The sunlight shone on the Hokage Rock, casting a golden red glow.
On the streets, large areas were under construction. Workers were busy building new structures on both sides of the road, with scaffolding and construction materials everywhere. The roar of machines and the sound of hammers striking intertwined.
It was a scene full of vitality, with everything competing to thrive.
Team 7 wandered aimlessly on the street. Kakashi-sensei was currently reporting, explaining the process of the over-leveled Land of Waves mission. The reason they hadn't disbanded was because Kakashi-sensei had promised to treat them to Ichiraku Ramen later.
"Seriously, it's only been a week, but why has the village become so lively!" Naruto grumbled impatiently, his hands clasped behind his head. "Even the Hokage Rock got a fresh coat of paint!"
"Hmph, you loser, haven't you heard about the ninja system reforms? The notice was posted right on the mission board," Sasuke retorted, his hands in his pockets.
"Huh? I didn't see it, dattebayo!" Naruto scratched his head, looking completely clueless.
"Still a loser."
"Stuck-up Sasuke! Who are you calling a loser! You've said it twice now!" Naruto pointed at Sasuke's nose, shouting angrily.
"Alright, alright, Naruto, stop arguing!" Sakura clearly took sides, waving her fist. "If you keep arguing, I'll hit you!"
Naruto immediately shut his mouth. He and Sasuke glared at each other before turning away.
Just then, Kakashi-sensei walked over from the direction of the Hokage's office. He was reading a small booklet and lazily waved without looking up. "Yo, you're all still here."
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto ran over excitedly, his face full of enthusiasm. "Is the debriefing over? What did the Hokage say?"
Kakashi replied in a bored tone, "Yeah, even though the three of you got quite an earful from the Third Hokage, you passed."
Actually, that wasn't true. The Third Hokage had spent half an hour criticizing Kakashi for being weaker than he was as a child, muttering things like "the weakest S-rank ninja wasting my coins, not even a fraction of the First Hokage's strength." If not for sheer luck, the Copy Ninja Kakashi would have died in the Land of Waves. After ten more minutes of explaining the Will of Fire, he spent five minutes discussing the new Konoha policies and the Chunin Exams. Before leaving, he also asked about Naruto's training.
"Huh? Why?" The three kids looked nervous.
"Because there were too many unexpected situations during the mission, far exceeding the original mission rank," Kakashi lied. "But the Hokage also acknowledged our performance. After all, we successfully protected the client and dealt with Zabuza and Haku's threat."
Kakashi, oh Kakashi, the mission difficulty escalated to the point of facing an elite jonin. Didn't you think to call for backup? What if there was more than one jonin? What if he had other subordinates? Team 7 members are all future pillars of the village. If something happened to them, how could you face the previous Hokages in the afterlife? The Third Hokage's words still echoed in his ears.
"Then everything's fine, right?" Naruto sighed in relief, patting his chest with a proud smile. "I told you, Team 7 is the strongest!"
"But next time, don't be so reckless," Kakashi continued to bluff, squinting his eyes. "Mission risk assessment is important. You can't always rely on luck."
Kakashi, you were too impulsive this time. You've really gotten weak, needing your students to save you. You were just lucky this time. Shape up. The Third Hokage's disappointed voice.
"Got it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto replied cheerfully, clearly not taking the warning seriously.
"Let's go. This time, I'll treat you to barbecue."
"Wow!" The three kids were pleasantly surprised. "Not Ichiraku Ramen? Kakashi-sensei suddenly became generous!"
"Because this might be Team 7's last meal together," Kakashi said casually. "I've already signed your Chunin Exam applications."
"Huh?" x3.
"If you fail, Team 7 might disband early. Those who fail will really have to go back to the Ninja Academy. The new jonin handbook says this is the last regular Chunin Exam after the reforms. If you can't become chunin, you'll have to return to school for more training." Kakashi waved the small booklet.
This wasn't Icha Icha Paradise. It was the newly issued jonin handbook, containing the Will of Fire reforms and information about the evil organization Akatsuki.
"Whaaaaat?!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's eyes widened in shock.
"Kakashi-sensei, are you joking?" Naruto was the first to jump up, pointing at Kakashi's nose. "We just completed a super hard mission! I don't want to go back to the Ninja Academy!"
"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura also panicked. If the team disbands, what will happen to me and Sasuke?
Sasuke didn't speak, but his brows furrowed. After finally becoming a ninja, how could he go back to school and play games? How would he get revenge like this?
Kakashi still sounded lazy. "Well, it's the Hokage's new rule. I can't do anything about it. By the way, this might be the last Chunin Exam. The promotion system might change in the future. If you want to pass, you'll have to work hard during this time."
Kakashi genuinely didn't care now. In his opinion, Naruto and the others might grow better if they returned to school. He might even end up teaching at the Ninja Academy's high school division. Signing them up for the exam was just to let Team 7 experience hardship and test themselves.
