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"It's enough, he should now possess the power of Wood Release. Orochimaru-sama, please let him try a Wood Release technique."
Mina checked the physical data of the test subject, then confidently said to Orochimaru.
Just like in her dreams, this person could now use Wood Release techniques.
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru felt a bit surprised but calmly ordered a student to send in a simple Wood Clone Technique.
The test subject sent by Danzo was a ninja cultivated from the Root, only eleven years old, but he had already carried out numerous missions for the Root and was proficient in several ninjutsu.
Orochimaru, through a sound transmitting device, commanded the ninja to learn the Wood Release technique presented before him and release it as quickly as possible.
Since Yōichi did not want to expose Mina's involvement in the experiment, the Root's test subjects were still unaware of her existence, observing only through a one-way glass.
The young Root ninja immediately began studying the scroll.
The principle of the Wood Clone Technique is similar to the Shadow Clone, but it requires the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.
After forming hand seals and controlling the chakra flow, the young Root ninja started forming seals.
The first attempt failed, but sprouts had already appeared on his shoulders.
Just from seeing this, Orochimaru could confirm that the Wood Release experiment was a success.
On the second attempt, a mass of wood emerged from the boy's body, forming a human shape, but it didn't complete.
The third attempt, the young Root ninja successfully used the Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique.
"Impressive, truly successful. After Tsunade, you are the strongest medical ninja, Yōichi-san is lucky to have your help," Orochimaru said without stinginess in his praise, understanding Mina's character over these four days.
As he said, her medical ninjutsu could rival Tsunade's, her personality is open and straightforward, and she is slightly naïve, making it easy to extract information from her.
"Heh, it's alright, Yōichi-sama gave me the opportunity," Mina almost slipped up, but she caught herself and awkwardly changed the topic: "Orochimaru-sama, if there are no issues, then please give me the Hashirama Cells, the experiment is over."
"Mm, let's do one last check."
Orochimaru smiled, thinking to himself; what kind of opportunity? An opportunity for experimentation? And quite a few at that?
But Yōichi-san likely doesn't have Hashirama Cells, and it seems this isn't even the best fusion yet.
Orochimaru could only use this flattering method to let Mina relax her guard, then slowly extract more information.
It was quite fruitful, making Orochimaru even more interested in Yōichi.
After the experiment ended, as scheduled, Orochimaru handed over the Hashirama Cells to Mina, which included the majority obtained from Danzo, enough to cultivate thirty individuals with Wood Release bloodlines.
"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama, then I shall take my leave."
After greeting, Mina left the area, near the Forest of Death, surrounded by several dens of venomous snakes. If not for Lord Yōichi's orders, she would never have come here.
However, the mission was finally complete. Holding the Hashirama Cells, Mina prepared to head straight home.
Recently, Yōichi rarely visited the police force, spending most of his time training three students in the forest behind his home, with Yugito often visiting.
Though Yugito thought Yōichi was a bit of a womanizer, he couldn't deny Yōichi's strength.
Especially since she harbored the Two-Tails, she felt threatened during her last encounter with Yōichi's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Mina?"
While hurrying home, Mina suddenly heard someone calling her and turned to see Kushina.
Mina asked, "Kushina, what are you doing here?"
"I just went to the Konoha Hospital, you said you were a Shadow Clone, so I came back, but I didn't expect to find you here."
Kushina approached and asked, "I wanted to chat with you, but you've been busy lately? Every time I go to the hospital, it's just a Shadow Clone."
The Shadow Clone had to ensure the duties at the Konoha Hospital were maintained, so Mina's Shadow Clone refused all non-essential activities, including going out with Kushina.
"I have indeed been quite busy, assisting Yōichi-sama with missions. Kushina, did you need something?"
"It's nothing much, just had a small argument with Minato a few days ago, but we've made up. Are you still busy now?"
Seeing Mina seemed hurried, Kushina spoke up, "If you're busy, I'll find you another time."
"Okay, I should be free tomorrow. I'll come to see you then."
Mina hadn't seen Kushina in a while and planned to meet up with Kushina the next day to hang out and vent a bit about the former clan leader's wife, unaware that Kushina and Mikoto were also close friends.
After saying goodbye to Mina, Kushina was left wondering what to do; without Yōichi's assistance, her control over the tailed beast's chakra was too slow.
The Seal Division didn't need her help, and her activities were limited to the village. She could only fantasize about the world outside through her friends.
————————————
"Minato, everything regarding Kakashi has been handled. As long as he doesn't mention it himself, the other ninja villages won't know he's already a chūnin."
