Perhaps because Hiruzen had been busy recently, or perhaps because he wanted to further train Mutsuki, Hiruzen directly assigned Mutsuki to take charge of the Chunin exams.
Nominally, Hiruzen remained the overall supervisor, and Mutsuki was the assistant, but in practice Hiruzen was only a figurehead. All the exam procedures and examiner selections were decided by Mutsuki, who could make final decisions without reporting to Hiruzen.
In a sense, this could be considered a temporary holding of great power, because this authority not only allowed him to mobilize Konoha Jonin, but also part of the ANBU.
Even though the exams were not held jointly with other villages, Konoha still placed great importance on Chunin exam safety.
Of course, Mutsuki had no particular thoughts about this, as it was meaningless to him.
If this power were permanently his, it would be useful, but in essence it was only temporarily lent by Hiruzen and could be revoked with a single word.
Rather than overseeing the exams, Mutsuki would have preferred to hold the second phase of ANBU training, as the S-rank rewards for the intermediate course were quite good.
But that wasn't realistic right now; Konoha's ANBU were too busy to undergo training.
Although Mutsuki was indifferent to being in charge of the Chunin exams, this particular exam held some significance for him.
Because Shisui was going to participate in this Chunin exam.
Based on Obito and the others' experience, performing well in the Chunin exam could yield considerable rewards.
Mutsuki's Ice Release and Golden Skyline were both achievements gained from Obito and the others' participation in the Chunin exams. Beyond the skills, the Chakra rewards were also significant.
If there was an opportunity in the future, Mutsuki wanted Nagato to participate in Konoha's Chunin exams as a Rain Ninja Village Ninja.
Although it felt a bit like bullying, any rewards he could get, he would take.
"Mutsuki-sensei, I want to be an examiner!" Upon hearing that Mutsuki would be in charge of the Chunin exams, Obito volunteered enthusiastically.
"You can't be the chief examiner, only a regular examiner," Mutsuki said after thinking for a moment.
The chief examiner generally had to be at least a Special Jonin, while the other examiners could be Chunin.
Even for regular examiners, they usually wouldn't choose Chunin who had just been promoted; they preferred those with more experience.
But Obito's mission record was excellent, and in a merit-based village like Konoha, no one would complain about him being a regular examiner.
Compared to most regular examiners, Obito's track record was probably better.
He had carried out many A-rank war missions alongside Minato, while ordinary Chunin usually only handled C or B-rank missions.
"It's fine being a regular examiner; I want to be an examiner for the first exam!" Obito said, his expression full of excitement.
Kakashi looked at him oddly, momentarily unable to understand why Obito wanted to be an examiner.
It wasn't that he had become psychologically twisted from spending half a month doing exercises after losing the last battle, just so he could watch others struggle, was it?
"The first exam in the village is too lax; even passing a paper note would suffice," Obito explained his dissatisfaction.
"Since this is meant to test teamwork and intelligence-gathering ability, it should at least be done more discreetly."
Obito had worked hard to pass the exam back then; he felt that just handing over a note made the test too easy and failed to serve its purpose.
"Then I'll use my Sharingan to supervise them!" Obito declared with great energy.
Kakashi stared at him, exasperated-what grudge or resentment was this, wanting to use the Sharingan to catch cheaters?
"That's possible, but it's better not to keep the Sharingan active the whole time; it will put too much pressure on the examinees," Mutsuki said, his expression slightly nuanced.
Obito's motivation for wanting to be an examiner was indeed different from ordinary people.
Shisui's expression remained calm and unchanged; he was absolutely confident he would finish the written exam. Whether it was the Sharingan or even the Byakugan supervising, it wouldn't matter.
On the day of the Chunin exam, Uchiha Tekka entered the written exam classroom as a candidate.
Seeing Obito in the classroom, Tekka was momentarily stunned.
"Wasn't he already promoted to Chunin last year? Why is he here at the Chunin exam?" Tekka wondered.
Obito, as one of the most talented young Uchiha, was already well-known. Even if Tekka hadn't specifically inquired about him, he would have heard about Obito.
