Chapter 49: Chapter 49 : Three Months Time Skip
Three months.
That's how long I haven't taken any missions and have been solely focused on training. Right now, there is nothing in my life besides grinding. I can't remember the last time I felt like this—so focused on one thing that I lose track of time, what's happening around me, and even dates.
I've been grinding and getting stronger, making sure that I am ready by the time the Chunin Exam rolls around.
So if I lose track of time and dates, how come I know that the Chunin Exam is almost around the corner?
"So, what do you think, my boy? Do you plan to participate in the Chunin Exam?" Hiruzen asked, puffing on his pipe. He had two profiles on his desk for me to see.
I was glad that he brought this up himself, but otherwise, I would have done it myself. The issue was the two profiles he was showing me.
Kabuto Yakushi and Misumi Tsurugi.
Yoroi, the person I killed back then to acquire his chakra absorption skill, was a member of this team. All three of them were spies for Orochimaru.
And now this old man wants me to join their team since Yoroi no longer exists. Now it's time for me to choose—should I join their team or let it go and participate in another Chunin Exam?
Well, there is only one answer to that.
"I'll participate in the Chunin Exam. Please count me in," I replied, loud and clear.
"Hmmm… Great then. You can meet your team directly tomorrow at the exam hall," Hiruzen said with a smile.
I, on the other hand, was in a daze. Tomorrow?
I don't even have a day until the exam starts.
Shit, it's a good thing this old man called me, otherwise, I would have missed the exam altogether. But this also causes some trouble for me. I have no idea about my teammates. Though I know them from the anime, I would at least like to meet them personally before the exam.
If nothing else, I need to assess their threat levels. I can't leave my back open to them. It's honestly very dangerous to stay with them all this time in the Forest of Death.
Gotta plan this out.
In the three months, I've improved quite a bit. Now I can make up to four clones, though to be honest, three are more practical.
I'm not planning to use all of them together, as that would leave me without any chakra—a pretty dangerous situation.
However, after all this time, I've come up with a few interesting gadgets and tricks that I can't wait to use in real life.
Thinking about how much I've improved in these three months makes me grin to myself.
With the help of shadow clones and my own body, I've nearly completed a full training regimen of a year. I'm looking forward to the upcoming exam.
While thinking about all this, I stepped out of the Hokage's office and headed home. Since the exam starts tomorrow, I won't be doing any more training. My body needs rest, and I clearly don't have enough time to train anymore.
Now that it's final that I'm participating in the Chunin Exam, I need to decide what I'm going to do and what I'll keep away from.
There are many elements of the Chunin Exams that I need to pre-plan before going to the exam center tomorrow.
The biggest concern is Orochimaru and him giving the curse seal to Sasuke. I've become strong, but I'm not strong enough to take down Orochimaru. Saving Sasuke sounds nice, but if it means exposing myself to that snake, then I'm out.
I don't think I have any way to actually stop Orochimaru from giving Sasuke that curse seal. Even if I somehow manage to do so—assuming I could—what's stopping Orochimaru from placing the seal on Sasuke later, like after the preliminary rounds?
Then there's the issue of how many teams pass in the first place. In the anime, all five teams from Konoha passed, including Team 7, Team 8, and Kabuto's team. There were also two non-Leaf teams: the Sound and the Sand teams.
If I'm not mistaken, the preliminary rounds only took place because there were too many people who passed through the Forest of Death. Initially, I wanted to reduce the number of teams, but that isn't possible given the teams I'm up against.
I can't even go near Team 7. I'd rather stay away from those troublemakers if possible. Even if I plan to go after them, that would only happen after Orochimaru is done with them, but doing so would be difficult with Kabuto around.
I won't be touching Team 8 for personal reasons. Kurenai has helped me too much to do that to her team, and I've worked really hard to train Hinata.
Team 9 consists of Lee and Neji. Taking both of them on is not possible for me right now. Even if I somehow pull it off with some crazy plan, that team is Tenten's. I don't want to do that to her.
Team 10 is in a similar situation. If only Shikamaru—my literal cousin—wasn't in that team, I might have acted.
The Sand team has the most troublesome member besides Orochimaru, of course. I'd rather not interact with Gaara if possible.
Maybe the Sound team is the only one I can take down without much trouble, but even then, will taking out one team make a difference?
I doubt it.
