Chapter 98: Planting Eyes, and How a Woman Affects Your Sword-Drawing Speed
On the second day after returning to Konoha, Genichi went to the Hokage Tower to complete the procedures and also received his Jonin-issue green flak jacket.
A Special Jonin was still a Jonin and came with voting rights! This was considered the quasi-ruling class of Konoha.
Wearing the green flak jacket, Genichi came out of the Hokage Tower and bought a bouquet of flowers, then went to the cemetery to see Namiichi Uchiha.
Putting down the flowers and looking at Namiichi's picture on the Memorial Stone, a three-tomoe Sharingan appeared in Genichi's right eye. "Namiichi, I'm already a Special Jonin. It won't be long until I'm a full Jonin."
"When I have time in the future, I'll take you to see the sights of the rest of the shinobi world. And if there's a chance, we'll go and see the scenery beyond the heavens."
After staying for a moment, Genichi's figure vanished, reappearing on top of the Hokage Rock. Last night, a shadow clone had buried a Flying Thunder God Kunai (Hiraishin Kunai) here.
Starting yesterday, Genichi had his clones creating and placing Hiraishin Kunai all over, "planting eyes." However, he couldn't be too obvious about it for now; after all, he hadn't officially "bought the ticket" to use the jutsu yet.
Gazing down at the whole of Konoha, Genichi's thoughts drifted a bit far. It was now July of Konoha Year 46. More than half the year was already gone. And according to his memory, the Third Great Ninja War would probably break out next year.
At this very moment, Madara Uchiha was probably secretly monitoring the entire shinobi world through his White Zetsu.
Genichi was confident now that unless he was looking for death, even if the A-B Combo came to besiege him again, he wouldn't die. If he couldn't win, he could still run.
But if he were to encounter Madara... Genichi felt he had to be careful. He couldn't get reckless just because he had the Flying Thunder God (Hiraishin). That guy Madara was very familiar with it.
"Although Madara is on life support right now, I absolutely cannot underestimate him because of it," Genichi secretly warned himself.
And the Third Great Ninja War was a critical period.
"There are many things I can't change, but some things, I can..." Genichi assessed his own position. Before, he didn't need to consider so much, because he wasn't strong enough. But now that his strength had increased, many problems would present themselves to him. Some things he could choose not to fight for, but some things, he had to fight for!
Swish!
Genichi's figure vanished from the top of the Hokage Rock and then appeared near Sakumo's house. He hadn't come yesterday, so naturally, he had to pay a visit today.
He knocked and entered. Kakashi had gone to train, and only Sakumo was at home, sipping tea by himself. Seeing Genichi arrive, he immediately smiled and beckoned. "Come, have some tea!"
Genichi smiled and walked over. "It's rare to see you so relaxed, Sensei!"
Sakumo nodded and smiled. "The Mist Village's recent actions have brought a period of stability to the shinobi world."
After pouring his tea, Genichi said, "But war will break out sooner or later."
Sakumo's smile faded. He nodded. "It seems you've gained a lot from your travels this time."
Genichi nodded. "I did gain a lot. It's a pity I didn't have time to go and see the Land of Wind and the other countries."
"I hear all the major ninja villages are expanding their armies and preparing for war. If a war does break out, the village's situation probably won't be good."
Sakumo said pensively, "Konoha has always been a primary target. If the Mist Village also joins the war, we will indeed have to face an attack from multiple sides."
"But the situation in the shinobi world has always changed quickly. There are conflicts between all the ninja villages. It's useless to think too much about it now."
"You should just work hard on your training, Genichi. The stronger you are, the safer you will be in a war, and the greater the role you can play."
"Do you have any plans to train in Lightning Release nature transformation?"
Genichi shook his head. "I don't have any plans for that at the moment."
"I'll still focus on genjutsu, and complement my swordsmanship with Wind Release nature transformation."
Sakumo nodded and smiled. "I heard from Kakashi. Your Wind Release is already very strong."
Genichi was quick to be humble.
After chatting for a few more sentences, Sakumo suddenly asked, "Have you offended Danzō?"
Genichi was taken aback for a moment. "How did you know, Sensei?"
