Makoto leaned back against the chair, speaking lazily.
"Ah, what do you think—what if I went out now and dug up all those mission scrolls? That way we wouldn't have to wait so long."
"You're joking, right? If you did that, what meaning would the second exam have for the other teams? If you think it's troublesome, why did you even participate in the exam in the first place? With your merits, there's absolutely no need for you to do so."
"And you? Why are you here?"
"It was at Clan Head Fugaku-sama's request."
"See? We're the same. Alright, let's not talk about why we're participating today. By the way, when you came over, did you run into anyone trying to block the road and snatch scrolls? How did you get through?"
"I did. I just walked straight through—using a clone to deceive them was enough. Chūnin are very important to those senpai; I didn't want to fight them and waste each other's chakra. That would only cause trouble for their subsequent actions."
"You really are a gentle Uchiha."
"Makoto, you're saying that—don't tell me you personally took action and knocked down the team that tried to rob you?"
"How could that be? Instead of worrying about others, you'd better worry about yourself. You should understand that the two of us will definitely run into each other in the later matches. Are you prepared?"
Shisui said with some excitement, "I've been ready for a long time. I've always been looking forward to having a real fight with you, and the Chūnin Exams seem like a pretty good stage."
Look—no matter whether an Uchiha's personality was cold and arrogant, or gentle and approachable like Shisui, in essence, they were still that battle clan.
Thinking of the Fire Daimyō and the nobles and officials of the Land of Fire who would come to watch, Makoto agreed. "It really is a pretty good stage. But if you lose, when you go back, you won't get beaten by Fugaku-sama, will you?"
Uchiha Shisui: "..."
A perfectly good fight between friends—packed full of bonds—why does it sound, coming out of your mouth, like neighborhood kids getting into a street brawl?
The two of them chatted nonsense over there, making the few working Chūnin exam proctors' eyelids twitch like crazy. Show some proper respect for the Chūnin Exams, you bastards—why don't you have even a shred of nervousness?
The scroll-snatching battle that had originally been designed—why did it become, with you two, as simple as going to the roadside to pick a handful of wild grass?
Could this be the world of geniuses?
Well then, they were really sorry—but it was a world they couldn't understand at all.
As time passed, the situation outside quickly grew lively. The more meticulous teams had already found all the scrolls, and then fell into a troublesome predicament: teams blocking the road ahead to rob them, and pursuers biting down tight from behind.
Eight scrolls had been reduced to six. With fifteen teams, how were they supposed to be divided? Of course—by fighting. Whoever won would take them.
Thus, a massive melee erupted outside the central building of Training Ground No. 41.
This could also be considered a preliminary round. Only the final victors would be qualified to enter the third exam and, in the Konoha Arena, display their team's strength to the villagers.
At this moment, all the chūnin responsible for maintaining order at the exam site had gathered outside to keep watch, lest someone die accidentally in the chaos.
This was different from the multinational joint Chūnin Exams. Because this exam was hosted by the village itself and everyone involved were comrades, killing opponents was not permitted.
If someone were to die accidentally, how would the Will of Fire be promoted? Konoha wasn't some deranged Mist Village—it didn't practice that death-elimination nonsense.
…
After a lengthy period of fierce fighting, four teams ultimately succeeded in obtaining scrolls, breaking into the building, and completing registration.
Why only four teams? Because two of the scrolls had been destroyed during the fighting—and destroyed deliberately at that. Two overaged teams, seeing that they were about to lose their scrolls, adopted a double-loss mentality of "if I can't have it, neither can you," and directly chose the most foolish course of action.
When carrying out missions outside the village, if forced to face ninja from other villages, doing this in unavoidable circumstances—destroying mission items so the enemy couldn't obtain them—wouldn't earn you any criticism.
But to do this during a chūnin exam held by one's own village suggested that these people were somewhat too extreme—classic behavior that harmed others without benefiting themselves, with an extremely low purity of the Will of Fire.
