In the blink of an eye, the day the Chūnin Exams officially began arrived.
Inside the Senju clan compound, Kushina offered her heartfelt blessings to Mai and Honoka as they prepared to depart.
"You both have to do your best—strive to become Chūnin in one go."
That's right. Both Mai and Honoka were participating in this year's Chūnin Exams.
Under Minato's guidance over the past two years, Mai was no longer the frail girl who could only be bullied.
Her fundamentals were solid, and she had already mastered both sealing techniques and medical ninjutsu.
Participating in the Chūnin Exams was more than sufficient for her current level.
As for Honoka, she already possessed a strong grasp of sealing techniques.
Among Genin, her strength was undeniably top-tier.
Even if she faced a Chūnin head-on, she would not necessarily be at a disadvantage.
Not to mention, after arriving in Konoha, she had trained under Aoshi for a period of time.
She had only grown stronger.
"Then we'll head out first."
After bidding Kushina farewell, the two left the Senju clan compound together and made their way to the Ninja Academy—the venue for the first exam.
"You're finally here. I've been waiting for you forever."
A female ninja, several years older than Mai and Honoka, stood at the entrance of the Ninja Academy and spoke to them.
She was their teammate for this Chūnin Exam. Her name was Yoshino.
After deciding to participate, the three had already met and grown fairly familiar with one another.
"Sorry, Yoshino, we kept you waiting." Mai and Honoka apologized repeatedly.
Yoshino waved it off, clearly not upset. "Alright, let's go in quickly."
At the same time, the three from Amegakure also arrived at the Ninja Academy.
Looking at Mai and Honoka, Yahiko said to Nagato beside him, "Nagato, look—those two have red hair just like you."
Although he had come to Konoha, Nagato had not proactively interacted with Honoka and the others, despite them being fellow Uzumaki clan members.
To Nagato, the so-called Uzumaki clan held no particular sense of belonging.
What mattered most to him were Yahiko and Konan, who had grown up alongside him since childhood, and their teacher, Jiraiya, who had raised and taught the three of them.
Besides, Kushina was now the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
An outsider ninja like Nagato would never be permitted to approach her freely.
That was precisely why Aoshi had never brought the matter up himself.
"Let's hurry inside, too, or we'll be late," Konan said softly from the side.
"Uncle Duy, if you don't know the answers during the first exam, don't panic. Ayame and I will help you." Yukimura Tomoki reminded Might Duy.
After spending time together, he had realized that Might Duy was incredibly strong. But when it came to theoretical knowledge, he was… somewhat lacking.
"Uncle Duy, make sure you pay attention to the signals we give you," Ayame Sasaki added.
"Don't worry! Youth does not come twice! I will seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Might Duy gave them a thumbs-up, flashing his gleaming white teeth.
When he was first told he could participate in the Chūnin Exams, he had nearly thought it was a mistake.
After confirming it was real, he had been overjoyed—and took it extremely seriously.
He didn't know that Aoshi had already spoken on his behalf to Hiruzen, and that even if he failed the Chūnin Exams, he would still be promoted afterward.
In his eyes, this Chūnin Exam was the only chance to change his life.
Although he usually appeared unreliable, when it came to matters like this, Might Duy could be trusted.
"Alright then, let's go in quickly." The two were already accustomed to Might Duy's personality.
Soon, all ninjas participating in the Chūnin Exams had arrived, and the first exam was officially announced to begin.
"How many people do you think will be eliminated in the first exam?" Inside the monitoring room, Aoshi asked Pakura, who was seated beside him, with interest.
As the overall supervisors, neither of them needed to personally invigilate the test. They would only intervene if something unexpected occurred.
"The difficulty is about the same as previous Chūnin Exams," Pakura replied after a brief pause. "So the elimination rate should be similar as well."
Seeing her like this, Aoshi let out a soft sigh. "There are only the two of us here. Why have you gone back to that poker face again?"
"Smile more. Smiling is good for your health."
Hearing this, Pakura's pretty face flushed slightly.
Aoshi's teasing reminded her of the gossip she had overheard from three female Genin in the village a week earlier.
"We're working right now. Why are you so concerned about whether I'm smiling or not?"
Hmph!
I'd rather stay single forever than fall for this guy! He looks so proper on the surface—who would've thought he's such a womanizer?!
Since Aoshi had never bothered to hide it, everyone knew about his… complicated relationships.
Pakura, having come to Konoha, was naturally no exception.
Completely unaware of what was going through Pakura's mind, Aoshi continued trying to strike up a conversation.
Otherwise, with just the two of them sitting here, it would be unbearably dull.
And so, Aoshi kept deliberately bringing up topics.
Although Pakura remained somewhat aloof, she still responded.
As they talked back and forth, time quietly slipped by.
