The girl before them had fiery red hair that spilled like a crimson river down to her waist. She emerged slowly from a side house within the Hyūga branch family estate, moving with a grace that startled even her teammates. This was none other than the final member of Hizashi's squad—Hyūga Akane.
But today, she was not dressed in her usual light training gear. Instead, a finely patterned kimono wrapped around her slender frame, the silk shimmering with each movement. She looked less like a kunoichi and more like the daughter of some aristocratic clan showing herself at a festival.
"I can't believe my eyes," Kusuo Hatake muttered, staring openly. "I've never seen Akane dressed like this before…"
Uchiha Shigure blinked, equally surprised. "There's an old saying: 'Clothes make the person.' In that outfit, you look… different. Quiet. Refined. Almost too elegant to be the Akane I know."
A faint blush ran across the girl's cheeks. Immediately, her expression hardened. "So… normally I'm not quiet and elegant?"
Shigure froze, caught off guard. Hizashi and some of the Hyūga clan members watching from the porch tried and failed to suppress their laughter.
"Miss, you are here," Hizashi said instead, bowing lightly along with his elder brother Hiashi. Their tone was uncharacteristically formal, respectful enough to puzzle Shigure and Kusuo.
"You don't have to treat me like that." Akane waved her hands quickly, embarrassed. "Uncle Hiashi, Teacher Hizashi… there's no need for politeness. I'm still just a student, not some pampered lady."
Her voice held steel. After their last mission, the duel with the Suzuki team, she had shaken off much of her hesitation and fully chosen the path of a shinobi. Whatever noble trappings her lineage carried, she did not want them to weigh down her friends.
"Very well," Hiashi said with a slight smile. "Since everyone is gathered, Hizashi, we shall take our leave as parents." He bowed to his brother and turned away.
Kusuo's father—the independent Hatake patriarch—had already disappeared with a flicker of the Body Flicker Technique.
The courtyard grew quiet. Only Hizashi and his three young shinobi remained.
"Good," Hizashi said at last, his tone shifting from familial warmth into a hardened instructor's cadence. "Now that we are alone, I have something important to tell you. I've already registered your team for the upcoming Chūnin Selection Exams."
The three Genin straightened at once.
"I have also spoken with each of your guardians," Hizashi continued. "All have granted permission. Shigure—make sure to explain this to Hoshiko. She deserves to hear it from you directly."
Shigure nodded.
Hizashi's gaze swept over the team and grew grave. "Listen carefully. This will not be an ordinary exam. This year's Chūnin Selection is the largest Konoha has hosted since the Second Great Shinobi War. The scale is unprecedented. There are more than three hundred candidates already registered."
"Three hundred?!" Kusuo's eyes widened.
"Yes. Because the preliminaries are team-based, those candidates will be divided into units of three, forming one hundred competing groups." Hizashi folded his arms. "And make no mistake—your opponents will not all be rookies. Among them are older Genin who have failed multiple exams, veterans who fought in the war, and…"
His pause thickened the air.
"…even Chūnin themselves."
Akane gasped aloud. "Chūnin!? But—the exam is meant to become a Chūnin. Why allow shinobi who already are Chūnin to compete?"
Hizashi spoke patiently. "Because the exam is structured for teams. Each squad is assumed to include one Chūnin-level ninja. That is the balance. If that Chūnin's team passes, the two Genin on their squad will be promoted. The rule is simple enough."
"Ridiculous," Shigure muttered. "It means we'll face enemies potentially leagues stronger than us."
"Don't worry," Hizashi said. "No team will contain more than one Chūnin. The examiners calculated the balance carefully to keep competition fair. At least—so they claim."
Shigure's eyes darkened. He recalled the half-shrouded face of a man bound in bandages, a man tied to most of Konoha's darkest secrets.
Danzo. This reeks of his handiwork…
Kusuo cut through his thoughts. "Conspiracy or not, none of that matters. We just have to win."
Hizashi exhaled softly and then began laying out the exam structure. "The process occurs in three distinct stages. First comes a written exam. You will face questions on shinobi law, codes of conduct, and general knowledge. Do not expect simplicity. The purpose is not to see what you memorized, but how you handle pressure—and whether you know how to gather information."
"Written test…?" Kusuo groaned as though struck by a kunai.
"The statistics don't lie," Hiashi added from behind, his tone instructional. "Historically, roughly forty percent of candidates are eliminated immediately. Out of one hundred teams, only about sixty will advance."
"What?!" Kusuo nearly shouted. "Forty percent gone on the first round? That's insane!" He slumped. His father had never cared for official rules, let alone drilled him on shinobi regulations and textbook knowledge. Battle he could do; paperwork, never.
"Relax," Shigure told him. "I'll help. Most ninja rules make sense once you see the logic behind them. Besides…" A faint glint of crimson flickered across his eyes. "…I have a few ways to handle whatever they throw at us."
Akane bit her lip. "And after the written part?"
"The second stage is the preliminaries," Hizashi said. "Their content will be revealed only by the chief examiner to those who pass Stage One. I do not know the specifics myself—they are classified. Different every year."
Akane swallowed but pushed on. "And after that?"
"The semi-finals. They will narrow the field to eight candidates for the public tournament—the Finals."
Akane's eyes widened again. "Only eight…?"
"Yes," Hizashi confirmed. "The Finals will occur three months later. That is the chance to display your abilities before the village elders, the Hokage, and foreign dignitaries. The one who claims victory gains immediate recognition—and often, but not always, promotion. However, you need not win. Any who pass the preliminaries will already be considered for Chūnin rank based on performance and judgment by the overseeing proctors."
"In short…" Shigure summarized, "…first survive the written test. Then survive whatever the preliminaries entail. Only then will we gain the chance to truly show who we've become."
Hizashi smiled faintly. "Exactly. Simple words. A harsh truth."
"That… doesn't make me feel better," Kusuo muttered.
Akane hesitated, her voice small. "In the preliminaries… we'll have to fight, won't we?"
Silence. Everyone glanced at her. Her fists clenched weakly against her kimono. "I don't want to hold you back…"
"Akane," Shigure said firmly. "Don't burden yourself with that thought. Just focus on clearing the written test first. One obstacle at a time."
Hizashi nodded approvingly. "Do not underestimate yourselves. You each carry your clan's pride, and more importantly, your own resolve. Victory or defeat—advance together."
Shigure gazed at his teammates. Kusuo's scowl masked nerves. Akane's determination trembled behind uncertainty. For a brief moment, he felt the heavy weight of leadership, of what lay ahead.
Three days from now, he thought. The Exams begin. And none of us will ever be the same afterward.
--
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