Individual constitutions cannot be generalized. Within the Aburame clan, Torune Aburame was a rather special case. Simply put, he cultivated nano-sized poisonous insects. This condition made him unsuitable for participating in any activities of a competitive nature… unless, of course, the activity was exceptionally lethal, with the explicit goal of sending the opponent off to their next reincarnation.
Although the joint exam possessed a strong element of confrontation, it fundamentally remained within the scope of an "exam." What constituted an exam wasn't difficult to understand; even Naruto could grasp the concept.
However, Naruto's decision not to involve Torune in this particular operation certainly wasn't due to deep consideration. Firstly, Torune was somewhat different from them; they were bona fide kindergarten students, whereas Torune, being two or three years older, counted more as an elementary schooler slumming it in kindergarten. Being in different age brackets meant fewer shared topics of conversation. Secondly, Naruto knew that if they called on Torune, they might as well do nothing else afterward but simply watch Torune put on a show.
In any case, after settling on their strategy, the four children headed straight for the Chunin Exam site. Following Naruto's plan, he transformed into Habara's likeness, while the other three acted as his subordinate ninja. Upon brandishing the important medal, the guards on duty indeed harbored no suspicion and directly allowed them entry.
These ninja simply assumed that Habara was there to inspect the progress of the exam.
Honestly, one couldn't blame them for their relaxed vigilance. An outsider might attempt to impersonate Habara, but they could absolutely never obtain such a high-level medal, of which only a few had ever been issued in total. As for someone from within the village—who within Konoha would impersonate Habara? Furthermore, Habara did indeed have a habit of wearing his medals on important occasions. This wasn't because he liked to show off, but because, as the initiator and promoter of this merit system, wearing the medal was an act demonstrating his own commitment. Otherwise, if the proposer himself didn't seem to care, how could other ninja be encouraged to value such symbols of honor?
Based on these various points of plausibility, Naruto successfully exploited a loophole, achieving the effect of "driving straight through."
However, when word reached the relevant Konoha authorities that Habara had entered the exam grounds—and especially when Habara himself received this news—Naruto's actions were completely exposed… Children still thought too simply. Naruto could indeed use Habara's identity to infiltrate the Chunin Exam site, but Konoha wasn't so incompetent as to lack any feedback mechanism, right? Even the guards at the gate had to fulfill their function. Sooner or later, they were bound to report the news of Habara entering the Chunin Exam grounds.
Habara was currently squatting in his office. Hearing that he had gone to watch the Chunin Exams naturally left him baffled. Once the mismatch in Habara's identity was confirmed, Konoha's intelligence department and the joint Chunin Exam organizing committee nearly went into meltdown. If it wasn't Jonin Habara, then what entity had infiltrated? What was their objective? They were on the verge of launching a carpet search when, fortunately, Habara stopped them. He told them not to panic just yet, because he had already been aware that Naruto and his group had been acting suspiciously over the past couple of days, seemingly harboring some "ill intentions."
Habara immediately contacted "SkyNet": "Daigo, did Naruto go over to the Chunin Exam site?"
Daigo replied instantly, "Yes. Based on chakra signals, Hyuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke, and Aburame Shino are with him… They haven't taken any drastic actions yet, so I have only been observing."
Habara blinked, thinking to himself that Naruto really was something else; even he himself hadn't considered that someone within Konoha would dare to impersonate him. Luckily, Habara was magnanimous and wouldn't fuss over a child's thoughtless actions. All that was needed now was to inform Naruto's parents about the stolen important medal.
He then turned his head, his expression utterly exasperated, and addressed the intelligence personnel, "You don't need to manage this matter. I will take responsibility for bringing them out later."
"But that site is very dangerous right now! To ensure their safety, it would be best to immediately—"
The leader of the reporting ANBU intelligence team cut off his verbose subordinate. Did this even need pointing out? Protecting the former Hokage's son wasn't the responsibility of the intelligence department.
That ninja was indeed being overly talkative, practically asking for trouble. Because Habara's exasperation wasn't directed at Naruto, but rather at these intelligence personnel whose minds couldn't adapt to the new situation. It was normal for bold, reckless children to behave unpredictably. But why couldn't mentally sound adults learn to use new tools?
"I have a question for you," Habara sighed internally. It was a good thing he wasn't in charge of the intelligence department; otherwise, he'd definitely be knocking on each of their heads.
"Please ask, Lord Habara."
