"Thanks for your hard work, Yuu-kun. Hurry and drink some water."
In the rest area, when Rin saw Yuu return, she immediately handed over a bottle of chilled Raw Cola, a joyful smile on her face.
Kurenai also came over at the right moment and handed him a towel. "Yuu, you look like you sweated a lot. Let me help you wipe it off."
"…Thanks, Rin, Kurenai. I'll do it myself."
Yuu took the towel and cola from the two girls. First, he wiped the sweat from his forehead, then unscrewed the cap and drank a few mouthfuls. The cold bubbles surged down his throat, dispelling some of the heat brought on by the battle.
That fight just now had indeed consumed quite a bit of energy for him.
After all, for visual effect, he had gone head-to-head with Toki's ninjutsu, even using the B-rank Water Dragon Bullet and Great Dragon Fire during the fight. The chakra he had spent added up to about 0.5 to 0.8 Kakashis. If it were Rin or Kurenai, they probably would have nearly been drained dry.
However, Yuu's thirty to forty points of constitution had not been added for nothing. He could afford this level of consumption. Judging by the cheers and applause from the spectators in the stands, that effort had also paid off somewhat.
With Yuu and Toki's match over, this Chūnin Exam had more or less come to an end.
After a moment of noise,
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the current Hokage, stood up on the high platform, cleared his throat, and his steady voice spread clearly through the entire venue via the amplification device.
"Ahem… This Chūnin Exam has now been successfully completed. Next, I will announce the results."
"After comprehensive consideration of the performances across the three trials, the following candidates are hereby promoted to chūnin: Konohagakure—Mikami Yuu, Sarutobi Asuma, Nohara Rin, Might Guy, Yūhi Kurenai… Uchiha Obito."
"Iwagakure—Toki…"
The names that followed no longer mattered to the people of Konoha.
Obito almost immediately jumped up, excitedly waving his fists. Even the Sharingan beneath his goggles seemed to brighten a little.
"OOOOH! I became a chūnin! Rin, did you see that? I'm a chūnin too!"
Yes, that's right. Although Obito had been beaten until his head was covered in lumps in the earlier match against Might Guy, the Uchiha bloodline and his idiot attribute had granted him strong recovery ability. After some bandaging and treatment, he had returned to the scene once again.
Rin smiled and said, "Yes. Congratulations, Obito-kun."
"Hehe, you too, Rin!"
Not far away,
Might Guy's reaction was even more exaggerated. Tears streamed down his face as he struck a pose and shouted loudly into the air.
"Youth! This is the reward of hard work! Konoha's Blue Beast, Might Guy, has officially become a chūnin! Father! Kakashi! And Yuu! Did you see that?!"
"?"
Yuu scratched his head, wondering how he had gotten dragged into this.
Speaking of which, he really hadn't seen Kakashi today. But Might Duy seemed to have come as a spectator. When Yuu was fighting Toki earlier, he had vaguely seen a green figure in the audience, though he wasn't sure whether it was him.
Beside them, Asuma, Kurenai, Genma Shiranui, and the others also smiled and congratulated each other.
In truth, if judged strictly by the standard of chūnin, some of them were not quite qualified. After all, this position theoretically made them squad leader candidates. It wasn't enough to have individual strength; overall quality also had to be considered.
However, the ninja world was currently in turmoil. Konoha needed more manpower to send to the battlefield. So basically, as long as someone participated in this exam and successfully reached the third round, they were almost all granted the title of chūnin.
On the high platform,
Hiruzen waited for the cheers to ring out for a while, then pressed both hands downward to quiet the crowd before beginning his closing remarks.
The content was nothing new. He encouraged the newly promoted chūnin to keep working hard, to continue striving for the village and the Will of Fire, and to shoulder greater responsibilities.
There were also words of encouragement for the other ninja and civilians in the village.
Although it was all familiar talk, it still drew a conclusion to this nearly week-long selection.
With that, this Chūnin Exam was completely over.
The crowd in the stands began leaving in an orderly fashion.
As they left, many people were still discussing animatedly. Their topics could not stray from this batch of newly promoted chūnin. Quite a few people kept glancing toward the rest area, especially searching for Yuu and the others.
"Wow, today's matches were really exciting! This year's genin are amazing! Sharingan, taijutsu, genjutsu… and that white-haired Mikami Yuu! Truly, heroes come from the young!"
"Yeah, I heard they're only eleven or twelve? To have this kind of strength at that age is astonishing!"
"Konoha's future has hope!"
"Speaking of which, that kid Mikami Yuu is pretty handsome. My daughter is a few years younger than him this year. If we could recruit him as a son-in-law, that would be wonderful!"
…
At this moment, Obito eagerly leaned over to Yuu and Rin and excitedly suggested, "Hey, Yuu! Rin! Let's go eat barbecue to celebrate! Asuma, Kurenai, you guys come too! It'll be livelier with more people!"
"Sure, I'm hungry anyway."
Asuma smiled and nodded.
"Mm, that sounds good."
Kurenai also answered softly, her gaze quietly flicking toward Yuu.
"Hey, Obito, why aren't you inviting me?"
Might Guy asked.
"…Tch, do you have no idea what you did to me in the arena?! Damn it, I already awakened the Sharingan, yet I still lost to you! This time I was careless. Next time, I'll definitely win it back!"
Obito looked unconvinced.
"Oh! The burning flame of youth! I accept this challenge!"
Guy immediately responded, his eyes shining.
Just as everyone was enthusiastically discussing how to celebrate, Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared not far away, accompanied by Namikaze Minato and Yūhi Shinku. Tachibana Masamune was also there, chatting and laughing with Hiruzen, looking like they were having a pleasant conversation.
"Lord Hokage!"
The boys and girls quickly put away their joking and bowed respectfully.
Hiruzen had a gentle smile on his face. His gaze swept over everyone one by one, finally landing on Yuu, his eyes showing undisguised admiration.
"You all performed very well this time, displaying the bearing a Konoha ninja should have. Especially you, Mikami Yuu.
"Your strength and temperament are far beyond what someone your age should possess. To learn the Water Dragon Bullet in just three short days and use it to such a degree… that talent is truly rare."
"Lord Hokage, you flatter me."
Yuu bowed slightly and replied.
It truly was flattery.
Because Yuu had not "learned" the Water Dragon Bullet through normal means at all. He had given it to Water Wave as a skin and automatically unlocked the skill afterward. All he needed to do later was familiarize himself with it and improve the feel. Using this to judge talent was a bit unfair to other geniuses.
Of course, Yuu could not openly say that. For him right now, having the title of genius attached to him was beneficial.
Hiruzen paused slightly, his tone becoming solemn.
"Mikami Yuu, considering your results in this exam and your outstanding performance during this period, I intend to nominate you as a special jōnin. What are your thoughts?"
~~~
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