Chapter Seventeen: The Eve of the Examination

Chapter Seventeen: The Eve of the Exam

The next day at noon, on the roof of the Hatake residence.

“How did it go, Iruka?” Kakashi and Shuster sat atop the roof, and Kakashi addressed a person who was using the Transformation Jutsu.

With a puff, the person dispersed the transformation, revealing Iruka. “All nine of them passed the preliminary test flawlessly, especially your three students,” he replied.

“Well, of course! Among the three, Sasuke and Sakura are both at the level of elite chunin, stable and reliable. Naruto is a solid chunin, but if he goes all out, he can reach jonin strength! Iruka, it’s impressive you made it back in one piece!” Shuster said to Iruka.

“Yeah, I almost didn’t make it out myself!” Iruka recalled their abilities with a cold sweat. Could these really be genin?

“All right, let’s head to the exam site,” Shuster said, and the three of them vanished in a flicker of movement.

-------------------- I am the dividing line called Exam Hall --------------------

“Well, I’ll wait for them here,” said Kakashi, stopping at the entrance to the exam hall.

“Oh! Then, brother, I’ll head in. I’m one of the proctors too, after all. Just remind them—if I open my eyes during the written test, don’t even think about cheating,” Shuster tossed over her shoulder without looking back.

“Wow, that’s a crowd!” Shuster noticed the Sand trio and Naruto’s group hadn’t arrived yet, while more than a hundred ninja in the main hall glared at her, their killing intent thick in the air.

“Why are you all looking at me like that? Careful, or the proctor might make things difficult for you, hehe!” Shuster said, releasing just a sliver of her own murderous aura, then walked away without another glance.

“Th-th-that’s a jonin?” muttered a trembling, forgettable genin from an unknown village.

“S-s-so strong!” added the person beside him.

“Who is she? Such a young jonin.”

“Yeah, and beautiful too.”

Similar whispers rippled through the crowd...

“These idiots, lucky for them they’ve only provoked her. Had it been anyone else, they’d be headed home to become farmers,” a silver-haired, glasses-wearing Leaf ninja remarked.

“Hm?” ×N

“Kid, do you know who she is?” asked a Rain ninja whose face looked like the aftermath of a car crash.

“Hmph, that’s the famed Lady Thunder of the Leaf. She’s just friendly, that’s all. Otherwise, you’d all be corpses by now!” the silver-haired Leaf ninja said, pushing up his glasses.

“Th-th-th-thunder!! The Thunder of the Leaf!!!” ×N

“Whoa, we barely escaped with our lives!” ×N

Creak—the door opened again, and Naruto’s team entered.

“So many people?!” ×3

“No way, are they all examinees?” Sakura thought nervously.

“These guys seem strong, but still far weaker than that Lee I defeated earlier. In the story, Lee should have won, but with Shuster’s guidance, I’ve grown stronger and steadier, so I was victorious,” Sasuke mused.

“Hm, looks like three shadow clones could take each of these guys down,” Naruto thought.

If these so-called elite genin from all over the world knew what the trio thought of their skills, they’d probably die of rage on the spot.

-------------------- I am the dividing line of ridicule --------------------

“That’s Kabuto, Orochimaru’s subordinate, isn’t it?” Shuster watched the white-haired, glasses-wearing man from the side.

“Hey, quiet down. You’re the nine rookies who just graduated, right? Making such a racket here—this isn’t a place to mess around.” Kabuto walked over to Naruto’s team, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka with Akamaru, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame.

“Who do you think you are, acting so high and mighty?” Ino glared at Kabuto.

“I’m Kabuto Yakushi. Never mind that—take a look around you first,” Kabuto said amiably.

“Huh?” ×9

Almost all the other ninja in the room eyed them with open hostility.

“Ahem,” Shuster cleared her throat, unable to watch any longer. Instantly, everyone sat back down obediently.

“Who is she? She’s amazing!” ×6

“That’s Lady Thunder, the Leaf’s strongest jonin,” Kabuto explained, adjusting his glasses. “Everyone gets nervous before the exam, so be careful if someone tries to cause trouble.”

“Oh,” ×9

“Hehe, still so green. Come with me, you remind me of myself back then,” Kabuto said, leading them to a corner.

“So, senpai, is this your second time taking the exam?” Sakura asked in the corner.

“No, it’s my seventh! The chunin exam is held twice a year, and this is my fourth year,” Kabuto replied.

“Then you must know the exam inside and out,” Sakura pressed.

“Well, you could say that,” Kabuto answered modestly. What a good actor.

“Tsk, seventh time and still not a chunin,” Shikamaru commented, his expression clearly saying, “What a drag.”

“Well, that’s about right! Hehe,” Kabuto scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

“Sigh, is the chunin exam really that hard? What a pain,” Shikamaru leaned against the wall and complained.

“Well then, let me give you some intel on your opponents.” Kabuto produced a stack of ninja info cards.

“Here, take a look at this first.” Kabuto activated a card with chakra.

“What’s this?” ×9

“These are the numbers of examinees from each village. Since the Sound Village was only established recently, there’s no data on their three candidates,” Kabuto explained.

“Do you have data on Sand’s Gaara of the Desert?” Sasuke stepped forward.

“Yes, here it is. Gaara of the Desert—eight C-rank missions, one B-rank. For a rookie to handle a B-rank mission alone is impressive, and it’s said he always returns unscathed. Since he’s from another village, the data is incomplete,” Kabuto said, showing them the card.

“By the way, do you want to see that person’s info?” Kabuto subtly nodded toward Shuster.

“Oh? Absolutely!” ×9

“Huh? Even my data’s in there? Hehe,” Shuster murmured quietly.

“Yes, here it is: Shuster Hatake, known as Thunder, the Leaf’s strongest elite jonin, said to possess speed rivaling the late Fourth Hokage, and chakra reserves as vast as a tailed beast. Mission record: D: 200, C: 198, B: 420, A: 305, S: 45. Ended the Third Ninja War early by slaying the Iwa commander,” Kabuto recited.

“So powerful!” ×6

“So this is our teacher’s true strength…” thought Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

“What’s more, no one has ever truly forced her into a corner to reveal the full extent of her power,” Kabuto added.

“Wait, was she holding back during the Water Prison incident to test us?” Sakura, ever observant, mused.

“Seems so,” Sasuke nodded.

“We’ll have to work even harder,” Naruto said.

“There’s one more thing. Want to hear it?” Kabuto said mysteriously.

“Hm?” ×9

“Promotion record: Genin at seven, chunin at ten, elite chunin at twelve, special jonin at thirteen, jonin at fifteen, and elite jonin at seventeen,” Kabuto delivered the coup de grâce.

“What?!” ×9

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