Soon after, all the matches concluded, and the awards and promotion ceremony was held in the center of the Hidden Sand Arena.
Although the atmosphere on the Sunagakure side was somewhat subtle, the basic etiquette and procedures were not omitted, and the Third Kazekage and the Third Hokage attended together.
When the final results of the Chunin Exams were announced and Higashino Shinichi's name was called out, the entire venue once again erupted in waves of sound mixed with astonishment and applause as he was immediately granted the rank of Chunin for being the champion and the overall best performer.
Shinichi stepped forward and received the brand-new vest and official certificate scroll representing the rank of Chunin from the Third Hokage, who was the special awards presenter.
He could feel countless gazes, including those from the supervising Jonin and contestants from different ninja villages in the stands, focusing on him.
Curiosity, scrutiny, apprehension, admiration... all sorts of emotions were present.
He knew that from this moment on, the name "Higashino Shinichi" would no longer be confined to the category of Konoha's "genius Genin."
Relying on two indisputable battles, especially his performance in finally breaking the "absolute defense" and revealing himself as a developer of powerful ninjutsu, he successfully elevated his reputation and strength to a new, broader level.
---
Three days later, inside a small town inn on the border of the Land of Wind.
The day after the Chunin Exams concluded, the Konoha group embarked on their return journey.
At this moment, Shinichi, having finished his daily routine practice, returned to his room, closed the door, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
The exhaustion from consecutive days of intense fighting and long-distance travel did not diminish the spirit in his eyes.
With a slight shift of thought, the personal panel, visible only to him, quietly appeared.
[ Name: Higashino Shinichi ]
[Occupation: Chunin (New) / Swordsman]
[Talents: Genius (Blue), Ninjutsu Specialization (Blue), Spiritual Sense (Green), Auspicious Omen (Green), Omen of Disaster (Green), Big Eater (Green), Diligence Can Compensate for Lack of Talent (Green), Quick-Thinking (Green), Superhuman Strength (Green), Skin-Hardening (Green), Swift (Green), Swordsmanship Proficiency (Green), Charisma (Green), Proficiency in Taijutsu (Green), Calm (White), Basic Wind Style (White), Basic Fire Style (White), Medical Fundamentals (White)]
[draw count: 1 (Blue)]
First, the [Genin] entry in the profession column had been replaced by the new [Chunin] entry.
This was within Shinichi's expectations. Winning the championship in the highly anticipated Chunin Exams and receiving personal witness and recognition from two "Kage"—this kind of "official certification" from the highest level of the two great ninja villages' systems—was extremely efficient, directly promoting the rapid advancement of the profession entry.
[Chunin: You are now the backbone of the ninja forces and a squad leader. You receive a significant boost in formulating complex tactics, combining and applying various ninjutsu, and training in chakra nature and shape transformation. The efficiency of instructing others on ninja talent is slightly increased.]
The profession entries in the ninja system do not provide direct numerical bonuses like those in the swordsman system; instead, they act as an "authority upgrade" and an "efficiency amplifier."
Under the effect of the [Chunin] entry, his future learning, training, and practical application in fields related to ninja talent will all receive more efficient benefits.
He even gained the ability to enhance instruction, which aligns with the fact that Chunin can serve as teachers.
Another important change was in the talent column: [Ninjutsu Proficiency (Green)] had quietly transformed into [Ninjutsu Specialization (Blue)].
[Ninjutsu Specialization (Blue): Your understanding of ninjutsu principles and chakra control has reached a very excellent level. You can perceive the internal connections between different ninjutsu, easily combine mastered ninjutsu, derive variations, or select the most effective ninjutsu response in the heat of battle.]
This upgrade was a direct reward for the success of his strategy in the final match.
The shocking achievement of "breaking Hidden Sand's absolute defense" served as the hammer, and the astonishing act of "revealing himself as an A-rank seal-less ninjutsu developer" served as the anvil. Together, these forged a strong recognition.
This finally broke through the bottleneck caused by the low cognitive efficiency previously limited by his professional rank, pushing the already accumulated recognition of his ninjutsu talent past the blue quality threshold in one fell swoop.
In contrast, although his taijutsu talent shone brightly in this exam and attracted widespread attention, it did not immediately upgrade to blue.
This was also within Shinichi's expectations. Unlike his ninjutsu recognition, which was already on the verge of breakthrough, the profound impression made by his taijutsu required more time to settle and ferment.
