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Arriving at the registration area on the third floor, Team 8 handed in their application forms to the person in charge and received their assigned examination room and seat numbers.
After leaving the comprehensive building, Ryūsei and the others made their way to the teaching building.
Along the way, Ryūsei didn't catch sight of Team 7, Team 10, or even Team Might Guy.
He wasn't sure if they had arrived too early or too late.
When they reached the entrance of the examination room, Ryūsei and his teammates spotted a familiar figure—Kurenai.
Standing beside her were Asuma and Kakashi.
"Kurenai-sensei." The three of them immediately stepped forward to greet her.
"Seeing the three of you together makes me very happy," Kurenai said softly as she stood up, a warm smile on her face. "Actually, there's another rule for the Chunin Exams—unless a team has suffered casualties or lost members, all members must register together to participate. The fact that you've all come means none of you were willing to abandon your comrades. I can see the bonds between you. Regardless of whether you pass this exam or not, I'll take you on higher-ranked missions from now on."
After speaking, Kurenai patted Ryūsei's shoulder and introduced Kakashi and Asuma to Team 8.
"These two were my classmates and are now elite Jonin of Konoha. This bearded one here, you've met before—Asuma. You can call him Asuma-sensei."
"The one wearing the mask is Konoha's 'Copy Ninja,' Kakashi. He's the instructor of Team 7. You can call him Kakashi-sensei."
"Asuma-sensei, Kakashi-sensei." Ryūsei and his teammates greeted the two politely.
"Nice to meet you," Asuma said with a grin. "Ino's been talking about you nonstop. She must really miss you. Maybe our two teams can hang out more often."
His last remark was clearly directed at Kurenai, his intentions as transparent as ever.
Hearing Ino's name, the corners of Ryūsei and Hinata's lips curled up slightly. They could easily imagine the expression on Ino's face whenever she talked about them.
Kakashi, meanwhile, set down his copy of Icha Icha Paradise and studied Ryūsei, who stood a full head taller than Hinata and Shino—almost as tall as Kurenai herself.
"So this is the top graduate?" Kakashi mused, intrigued. "In terms of presence, he's definitely on a different level from the second-place student in my team."
"But be careful. That second-place student of mine has grown quite a bit recently."
Kurenai, however, responded with pride. "Even if your Uchiha has awakened the Sharingan, he's no match for Ryūsei. Just wait and see, Kakashi, Asuma. My students will amaze you!"
"Oh?" Kakashi and Asuma's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
This confident?
Does this top graduate have some hidden trump card?
"Kurenai-sensei, we'll head in first," Ryūsei said, noticing Kurenai's boastful demeanor.
"Mm, go ahead. Good luck on the exam." Kurenai nodded with a smile.
After politely nodding to Kakashi and Asuma, Ryūsei led Hinata and Shino as they pushed open the examination room door.
Instantly, the atmosphere shifted.
First came the cacophony of voices, loud and disorderly like a marketplace. Then, waves of hostile—even murderous—gazes surged toward them, causing Shino and Hinata to tense up instinctively, their bodies reacting to the unseen threat.
"What a bunch of rude people."
Ryūsei frowned slightly before sweeping his eyes over those glaring at them. Behind his tinted lenses, the three tomoe of his Sharingan rotated faintly.
The next second, the expressions of those who met his gaze twisted in shock.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
One by one, their faces paled as if they had seen something horrifying.
Some of the more outwardly aggressive but inwardly weak individuals even collapsed onto the floor in terror.
A few let out bloodcurdling screams: "No! Don't kill me!"
The entire examination room descended into chaos.
But soon, the chaos subsided.
"I… I'm not dead? Thank goodness, I'm alive!"
Those who had snapped out of the genjutsu rejoiced, some even shedding tears of relief.
They didn't seem to realize how pitiful they looked in the eyes of others.
When they finally noticed the stares around them, they fell silent, their faces burning with humiliation, wishing they could dig a hole and disappear.
Yet, no one laughed at them.
Instead, the others in the room gazed warily at Ryūsei.
Those who had been lucky enough to avoid the genjutsu gulped, their faces filled with fear.
"A mass genjutsu… What kind of monster is he?"
"I saw my own death… My sensei once used a genjutsu like that on me—the B-rank Hell Viewing Technique. But this guy didn't even use hand signs! And he cast it on all of us at once!"
"I know him. He's the top graduate of Konoha's latest class. Even the last Uchiha in his year was never a match for him."
"If we run into him during the exams, we're running the other way!"
Under Ryūsei's intimidation, the examination room became eerily silent, save for hushed whispers.
Creak—
Just then, the door to the examination room opened again.
A familiar voice reached Ryūsei and Hinata's ears:
"Hey—Ryūsei! Hinata! Long time no see!"
Ryūsei suddenly felt a weight on his back as a strong force nearly knocked him forward.
A pair of arms wrapped around his neck from behind, their owner hanging off him like a backpack.
Only one person would dare to be this bold.
"Long time no see, Ino."
Ryūsei deftly unhooked her arms and gently set her down.
Looking at Ino, who had tied her golden hair into a high ponytail with her bangs nearly covering one eye, Ryūsei raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"It's only been a few months, but have you gotten taller?"
"Hehe, you noticed?"
Ino made a tiny gap between her fingers, grinning. "I grew three centimeters!"
Then, she turned to compare heights with Hinata, the tallest of the three girls.
But the next second, Ino's jaw dropped, her body freezing in place as if she had turned to stone.
Her eyes were locked onto Hinata's chest.
"Ryūsei! Long time no see!" Another cheerful voice reached Ryūsei's ears.
Turning toward the sound, he saw a girl in a red qipao with long pink hair jogging toward him.
Behind her were a blond and a raven-haired boy—Naruto and Sasuke.
"Long time no see, Sakura." Ryūsei raised a hand in greeting.
The more reserved Sakura wouldn't dare to act as boldly as Ino.
But when Ryūsei acknowledged her, her smile brightened even more. She then turned to greet her two best friends.
"Ino, Hinata, it's been—" Her voice abruptly cut off, her mouth hanging open as her gaze locked onto Hinata's chest.
'What in the world is this?! Three months ago, it wasn't this outrageous!'
Sakura looked down at her own chest, where she could not only see her toes but also felt absolutely no weight whatsoever.
In an instant, she too turned to stone, cracks forming across her body—the sound of a shattered heart.
"Hinata, let's talk over here…"
Regaining her senses, Ino immediately pulled Hinata aside, whispering something to her that no one else could hear.
Sakura quickly scrambled over to join them.
Watching the three girls converse, Ryūsei scanned the room once more until his eyes landed on a girl with her hair tied into a bun, who was also observing them.