Seeing this, Ryun knew his relationship with Kurenai was already as good as secured.
At the very beginning of his interactions with Kurenai, Ryun played the role of a weak party, attempting to gain sisterly care from her.
Ryun succeeded, but because of this, it became difficult to progress any further.
It wasn't until later simulations that Ryun realized he had been deceived by Kurenai's outward appearance.
Kurenai was indeed a powerful ninja and a responsible, strong woman, but this was not what she desired most.
Her father died in the Nine-Tails' attack, leaving Kurenai alone in her family, forced to step up and uphold the honor and disgrace of the entire clan. This was somewhat similar to Hanabi.
If given a choice, she also wanted someone she could rely on, a warm and sweet home.
This was also the reason she never got together with Asuma, because Asuma's past behavior made Kurenai feel he was unreliable.
Kurenai had actually already told Ryun about her preferences: someone steady and heroic. But at the time, Ryun thought that was just an excuse Kurenai used to brush him off.
Now it seemed that sometimes, the casual, joking words spoken inadvertently were the true thoughts of one's heart.
[During this period, forced by your insistence on joint lodging, Kurenai had no choice but to start living a normal life and began to chat and laugh with several people. Coupled with your assertive use of Yang Release chakra to massage her, Kurenai's gaze towards you gradually softened. You knew you were beginning to regain a place in her heart.]
[The Chunin Exams began. The process of the first exam was not much different from what you knew. The second exam was still proctored by Anko. You asked Anko if there was any way to infiltrate the Forest of Death; Anko told you there wasn't.]
[However, the next day, when Anko left your bed, she slipped you a note with a route marked on it. Following this route, you entered the Forest of Death early to wait for the plot to unfold.]
Seeing this, Ryun smiled knowingly.
It seemed Anko had completely sided with him now. She probably even valued him more than the village.
Of course, Ryun wouldn't make Anko choose between him and the village. He would only send anyone who posed such a choice to meet the Six Paths Sage.
Once the simulation ended, Ryun would go and memorize this route map.
This way, Ryun would be participating in the Chunin Exams from both the examinee and the proctor angles. Few people could match his familiarity with the exams now.
[The second exam began. The whole process wasn't much different from what you knew either. The only difference was when Anko tried to use Twin Snakes with Orochimaru, you suddenly appeared and punched Orochimaru away. Orochimaru was shocked by your strength, as it felt eerily similar to Tsunade in her youth. You wore a mask, so Orochimaru didn't recognize you, but Anko did.]
[Touched, Anko wanted even more to protect you, but Orochimaru retreated at that moment. Anko was frightened. She told you that if you leaked the secret, Orochimaru would destroy the village, and she didn't know what to do.]
Seeing this, Ryun shook his head slightly. In the original story, Anko never escaped the shadow cast by Orochimaru her entire life.
It seemed just saving her once wasn't very meaningful. To achieve the best effect, Ryun needed to defeat Orochimaru at this moment.
As for whether to do so or not, he would decide during the Chunin Exams after seeing how much his own strength could improve.
[You told Anko to trust the Third Hokage, to trust the wisdom of the Hokage's advisors, that they would surely resolve all these problems smoothly. She was just a Tokubetsu Jonin; being brave enough to try to take Orochimaru down with her was already commendable, and she shouldn't blame herself.]
*Ahem.* Seeing this, the real Ryun couldn't help but feel that his simulated self must have been waiting to watch Hiruzen Sarutobi's spectacle.
Otherwise, the most reasonable course of action would theoretically be to contact some people to see if Orochimaru's plot could be stopped—though the result would undoubtedly be the Chunin Exams proceeding as usual.
If Konoha was so terrified of Orochimaru that they didn't dare hold the Chunin Exams, that would be the ultimate loss of face, an outcome Hiruzen Sarutobi could never accept.
[Anko believed you and prepared to continue overseeing the Chunin Exams. All members of the Konoha 12 passed the trial of the Forest of Death. The elimination matches were about to begin.]
