Anko complained, "You might as well have the Hokage hand you a special pass. Letting you take this exam is like dropping a max-level character into a beginner village to massacre newbies."
Akira shifted into a more comfortable position. "That's not entirely fair. There are still a few decent fighters among this year's candidates—it's not completely boring."
Watching his calm, big-shot demeanor, Anko unexpectedly found the kid a little handsome.
Powerful, mature-looking, and strikingly good-looking—aside from his sharp tongue, he was basically a perfect high-potential prospect.
She stared a bit too long, her cheeks heating up again for no reason. Quickly, she shook her head to throw those messy thoughts away.
A few minutes later, several masked ANBU finally arrived.
When they saw the massive crater blasted out by Fire Style, their jaws nearly dropped beneath their masks.
But the moment they heard Akira was responsible, they instantly regained their composure. After all, the intel had already marked this kid as possessing jōnin-level destructive power.
Sure, the crater was a bit exaggerated—but factoring in Dragon Flame Bomb enhanced by Lightning Style, it still fell within theoretical expectations.
After a brief inspection of the scene, the ANBU quickly withdrew.
As the proctor, Anko couldn't linger either. Before leaving, she suddenly stopped, turning to look at Akira with a serious expression.
"I want to discuss something with you."
Akira blinked. "What is it?"
Anko lowered her voice. "If you pass the Chūnin Exams smoothly, I can give you the summoning scroll from Ryūchi Cave. You don't have a summon yet, right?"
Akira hesitated briefly before declining, "I don't really need that. Keeping a pet means feeding it—too much trouble."
But Anko adopted the tone of a caring older sister and began persuading him. "Think about it. Don't you like playing weak to catch your enemies off guard? If you run into a situation with lots of fodder enemies and don't want to expose your strength, wouldn't it be convenient to just release a snake to deal with them?"
Akira paused—oddly enough, the logic was flawless.
This woman's way of thinking could be surprisingly unconventional at times.
It was true—if he encountered minor enemies in the future, "release the hound"… no, release the snake—it would indeed save effort.
Looking at Anko's sincere expression, Akira smiled. "Anko-nee, I didn't expect you to be so considerate."
That single "nee" made Anko bloom with delight—it was like she'd gotten her revenge for being called disgusting earlier.
She lifted her chin proudly. "Of course. This is called foresight. But let me be clear—I'll only give you the scroll. Those big snakes have terrible tempers. Whether you can subdue them depends entirely on your own ability."
"Or you could choose not to sign with Ryūchi Cave. With your talent, getting contracts with the other two great sacred lands shouldn't be difficult either."
Akira nodded. "If I'm signing one, I'll go for the strongest. The troublemakers you can't handle—I'll deal with them."
What he really meant was: if those snakes didn't listen, he'd beat them until they did.
Anko laughed. "Talk big after you pass the exam. The snakes of Ryūchi Cave aren't pushovers."
"But if it's you… maybe it's actually possible. In a way, you might be even more terrifying than that freak Orochimaru."
With that, she waved and vanished in a Body Flicker, her final words drifting in the wind:
"Akira, do your best!"
Akira watched her disappear expressionlessly.
Whether he tried or not made no difference to him. This exam was as simple as a college student doing elementary arithmetic.
What concerned him more was whether Anko would leak the strength he had just displayed—but judging by her attitude, she would likely keep his secret.
After she left, Akira spent another day in the Forest of Death, practically treating it like a camping trip.
Only when he sensed Sasuke and the others' chakra signatures nearing the central tower did he stretch lazily. A flash of lightning—and he instantly teleported to the tower entrance.
After standing there like a gatekeeper for a few minutes, several figures finally crawled out of the bushes, looking like refugees.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura—even Kabuto was mixed in among them. All four were battered, their clothes torn into strips.
The moment Kabuto saw Akira, his pupils shrank sharply behind his glasses, and cold sweat broke out instantly.
He had already learned through special channels that Orochimaru had been defeated by this ominous figure. Seeing him in person now, the invisible pressure made it hard for him to even breathe.