He had a premonition that this upgrade was not far off. Perhaps within a month of returning to Konoha, as the details of the matches spread and were discussed, the blue taijutsu entry would naturally materialize.
Finally, the expected reward: the panel clearly displayed: [draw count: 1 (Blue)].
This was a precious opportunity that could only be unlocked upon promotion to chunin rank or higher—a brand-new talent entry, guaranteed to be blue quality, was about to be grasped by him.
Shinichi's gaze fell on the line [draw count: 1 (Blue)]. A blue entry—each one could bring about a qualitative change.
But he was not in a hurry to draw immediately.
He planned to return to Konoha first, and then, as usual, solemnly bathe and change his clothes, perform a "prayer" that seemed devout but which he knew had no actual effect, yet was full of personal ritual, before performing the draw to welcome this important "gift."
Although it was useless, the sense of ritual was necessary.
---
Closing the panel, Shinichi walked to the window and pushed open the wooden frame.
The night sky over the border town was clear, the starlight sparse but bright, and in the distance, the continuous mountain shadows of the Land of Fire could be vaguely seen.
However, his thoughts drifted toward the distant future. Combining fragments of his past life's memories with what he had witnessed in this life, he had a rough and vague outline of the storm about to sweep the ninja world.
Next year, as tensions between the various ninja villages continue to escalate, a silent "arms race" will enter its white-hot phase.
The major ninja villages will desperately expand their military strength, and batches of Ninja Academy students will be rushed through graduation like quick construction projects, filling the increasingly large ninja forces.
Just as Hidden Sand Village was rubbing their hands together, preparing for a major endeavor, Sasori of the Red Sand, who had long been dissatisfied with the village's high command, thought:
'You old geezer! You did so poorly last season that I lost my parents, and you still have the nerve to plan a new season?'
Consequently, this ruthless individual, who believed "art is eternal," simply performed a clean-up and dealt with the Third Kazekage.
Once the Third Kazekage disappeared, Sunagakure initially tried to cover it up and search, but as time passed, with a "Kage" of such stature missing, the news inevitably began to leak out like through a sieve.
Hidden Cloud Village, far away, heard about it.
'What? Hidden Sand's leader, the Kazekage, is gone?'
'I'll go see what's going on?'
Then, the Third Raikage, known for his physical toughness and mobility, whose behavior was sometimes quite "abstract," probably felt that merely listening to reports wasn't satisfying enough.
He actually personally led an elite squad in a "maximum penetration," passing through over a dozen small countries, and brazenly trespassed into the Land of Wind, all under the watchful eyes of the great Land of Fire and Land of Earth.
When they finally arrived, they saw that, wow, there was nothing but sand and rocks—it was dirt poor.
Perhaps they felt there was no profit to be gained here, or perhaps the Third Raikage himself finally cooled down from his impulsive state, realizing that crossing a dozen countries, traversing from the northeast to the southwest of the continent, was indeed a bit too abstract.
Meanwhile, Sunagakure, unified temporarily under the efforts of Rasa, who demonstrated his Magnet Release, adopted a posture ready for a decisive battle.
The Third Raikage saw this, pondered that he was outnumbered, and fighting head-on wasn't worth it. Furthermore, this barren place held no value if conquered and offered no opportunity for governance.
Thus, he had no choice but to lead his men in a "victorious strategic retreat."
Afterward, adhering to the Mahayana victory doctrine, both sides declared mutual great victories and massive wins.
The internal crisis bred a new leader. Relying on his Magnet Release ability and his performance during the crisis, Rasa successfully ascended to become the Fourth Kazekage.
A new official taking office always faces several tricky issues: First, the previous Kazekage mysteriously vanished—they needed to give the entire village an explanation, right?
Second, the village's reserves were nearly depleted from the search and war preparations. The arrow was on the string and had to be shot.
Third, having just taken office, he urgently needed to establish prestige and consolidate power.
After much thought, Rasa slapped his thigh—fine, the old tradition cannot be abandoned. This huge, round black pot of blame should be placed upon our old neighbor and good ally, Konoha!
Thus, Hidden Sand launched a surprise attack on Konoha and declared war on Konoha.
Kumogakure saw Hidden Sand's stance:
'Alright, if you're fighting Konoha, I'll fight Konoha too!'
Iwagakure and Hidden Mist watched from the sidelines: 'Can we really miss out on this excitement?'
'If you all are joining, I have to jump in too, otherwise, wouldn't our village seem irrelevant'
'You know, when our five great ninja villages stand together, the world is at our feet.'