Hiruzen said to Minato, who had almost let every ninja in the village who knew of Kakashi's chūnin status know to keep it a secret when foreign ninja visited.
Since Kakashi had been promoted to chūnin at the age of six, nearly four years had passed. Under the occasional training from Sakumo, Kakashi now even had the credentials to challenge for a special jōnin rank.
Although young, letting him participate in the chūnin exams would definitely place him at the forefront in terms of strength.
If the other ninja villages knew that Kakashi had been a chūnin for over three years, this chūnin exam would be a joke.
"Thank you very much, Third Hokage, I've been quite troubled about this matter."
Minato smiled and said, "Though the three of them often quarrel, their friendship is strong. If we suddenly changed a teammate, this chūnin exam would definitely fail."
"Mm, it's just a small matter, don't worry about it."
Sarutobi looked at the young Minato before him and suddenly came up with an idea.
He had previously considered the position of the Fourth Hokage, thinking a lot about it, but felt that his three students fell short of the mark for Hokage.
If Tsunade didn't have hemophobia, Orochimaru thought a bit more about the village instead of his own ambitions, and Jiraiya was a bit more serious, any of them would be suitable for Hokage.
But each was lacking in some way, leading Sarutobi to feel none were fit for Hokage.
As for Sakumo, he was a person who fully embodied the Will of Fire, making it difficult for Sarutobi to point out two flaws in him even if given a day.
But he was too close to the Uchiha clan!
And he had his own strong opinions; if Sakumo became the Fourth Hokage, then he, the Third Hokage, would truly retire.
"Minato, do you want to be Hokage?"
Sarutobi suddenly asked, catching Minato off guard. After a few seconds, Minato scratched his head, somewhat embarrassedly saying, "Of course, it's been my goal since my Genin days, and I'm still working towards it."
"I want to protect everyone in the village and gain everyone's recognition!" The last part, about protecting Kushina and letting her freely roam the ninja world, was something Minato thought but did not say aloud.
"Then do your best, if you need anything, you can come to me, Minato, I have high hopes for you."
Sarutobi lit his pipe, then kindly smiled at Minato, "Jiraiya once said you were suited for the Flying Thunder God Technique, that was the second time I noticed you, and I felt then that you would definitely become Hokage."
"Third Hokage."
Minato was moved, if not for the Third Hokage's approval back then, how could a mere chūnin have accessed the Scroll of Seals and obtained the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Work hard, Minato, in a couple of years, I might also step down, and by then I hope you can be recognized by the whole village."
"Yes, I understand, Third Hokage."
Minato was a bit excited after hearing this, almost confirming to him that the Third Hokage would support him to become the Fourth Hokage.
Being Hokage was his dream, and also a condition for freeing Kushina from surveillance, so Minato was particularly excited after receiving Sarutobi's recognition and support.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Minato was still a bit exhilarated, but after a few steps, his nature made him calm down.
At that moment, Minato remembered that becoming Hokage, despite the support, would not be without resistance.
Among his peers was Yōichi, the Uchiha Clan Leader.
And then there were the Sannin—his teacher Jiraiya and Orochimaru—with more extensive records of military exploits and missions.
What troubled Minato the most was Sakumo; he suddenly felt that Sakumo was the most suitable to be Hokage, and even though his dream supported him, in front of Sakumo, he always felt lacking.
"I'll go and discuss this with Jiraiya-sensei."
Minato originally decided to meet Kushina, but now the matter of becoming Hokage weighed on his mind, wanting to analyze it with Jiraiya.
————————————————
As the chūnin exam approached, the patrol duties of the police force became stricter.
The war had just ended, and a chūnin exam involving several countries and their ninja villages was a challenging task for the police force.
Thus, Yōichi had also asked clan ninjas to help share the load, allowing those not in the police force to patrol with them.
This would give the police force more time to rest.
The genin participating in the chūnin exams were also training fervently; this chūnin exam was particularly grand.
Six ninja villages jointly held the chūnin exam, with four daimyō attending to watch. Once the news spread, no genin wanted to embarrass themselves in this exam.
Kakashi had been practicing team cooperation with Obito and Rin until the last few days when he started training at home. He had asked his father, Sakumo, to specifically train him in the White Fang sword technique.
Asuma was being taught the Sarutobi clan's Fire Release techniques by other clan ninjas.
Rumi was practicing Gentle Fist; she didn't return home and, with Yōichi's permission, trained in the forest behind his house every day.
Yōichi guessed a bit about the Hyūga clan's situation but didn't say it outright.
