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Sunagakure:
"The ability to plant a puppet among the examinees without them realizing it… does he really think they didn't notice…?"
"Well, either way, his puppet manipulation is good… Kankuro is an excellent seed."
"And what's the deal with Temari? Why isn't she cheating in her own way? Is she waiting for Kankuro to come back from the bathroom?"
"Seriously, nothing compares to Gaara's sand manipulation ability; he's genuinely gifted. The ability to share senses through sand is advanced chakra control of the highest order…"
"That's true, he's far more skilled than a mere Chunin candidate, let alone the fact that his current rank is Genin… Talents like these simply don't need any kind of exam to become Chunin."
Many conversations like these circulated among the Sand shinobi throughout the first exam arc in the manga.
Watching each individual's cheating method one by one broadened the horizons of many Genin, and even some Chunin were left in awe at how remarkable the next generation was proving to be.
As for the Jonin, they were deeply impressed by the high capabilities of Konoha's examiner shinobi, and especially the Tokubetsu Jonin known as Ibiki Moreno.
Seeing the conversation that took place between Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai about Ibiki broadened their understanding of this character considerably.
Head of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force… That title struck the readers as a prestigious position among Konoha's shinobi.
And what caught the Sand shinobi's attention more than anything else was the appearance of the second examiner, a beautiful kunoichi.
[— Manga Scene —]
"Let me explain… The 10th question… The 'take it' or 'not take it' decision could lose the chance to ever take the test again… A true leap of faith."
Ibiki continued: "How about these two choices… say you guys become Chunins."
"Your mission is to steal a secret document; the number of ninjas, their abilities, etc, is unknown to you."
"And of course there'll be traps set all around you."
"Now, do you accept, or not accept?" Ibiki paused for a moment, looked at the confused faces of the Genin, then continued:
"Because you don't want to die… because you don't want your comrades hurt, can you avoid the dangerous mission?"
"The answer is no!!"
"No matter what the danger… There are missions you can't avoid."
Hearing that, Naruto smiled.
"The ability to be courageous and survive any hardship. This is the ability needed to become a Chunin captain."
…
"What's this?" Everyone was startled by the sudden appearance of a large black banner hung in the middle of the hall, something written on it in bold lettering.
"You guys!!! This is no time to be celebrating!!!"
A beautiful woman appeared, announcing:
"I am the examiner for the second test!! Mitarashi Anko!! Now let's go!! Follow me!"
[— End Scene —]
The readers in Suna were impressed by the way Ibiki conducted the exam, its execution, its design, and above all, its purpose.
The ability to gather information, that was the purpose behind the first nine questions.
The ability to adapt and face danger without retreating, that was the purpose behind the tenth question.
"What a fascinating colleague. I wonder how he got those terrible scars." The Third Kazekage said with a small smile on his face.
Getting to know new and interesting characters, that was the most exciting and mysterious part of the Naruto manga.
"And who do we have this time? What a dramatic entrance… Mitarashi Anko, huh?"
"Is there any information available on this kunoichi?" Shazān asked his aide quietly.
The aide quickly searched through the information they had on Konoha's shinobi, looking for a title or name resembling Mitarashi, but found nothing.
"No, my lord, nothing…" the aide replied.
"That's fine, no matter, let's see what information the manga provides…"
…
Kirigakure:
Ever since the Land of Waves arc concluded, an arc that had fundamentally revolved around shinobi who were outcasts from the Mist Village, portrayed as the primary villains, or as it became clear in the end, tools in the hands of the true villain, Gatou — the enthusiasm of the readers here had become somewhat less intense than it had been during those events.
But that didn't mean interest in the manga had disappeared entirely. After all, the Naruto manga had left a deep impression on every person who had read it up to this point.
For example, the Daimyo of the Land of Water had done everything in his power to appease Rob in hopes of pushing him to open an art store in the Land of Water's capital, not limiting himself to just the Hidden Mist Village.
And the Daimyo wasn't alone in wanting to win Rob's favor; many nobles and merchants had tried as well, using every means available to them. But Rob's Kiri Clone's stance remained consistently indifferent and cool.
His answer was clear: "The right time for that had not yet come."
After all, Rob didn't have a surplus of available art stores at his disposal.
Every additional upgrade in the system gave him only two new stores to work with.
At System Level Five, he had obtained a total of 10 art stores and had used 7 of them across the Five Great Villages, the Land of Waves, and the Rain Village, leaving only 3 in reserve for emergencies.
Right now, Rob was focused on drawing chapters and updating volumes to earn more Art Coins, and more importantly, to accumulate the experience needed to level up the system further.
Rob's Kiri Clone continued to ignore the Daimyo and his associates, who showed no signs of giving up on their attempts. After realizing their latest efforts had once again failed, they returned to their seats, helpless.
At that moment, Rob looked at a small boy who had appeared in the Kiri art store for the first time, and found himself thinking.
'This boy might be the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata…'
Not far from him sat the known Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, Yagura Karatachi, the future Fourth Mizukage, and current heir of the Karatachi family.
…
Utakata, a boy from a nearly extinct shinobi clan in Kirigakure, was chosen to become the next Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails after its previous host reached the end of his life.
Because Utakata came from a clan known for its remarkably resilient life force, he had been selected by the Third Mizukage, Hozuki Mizuru, to be the next Jinchuriki. He was six years old and in his first year at the Academy.
Recently, Utakata had discovered the Naruto manga… or more specifically, had discovered Naruto, the manga's known Jinchuriki of the most powerful Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails.
"Amazing… Naruto is so brave. Even knowing he might stay a Genin forever, he still chooses to take the tenth question…"
His yellow eyes were wide, glowing with a brilliant light as he watched the chapter's events unfold before him in a completely unexpected sequence.
"Of course, he left it blank, haha! So now it's time for the second exam…"
Utakata flipped the page with excitement toward the next chapter, having just seen Ibiki collect the exam papers and discover that Naruto's sheet was empty, yet he passed the exam with a blank page.
…
"What do we have here… the Forest of Death, isn't it?"
Back in Konoha, Hiruzen wasn't surprised by the location chosen for the second exam, but he was caught off guard by the nature of the examiner named Anko, who licked Naruto's blood with a tongue that resembled a snake's.
"And who are these people?"
"Strange… why does this one remind me of Orochimaru?"
Hiruzen stared at the figure, who seemed to be the leader of the mysterious Grass Nin trio…
After reading Chapter 45 in full, it became clear that the Sound Village trio had a mission during the Chunin exam, and that the Grass Nin trio likewise had one, as though they had come specifically to kill.
"It seems this Chunin exam won't pass without incident… Hiruzen."
Danzo said, casting a meaningful glance toward Hiruzen, who was not far from him.
"I can see that… there are many parties that want to meddle with Konoha…"
"I find myself wondering, has Konoha grown so much weaker after the Nine-Tails incident that the neighboring scavengers believe we've become easy prey?"
"Well… that does appear to be how things look from where I'm standing, " said Danzo coldly.
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Surprise for all of our readers!
April discount on Patreon!
50% off your first month!
⸱And for all tiers!
Promo code: 64E8D
Seize the opportunity; the offer ends on April 19.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 129: Many Battles in the Forest of Death!
Chapter 130: End of Volume Five!
Chapter 131: Contrasting Perspectives on the Manga.
Chapter 132: Conqueror's Haki Shakes Kirigakure!
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