"If there are no questions, everyone can leave the examination venue now," Hiruko said finally.
Hiruko had explained everything clearly, and no one asked further questions. They all left the Central Tower together and walked outside.
Although Obito wanted to ask Mokgetsu for help with special training, he thought that Mokgetsu had been quite exhausted as the chief examiner these days. Therefore, he did not bother Mokgetsu too much, just greeted him briefly and then left the Forest of Death with Kakashi and the others.
"I really envy them, with endless possibilities ahead," Hiruko sighed as he watched the backs of the candidates leave.
Among the candidates, there were quite a few geniuses he envied: Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, Terumi Mei—they were all under ten years old with extraordinary abilities.
As for him, in a month, he would turn thirty-two, and he was still just an ordinary Jonin, completely incomparable to classmates like Orochimaru back then.
"Hiruko-senpai, you've only lived a third of your life. You also have great potential," Mokgetsu said with a gentle smile.
Hiruko shook his head with a bitter smile and said:
"At this age, a Ninja's fate is already set. You see Jiraiya and Orochimaru can already lead and manage wars in the Five Great Ninja Villages, while I can only serve as an examiner in the Chunin Examination."
Mokgetsu said he had sixty years left to live, which made Hiruko happy. But he knew that if he didn't do something, his life would remain unchanged, just a talentless ordinary person.
"If that could be achieved, I might catch up with Orochimaru and the others," Hiruko thought silently to himself.
Surpassed step by step by friends of the same generation, Hiruko was no longer aware of the extent of their abilities. He only knew that an ordinary Jonin would be easily defeated by Orochimaru and Jiraiya, and his prowess among Jonins was nothing exceptional...
Despite his ordinary skills, Hiruko had his strengths; he excelled in research and was considered a specialist in theoretical knowledge.
To change his inherent disadvantage in talent, Hiruko had read all publicly available books in Konoha related to Ninjas.
Eventually, he thought of a solution: fusion, integrating others' physical talents into his own body, which would make him a genius too.
However, achieving this was extremely difficult. Even in the theoretical phase, Hiruko spent a lot of time researching.
Now that the theoretical stage had reached its later phases, Hiruko was beginning to worry about the upcoming developmental experiments.
This Ninjutsu he was developing was too dangerous; it required human experimentation for development. However, the issue was that the Ninjutsu he was working on was highly unethical and would never see the light of day, so he had to find ways to secretly conduct experiments on his own.
"That's not necessarily true. My abilities weren't outstanding before either; only in the last couple of years did I suddenly comprehend some things and make rapid progress. You might also be the type who progresses with accumulation," Mokgetsu consoled, while continuing to fine-tune his role in Konoha.
Hiruko nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, hopefully."
He knew Mokgetsu was trying to comfort him, but Hiruko didn't believe Mokgetsu could truly understand his feelings because, as far as he knew, Mokgetsu was also a genius, young and capable of fighting a Jinchuriki alongside Jiraiya.
Moreover, he had spent so much time that he couldn't give up on the Chimera Jutsu he was developing in hopes that one day he might suddenly comprehend something and see a drastic increase in ability.
After chatting briefly with Hiruko, Mokgetsu did some wrap-up work and returned to his house in the main district.
When Mokgetsu got home, it was four in the afternoon, still some time before dinner.
Today, Mokgetsu didn't start studying Fuinjutsu upon getting home; instead he took out a notebook and pondered his choice for the fifth disciple slot.
Mokgetsu first wrote down the name Uchiha Itachi. Although Uchiha Itachi's actions were quite controversial, his talent was undeniable, and his potential was certainly not low—early on, he incapacitated Kakashi with a single glance, and later, during Reanimation Jutsu, his performance was outstanding.
However, choosing Uchiha Itachi posed a problem; Itachi had only just been born. Last month, he'd heard the Clan Leader of the Uchiha Clan had a son, which meant Mokgetsu would have to wait several years if he wanted to give the slot to Itachi.
Next, Mokgetsu wrote down the name Yakushi Kabuto.
