The Chunin Ninja Exams begin!

A few days later.

Konoha welcomed this round of the Chunin Ninja Exams.

The format was the same as usual. Mu Feng got up early that morning and headed to the first test site.

The first test of the Chunin Ninja Exams was a written exam. By the time Mu Feng reached the classroom where it would be held, quite a few candidates had already gathered.

At a glance, there were just over fifty candidates. Most were Konoha ninja, but a dozen or so had gathered in clusters in the corners. Their faces were unfamiliar, and their forehead protectors belonged to other ninja villages, not Konoha.

Swish, swish, swish-

Mu Feng's arrival immediately drew everyone's attention.

Not only the ninja from other villages, but even the Konoha ninja gave him strange looks.

The reason was simple: Mu Feng had come alone, and he was taking the exams as an individual.

In other words, Mu Feng would have no teammates during the second test, while most of the others would be in teams of three.

Those who entered alone were either older, ordinary ninja who had remained Genin all this time and wanted to qualify as Chunin.

Or they were exceptionally gifted prodigies.

Judging by Mu Feng's age, he definitely belonged to the latter category!

"That's the Uchiha Clan's crest. That guy's an Uchiha!"

"He's from our Konoha. Strange, when did the Uchiha Clan get someone like him? I've never heard of him before!"

"Be careful. According to the information, he's entering alone. He's probably pretty strong!"

As Mu Feng slowly walked into the examination room, the others immediately began whispering among themselves, clearly very curious about him.

After taking a seat, Mu Feng began studying the people around him as well.

He saw no familiar faces among the Konoha ninja. However, a few older-looking candidates were scattered around the room, their gazes constantly roaming over the ninja from other villages. They showed little interest in Mu Feng.

These must be the ninja the village planted here!

With that thought, Mu Feng continued observing.

This time, he focused on the ninja from other villages.

Those over there are from Kumogakure. Six of them, and none look particularly familiar!

Those are Kirigakure ninja. Something seems a little off about them!

Wait, that guy is...

As his gaze swept over the Kirigakure ninja, Mu Feng's pupils suddenly contracted. Then his eyes fixed on a relatively tall boy.

The moment Mu Feng focused on him, the boy immediately turned to look back.

Seeing his face, Mu Feng became even more certain of his guess.

Kisame Hoshigaki!

It really was him!

Mu Feng was startled.

He was a member of Akatsuki in the original story, as well as Uchiha Itachi's partner.

Even though Kisame Hoshigaki was only around ten years old now, Mu Feng could recognize him at a glance.

Kisame Hoshigaki seemed to have noticed Mu Feng's gaze and immediately looked over.

"What's wrong?"

As the two exchanged looks, an older-looking Kirigakure ninja beside Kisame Hoshigaki frowned and asked.

"Nothing. I spotted someone interesting!" Kisame Hoshigaki replied.

Following Kisame Hoshigaki's gaze, the Kirigakure ninja beside him looked over as well. The first thing he noticed was the Uchiha crest on Mu Feng's clothes.

"He's from the Uchiha Clan, and he's taking the exams alone. He should have some ability!" the Mist Ninja said with a frown.

"But there's no need to be afraid. At worst, we can avoid confronting him head-on! At least until the third test!"

"Yeah!" Kisame Hoshigaki nodded, but his eyes gleamed a little more brightly as he looked at Mu Feng.

Still, Kisame Hoshigaki knew that now was not the time to cause trouble in Konoha.

These candidates had originally come with the aim of killing ninja from other villages. That was why Kirigakure had sent Kisame Hoshigaki and chosen two ninja whose abilities had long surpassed the Genin level as his teammates.

But for reasons none of them understood, roughly a week earlier, Kisame Hoshigaki and the others had received another message ordering them to keep a low profile above all else.

Yet no matter how hard the three of them racked their brains, they could never have guessed that Kirigakure had ordered them to keep a low profile because Mu Feng had killed Hozuki Mangetsu, a Kirigakure Jonin and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

"Silence!"

While Kisame, Mu Feng, and the others were lost in thought, each with their own hidden agenda, a shout suddenly came from the classroom doorway.

With that voice, Inoichi Yamanaka, the chief examiner for the first test, entered the classroom with two assistant examiners beside him.

Stepping onto the platform, Inoichi Yamanaka swept a stern gaze across the room and unleashed the imposing presence of a Jonin. The entire classroom grew much quieter.

"Ahem. I'm Inoichi Yamanaka, the chief examiner for the first test! We will now proceed with the first test of the Chunin Ninja Exams!"

"I'll call your names in order. When your name is called, come forward to collect an information form and a number tag!"

"Once you've filled out your information form, take the seat corresponding to the number on your tag!"

"The papers for the first test will be handed out shortly!"

His commanding, gruff voice rang through the classroom, and everyone's eyes rested on Inoichi Yamanaka. Mu Feng immediately began recalling what he knew about him.

Yamanaka... He must be Ino's father! I never expected a father who looked like this to have a daughter like Ino!

What a shame there are still a few years until Ino is born!

Mu Feng sighed inwardly.

Meanwhile, the two assistant examiners beside Inoichi Yamanaka had already begun calling names!

Collecting the number tags and information forms was uneventful. Mu Feng soon received his own tag and sat down in the corresponding seat.

With his knowledge of the original story, Mu Feng naturally knew that this test was not about the ninja's knowledge at all, but their methods of gathering information.

The examiners would plant two or three people who already knew the answers at the test site beforehand. The other candidates had to find a way to copy those answers without alerting the examiners.

So, after sitting down, Mu Feng immediately began searching the room for the people planted there.

Before long, Mu Feng singled one out, and that person was sitting diagonally ahead of him.

"Hand out the papers. Begin answering!"

"Remember, your time is limited!"

Just then, Inoichi Yamanaka's voice rang out again.

Swish, swish, swish-

As the papers were handed out one by one, the Chunin Ninja Exams officially began.