Chapter 30: The Third Hokage’s Meddling and the Forced Participation in the Exam

While other teams were swamped with missions, Ethan’s team was the complete opposite—they barely went out a few times a month.

Especially after the war broke out, they spent most of their time in the village, training and improving their skills.

If this were any other genin team, the Third Hokage wouldn’t have anything to say.

In both Konoha and other villages, a significant portion of genin were genuinely weak. Many couldn’t even perform basic C-rank jutsu.

For these genin, you couldn’t expect too much.

But what about Ethan’s team?

Their strength was clearly above average, yet they seemed disinterested in taking on more missions.

It seemed as though they were satisfied as long as they had enough money to get by. They hadn’t even applied for the Chunin Exams.

Other genin from their class had already applied for the exams, but Ethan’s team showed no interest whatsoever.

Was it due to a lack of strength?

Obviously not.

After pondering the situation, the Third Hokage decided to add the names of Ethan, Mikoto, and Minato to the Chunin Exam roster himself, passing the list to the ANBU.

Next, the ANBU would inform them to show up for the exam on time.

The village was in dire need of capable shinobi, and letting three geniuses remain hidden in a genin team was simply unacceptable.

It was one thing if they didn’t take on many missions, but not even participating in the Chunin Exams? That wouldn’t do.

Since they hadn’t applied themselves, he would do it for them.

“Ethan Yagami, please be at the exam site tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. for the Chunin Exams,” an ANBU operative informed Ethan at his home before disappearing, leaving Ethan standing there, bewildered.

Chunin Exam?

What’s going on?

Ethan knew that the Chunin Exams were coming up, but he hadn’t planned on participating.

He hadn’t even intended for Mikoto to participate.

As for Minato, the plan was to wait and let him take the next Chunin Exam.

This way, with a chunin on the team, they could start taking on more challenging B-rank missions.

That was Ethan’s plan.

Minato and Mikoto had agreed to it.

Although they didn’t fully understand why Ethan was against taking the Chunin Exams early, since he proposed it, they were fine with going along. He was the captain, after all.

Who would’ve thought an ANBU operative would show up out of nowhere and notify them to participate in the exam?

This is nuts.

Who signed us up?

Minato?

Ethan suddenly remembered how Minato had once joked about secretly signing him up to catch him off guard.

“No, that’s not it. Minato wouldn’t actually do something like this,” Ethan realized.

“If it wasn’t Minato, then who was it?”

Instinctively, Ethan looked up in the direction of the Hokage’s office, and it hit him.

“Damn it!!”

This wasn’t Minato’s doing—this had the Third Hokage written all over it.

Ethan guessed that not only he, but also Minato and Mikoto were now stuck participating in the Chunin Exam. There was no getting out of it.

To confirm his suspicions, Ethan went to find Minato and Mikoto.

Both of them were as confused as he was. When Ethan found them, they still looked bewildered. Minato even thought that Ethan had signed him up as a prank.

“So, we’re participating in the Chunin Exam tomorrow because of the Hokage?” Mikoto asked, resting her chin on her hand and blinking her big, dark eyes at Ethan.

“Who else could it be?” Ethan replied, exasperated.

The Third Hokage sure was meddlesome. Not only was he busy with the war, but he still found time to poke his nose into their genin team’s affairs.

Maybe he had too much free time on his hands.

“Should we go ahead and take the exam, then?” Mikoto asked, her small hand resting thoughtfully on her chin.

“Of course, we have to go.”

The Hokage had already signed them up—how could they refuse?

Ethan was sure that if they tried to cancel their registration, the Third Hokage wouldn’t allow it.

There was no escaping it for the three of them.

“Let’s get ready then. We can’t afford to mess this up,” Ethan said, deciding to go with the flow.

“I should go study,” Minato sighed. Since Ethan had planned for them to prepare for the Chunin Exam after the new year, Minato hadn’t bothered to look at any study material yet.

But now, thanks to the Third Hokage, Minato realized it was time to do some last-minute cramming.

“I should prepare too,” Mikoto said as she got up to leave.

After confirming that the news was real, the three of them returned home to get ready.

The next day, Ethan arrived at the exam site bright and early.

The area was already crowded with participants. When Ethan walked onto the field, it felt like a kid stepping into a college exam hall filled with adults.

“Is this kid really here for the Chunin Exams?”

“Maybe he’s just here to make up the numbers?”

“Don’t be so quick to judge. That’s Ethan Yagami—he was a prodigy at the Academy. You might not have heard much about him recently, but don’t underestimate him.”

Ignoring the murmurs and stares, Ethan walked over to an open spot to wait for Minato and Mikoto.

It wasn’t long before the two of them arrived at the exam site and joined Ethan.

The three of them, standing together at their young age, stood out among the crowd, even though some of their fellow graduates were also taking the exam.

But compared to the other participants, they were still very young.

As the clock struck eight, the proctors posted a list on the wall, assigning each participant to a different exam room based on their registration number.

The three of them were split up into different rooms, but the Chunin Exam was not something that would be a problem for them.

Unlike the older participants, who had likely failed the exam multiple times and were now sweating bullets, Ethan, Minato, and Mikoto were confident that as long as they performed as usual, they would pass.

Compared to the rigorous exams seen in the anime, this one was much more relaxed.

Two proctors casually handed out the test papers, warned everyone not to cheat, and then stood at opposite ends of the room, practically blending into the background.

Ethan picked up his pen and looked over the exam questions.

The first question: “If you encounter the following situation, how would you protect yourself while gathering sufficient intelligence?”

Is this a freebie?

Who came up with these questions?

They deserve a hundred lashes—it’s way too easy.

The exam room was silent as Ethan quickly filled out the answers. In thirty minutes, his paper was completely filled.

“Can I help you with something?” a proctor asked when he noticed Ethan raising his hand.

“I’m done,” Ethan replied, handing over his completed test paper before getting up to leave the room.

“...”

Was this kid really just here to take a stroll through the exam?