Ultimately, I can't change the canon much without taking significant risks. Sigh, I'll just go with the flow this time around.
xxx
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Chapter 50: Chapter 50 : Exam Centre
Finally, it was time. I woke up early and got everything I needed for the exam, making sure I was prepared for a long trip in the Forest of Death. I was ready for pretty much anything at this point.
Leaving home and heading towards the exam center, I pondered my future actions.
Honestly, I have nothing to do with the plot or anything. I am strictly here to get promoted to Chunin level and gain that sweet power boost.
The problem is, I already know how this exam will end. One month later, Hiruzen will die, and then Naruto and Jiraiya will have to go out to bring Tsunade back to become the Hokage. That alone will take another 2 to 3 months.
Now, why do I care about that? Because only after Tsunade returns will she promote me to Chunin.
I am trying to find a way to shorten this time. A simple way would be to prevent Hiruzen's death, but that is also troublesome.
Many don't like Hiruzen Sarutobi for what he did, but I honestly have no particular opinion about him. I couldn't care less.
After all, he was to me like many other Hokage. The only difference was that he actually stayed in that seat for a long time, and maybe that one thing kind of makes him look so bad.
He made more mistakes because he stayed in the Hokage position for a long time. It's not like others didn't make any mistakes, such as Hashirama giving away the Tailed Beasts. Some might say it was for peace, but I can only ask whether the world really experienced peace.
Tobirama was responsible for isolating a powerful clan in Konoha, which ultimately led to its eradication. He might not have been the one who eradicated them, but his students did, so he is indirectly involved.
Minato technically didn't have any problems, but he hardly stayed in the Hokage position, and there is just not enough information available about him.
And lastly, Tsunade—that is another story altogether. Hokage after her doesn't count, considering that no one dared to act against the god-like beings present in Konoha, namely Naruto and Sasuke.
So, I honestly don't have any particular opinion about Hiruzen. Whether he dies or not has nothing to do with me, but indirectly, it matters. If Hiruzen is gone, Tsunade will eventually come, and Danzo will continue enjoying his power.
So if someone asked me to choose between him dying or living, I would lean towards him dying.
But then again, that outcome will extend the time it takes for me to become Chunin.
While thinking about these matters, I finally arrived at the exam center and realized that I was running late. What could I do about it? It's not like I have a personal Jonin to keep me informed about every little detail of the exam.
I hurriedly got inside, only to see two kids fighting. Yup, these were none other than Sasuke and Lee.
This wasn't my first time seeing them. With Shika's memory, I know how they actually look, but seeing them in person is another thing altogether.
And there were more: Naruto and Sakura. Though they didn't attract my attention as much as Sasuke and Lee did.
It's surprising that even after changing the story as much as I have, this canon event is still happening. Good for me honestly, because I wanted to check out one thing.
Sasuke charged at Lee, but Lee easily dodged and then kicked Sasuke in the face, throwing him back. Seeing this, both Sakura and Naruto were surprised and started to make noise.
Sasuke, on the other hand, looked bad. He stood up with some difficulty and stared at Lee, but what I was waiting for never happened, confirming that Sasuke had not activated his Sharingan yet.
That makes sense. The Wave Mission was when he was supposed to open his eyes, and now that I'm here, that has changed. But is this change for the better? I'm not sure.
"Is that it? Seems like that's the extent of your genius, Sasuke Uchiha," Lee said while still in his fighting stance. To this, Sasuke just looked a little angry before rushing at Lee again.
Lee didn't show any hesitation or struggle. Sasuke's speed might be nothing to him at this point. He easily blocked Sasuke's punch and then kicked him right in the face.
I was contemplating whether to intervene or not.
---
Ultimately, it turned out that a guy did come to stop the fight. By then, I was bored and entered the exam hall.
There were too many shinobi there, honestly, and it turned out that the Rookie Nine were the youngest of them all.
Finding Kabuto and Misumi wasn't hard. While I didn't know much about Misumi besides his weakness, I directly approached Kabuto. Knowing his strength and his attitude towards me was more important.
I can't pass the exam if any of my teammates are dead, so killing him in the Forest of Death was out of the question. However, he could still kill me. He doesn't particularly need to pass. If I'm not mistaken, he opted out of the exam himself.
xxx
Here is the goal for this Week.
500+ stones for the first bonus chapter on Monday
1000+ Stones for the second bonus chapter on Sunday bonus chapter
"Thank you Very Much for All Your Support"
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Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
65 Power
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