"Why choose Uchiha Obito? That Uchiha Shisui seems to have better talent," remarked Black Zetsu with a puzzled expression as he questioned Uchiha Madara in a dimly lit cave.
Shisui is two years younger than Obito, yet he has always been ahead in terms of strength.
"That's because you don't understand the Uchiha," Uchiha Madara's face, wrinkled with age, bore a slight smug smile.
"You've only seen the apparent difference in their talents without noticing the love in their hearts. Uchiha Obito is a very special Uchiha.
The love of an ordinary Uchiha is deeply hidden within, but Uchiha Obito's love is so abundant it overflows, enough to be shared with anyone in need. As long as this immense love is awakened, he can gain the powerful strength that corresponds to it."
Uchiha Madara believes that an Uchiha who awakens their love is a true Uchiha, and Obito's complete talent would never lose to Shisui's.
"Moreover, Uchiha Obito's personality is easy to mold," which is another reason Uchiha Madara chose Obito; such a gullible person is simply too easy to deceive.
"Indeed, Lord Madara." Black Zetsu's face showed a mocking smile.
Uchiha Madara didn't mind Black Zetsu's expression, as Black Zetsu's face didn't seem capable of holding a proper smile. He began discussing his plan with Black Zetsu.
...
"Obito and his team's Taijutsu training is quite impressive," remarked Sarutobi Hiruzen, watching Obito's team swiftly turn the situation to their advantage through surveillance.
This was the first time the Chunin Exams were being jointly held with the Hidden Mist Village, something Sarutobi Hiruzen had high regard for. The Hidden Mist Village seldom intervened in the affairs of the four great ninja villages on the mainland. If the Hidden Mist could be drawn as an ally, Konoha would have more leverage to deal with the current chaotic situation.
"They train earnestly; even at their age, I wasn't as good," Minato, who was also in the monitoring room, remarked with wonder.
Obito and Kakashi gave Minato the impression of being both talented and hardworking.
Obito had awakened the Uchiha's Sharingan at a young age and had already reached two tomoe.
Kakashi used Ninjutsu with great skill and had speed beyond the ordinary.
Originally, Nohara Rin was considered an excellent student, but compared to Obito and Kakashi, she seemed quite ordinary.
"Being able to teach students better than oneself reflects teaching ability; this shows, Minato, that you have great potential in teaching," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a chuckle.
"To be fair, it's Mokgetsu who taught them well," Minato shook his head.
He was well aware that while Obito and the others' current strength was related to him, it was much more to do with Mokgetsu, as they had shown they could defeat a Jonin together during the bell-grabbing exercise.
"There's no need to underestimate yourself, Minato; Obito and the others often praise you," Mokgetsu smilingly responded, engaging in mutual flattery.
"No need for modesty; you've all contributed," Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled, touching his small mustache as he glanced at the monitors again and noticed an interesting squad.
"This squad of Hidden Mist Ninjas is indeed bold; they seem to be trying to draw all nearby teams towards them?"
Mokgetsu looked at the display screen, which showed the team of Zabuza and Hoshigaki Kisame. They had chosen a large open space, stacked many trees together, and set them on fire. The flames roared, with a large amount of black smoke rising upwards.
Mokgetsu was not too surprised, as that Kurozawa had previously publicly revealed his scroll information, seemingly inviting trouble, which made such actions in the Forest of Death rather normal.
After all, their squad's strength was truly overwhelming. Besides the 7,000 chakra Hoshigaki Kisame, Zabuza and Kurozawa were also formidable, stronger than ordinary Chunin on paper.
Mokgetsu could tell at a glance that this squad was here to stir things up, while Zabuza, being rather young, could be dealt with, but Kisame and Kurozawa were evidently not Genin.
"Have Kakashi hold off Kisame, while Obito deals with Zabuza or Kurozawa, and the odds of winning are high." Mokgetsu glanced at the positions of the two teams, noting their likelihood of encountering each other, and made a simple assessment of their combat capabilities.
In solo combat, neither Obito nor Kakashi could likely defeat Kisame. Obito's Fire Release was countered by Kisame's Water Release, and Kakashi was somewhat lacking in hard power. Nohara Rin wasn't a deciding factor, so she would just be considered to hold off one opponent.
In terms of overall squad strength, Minato's team was the top contender in this Chunin Exam. Might Guy and Kisame were strong, but their teammates were not on the same level.
Even though Obito could defeat Kakashi, their actual strength wasn't particularly far apart, plus there was Nohara Rin, a healer capable of both healing and fighting.
Because unexpected events often occurred in the original Chunin Exams, the cautious Mokgetsu had directly used identification to check all the students' profiles while explaining the exam rules, ensuring no formidable impostors disguised as examinees had infiltrated. Thus, Mokgetsu also knew the information of all the students present.