As for Yōichi, he was still relatively relaxed, wandering around several places. After absorbing enough starstone chakra, he stopped training.
His home's basement had also been outfitted with many experimental devices, where Mina was currently conducting cell fusion.
Once the cell fusion was complete, Mina could integrate Hashirama Cells into Yōichi, a method not only capable of perfectly unleashing the power of Hashirama Cells but also devoid of side effects.
Such as pale skin or faces growing on the body.
After fusing with Hashirama Cells, Yōichi would be the strongest ninja in Konoha, and he hadn't even learned Sage Mode yet.
Ninjas from other villages gradually arrived in Konoha, and the Cloud ninja team was also here.
A total of thirty people, besides the three jōnin, Cloud Village had brought nine genin teams to participate in Konoha's chūnin exam.
Although not as many as the fifteen teams from Rock Village, they were still the third most populous village.
After arriving in Konoha, Dodai called Samui into the house, his expression serious as he spoke, "Samui, if you see Yugito, convey the Raikage's words to her, tell her not to overthink it."
"I understand, Dodai-sama, once I see Yugito, I'll persuade her well."
Samui's expression was emotionless, not because she didn't take the task seriously, but because she rarely showed emotions.
"But Dodai-sama, will Konoha let us take Yugito?"
"They should, considering the sincerity we've shown this time. If Konoha still refuses, then we can only..."
Dodai rubbed his temples, saying they had even brought out the other Six Paths ninja tools, along with the war indemnity documents, and mission commissions from the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Rice Fields.
If Konoha still refused to return Yugito to them, then the Third Raikage would really have to swallow his pride and seek an alliance with Ōnoki.
The Two-Tails was too important to them; compared to that, pride was negligible.
This trip to the chūnin exams for the Cloud ninja was not only to negotiate with Konoha but also to exchange ideas with the Rock ninja.
Samui rubbed her shoulders, suddenly asking, "If Yugito doesn't come out of the Uchiha clan territory, can I go in?"
Dodai frowned slightly, then said, "Try it. If you can't get in, we'll think of another way."
(End of Chapter)
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"The Chunin Exam is finally starting."
Kurenai clenched her fist, looking forward to it, and said, "Let's head to the examination site."
Rumi also spoke up, "Let's go."
The three of them usually followed Yōichi's lead. With Yōichi absent and no temporary team leader assigned, they usually followed Kurenai's lead, especially before the individual matches, with Rumi and Kazuhito listening to her.
They had heard that due to the large number of participants, the Chunin Exam would be divided into three stages, ending with the individual combat phase, possibly leaving only about a dozen competitors.
Upon reaching the exam venue, they found two classrooms, each accommodating over a hundred people. Kurenai and her team were assigned to Room 201.
"Kurenai, you're here too, I knew you'd participate," Asuma approached them near the entrance, smiling at Kurenai. Despite having been defeated by them before, Asuma still took the opportunity to strike up a conversation.
"Yes, Asuma, you're participating in the Chunin Exam as well?"
"Almost everyone from our class is here. This time, we'll see who can become a Chunin."
Asuma, who had mastered two Fire Release techniques at home, was brimming with confidence. He leaned closer and said to Kurenai, "Kurenai, if I become a Chunin, let's go have a meal together, okay?"
"Let's see when the time comes, Asuma, but I think the one who will become a Chunin will be me."
Kurenai finished speaking, spotting Kakashi in the crowd. They had been told by their teacher Yōichi that their biggest competitor in this Chunin Exam, aside from ninja from other villages, would be Kakashi.
An early graduate, Kakashi had become a Chunin three years ago, and although it was unclear why he was participating again in the Chunin Exam, being praised by their teacher Yōichi meant Kakashi was undoubtedly their strongest competitor.
Despite a period of self-degradation after losing his father, being able to become a Jōnin at twelve and developing an incomplete A-rank forbidden technique spoke volumes of Kakashi's talent.
Now, with Sakumo alive and continually refining the White Fang sword technique, even Yōichi couldn't guess Kakashi's current strength, only speculating that it might be close to a Jōnin's.
"Kakashi, I will definitely surpass you in this Chunin Exam!"
"Yes, yes, I hope you make it to the final round."
Kakashi responded indifferently to Obito, not seeing where Obito had put in any effort, considering that simply practicing a few ninjutsu techniques could hardly be called trying.
Back when he was tasked with training under Yōichi, he would train until he could barely stand.
"Alright, that's the spirit of youth, Kakashi! Let's have a decisive battle when the time comes."