Ryun looked on with interest. What changes would there be in this elimination tournament?
After all, whether it was Tenten, Ino, Sakura, or Hinata, their strengths had improved significantly. Would this lead to changes in the plot?
As expected, the matchups in the Chunin Exams changed considerably.
[Sasuke faced Temari; Sasuke won. Neji unfortunately met Gaara; Gaara won. Hinata faced Choji; Hinata won. Tenten met Shikamaru; Tenten won. Rock Lee faced Kankuro; Lee won. Ino and Sakura defeated Misumi Tsurugi and Zaku, also qualifying. As for Naruto, he still defeated Kiba, just using Wind Release ninjutsu.]
Seeing this list of results, Ryun immediately felt a surge of pride.
Under his careful tutelage, the girls had demonstrated strength far beyond their original selves in the story.
Of course, Ryun still had self-awareness. They could win also because of lucky draws, not having encountered powerhouses far exceeding typical genin like Gaara, Lee, or Neji.
[After the second round of matches, they were very clear that your efforts were key to their victories. They made plans with you to celebrate at Kurenai's house. Including Kurenai, no one drank alcohol. But Kurenai felt that the way everyone looked at you seemed as if they were drunk.]
[Seeing you surrounded by so many pretty young kunoichi, Kurenai's expression changed noticeably. After everyone dispersed, Kurenai told you that you could leave now, as she had returned to a normal life.]
[But you saw through her pretense. You firmly told her you wouldn't leave her, that you would stay until she fell for you.
Kurenai chose to let you sleep alone on the tatami, which you gladly accepted.]
[The following period was focused training. The girls all hoped to train with you, and naturally, you didn't refuse. During this time, you paid special attention to Ino. Because Ino, relying solely on herself, theoretically had no combat capability at all.]
[But that wasn't a problem for you. You taught Ino Earth Clone and Water Clone techniques, and also gave Ino a hundred fragmentation kunai. With this equipment, plus the clone techniques and the Yamanaka clan secret techniques Ino herself possessed, even an average chunin might lose to Ino.]
Ryun's eyelids twitched slightly upon reading this. His simulated self was replicating the tactics he had used.
A hundred fragmentation kunai... were those really meant for the Chunin Exams?
Wasn't it to let Ino rack up achievements during the upcoming Konoha Crush?
The facts indeed turned out as he suspected.
[You didn't play favorites. You similarly gave Sakura and Hinata a large pile of ninja tools. These tools naturally came from Tenten. Facing Tenten's indignant look, you taught Tenten Earth Release: Earth Substitute Technique and Earth Release: Rock-Firing Shot.]
[These two ninjutsu: one enhanced Tenten's ability to handle close-quarters combat; the other allowed Tenten to spit rock pellets from her mouth, adding an element of surprise to her attacks. Tenten liked these two techniques very much.]
[You accompanied the girls in intense day-and-night training for a full month. During this time, your bonds grew even closer. Tenten even secretly hinted that you could kiss her cheek when she was off guard. However, your focus this time wasn't on her, so you chose to ignore it.]
The real Ryun immediately felt his simulated self was far too inflexible.
It was just a kiss... Well, the simulation prioritized mission objectives.
However, Ryun carefully noted this detail, because this was an entire month spent living with several girls!
If Ryun prepared a training ground in advance, wouldn't it be possible to cohabitate with the girls for a month?
This kind of temptation... Ryun wanted to try it.
[The final round of the Chunin Exams arrived. You attended as a guest on the main viewing platform. The first match was Sasuke vs. Gaara, and this time, Sasuke was not late. By now, you could confirm it was because you trained Sasuke earlier, allowing him to learn Chidori faster.]
[Sasuke used Chidori to pierce Gaara, causing Gaara to go berserk. The Konoha Crush Plan began. Just as you were planning to watch the Third Hokage meet his demise, a massive amount of gold sand surged from beneath the ground, forming golden sand waves that attacked all Konoha ninja present.]
[It turned out the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had made his move.]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━