The outcome of this Chunin Exam was one that even Hiruzen and the assembled jonin could understand.
This time, Kaito hadn't lost because he deliberately acted incompetent.
He had genuinely run into opponents far stronger than any ordinary Genin team.
Kushina Uzumaki, whose combat ability rivaled that of a standard jonin.
Princess Sara, wielding a full set of advanced scientific ninja tools.
Guren, the young Crystal Release prodigy whose bloodline limit was already terrifying.
Taken together, the Loulan squad possessed combat strength equivalent to one jonin and two special jonin.
Without Kaito holding the entire battle together by himself, Hinata Natsu and Ebisu would've been wiped out almost instantly.
After witnessing the strength of Loulan's so-called Knight Squad, Hiruzen finally understood why the kingdom dared claim that they were knights rather than shinobi.
Even without the "Omnipotent Minister," Loulan already possessed enough military power to rival a hidden village.
Leaving the Forest of Death, Kaito escorted Ebisu and Hinata Natsu to Konoha Hospital for treatment.
Waiting for them in the hallway was a familiar smiling face.
Yakushi Nono.
"Teacher~"
The blonde girl leaned around the corner, her smile warm and teasing.
"I heard you failed the Chunin Exam again... and again... and again... and again~"
Kaito leaned lazily against the white hospital wall.
A cigarette rested between his lips.
Unlit.
Smoking inside a hospital was still off-limits.
Nono stepped beside him before wrapping both arms around his right arm.
As she leaned forward, the arm became firmly trapped between a rather generous valley beneath her white medical coat.
Unfortunately...
The coat prevented it from venturing any farther into sacred territory.
"Nono..."
Kaito sighed dramatically.
"Your teacher is heartbroken today, you know?"
"Of course you are."
She smiled sweetly.
"You failed another exam, so now you have another excuse to avoid getting promoted~"
"You know that's not what I mean."
"This time..."
"I really lost."
Kaito spoke with complete seriousness.
Inside his consciousness...
Kaguya remained speechless.
She had finally figured out why Kaito intentionally lost all those Chunin Exams.
But there was another problem that frustrated her far more.
He almost never paid attention to her.
Despite being sealed inside his body for three or four months now...
Despite constantly trying to communicate...
He barely acknowledged her existence.
At first, she'd attempted to hide herself.
Then Kaito's overwhelming spiritual power had simply suppressed her.
After that...
He had grabbed her weakened consciousness and casually tossed it into a miniature prison he had built inside himself—
A tiny Ten-Tails.
When Kaguya first saw it, her eyes nearly popped out.
Then she realized...
It wasn't that Ten-Tails.
It wasn't a living beast at all.
It was merely an enormous mass of chakra that Kaito had shaped into the appearance of the Ten-Tails.
Nothing more.
Even so...
The sheer quantity and quality of chakra inside it was beyond imagination.
And after living inside Kaito's body...
She discovered something even more unbelievable.
Every single day...
His upper limit kept increasing.
His strength never stopped growing.
On top of that...
He possessed immortality.
The miraculous ROOM Bloodline.
A physical constitution comparable to the Ōtsutsuki Clan itself.
"..."
"...Then when exactly am I supposed to possess this body?!"
Kaguya nearly flipped the mental table.
Her Karma mark required Kaito to continually rely on her power for its analysis to progress.
But Kaito...
Didn't need her power at all.
He was already absurdly strong.
With only the Karma's passive analysis continuing...
At this rate...
By the time possession became possible...
It might take thousands of years!
And the stronger Kaito became...
The slower the analysis progressed.
At this point...
She felt less like the Progenitor of Chakra...
And more like a tailed beast imprisoned inside someone else's body.
The thought nearly brought the Rabbit Goddess to tears.
"...I've got it!"
A brilliant idea suddenly flashed through Kaguya's mind.
"Kaito!"
"I'll become your woman!"
"...?"
Kaito froze for a second.
Then answered flatly.
"Are you sick?"
Beside him...
Nono also froze.
Kaito quickly realized he'd accidentally spoken Kaguya's words aloud.
Before he could explain...
Nono lowered her head shyly.
"...Teacher..."
"I... I really am sick."
Her cheeks flushed crimson.
She clung even tighter to his arm.
"It's a heart disease."
"A disease caused by falling in love with my teacher~~"
"..."
Kaito gave up.
There was nothing left to argue.
One after another...
These women kept inventing increasingly outrageous tactics.
He gently pried Nono off his arm.
"Go do your work."
"As your teacher, I forbid you from slacking."
Watching him walk away...
Nono pouted before returning to the wards.
Stepping outside Konoha Hospital...
Warm sunlight greeted him.
Kaito finally flicked his lighter.
Click.
The cigarette ignited.
He took a slow drag.
Then exhaled toward the blue sky.
"...Freedom."
Inside his mind...
A certain goddess immediately cried out.
"Waaah..."
"I want freedom too..."
Kaito chuckled.
"Relax."
"When the opportunity comes..."
"I'll let you out."
He replied through their spiritual connection.
To be honest...
Kaguya wasn't really evil.
She was simply an incredibly naïve woman.
Tricked by humanity's first emperor while still young...
Widowed...
Left completely alone...
Even the original story had shown how innocent she actually was.
Naruto's Sexy Jutsu had nearly defeated her.
She was beautiful.
Immortal.
Ageless.
Even Cao Cao himself would've been tempted.
Of course...
What interested Kaito...
Wasn't Kaguya's body.
It was...
Kaguya's body.
The difference was important.
The problem was...
To restore her completely...
He still needed the Ten-Tails.
"...What a pain."
Several days later...
The second phase of the Chunin Exams officially concluded.
The preliminary tournament inside the Central Tower ended soon afterward.
Now everyone simply waited for the final matches.
This year's Chunin Exams had gathered participants from six different powers:
KonohaSunagakureAmegakureLoulanTakigakureKusagakure
The final tournament would be held before spectators from every nation.
Unlike the original timeline's one-month preparation period...
This time they only had half a month.
Fortunately...
Although Kaito's team had been eliminated...
Konoha still had several promising competitors advancing.
Among them was Uchiha Arashi, skilled in Fire Release and shuriken techniques.
The other two Uchiha Genin had unfortunately encountered Guren and Sara...
And were eliminated.
Meanwhile...
Genin from Genma Shiranui's squad also advanced.
Raidō Namiashi.
Aoba Yamashiro.
Both secured places in the finals.
Only Genma himself was defeated by a Sand shinobi.
Aside from them...
Only two Sand Village competitors remained.
One puppet user.
One Wind Release specialist.
Every other contestant from the remaining villages had already been eliminated.
During those fifteen days...
Kaito left a clone inside Konoha to maintain appearances.
Meanwhile...
His real body returned to Loulan.
He threw himself completely into research.
Hashirama cells.
Sharingan technology.
Storage methods.
Even Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan underwent extensive modifications until it became an incredibly practical weapon.
Using a Version 2.0 Slime Clone...
Kaito implanted Obito's Mangekyō into it.
The moment the clone activated Kamui...
Its body slipped into another dimension.
A strange space unfolded around him.
It possessed properties remarkably similar to ROOM.
Anyone entering this space...
Would be completely at his mercy.
Kaito finally understood why Obito had been so overwhelmingly dangerous.
Inside Kamui's dimension...
The owner dictated the battlefield itself.
No wonder Obito had confidently declared to Minato—
"It's over."
Once he mastered Kamui's mechanics...
Kaito shifted his attention elsewhere.
To the object that interested him even more.
The Heart of Mukade.
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