"So shouldn't you be inspired by my dedicated spirit, and then just shut up?" Hayate Gekko said between coughs.
"Actually, I called you here today to announce something."
"Is the teacher going to give us new training again?" Yuuma asked curiously.
Seiji Ito casually hugged his sword, his expression calm. "It's about the Chunin Exams, right?"
"That's correct. The Chunin Exams."
Chapter 117 – Decision to Participate
"So what do you plan to do?" Hayate asked. "Of course, participation isn't mandatory. You still have a choice. If you decide to join, please fill out this application form and submit it to Classroom 301 at the Academy by 4 PM tomorrow afternoon."
As he spoke, Hayate extended three application forms from his hand. The yellow papers were stamped with Konoha's official seal, containing various pieces of information needing completion.
Besides basic fields like name and gender, there were sections for team leader jonin and teammates' names.
"I should warn you first—the Chunin Exams are nothing like your Graduation Test. Every year, plenty don't make it out alive. Without sufficient strength, you must consider carefully before deciding," Hayate explained seriously about the Chunin Exams.
Although he had full confidence in these students of his, if they didn't clearly understand the seriousness of the exam, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Yuuma Akimoto accepted an application from Hayate, looking down thoughtfully for a moment before raising her head to ask, "Teacher, since you recommended us, does that mean you have enough confidence in us?"
Hayate nodded. "Certainly. In my opinion, all of you already have the skill to become chunin. And don't let age limit you—remember Kakashi became a chunin at six, and was promoted to jonin by twelve."
Yuuma blinked in surprise, then said, "Then what are we hesitating for? If the teacher believes in us this much, I definitely want to participate."
Shiki hadn't expected Yuuma to decide so easily. After all, beside him she always seemed fragile, like a little princess.
But suddenly Shiki realized he'd been making a mistaken assumption. Actually, Yuuma's abilities weren't weak—she'd already turned the Scalpel into a powerful weapon.
Though she could only use the most basic version of the Chakra Scalpel, thanks to her generous chakra supply, its actual power wasn't weaker than Shiki Uzumaki's own.
And over this time, besides gradually learning new medical ninjutsu every day, Yuuma had continuously refined her close combat skills.
She hadn't chosen Sword Training like Shiki Uzumaki or Seiji Ito, but Hayate could still teach her numerous hand-to-hand combat techniques.
This girl was so delicate-looking that no one could even imagine feeling hostile toward her. Yet, in her own quiet way, she had steadily narrowed the gap between herself and both Shiki and Seiji.
Shiki Uzumaki put down the application form in his hand. "Since Yuuma has spoken like this, wouldn't I seem too cowardly if I didn't participate? I choose to join."
Immediately after, Seiji Ito from Team 9 also expressed his stance. "Me as well."
"As expected, I knew you'd both choose to take part," Hayate Gekko nodded satisfactorily. Konoha hadn't seen a fresh Genin participate in the Chunin Exams in five whole years.
When Kakashi and Asuma recommended their students, few questioned it. After all, they were elite Jonin of Konoha; naturally, it made sense that their students would be stronger than average.
But for him, who was just a Tokubetsu Jonin from Konoha, this seemed somewhat questionable in others' eyes.
"Hayate rarely cares about reputation like this."
"I heard there's a kid named Seiji Ito in Hayate Gekko's Team 9 with exceptional talent, even rumored to inherit the Konoha-style swordsmanship."
"But relying solely on one person isn't enough either. As for that child in their squad called Shiki Uzumaki, he struggles even with C-rank ninjutsu. If he can only use D-rank Three Body Techniques, won't he just drag them down?"
"Not necessarily. I heard his Taijutsu is pretty decent. He might even be capable of reaching the level of a Chunin through Taijutsu alone."
A middle-aged Jonin rubbed his beard stubble. "That's true, but there seems to be only one path toward strength through Taijutsu—the Eight Gates. But obviously, that kid can't use that technique either. Probably no matter how much he trains, he'll still only remain at the Chunin level."
