war!

"Quiet!"

At that moment, the proctor for the first exam entered.

He carried the imposing presence of a Jonin, silencing every candidate in the classroom.

His distinctive pineapple-shaped hair marked him as a ninja of the Nara Clan: Shikaku Nara.

He was in his early twenties and had been a student at the same time as Minato Namikaze.

Shikaku Nara got straight to the point. The test he announced was just like the one in the original story.

The first Chunin Ninja Exams test: a written exam!

"The first test is simple. You'll each receive a paper shortly. Score a passing grade, and you pass."

"There's one condition, though! Every member of your team must pass. Otherwise, the whole team is eliminated!"

An uproar swept through the classroom.

Everyone turned to look at the weakest student on their team.

Their minds raced as they tried to work out how to save that teammate.

We'll have to cheat!

No sooner had they thought it than Shikaku Nara added,

"I almost forgot. To prevent cheating, I'll rearrange all your seats and make sure you're far from your teammates."

"Other proctors will also help me watch the room. If you're caught cheating, you'll be disqualified immediately!"

With that, the door opened again. Several Konoha Ninja came in and sat along the classroom walls, with every corner under observation.

This...

We're done for!

How could they possibly cheat without being caught by so many proctors, all of whom were at least Chunin?

It was impossible!