"Idiot!"
"There are too many people..."
Soon, the classroom filled up, with thirty genin teams from Konoha alone, plus additional teams from Rock and Cloud villages, totaling over two hundred participants.
In total, two hundred and sixty-seven genin were participating in the Chunin Exam, hence the use of two large classrooms.
"Silence!"
A cloud of smoke suddenly appeared in the classroom, and then ten Konoha ninja appeared, led by an interrogator from the Torture and Interrogation Force.
Besides this Jōnin, fifteen Chunin appeared on the walls around the classroom.
"Everyone, take your seats immediately and prepare for the first round of the Chunin Exam."
Seeing the proctor's serious demeanor and cold expression, the genin quickly found seats as directed.
"Now, I'll explain the rules of the exam. You have one hour for the Chunin-required knowledge test. There's only one rule: if a proctor catches you using any methods other than answering the questions, your entire team will be disqualified. If there are no questions, then let's begin the exam."
The implication was clear: if you aren't caught, it's not a problem. With so many participants and only a handful making it to the end, many would need to be eliminated in the first two rounds.
Kurenai quickly grasped the nature of the situation, as did many other participants.
The proctors didn't prohibit them from eliminating each other, but obvious and foolish tactics would also lead to disqualification; the Chunin Exam was almost like a survival of the fittest right from the start.
"Let's give it a try, fortunately, I learned some sound-based illusions from Teacher Yōichi."
As the exam papers were distributed, Kurenai didn't rush to answer but instead discreetly formed hand seals under the table while rhythmically tapping on the surface.
Thump, thump-thump-thump, thump-thump
Rumi and Kazuhito, hearing the tapping, quietly blocked their ears, not wishing to be accidentally affected by Kurenai.
Kurenai wasn't the only one acting; other genin who had guessed the exam's true nature began using various covert methods, not just cheating but also disrupting other contestants.
The proctors observed all these tactics, intervening only when the tactics were blatantly obvious.
Whoosh!
A proctor threw a shuriken, striking right next to a Grass Village genin's hand, startling him enough to drop the mirror he was hiding.
"You're disqualified, along with your teammates, numbers 148 and 156. Leave the examination hall."
The Grass Village genin, not willing to leave quietly, stood to curse.
"Get out!"
Before he could speak, the Torture and Interrogation Force Jōnin appeared beside him in a flash, grabbing and hurling him against the wall.
"Anyone disrupting the exam is at my discretion to incapacitate!"
Under the Jōnin's forceful threat, the other two Grass Village genin didn't dare utter a word and promptly left the classroom.
"Numbers 71, 3, and 62, you're disqualified!"
"Numbers 32, 5, and 19, you're disqualified!"
Several minutes into the exam, consecutive disqualifications, including several teams from Konoha, added significant pressure to the remaining contestants.
However, some, like Kurenai, remained unfazed. Though she hadn't answered a single question, the tapping continued unabated.
"Using sound to cast illusions, she's Kurenai, that Uchiha clan leader's student, no wonder."
The Jōnin proctor had noticed early on that Kurenai was casting an illusion. This technique was subtle enough to catch even Chunin off guard, so he didn't intervene.
But he soon realized that Kurenai was attempting to cast a wide-range illusion to ensnare everyone in the classroom.
"I must remind them, otherwise if someone gets caught, it would embarrass all the proctors."
The Jōnin proctor thought to himself, then used a signal only they could understand, warning them not to fall for Kurenai's illusion.
"Genjutsu: This Is Not The Place!"
As the last tap sounded, Kurenai's illusion took effect, impacting everyone in the classroom.
Suddenly, the scene before everyone's eyes shifted, plunging them into an illusion, although the proctors quickly dispelled it.
"Huh? Why am I back here, mom, what are you doing here?"
"A ramen shop? Wasn't I in an exam?"
After the successful deployment of the illusion, many genin who were unaware of the illusion saw their surroundings change drastically.
Seeing many fall for the illusion, the proctor smirked, pleased with his work in reducing the number of participants, confident he had outperformed the neighboring room.
————————————
At the Hokage Building.
Although the Chunin Exam had begun, the Cloud Village's leading ninja showed little interest in the exam itself. Dodai directly went to the Hokage Building, hoping to initiate a second round of peace negotiations.
Compared to the Chunin Exam, they were more concerned about the whereabouts of the Two-Tails.
Coincidentally, Yōichi, Minato, and other leading Jōnin were at the Hokage Building, along with Sakumo, who had come to watch Kakashi's performance.