It completely killed any thought of probing further. If even his boss had been beaten senseless, wouldn't he just be throwing his life away?
By contrast, Team Seven looked miserable—but they tightly clutched the Heaven and Earth scrolls, clearly having risked their lives to make it through.
The moment Sakura saw Akira's clean, unscathed face, the tension holding her together snapped.
This journey had been too hard—first brutalized by that lunatic Orochimaru, Sasuke getting bitten, then being ganged up on by the Sound trio. Making it here alive was nothing short of a miracle.
She burst into tears and rushed forward, hugging Akira while sobbing uncontrollably, as if she had found her pillar of support.
Naruto watched with a displeased expression but said nothing. After the beatings of the past few days, he had realized that if Akira had been with them, they wouldn't have suffered like this.
In fact, Naruto had a gut feeling—the Orochimaru who had terrified him to the point of shaking himself silly would probably have been dealt with in just a few moves if Akira were present.
Without Akira acting as their "babysitter," they finally understood just how fragile their strength was in front of true power.
Listening to Sakura's incoherent sobbing, Akira felt a bit uncomfortable with the clingy contact. He patted her shoulder and gently but firmly pushed her away.
He smiled warmly, though his tone carried a hint of reassurance. "Alright, you've done well. I more or less know what you went through inside."
"Don't worry—this was purely an accident. Orochimaru was an out-of-syllabus problem. Once we reach the finals, there won't be any of these freaks interfering."
"The second stage was meant to simulate survival in extreme conditions—it's the most dangerous part. Getting through it means victory."
"The third stage is a proper arena tournament. With referees present, no one's going to die."
These words acted like a calming pill, allowing the three shaken genin to steady themselves somewhat.
After this ordeal, both Sasuke and Naruto gained a painfully clear understanding of what being a "genin" truly meant.
At the same time, they developed an almost blind admiration for Akira's strength.
Those Sound ninja who had pushed them to the brink probably wouldn't even dare to breathe loudly in front of him.
Even Sasuke, who had always been the most prideful, no longer felt that spark of jealousy when looking at Akira. When the gap becomes too vast, only awe remains.
He knew in his heart that even his deeply hated brother, Uchiha Itachi, had never been this monstrous at thirteen.
Back then, Itachi may have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, but he still remained within the realm of human comprehension. Akira, on the other hand, was practically a humanoid tailed beast.
So now, Sasuke behaved as meekly as a quail in front of him.
Naruto still treated Akira as a goal to strive toward, but the reckless defiance in his eyes was gone.
As for Sakura—her eyes practically overflowed with admiration.
Seeing that their emotions had stabilized, Akira pointed toward the entrance. "Go turn in your scrolls. Don't keep the proctors waiting."
As for Kabuto—the guy pretending to be weak—Akira didn't even spare him a glance. Someone like that wasn't worth his time.
After submitting their scrolls, Iruka-sensei, as expected, jumped out to deliver a lecture about "willpower," after which everyone was led to that gloomy underground preliminary arena.
The number of candidates who passed was slightly over the limit—more than twenty people were gathered in the hall.
The Third Hokage stood on the second floor, smoking his pipe, his brows deeply furrowed. Orochimaru's appearance left a weight in his heart that he couldn't shake.
The old man knew full well that his aging body might no longer be able to suppress that mad disciple.
The moment Akira entered, Ino and Hinata approached him like radar locking onto a target.
Ino grabbed his arm and chirped excitedly, "Akira! We passed! I'm amazing, right?"
Looking at the ever-energetic blonde girl, Akira felt his mood lift slightly. People like her—cheerful and optimistic—were far more pleasant than those who constantly wore sour expressions.
"Yeah, you're amazing. Unlike me—I just coasted through. Naruto and the others got all the scrolls."
Ino clearly didn't believe that nonsense and rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You probably just glared at your enemies and scared them all off, right?"