---
The first exam soon came to an end.
Whether it was Honoka's group of three, Might Duy's group of three, or Konan's group of three, all of them successfully passed the written test and advanced to the second exam.
"The location of the second exam will not be in Konoha, but in Sunagakure."
"So, you can consider this a preliminary trial before the official start of the second exam."
"Only those candidates who successfully reach the designated location in Sunagakure within three days will be qualified to participate in the second exam."
Inside the examination hall, as the chief examiner's announcement fell, everyone was momentarily stunned.
This was the first time they had ever encountered such an arrangement—changing ninja villages in the middle of the Chūnin Exams.
Honoka, who was participating in the Chūnin Exams for the very first time, was the first to react.
She immediately grabbed the still-dazed Mai and Yoshino, dragged them out of the classroom, and sprinted toward Sunagakure without hesitation.
Seeing this, the others finally snapped back to their senses.
In the next instant, everyone began running as well.
The distance between Konoha and Sunagakure was no short journey.
Even with a ninja's physical endurance, it would take nearly three days of nonstop travel at full speed to reach it.
Even if the designated location was closer than Sunagakure proper, there was still no time to waste.
Moreover, some of the sharper-minded participants quickly realized something else—
The chief examiner had never stated that fighting was forbidden. That meant they could eliminate as many competitors as possible during the journey.
Soon, bloodshed—and even outright killings—began to erupt.
"Bastard! Are you looking for trouble?!"
"Weaklings don't deserve to become Chūnin. Sorry, you're eliminated!"
Seeing that no examiners appeared to stop them, those who took the initiative to attack grew even bolder.
Before long, the entire group descended into chaos.
"Stop!" At this moment, Yahiko stepped forward and shouted.
"Who are you?"
Ignoring the question, Yahiko calmly voiced his stance. "Everyone here came to take the Chūnin Exams. This isn't a war. Why resort to killing?"
"Hah! You naïve brat," the man sneered. "The joint Chūnin Exams are nothing more than a substitute battlefield between ninja villages!"
As his words fell, he charged straight toward Yahiko with a twisted grin.
A dense killing intent surged from his body. It was obvious—he intended to kill Yahiko.
"I especially love naïve brats like you. Because people like you are the easiest to kill in war!"
Yahiko could not agree with those words. But he also understood that this was no time for debate.
He immediately formed hand seals and released a Water Release technique, repelling the attacker in a single move.
Naturally, he deliberately avoided delivering a fatal blow.
"How is that possible?!" The man who had been blown back stared at Yahiko in disbelief.
He could not accept that such a seemingly idealistic youth possessed this level of strength.
Yahiko was about to speak again—
But the opponent's companions gave him no chance.
Realizing something was wrong, they attacked together. Even the man Yahiko had just repelled joined the assault once more.
Three enemies attacked simultaneously.
Yahiko could only evade for the moment, weaving between their attacks and retreating step by step.
Seeing this, Nagato instinctively wanted to act, but Konan stopped him.
There were simply too many people around. If Nagato moved now, his Rinnegan would almost certainly be exposed.
"Let me handle it, Nagato."
Before her words had even fully fallen, countless paper fragments burst forth, rapidly surrounding the three attackers.
"What kind of ninjutsu is this?!"
The three tried to resist—
But Konan's next words froze them in place.
"These paper pieces are all explosive tags. If you don't behave, I won't hesitate to detonate them."
The moment those words were spoken, the three immediately abandoned all resistance and began begging for mercy.
If that many explosive tags detonated at once, even a Jōnin would be blown apart instantly.
Let alone three mere Genin.
At the same time, the surrounding participants subconsciously retreated, creating distance.
Their gazes toward Konan were now filled with fear. She was clearly a young girl, still quite youthful in appearance—
Yet when she acted, her methods were ruthless and terrifying.
At this moment, in everyone's eyes, Konan was no longer cute.
She was frightening.
"Thank you so much!" The people who had been targeted earlier rushed forward, repeatedly thanking Yahiko and Konan.
"You're welcome. It's only what we should do."
"Violence only creates more hatred," Yahiko said firmly. "True peace should be achieved through communication and mutual understanding."
Taking advantage of the moment, Yahiko shared his beliefs with the surrounding crowd.
After he finished speaking, some fell into deep thought, and some nodded in quiet agreement.
Others scoffed, sneered, and continued on toward Sunagakure without looking back.
Yahiko didn't concern himself with their reactions. As long as even one person agreed with his ideals, that was enough.
As long as he continued to work hard and refused to give up, he believed that one day, true peace would surely arrive.
…
"'True peace through mutual communication and mutual understanding,' huh?"
From the shadows, Pakura—who had witnessed the entire scene—looked toward Aoshi and asked calmly,
"What do you think?"