With all his chakra drained, Akira Sato felt as if his body had been completely hollowed out.
Thankfully, inside his ninja tool pouch, he had something specifically for this situation.
Soldier Pills!
Special pills designed to replenish chakra.
These were produced by the Uchiha clan.
Although all soldier pills share the same name, their effectiveness varies drastically.
Recovery speed, side effects — all these things can be very different.
While the Uchiha's soldier pills weren't as high-quality as those made by the Akimichi clan, they were still considered decent.
After swallowing one, Akira barely managed to shake off the weakened state.
For a ninja, running out of chakra is an excruciating experience.
Just now, Akira had deliberately used up all his chakra because he was worried he wouldn't be able to summon Chūbyōmaru otherwise. But after this attempt, he now had a clear grasp of the chakra cost for future summoning.
With Chūbyōmaru as his trump card, Akira finally had some confidence in his ability to protect himself.
After all, the Root division had been eyeing his "body" for some time. Every move he made before had been calculated to guard against them.
No one understood Danzō better than he did.
"The Pot Shadow!" — that nickname was absolutely well-earned.
Cruel, ruthless, and shockingly audacious.
And with his self-hypnotizing mantra, "It's all for the sake of Konoha," Danzō was practically unbeatable when it came to internal power plays.
Against someone like that, even the smallest mistake could mean a death you wouldn't see coming.
Sure, in the anime, Danzō might seem like a bit of a clown — after all, he even pulled off stunts like trying to stab Susanoo with a kunai.
But once you truly entered the shinobi world, you'd realize just how terrifying he was.
He wasn't called the "Darkness of the Shinobi" for nothing.
There's a saying: "There are only wrong names, no wrong nicknames."
His nickname was built on countless corpses and webs of conspiracy.
Not to mention, he controlled Root — a massive, cold killing machine.
Even Konoha's great ninja clans were extremely wary of him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have tolerated him constantly pressuring them to send their clan members into Root to be molded into assassins.
With someone like that targeting him, how could Akira not feel the pressure?
You could sum up his mental state in one line:
I can't breathe anymore.JPG
For the past stretch of time, Akira had been living like a "master of time management," working harder than a 007 agent, all because of the suffocating pressure from Danzō.
Only now could he finally catch his breath.
But — it was just a breath, nothing more. He was still a long way from feeling truly safe.
"Here, you should add your name too," Akira said, walking over to Uchiha Mei, who was standing at the edge of the training ground, and handing her the summoning scroll.
Granting her a contract slot was his way of repaying this "white-haired princess." After all, he had definitely taken advantage of her goodwill more than once.
Lifting her head, Uchiha Mei — though she couldn't see — used her sensory techniques to clearly scan Akira Sato's face.
After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"From today on, Chūbyōmaru will be the exclusive summoning beast of the Uchiha main family."
She hadn't taken Akira seriously before — after all, he was her "fiancé" in name only.
But after seeing the abilities he had revealed one after another, she had dramatically changed her opinion.
Now, she was very curious: what else was he hiding that she didn't know?
By the way, her declaration wasn't meant to snatch the summoning beast away from him — it was to cover for his identity.
Given Akira's rank and status, others would definitely try to take such a powerful summoning beast from him.
Did people think no one wanted the legendary summons of the Three Sannin? Of course they did!
But those contracts were protected by the three great sanctuaries, and they all belonged to the Hokage faction, so no one dared to make a move.
For Akira, though, people wouldn't hold back.
But if they declared that the summoning beast belonged to the Uchiha clan, then anyone trying to make a move would first have to contend with the Uchiha — and that was no small matter.
Very soon, Uchiha Mei used her blood to sign her name on the summoning scroll.
However, aside from the two of them, they wouldn't allow a third person to sign.
If too many people signed a summoning contract, not only would it risk annoying Chūbyōmaru, but it could also lead to deadly mishaps in battle — like someone else summoning the beast first, leaving the others unable to summon it when they needed it most.
Now that he held this trump card, Akira's next focus was on improving his own strength.
The Joint Chūnin Exams were just around the corner!
This wasn't just a simple test — it was a brutal, life-threatening trial.
At this point, the atmosphere in the shinobi world was thick with the scent of gunpowder. Everyone knew that before the next great war broke out, eliminating rival villages' most promising young talents was a strategic move no one would hesitate to make.
If the exams weren't so dangerous, there's no way Akira's Team 3 would have received such abundant resources.
So Akira needed to go all out to improve himself.
Even though summoning Chūbyōmaru against the other genin would basically be a dimension-breaking, overwhelming force…
A life-saving trump card couldn't just be treated like a casual attack move.
He couldn't let himself fall behind in any area.
As the exam approached, Konoha grew increasingly lively.
But the atmosphere was one of hidden tension beneath a relaxed surface.
Not only was the Uchiha clan's police force busy, but the ANBU and Root were equally active.
Meanwhile, Akira's Team 3 was rapidly improving under the guidance of their experienced squad leader, Minato Namikaze.
Having such a knowledgeable teacher was an undeniable advantage in boosting their strength.
The day before the exam!
Outside the gates of Konoha.
A huge crowd of nobles and merchants from various lands gathered at the village entrance, nearly overflowing the area.
Suddenly, a rather special group arrived.
At the front was a middle-aged man with blue hair, yellow eyes, wearing a white robe over blue ninja gear, and a hat marked with the kanji for "wind."
His presence was as sharp and cutting as a blade.
Around him stood a group of figures with sand-colored headbands and rough, weathered skin — hardened by years of exposure to the desert winds.
In the center of the group were a dozen or so young boys and girls of various ages.
"Sensei, is this Konoha? It's so much busier than our village!"
A girl with two purple markings on her cheeks and a sand headband on her white-wrapped forehead chirped excitedly to a fiery, imposing young female ninja ahead of her.
"Jun, if you keep chattering, I'll send you back to the village," the female ninja, dressed casually with her smooth pale back exposed and her long brown-and-green hair tied up, threatened without even looking back.
"No, please, Lady Yekura! I promise I'll behave — please don't make me go back!"
The girl immediately clapped her hands over her mouth.
She knew her teacher never made empty threats. If she said she'd send her home, she really would.
She had worked so hard to come to Konoha — there was no way she was going to slink back home in disgrace.
At the very least, she wanted to buy some local souvenirs!
As soon as she found out she'd be participating in the Joint Chūnin Exams, she had started saving up money for shopping.
Yes — this group was the contingent from Sunagakure, one of the three great villages participating in this Joint Chūnin Exam.
The Joint Chūnin Exams required at least two major ninja villages — it didn't have to be all five great villages together.
"Lord Kazekage, once we arrive in Konoha, what are our next steps?" a ninja asked the man leading the group.
"There's nothing we need to do," the Third Kazekage shook his head.
Even if there were something that needed doing, it wouldn't require their personal involvement.
"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"
With that, the team followed the Konoha guides into the village.
And now, the stage was set for the most highly anticipated event in the shinobi world:
The Joint Chūnin Exams.
(End of Chapter)