Now that she knew Akira possessed jōnin-level strength, the "male god aura" around him only grew stronger in her eyes—making her feelings for him feel even more justified.
Hinata stood off to the side, her face flushed red, her two index fingers nervously poking against each other. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "A-Akira-kun… are you… are you hurt?"
Akira smiled and gently ruffled her soft short hair, giving her a casual head pat. "Don't worry. I'm a medical ninja myself—it's hard for me to get hurt even if I try."
Hinata's face instantly turned as red as a boiled crab, as if steam might start rising from her head. Yet inside, she felt so sweet it was practically bubbling over.
Beside them, Ino immediately grew jealous, tugging on Akira's arm and whining, "Hmph! You're so biased—you're only gentle with Hinata!"
Caught between the two girls, Akira felt a headache coming on.
He swore to Arceus—he really only saw them as little sisters, nothing more. Absolutely none of those worldly desires.
Maybe things would be different in a few years once they matured more, but right now, both Hinata and Ino felt far too young to him.
He still preferred the charm of mature women like Anko or Yugao.
At that moment, the other candidates inside the tower were all secretly observing Akira.
After surviving the Forest of Death, no one dared underestimate this seemingly harmless boy anymore. Even Gaara, whose face was full of killing intent, forcibly suppressed the restlessness within himself.
Gaara might be bloodthirsty, but he wasn't stupid. His instincts told him that clashing head-on with Akira right now would lead to nothing good.
If the monster inside him lost control, the entire plan would fall apart.
The group waited in a tense atmosphere for quite some time before the Third Hokage finally appeared with a lineup of Konoha's elite jōnin.
Kakashi, Asuma, Guy, Kurenai, and that scar-faced Morino Ibiki—it was practically Konoha's all-star roster.
Standing in the stands, Anko winked at Akira in the crowd, clearly in a good mood.
After the Third Hokage delivered a round of official nonsense, the electronic screen began rolling for the draw.
As expected, Akira's name appeared alone at the very end—he got a bye.
This round, he didn't even have an opponent.
Holding the bye number plate, Akira looked up at the Third Hokage on the second floor.
The old man was smiling at him as well. Their gazes met in midair, a mutual understanding passing between them.
Clearly, this was arranged by the higher-ups. No one wanted to see Akira crippling candidates from other villages during the preliminaries—sending him straight to the finals was simply more convenient for everyone.
Akira clicked his tongue. While skipping the match altogether had its perks, just standing around as a spectator was honestly a bit dull.
He casually strolled up to the second-floor stands, leaned against a railing with a good view, and looked thoroughly uninterested.
Kakashi appeared beside him at some point, his dead-fish eye curving into a crescent. "This is probably the Hokage's idea. After all, throwing you into a pond to fry fish would be too cruel to the other candidates."
Akira yawned. "Doesn't matter. Saves me from breaking a sweat, and I get some peace and quiet."
Kakashi lowered his voice, his tone turning more serious. "Anko mentioned you ran into Orochimaru in the forest?"
This news had already caused an uproar among Konoha's jōnin. When Kakashi first heard it, his heart had nearly leapt into his throat.
Akira glanced toward Anko and chuckled lightly. "She really does talk fast."
Kakashi nodded. "What happened?"
Akira's gaze swept over Orochimaru—disguised as the Sound ninja instructor below—his tone as casual as discussing dinner.
"We ran into each other. Fought a bit. I killed that body he was using."
"But that guy's like a cockroach—hard to kill. He's probably switched bodies again and is hiding somewhere watching."
Even though Kakashi had braced himself, his pupils still trembled at those words. "You actually… killed him once?"
Akira corrected him, "More precisely, I destroyed the vessel he was using at the time. But his soul-transfer jutsu is ridiculously broken. As long as the Cursed Seals exist, he can keep reviving indefinitely."
"The seal on Anko's neck contains a fragment of his soul. Completely killing him is… a bit troublesome."
Kakashi sucked in a sharp breath. One of the legendary Sannin—killed once so casually by his own student.
