The preliminary rounds of the third Chunin Exam quickly came to an end.
After Ethan's match with Lee, the only truly exciting battle left was the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist showdown between Neji and Hinata.
The match that was supposed to be the most anticipated—Gaara versus Lee—was disrupted because of Ethan. The unlucky Sound Ninja who ended up fighting Gaara was the same one who had attacked Kabuto with sound waves earlier.
Without Ethan, that Sound Ninja would have been the only candidate from a small village to advance to the third stage. Of course, because he brought trouble on himself, he didn't even make it to the third stage.
With the preliminary rounds concluded, the genin who advanced drew lots to determine their opponents for the third stage.
Ethan looked at the slip in his hand. His opponent was Kankuro from the Sand Village.
This was a good draw. Kankuro would forfeit. Since the third stage would be interrupted before it even finished, it meant he wouldn't even get the chance to appear.
This also meant he had little to no chance of being promoted to Chunin, but he didn't care about this so-called promotion exam anyway. His main goal was to showcase his potential in a believable way, giving a solid reason for his future growth in strength.
Of course, if he truly unleashed his full power, no one in this world would be able to stop him from doing anything.
But in that case, the first thing he would need to do was run.
His divine body was still slowly merging with the laws of this world, and his divine power hadn't recovered yet. His current state was fine for suppressing ninjas in this world, but if Abraham discovered him, he wouldn't even have much chance to escape.
As long as he followed the rules of this world, he basically wouldn't attract attention. There were so many parallel worlds, and small deviations or changes weren't easily noticed.
After the preliminary rounds, the participants were given a month to rest or improve their strength.
Ethan was planning to go back and rest. Although the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, had asked him to meet when he had time, now wasn't a good moment. Hiruzen still had a lot to take care of. Waiting until tomorrow would be more appropriate.
Although he was curious about how Hiruzen would "buy him off," waiting a day wouldn't hurt.
As for Sasuke, something was supposed to happen there, right? Should I go take a look?
After all, he and Sasuke were acquaintances. Not visiting an injured classmate would seem odd, especially after showing his attachment to the Leaf Village in front of the Third Hokage. It would be strange to turn around and act indifferent.
As an excellent and qualified actor, Ethan declared that he would visit Sasuke with Kakashi.
"Aren't you going back to rest?"
Kakashi hadn't planned on bringing Naruto and Sakura, since Sasuke was still unconscious and there wasn't much point in them going. They wouldn't be of help anyway.
After the intense preliminary round, both Sakura and Naruto had suffered various degrees of injury, and their physical and mental states were close to exhaustion. Resting was the more appropriate choice.
Although Ethan's match had also been intense, he had won with minimal effort and had mostly recovered his stamina.
Unfortunately, Naruto wouldn't listen to Kakashi, so Team 7, plus Ethan, all headed to the hospital together.
"Sasuke is still unconscious. There's probably not much point in going."
"It's okay. We're just going to see him."
Kakashi nodded and didn't refuse.
"You guys really care about Sasuke, huh?"
"After all, we're teammates..."
Kakashi didn't say much else. These kids were all pretty stubborn right now. They obviously cared about their comrades but always put on indifferent expressions. He thought back to his younger self. Maybe everyone goes through this phase.
When they arrived at Sasuke's hospital room, Kakashi suddenly stopped and blocked Ethan, Naruto, and Sakura behind him.
"Something's wrong."
Kakashi saw Kabuto, who had already knocked out the Anbu and was preparing to harm Sasuke.
"Oh? Isn't this Ethan and Naruto? Looks like you did well in the prelims."
"Huh? Why is Kabuto-senpai here? Hahaha, both Ethan and I passed!"
Unlike Naruto, who was completely unaware of the situation, Ethan knew this guy wasn't planning to keep hiding anymore.
"Is that so? Then let me congratulate you first…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Kabuto suddenly lunged at Ethan.
"Watch out!"
Kakashi had already anticipated that Kabuto might use Ethan and Naruto as his entry point. It was the logical choice, since these kids seemed to be the easiest to break through.
"Looks like we're being treated as soft targets."
He hadn't planned to get involved with Kabuto. If Kabuto had just played around with Kakashi and left like in the original timeline, Ethan wouldn't have exposed him.
But since you came looking for trouble, don't blame me.