Seeing Dodai intent on negotiating, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, called over Minato and others.
"Hokage-sama, the Raikage has shown great sincerity this time, offering four long-heritaged Rikudō tools from Cloud Village, along with the previous terms," Dodai said gravely. "Just return the Two-Tails, and Cloud Village will quickly deliver their sincerity."
Hiruzen was tempted, but he turned to Yōichi and asked, "Yōichi-san, what do you think of Dodai-san's proposal?"
"It's not very good. Yugito is a ninja of Konoha now, and we don't have a tradition of betraying our comrades."
Yōichi instantly dismissed the proposal, then coldly looked at Dodai and said, "It was already generous of Cloud Village to admit defeat, although I know your kind lacks honor. Perhaps I should have followed your example and sent back A's corpse!"
Dodai's face darkened as he retorted, "Continuing the war wouldn't necessarily have been favorable for Konoha!"
"Why didn't you continue the war then? It's just the death of an heir."
Yōichi sneered, "The Third Raikage wants a son and benefits; he thinks he can have everything? Are you dreaming?"
This remark angered Dodai, who clenched his fists, insulted not only towards the Raikage but also mocked himself.
Sakumo shook his head, thinking it was typical of Yōichi to provoke the Cloud ninjas like this.
"Hokage-sama, are you going to let others mock us during negotiations? Regardless, we are envoys from Cloud Village."
"Let me correct that; you are shameless Cloud ninjas who refuse to accept defeat even after losing a war," Yōichi interjected.
Dodai, enraged, pointed at Yōichi and warned, "Don't go too far, Cloud Village won't let this slide."
Zzzt!
A flash of lightning flared as Yōichi instantly appeared beside Dodai, grabbing his neck and slamming him to the ground.
Bang!
The floor cratered under Dodai's head, and Yōichi also pinned his other arm behind his back.
"This bow is for you to thank the Hokage-sama. If it were up to me, you Cloud ninjas would have been killed upon entering Konoha, sparing you the chance to stand here and spout nonsense."
Yōichi's strength was not something Dodai could resist, especially with the Chakra Mode active; any resistance, and Yōichi could snap his neck.
Hiruzen's expression changed as he called out, "Yōichi-sas, enough!"
Sakumo approached Yōichi, placing a hand on his shoulder and saying, "Let it go, Yōichi-san."
Seeing Sakumo intervene, Yōichi finally released Dodai, warning him, "Cut out your tricks. If I catch you loitering near Uchiha lands again, even if you're a competing genin, I'll have the police force execute you on the spot."
"Hokage-sama, it seems we're not needed here. I'll go check on the exam site with Yōichi-san."
As tensions rose, Sakumo, fearing Yōichi might kill Dodai on impulse, spoke to Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's grim expression eased slightly as he replied, "Yes, go ahead, Sakumo-san."
Sakumo nodded, then pulling Yōichi along, said, "Come on, Yōichi-san, let's go have some red bean soup."
With that, Sakumo led Yōichi out of the Hokage's office. Hiruzen sighed, relieved but also realizing that Minato had just witnessed the Uchiha's way of handling matters.
Jiraiya, catching Hiruzen's glance, stepped forward to help Dodai up, then said, "Dodai-san, today was an accident. Let's talk another day."
Dodai ignored Jiraiya and the Third Hokage, leaving the office without a word, his departure leaving Hiruzen with an even more displeased expression.
Afterward, Hiruzen addressed the remaining people, "You may leave now. Minato, Jiraiya, stay behind."
Once the others had left, Jiraiya spoke up, "Don't be mad, old man. You knew Yōichi and the Cloud ninjas don't get along. Why did you let him come? Looks like the peace talks are going to fail again."
"I thought he would respect my position as Hokage... The Uchiha temper really is too much," Hiruzen lamented, lighting his pipe and taking a puff before turning to Minato, "Minato, if you become Hokage, you'll encounter even more frustrating situations than I have. Try to get used to it."
Jiraiya interjected, "Hey, old man, I'm still here as his teacher. Why are you skipping over me and picking Minato?"
He knew Hiruzen favored Minato, and his comment was meant to lighten the mood.
Hiruzen, somewhat annoyed, looked at Jiraiya and replied, "If you were serious about handling Hokage duties, I'd recommend you to the daimyo in a heartbeat!"
"Forget it, let Minato be Hokage. He's more suitable than I am."
Jiraiya quickly shook his head, still eager to travel the ninja world, perhaps even encountering Tsunade once the wars subsided.
(End of Chapter)