"Habara is fine, no need for 'Lord'." As an aside, the number of people addressing Habara this way seemed to have increased lately, to the point where he sometimes forgot to correct them. "My question is, don't you have receiving terminals for the Integrated Information Thought Entity?"
A bead of sweat appeared on the team leader's temple. He pursed his lips but still answered honestly, "We certainly do, Jonin Habara."
"Since you have them, when you encounter a situation like this that requires inquiry, why don't you ask? Ask the terminal. Information can be shared freely back and forth. It so conveniently avoids misunderstandings, resolves problems, and makes intelligence transmission more efficient and convenient. Why not utilize it?"
Habara's tone was gentle, but it was clearly a criticism, and one that overstepped his authority. Yet, no one present jumped out to accuse Habara of having no right to manage them; they all had to obediently accept the critique.
"…Yes, Jonin Habara. We understand."
Habara also knew where to draw the line. His words stopped there; he didn't truly scold them like grandchildren. Because this matter indeed fell outside his jurisdiction.
Why hadn't they first thought of utilizing the new intelligence transmission system when the problem arose? Because intelligence systems, as independent departments, possess inherent operational inertia. Old habits are hard to break. Because of rigidity and lack of perceived importance, they simply didn't think of it.
Daigo, operating under the flashy moniker "Integrated Information Thought Entity," had been running for two or three years now, yet a portion of the ninja still hadn't properly utilized the system.
Perhaps I should think of some measures? Habara mused. Maybe when I change the "communication service" to a paid model, billed per minute, these ninja will finally understand what a valuable tool it is.
After the intelligence personnel departed, Habara added, "Still, let Kakashi keep an eye on them. See what Naruto and his group intend to do. Let them mess around. Getting injured is also fine. Just ensure no major incidents occur."
Daigo quickly relayed Habara's words, then reported back, "Kakashi asks why this kind of thing always finds him?"
"Because in the entire Land of Fire, his legs are the fastest. Therefore, he's responsible for running errands. Is there a problem with that?"
"…He says absolutely no problem."
Habara possessed a whole basketful of reasons; there was always one that could persuade Kakashi. Consider this: he could reason with and emotionally appeal to Tenzo to assist with those experiments. Convincing Kakashi to run an errand—what was the big deal? Strictly speaking, Habara couldn't command Kakashi, as they currently held equal rank. The issue was, although Kakashi wasn't responsible to Habara, he was responsible to Kushina Uzumaki. Imagine: Habara asks him to act as a bodyguard, and he refuses. Consequently, if something were to happen to Naruto, wouldn't Kakashi have to answer to Kushina? And how exactly would he explain himself?
The ninja world isn't just about fighting and killing; the ninja world runs on human relationships and social maneuvering.
Kakashi's Flying Raijin technique differed from the Fourth Hokage's in several ways. The advantage was that by using his Mangekyo Sharingan to read spatial coordinates, he could teleport directly without needing to set special Flying Raijin markers beforehand. This made the operation simpler and, in a sense, faster.
He could even utilize the Flying Raijin Second Step more proficiently; with no set markers, everywhere effectively was a potential marker.
The disadvantage was that he could only displace himself to locations within his direct line of sight. He couldn't teleport to areas outside his vision, nor could he move behind obstacles blocking his view. If an enemy understood this logic, while grasping the exact distance might be difficult, they could at least anticipate Kakashi's teleportation direction—namely, the direction his left eye was looking just before he vanished.
As for teleporting behind obstacles, perhaps one could place a mirror to the side and utilize the principle of reflection? But such a maneuver was practically unusable in actual combat. Kakashi hadn't tried it yet.
Besides, why bother with such complications? Even if he needed to bypass an obstacle, he could simply use "Kamui" to remove the obstacle directly.
Traveling with truly exceptional speed, Kakashi quickly entered the dense forest where the Chunin Exam was currently underway. With Daigo's assistance, he easily located Naruto and his group. He then concealed himself, observing secretly while acting as their bodyguard.
He cleverly positioned himself just outside the detection range of Neji's still-immature Byakugan, so Neji didn't sense his presence. Although the current Neji possessed decent combat power, that depended heavily on whom he was compared against. Furthermore, his mastery of the Byakugan remained superficial; he lacked the seasoned proficiency born from countless battles.
And Kakashi certainly wasn't about to be outplayed by kindergarten children.