Ethan completely ignored the charging Kabuto. With Kakashi already on guard, there was no way anyone could harm him. Instead, he ignored the body lying on the ground nearby, casually pulled out a kunai, and threw it at the Anbu corpse by the window.
"?"
While Kakashi was wondering what Ethan was doing, the Anbu corpse that had been lying still suddenly jumped up.
No further explanation was needed. Kakashi already understood.
"Disguising the main body as a corpse?"
In a very short moment, Kakashi had deduced that Kabuto possessed powerful medical ninjutsu and extremely strong stealth capabilities. Even as a Jonin, he hadn't detected a single flaw.
"How did Ethan discover it?"
Not only was Kakashi curious, but even Kabuto was surprised Ethan had seen through him.
"How did you do it?"
"I want to say I just slipped and threw it crooked. Would you believe me?"
Kabuto removed his mask and casually tossed it aside. He didn't mind Ethan's sarcastic answer. He looked at the calm young genin, then at Sakura, who was still confused and showing signs of panic.
"Is that so? I didn't expect that I'd misjudge someone one day."
He suddenly formed hand seals. Kakashi immediately sensed danger and formed his own hand seals almost simultaneously, using Earth Style Wall.
He didn't defend himself, but instead surrounded the fake Kabuto and the other body on the ground.
But by then, Kabuto had already broken the window and escaped. The two bodies Kakashi had been guarding didn't launch any terrifying attacks either.
"Was I tricked?"
He thought Kabuto was about to activate some dangerous ninjutsu, but it turned out Kabuto had simply injected chakra into the two bodies to create a strong fluctuation, making Kakashi think he was about to use a dangerous technique and draw his attention away. In the meantime, he escaped.
As for Ethan not chasing after him? Under normal circumstances, no matter how strong Ethan was, he wouldn't be able to stop Kabuto, whose strength was at Jonin level.
"Kabuto Yakushi... So the Leaf Village has been hiding someone this strong, and he's Orochimaru's spy…"
After checking Sasuke and confirming he hadn't been harmed, Kakashi first sent Naruto back to rest, then took Ethan directly to the Third Hokage to report the incident.
As for how Ethan had detected Kabuto's real body, Kakashi asked about it as well.
"I recently mastered a new ninjutsu…"
"I know."
The Jonin had already reached a consensus and received clear orders from the Hokage: Ethan's mastery of Wood Release was confidential. Those who knew should keep the secret.
"After mastering that jutsu, I've become more sensitive to living things."
"I see."
Kakashi nodded and didn't press further. After all, he didn't know much about Wood Release himself, and had no reason to question Ethan's explanation.
Continuing to ask questions at this point would only create friction. Kakashi stayed silent all the way until they reached the Hokage's office and reported what had happened.
"A spy arranged by Orochimaru…"
The situation was grim. Orochimaru was clearly preparing something, but the Leaf Village could only respond passively.
Taking a few puffs of his pipe, the Third Hokage didn't give any specific instructions. He nodded at Kakashi, signaling for him to go handle his own matters.
Saying nothing essentially meant that the Hokage would arrange for someone else to follow up. Kakashi didn't object and prepared to leave with Ethan.
Unexpectedly, the Third Hokage kept Ethan behind.
"Since you're already here, it saves you a trip tomorrow."
Getting up from behind his desk, Hiruzen gestured for Ethan to follow him.
Ethan didn't say anything, just followed silently. Before long, they arrived at a very well-hidden room. Inside, Ethan saw the famous Scroll of Seals.
However, Ethan didn't get to touch the prominently displayed Scroll of Seals. Instead, the Third Hokage pulled out a scroll from a nearby bookshelf.
"Read it here. Don't worry about whether you understand it now. Just memorize everything and keep it in your heart."
The unspoken meaning was clear. Even if you memorize it, don't write it down later.
Ethan nodded in understanding, took the scroll from the Hokage, and unrolled it under his watchful gaze.
He didn't immediately read the contents. The first thing he looked at were the large characters at the top.
It was the name of the technique recorded in this scroll. A famous technique. Ethan hadn't expected to obtain this so soon.
Looking at the large characters written at the very top—"Flying Thunder God Technique"—Ethan's first reaction was:
"Ho, it's going to be hard for the Third Hokage to die now..."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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