Bai Xing finally received Yūhi Ryuun's support.
He secretly gave the girl a little military salute, earning a rolling eye in return, and then casually began filling out answers—aiming for a safe sixty-something score to fool the higher-ups.
At this moment, he had absolutely no idea that, in Mikoto's retelling, he had already become some kind of self-made genius ninja who changed his fate.
Eliminations Continue
The process of elimination continued.
One particularly sly candidate used Earth Release to push a crumpled paper ball—who knew where it came from—across the floor.
It rolled neatly onto the desk of a student who had already finished the exam and was sleeping soundly.
Then the culprit raised his hand.
A real-name report.
The proctors saw everything clearly.
But failing to remain aware of your surroundings during an exam?
That was also the examinee's own problem.
So—
another team was eliminated.
The exam lasted only one hour.
Soon it reached the final minutes.
Aside from the planted "answer sheet" examinees, only eleven teams remained.
Just when Morino Ikō thought the exam would end quietly—
a pale arm suddenly raised from the third row.
"I withdraw."
Morino Ikō looked seriously at the girl with spiky black hair.
"This isn't something to joke about."
"Candidate #26, are you certain?"
"I'm certain."
Uchiha Kaedei smiled bitterly.
"I lost."
"Sorry, En, Fūya."
"I dragged you down."
Her two teammates lowered their heads. Their emotions were hard to read.
Morino Ikō took a breath, preparing to announce their elimination.
But suddenly—
Uchiha En, a twelve-year-old boy, slammed the desk and burst out laughing.
"What's the big deal about becoming a chūnin?"
"Kaedei-nee, you're being too formal!"
"We're a team!"
"I thought you'd be angry," Uchiha Fūya said calmly while putting the cap back on his pen.
"Angry? Are you kidding?"
"I'm an Uchiha!"
"Even if I stay a genin forever, I'll still be the strongest genin!"
"You guys…"
Kaedei covered her face.
Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes.
Beside her, Mikoto spoke quietly—only loud enough for Kaedei to hear.
"You're important to them too."
"Don't underestimate yourself anymore, Kaedei-nee."
It was the first time Mikoto had ever called her 'big sister.'
Kaedei's vision blurred.
For the first time in a long time, she felt—
she wasn't alone.
All those years of effort hadn't been meaningless.
The Final Decision
The exam time ended.
The bell rang.
Ring—Ring—Ring—
Morino Ikō spoke again from the podium.
"Are you still withdrawing?"
"I haven't announced the result yet."
"You can still change your decision."
Kaedei hesitated.
Her earlier withdrawal had been impulsive.
Because Mikoto hadn't crushed her spirit when she had the chance, Kaedei believed she had already lost.
But now—
she didn't want to disappoint the teammates who cared about her.
"Of course we're withdrawing."
"Let's go, En."
"Kaedei-nee, what are you standing there for? Come on."
"If we fail, we'll just take it again next year."
"What's the big deal?"
Hearing her teammates' choice, Kaedei nodded fiercely.
"This time was my fault!"
"I'll treat you both to dinner when we get back."
"Let's celebrate my Sharingan upgrade!"
"Huh?!" ×2
At the classroom door—
Fūya and En froze.
For a moment, Bai Xing felt like two clowns had suddenly appeared in the exam hall.
In the Observation Room
"Not bad, Jōnin Keishin."
"Those three are good kids."
"You should train them well."
Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly evaluated the three Uchiha.
Beside him, Uchiha Keishin looked proud.
"Of course."
"My squad just produced a fourteen-year-old two-tomoe genius."
"I'll train her properly."
Hearing that, Hiruzen frowned slightly.
He glanced at Keishin's strange expression.
Hopefully…
those three children wouldn't be influenced by the extreme emotions of their elders.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed.
But the person who interested him more was—
Uchiha Mikoto.
What a talented girl.
He had heard she was in the same class as Nawaki.
Perhaps he could arrange for them to become friends.
If their bloodlines…
merged…
"Ha. Just relying on the Uchiha bloodline."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke sneered at Mikoto and Kaedei.
