Temari didn't understand what was going on—but Gaara talking so much with that man, Shiki Uzumaki, was already out of the ordinary.
But for her, this was just a minor incident. As long as it didn't interfere with their current mission, and as long as Gaara didn't turn against her and Kankuro with murderous intent—
In Konoha, besides the Hokage's chambers, there was also a designated area where the Hokage announced important matters.
After all, there were simply too many jonin in Konoha; cramming them all into a small office wouldn't be appropriate.
Hayate Gekko hurried toward this location. Ever since he saw the passing pigeon in the sky, he had stopped his errands—even if it meant abandoning the purchase of his medicine.
Had the pharmacy owner not been familiar enough with Konoha's sickest tokubetsu jonin, he probably would've mistaken Hayate for someone trying to skip out on payment.
The Hokage meeting room had wooden walls and large white curtains hanging from the ceiling. Without the marble floor, this meeting room would've looked pretty rundown.
A red carpet stretched from outside the building all the way to the Hokage's desk, marked with the leaf insignia.
As Hayate stepped in, he found nearly all the seats already taken.
"Asuma, you finally made it," Asuma Sarutobi naturally took the initiative, walking over and patting Hayate's shoulder amicably.
After a while, the remaining assigned jonin instructors also showed up. Seated behind the desk, the Third exhaled slowly on his pipe.
"The purpose of gathering everyone here is no mystery. I'm sure you can all tell from my expression alone."
Just as the Third had said, these men and women dressed in green jonin or chunin vests had already anticipated this outcome.
After all, there was really only one big event happening recently.
That was—the Chunin Exams were coming!
The Third announced each item methodically, pausing occasionally to answer questions raised by others.
July 1st would mark the beginning of the Chunin Exams!
Once the jonin who had already recommended their genin teams for the exams voiced their confirmations,
The Third calmly asked, "Would those who are currently guiding new genin please step forward?"
Immediately, Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai, and Hayate Gekko stepped forward.
The Third nodded. "Have any of your students met the criteria for recommendation?"
He then explained the minimum requirement—completing at least eight assigned missions.
In the crowd, Iruka relaxed slightly. In his opinion, for his own students, taking the Chunin Exams was still too soon.
Yet,
Whether it was Kakashi, Asuma, or even Kurenai, they all unhesitatingly recommended every single student in their teams!
How could this be?
Then, he saw Hayate raise his hand slightly, ready to speak.
Although Hayate was only responsible for one genin, that particular student was the most troublesome of them all.
Shiki Uzumaki never paid attention in class, always either sleeping or reading random books instead of focusing on the required ninja theory lessons.
He had even caused quite a bit of trouble and ended up getting seriously injured.
Frankly speaking, he was genuinely worried about Shiki participating in this year's Chunin Exams.
In his current condition, Shiki couldn't use genjutsu at all, and even if he could, he wouldn't!
As for ninjutsu, besides the Three Body Techniques, he couldn't use anything else. Even his pride and joy – his taijutsu skills – would be dangerously unreliable in the current Chunin Exam.
Surely Hayate Gekko wouldn't actually nominate him?
But then, the next moment shattered his hope with a despairing voice.
"I, Hayate Gekko, formally nominate Team 9 under my supervision – Shiki Uzumaki, Seiji Ito, and Yuuma Akimoto – to participate in the upcoming Chunin Exams!"
The next morning, deep within the forest outside Konoha, the air was crisp and refreshing, surrounded by lush greenery.
A small stream flowed quietly by, with fish darting among the rocks.
By the riverbank sat several individuals drenched in sweat. Today, unusually, Team 9 wasn't out on missions but gathered here because Hayate had something important to announce.
Rather than sitting idle while waiting, Team 9 continued training as usual.
Take Shiki, for example, repeatedly unleashing his [Dance of the Sword] upon wooden logs. Some say that a killing blade must always be simple and unadorned.
Perhaps there's some truth in that – after all, the most advanced techniques often look the simplest. A true expert can deliver devastating attacks using the most basic sword techniques.
Yet, realistically, that's only part of the story. Skilled swordsmen naturally opt for straightforward moves when facing an instant kill opportunity.
But what if the opponent is also a swordsman of equal caliber?
Then the battle would stretch into prolonged duels, with intricate sword techniques emerging one after another. Blades flash like lightning, clashing repeatedly. In such moments, isn't the sight itself awe-inspiring?
Indeed, beautiful sword techniques don't necessarily carry lethal force – they were originally designed more for performance than combat. Yet people often mistakenly apply this view to all sword styles.
Because occasionally, a sword will move from unexpected angles, piercing directly into an enemy's heart.
As one sage summarized the way of the sword: it starts simple, becomes complex, returns to simplicity, and continues shifting between these forms endlessly.
At the very least, [Dance of the Sword] is far more than just elegant strokes – it is a deadly technique capable of taking lives.
Three blades, swift as phantoms, pierced through the enemy's chest with wind and thunderous cries.
"Shiki-nii-san, you've gotten stronger again," Yuuma Akimoto smiled, her eyes gleaming.
Shiki Uzumaki slowly drew his sword. "It's nothing much. Come to think of it, Yuuma, you've improved quite a bit too."
Pride flickered across Yuuma's face. Earning praise from her older brother brought her the greatest joy.
Even though he often neglected her due to training and other affairs,
she knew that whenever she felt down, Nii-san would always encourage her – unless, of course, he had something critically important to attend to.
And every single birthday, her brother and Sena-chan had always been fully prepared.
The gifts were always prepared with such care, as though they really were a family.
"Ahem, looks like everyone arrived early," Hayate Gekko said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere in the forest. He still looked as sickly as ever.
"Teacher's right on time too. I thought you'd be delayed again from buying medicine," Shiki Uzumaki teased.
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