Naturally, the two teams that had destroyed the scrolls received severe warnings, and their evaluations within the Konoha ninja system plummeted drastically. It was foreseeable that they would never be promoted to chūnin for the rest of their lives.
A ninja who cannot properly protect mission items is not a qualified ninja. A selfish and self-serving disposition is even less likely to become a reliable force capable of protecting comrades and the village.
Makoto and Shisui listened as the chief examiner used those two teams as negative examples to lecture everyone, and inwardly they were utterly speechless.
Those two teams… are they idiots?
Once everything was finalized, the Third Hokage appeared before everyone.
"Congratulations—you have passed the second stage of the Chūnin Exams."
"I am pleased with the strength and ninja conduct you demonstrated in the scroll-snatching battle. You are all Konoha's future, and the Will of Fire will continue to be passed on through you!"
"Long live the Will of Fire!"
"Long live the Hokage-sama!"
"Hokage-sama, we will continue to work hard!"
The genin below were stirred to boiling blood by just a few words from the Third Hokage, wishing they could begin the third exam immediately.
Makoto was just as inexplicably excited as everyone else. After all, in life, the most important thing is to grasp the right degree—one must fit in.
At this moment, the chief examiner for this stage wheeled out a mobile blackboard. "The third stage of the exam will be held five days from now, on September 7, at the circular arena in the center of Konoha."
"This will be a team-based group battle between squads. We have already arranged your respective opponents according to everyone's strength. As for what preparations you should make over the next few days, I don't think anyone needs to remind you."
Makoto examined it carefully. Sure enough, the four teams were paired off against each other, and his opponent was Shisui, scheduled for the final match.
Good grief. In later multinational joint exams, they would at least put on a show with electronic screens and a lottery draw. This time, they just directly assigned predetermined opponents—no acting at all.
Makoto and Shisui exchanged a glance. Neither of them was surprised.
The Third Hokage concluded, "Alright, the second stage of the exam ends here. Go back and rest well. In five days, strive to face your respective matches in your best condition!"
...
When they came out together with Shisui, they ran into Hayate and the other two waiting outside for Makoto. As teammates, they naturally came to check on the progress of the Chūnin Exams.
Yūgao asked, "Makoto, Shisui—you passed the second stage, right?"
Hayate answered for them, "With Makoto and Shisui's strength, there was never any doubt."
"Then who are your opponents in the third stage?" Seeing the two exchange a glance, Yūgao said in surprise, "Don't tell me the two people who entered the exam individually ended up facing each other—could it really be that coincidental?"
Makoto spread his hands. "Isn't it unexpected? It really is that coincidental."
Kumomi glanced at Shisui and said, "Well, just as expected. Let's go—next, you can prepare for the match a few days from now. This isn't just a battle between the two of you."
Yūgao looked completely puzzled. What—was there some inside story she didn't know about?
...
That evening, when Higashino Megumi returned from work, she also asked about the third stage of the exam.
Although she didn't understand why the Hokage would go out of his way to have her son participate in the Chūnin Exams given his battle merits, she was still very concerned about how things were going.
"So, Makoto—which team is your opponent?"
"Is it Shisui?"
"So it's that child." Megumi seemed to understand something and abruptly changed the subject. "By the way, there have been some strange rumors circulating in the village these days."
Makoto asked curiously, "What kind of rumors?"
"It seems some people are discussing Konoha's gains and losses in this war, saying that the higher-ups were too lenient toward Sunagakure after their surrender, and that Iwagakure has still not signed a peace treaty."
"It appears some believe that as the Third Hokage has grown older, his temperament has become somewhat indecisive, and that he can no longer secure sufficient benefits for Konoha."
"Now, people are even talking about candidates for the next Hokage. Oh, right—apparently the head of the Uchiha clan is also one of the candidates."
Makoto looked at his mother and smiled. "That's exactly why my opponent is Uchiha Shisui."
"Honestly—why does it have to be you?" Megumi voiced her displeasure.
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