Some time passed.
For some unknown reason, since the beginning of spring, a series of bear attacks on human settlements had erupted not just around Konoha, but across multiple regions of the Land of Fire. It was as if the entire country was suffering from a "bear plague."
These beasts were not only inherently cunning and highly vindictive, but the real problem lay in the fact that, in this world where chakra existed, some bears had grown to abnormal sizes. They possessed incredibly thick hides and terrifying physical strength. A rare few even possessed chakra of their own, making them nearly impossible for ordinary soldiers or hunters to handle.
Local governments across the nation were completely overwhelmed by these monstrous creatures. Their security forces were run ragged with very little to show for it. Consequently, they had no choice but to submit emergency commissions to the Hidden Leaf Village.
In a short time, the mission desk was flooded with requests to hunt or drive away giant bears. Standard extermination missions were typically ranked C, but a select few—specifically those involving massive bears that possessed chakra and could potentially be used as summon beasts—were even classified as B-rank.
On top of their regular duties, Konoha shinobi found themselves constantly dashing through the mountains and forests.
Today, Shinichi and Kosuke Maruboshi had accepted another one of these commissions.
After leaving the village, the two moved rapidly along the forest paths.
During the journey, Kosuke seemed to suddenly remember something. He broke the silence, "Regarding your question about the Chunin Exams the other day, I asked around over the past couple of days and caught some wind of it."
Generally speaking, during peacetime, there were two main paths for a Genin to be promoted to Chunin: The first was to accumulate enough mission experience and merit, receive a formal recommendation from their supervising Jonin instructor, and pass an internal evaluation. The second was to participate in the Chunin Selection Exams, which could be hosted jointly by several major ninja villages or independently by a single village.
Shinichi had no idea what the Third Hokage's underlying rationale was when he graduated. He hadn't been assigned a dedicated Jonin instructor, and his "squad" consisted solely of Kosuke Maruboshi. Even though this "Eternal Genin" vastly exceeded ordinary Jonin in both strength and experience, functionally acting as his mentor, this arrangement effectively closed off the first promotion path for Shinichi.
Therefore, he had asked Kosuke about the Chunin Exams earlier on.
"The Chunin Exams will indeed be held this year," Kosuke continued, his voice steady. "However, Konoha isn't the host. It's being hosted by our ally—the Hidden Sand Village."
The Sand?
Hearing this, Shinichi's heart skipped a beat.
He knew perfectly well that in the original timeline, the catalyst for the impending Third Great Ninja War was the Hidden Sand Village using the "disappearance of the Third Kazekage" as a pretext to launch a sudden, preemptive strike against Konoha. From there, the flames of war spread like a wildfire across the entire ninja world.
This so-called "ally" was never a well-behaved neighbor.
Looking back at the history of the Great Ninja Wars, likely driven by their intense covetousness of the Land of Fire's fertile lands, the Sand had targeted Konoha first in almost every single conflict.
They were practically the Italy of the ninja world!
No!
They were worse than Italy!
While Italy might have been hesitant at the start of a war and performed dreadfully once they joined, they typically only switched sides when the tide turned against them. The Sand, on the other hand, made a habit of opening the war with a direct backstab.
However, because the Land of Wind was primarily composed of barren deserts with almost zero practical occupation value for Konoha—and because every war involved multiple factions watching like vultures—even when Konoha defeated the Sand, they typically only forced them to sign a superficial "alliance treaty," which was functionally just a ceasefire.
Afterward, Konoha inevitably had to pivot to face pressure from other ninja villages. This endless cycle of historical push-and-pull kept the relationship between the two nations in a perpetually fragile, highly distorted state of alliance.
Therefore, he was highly hesitant about traveling to the Hidden Sand for the Chunin Exams. It meant actively stepping into the very place that would likely ignite the next war—and the village with the absolute least credibility regarding Konoha.
"What's wrong? You don't want to go to the Sand?" Kosuke glanced at him, seemingly anticipating the hesitation, and smiled.
Kosuke roughly understood the Third Hokage's intentions. The speed of this boy's promotion wasn't the priority; in the future, it was highly likely he would still be integrated into a squad of his peers to cultivate bonds.
Kosuke saw his own role as a transitional mentor, providing a solid foundation for the young sapling to take root.
However, since Shinichi had explicitly asked, Kosuke didn't want to make decisions on his behalf. He had submitted a formal inquiry to the Third Hokage, which was how he learned about the Sand's invitation to Konoha for the upcoming exams.
"Senior, who is leading the village's delegation this time?" Shinichi didn't answer directly, pivoting to a critical question instead.
"I checked. It's Jiraiya of the Sannin."
Jiraiya?
Hearing that name, Shinichi's heart immediately settled.
Although Jiraiya spent years wandering the world, whenever he returned to Konoha, the Third Hokage would inevitably entrust him with highly important or sensitive missions.
With a legendary Sannin—whose strength and experience were globally recognized—leading the delegation, their safety margin and ability to handle unexpected variables would skyrocket.
"With Lord Jiraiya leading, that certainly provides a lot of reassurance," Shinichi nodded.
Kosuke looked at him and offered a steady proposal. "If you decide you want to go, this old man can accompany you as a teammate."
"Senior?" Shinichi looked at him, surprised. "You're planning to drop your Eternal Genin title?"
"I'd simply be participating as a teammate. It doesn't mean I actually have to compete for the Chunin title. These old bones can handle a trip to the Sand with you," Kosuke chuckled, his expression mild.
Shinichi understood perfectly. This was his senior's way of personally escorting and protecting him. He nodded solemnly. "Thank you, Senior. With you there, I'll feel much more at ease."
"You don't need to be overly anxious," Kosuke said, his gaze drifting toward the horizon, his voice carrying the deep steadiness of years of experience. "While the Sand has a history of flipping sides and breaking treaties, launching a full-scale war is never a spur-of-the-moment decision. Before a war breaks out, there are always numerous warning signs—abnormal spikes in military spending, secret stockpiling of strategic resources, massive procurement of weapons, sudden expansions in ninja recruitment, or subtle shifts in the frequency and scale of border patrols... Trying to hide all of that from the eyes of every other nation is far from easy."
Hearing this, a profound realization washed over Shinichi, instantly connecting numerous scattered clues in his mind.
This explained why, in his memory of the original timeline, the vast majority of his classmates were slated for a mass, early graduation at the age of nine.
Logically, by this time next year, the Great Ninja War shouldn't have officially broken out yet. But those ominous warning signs must have already begun to gather like dark storm clouds, allowing Konoha's upper echelons to acutely sense the brewing tempest.
Consequently, the leadership made the decisive call to trigger early graduations with a very clear objective:
Get these children familiar with the mission process and let them accumulate basic experience as quickly as possible. Once the war truly erupted and the core military forces were deployed to the frontlines, the village would face a severe manpower shortage for internal operations and domestic missions.
When that time came, these "pre-warmed" Genin could swiftly fill the gaps, becoming an effective support force holding down the rear.
Furthermore, if the war situation deteriorated and troop numbers became critical, these early graduates—who were no longer raw recruits—could be deployed much faster to the edges of the battlefield or assigned to secondary frontline missions.
"However, participating in the Chunin Exams typically requires a three-man squad, as well as an instructing Jonin—or at least a Tokubetsu Jonin—to lead the team," Kosuke reminded him. "I count as one teammate. You'll need to figure out how to find the second teammate and the squad leader yourself."
A teammate... and a squad leader...
Shinichi pondered for a moment. Soon, two specific names surfaced in his mind.
If those two were willing to participate, then he would be absolutely, completely at ease about this trip to the Sand.