Kato Dan had been taking Hinata Haruki along on missions, and the two of them had once again become relentless mission-takers. Haruki had even started accepting C-rank missions — after all, the pay for C-rank was noticeably better.
Sometimes, even Kato Dan felt they were taking on too many missions. Whenever he wanted to take a break, Haruki would just shake his head helplessly and mutter under his breath:
"Sigh… Is this what someone aiming to become Hokage is like? Lady Tsunade doesn't like slackers, you know."
Those words were enough to make Kato Dan spring back to full energy and carry on with the work.
They caught fugitives, fought off bandits, helped resettle refugees, and even tracked down rogue shinobi causing trouble. Haruki quickly saved up a decent sum of money. Of course, Haruki never went around massacring bandit camps or slaughtering desperate refugees — such cruel and meaningless acts weren't his style.
Instead, after defeating bandits or fugitives, he tied them up and handed them over to the Land of Fire's authorities for imprisonment. These criminals could then be put to work building roads or repairing reservoirs — that was a much better use of manpower.
Kato Dan often sparred with Haruki, and Haruki's endless variety of techniques benefitted Dan greatly. Dan, in turn, shared all his battle skills and experience with Haruki.
Haruki, drawing on his medical knowledge, created several new Gentle Fist secret techniques — for example, Gentle Fist Art: Five-Finger Piercing Heart — a move requiring precise knowledge of human anatomy. These became Haruki's trump cards, capable of turning the tide when used unexpectedly.
Haruki was also fascinated by stealth techniques. Kato Dan taught him how to suppress his breathing, mask his chakra fluctuations, and move without making a sound — the essence of Concealment Technique. Haruki mastered it quickly, and when he chose to hide, it was nearly impossible for others to detect his presence.
Kato Dan eventually had to leave for another mission. Haruki, wanting to strengthen his survival skills and real combat experience, decided to move his "bedroom" into the Forest of Death — yes, the very same one used in the second round of the Chūnin Exams for the "Konoha Twelve" years later, full of massive beasts and poisonous insects.
By day, Haruki explored the forest; at night, he slept alone among its dangers. Every day, he fought wild beasts, used his Concealment Technique to hunt, and gathered poisonous insects.
Giant centipedes, for instance — a potent medicinal ingredient for improving blood circulation and resolving blockages. Even their venom could be valuable for research. Giant leeches were also useful, both for their medicinal properties and for extracting toxins from blood.
At first, the forest's great beasts were furious when they found a child trespassing in their territory. They would roar and charge at him, eager to devour this insolent brat — only to end up howling in pain as they fled, with Haruki chasing after them.
It didn't take long for the beasts to realize they'd been tricked: this kid was a predator disguised as prey.
Chasing after a fleeing bear, kunai in hand, Haruki called out cheerfully:
"Hey! Don't run! I'm not going to kill you! I just want some medicinal parts!"
Hearing that only made the beasts run faster — but none could outrun Haruki's shinobi-trained legs. Soon, the forest echoed with their pitiful cries.
Haruki didn't kill them outright but rarely let them go unscathed. A bear that attacked him might find itself missing a paw — perfect for a roasted dinner. A tiger might lose its tail — excellent for tail soup. A wild bull? Its fine horns would be cut off for medicine.
The poisonous insects fared worse — centipedes, scorpions, spiders, venomous bees — all collected, dried, and stored. He even raided a giant black ant nest; after all, they were high in protein and good for treating joint pain. Waste not, want not.
Soon, the forest's beasts and insects began actively avoiding this disaster-bringer. By the time Haruki left after a month and a half, he couldn't even find a big animal to hunt.
Later, when other shinobi entered the Forest of Death for the Chūnin Exams, they found that the largest predators were all missing limbs, and the poisonous insect population had dropped drastically. Even stranger, the beasts no longer feared adults, but would bolt at the sight of a child.
The forest's danger level dropped so much that many more genin passed the second exam than expected, forcing the Third Hokage to announce a retest. Eventually, the Forest of Death was removed from the exam rotation entirely, only recovering its danger years later.
After a month and a half of this training, Kato Dan judged Haruki ready for promotion to Chūnin. Haruki himself didn't want to be just a grunt on the battlefield, so Dan proposed a Chūnin assessment to the Third Hokage.
The Third was surprised at Haruki's rapid progress — only a few months from academy graduation to Chūnin candidate. But when Dan described Haruki's bell-stealing performance, the Hokage nodded repeatedly.
Though he would have preferred Haruki to keep his strength hidden longer, one look at the boy's determined eyes convinced him. Gold, after all, must be brought into the sunlight to shine.
During wartime, Chūnin promotion was far simpler than in Naruto's era — no inter-village competition, just proof of ability. The Hokage's office notified the necessary personnel, and news quickly spread: a five-year-old Hyūga who had only recently graduated was about to undergo a Chūnin assessment.
The rumor was even bigger news than Haruki's graduation months before. Soon, nearly every shinobi in Konoha had heard about it. Conversations erupted all over the village:
"Hey, did you hear? A five-year-old is taking the Chūnin test.""What? Can he even pass?""Don't know. I heard he only graduated a few months ago.""Five years old?""Yeah. Lady Tsunade took him as her disciple, so they made an exception for him to graduate early.""Oh, that kid? Didn't he just get by on connections? Now he's going for Chūnin? Ridiculous.""You think he'll use connections to pass?""No way — the Chūnin exam is strict, with plenty of oversight.""Exactly. And what's the point of cheating? If you're a Chūnin without the skills, you'll just get yourself killed on missions.""So you're saying he might actually have Chūnin-level strength?""A five-year-old genin, maybe. But a five-year-old Chūnin? I doubt it.""Well, we'll find out soon enough. Too bad we've got missions, or I'd go watch.""Boring. Probably just a rumor — the Hokage's office might deny it any minute."
Kato Dan led Haruki to the Chūnin assessment site — a large hall with a wide open floor and two-tiered viewing stands. Many were already gathered there. The Third Hokage stood at the center of the stands, smiling warmly at him.
Haruki bowed slightly to the Hokage, then scanned the audience — and was startled.
"That man with the half-bandaged face and creepy air — that must be Shimura Danzō. Has he already transplanted a normal Sharingan into his left eye? On the right, the bespectacled man and the bun-haired woman — Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Looks like Akimichi Torifu and Uchiha Kagami have already passed away."
"Eh? Hiashi and Hizashi are here too, along with the clan head and a few elders? Even the Uchiha have sent representatives — elders, perhaps? And the Akimichi, Yamanaka, Nara, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans… Is that the Hatake family? And the Kurama clan too? Wow… All this for my test? Guess the Third wasn't exaggerating when he said I was attracting attention. Good thing I've got a master like Tsunade backing me up. Once I'm promoted and sent on missions outside, we'll all have our space."
Keeping his thoughts to himself, Haruki bowed respectfully to the audience.
The Third nodded and announced:
"The assessment may begin!"
A jōnin stepped forward.
"I'm the proctor for this exam. Genin Hinata Haruki — since we are at war, the Chūnin exam has been simplified to a direct assessment. The rule is simple: defeat the appointed opponent and prove you have Chūnin-level ability, and you pass. Do you understand?"
Haruki mentally scoffed — So it's basically just the third stage of the normal Chūnin Exam, stripped down. — but he nodded firmly.
"I understand."
The jōnin nodded back.
"Good. Then let's begin. Your opponent is… come on out, Chūnin Hinata Hiro!"