He had also watched that Chunin exam before. Obito's strength at that time was already beyond that of an ordinary Chunin.
After the chief examiner finished speaking, Obito's words left Tekka dumbfounded.
"My eyes will be on you. Any clumsy cheating won't pass this exam," Obito said, activating his Sharingan, scanning the classroom briefly, and then quickly deactivating it.
Some Ninja with weaker theoretical knowledge broke into a nervous sweat when they saw the red in Obito's eyes.
"Hey, hey, is this for real? Having a Sharingan user supervise the exam?"
"Whoever assigned him as an examiner must be a devil. How can we cheat like this?"
Just a few seconds of Obito displaying his Sharingan already had the candidates sweating profusely. They had a premonition that this might be the strictest Chunin exam they had ever taken.
"I really didn't expect Obito to become an examiner. Luckily, our theory isn't bad," Genma said with relief.
A Sharingan supervising the exam-this was the first time in Konoha's Chunin exam history.
Compared to the practical sections, the first written round was usually less emphasized. Konoha even worried that the Ninja wouldn't be able to solve it, so they sometimes had examiners disguised as students to provide answers.
Ebisu wiped a nonexistent bead of sweat from his forehead and nodded in agreement.
Tekka felt conflicted. His former classmate and fellow Uchiha, once at the bottom of the class, had become the examiner, while he was the supervised candidate.
Thanks to Mutsuki's reminder, Obito didn't act too arrogantly and only occasionally activated his Sharingan to glance around.
Even so, this successfully made the first round of the Chunin exam unusually calm. Very few students tried any small tricks, afraid of being caught by Obito's Sharingan.
When the exam ended, many people breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure from Obito using his Sharingan had been overwhelming.
"Truly living up to the legend of the Sharingan. I didn't expect Obito to be so intimidating," a Ninja of the same year as Obito muttered.
Because of Obito's personality, even if he later ranked first in the grade, no one would think that non-combat Obito could be intimidating. But as an examiner this time, Obito revealed a whole new side of himself.
"Genma, Ebisu, was I cool up there just now?" After the exam, Obito grinned, placing his hands on their shoulders.
"Cool? Hard to say, but being seen by your Sharingan felt like being constricted by a python," Genma said honestly.
Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses and finally stayed silent.
He figured none of the candidates present would think Obito was handsome; they would only curse him silently.
"Haha, that's pretty cool. Rin-chan really should see this," Obito said, pleased with Genma's description.
Seeing Obito grinning foolishly, the other students decided to withdraw their earlier comments. Non-combat Obito really couldn't pressure anyone-what they saw was just his special status giving him extra weight.
Obito didn't ask how Shisui had done, but he was confident about that.
Among Mutsuki's disciples, the only person Obito could surpass in theory scores was Guy.
For the exam format, Mutsuki didn't make major changes. The second round was still a team battle to test students' cooperative combat ability.
Of course, if one person was strong enough, the second round could become a solo showcase.
This time, Mutsuki kept it simple: no need to collect the Heaven and Earth scrolls. Opponents were decided by lottery; the winning team advanced to the third round while the losers were eliminated, cutting half the teams in this round alone.
Shisui not only had strong personal strength, but his teammates Inuzuka Midori and Aburame Naoya were also quite capable.
If it weren't for the unusual circumstances in the previous Chunin exam, the combined strength of Midori and Naoya would have been enough for them to be promoted to Chunin.
Thanks to their powerful overall strength, Shisui's team easily defeated their opponents and advanced to the third round of the exam.
The third round was the usual format: individual battles determined by lottery results.
Although the Daimyo and a large number of officials did not come to watch, many Ninja and villagers came to watch the matches.
It happened to be a holiday for the Academy, so some Ninja Academy students also came to watch the matches and learn from the seniors' experience.
Anko, Hagane Kotetsu, and Kamizuki Izumo had agreed to attend the third round of the Chunin exam together that day.
"I wonder if Shisui will come to watch. He must be eager to hear the good news that I got first place in the combat ranking," Anko said, looking around as she entered the venue.
