"Kyohiko."
Yuhi Kurenai looked at Nii Yugito, who had left and returned to the Kumogakure ninja formation. "What did she want with you?"
"She said she wanted to challenge me."
Kyohiko explained briefly.
"Kumogakure..."
Kurenai's eyes flashed with a hint of confusion.
Kumogakure sending such a young girl to participate in the Chunin Exams was truly baffling.
Or perhaps—
This girl named "Nii Yugito" was like Kakashi a year or two ago, having the ability to graduate early despite having just enrolled.
Unlike Kurenai, Might Gai was excited.
"If they're coming, we might as well spar with the Kumogakure ninja and see how strong they are!"
A fight? Perfect!
Not just Gai, but many ninjas from Kumogakure and Kirigakure shared the same attitude.
Children who grew up in the era of war were mostly more combative and competitive.
Having the chance to face ninjas from other villages, they were all eager and excited, wishing they could skip the first written exam.
However.
After a while, they were all sweating profusely—
You needed to answer 7 out of 10 questions correctly to pass.
If it were Kyohiko just after graduation, he might not have been too confident, but now, after scanning through the questions, he didn't even need to gather intelligence and quickly finished answering.
For Kyohiko, the difficulty wasn't high.
Because while training at home, he often sent a shadow clone to read the Second Hokage's notes and books. Over time, his knowledge reserves were far beyond those of his peers.
But.
For many genin from smaller villages, these questions might have been a bit too difficult.
"It seems the purpose of this first round is to weed out most of the unqualified ninjas, preventing them from entering the second round and getting themselves killed."
"I hope the team from Kusagakure doesn't get eliminated."
Kyohiko's mind flashed with the faces of those three.
The Uzumaki clan.
If he could recruit a special Uzumaki clansman back to the village, it would be a huge benefit for Konoha, and he would definitely reap some rewards.
If he missed this opportunity, he'd really become the Third Hokage!
...
An hour and a half later, the first exam ended, and the results were posted outside.
There were quite a few perfect scores, but not many.
First place—
"Kyohiko, you're first!"
Kurenai happily hugged Kyohiko's arm.
Kyohiko was slightly surprised, but seeing her so happy, he didn't pull away and simply maintained his posture, saying, "It's fine, the questions were simple."
Then, he looked at the list.
There were quite a few perfect scores, but his name was clearly listed as first.
Looking down...
Second place, Terumi Mei.
Huh?
She graduated?
Kyohiko remembered that she should be the same age as him and Kakashi, though perhaps born in a different month, but Kirigakure's graduation exam was notoriously strict.
She actually graduated early.
At that moment, as the crowd gathered, cheers and shouts of joy filled the air.
Suddenly, a familiar voice stood out from the chaotic noise, and Kyohiko's gaze turned toward a certain direction—
The three from Kusagakure.
"We passed!"
"Yay!"
"Great!"
All three of them were thrilled.
As ninjas from a smaller village, passing the first round was enough to prove their excellence, and they would undoubtedly have better prospects than those who were eliminated.
Kyohiko watched them.
Then, he saw the three heading toward the "No. 2" entrance.
"Kyohiko."
Kurenai leaned closer, still holding his arm, and whispered, "Is there something going on with those three from Kusagakure?"
"Let's talk inside."
Kyohiko said, glancing at the corresponding entrance number above—
He, Kurenai, and Gai were all at the "No. 1" entrance, while Yamashiro Aoba and the others were at "No. 5."
Entrance No. 1 and No. 2 were adjacent.
But.
They were quite far from "No. 5."
As Kyohiko walked, he glanced at Yamashiro Aoba.
Coincidentally, this senior, three years his elder, also looked at him—
After a few days of interaction, Yamashiro Aoba understood very well who held the authority in their team.
Kyohiko subtly gestured a "2."
...
At Entrance No. 1.
A team was already signing the "consent form" before them—it was Hoshigaki Kisame's team.
"You're at No. 1 too, huh? Perfect—"
Kisame sneered.
After observing for a while, he said, "Where's the other member of your team? Why did you replace him with this... beast?"
Kisame had a deep impression of Kyohiko's team.
Back then, besides Kyohiko and Kurenai, there was a child who had fainted and was carried by a toad, but it definitely wasn't this oddly dressed creature.
Gai, who hadn't paid much attention at first, suddenly looked at Kisame when he heard "beast."
He stared at Kisame for a while.
Then...
"Beast? Gai, it seems he looks down on you."
Kyohiko smiled.
Might Gai stared at Hoshigaki Kisame, raising his thumb and declaring, "Youth does not allow retreat! When we meet in the exam, I'll show him my power!"
Being looked down upon was something he was used to, but when it came to ninjas from other villages, Gai wouldn't just let it slide like he did in the village.
He silently remembered this.
"Konoha ninjas, if you want to participate in the second exam, you must first sign a consent form. If one person doesn't sign, the whole team..."
"No problem."
Kyohiko took three copies, handed them to Kurenai and Gai, and quickly started writing with the pen on the side.
The ninja from Takigakure was somewhat stunned.
Both teams were so decisive!
After a while, the teams were all assembled, and all four had signed the consent forms.
The Takigakure ninja explained the rules.
"Your destination is the crater. There will be two jōnin waiting there. You'll need to approach one of them to obtain an intelligence scroll, but you must obtain two different scrolls to advance."
The crater, paired scroll retrieval.
With strong teams converging at the crater, it was bound to turn into a chaotic battle, and only a few would advance. At least half would be eliminated.
The difficulty was high!
Kyohiko was getting excited.
Only with difficulty comes excitement!
"The rules have been announced. The exam begins!"
In the next instant—
Whoosh!
The four teams at Entrance No. 1 vanished.
Soon after, Kurenai quickly caught up and whispered to Kyohiko, "Kyohiko, a team is chasing us. It must be those from Kirigakure!"
"Expected."
Kyohiko wasn't surprised.
He scanned ahead, then focused on a large rock on the slope ahead.
It was a good spot for an ambush.
"Up on that rock, I'll use shadow clones and regular clones to ambush and block them. We'll head to No. 2 to intercept the Kusagakure team."
"Got it."
Thanks to their mutual trust, Kurenai and Gai didn't ask for further explanation.
...
"Be careful of ambushes."
Kisame, Hozuki Mangetsu, and Terumi Mei caught up and, seeing the large rock, all became cautious.
They slowly formed hand seals, preparing to release their techniques the moment they charged up.
But.
When they charged onto the rock, instantly—
A flash of blade light!
Mangetsu immediately swung his sword.
His arm muscles bulged, and the thicker, larger-than-average katana in his hand whistled as it came crashing down toward Kyohiko.
Water Release: Gunshot!
But the expected clash didn't happen.
Bam!
The sword struck the ground, sending stone fragments flying.
"Clone Technique!"
Mangetsu immediately warned.
But the next moment, the clone rushed past him.
Splash!
His arm turned into a spray of water.
Then...
Clang!
Kisame, holding a kunai, clashed with Kyohiko's blade.
At the same time, a clone rushed toward Mei.
She quickly formed hand seals.
But.
Kyohiko was too fast!
Before she could finish her last seal, Kyohiko was already in front of her.
Seeing that Kisame and Mangetsu were both facing the "real" Kyohiko, Mei didn't dare to bet her life on it.
Whoosh!
A faint sound of wind passed by as the blade swept past her ear.
"They all seem real!"