Heavy snow fell across Konoha as the first stage of the Chūnin Exams officially began.
For the academy's top students, exams were practically a holiday. It meant a few extra days without missions or training, a rare chance to relax.
For weaker students, however, the exams were nothing short of torture.
Still, both groups shared the same complaint, nobody could ever predict how ridiculous the test papers would be.
The Chūnin Exams covered an absurd range of subjects. Just as a famous examiner once said, if you try to solve every question honestly, you might as well give up immediately.
The questions were difficult, but the true intentions behind them were even harder to understand.
Minato's generation had been tested on absolute obedience to a jōnin's command. This year's written exam focused on intelligence gathering.
In simpler terms, the entire exam was about cheating without getting caught.
Naturally, as time passed, cheating methods evolved as well. Every generation of shinobi found new and increasingly bizarre ways to pass the test.
Inside the classroom, the members of Team One were deliberately seated apart from each other, yet all three remained completely relaxed.
Kakashi didn't even bother hiding his confidence. With his ability, he could solve most of the questions himself, though it would take time since several problems were clearly designed to torment genin.
One question in particular nearly made him laugh.
How would you assassinate the Raikage?
What kind of question was that? Asking genin to discuss killing the leader of Kumogakure sounded completely insane.
Then again, the Hidden Cloud had refused to participate in this year's exams, so Konoha clearly wasn't interested in being polite.
It was both a mockery of Kumogakure and praise for Konoha's own war achievements.
After all, someone really had accomplished something similar on the battlefield before.
The message behind the question was obvious. Konoha was showing off its military strength.
Several genin from the major villages looked visibly uncomfortable after reading it, painful memories from the war resurfacing in their minds.
Five minutes into the exam, Kakashi completely understood the real purpose of the test.
A tiny red snake, barely five centimeters long, quietly emerged from his sleeve.
The snake crawled down his arm, slipped along his leg, and headed toward a nearby shinobi who was obviously planted there by the examiners.
Nobody finished a paper like this in five minutes unless they already had the answers.
At the same time, a tiny green snake rested inside Might Guy's palm.
Red and green together made the pair look strangely coordinated.
As for Asuma, a small purple lizard was sprawled across his head.
Unfortunately, the lazy creature had fallen asleep in the middle of his messy hair.
A team where every member possessed a contracted summon was extravagant even by shinobi world standards. That wasn't merely a reflection of the students' talent, but also proof of how capable their teacher was.
Hayashi had no concerns about Kakashi and the others.
Even so, he still personally came to observe the exam venue.
He had another reason for being here.
Takigakure.
Among the many hidden villages, Takigakure was uniquely strange. Though small in the present era, it had once been unbelievably prosperous.
Just looking at Kakuzu was enough to understand that.
As an elite shinobi of Takigakure, Kakuzu had once accepted a mission directly from the village leadership.
His target was the First Hokage.
After failing the mission, he was punished harshly for incompetence.
Just thinking about it sounded ridiculous.
Either Takigakure had once been absurdly powerful, or their leadership had been completely insane.
Hayashi leaned toward the second explanation.
Trying to assassinate Hashirama Senju was not a mission any normal person could complete. Even Uchiha Madara himself would've struggled to guarantee success.
Compared to Hashirama's era, Minato's reputation almost seemed more terrifying.
Encountering the Yellow Flash on the battlefield meant abandoning the mission immediately. Nobody would blame you for retreating.
Hayashi suspected Kakuzu had probably offended the village elders somehow, perhaps by uncovering corruption involving mission funds.
Otherwise, why would they deliberately send him to die?
Still, setting Kakuzu aside, Takigakure truly possessed frightening resources in the past.
They had forbidden techniques capable of extending life, special substances that enhanced chakra, and most importantly...
A Tailed Beast.
Ignoring the village's small size, their assets rivaled those of the Five Great Nations.
That was why Hayashi came personally today.
He wanted to identify the current jinchūriki of the Seven-Tails.
By the time Hayashi and Himeji stood atop a massive tree outside the academy building, the exam was already halfway finished.
The moment students noticed the two figures outside the window, the classroom immediately became noisy.
They had just answered a question about assassinating the Raikage, and now Konoha's famous Lightning Flash suddenly appeared outside the classroom window.
The proctors naturally noticed them as well, but nobody reacted.
After all, everyone recognized Hayashi and Himeji.
Everyone except Hizashi.
The moment Hizashi saw his younger sister standing beside Hayashi, his expression darkened instantly.
His teeth nearly cracked from grinding them together.
Unable to confront Hayashi directly, he settled for glaring at him with enough intensity to terrify anyone nearby.
It was a genuine Byakugan death stare.
Since he couldn't vent his frustration at Hayashi, the unfortunate genin inside the classroom became the victims instead.
Especially Ibiki.
Under Hizashi's oppressive gaze, Ibiki barely dared to breathe.
His hands trembled so badly he almost forgot how to copy answers.
Watching from outside, Hayashi silently mourned for the boy.
No wonder Ibiki eventually grew into such a ruthless interrogator. Childhood trauma really did shape people.
Elsewhere in the room, Mei Terumī was also staring outside the window.
More specifically, she was staring at Himeji.
Konoha's Lightning Flash had invaded Kirigakure alone just to recover a pair of Byakugan.
So this must be the girl everyone talked about.
Mei carefully examined Himeji from top to bottom before unconsciously glancing at a certain noticeably developed part of her figure.
Then she looked down at herself.
"...I'm still growing."
The future Mizukage quietly comforted herself.
Outside the classroom, Hayashi continued searching for Takigakure's team.
The village had only sent one squad this year, and intelligence reports claimed one member was a jinchūriki.
"Why not let Shukaku find them?" Himeji asked softly. "Didn't you say Tailed Beasts can sense each other?"
"They can," Hayashi replied helplessly, "but can Shukaku actually be trusted?"
"I spoke with him this morning. He agreed way too quickly, which means he'd definitely point me toward the wrong person just to be annoying."
The real Shukaku had already been returned to Sunagakure as part of an agreement, but Hayashi had retained a portion of the beast's chakra.
Enough to maintain a temporary chakra clone nearby.
Himeji considered Shukaku's personality for a moment and nodded.
That definitely sounded like something the One-Tail would do.
Activating her Byakugan, she quickly scanned the classroom before locking onto a girl sitting near the back.
"There is a seal around her chakra network," Himeji said quietly. "I can also sense traces of enormous chakra in her abdomen. It should be her."
"Yui..." Hayashi muttered while checking the participant list.
At the exact moment they confirmed her identity, the girl suddenly opened her eyes.
Yui had been half asleep moments earlier, but now her body tensed immediately.
Inside her, the Seven-Tails had sensed something.
A familiar presence.
More than one, actually.
The chakra of the One-Tail.
The chakra of the Nine-Tails.
Three Tailed Beasts connected by an unspoken secret.
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