406 Learning Ninjutsu in a Glance

In the end, Shinju didn't leave. He stood guard at the village entrance, personally watching one delegation after another enter. When everyone saw the Hokage himself welcoming them, they were all stunned.

After all, Shinju's strength and status were right there for all to see. Normally, ninja villages and nations depended on each other; the Hokage and the daimyo were equals, or the Hokage was even a rank lower. But Shinju, the Sixth Hokage, was different—he was so powerful that he didn't need to put anyone in his eyes at all…

And so, the nobles and dignitaries who had been slightly disgruntled from the long journey instantly plastered smiles all over their faces when they saw Shinju waiting at the village gate.

The Fire Country daimyo said, "It's just a small Chūnin Exam. Shinju, why did you come out personally to welcome us?"

Shinju replied flatly, "To ensure your safety."

That dry, simple sentence nearly moved the Fire Country daimyo to tears. In the half year since Shinju took office as Hokage, whenever the Fire Country's upper echelons summoned him, he never went—and even if he did, he sent a shadow clone instead. The Fire Country daimyo knew Shinju was disrespectful, yet he didn't dare say anything…

He never expected Shinju to actually show concern for him today: T^T

Seeing the daimyo's expression grow more and more dramatic, Shinju couldn't help but speak up,

"Are you going in or not? You're blocking the people behind you."

The Fire Country daimyo replied, "In, in, in."

Something was off. Shinju was very off today! Even though waiting personally had moved him, the heaviness and irritation on Shinju's face were clearly not an act! Better not step on his bad side!

Soon, all the Chūnin Exam candidates and the high-ranking spectators had arrived. Since the exam wouldn't start until tomorrow, Shinju had Sasuke lead the candidates to tour the exam venue, and sent Shikamaru to guide the nobles and dignitaries to their resting quarters…

At last, Shinju ordered the Konoha gates closed and looked toward Naruto not far away.

Naruto's face was full of excitement. "Are you assigning me some important mission? (•̀⌄•́)"

Shinju nodded, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Call a few people you trust and go…"

After hearing the mission Shinju assigned, Naruto's expression changed in shock.

"Seriously? Is it really that serious? (´°Δ°`)"

Shinju said, "I hope it isn't, but it never hurts to be prepared!"

Naruto said nothing more, nodded, and withdrew. "Got it!"

...

After Naruto left, Shinju gathered all the genin participating in the Chūnin Exam at the Ninja Academy and gave them a few simple words of encouragement. Then, Shinju left the academy.

As he stepped outside, he happened to run into the Raikage being escorted by his entourage. When the Raikage saw Shinju, it was like seeing a savior. He grabbed Shinju and pulled him close, lowering his voice as he spoke at length…

Shinju: (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!

"Killer B has gone missing?!"

The Raikage said, "Shh~ it's peacetime now. To avoid causing panic, I've been suppressing this news for two days."

Shinju said, "Doesn't Kumogakure have phones? Why didn't you say anything the moment something happened?"

Hearing that, the Raikage looked a bit embarrassed.

"That guy Killer B sneaks out way too often. I was afraid it was another false alarm, so I didn't say anything right away."

"I only came to tell you after I sent people to search every country and confirmed there was no trace of him…"

Shinju nodded and didn't say more, his mind already spinning with thoughts…

Ever since waking up this morning, he'd had a bad feeling. Now Killer B had vanished in such a strange way—there might be some connection between the two!

Shinju said, "Don't panic yet. I'll send some shadow clones to look…"

...

The next day.

Chūnin Exam venue.

Just like past Chūnin Exams, this year's exam still began with a written test. However, unlike when Shinju took the exam back then, there was no additional test this time—it all depended on the candidates' brains.

On the podium, Sasuke spoke while unsealing the test papers.

"You're the first batch of Chūnin Exam candidates since the end of the Ninja World War. You're lucky, because forty percent of the questions on this exam were written by the Sixth Hokage himself. ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"

As soon as he said that, the candidates grew excited. They were at the age where they worshiped heroes, and the young and handsome Shinju was undoubtedly the most perfect idol in the ninja world today!

"To actually do exam questions personally written by Shinju-sama! I've really struck gold!"

"Exactly, exactly—who knows if Shinju-sama will give us freebie questions~"

"Very possible! I heard Shinju-sama is the gentlest of all! (๑ت๑)"

The examinees chatted excitedly with you-say-this, I-say-that—but once the exam papers were handed out, none of them could laugh anymore!

"Given that Ninja A takes 0.6 seconds to form one hand sign, calculate how many seconds he needs to perform the Sealing Technique: Evil Sealing Method… This one's pretty simple."

"Discuss the thirteen scenarios in which the Evil Sealing Method is applicable…"

"As shown in the diagram, calculate at what angle to throw a shuriken so that it rebounds more than ten times and still hits the target…"

"Given f(x) --003d y, find… help!! I can't understand any of this at all!!凸(｀0´)凸"

Very soon, the exam ended.

This exam left both top students and slackers completely silent!

The teachers graded the papers quickly, and not long after the submissions, the score sheets were out…

...

Inside the Hokage's office, Shinju looked over the candidates' score reports and smacked his lips.

"This batch of students really won't cut it. Only three people actually hit sixty… I originally planned to set sixty as the passing mark…"

Shikamaru: "I couldn't even answer the questions you set… And for this exam, all ninjutsu was banned, cheating was forbidden, even the examinees' stools were made with your Wood Release properties… Shinju, what exactly are you trying to do? ㅍ_ㅍ"

Shinju revealed a mysterious smile.

"Because I got drenched in the rain before, I figured I'd let them get drenched too. Didn't expect they couldn't even handle that. (σ≧︎▽︎≦︎)σ"

"Oh right—didn't Konohamaru also take part in this Chunin Exam?"

Shikamaru nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks to you, he got a 41."

Shinju: "Then change the passing score to forty. We'll do live combat this afternoon. (◔◡◔)"

...

In the end, after a round of Shinju's adjustments, more than four hundred out of over six hundred people were eliminated…

...

Afternoon.

Chunin Exam arena.

Konohamaru, who barely scraped past the line with 41 points, let out a sigh of relief.

"Great! I just barely passed—no elimination for me! ❛‿˂̵✧"

Ebisu, Konohamaru's team leader, pushed up his glasses.

"This level of luck feels a bit too outrageous."

Konohamaru patted his chest.

"Sensei, don't underestimate me. I've got some real strength too, you know! (◍ ´꒳` ◍)"

While Konohamaru was chatting with his teacher, the first match began…

Then the second, the third…

By the fourth match, it was Konohamaru's turn!

Konohamaru's starting point was far higher than that of the other contestants. His grandfather was the Third Hokage, and he had already mastered S-rank ninjutsu at a young age. Calling it overwhelming dominance among peers wouldn't be an exaggeration!

Before long, Konohamaru secured victory!

However, just as Konohamaru was about to leave the field, an unknown spatial fluctuation rippled through the sky above the Chunin Exam arena!!

"Buzz——!!"

A few seconds later, the distorted space vanished, and two figures clad in white robes appeared in midair!!