Konoha: Starting with the Tenseigan, Taking Over Team 7

So Mu boring.

There was still no word on Tsunade. He could only wait until she went gambling in that place called Tanzaku Town.

Besides, that flat-chested brat Sakura Haruno hadn't learned Medical Ninjutsu yet. Even if he found Tsunade now, Sakura couldn't learn the peculiar power of the Yin Seal.

That damned Strength of a Hundred Power was a real headache!

The Mentor-Disciple System's task was ridiculous too. Why couldn't it just have Sakura learn summoning? Why insist on something as difficult as Strength of a Hundred Power?

That snake charmer had been making moves lately. The old dog Third Hokage probably hadn't noticed yet, had he?

“Wr-wrinkles? You're the one with wrinkles.” Kurenai Yuhi's smile stiffened. The corner of her mouth twitched as she reached over with her pale hand and pinched Cangyue hard on the waist.

Aogetsu Hyuga caught Kurenai Yuhi's hand and threatened her with a wicked grin. “Keep pinching me and I'll give your chest a good squeeze.”

Little Kurenai was pretty formidable.

She could actually make someone with Six Paths-level power feel pain. When it came to pinching people, he, Aogetsu Hyuga, would call Kurenai Yuhi the strongest!

“Pervert.” Kurenai Yuhi hurriedly pulled her hand away and scooted over, putting a little distance between herself and Cangyue.

Pinch my... chest?

What kind of outrageous thing was that to say?

“Ugh.” Asuma Sarutobi had just picked up a piece of Grilled Meat when he caught sight of Kurenai Yuhi and Cangyue out of the corner of his eye. They were whispering and playfully touching each other like a flirtatious young couple. The sight left him thoroughly miserable.

Asuma Sarutobi ate his Grilled Meat in silence. Watching the woman he'd liked for so long flirt with another man felt awful.

Even the premium beef tasted bad now!

Kakashi Hatake, wearing his usual Kakashi look, patted Asuma Sarutobi on the shoulder. “Give up.”

Everyone in the village knew Asuma had been pursuing Kurenai Yuhi since they were children, but she had always been distant with him.

Kurenai Yuhi seemed to dislike Aogetsu Hyuga on the surface, yet she always ended up getting close to him without meaning to.

Women were such a headache.

No matter how many volumes of Icha Icha Paradise he read, he still couldn't understand how women thought.

Asuma Sarutobi lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He blew out a stream of pale smoke, then forced a smile as he joined the conversation. "Shikamaru and the others are doing well. It's about time they took the Chunin Ninja Exams."

Asuma Sarutobi looked across at Kurenai Yuhi and asked with a smile, “Kurenai, your Team 10 is doing well too. What are you planning?”

“The Chunin Ninja Exams? I'm still not sure. Team 10 only became Genin recently. It feels... too soon for them to take the exams.” Kurenai Yuhi frowned slightly and rested a finger against her chin, deep in thought.

She felt Team 10 had serious problems, especially the timid Hinata Hyuga.

Hinata Hyuga was strong enough to enter this year's Chunin Ninja Exams, but she was too softhearted and worried about hurting her opponents. Put simply, she was too kind.

The Chunin Ninja Exams were fraught with danger now. The old rule, where having enough strength meant an automatic promotion to Chunin, was long gone.

The exams now tested Genin's overall abilities and state of mind. With Hinata Hyuga's temperament, she could easily be gravely injured or killed.

So Kurenai planned to train Team 10 some more and have them enter the next Chunin Ninja Exams.

Taking the Chunin Exams would be good experience, but Kurenai also worried that failing would hit Hinata and the other kids hard.

More importantly,

Kurenai Yuhi was worried her students would get hurt.

A mother grew fierce when protecting her children, after all.

Kurenai Yuhi turned to Cangyue and asked curiously, “Cangyue, are you signing Team 7 up?”

Aogetsu Hyuga idly bit his straw. "Doesn't matter, does it? Is being a Chunin that important? Genin are the strongest."

Were Chunin that impressive?

Were Jonin that impressive?

Bullshit!

Genin were the real powerhouses!

Wait...

Back in the Land of Waves, I think I promised Team 7 I'd sign up whoever finished their training first.

All three members of a squad had to enter the Chunin Exams together.

At the time, Team 7 had thought only one of them could enter, so they'd trained like mad to beat each other.

"Actually, I take that back. Of course I'll sign them up for the Chunin Exams. And my students will definitely win." Aogetsu Hyuga smiled faintly, full of confidence.

He meant it.

Team 7 might still be Genin, but they were already stronger than ordinary Chunin.

Naruto Uzumaki knew the Rasengan.

Sasuke Uchiha knew the Chidori.

Sakura Haruno knew Chakra Enhanced Strength.

With abilities like those, the Chunin Exams should be a breeze!

Even setting Sasuke and Sakura aside, Naruto Uzumaki alone could overwhelm an Elite Chunin. With his vast Chakra reserves, he could mindlessly throw Shadow Clones and Rasengans at one until they went down!

Assuming Naruto actually did that.

That said,

this year's Genin were fairly strong. Quite a few were at Chunin level, like that show-off Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee with his Eight Gates, and the adorable Hinata Hyuga.

And there was Gaara and the others from Sunagakure.

Though Hinata Hyuga was timid, her strength had already reached Chunin level. Aogetsu Hyuga was always giving her extra lessons, teaching her whenever he had time.