Mokgetsu continued watching the display screen as a team from the Grass Village and a team of Konoha Ninjas successively confronted Kisame's squad.
"Such luck! It's the squad with the Earth Scroll. Beating them means we'll pass the exam," the Grass Ninjas were elated upon recognizing them as the team that had previously exposed their scroll information.
Meanwhile, Kurozawa expressed a disappointed look upon seeing the newcomers were merely Grass Ninjas.
"Just Grass Village ninjas from a small village? That won't prove our strength," Kurozawa sighed.
Listening to this blatant ninja village discrimination, the three Grass Village Ninjas showed furious expressions.
"Bastards, don't underestimate our Grass Village. We're just missing a few top-tier experts compared to your Great Ninja Village." The Grass Ninjas shouted defiantly while taking out their Ninja Tools.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Three Grass Ninjas hurled Shurikens towards Kurozawa with all their might.
Having anticipated their attack, Kurozawa dodged immediately, causing their attacks to miss. While evading, he counterattacked by flinging Shurikens back at them.
"If this is all you've got, don't blame others for looking down on you." Zabuza drew the Longsword from his back and charged at the three Grass Ninjas.
Swish!
Zabuza timed it perfectly, slicing off an arm from one Grass Ninja who was scrambling to dodge.
"Yoshimura!" The two teammates who narrowly escaped death yelled in fury upon seeing this scene.
However, Kisame didn't give them much time to worry about their comrade as he exploded with Chakra and charged directly at the two.
"What kind of power is this? Is this guy even human?"
As fists and feet collided, the two Grass Ninjas felt Kisame's immense strength, their expressions changing drastically.
Even when outnumbered two-to-one, Kisame continued to dominate them easily with Taijutsu, while Kurozawa seized the opportunity to stab a Grass Ninja to death with a short blade.
It was impossible for the wounded Grass Ninja to fight Zabuza single-handedly, and soon he too was killed.
In less than three minutes of contact with the Kisame Squad, the Grass Ninja team was completely annihilated.
"So strong, luckily Shiomizu, you cautiously had us observe first." Inuzuka Midori clicked her tongue, watching as the three Hidden Mist Ninjas killed the Grass Ninjas like slicing through vegetables.
"Since these guys dare to be so arrogant, they must have some skills. Those without skills who act arrogantly generally don't live long." Nara Shiomizu calmly stated.
They also had the Heaven Book, so when Inuzuka Midori saw it, she wanted to go and snatch the Scroll but was stopped by the cautious Nara Shiomizu.
"Retreat on a detour, there's still plenty of time. The first day has just begun, no need to rush to gather the Heaven and Earth Scrolls. We have Naoya's information, no need to take risks." Nara Shiomizu decided to lead his team along a detour.
Aburame Naoya had deployed bugs in the cabin where they received the Scrolls, thus acquiring information on most teams' Scrolls.
"Are you just going to hide in the shadows? In that case, you're worse than those Grass Ninjas; at least they had courage."
At this moment, Zabuza spoke to the area where Nara Shiomizu and his team were hiding.
"Darn, we've been discovered." Nara Shiomizu frowned, glancing at Kisame and the others.
He noticed that after the fight, Kisame and his team had subtly blocked some of their retreat routes. Nara Shiomizu had initially thought they were looking for other teams arriving, but now it seemed they might have spotted them during the battle.
"Retreat!" Nara Shiomizu immediately alerted his teammates, then darted towards the rear.
"Since you're here, don't be in a hurry to leave." Kurozawa hurled several Kunai at Nara Shiomizu's team, then erupted with Chakra and pursued them.
Kisame and Zabuza also swiftly moved to intercept, blocking Nara Shiomizu's team from retreating.
Nara Shiomizu wasn't fast, and knowing he'd eventually be caught, he stopped in a dense cluster of tree shadows.
"You've already gathered the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and can head directly to the Central Tower to complete the exam. Fighting us is pointless―are you sure you want to take risks for something meaningless?" Nara Shiomizu spoke solemnly.
He had already prepared for combat, but avoiding the fight would be the best option since he wasn't very confident.
"That's right. Midori isn't that easy to deal with. Keep chasing, and Shiramaru will bite you." Inuzuka Midori added.
"Woof woof!" The small white dog on Inuzuka Midori's shoulder barked menacingly.
Though Aburame Naoya remained silent, he quietly released his bugs, showing his readiness for battle.
"How can it be meaningless? Isn't the point of the exam to prove oneself superior to others? By defeating you, we can demonstrate that we are the best." Kurozawa said with a cruel smile.
Nara Shiomizu's reasoning would normally make sense, but their true purpose wasn't the exam, so they were in no hurry to complete it.
"Konoha Ninjas should be a bit stronger than those Grass Ninjas." Zabuza pointed his still-bloodstained Longsword at Nara Shiomizu.
At this point, Nara Shiomizu realized that avoiding the battle was impossible.