One of the great mysteries of the shinobi world that old perverts care about most: can Shadow Clones, or other types of physical clones, be used for certain... unusual activities?
If they can, then in theory, a kunoichi with enough chakra who falls from grace could, combined with the Transformation Technique, run an entire top-tier hostess club by herself.
Likewise, a male shinobi with enough chakra could single-handedly support an entire host club.
On this matter, Makoto, who had spent more than twenty years living in the shinobi world, felt highly qualified to speak.
Physical clones might be usable for lewd things, but actually using them for lewd things was highly unlikely.
The primary purpose of physical clones was to assist in combat, gather intelligence, and deceive opponents. They couldn't withstand excessive damage or intense mental stimulation.
If they really could be used for that sort of thing, then the shinobi population's birth rate would have plummeted off a cliff long ago.
If I can already produce and consume my own supply, why would I bother marrying someone of the opposite sex?
Therefore, using clones for a bit of temptation was fine. Once things got serious, though, they'd pop.
Naruto had made excellent use of the temptation aspect during today's match, directly crowd-controlling Sasuke for several seconds and securing victory in the third round.
The consequences, however, might have been a little severe.
The ordinary spectators didn't really understand what had happened, but they felt that if shinobi could all turn into adorable tsundere girls with long black hair or cheerful blonde twin-tails, then maybe they weren't quite as terrifying as they had imagined.
The shinobi from every village, meanwhile, stared in shock, as though this shameless tactic had opened the door to a strange new world.
As Naruto left the arena, everyone looked at him differently. Perhaps even he knew that the Sexy Technique had gone a little beyond the bounds of common decency, because he kept his head lowered the entire time.
On the spectator platform where Makoto sat, Kushina, seated in the same row, stared blankly into space. She felt that this son of hers might be beyond saving.
Then she turned toward Jiraiya, killing intent practically pouring from her eyes.
"Jiraiya-sensei, you're the one who taught him such a shameless tactic, aren't you?"
Jiraiya replied with a perfectly serious expression, "But it's effective, isn't it? Besides, I wouldn't really say I taught it to him. I just offered a suggestion. Naruto's intuition for this sort of thing is surprisingly sharp."
On that point, Makoto absolutely believed him.
As a mother, however, Kushina definitely did not.
"My Naruto has always been such a good boy. There's no way he'd come up with something this crooked on his own. This has to be your fault.
"No. If Naruto is going to grow up healthy, then he absolutely needs to stay far away from someone like you."
Tsunade nodded immediately.
"That's right. This bastard has always had a filthy mind."
Jiraiya: "..."
He suddenly felt as though he had become the public enemy of all women. Even Honoka and some of the others were looking at him strangely now.
In their hearts, they had already made up their minds that future juniors under their care must never be influenced too easily by this man.
...
On the main viewing platform, Minato exerted every ounce of willpower he possessed to keep a straight face and maintain the dignity of the Hokage.
Fortunately, the other four Kage didn't comment on it.
In their eyes, the essence of combat between shinobi was deception. As long as it led to victory, any tactic was acceptable.
Especially during intelligence-gathering missions, transforming into a beautiful woman was already a common method.
Down in the arena, Hayate had already begun calling in the contestants for the next match.
Tenten vs. Haku.
Konohagakure versus Kirigakure.
To the spectators, who knew nothing of the truth, this appeared to be a battle between two beautiful young women.
What they didn't know was that Haku was actually a pretty-boy.
He favored loose, gender-neutral clothing. You couldn't even judge his sex by looking for curves on his chest.
Impossible to distinguish between male and female, capable of turning heads wherever he went—the Yuki Clan truly did have a habit of producing walking disasters.
The four Kage on the main platform, however, weren't interested in appearances.
What they wanted to see was the performance of Tenten, Higashino Makoto's foremost disciple.
Once the battle began, Tenten proved her strength through action.
She was proficient in Wind Release, Earth Release, and Water Release. Her swordsmanship was exceptional, and her movements were incredibly fast.
She could even use the defensive ninjutsu developed by Higashino Makoto:
Earth Release: One-Horn Great Wall
and
Water Release: One-Horn Tranquility.
Haku's Ice Release simply couldn't contain her.
Even when he finally erupted with chakra and unleashed Ice Release: Ice Spear Hell, covering the ground with countless razor-sharp ice spikes, it made no difference.
Because Tenten could fly.
After using the Shadowless Sword to cut every Ice Release construct into shattered fragments scattered across the arena floor, she successfully defeated Haku, who had exhausted all of his chakra.
Terumī Mei showed no disappointment on her face.
Having two genin reach the finals was already enough for Kirigakure to demonstrate the village's potential.
The thoughts running through the minds of the Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Kazekage were exactly the same.
This young girl's fighting style was remarkably similar to her teacher's when he was younger. She was practically a miniature Higashino Makoto.
