Chunin Ninja Exams

Time flew by. More than half a month had passed since Kazuhiko Uchiha's mission to kill Ichirō Ōki, and his outstanding strength had earned him the unanimous approval of his squadmates.

Under Captain Xinghe's leadership, Kazuhiko Uchiha completed several A-rank ANBU missions without serious mishap. Although his combat strength had not improved much, he had gained considerable experience in all areas.

One evening, after they finished a mission, Captain Xinghe asked Kazuhiko Uchiha to stay behind. With a smile, he asked, "Blue Hawk, if I remember correctly, you're still a genin, right?"

"Yes." Although Kazuhiko Uchiha's combat strength in his normal state had already reached the level of an elite chunin, he had yet to take the Chunin Ninja Exams, so his registered rank was still genin.

"Good. I happen to have a newly issued mission for you to complete on your own." Captain Xinghe took a mission scroll out of the desk in the squad room and handed it to Kazuhiko Uchiha.

"Participate in the Chunin exam hosted by the Cloud Ninja and finish in the top three... I accept, but Captain Xinghe," Kazuhiko Uchiha read the mission details quietly, then asked in confusion, "why would ANBU have a mission like this?"

"These jointly held Chunin Ninja Exams are a stage where the great nations assess one another's national strength. In a sense, the candidates' fighting abilities also represent the strength of their villages' younger generations. That's why we need excellent results-to give the other shinobi villages a certain degree of deterrence."

The jonin Xinghe explained the reason as he handed Kazuhiko Uchiha an exam application form.

"To prevent other shinobi villages from sending ninja who conceal their true strength, every village except the host can only send ninja who graduated within the last two years. That's also why I want you to go. Of the students from those two graduating classes, you're the only one whose strength guarantees a place in the top three."

"Understood, Captain." Kazuhiko Uchiha took the application, filled in his information, and handed it back to Captain Xinghe.

"The exam is on May twenty-seventh, two weeks from now. You won't need to come on missions with us this week. Get yourself into top condition, then leave with Konoha's main group next week and head to Kumogakure for the examination."

Captain Xinghe took out a sealing scroll and handed it to Kazuhiko Uchiha. "This contains information on people from the major shinobi villages who may participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams. They're all young ninja worth watching. I hope it'll be of some help."

"Thank you, Captain. I'll take my leave, then."

After leaving the ANBU squad room, Kazuhiko Uchiha returned home and carefully read through the intelligence scroll Captain Xinghe had given him.

First came the host, Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning. Two of its squads caught Kazuhiko Uchiha's attention.

One was a team made up of the Triplet Brothers. During a mission, they had been attacked by Rogue Ninja and killed the attackers' jonin leader. Then, surrounded by more than ten chunin, they had relied on exquisite teamwork to eliminate their enemies one by one. Other intelligence also suggested that they were very likely still hiding some trump cards.

The other was the squad led by Samui, the curvaceous older woman from the original story. Its current members, however, were Samui's younger brother, Omoi, and Karui.

Their circumstances were similar to Kazuhiko Uchiha's. They had only recently graduated from the Ninja Academy, but their strength already far exceeded that of genin, so their current squad leader, Samui, had recommended them for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

After all, by participating in an exam hosted by their own village, they would receive the greatest possible protection from Cloud Ninja proctors. They could hone their abilities during the Chunin Ninja Exams without suffering fatal injuries.

The next person who caught Kazuhiko Uchiha's interest was a ninja from Sunagakure in the Land of Wind named Ye Ming. He possessed a highly developed Swift Release kekkei genkai, which he combined with his unique Wind Release swordsmanship. His record included completing a mission to wipe out a band of Rogue Ninja single-handedly.

Although the band had contained no jonin, several of its Rogue Ninja had possessed elite chunin-level strength. Being able to eliminate them without a scratch meant his strength could not be underestimated either.

The last group that concerned Kazuhiko Uchiha was Iwagakure's kekkei genkai squad from the Land of Earth. Two of its members possessed Steel Release and Explosion Release respectively. These two bloodline abilities provided defense and offense; if used properly alongside their third teammate's ninjutsu, even Kazuhiko Uchiha would have to put in considerable effort to defeat them.

As for Kirigakure in the Land of Water, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, it had not sent any ninja to participate in this Chunin Ninja Exams for some unknown reason.

After reading their information, Kazuhiko Uchiha had a general understanding of his opponents. As long as no new strong teams entered, a top-three finish was practically his for the taking.

Rubbing his right arm, which had begun to ache faintly again, Kazuhiko Uchiha's gaze turned slightly cold.

There's a hidden danger in my body that I need to eliminate. Otherwise, once Uchiha Itachi massacres the clan, defects, and thoroughly humiliates Orochimaru with his Sharingan, I might replace Sasuke Uchiha as Orochimaru's reincarnation vessel.

Fortunately, Kazuhiko Uchiha had his system golden finger. The moment Orochimaru left the cave, he had entered the Myriad Worlds Mall and, with the system's help, found an item that could remove Orochimaru's Cursed Seal.

[Lesser Defilement-Cleansing Pill]: Black iron, middle tier, medium quality. A basic cultivation pill capable of removing the effects of low-level plague toxins, gu poisons, curses, and other harmful substances. Price: 25 gold coins.

The Lesser Defilement-Cleansing Pill was not cheap, and it seemed he would need to complete several missions to afford it. In reality, however, Kazuhiko Uchiha's experience with two system missions told him that he only needed to enter a mission spacetime of a suitable level to earn enough gold coins through additional means.

With a solution in hand, Kazuhiko Uchiha was not overly anxious. After all, he still had a year, and he was certain he could eliminate this hidden danger by then.

Setting the matter of the Cursed Seal aside, Kazuhiko Uchiha resumed his regular training routine. Taijutsu, primal energy, inscribing demon marks, meditation-by the time he had methodically completed them all, the night had quietly passed.

Kazuhiko Uchiha devoted his entire week off to training. With the aid of the Orchid Ginseng Snake Gallbladder Pill, his total primal energy successfully broke through to jonin level.

The Orchid Ginseng Snake Gallbladder Pill was one of the two types of pills Kazuhiko Uchiha had obtained from his pill-refining mission. Refined from ingredients including blood orchid, ginseng, and Mutant Snake Gallbladder, it could aid cultivation and increase his maximum energy capacity.

The other pill, called the Orchid-Blood Hundred-Beast Pill, made use of blood orchid's properties and was refined with the blood of a hundred kinds of fierce beasts. It was tremendously helpful for physical training, but unfortunately, the quantity was limited. It had only strengthened his body to the limit at which he could withstand three gates without injury. He needed to improve further before he could barely open the fifth gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation.

After his week of training ended, Kazuhiko Uchiha set out with several other Konoha squads taking the exam. After several days of travel, they arrived in Kumogakure.

Once they had completed the host village's identity verification and other procedures, everyone from Konoha was assigned rooms at an inn specifically designated for exam candidates.

Just as Kazuhiko Uchiha was about to head out and wander around Kumogakure for a while, the system's notification sounded in his mind again.

"Ding-dong. A new round of missions has refreshed. Host, please check promptly."