Thus, the Third Great Ninja War, affecting the entire ninja world, spectacularly and comprehensively erupted in a chain reaction that seemed absurd but was actually the culmination of years of accumulated conflict and calculated self-interest.
---
Thinking this, Shinichi shook his head, dispelling the slightly mocking analogies in his mind. His eyes returned to a calm and sharp state.
Humor aside, the brutality of war was real, and he only had about a year left.
He must use the new [Chunin] authority and the upcoming blue entry during this brief time of peace to raise his strength enough to stand firm in the coming storm, or even... influence the direction of the wind.
'How should I proceed next?'
Shinichi fell into thought. After the Chunin Exams battle, with the new entries and subsequent entry upgrades further strengthening him, he estimated that by then he should have roughly the strength of a formal Jonin.
Perhaps there were still slight gaps in overall experience, mission history, and handling complex situations, but purely in terms of combat power, he was not far off.
In a year, when the shadow of that great war truly began to fall, he was confident he would stand firmly at the Jonin level of strength.
At that time, he would only just be turning ten years old—an age more than two years earlier than the genius Kakashi, who was promoted to Jonin when he was almost thirteen.
Moreover, in Shinichi's view, Kakashi's strength might not have fully met the hard standard for Jonin when he was first promoted.
After all, he suffered a major loss against an Iwagakure Jonin, even having his family's White Fang Short Sword broken and losing an eye. His true transformation was only completed under the intense stimulation of the Sharingan and the death of his comrade.
"In a year, I should genuinely possess the combat power of a formal Jonin, or even stronger." Shinichi silently calculated, "With this strength, during the initial stages of the conflict, self-preservation should be sufficient, provided I don't plunge into the most brutal meat grinder battlefields or take on the most dangerous missions."
Thinking this, Shinichi withdrew his gaze from the starry sky, ready to end the day.
But just as he turned around.
A vague pull, a subtle, indescribable feeling, surged up from the bottom of his heart without warning.
It wasn't strong, but it was like a stone dropped into a still lake, sending out clear ripples.
"Hmm?"
He let out a soft sound of surprise, stopped his movement, and subconsciously summoned the personal panel again, directing his gaze straight to the [draw count: 1 (Blue)] entry.
At this moment, the faint feeling of inspiration not only didn't dissipate but grew clearer and more intense, as if silently urging and guiding him toward something.
The characteristic of the [Auspicious Omen] entry was taking effect.
The last time a similar sensation appeared was three years ago when he was talking to Kakashi in the Konoha Cemetery.
That nascent pull ultimately guided him, under the "gaze" of the Third Hokage, to utter words consistent with the core message of the Second Hokage's dying words, successfully entering the high command's view and gaining attention and resource allocation far exceeding that of a normal Ninja Academy student.
So this time... Shinichi's gaze sharpened, and he no longer hesitated.
What return-to-Konoha ritual?
To hell with the sense of ritual!
Opportunity knocks but once.
Here, in this border town inn, under the starlight, was the optimal moment!
He took a deep breath, calmed his slightly accelerated heartbeat, and focused all his attention on the line of text emitting a tempting faint glow.
'Draw!'
An almost imperceptible ripple seemed to spread through his consciousness, then instantly subsided. The "1 (Blue)" text on the panel reset to zero.
Immediately afterward, at the end of the talent entry list, a point of deep blue light blossomed, like a star lit up in the deep sea. Within the light, new text rapidly condensed and solidified.
[Clone (Blue): You can replicate a portion of your own origin, integrate the bloodline gene of a creature, and create an independent, permanent, and continuously growing clone. The clone shares consciousness and memory with the main body. The clone can inherit one profession entry and 50% of the main body's talent entries (rounded down), including a maximum of one purple talent entry, and cannot inherit this specific talent entry or talent entries unrelated to the inherited profession. Specific entries can be self-allocated. The main body can reallocate the inherited entries by contacting the clone.]
[Note: External perception can also generate recognition effects for the clone, but the effect is only 50% of normal, and all generated recognition effects will be directly fed back to the main body. Sacrificing one purple quality entry possessed by the main body can upgrade this entry to purple quality; this is the only upgrade path.]
[The main body can voluntarily recall the clone to absorb a small portion of its origin to strengthen itself. The clone cannot be restored after recall, nor can it be restored after death.]
Oh?
'This is... an unexpected surprise.'
'It seems the upcoming plans need to be properly adjusted.'
Shinichi's eyes flickered, and the corners of his mouth lifted into an uncontrollable smile.