Obito looked at Yuzuru with shining expectation, pressing his fists under his chin. "With your status, Yuzuru-nii, you can definitely help me become a jōnin, right?"
Yuzuru smacked Obito on the head.
A grown man nearly one-eighty tall really didn't need to act cute in front of him!
Obito looked wronged. "Yuzuru-nii, why'd you hit me?"
"My ability isn't any worse than Kakashi's! As long as you say a word to Lord Raikage, couldn't you just have me promoted to jōnin?"
Hearing him, Yuzuru snorted. "A jōnin carries responsibility for many lives. You can't cheat your way into that."
"If you can't pass the exam, then your ability isn't enough. I'm not giving you a back door."
At that, Obito pulled a test sheet from his clothes. "Then you try these ridiculous problems, Yuzuru-nii! Let's see if it's my ability that's the issue or this stupid exam!"
Yuzuru took the paper, skimmed it—and immediately felt a headache coming on.
Calculating distance, wind resistance, angle, and parabolic arc for throwing a shuriken?
Computing the blast radius of explosive tags and the optimal detonation height?
Decrypt the following coded message and summarize its contents?
And countless geometric-based calculation problems…
What the heck was any of this supposed to be?!
Yuzuru tossed the paper back at Obito and rubbed his temple.
Sure enough, once you got older, you really couldn't look at these things anymore.
These sheets were scarier than an enemy's genjutsu.
Seeing Yuzuru's reaction, Obito screeched, "See? See?! Even you can't understand it!"
"How can they use this stuff for an exam? It makes no sense!"
"Don't tell me you're just like me—one of the so-called bottom ranks?"
Yuzuru shot back, "Obito, stop talking nonsense. I'm not like you."
"I'm simply not interested. You… just lack the talent."
Obito froze, his brain stalling from the unexpected counterattack.
Kakashi and Shisui exchanged a glance. In each other's eyes, they saw pure admiration.
As expected of Yuzuru-sama—his bluffing was impossibly smooth. He found such a bizarre angle to excuse himself, leaving no flaw to poke at.
Truly terrifying!
After a moment, Obito recovered. "Yuzuru-nii, whether you lack interest or lack talent, you still can't solve these questions, right?"
"So by the rules, doesn't that mean even you can't pass the jōnin exam?"
Yuzuru snorted. "What kind of ninja are you—and you want to compare yourself to me?"
Obito's mouth opened, but he had nothing to say.
He was confident, sure—but facing Yuzuru's ridicule, all he could do was lower his head.
Just then, a bright, bell-like laugh rang out behind them.
Kushina Uzumaki stepped forward, her red hair swaying. "Obito, don't make things hard for your Yuzuru-nii."
"You might not know this, but he's still just a genin."
"Huh?!"
Obito, Shisui, and Kakashi all gaped at once.
The man who shook the ninja world, the man whose name terrified everyone… was a genin?!
What kind of joke was that?!
Seeing their stunned faces, Kushina explained, "Back in Konoha, Yuzuru graduated and went straight into the Police Force. He never took the chūnin exam."
"In Kumogakure, everyone filled out paperwork based on their Konoha records."
"I was the one who wrote his sheet, and I personally filled in his ninja rank."
"Since then, he hasn't taken any rank-up exams. Strictly speaking, Yuzuru is still a genin."
Kakashi and Shisui both struggled not to laugh.
Obito hopped right up to Yuzuru, bursting out laughing. "Hahahahaha! Yuzuru-nii, you're worse than me! I'm a chūnin now!"
"So yeah, we aren't the same level. There's a whole ninja rank between us!"
"Oh, get lost." Yuzuru kicked Obito in the backside, then sighed to Kushina. "Kushina, did you really have to expose me in front of everyone?"
Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. "I only told the truth."
Then she told the boys, "Dinner's ready. Come eat."
"Uh… wouldn't we be intruding…?"
"Great, my stomach's been growling forever."
Shisui tried to decline, but Obito was already sprinting into the house.
Now that he knew Yuzuru was a genin, all his worries about failing the jōnin exam vanished instantly.
Seeing no choice, Kakashi and Shisui followed.
Yuzuru slapped Kushina's rear firmly and murmured, "I'll deal with you tonight."
Kushina blushed and lowered her head without replying—but a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
————
————
Time passed. Soon, it was the fifty-second year of Konoha.
Morning.
Yuzuru sat in his room drinking tea when a crisp system chime echoed in his mind.
[ Ding! Congratulations—the clan population has exceeded ten thousand! Bloodline Evolution +1! ]
[ Current Clan Population: 30,000! ]
Yuzuru slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the translucent panel only he could see.
Then he muttered in his heart, 'Evolve Scorch Release bloodline.'
His body currently held the Yotsuki bloodline, the Chinoike bloodline, the Uzumaki bloodline, Magnet Release (Sand), and Scorch Release.
All except Scorch Release were already at 100% evolution.
So, without hesitation, Yuzuru chose Scorch Release.
A moment later, a warm current surged through his body as the system chimed again.
[ Ding! Scorch Release Evolution: 100%! Gained +1 Clan Entry Draw! ]