Since Shisui graduated, Anko had finally escaped the position of perpetual second place, successfully taking first place in both exams during the first semester of the third year.
"I think no one else wants to know except you," Kotetsu said, speechless.
Having been second for so long, Anko now emphasized every day that she was first in combat; Kotetsu was getting tired of hearing it. Back when he had scored full marks in theory, he had only bragged for half a semester.
"Some people can take first place because they have absolute strength, while some take first because the previous first graduated early," Izumo couldn't help but comment.
Anko fixed her gaze on Izumo and cracked her knuckles.
Izumo wasn't even pretending anymore as he called out Anko.
"You know, I'm talking about Kakashi-senpai. Ever since Kakashi-senpai graduated, more people in school have talents that can be compared to his," Izumo said without changing his expression.
Although he hadn't even enrolled during the last Chunin exams, it didn't stop him from hearing about Kakashi's legend.
After listening to Izumo's explanation, Anko felt that it didn't seem wrong.
"Better sit down quickly, the exam is about to start," Kotetsu urged.
Izumo silently gave Kotetsu a thumbs-up-good brothers could always be relied on.
The venue was bustling with voices, acquaintances discussing all sorts of miscellaneous things.
"The ninja world is even more chaotic than it was over ten years ago. This time, none of the other great ninja villages have sent participants," someone commented on the current state of the ninja world.
"I wonder if this Chunin exam will produce a dark horse like Uchiha Obito or Might Guy," another person said, curious about the upcoming battles.
Because Shisui was participating in this Chunin exam, many Uchiha Ninja had also come.
Fugaku even brought his son, Itachi, to watch the Chunin exam.
"Maybe I should take Itachi back; it's too noisy here," Mikoto suggested when she saw Itachi frowning.
Such a large venue could be a bit overwhelming for a child.
"He's going to be a ninja in the future; if he can't handle a little noise, what kind of ninja would he become?" Fugaku shook his head and refused.
He had high expectations for Itachi, hoping he could become a genius like Obito or Shisui.
Mikoto hesitated to speak, ultimately just lightly stroking Itachi's head.
Even the usually hands-off Hiruzen made an appearance that day, sitting at the front to watch the exam, with Mutsuki standing behind him.
"Thank you for your hard work these past few days, Mutsuki," Hiruzen said cheerfully, taking his pipe from his mouth.
Although Mutsuki hadn't tried anything new with the Chunin exam and had run it normally like previous years, to Hiruzen, this was actually a plus-it showed that Mutsuki was steady and reliable.
The Chunin exam, which could appoint a squad captain and promote Ninja to Chunin, was considered a relatively important event in Konoha.
For an event of this level, not making mistakes is already a significant success.
"I'm just giving orders; it's not particularly tiring," Mutsuki replied with a smile.
For most things, Mutsuki only needed to make the final decision, not handle every task personally.
...
"Number one: Uchiha Shisui vs. Uchiha Tekka."
While the two were chatting, the referee announced the participants for the first match.
"This Uchiha Shisui is your student, Mutsuki, right? How does he compare to Uchiha Obito?" Hiruzen looked toward the center of the arena, showing a keen interest.
Because ANBU monitored the Uchiha Compound, Hiruzen knew Shisui was a genius, but Mutsuki didn't know about ANBU's surveillance of the Uchiha in his view. Hiruzen also wanted to hear Mutsuki's assessment of his student.
"Each has their strengths and weaknesses in combat. Obito is more adept at creating miracles, while Shisui thinks carefully during battle and remains calmer," Mutsuki answered after some thought.
Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully.
"Shisui's match is about to start. Itachi, pay close attention-he's the one you'll need to catch up to in the future," Fugaku said, pointing toward Shisui.
Itachi obediently opened his eyes wide and followed his father's direction.
At this point, Itachi didn't really understand why he needed to catch up to Shisui-Shisui wasn't going to take his dango like the grandmother in Obito's story-but if his father told him to watch carefully, then he watched carefully.
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