Sakumo didn't answer the question, instead reminding him, "You have to be careful of that man, Danzō."
"He is unscrupulous in his methods, and the Root ninja cannot be trusted."
"Besides, you are the Hokage's man. You don't need his patronage."
Genichi was secretly touched. He nodded. "Don't worry, Sensei. I understand." A person like Danzō was not even suitable for cooperation.
...
After returning from the Hatake house, Genichi began to train quietly. In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the Chunin Exams. The process was the same as when he had participated before, divided into three stages. The first day was the written test. The second day was the team battle. The third day was the individual battles.
As the proctor for the third stage, Genichi didn't have to worry about the first two. He wholeheartedly followed Tsunade and got busy in the laboratory. He couldn't let down those "cadaver teachers" he had brought back; he had to understand them thoroughly. And within the human body, there were too many hidden mysteries. This was even more so for a ninja. Even after death, a lot of information would still be retained in the body.
Besides his real body being soaked in the Konoha Hospital, Genichi also used a large number of shadow clones to train. For his Kuji-kiri Arts, one clone was responsible for each. The same went for his genjutsu and water jutsu development. He would periodically recall the clones, summarize their experiences, and then continue to send out new ones. This was the most efficient method. It was just a little tiring. But Genichi's current physical condition could completely withstand this intensity. After all, it was only a dozen or so shadow clones each time. Compared to Naruto's intensity, it was not on the same level at all.
On the day of the third stage, Genichi went to the Hokage Tower early in the morning to get the list of participants.
Whoa, there were so many familiar names. Not to mention his own classmates like Asuma and Kurenai, there were also Anko, Hayate, Kotetsu, and Raidō. These people were basically born after the Second Great Ninja War. They could be called the golden generation, and would also be the pillars of Konoha in the future. It was a wealth of talent.
Of course, there were even more names Genichi didn't recognize. For example, the Uchiha, Hyuga, Shimura, Kurama, Gekkō, and other clans all had ninja participating in the exams. These ninja clans could be said to be one of the foundations of Konoha, providing a large number of mature and elite ninja. This "elite" didn't necessarily mean Jonin; more often, it was chunin with unique abilities. A Jonin, in any ninja clan, was a minority.
The reason the Uchiha clan later dared to launch a coup was fundamentally because the strength they possessed did not match their status. After all, the Uchiha clan alone had more than a dozen Jonin, and this was Genichi measuring by the threshold of the three-tomoe Sharingan. After the Uchiha were wiped out, Danzō had ten three-tomoe Sharingan on his arm, which was five pairs, representing five Uchiha who had awakened them. But this was not all. Obito had also collected a portion, and it wouldn't be less than Danzō's.
The number one clan of Konoha—Genichi felt they were truly worthy of the name!
Looking at the list in his hand and thinking about the Uchiha clan, Genichi suddenly felt that their rebellion was actually quite normal. It was just that the clan wasn't united. If they had unleashed two pairs of Mangekyō, they really would have had the strength to overturn Konoha.
"Sigh, the Konoha leadership should really be glad I wasn't born an Uchiha. Otherwise... tsk tsk!"
Genichi took the list and went to the examination hall. There were already ninja busy here. Seeing him arrive, they all greeted him with respect, calling him "Genichi-sama," even though none of them were younger than him.
At nine in the morning, the candidates began to enter the examination hall and wait.
And in the monitoring room, Hiruzen, Sakumo, and Minato also appeared one after another.
9:30 AM.
Genichi's figure suddenly appeared in the examination hall.
"From now on, anyone who has not yet arrived will be directly disqualified from this exam!"
Genichi's voice spread throughout the hall, and the originally somewhat noisy hall instantly fell silent.
Kakashi, Obito, Asuma... one by one, the ninja who knew Genichi all stared at him with their mouths agape.
"Genichi is the proctor this time??" Obito took off his goggles in disbelief and rubbed his eyes.
Shiranui Genma, with a senbon in his mouth, said, "This guy... he's not in the same dimension as us anymore, is he?"
Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses. "Although it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that... this guy should be the youngest Jonin in Konoha's history, right? Even if he's a Special Jonin!"