Next to him, a bespectacled young Chunin let out a sigh. "Yeah, I remember hearing his talent used to be quite impressive initially. What a shame now. Now, his limited chakra reserves are likely slowing his progress. Later on, even Taijutsu may require more chakra than he can handle."
"There should still be some C or B-rank Taijutsu or sword techniques that don't require too much chakra, which he could perform," another Jonin interjected.
The middle-aged ninja shook his head. "Those techniques usually have other conditions though. Even if he learns one or two, he can't combine them into an effective offensive strategy. Of course, these techniques will be quite helpful at the Chunin level. However, that child named Shiki Uzumaki will probably be stuck at Chunin for the rest of his life."
Everyone nodded, agreeing that the analysis from the Jonin was spot-on. No Jonin made it to their rank by just mastering a couple of specialized Taijutsu techniques; all-around skills were absolutely essential.
"Forget that for now. I heard Sasuke Uchiha, from Kakashi-senpai's team, has already unlocked both eyes with dual tomoe."
"Truly a genius of the Uchiha clan. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't his Sharingan awakened when he was seven?"
"How could that be?" A Chunin responded with surprise. "I keep an eye on the Ninja Academy myself, but I've never heard of Sasuke Uchiha ever using the Sharingan before."
"Let's face it — those kids are the future of the village."
The middle-aged jonin gave a slight sigh. "Sasuke Uchiha really did awaken his Sharingan at age seven. The reason he never used it at the Ninja Academy was probably because his body's chakra reserves were insufficient to sustain its consumption back then. If he had used it, it would have only become a burden in battle."
The middle-aged jonin's remarks slightly touched on the secret behind the Uchiha Clan's downfall, sparking interest among nearby chunin shinobi.
However, he deliberately avoided elaborating further, greatly disappointing these chunin.
Their conversation wasn't intentionally avoiding anyone else; they were simply making objective comments about Konoha's next generation.
So naturally, those words reached Hayate Gekko's ears.
However, Hayate knew that the reason he brought his subordinates into this Chunin Exam wasn't just about showing off strength or competing.
"Although all of you are important to me, this Chunin Exam is your opportunity to prove yourself to others. So Shiki Uzumaki, give it your absolute best and amaze the other shinobi! You who have put in so much effort deserve better than to be shackled here by fate."
Hayate thought silently without voicing his thoughts, because he feared placing psychological pressure on Shiki Uzumaki.
But Shiki seemed to perceive the hope within Hayate's gaze and nodded toward him.
Hayate curled his lips slightly. "What are you doing? Nodding like that out of nowhere—do you have some illness?"
"My neck just hurts. Can't I stretch it a little? Rather, Sensei overreacting like this—could it be you have obsessive-compulsive disorder?" Shiki instantly fired back.
"Haha? Me having OCD? I wonder whose fault it is that someone got injured to the point their chakra has been restricted."
"And I equally wonder whose fault it is that someone became ill to the point they cough constantly after walking just a few steps."
"..."
Does every assigned jonin instructor really feel free to act so unguarded around their students? Kakashi did it, and so did Hayate Gekko. Guy had always been like this—what he called 'youthful.'
Yuuma Akimoto could only use her delicate small hand to cover her forehead hidden beneath glossy black hair, helplessly exclaiming, "Sensei and Brother, when can you two stop suddenly spouting such nonsense?"
Chapter 118: Teenage Sparks Fly
The next afternoon, as agreed yesterday, several people gathered at the entrance of the Ninja Academy.
21 Having already read the original story, knowing that arriving early wouldn't accomplish much, Shiki decided to procrastinate and left home until three o'clock in the afternoon.
When he arrived at the Ninja Academy, Yuuma and Seiji Akimoto were already waiting for him at the school gate.
"Shiki-nii, this is the Chunin Exam. Couldn't you show it just a bit more respect?" Seeing Shiki approaching slowly, Yuuma couldn't help but complain.
Shiki shook his head. "Today is only registration and the first screening round. It's nothing serious. No need to be so tense."
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