As for Bai Xing—
he didn't even bother looking at him.
In the second exam, his students would crush Bai Xing's team anyway.
Second Exam Announced
The first stage of the Chūnin Exam ended.
The proctor for the second stage arrived.
Thankfully it wasn't Anko Mitarashi this time.
Instead, it was a civilian Tokubetsu Jōnin named Akimoto.
The second exam was still survival training in the wilderness.
But instead of the Forest of Death, it would take place in another sealed woodland area called:
The Simulation Forest.
Only Konoha ninja were allowed to use this training ground.
Bai Xing had participated in it twice before.
Simply put—
It simulated battlefield terrain:
forests
rivers
rocky hills
Sometimes chūnin or even jōnin disguised as enemy ninjas would appear and fight the candidates.
The teams had to reach a tower at the center of the forest.
Time limit:
24 hours.
Each squad started with a scroll.
They needed to steal the opposite scroll from another team.
And all this happened in an area full of traps and simulated enemy activity.
Compared to the Forest of Death—
this exam was even harder.
It was essentially wartime chūnin combat training.
Teacher Encounter
"Teacherrr~~ we passed the first exam!"
"Hehe, teacher, you're not on a date, are you?"
"Um… should we—"
"Shut up!" ×2
On the street, Bai Xing was thinking about whether to eliminate himself in the next round or the third round.
Then the sudden voices behind him made his hair stand on end.
Beside him, Yūhi Ryuun turned around with a pout.
"We're discussing tomorrow's strategy."
"This is not a date!"
Shiranui Genma covered his face.
Anyone with eyes could see—
she obviously just wanted to eat together.
Meanwhile—
Mikoto glanced at Ryuun and muttered inwardly:
What a weakling.
Then she regained her noble lady composure.
"Well then."
"There's no problem if we eat together with our teacher, right?"
"That's impossible!"
"We're discussing battle strategy!"
"What if you overhear us and gain an advantage?!"
Bai Xing & Genma: "…"
They exchanged glances.
Did we even discuss strategy last time?
No.
The previous "strategy meeting" had lasted about five seconds.
Their plan:
"Adapt to whatever happens."
And that was it.
The Next Day — Simulation Forest
11:30 AM.
Nine teams stood outside the forest.
"Wait… aren't we missing a team?"
"I thought ten teams passed yesterday."
Might Dai frowned.
"Is there another test we didn't know about?"
Beside him, Bai Xing lazily scanned the crowd.
His eyes met Yamanaka Taiji's.
Taiji's expression clearly said:
You're finished.
"Do we really need to ask?"
"Obviously they failed."
"WHAT?!" ×3
"So there were teams that failed afterward?" Mikoto blinked.
Nono said:
"Teacher, didn't you say yesterday only our class, Class Eight, and Class Two were new graduates…?"
Bai Xing paused.
He nodded politely to Nara Hane and Akimichi Yumi.
Yumi excitedly tugged Hane.
"My idol looked at me!"
Hane: …so troublesome.
Bai Xing turned back to his students.
"Not every team has the ability to gather and transmit intelligence."
"So…"
"You're actually a very strong team."
Nearby, Genma suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Hey… you're not planning something again, are you?"
"You're not going to secretly help your team pass, right?!"
Ryuun widened her eyes and glared at Mikoto and Nono.
Bai Xing calmly replied:
"Genma."
"Don't make me laugh."
"No one can stop me from becoming a chūnin."
"Not even my most beloved students."
He turned to face his three students seriously.
"Prepare yourselves."
"Your teacher will fight with full strength."
"I will not hold back."
"Absolutely not."
"To beat me…"
"You'll have to fight with the determination to die together with me."
"Only then…"
"You might lose…"
"a little more gracefully."
The three members of Team Eleven went from excited—
to sweating cold—
in just a few seconds.
Because they all knew one thing very clearly:
Even if they tried their hardest…
they still couldn't beat the teacher who could instantly kill a chūnin.
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