Thinking about the new Konoha he saw after returning to the village, the greatly changed Third Hokage seemed like a wise leader.
"Let's go eat first. At least be a little excited for barbecue. After eating, I'll explain the details."
Sizzle.
The barbecue restaurant was filled with delicious aromas. The fat from the meat slices dripped onto the charcoal, creating bursts of smoke.
"Kakashi-sensei, can you explain now?" Naruto, who ate incredibly fast, rubbed his round belly contentedly.
"Well, it's probably similar to the genin exams. I can't tell you the questions, of course. It's just testing whether you have the ability to become chunin." Kakashi put down his chopsticks and glanced at the curious Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. "If you train hard, you'll definitely pass. I have faith in you."
"That explains nothing!" Sakura complained.
"Because it's a hassle to explain. Here, how about this?" Kakashi took out the brand-new jonin handbook. "Technically, you don't have permission to see this, but it's not a secret, so take a look."
Kakashi handed over the newly issued handbook, giving Sasuke a meaningful look.
Sakura, who had the best literacy, took it. Naruto and Sasuke leaned in curiously to read.
"What's this about an 'Academic City,' dattebayo?"
"Probably means Konoha will build many different ninja schools. Future students will even get invitation letters? So cool!"
"Ninja Elementary School: Three Basic Techniques and Tool Manipulation. Ninja Middle School: Advanced Techniques and Shape/ Nature Transformation. There's even a Ninja High School? So if we only know the Three Basic Techniques, we're only at elementary level?"
Sakura realized her skills were at elementary level.
"I know Shadow Clone Jutsu too!" Naruto raised his hand.
"Hmph, I know several advanced fire techniques." Sasuke couldn't help but compete in front of Naruto.
"What? I don't know anything." Sakura sounded dejected on the surface, but her inner personality was furious. On the other hand, going back to school with Sasuke didn't sound bad. A school romance comedy might work.
"Wow! So the novels were right! There really is an evil organization in this world!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed. "This bad guy is also an Uchiha!"
"He looks a lot like Sasuke." Sakura swooned.
"Shut up." Sasuke almost lost control, his Sharingan nearly activating. He clenched his fists, then snatched the handbook from Sakura to read the page about Uchiha Itachi alone.
Kakashi stroked his chin, thinking, Just as I expected.
Compared to the other talented villains, Uchiha Itachi's record seemed… rather ordinary.
Sasuke's confidence in revenge grew.
Even the usually oblivious Naruto sensed the tense atmosphere. "Is this bad guy Sasuke's enemy? Let me help you beat him up!"
Sakura felt Naruto stole her line and quickly added, "Yeah, me too!"
"Hmph, don't interfere. I'll kill him myself." Sasuke coldly retorted, tough on the outside but soft inside.
Sasuke suddenly realized that when he was younger, he had overestimated his loser brother, thinking he was an insurmountable mountain. But compared to other S-rank criminals, his brother was probably just an unremarkable bump.
In the evil organization, he was likely just a mediocre small-time villain.
According to the notes, he was only slightly stronger than the average jonin, maybe not even as strong as Kakashi. This was the Third Hokage's personal record, so it couldn't be wrong.
Hmph, what a disappointment. Committing such heinous crimes just to be a bottom-tier villain in an evil organization.
Watch how I, Uchiha Sasuke, will avenge my clan.
But first, he needed to ask the strongest jonin he currently had access to.
"Kakashi, do you know Uchiha Itachi?" Sasuke asked Kakashi, who was still eating barbecue.
"Yeah, he used to be my subordinate," Kakashi replied after some thought.
Sasuke was surprised. He hadn't expected the seemingly unreliable Kakashi-sensei to be his loser brother's former superior. This confirmed his assumption—he had only thought Itachi was strong because he was young.
His level was just average.
"How does Itachi's strength compare to yours?" Sasuke asked rudely.
Kakashi didn't mind. He stroked his chin and said after some thought, "You could say we're evenly matched."
Hmph, so he had slightly underestimated him. It would still take time to reach Kakashi-sensei's level.
"Kakashi, train me." Sasuke gritted his teeth, looking up at Kakashi. He decided to become a chunin first, then a jonin. Once he was strong enough, he would take revenge.
"Me too! I'll defeat the evil organization as the hero of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto raised his hand and shouted.
"And me." Sakura followed along, though her love-struck brain wasn't particularly passionate about training.
"Well, before the exam, I was planning to properly train Sasuke and Sakura," Kakashi agreed. "As for Naruto, there's a teacher whose style suits you better who will train you alone."
"No! Kakashi-sensei, you're too biased! I want to train with everyone!" Naruto crossed his arms and shouted angrily.
"Don't worry, that teacher is even stronger than me. Also, the Hokage specifically said he'd personally tutor you sometimes."
Though still unhappy, Naruto reluctantly gave in after hearing this explanation.