And according to the records, Tenten was merely the child of an ordinary civilian family. There hadn't even been a single shinobi among her ancestors.
That meant Makoto was not only unimaginably powerful himself, but also an exceptional teacher. Furthermore, he taught all of Konoha's shinobi without discrimination.
He was a Ninja God completely different in style from Senju Hashirama.
...
The fifth match of the third stage of the Chūnin Exams:
Sai vs. Hōzuki Suigetsu.
Another clash between Konoha and Kirigakure.
Terumī Mei had somewhat higher expectations for this member of the Hōzuki Clan. After all, according to reports, Suigetsu had defeated his preliminary-round opponent with ease.
It didn't take long for her to realize she had been overthinking things.
Just as Sai was countered by Suigetsu, Suigetsu happened to be perfectly countered by Sai's ninjutsu.
Sai was a ninjutsu-focused shinobi with both Lightning and Water chakra affinities.
Much like how Sasuke had put Suigetsu in his place in the original timeline, this spirited young man of the Hōzuki Clan was electrocuted into complete helplessness when facing Sai, collapsing into a limp, soggy heap.
The sixth match:
Aburame Shino vs. Haruno Sakura.
A Konoha civil war.
Unfortunately, Sakura lacked any Fire Release techniques capable of countering insects. Her combat IQ and experience were also far behind her opponent's.
Shino used insect clones to toy with her endlessly.
Unable to locate Shino's real body, Sakura found both her Monster Strength punches and genjutsu completely useless.
In the end, her body was covered by countless kikaichū, which drained away all of her chakra.
The sight of that dense swarm of insects left an indelible trauma in the young girl's heart.
She swore that she would never fight a member of the Aburame Clan again.
The final match:
Nara Shikamaru vs. Fū.
Theoretically, Shikamaru had no chance of winning.
Although he was much stronger than he had been in the original timeline, his opponent was still the Seven-Tails' jinchūriki.
Perhaps because the Takigakure leader had instructed her not to reveal her status as a jinchūriki in front of the other four great shinobi villages besides Konoha, Fū refrained from using too much of the Tailed Beast's power throughout the match.
At most, she used the Scales Powder Concealment Technique to paralyze pursuers and hide her presence.
Relying on his brilliant mind, Shikamaru dragged his partially paralyzed body around the battlefield and exhausted every trick at his disposal before finally trapping Fū with the Shadow Sewing Technique.
By then, however, he had already run out of chakra.
And even if he hadn't, it wouldn't have mattered.
Fū was a jinchūriki—a chakra monster. There was no way he could keep her restrained for long.
So before Fū could break free, Shikamaru raised his hand and surrendered.
Rather than get beaten by a woman, he chose to lie flat in advance.
The young girl stood there looking completely bewildered.
She had just been getting ready to put in some effort when her opponent surrendered first?
Once again, she had somehow won a match without understanding how.
And she ended up being the only victor not from Konoha.
That caused everyone to regard Takigakure a little more highly.
As expected of what had once been the sixth great shinobi village. Even in decline, it could still produce promising members of the next generation.
On the main viewing platform, all of the Kage except Minato had already formed suspicions regarding Fū's identity.
However, no one discussed the matter openly.
Thus, the first Chūnin Selection Exam jointly organized by the Five Great Shinobi Villages officially came to an end.
Whether the participants would actually become chūnin was now up to their respective villages.
After returning home, each village could decide for itself whether or not to promote its genin based on their performances during the exam.
Having enjoyed several exciting battles in succession, the spectators left in an orderly fashion, thoroughly satisfied.
As for those who had participated in the side betting, some returned home to celebrate with a relaxing hot-spring bath, while others headed for rooftops to jump off them.
Everyone had a bright future ahead.
Judging by the dark look on Tsunade's face, however, Makoto suspected she had failed to overcome causality and had once again lost every last bit of cash she possessed.
He had even heard that she borrowed a substantial amount of money from Kushina and Jiraiya.
If she hadn't been capable of earning money herself, and if the Senju inheritance hadn't been so substantial, she might have ended up taking a trip to a rooftop as well.
Exactly how much Tsunade owed Jiraiya remained a mystery.
One thing was certain, though: this woman had never once considered repaying the debt with her body.
When it came to keeping a simp wrapped around her finger, she had truly mastered the art.
On the main platform, Minato still wore his trademark sunny smile.
"The exams have concluded, and the timing is perfect. Konoha has already prepared a banquet. I hope none of you are in too much of a hurry to leave."
"Ever since the First Hokage convened the Five Kage Summit, it has been many years since everyone last gathered together."
"This seems like an excellent opportunity."
Ōnoki snorted.
"Hmph. I was thinking the same thing."
The Raikage, Kazekage, and Mizukage voiced no objections either.
After traveling such a long distance, none of them had come merely to watch a Chūnin Exam.
Sitting down together to discuss the future of the shinobi world—that was the true reason these leaders had taken the risk of coming in person.