The next day.
At the Yūhi household.
Seiryū got up early and began the daily training he had not done in quite a while.
He was getting familiar with Bakudō #58: Kakushitsuijaku, which he had obtained from a previous mission reward.
In this world Kakushitsuijaku was a sensory-type ninjutsu.
It could capture chakra fluctuations within a certain range.
Based on its principles.
It should have similarities to Karin's Mind's Eye of the Kagura, making it a very practical Bakudō.
Seiryū was starting to look more and more like someone from the Uzumaki clan...
Kagura Mind's Eye, a special constitution, red hair, massive chakra reserves, and strong vitality...
If he later obtained Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku, which was very similar to Adamantine Sealing Chains, then even if he really was not a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, there would barely be much difference.
"The range is very wide, enough to cover nearly half of Konoha, and as my strength grows, the range can keep expanding. No matter what kind of Kidō it is, it's all linked to my own strength..."
Seiryū stroked his chin and muttered thoughtfully.
The effect of Kakushitsuijaku was very good.
Nearly half of Konoha was within his perception.
It could only capture chakra fluctuations and lock onto their location, it could not predict an enemy's attacks like Observation Haki.
Seiryū muttered to himself, "Now that I have sensory-type abilities, I can be more confident about my safety."
With sensory abilities, one could seize the initiative in war.
At the very least, his own safety was more protected, he could avoid the enemy's sharp edge, and when facing danger, he would have a better chance of dealing with it.
Right now, Seiryū just had to keep training and keep working hard.
As his strength increased, although the threat of war was still pressing,
it was no longer as nerve-racking as it had been at the start.
There was still some time left for him to grow.
He did not need to become so strong that he could directly control the course of the war in the future, as long as he had the strength to protect himself and the people around him, that would be enough.
Hopefully the war would come a little later.
Stopping his training, Seiryū ran to the bathroom to wash off the sweat on his body.
After that, he came to the dining table and saw that Shinku was already eating breakfast. Smiling, he said, "Uncle doesn't have a mission today?"
After taking on the work of being a Jōnin instructor, Shinku had been quite busy as well.
He often was not at home.
Other ninja teams did not have special circumstances like Team Four. Resting for a whole month or more was not something normal for them...
"Mm, I'm resting for a day today."
Shinku replied, then looked Seiryū up and down. "Your injuries are healed?"
Come to think of it, it was quite strange.
Seiryū had gone out of the village for missions twice, and both times had ended up seriously injured. There really was no one else like him...
Fortunately, with Tsunade-sama's treatment, although it had delayed his training, as long as he was fine, that was what mattered.
A cause for celebration.
Sure enough, having Tsunade-sama as his teacher had been extremely beneficial for Seiryū.
Seiryū nodded. "They're healed. That bad woman scammed a full million ryō from me. Now she doesn't owe me money anymore, I'll have to keep looking for another chance to make her go into debt!"
Only if Tsunade became his debtor could Seiryū hold a little leverage over her.
He needed to find another chance to make Tsunade owe him money, preferably the kind she could not repay in the short term...
Shinku: "..."
This brat was really rich, and also really obsessed with making Tsunade-sama owe him money...
He had no idea what kind of bad habit that was!
Speaking of which.
When the Queen of Rōran visited before, Seiryū had even taken out three million ryō, saying he was buying the position of Rōran's Regent from the Queen.
No one knew whether that was true or not.
In any case, lately he kept hearing Seiryū say he was broke...
Shinku brought up another matter. "There are less than a few months left until the Chunin Exams. Because of your two injuries, you've lost quite a bit of training time. Are you confident?"
Hearing that, Seiryū nodded slightly. "It shouldn't be a problem. I'm still very confident in my strength."
Taking part in the Chunin Exams was something he had promised Tsunade.
Naturally, he would not treat it carelessly.
With his strength.
Well, he did not think there was any way he could fail to become a Chunin.
Surely he could not be worse than the original six-year-old Kakashi, right?
Come on.
He had always been suppressing that "civilian genius" Kakashi...
"Don't be careless. This Chunin Exam may be a little different."
Shinku took a bite of fried egg.
Then continued, "Not only Konoha, but other ninja villages may also participate. If that really happens, then what you'll have to face won't just be Konoha's Genin, but the Genin of other villages as well."
"Hm?"
Seiryū froze for a moment. "Why are other ninja villages joining the fun too? Which villages are coming?"
What was going on?
Had the Konoha Crush started more than twenty years early?
Shinku shook his head. "I don't know that either. Of course, that situation may not necessarily happen. I only heard some news about it yesterday."
He was not certain.
He had only heard a few rumors.
But since this sort of news had already spread, it meant that such a situation might really happen...
"I remember the next Chunin Exam should be in December, right? News about it is already spreading this early, something feels off..."
Seiryū had been recovering from his injuries recently and had rarely gone out, so he did not know about this news.
But he still felt that something was not quite right...
Could it be that the existence of a little butterfly like himself had already affected the other ninja villages!?
Or was this something that had existed in the original story too, but simply was never described?
Shinku's expression became a little more serious as well. "It really is a bit off. The timing of the Chunin Exams is fixed, so when the time gets close, people naturally start talking about it."
"But this time is somewhat unusual. It's as if someone is deliberately spreading it around, and they even released news that other ninja villages may participate."
"They may be trying to pressure Konoha, or perhaps test it..."
This time really was somewhat different.
Every Chunin Exam became the focus of Konoha, so people discussing it was normal.
But involving other ninja villages was anything but normal...
"A test?"
Seiryū understood instantly.
The Chunin Exam was not only a comprehensive evaluation of an individual ninja's ability, it was also a stage for displaying a ninja village's strength and foundation.
The Third Shinobi World War was not far off either.
As the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha's strength and foundation would naturally be watched closely by the other villages.
Although one Chunin Exam could not determine Konoha's true strength and foundation, it could still reveal some things.
In the original work, the Chunin Exam was even described as a small-scale war!
There was another point as well.
The many large and small ninja villages in the shinobi world all relied on financial and material support from the daimyō and elites of their respective nations in order to survive.
They did not have much ability to be self-sufficient.
If the Chunin Exam were viewed as a small-scale war...
Then the losing side would undoubtedly lose the trust of those daimyō and elites, and as a result receive less financial and material support.
Weakening a ninja village's strength at the source.
War burned money.
If logistical supplies could not be properly prepared, then with the outbreak of war and the passage of time, weakness would gradually begin to show...
Could this be a sign that war was approaching!?
(To be continued.)