Maruboshi Kosuke agreed.
This eternal Genin of Konoha Village didn't want promotion, but he couldn't refuse the request to protect Konoha. He also heard that this joint Chunin exam was quite grand.
As an elder of Konoha, sacrificing for the village's future is a given obligation. If Akihara Kagura issued a mandatory order, he couldn't disobey.
"Lord Kagura."
Karin looked at Akihara Kagura with some surprise and asked curiously, "Why did you want me to take the exam with that old man?"
"Because he cooks well!"
Akihara Kagura's reason was quite pure and honest: "When I took the Chunin exam, there wasn't even anyone to help cook. Finding you a teammate who can cook can make your exam a bit more comfortable..."
"..."
Karin slowly lowered her head.
"Lord Kagura!"
A Dark Department member appeared instantly, knelt on one knee beside Akihara Kagura, and whispered, "The Third Hokage requests Lord Kagura to immediately proceed to the Hokage Tower!"
"I'll head over right away."
Akihara Kagura nodded and disappeared instantly.
"Karin, what's wrong?"
A Root Ninja looked with surprise at the dazed red-haired girl.
"I'm fine."
Karin still remained in place, observing the ninja headband left by Akihara Kagura on the Task Gathering Place's desk and carefully put it away. "Just, how can one not admire Lord Kagura for taking such care of his subordinates?"
Inside the Hokage Tower.
A group of Jonin stood inside the office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, with a pipe in his mouth, sat at the desk, seriously explaining important matters to the group of Jonin: "Today, all of you I gathered are instructor Jonin from the village. You should understand what I'm going to talk about..."
"The Chunin selection exam, right?"
Kakashi Hatake had already heard about it.
Sarutobi Asuma reminisced about meeting other ninja villages' people while shopping with his girlfriend, Yuhi Kurenai: "Indeed, other village folks have been spotted in the village too..."
"The timing?"
Yuhi Kurenai inquired nervously.
"Originally wanted it earlier..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed a smoke ring, picked up a letter on the desk, and spoke softly, "However, news from the Hidden Mist Village indicates they might arrive a bit late, set it for July 3rd, the day to start the joint Chunin selection exam..."
"Any additions?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Akihara Kagura and the two Hokage advisors sitting on the other side.
"During this period, still be careful..."
Utatane Koharu softly voiced her objection: "After all, this is a joint Chunin selection exam held by three major countries and numerous smaller ones. Many outside village ninjas will come to Konoha; avoid any disputes or conflicts in the process..."
Mitokado Homura also contributed his opinion: "Also, ensure the reception avoids any rudeness, we don't want to spark any controversies..."
"Don't worry."
Akihara Kagura leisurely poured tea, even offering a friendly cup to the two Hokage advisors, speaking slowly: "If anyone dares to stir controversy in the village, they'll be careful when joining the Chunin exam again after thirteen years."
"Prohibiting troublemakers from joining the Chunin exam for thirteen years?"
Utatane Koharu glanced at Akihara Kagura, frowning: "Isn't that punishment too harsh for a ninja..."
"Advisor Utatane misunderstood my meaning."
Akihara Kagura sipped his tea before speaking: "Thirteen years is the time they have to reincarnate and grow to twelve again..."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Mitokado Homura nearly choked.
"..."
Everyone present displayed a peculiar expression.
Having interacted most with Akihara Kagura, Kakashi Hatake wasn't surprised, just rolled his eyes in resignation: "This guy..."
"Directly killing them will cause bigger disputes!"
Utatane Koharu expressed discontent with Akihara Kagura's approach and said sternly: "It might even trigger war; it's better to use milder methods..."
"Indeed, a bit too extreme."
Mitokado Homura nodded repeatedly, couldn't help but say: "In the future, no one will want to attend the Konoha-hosted Chunin selection exams, impacting our relations with allies..."
"I'll deploy the Dark Department to maintain order."
After Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, he turned to the instructor Jonin present: "Do you have any Genin recommendations to take the exam? As long as they've participated in over eight tasks formally, Genin can enter the Chunin selection exam. It's entirely up to your discretion for recommending them, though ideally, Genin with extensive task execution experience are most suitable. Perhaps it's slightly early for them now, but it also depends on what you think. Anyone wants to start?"
"I'll break the ice!"
Akihara Kagura gracefully showed respect to his supervisor, took the initiative to speak: "I actually want to recommend a suitable squad: Kabuto, Karin, and Maruboshi Kosuke. Their task execution experience is ample; Karin alone has executed over eight S-class tasks in Root, enough to handle the Chunin exam..."
"..."
The instructor Jonin present changed color one after another.
Because Karin's stats are indeed impressive, even some Jonin haven't executed as many S-class tasks as she has in their lifetime.
"Can Genin execute S-class tasks too?"
"For Root ninjas, executing S-class tasks is quite normal..."
"That's quite terrifying..."
While other instructor Jonin were still chattering about this, Sarutobi Asuma, aware of Kakashi Hatake's familiarity with Akihara Kagura, took the initiative and asked, "Hey, Kakashi, how's the strength of that kid called Karin?"