Over here, the "newly-weaned quartet" quickly ran into trouble. They were squatting within a dense thicket of bushes, stuffy, hot, and drenched in sweat, yet uttering no complaints, appearing quite professional. However, the problem they were discussing was highly unprofessional.
"There's one key problem," spoke Aburame Shino. He rarely spoke, usually playing the role of the invisible man. Since he was speaking now, he had definitely identified a critical issue.
"What problem? Don't tell me you're regretting this now?" Naruto retorted.
Aburame Shino ignored the latter half of the sentence and continued, "We came here to prove our own strength. The method to prove our strength is by passing this assessment. The problem is, right now, we don't know the assessment method, and more importantly, we don't know what constitutes passing the assessment."
Hyuga Neji: "…"
Uchiha Sasuke: "…"
These two scions of "famous families" were also stunned. Right! How do we pass the assessment? We have no idea! We don't even have a goal to strive for, and we just plunged headfirst into this? This perfectly illustrated the characteristic of incomplete childhood brain development: acting on impulse, only realizing the next step hasn't been considered when faced with the immediate situation.
Naruto scratched his head, embarrassed. "I… Before, I only thought about how to sneak in. How to pass… I never asked."
He had automatically assumed the role of team captain and now felt his poor leadership had led the team into this predicament.
Of course, no one present blamed Naruto. This wasn't due to any deep bonds of comradeship, but because no one present actually considered Naruto their leader.
"It seems the only option now is to capture a team of other ninja and ask them how to pass the assessment," Hyuga Neji stated, only momentarily fazed. He wasn't panicked and quickly thought of a remedial measure.
"It would be best to find ninja from other villages," Aburame Shino added.
"Why?" Naruto was somewhat confused.
When fishing, isn't the only goal not coming home empty-handed? Why care about what kind of fish you catch?
Uchiha Sasuke, however, understood Shino's meaning. He explained, "Because if we find Konoha ninja, even if they don't tell us the conditions for passing, we won't be able to do anything about it."
Naruto's brain spun for several rotations before he finally grasped what Sasuke was implying—they would always have ways to make ninja from other villages reveal the correct information, methods that obviously couldn't be used on fellow villagers.
With Neji's Byakugan, even in a place like this that looked like it was full of talking trees, he could easily find the tracks of other ninja. They soon targeted a team of shinobi from Takigakure. But just as they were cautiously tailing them, Neji suddenly stopped in his tracks. Because someone else had actively come knocking at their door.
"What's wrong, Neji?"
"Someone is tracking us. They're getting closer. Their objective is clear; the opposing team likely has a sensor ninja."
"What do we do?"
"Ignore the ones in front. Deal with the ones behind."
The logic was clear. The team ahead were clueless geese; ignoring them resulted in no loss. The ones behind seemed like the proverbial oriole stalking from behind; they needed to be dealt with first. The children's judgment wasn't bad; they quickly reached a consensus.
Among these four, the strongest in combat power was Neji. He was a year older, possessed talent, worked hard, hailed from a famous clan, was Habara's disciple, and most importantly, had received two shots of "chicken blood" (the Curse Mark vaccine boosters). He even looked almost ready for a third enhancement shot… Whether he could win was uncertain—it depended on the actual quality of the Chunin opponent—but he could definitely clash with a real Chunin.
The Curse Mark of Man wasn't something that forced growth prematurely; it enhanced base stats, allowing for continued future growth. Starting one step ahead might translate to ten steps ahead five years later. Although harmless design principles, limitations on usage, etc., restricted the degree of enhancement within a certain range, Hyuga Neji was a case of exceptionally high compatibility. Theoretically, Habara's expectation was sound: if he decreed that Hyuga Neji shouldn't die by being impaled by wooden spikes, then it would indeed be very difficult for him to die that way in the future.
The opposing team gradually drew nearer. They hadn't realized they had been exposed from the very first moment. Within the dense forest, under the dim light, their forehead protectors flickered in and out of view, but eventually allowed their origin to be clearly discerned—it was a genin team from Sand Village.
When they truly laid eyes on the team they had been tracking, their expressions also froze for an instant.
"Mari, something's wrong… At such a young age, they're definitely not official exam participants. They don't even have forehead protectors. But they should be Konoha kids. What do we do?"
The ninja called Mari looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old, clearly the leader of this four-person Sand team. He looked at the children who had mistakenly wandered into the exam site, and a cruel smirk eventually touched the corner of his lips. "Do what needs to be done, Yajima."
