Chapter 54: The Five-Village Joint Chunin Exams
"Sigh, another boring day of the same old work. I feel like I'm aging faster."
In a hidden spot in the outskirts of Konoha, Rei was complaining to Kyosuke out of boredom.
"Heh, yeah," Kyosuke replied, his mind preoccupied with experiment data as he humored her.
This conversation had occurred countless times over the past few months. Kyosuke could barely be bothered to respond anymore. He knew she would quiet down on her own after a while.
"Oh, right, Kyosuke-kun, have you heard the rumors about the Chunin Exams?" Rei asked, changing the subject when she saw he wasn't interested.
After spending so much time together, the two of them knew each other's backgrounds well. In private, they no longer bothered with the Anbu rules and simply called each other by their real names.
Rei's real name was Hyuga Saori, and as Kyosuke had guessed, she was from the Hyuga branch family.
She had joined Root because she was dissatisfied with her status in the clan. Of course, that was the official reason. Her real goal was to find a way to break the Caged Bird Curse Seal.
Clearly, she had failed.
That was why she now gave off a sense of reckless abandon.
But perhaps only Kyosuke knew that Saori had been secretly training hard and had even begun to research some sealing jutsu on her own. And she had actually made some progress. Although her results were still a long way from breaking the curse seal, her proficiency in sealing jutsu was improving daily.
"Hmm? The Chunin Exams? Tell me more," Kyosuke said, his interest piqued.
"In half a month, Konoha will be holding a joint Chunin Exam with the Sand, Cloud, Mist, and Stone villages," Saori said, pausing for a moment before adding with a strange expression, "Some people are saying that this will be a microcosm of the next Great Ninja War."
Kyosuke frowned. "Why would the village propose a joint Chunin Exam at a time like this?"
He asked because ever since the news of Sakumo Hatake's death had spread, the entire shinobi world had been in an uproar.
He had heard that on the day the Sand ninja received the news, their front-line troops had advanced more than ten kilometers. If Orochimaru hadn't decisively launched a small-scale battle and repelled them, who knew what would have happened...
Hyuga Saori, seeing Kyosuke deep in thought, added another piece of information he didn't know. "And that's not all. The Daimyō of the Land of Fire has also sent invitations to the Daimyō of the other countries to watch."
"In other words, this Chunin Exam will be held under the watchful eyes of the five Daimyō," Saori concluded.
Hearing this, the pieces of the puzzle that Kyosuke couldn't figure out suddenly fell into place.
He estimated that this was a "show of muscle" by Konoha.
If Konoha could defeat the candidates from the other villages one by one in front of the five Daimyō, and indeed the entire shinobi world, it might not stop others from attacking Konoha, but at least they would have to think twice before making a move.
This would also help to strengthen the common people's confidence in Konoha. After all, war was all about money. As long as Konoha could raise its prestige to another level, he was sure that the number of missions assigned to the village would skyrocket after the Chunin Exams.
However, there was still one thing Kyosuke couldn't understand.
Since the Daimyō of all the countries would be present, it meant that this Chunin Exam would be nothing like the watered-down one in the original story. If it were him, he would definitely send the village's strongest "Genin" to compete, striving for victory. Otherwise, if they lost in front of the Daimyō, would the village still want war funds?
This was what worried Kyosuke.
At this time, the future powerhouses of every village were emerging one after another. The people who were active in the "Fourth Great Ninja War" were basically all ninja from this period.
In contrast, although the future strength of Konoha's Asuma, Kurenai, Obito, Ibiki, and others was not weak, at this age, they were still too young. With Kakashi and himself unable to compete, Kyosuke really couldn't think of how Konoha would be able to contend with the other villages.
Hmm... wait, could it be?! A possibility suddenly occurred to Kyosuke, and the corner of his mouth twitched unnaturally.
Just then, another Anbu member suddenly appeared before them.
"Uchiha Kyosuke, the Hokage requests your presence."
Knock... knock... knock...
Kyosuke stood outside the Hokage's office and knocked politely.
"Come in," the Third's kind voice came from inside. Kyosuke pushed the door open and walked in.
Upon entering, Kyosuke saw that besides the Third Hokage sitting in his chair, there was also a blond-haired man standing in the office.
This person was the Jounin, Namikaze Minato.
"Hokage-sama, Jounin Minato," Kyosuke said quietly.
"Haha, Kyosuke-kun, you're here," the Third said with a smile. He then pointed at Minato and said, "Actually, strictly speaking, you two are fellow disciples. It wouldn't be out of place for you to call Minato 'senior brother'."
Hearing this, Kyosuke turned to Minato and called out, "Senior Brother."
"Oh, right, right," Minato said, rubbing his hair a bit awkwardly. He then gave Kyosuke his usual bright smile.
It had to be said that the infectiousness of Minato's smile was truly something else. Although Kyosuke wasn't very familiar with him, under his smile, the slight awkwardness that had just arisen between them vanished without a trace.
The Third smiled with satisfaction at this scene, then suddenly asked Kyosuke again, "Have you heard about the Chunin Exams?"
"I have," Kyosuke replied.
"Good that you've heard." The Third stood up and looked out the window at the bustling street below, sighing. "Our Konoha is now in a precarious situation, to say the least."
"Never mind the Sand ninja, the Cloud ninja behind them are also watching us like tigers, and even the Stone ninja have been making some moves lately. So..." The Third paused here, then let out another long sigh.
"So, we're using this opportunity to show our strength, to ensure that we won't be facing multiple enemies at once in the upcoming war," Kyosuke added.
"Haha." Hearing this, the Third suddenly laughed. He then pointed at Kyosuke and said to Minato, "See? I told you this child is different. He could definitely see the stakes involved here."
Minato also smiled and looked at Kyosuke with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"Alright then, Kyosuke, let me ask you another question," the Third said, smiling as he posed another question. "Why did I summon you here today?"
"It's simple. Grand-Master wants me to participate in this joint Chunin Exam, right?" Kyosuke replied quietly.
"That's right," the Third said firmly.
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 100 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!