Anya could only describe Rin Nohara as a treasure she'd stumbled upon. She was glad *she*—Anya—had insisted on teaching Rin the Spirit Transformation Technique. It had clearly been the right decision. Otherwise, given Anya's selfish and heartless nature, Rin probably never would've learned the Spirit Control Technique at all.
Inside her Shenjing Hai, Anya quickly got the hang of things. However, unlike the white light surrounding Rin, Anya was emitting a black glow. It looked ominous and eerie—so much that even Rin flinched a little.
Luckily, Rin trusted Anya's character enough not to resist. She allowed the black light to envelop her, after which Anya realized she could now control Rin's soul.
Anya couldn't help but exclaim, "That silly girl, you trust me way too much! If I'd had ill intentions, your soul would've been destroyed already."
After thanking Rin for having taught her the Spirit Control Technique, Anya offered to help her cheat—suggesting they retrieve a scroll early and leave the forest.
But Rin refused. Instead, she made another request: that the three members of her team meet up within the forest and complete the mission together.
This was naturally a piece of cake for Anya. She easily guided Rin to locate the other two members of her team—Obito Uchiha and Kakashi.
When Obito saw Rin, even with his goggles on, the sparkle in his eyes was unmistakable. He was practically beaming with joy. Kakashi, meanwhile, remained cold and aloof. He simply nodded at the two before immediately starting to explain how to leave the forest quickly. It seemed clear in his mind that passing the exam was the top priority.
As time passed, most of the ninja successfully crossed through the Forest of Death and arrived at the designated location.
Kakashi even ran into Might Guy's squad along the way, sparking a heated rivalry clash between the two teams.
Obito took the lead, quickly forming hand seals before launching an attack at the three opposing ninja, shouting, "[Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!]"
After announcing the jutsu, however, no fireball came.
This left Anya absolutely stunned. Turns out a lollipop was stuck in Obito's throat, blocking his fire release.
Might Guy didn't hold back, immediately launching an attack. With a Leaf Whirlwind, he kicked Obito several meters backward, knocking the candy from his throat at the same time.
As Obito lay motionless on the ground, the team battle officially began. Kakashi, weighed down by two burdens, practically held his own against three opponents, maintaining the balance. Both squads eventually dashed out of the forest together.
Judging by how fast and efficiently each of them moved through the forest, Kakashi was clearly the strongest of the group. He'd long surpassed the skill of a chunin, so participating in this exam felt like he was fighting far beneath his level. Without those two holding him back, Kakashi would've made it out way faster. His various acts of helping his teammates in the Forest of Death revealed that Kakashi's heart wasn't as cold as he appeared on the surface.
The third—and most critical—stage of the Chunin Exams was the solo elimination tournament. Through a random lottery, the participants were grouped accordingly. All the ninja who made it to this round were elite genin. Now, they were all eager to see the results of the draw. The worst possible outcome, of course, was facing Kakashi. Naturally, Might Guy was the only exception.
He arrived early, standing next to Kakashi and giving him a thumbs-up. "Kakashi, my eternal rival! This time in the Chunin Exams, I will definitely defeat you! Burn, youth! I can feel the flames of youth roaring—I'm fired up!"
Kakashi gave him a dull, lifeless stare and silently pointed toward the arena. "It's your turn."
Might Guy blinked in confusion. "Me?"
The proctor called out impatiently, "This round is Might Guy versus Obito Uchiha. Where are they? Why haven't both fighters arrived yet?"
"Here we are."
One had been ranting beside Kakashi while the other had been standing guard next to Rin like a statue, completely ignoring what the proctor had said. Finally, they were forced down into the arena, facing each other.
Obito flipped his thumb downward at Guy confidently. "Let's finally settle our score this time."
Guy scratched his chin, frowning. "What score?"
Obito practically exploded. Raising his fist, he shouted, "What do you mean, 'what score'? It just happened! You're telling me you've already forgotten?"
Guy sounded irritated as he replied, "I don't even know who you are. I don't remember doing anything wrong to you."
"That's it—you dare look down on me!" Obito seethed.
But that was only natural. Guy didn't really understand Obito; when it came to rivals, the only name Obito could ever truly remember was Kakashi's. Oh right, maybe in the future, two more names might be added—Madara and Kisame Uchiha.
At that moment, above them, Rin waved her arm and shouted encouragingly, "Come on, Obito!"
Hearing Rin's voice snapped Obito into immediate reaction—he turned toward her with a bright smile and replied happily, "Okay, watch me win."
Just as Obito was distracted, the proctor swung the starting flag for the match.
Before Obito could fully turn back around, Leaf Whirlwind had already struck him right in the face. The scene unfolded exactly as before. Just like last time, Obito once again lost, his goggles kicked off, leaving him flat on the ground.
The proctor immediately announced, "Winner: Might Guy."
Anya looked down at the defeated Obito in disbelief, thinking: *This guy is the one who'll trigger the Fourth Great Ninja War in the future? He seems weaker than Naruto did in the first episode. Not even a single impressive moment. Without exaggeration, if he stepped onto a battlefield like this, I wouldn't even know how he'd survive unless Minato stayed by his side twenty-four hours a day.*
Could there be some hidden quality about him that I failed to notice? Let's go take a closer look.
Finally stepping out from the shadows, Anya lit up Medical Ninjutsu in her hand and began healing the injured eye of the fallen Obito.
As soon as Anya appeared, two pairs of eyes locked onto her immediately. Once seen, they couldn't look away.
These two were none other than Kakashi and Kurenai Yuhi.
After finishing treating Obito's injury, Anya keenly noticed their gazes and smiled at them both.
Facing her smile, Kakashi quickly shifted his eyes elsewhere. As for Kurenai, however, deep within her eyes seemed countless things left unsaid—an expression filled with wounded pride that left Anya puzzled.
Obito felt his eyes had been completely healed. He glanced at Anya and was instantly stunned — wow, this guy was really good-looking.
Curious, Obito couldn't help but ask, "Thank you. Are you a teacher too? I don't think I've ever seen you before."
Anya shook their head and replied, "I'm not a teacher. I'm from the Medical Division. I came here specifically to handle emergencies during the Chunin Exams (intermediate ninja trials). So whenever someone gets injured, I step in."
As Anya treated Obito, they quickly got a sense of his physical condition — standard Genin level (beginner ninja), with nothing particularly remarkable about his chakra. He probably hadn't even awakened his [Sharingan] yet. Definitely the type who wouldn't be welcomed within the Uchiha clan. How did he manage to rise up later on?
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