Time passed quickly. Over half a month had gone by since Uchiha Kazuhiko's mission to eliminate Daichiro.
Relying on his outstanding strength, he had gained the unanimous recognition of his squad members.
Under Team Leader Star River's leadership, Uchiha Kazuhiko had successfully completed several A-rank Anbu missions, albeit with some close calls. While his combat power hadn't increased significantly, he had gained a wealth of experience in various aspects.
One evening, after a mission debriefing, Team Leader Star River asked Uchiha Kazuhiko to stay behind.
"Goshawk, if I recall correctly, you're still a genin, right?" he asked with a smile.
"Yes,"
Uchiha Kazuhiko replied. Although his combat power in his normal state had reached the level of an elite chunin, he hadn't participated in the Chunin Exams yet, so his registered rank was still genin.
"Good. Then I happen to have a temporarily issued mission here that needs to be completed by you alone."
Team Leader Star River took a mission scroll from the desk in the squad room and handed it to Uchiha Kazuhiko to read.
"'Participate in the Chunin assessment hosted by Kumogakure and achieve a ranking within the top three...' I accept. But, Team Leader Star River,"
Uchiha Kazuhiko read the contents quietly, then asked somewhat puzzled,
"why would our Anbu have a mission like this?"
"These jointly held Chunin Exams are a stage for the great nations to observe each other's national power. The combat strength of the examinees, in a way, represents the strength of the new generation in the ninja villages. Therefore, achieving excellent results is necessary to exert a certain level of deterrence on the other villages."
Team Leader Star River explained the reason while handing an exam application form to Uchiha Kazuhiko.
"To prevent other villages from sending ninjas who are hiding their strength, aside from the host village, other villages can only send ninjas who graduated within the last two years. That's also why I want you to go. After all, among the students from these two graduating classes, only your strength can guarantee a top-three finish."
"I understand, Captain."
Uchiha Kazuhiko took the application form, filled in his relevant information, and handed it back to Team Leader Star River.
"The exam is on May 27th, two weeks from now. You don't need to go on missions with us this week. Adjust your condition. Next week, depart with Konoha's main team for Kumogakure to participate in the exam."
Team Leader Star River took out a storage scroll and handed it to Uchiha Kazuhiko.
"This contains profiles of potential participants from the major ninja villages. They are all noteworthy new-generation ninjas. I hope it helps you."
"Thank you, Captain. I'll take my leave now."
After leaving the Anbu squad room, Uchiha Kazuhiko returned home and carefully studied the intelligence scroll given to him by Team Leader Star River.
First were the hosts, Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning. Two teams caught Uchiha Kazuhiko's attention slightly.
One team was a combination of triplet brothers.
They had encountered an attack by rogue ninjas during a mission, killed the jonin leader among the attackers, and, under siege by over ten chunin, relied on exquisite coordination to eliminate the enemies one by one.
Furthermore, based on other intelligence, it was highly likely they were still hiding some trump cards.
The other team was the squad of the famously well-endowed older-sister character from the original story, Samui. However, the current members were Samui's younger brother, along with Omoi and Karui.
Their situation was similar to Uchiha Kazuhiko's. They had just graduated from the ninja academy not long ago, but their strength far exceeded that of genin.
Hence, they were recommended by their current team leader, Samui, to participate in the Chunin Exams.
After all, participating in an exam hosted by Kumogakure itself meant they would receive the greatest protection from the Cloud-nin proctors. They could temper their abilities in the exams without facing lethal danger.
Next, a character that made Uchiha Kazuhiko's eyes light up was a ninja from Sunagakure of the Land of Wind, named Yaming.
He possessed a highly developed Swift Release Kekkei Genkai, combined with a unique wind-style sword technique. His record included completing a mission to wipe out a gang of rogue ninjas single-handedly.
Although there were no jonin in the rogue ninja group, there were several with elite chunin strength. Being able to resolve them unscathed indicated strength that should not be underestimated.
Finally, the team Uchiha Kazuhiko paid attention to was the Kekkei Genkai team from Iwagakure of the Land of Earth. Two of its members possessed Steel Release and Explosion Release respectively.
These two Kekkei Genkai, one for attack and one for defense, if applied properly and combined with the ninjutsu of their third teammate, would require considerable effort for even Uchiha Kazuhiko to deal with.
As for Kirigakure of the Land of Water, one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, for some unknown reason, they did not send any ninjas to participate in this Chunin Exam.
After reading their profiles, Uchiha Kazuhiko had a general understanding of his opponents this time.
As long as no new powerful teams participated, a top-three finish was almost within easy reach for him.
Stroking his right arm, which had begun to ache faintly again, a cold glint flashed in Uchiha Kazuhiko's eyes.
He had a hidden danger on his body that needed to be resolved. Otherwise, after Itachi Uchiha slaughtered the clan and defected, thoroughly humiliating Orochimaru with the Sharingan, he himself might very well replace Sasuke Uchiha as Orochimaru's vessel for reincarnation.
Fortunately, Uchiha Kazuhiko possessed the system, his golden finger. The moment Orochimaru left the cave, he had entered the Pan-Universe Mall and, with the system's help, found an item capable of remvoing Orochimaru's curse mark.
[Low-Grade Purity Breaking Pill]: Black Iron Mid-Rank, Medium Grade. Basic cultivation-type pill. Can clear the effects of low-level Plague, Poisonous curse, curses, and other negative substances. Price: 25 gold coins.
The Low-Grade Purity Breaking Pill wasn't cheap. It seemed like it would take several mission rewards to obtain.
However, for Uchiha Kazuhiko, who had experience with two system missions, simply entering a mission spacetime of a suitable Level would allow him to earn enough gold coins through additional means.
Having found a solution, Uchiha Kazuhiko wasn't in too much of a hurry. After all, he still had a year. He was confident he could eliminate this hidden danger.
Setting aside the matter of the curse mark, Uchiha Kazuhiko resumed his methodical training: taijutsu, Original energy, Engraved Magic Seal, and meditation.
After completing these tasks in an orderly manner, the night had quietly passed.
Uchiha Kazuhiko spent his week of vacation on training. With the assistance of the Ginseng Snake Gall Pill, his total Original energy successfully broke through to the jonin level.
The Ginseng Snake Gall Pill was one of the two pills he obtained from the alchemy mission. It was concocted from materials like blood orchid, ginseng, and mutated snake gall. It could assist cultivation and increase energy capacity.
The other pill was called the Orchid Blood Hundred Beasts Pill. Utilizing the properties of the blood orchid and blended with the blood of a hundred fierce beasts, it was extremely helpful for physical cultivation. Unfortunately, the quantity was limited.
It had only raised his body to the limit of withstanding three gates without damage. He needed to advance further to barely open the Fifth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
After the week of training ended, Uchiha Kazuhiko set off with several other Konoha teams participating in the exam. After several days of travel, they arrived at Kumogakure.
After going through procedures like identity verification by the hosts, Kumogakure, all the Konoha participants were arranged in a hotel Special reception for examinees.
Just as Uchiha Kazuhiko was about to go out and stroll around Kumogakure for a while, the system's notification sounded once again in his mind.
Ding dong! A new round of missions has refreshed. Please check promptly, Host.