Watching Hinata Hyuga slowly grow stronger felt a little like raising a little girl.

It was great.

“Cangyue, your Team 7 is entering too? Excellent!” Might Guy gave him a thumbs-up, his gleaming white Kiba flashing as he grinned brightly. “Students giving it their all and working together to become Chunin—that's youth!”

Aogetsu Hyuga answered halfheartedly, "Yeah, exactly."

With one hand on his hip, Might Guy wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Oh! Seeing how hard the students are working reminds me of when we ran beneath the setting sun. We were burning with youth back then!"

"The only thing burning was your brain," Aogetsu Hyuga said flatly.

Let me make one thing clear!

He had never gone running with Might Guy. Bowl Cut had made that memory up entirely.

Aogetsu Hyuga stopped paying attention to Might Guy. He turned to Kurenai Yuhi with a faint smile. "Little Kurenai, get me some meat. I want the biggest piece."

He was doing it on purpose.

He wanted to get under Asuma's skin.

"Okay," Kurenai Yuhi answered without thinking. That one word made everyone at the table pause.

Because the way she said "okay"

was so sweet,

so obedient,

so wifely.

Everyone stared at Kurenai Yuhi. Was this sweet, obedient woman really the same spirited Kurenai they knew?

Absurd!

Utterly absurd!

"You were just complaining about the grilled meat..." Feeling everyone's astonished gazes, Kurenai Yuhi came to her senses and blushed. She picked up the biggest piece from the grill and placed it on Cangyue's plate.

She had answered purely on instinct.

How embarrassing.

This was all Cangyue's fault!

"You..."

Kurenai Yuhi noticed Aogetsu Hyuga wasn't eating. Instead, he was looking at something with a teasing smile. She frowned and followed his gaze to Asuma, who was smoking glumly.

Realization dawned on Kurenai Yuhi. No wonder Cangyue had asked her to serve him meat. He was deliberately trying to upset Asuma Sarutobi.

"Childish." Kurenai Yuhi rolled her eyes at Cangyue, though the corners of her mouth lifted slightly. She gave Aogetsu Hyuga another piece of meat.

It was childish, but she was in a good mood today. She would indulge Cangyue this once.

"Cangyue, my student will win." Might Guy looked at him resolutely. "I hear Team 7 has finished Tree-Climbing Training, but that alone won't be enough."

"Rock Lee... works harder than anyone. He's a genius of hard work, and his efforts will never betray him."

Might Guy declared with conviction, "At these Chunin Exams, he'll prove his Ninja Way to everyone!"

Rock Lee was the hardest-working person Guy had ever met. No matter how many times he fell, he never gave up.

Rain or shine, even when his body was covered in injuries, he gritted his teeth and kept training to reach that seemingly impossible dream!

That was what had moved Might Guy so deeply.

To prove to everyone that hard work could surpass genius—that was the Ninja Way Rock Lee believed in!

Aogetsu Hyuga looked up at Might Guy calmly. "Is that so? I'll look forward to it."

Hard work surpassing genius?

Sure, it could.

Hard work could surpass genius, but it couldn't surpass someone with a cheat.

Cheating was the real path to victory!

He, Aogetsu Hyuga, had awakened the Tenseigan at eight years old. It was a supreme power most ninja could never reach, no matter how long they trained.

And evolving the Sharingan into the Mangekyo was another shortcut to power that outstripped countless people's years of grueling effort.

Ironic, wasn't it?

But that was the truth.

I, Aogetsu Hyuga, love having a cheat!

Come to think of it...

Aogetsu Hyuga pondered.

Why did these people still think Team 7 had only just finished Tree-Climbing Training?

Oh.

Right. It had only been a dozen or so days.

That meant nobody in the village knew Team 7 had learned the Chidori, Rasengan, and Chakra Enhanced Strength.

They could stun everyone at the Chunin Exams.

Then everyone would marvel at how amazing Teacher Cangyue was, how exceptional Teacher Cangyue was. Cangyue was the best teacher ever—he'd taught three Genin such powerful, top-tier techniques!

He'd even taught a dead-last like Naruto the Rasengan, the pinnacle of Shape Transformation.

"Heh..." The corners of Aogetsu Hyuga's mouth rose. Work hard, my little helpers. Make your teacher look spectacular.

Just thinking about it felt good!

Kakashi Hatake read Icha Icha Paradise, his dead eyes fixed on the pages. "I hear Sunagakure won't be the only village joining these Chunin Exams. Kirigakure is sending Genin too, and it sounds like the Mizukage will visit Konoha in person."

He had solid connections in ANBU, so he heard plenty of inside information.

The Jonin squad leaders around the table chatted.

"Kirigakure Ninja Village is participating too? We may have signed a ceasefire, but Kirigakure Ninja Village and Konoha are still enemies, aren't they?" Asuma Sarutobi took a drag on his cigarette and glanced at Aogetsu Hyuga. "Especially where the Hyuga Clan is concerned."

The Five Great Nations had signed a ceasefire, but the grudges between their villages remained. The Hyuga Clan and Kirigakure Ninja Village, in particular, had a bitter history!

Kirigakure Ninja Village ninja had stolen the Hyuga Clan's most precious Kekkei Genkai.

Kakashi Hatake said, "Lord Hokage has already agreed. I imagine he wants to use this opportunity to ease tensions between the two villages."

"That crazy woman..." Aogetsu Hyuga frowned.