The Chunin Exams proceeded without a hitch, just as expected.
Before they began, Anya skimmed through the list of participants. There were quite a few familiar faces—Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, Rin Nohara. Even Kakashi, who had already become a Chunin, was listed among the examinees. Upon asking around, she found out that the exam required teams of three, and Kakashi had been dragged in by his two teammates.
Kakashi's mentor was none other than Minato Namikaze.
Seeing this, Anya immediately realized it must have been intentional on The Third's part. The Third certainly understood how deeply the White Fang's death had affected Kakashi. Assigning him a cheerful and optimistic mentor like Minato was the perfect solution.
Another name caught Anya's eye—Obito Uchiha. He was also one of Minato's students and Kakashi's teammate. In her past life, he was one of the characters she had seen most frequently in videos about later parts of Naruto. One could say he was instrumental in what later became the Fourth Great War—merely Madara's pawn at that time. Seeing that name stirred several thoughts in Anya's mind, but she quickly pushed them aside. At this point, he was nothing more than an ordinary clumsy underachiever. Why he would turn out the way he did in the future was something she couldn't begin to understand. There was no need to waste too much effort on him. If she interfered too much, Madara might simply switch pawns, which would only make things worse. It was better to let things unfold naturally for now. She could plan accordingly once he eventually wore his mask.
Since Anya was only responsible for handling unexpected incidents during the Chunin Exam, she had a relatively leisurely schedule. She hid alone in a corner, observing this group of new examinees.
The first round was the written test. Other than a few sticklers for rules, the exam mostly tested a ninja's ability to cheat. If Anya had taken the test herself without using the Sharingan to cheat, she probably would have ended up like Naruto—turning in a blank paper. This exam was pretty much a joke. After briefly observing, Anya had already figured out some of their cheating methods—too childish and uninteresting. Even the proctors turned a blind eye to everything. After all, they'd all been through this themselves. Those who knew, just knew.
The second exam was far more interesting. Just like in the canon storyline, they had to cross the Death Forest to obtain a scroll. Since all the examinees were local Konoha ninjas and to prevent any unforeseen accidents, Anya needed to monitor the entire process. For someone with her current abilities, it was quite simple. After collaborating with the Serpent Master and achieving a breakthrough in the [Spirit Transformation Technique], monitoring this group became extremely convenient.
She could split off a small portion of her soul, attaching these fragments to each examinee, forming full coverage surveillance.
Of course, this move was soon detected.
"Huh? Is that you, big brother? You came out."
Her soul was immediately noticed the moment it approached Rin.
She had almost forgotten—the girl had learned the Spirit Transformation Technique from her. Might as well check how far Rin had progressed.
Anya guided her soul directly into Rin's body.
"It really is you. I'm so glad," Rin said joyfully upon recognizing Anya. Over the past three years, she had diligently practiced the Spirit Transformation Technique. Unfortunately, except for Anya, nobody else could see her soul. She also dared not enter others' minds randomly, fearing discovery. She still had the drive, but the spark had slowly faded.
"Hey, long time no see. It seems you've worked really hard these past three years; your soul has grown so much stronger." Anya Darkglow felt quite pleased—at least it proved her teachings weren't in vain.
Rin Nohara replied joyfully, "Yes! I've been practicing every day. Of course, I followed your advice and didn't tell anyone else that I know this ninjutsu."
"Mm, good to keep it secret. This technique has a very obvious weakness. The developer precisely died due to this flaw. Otherwise, he should be extremely powerful today."
Thinking of Dan Kato, Anya couldn't help but feel regret. If he had known her Division Technique back then, he wouldn't have perished on the Sunagakure Battlefield. By now, he might have discovered even greater potential within the Spirit Transformation Technique.
As Anya was lost in thought, Rin curiously asked, "Big brother, why is your spiritual power so much weaker now? It feels like it's about the same as mine."
Anya didn't hold back and directly replied, "This is my newly developed Division Technique. It can split one complete soul into many smaller souls. However, I can't teach you this right now. When your spiritual power grows stronger in the future, you can come find me to learn."
"Really? That's amazing." Rin's eyes lit up, clearly very interested. Then she enthusiastically said, "Actually, during these three years, I also developed a ninjutsu related to the Spirit Transformation Technique. Don't resist me when I demonstrate it to you."
"Oh really?" Anya became somewhat interested, though she didn't take it too seriously. After all, she had studied the Spirit Transformation Technique together with Orochimaru. A little girl like Rin developing a useful ninjutsu on her own probably wasn't anything significant.
But soon, Anya realized just how mistaken she had been—and quite gravely so, at that.
She watched as Rin's soul emitted a dazzling white light within the Shenjing Hai (spiritual sea). Then Rin grabbed Anya's hand, and the white light traveled along her body to envelop Anya's soul as well. Before long, Anya felt her soul was no longer under her own control.
Indeed, this divided soul was now flying around at Rin's will, circling her, and even making faces.
What was going on? Anya was stunned.
Rin let go of Anya's hand and said with a silvery laugh, "Pretty impressive, right?"
Almost instantly, Anya sprang up and grabbed Rin's hand again. In her soul state, she was extremely excited as she spoke without hesitation, "Teach me."
Caught off guard by Anya's intensity, Rin turned red in embarrassment and struggled to pull her hand free from Anya's grip. She lowered her head and softly said, "I'll teach you, but just now you scared me a bit."
Realizing her overreaction, Anya quickly apologized, "I got too excited. Sorry."
"Whatever." Rin didn't dwell on it and soon began explaining her developed ninjutsu to Anya.
[Spirit Control Technique] could control the souls of living beings. Rin discovered this while healing small animals because she could feel the emotions of injured animals before they died. Feeling sad for them, she tried using the Spirit Transformation Technique to soothe them, allowing their souls to find peace after death.
Over time, she discovered she could control the souls of those animals. Even more, she could use the [Spirit Transformation Jutsu] to let them feel her inner world and experience the beauty of this world. That way, before leaving this life, they wouldn't feel so much pain.
Anya listened intently as Rin Nohara explained everything. When she finished, Anya couldn't help but give a bitter smile. Neither he nor Orochimaru had ever thought of using spirit manipulation to calm others' souls—being able to avoid killing someone outright was already lucky enough. No wonder they never developed a Spirit Control Technique like this. Actually, it was quite simple—achieving resonance within one's own soul and then manipulating it through spiritual power. That Rin Nohara could do this just showed how genuinely gentle and selfless she truly was—otherwise, those animals wouldn't have responded to her so easily.
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