As a dream-fulfillment master, Yakushi Kabuto stirred up a storm in the later stages, fighting with the Ninja Alliance using Reanimation Jutsu, and learning the Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode that Orochimaru hadn't mastered. Mokgetsu estimated Kabuto also had an S-level potential without any additional benefits.
Kabuto was older than Itachi, but there was another significant issue. In Mokgetsu's memory, Kabuto was taken in by Yakushi Nonou, and right now, Yakushi Nonou hadn't even become the director of the Konoha Orphanage, still working in Root. Finding him would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Mokgetsu temporarily put Naruto and Sasuke aside. Though their potential was undoubtedly sky-high, the time was too long—they hadn't even been born yet, and it would be even longer until they could be taught as disciples. By that time, Mokgetsu might have become invincible without any enemies from above.
Mokgetsu thought for a while and ultimately didn't write down Terumi Mei.
Although Terumi Mei was suitable in many ways, and Mokgetsu had no intention of not teaching someone outside of Konoha, Terumi Mei would soon leave after the exam, and Hidden Mist was too far from Konoha. It would be difficult for Mokgetsu to manage both places simultaneously, and abandoning the base at Konoha for Hidden Mist was even more unlikely.
He couldn't hope to convince Terumi Mei to defect within a month; Mokgetsu thought it unnecessary.
After careful consideration, Mokgetsu thought of Yamato again. Yamato was slightly younger than Kakashi, with an age just right. However, the issue with Yamato was more significant due to Wood Release; Yamato was likely being secretly trained by Danzo.
After contemplating back and forth, aside from those problematic candidates, Mokgetsu realized Asuma surprisingly stood out the most.
But Mokgetsu did not intend to use this slot for Asuma.
Even when teaching non-system disciples, Mokgetsu would do so wholeheartedly without withholding, as those people called him a teacher and respected him, just as he developed Breath of Water specifically for Nohara Rin.
But the system disciple slot involved crucial matters, and Mokgetsu had to choose someone more suitable to maximize enhancing his strength. Strength was extremely important in the Naruto World; whether for himself or his disciples, he had to make himself stronger until he could crush all conspiracies.
"Nagato," Mokgetsu wrote down after thoughtful consideration.
Nagato had many issues, firstly not meeting Mokgetsu's under-ten requirement, as Nagato was only six years younger than Minato. Mokgetsu and Minato were the same age, so they could be more like brothers than master and disciple due to the age gap.
Furthermore, Nagato had Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan, and Madara would likely frequently monitor Nagato's situation.
Also, Nagato was not in Konoha, although the Land of Rain was right next to the Land of Fire, Mokgetsu would have to spend some time to successfully recruit Nagato, losing some time in earning rewards.
There were also minor issues, such as Nagato already having Jiraiya as his teacher, but Mokgetsu only needed Nagato to acknowledge Mokgetsu as his teacher in heart. So this issue was not significant.
No matter how many issues, they could hardly overshadow Nagato's advantages. He was a talent-extreme member of the Uzumaki Clan; even if it's not his Rinnegan, he could still utilize it with vast amounts of Chakra. This meant Mokgetsu, when earning a high trust score from Nagato, could gain immense amounts of Chakra.
Moreover, Nagato didn't need waiting; as long as Mokgetsu had a plan, he could act directly in the Land of Rain.
Looking at the three names on the list with their advantages and disadvantages, Mokgetsu finally closed the notebook and started studying Fuinjutsu.
He didn't need to make a choice within a few days as both Uchiha Itachi and Yakushi Kabuto needed to wait a long time, and Nagato's situation was far from urgent, no need to rush.
This was, after all, a real Naruto World, and perhaps there were geniuses he didn't know by name; he hadn't memorized all the characters from the manga, let alone a real world.
Maybe one day, randomly using an Identification Jutsu on someone would reveal an S-level potential genius.
Mokgetsu had dinner at Tsunade's home and then packed two portions, sending them to Minato using a Shadow Clone.
...
The next day, Obito woke up at eight, quickly finished washing up, had breakfast, and immediately headed towards Mokgetsu's house.
To come out on top, he needed to undergo secret training to astound everyone.