Chapter 176: Gratitude
Sasuke's brow twitched incessantly. These girls... they were so noisy.
As for the Chunin Exams—he wasn't going. There was no point. Only training mattered; only through training could he surpass that man and eventually defeat him.
Tap, tap, tap!
As the female students were arguing, the sound of steady footsteps approached. Hearing the noise, every student returned to their seats with lightning speed, fixing their eyes on the door.
Iruka's figure slowly appeared. Seeing the silent classroom, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright, students, I have some good news. Since the Chunin Exams are approaching and you all have only nine months left before you graduate to become Genin, I made a special request to the Third Hokage. Our entire class will be attending the final stage of the exams to watch the combat portion."
Iruka smiled warmly. Originally, he hadn't planned on letting students who hadn't graduated yet attend, but since his own mentor was the Chief Proctor, he felt the children should see his teacher's elegance. Besides, he hadn't seen his teacher in a while. He had been far too busy at the school lately, though he did see his teacher's two children almost every day.
"Eh? The whole class is going?"
"Great! I can watch the show with Sasuke!"
"Move it, you fangirl!"
"What if I am a fangirl? So what?"
As soon as Iruka finished speaking, cheers erupted. No class and a trip to watch the exams—it was perfect.
"Yes, that day happens to be a Sunday, so the timing is perfect," Iruka smiled at them.
"Huh?"
"Wait..."
"What?"
That one sentence immediately deflated their excitement.
Konoha Chunin Exam Arena.
Since this was a solo internal exam, there wasn't much fanfare, and naturally, there were no spectators from outside the village. This served as a low-level form of security; most of the audience consisted of Konoha's own shinobi.
After a week of testing, the Genin had already passed the intelligence and team tests. Now, they faced the final individual ability test. Every ninja who reached this stage was a highly capable Genin.
Iruka led his students to their assigned seats. Naruto sat right next to him, staring down at the spectacular arena.
"Iruka-sensei, the Chunin Exam arena is huge! It's way bigger than our school's training grounds!" Naruto was quite excited. In nine months, he would graduate, and watching the atmosphere of the Chunin Exams made his blood pump.
Most of the other students felt the same. Except for a few, this was their first time seeing the exams. Konoha generally restricted younger students from attending to prevent them from becoming overly ambitious too early.
Iruka chuckled. "Indeed. I stood down there once myself. Don't look at me as just a school teacher; my rank is Chunin, and back in my day, I was practically invincible among the Genin."
"Whoa, Iruka-sensei was that strong?" Naruto swung his legs on the chair as he listened.
Below them, the contestants gradually filed in. They were of various sizes and ages. Sasuke, Kiba, and Shikamaru focused their attention on the participants. Meanwhile, Ino and Sakura were still shoving each other, fighting for the seat closest to Sasuke.
"Watch closely, everyone," Iruka said. "Observe the true grace of a shinobi."
Hearing this, those most concerned with strength—Sasuke, Kiba, and Naruto—perked up. True grace? Does that mean there are powerful ninjas among them?
Kabuto looked at the people around him. So these are all the candidates this year... only about twenty made it this far. A bit few.
In previous years, there were many more. Furthermore, throughout the several stages of the exam, he hadn't caught a glimpse of Tonbo Tobitake. As the Chief Proctor, to not show his face once was remarkably arrogant.
"Why hasn't it started? Where's the proctor?"
"He couldn't be late, could he?"
"This... is too perfunctory. Isn't he afraid of being punished by the Hokage?"
The candidates, who had been waiting for some time, began to grumble. Even if you were the legendary Captain Tonbo, you shouldn't be this late.
In the center of the VIP stands, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the scene. Beside him was the little sprout, Konohamaru. Konohamaru poked his head out, looking at the ninjas below.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, are those ninjas as strong as Tianyu and the others?"
Hiruzen smiled. "They are battle-hardened, experienced Genin. Naturally, they are stronger than Tianyu's group."
"Then if I become stronger than them, I can beat Tianyu?" Konohamaru asked. Tianyu and Maki had become his benchmarks. After his recent hard work, he felt he was actually quite formidable. At school, no one except Tianyu's trio could beat him. He felt if he tried just a bit harder, he could win.
"Of course. Tianyu and the others are just your classmates; they aren't 'shinobi' yet. Naturally, they aren't a match for real ninjas." As Hiruzen said this, he somehow thought of Itachi Uchiha. If it were that person, the rule wouldn't apply.
Konohamaru fidgeted. "But where is the proctor? Why isn't he here yet?" He was dying to see how strong he needed to be to defeat Tianyu.
"He's coming... and... he's here."
BOOM!
Just as the audience and candidates were gossiping, a surging aura slammed into them. It was literal; a crushing pressure weighed down on their bodies, leaving them momentarily unable to move. Everyone turned their eyes toward the source of the pressure.
Hands in his pockets, Tonbo walked forward. With every step, a phantom lotus bloomed beneath his feet, which then dissolved into countless scattering cherry blossoms. He walked forward step by step, and even though he made no hostile move, it felt like he was stepping directly on their hearts.
Thump-thump!
To the audience, it felt like an eternity, but in an instant, Tonbo had landed in the center of the arena, right in front of the candidates.
"Hello, everyone. I am Tonbo Tobitake, the Chief Proctor of this exam. The rules for the next stage were sent to you beforehand: unlimited one-on-one combat. You will be scored based on performance. Whether you become a Chunin depends on how you show up today."
Tonbo explained the rules simply. His voice wasn't loud, yet it blanketed the entire stadium like a clear broadcast, sounding as if he were whispering directly into everyone's ears.
"Um... Mr. Proctor, I think there's something wrong with my body. May I withdraw from this exam?"
Just as Tonbo finished his grand entrance, a young man with white hair and glasses raised his hand, clutching his stomach. It was Kabuto.
Tonbo didn't even blink. He simply snapped his fingers with his right hand.
Kabuto tensed inwardly, wondering if he had been exposed. Suddenly, a gust of wind erupted beneath his feet, launching him into the air. He flew out of the arena and landed perfectly in the spectator stands.
"I won't force anyone to become a Chunin; there is no point in that. Is there anyone else who wishes to withdraw?"
Tonbo acted as if he had done something completely trivial. And indeed, for him, that level of Wind Release was child's play.
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