Chapter 91

Chapter 91 - 91 [+500 Power Stone Bonus Chapter!!] It was truly comforting to know that all their friends were safe and sound—nothing brought more joy than that. Natsuki and Tenten chatted casually with the others. As for the ninjas from other villages, there was no need to pay them much mind. Oh, right. There was that Suna-nin with the red "love" character on his forehead. That guy needed attention—mentally unstable. It'd be a real headache if he got fixated on someone. Not like they could just kill him on the spot, right? Just then, Lee returned—thankfully not too late. According to him, he had gotten into a fight with Sasuke, but it hadn't gone well for him. Seemed Sasuke had gotten stronger. Natsuki gave Lee a glance. It looked like Sasuke had been spurred on by their previous encounter and probably sought extra training from Kakashi. Otherwise, he couldn't have surpassed Lee at this point. Still, that was fine. It'd help Sasuke hold his own when Orochimaru showed up in the Forest of Death, giving him a fighting chance rather than being outright crushed. Not long after, Team 7 pushed open the door and entered, drawing everyone's attention again. The intense gazes of the crowd made all three of them feel uneasy. Even the usually brash Naruto found himself uncomfortable under so many eyes. As expected, the plot unfolded just like before. The white-haired, bespectacled Yakushi Kabuto stepped forward, pretending to be helpful as he introduced some intel on the examinees. He even went so far as to expose the fact that he'd taken the Chūnin Exams multiple times without success. Then he stirred up some fake conflict with the Sound Ninja trio, trying to make himself look weak. You had to admit—he could act. What none of them knew was that everything happening in this room was being watched. Back in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen stared silently at his crystal ball, a pipe between his lips. Beside him, Mitokado Homura couldn't help but voice his concern. "Hiruzen, isn't this a little too risky? You know that Otogakure is linked to Orochimaru, and yet you still allowed their ninja to participate in the Chūnin Exams. Aren't you worried they're up to something?" Koharu also added, "Orochimaru knows Konoha and the Land of Fire like the back of his hand, and he's incredibly powerful. If he really makes a move, we'll have a hard time stopping him." "I know everything you just said." Hiruzen calmly puffed on his pipe. "They say you can't guard against a thief for a thousand days. Right now, Orochimaru is in the shadows. We have no way of preventing his actions when we don't even know what he plans to do. Since those Otogakure ninja are his people, let's allow them in. Keep them under surveillance. Maybe we can follow the trail and find Orochimaru." Homura and Koharu understood. It had already been discussed during the council meetings. Even so, they still felt they needed to be more cautious when it came to Orochimaru. A single misstep could lead to disaster. After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen made a decision. "We can inform Jiraiya. If Orochimaru does appear, at least we won't be lacking in strength." Only then did Homura and Koharu finally breathe a little easier. If Jiraiya came back, there'd still be someone capable of restraining Orochimaru. The village would be safe. As for the so-called "Strongest Hokage" Sarutobi Hiruzen... whether he was still as strong as his reputation suggested was up for debate—but he was certainly old now. Against Orochimaru, things could become truly dangerous. If anything happened to Hiruzen, Konoha would lose its cornerstone. The balance of power within the council would need to be reshuffled, and the Land of Fire could end up at war. Truly, these were troubled times. Back at the exam hall, Morino Ibiki arrived with a group of Chūnin and swiftly put an end to the farce. Then he collected all the registration forms and had the examinees take their assigned seats. Finally, he announced the content of the first test: a written exam! Most people weren't surprised. After all, information gathering was a fundamental ninja skill. And Konoha had hosted the Chūnin Exams many times before—everyone knew the routine by now. The only ones reacting like it was unexpected were Team 7. What else could you say? Team 7's basic skills were clearly lacking. They barely did any intel-gathering. Their sensory abilities were weak. They often only realized an enemy was there when they were already face-to-face. Their various questionable actions made one's eye twitch just watching them. Natsuki didn't bother with the others. He split off two threads of chakra from his forehead and connected them to Rinya and Megumi's foreheads. Then, he began sending Morse code via electrical pulses: "This test should be about intel-gathering. The proctor's strict. Don't act on your own if you're not confident—I've got it covered." The two of them immediately tapped back using their chakra threads, also in Morse code: "Understood!" The exam papers were quickly distributed. With a glance, Natsuki could tell the questions were extremely difficult. Few people could complete them independently. Only Sakura and Hinata stood a chance of answering on their own. Natsuki didn't even bother trying to solve the questions. He formed a single-hand seal and created a small, almost invisible lens in the air, which connected to another lens beneath his sunglasses. He then locked onto a Konoha candidate who had clearly been planted to be copied from. That guy was already scribbling away—the difficult questions didn't even seem to faze him. Clearly, he was placed there for the others to cheat off of. As Natsuki copied the answers, he also transmitted them to his two teammates via chakra-thread Morse code. As for Tenten—she had her own way of handling things. Natsuki didn't have to worry about her at all. Soon, the planted candidate finished his paper, and the three of them did the same, setting down their pens confidently as if simply waiting for the test to end. Naturally, the proctors noticed. Several of them couldn't help but nod. The ability to gather intel this efficiently was undeniably impressive. Don't assume that handing in a blank test would be fine just because passing wasn't solely based on scores. Sure, you could still pass—but the proctors' evaluations also mattered greatly when determining whether someone could become a Chūnin. Why was Shikamaru the only one who became a Chūnin in the original story? It wasn't just because of his performance in the final battles. His behavior during the written exam also played a role. Natsuki didn't intend to remain a Genin forever. Ideally, he wanted to be promoted to Jōnin as soon as Tsunade became Hokage. That would make a lot of problems disappear. For example—he could then ask Tsunade for advanced knowledge in ninjutsu, summoning techniques, and sealing arts. This was crucial. If Natsuki wanted to make the most out of his special lab, he needed as much advanced knowledge as possible. Otherwise, many of his experiments would be impossible. Take for instance the fusion of water and lightning chakra to create Ranton (Storm Release)—it wasn't that Natsuki didn't want to try, it was that he didn't have the slightest clue how to start. Not a shred of knowledge in his head. If success came simply by thinking hard enough, he'd already be invincible. So yes, status mattered. With higher status came greater influence—and better bargaining chips to get the knowledge he needed. That's why he had to perform exceptionally well in this Chūnin Exam—to accelerate his promotion. Natsuki glanced at Tenten and saw her using small mirrors to gather answers, even passing them along to Lee. Everything was going smoothly. The others also showed off their own clever methods. Neji used Byakugan to copy answers. Sasuke activated his Sharingan to mimic movements. Kiba relied on his dog. Shino used insects. Ino employed Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Transfer Technique). Gaara used his Suna no Me (Sand Eye). It was a dazzling variety of techniques. Only Naruto was still scratching his head, completely clueless about the true purpose of the exam. And even if he did figure it out, he had no way of cheating. If Morino Ibiki hadn't pulled that trick with the final question, Team 7 would've been eliminated right then and there... (End of Chapter) [Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][/zaelum] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]