"Wow, this is amazing! Is this the strength of the Genin participating in the Chunin Exams?"
Naruto watched the battles repeatedly, his eyes dazed.
The other students were the same.
Even students from clans, who knew the strength of a Chunin, were dazzled by what they saw now.
"These are the people who are going to become Chunin; each one is more cunning than the last," Shikamaru muttered.
Iruka explained to the students, "See? This is the strength required to participate in the final Chunin Exams. Watch carefully; learning even a little will be very useful for your Ninja path."
All the students watched intently.
In nine more months, they would become Genin.
This was a great opportunity that they couldn't miss.
"The referee is truly impressive. To be able to clearly judge the strength of both sides in such an intense battle, and intervene at crucial moments—that insight is incredible!"
A voice suddenly came from beside Naruto, startling him.
He turned his head to look: "Hey, why are you suddenly here again?"
"I've been sitting here the whole time; you just didn't notice," Shino said.
"..."
... "So cool." Konohamaru was also extremely excited watching the fierce battles.
He waved his hands non-stop, as if he were on the field himself.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched, also very satisfied.
Since the Third Shinobi World War, their Konoha had gradually recovered its former glory.
Every year, some excellent Ninja would emerge.
"Wow, Grandpa, what's that?"
Suddenly, Konohamaru pointed at the field and shouted... Boom!
"Cat God Possession."
Izuno Zaizai unrolled a scroll, formed hand signs, pressed it down, and Chakra surged from his body.
A giant pink Lucky Cat appeared in the arena.
It swung its cat paw, blocking the enemy's continuous explosive tag attacks.
The chubby body controlled the Lucky Cat to charge forward, ignoring all of the enemy's attacks. It swatted away all explosive tags and Shuriken with its cat paws.
Relying on the agility of Cat God Possession, Izuno Zaizai pressed the cat paw against his opponent's body.
"Izuno Zaizai, winner. Next match, Takimaru versus Koenji."
Satoru was very satisfied to see that he could use Cat God Possession.
Then he continued to the next match... "Such a big cat, how are we supposed to fight it?"
"When we graduate, we'll also learn powerful Ninjutsu, and we'll definitely be able to defeat it."
"The Chakra of an ordinary Ninja can't sustain this Ninjutsu for a long time. We just need to stall for time, and then strike when his Chakra is low."
"Kiba, I didn't realize you were so smart."
"Idiot, when was I ever not smart?"
"Woof woof~"
... There were no surprises in between.
The assessment proceeded smoothly.
Satoru also kept in mind those suitable for promotion to Chunin.
In a normal Chunin Exams, those who reach the third stage can basically become Chunin.
Because their leadership abilities are already considered experienced.
Unlike the Twelve Strongest Ninja era, where their combat power was strong, but their other experience was too lacking, and they were too young.
"So, this Chunin Exams is officially over. Hokage-sama will notify those who can be promoted to Chunin. But today, as your senior, I want to give a benefit to all Ninja who participated in the final assessment."
Satoru said to the participants after the assessment ended...
"Reward?" Konohamaru looked at his grandpa.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also didn't know what Satoru was up to: "As the chief examiner, he arranged everything for this Chunin Exams. He wants to give a reward, probably because he's quite satisfied with this generation."
"I see."
... "Reward?" Kabuto frowned at the words.
This was the first time he'd heard of a Chunin Exams giving rewards.
Promotion to Chunin was the best reward for a Ninja.
This gave him a sense of surprise that the event wasn't in his control, along with some interest.
This person always surprised him...
"Reward?"
The participants were also surprised.
It was truly unexpected.
However, they were also very interested in Captain Satoru's reward.
This was a Konoha Jonin; could the reward he gave be bad?
Perhaps it was some secret Ninjutsu or something.
"For the next half day, your time is mine. It just so happens that whether you can become Chunin still needs to be reviewed by Hokage-sama."
Satoru said.
Being capable wasn't enough; there also had to be a personal review.
To check if they were spies.
Chunin were already the middle layer of Konoha, so naturally, capability alone wasn't enough.
They would be squad leaders, involving the safety of many people.
Those who were prepared wouldn't be discovered during the review anyway.
"Yes, Lord Satoru."
All the examinees had no objections.
"Then let's go."
Boar – Dog – Rooster – Monkey – Ram – Rat
Bang!
Under the feet of the twenty-two examinees, a massive creature slowly carried them upwards.
Satoru stood on the eagle's head with his hands behind his back.
Whoosh whoosh~
The giant wings flapped, stirring up gales and huge waves in the arena.
The people in the audience could only raise their hands to block the wind and waves, watching the figure standing with his hands behind his back, like a grandmaster.
Caw!
With a cry from the giant eagle, it had already soared into the sky, and they quickly became just a small black dot.
"Wha... wha... what is that?"
Naruto pointed at the departing giant eagle, his jaw almost dropping.
It was too big.
Just one feather was bigger than his whole body.
"A Summoning Beast, of course. But to be able to summon such a Summoning Beast at will, Captain Satoru's strength is probably, as the rumors say, enough to take the Tsuchikage's Dust Release head-on with his face."
A student said behind Naruto.
Iruka smiled: "No, that's Genjutsu, not Summoning Jutsu. You must remember, after becoming a Ninja, never be fooled by superficial appearances."
He also thought it was too cool.
Even cooler than before.
He regretted not learning this move back then, otherwise, if he used it in front of his students, it would surely make them worship him endlessly.
Shino, hearing this, chattered non-stop: "Genjutsu? No... it shouldn't be just that. It's just a reward for the examinees; there's no need to pay such a huge price.
Genjutsu that twists reality costs much more than raising my insects.
It's probably some kind of nature transformation of Yin Release.
Even if it's just that, it's still too amazing."
In his eyes, the fact that it was carrying the examinees was already established.
That is to say, it wasn't a simple Genjutsu; he trusted his insects.
"Shino, truly remarkable thinking, you guessed it right." Iruka's eyes lit up when he heard that.
He didn't expect anyone to be able to guess the general principle of the teacher's Pupil Setting Hand.
"Yin Release, what is that?"
Naruto scratched his head at the words, pouting at Shino.
He was always talking about things he didn't understand.
Iruka was speechless, rolling his eyes: "Naruto, I told you to study hard. This is a fourth-grade lesson. Go back and study it properly."
"But I was so excited today watching. I think I can also do what those examinees can.
I want to go back and train!" Naruto's head started to ache when he heard about studying, and studying fourth-grade lessons at that.