The one named Yajima replied, "But before we left, the village told us the objective was to obtain Chunin qualification, and in the process, not to provoke Konoha too much."
"Provoke?" Mari scoffed. "It seems you haven't grasped the nature of this situation… Children trespassed onto the exam grounds, interfering with the normal process of the Chunin Exam. Regardless of what we do, this is Konoha's responsibility, understand? Any consequences can only be borne by Konoha."
Strictly speaking, the logic was indeed sound. However, this statement still exposed two facts: first, Konoha and Sand Village shared a generational feud, something unchanged by their current alliance; second, scum will always be scum, regardless of age.
Yajima wanted to say more but ultimately held back, knowing that further persuasion would only result in trouble for himself.
Some things are like that: the weaker one feels, the tougher they must act, lest they expose their weakness. This applied to Sand Village as well. Currently weak, Sand had to try its utmost to display its strength and heritage. Since they had come to participate in this exam, they had to ensure that at least one of their participants obtained Chunin qualification.
How to ensure that? It was quite simple. Take this Mari, for example. He was indeed genin rank, but his true strength wasn't merely at the level of just having crossed the Chunin threshold.
He was proficient in Wind Release ninjutsu, possessed a very long attack range, and specialized in silent assassination.
However, Chunin-level ninja, regardless of skill, possess inherently limited energy and burst power. If the opponent were Habara, Habara could probably stare them to death with a single glance. But the opponent wasn't Habara.
And this Mari understood very well how to unleash his limited energy in the most extreme way possible.
He placed two small iron tubes, each about two chi long (approx. 66cm total) and tied together, between his teeth, biting down. Then he began forming hand seals. His chest rapidly inflated—he truly was a "talking tree." A blowgun. The weapon looked very archaic, but its potency was undeniable. Propelled by Wind Release, it was indeed an efficient, convenient, and silent method of killing.
Because anyone who plays with blowguns invariably uses poison.
A faint sound of tearing air shuttled through the woods. One after another, two thin needles shot straight towards Hyuga Neji.
"Come on!"
Neji shouted internally. He naturally wasn't afraid of this; its only strength lay in surprise attacks, yet before the Byakugan, surprise attacks simply didn't exist.
However, just as Neji prepared to intercept the attack, the two flying needles suddenly traced an arc through the air, bypassing Neji at the rear of the formation and heading straight for Naruto at the front.
Naruto seemed completely oblivious to such an attack. By now, it was too late for Neji to shout a warning.
Ping!
An extremely short, sharp impact sound rang out. It was hard to imagine such a thin needle carrying that much force. It struck Naruto on the side of his head. Driven by the impact, Naruto's entire head snapped to the other side, his neck looking elongated in the process.
"Naruto!"
The others panicked slightly. If he got his head blown off, debuting directly into burial would be quite the spectacle.
However, the two flying needles produced only a single sound. Looking at Naruto again, his right arm was extended out to the side, palm held flat. A thin iron needle, approximately twenty centimeters long, sharp tip facing forward, hovered suspended about an inch before his palm. Under the immense propulsive force, the thin needle vibrated continuously and regularly, yet it seemed to have struck an invisible wall of air, unable to advance even a fraction further.
Looking at Naruto again, the side of his body facing the enemy was, at some unknown point, now covered in ferocious iron armor.
The iron needle that had struck him had caused no damage whatsoever; it had simply shattered against the iron armor, utterly failing to break through his defense.
That stuff… looks familiar.
It was precisely because his own sharp insight caught this detail that Kakashi, who had already activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and was preparing to intervene, forcibly halted his movement.
At this moment, he was the most shocked person present.
Kekkei Genkai were called bloodline limits because, in most cases, the abilities were transmitted through blood relations.
So, please tell me, who is Naruto's biological father?
Kakashi's thoughts were somewhat chaotic right now. If he calmed down a bit, he could very simply figure out what was going on. The problem was, he currently wasn't very calm at all.
Taking a step back, the more reasonable guess would also be that Habara had performed some kind of illegal modification on Naruto.
However, when faced with certain situations, the human mind always uncontrollably slides in a peculiar direction. This could almost be considered an instinctual reaction.
Looking at Naruto's yellow hair, Kakashi, for a moment, actually couldn't process the situation logically, demonstrating how deeply his mind had been poisoned by Jiraiya's works.