Looking at Akira's calm expression, he shook his head with a bitter smile. "The way you say it… if Jiraiya-sama heard this, he'd probably feel pretty depressed."
"But thinking about it, your strength has likely already surpassed the current Hokage. Doing this isn't entirely unbelievable."
Suddenly, Akira remembered something and turned to ask, "Kakashi-sensei, Anko wants to give me a contract from Ryūchi Cave. Do you think I should take it?"
Kakashi paused. "Ryūchi Cave? She really said that?"
Akira nodded. "Said she'd give it to me if I pass the exam."
Kakashi stroked his chin thoughtfully.
The summoning beasts of the three great sacred lands were indeed top-tier in the shinobi world. Aside from legendary creatures, it was hard to find stronger support.
"Ryūchi Cave is dangerous, and it's closely tied to Orochimaru, but in terms of combat power, it's undeniably strong."
"Since you don't want to go to Mount Myōboku and hang out with toads, or to Shikkotsu Forest to deal with slugs, Ryūchi Cave is a solid choice."
"Just be careful not to get bitten back by those snakes."
That was essentially a vote in favor.
Akira glanced toward Anko on the other side of the stands, making up his mind. "Alright then. I've got time anyway. Having a snake as a mount someday wouldn't be bad."
Kakashi patted his shoulder. "If you actually fought in the matches, everyone would probably forfeit. The Third Hokage just wants to keep some suspense."
"A lot of people think that suna ninja kid with the gourd is your main rival, but in my opinion, he's not even worth drawing your blade against."
With his sharp insight, Kakashi had already seen through Gaara. While his chakra reserves were enormous, against Akira—who had mastered Wood Style—a tailed beast jinchūriki was basically just a walking battery.
Wood Style naturally countered tailed beasts—this was common knowledge in the ninja world.
The following matches were largely unremarkable—until the boy named Rock Lee, with the watermelon haircut, faced Gaara.
When Lee removed the weights heavy enough to shatter the floor and opened the Fifth Gate, kicking the previously invincible Gaara around like a ball, Akira's half-lidded eyes finally showed a spark of interest.
"Interesting. That kid's a pure taijutsu genius. To push his body to that extent—he's ruthless with himself."
Kakashi couldn't help but sigh. "Yeah. That's not something talent alone can achieve. That's a miracle built from endless sweat."
"But Guy's gone too far—letting a child train in a dangerous forbidden jutsu like the Eight Gates."
Akira smiled but said nothing. While Lee's explosive power was inspiring, that kind of life-burning fighting style wasn't something he had much to comment on.
After all, for someone like him, even without the Eight Gates, his current physical strength already far surpassed Lee with five gates open.
Still, that didn't stop him from appreciating the passionate battle unfolding below.
At the edge of the stands, Neji's Byakugan was wide open, veins bulging on the back of his hands—clearly shaken.
That guy Lee had secretly reached such an astonishing level.
What Neji didn't know was that the Fifth Gate Lee had risked everything to open was originally prepared as a "special gift" just for him—the caged bird.
Yet now, Neji remained completely unaware.
In terms of overall ninja aptitude, Neji was undoubtedly the top talent of Konoha's new generation—excluding that monster Akira.
Unfortunately, his luck was poor. Born into the branch family, he was shackled at every turn. Had he been born into the main family, he would likely already be a Special Jōnin-level powerhouse by now.
Whether it was Gentle Fist, Eight Trigrams Palm, or even his ultimate defense—Rotation—he had figured them out after seeing them just once.
Even Kakashi had to admit that among this batch of students, if you excluded Akira, Neji was unquestionably number one.
But in the ninja world, talent alone wasn't enough. More often than not, luck and background mattered even more.
Just look at Naruto and Sasuke—both walking cheats. Even Lee, who relied purely on taijutsu, had found his own path to strength.
Meanwhile, Neji, bound by the branch family's restrictions, lacked everything.
Even worse, he didn't have a "battery" like a tailed beast, and his bloodline power was sealed and restricted—putting him in an especially awkward position.