A Special Jonin was still a Jonin! A ten-year-old Jonin was too much of a monster!
Asuma looked at Genichi below, his eyes full of astonishment, and the competitive spirit in his heart completely vanished. The gap was too big. Back then, because of his father's words, he had been holding back his energy, wanting to achieve what Genichi had achieved. But after these few years, he had made little progress. Of course, it wasn't without its benefits. He had indeed become very skilled in the hand seals for Wind Release and could perform the wind jutsu he had mastered with extremely simplified seals. But he still couldn't achieve the kind of effortless grace that Genichi had when casting water jutsu.
And now... there was no comparison, simply no comparison!
On the other side, Shizune, who was standing with her companions, her eyes were sparkling. Genichi is the most amazing, after all!
Genichi naturally felt the gazes falling on him, but he paid them no mind. He directly announced, "The third stage of the Chunin Exams officially begins."
Two names immediately popped up on the electronic display screen.
Yuhi Kurenai, Kurama Shin'ichi!
Genichi's eyebrows raised slightly. Two genjutsu-type ninja. Is this random?
As he was thinking, Kurenai and Shin'ichi had already leaped down from the stands and stood about five meters apart in front of him.
Genichi glanced at the two of them, then took a few steps back and ordered, "Begin!"
A duel of genjutsu was really not much of a spectacle for ordinary people. It didn't look cool or intense. For their first genjutsu, neither Kurenai nor Shin'ichi used hand seals to cast. At least, not in front of him.
The two of them simultaneously used the False Surroundings Technique (Koko ni Arazu no Jutsu), creating a visual illusion to make themselves disappear from each other's sight. Then came the Fox-Minding Technique and the Temporary Paralysis Technique. The two people who specialized in genjutsu cast and broke illusions against each other, a back-and-forth that was quite intense.
But in the eyes of the many spectators, it was just Kurenai and Shin'ichi constantly moving around and forming hand seals.
However, Genichi could see that the genjutsu foundations of the two were very solid. Although they were using D-rank and C-rank genjutsu, they were very proficient, either not needing hand seals or using them covertly.
Suddenly, Kurenai's figure froze. Kurama Shin'ichi stepped forward with a kunai and placed it at her neck. But just as he thought he was about to win, Kurenai vanished, and only countless cherry blossoms fluttered before his eyes.
And before Shin'ichi could turn around, he felt that his body could no longer move. He looked down and saw that he was bound by tree branches.
"Tree Binding Death!" Shin'ichi exclaimed. This was a B-rank genjutsu, Jonin-level difficulty.
Kurenai emerged from the tree trunk, a kunai in hand, and placed it at his neck.
Of course, this was the situation from Shin'ichi's perspective. In the eyes of the many spectators, it was Shin'ichi, who had placed his kunai at Kurenai's neck, watching as she retreated, circled around behind him, and pressed a kunai to his neck.
Genichi glanced at Shin'ichi, who was unable to break the Tree Binding Death, and announced, "Yuhi Kurenai is the winner!"
Kurenai immediately withdrew her kunai and took a few steps back.
Genichi casually snapped his fingers. Shin'ichi's chaotic chakra immediately returned to normal, and the genjutsu was dispelled along with it.
This action, however, shook Kurenai's heart. "So... so amazing!"
Although dispelling a genjutsu was basically one seal for those who knew how, Genichi's performance was too casual. He had already reached the point of using an arbitrary seal. That is, any random gesture could achieve the same effect as a hand seal.
Shin'ichi was also shocked. He bowed to Genichi in thanks before leaping back to the stands.
Genichi continued with the next match. To be honest, these matches were not much to look at for him. He was watching them almost with a critical eye. It was a pity there was no commentary segment, otherwise, he would have found it more interesting.
"Uchiha Obito, Might Guy!"
When a particularly familiar person entered the arena, Genichi's expression became a little strange.
"This time I will definitely win! I absolutely won't be careless again!" Obito pointed at Guy and boasted as soon as he entered the arena.
Guy, however, stroked his chin with a bewildered expression. "Um... who are you?"
Obito immediately stumbled, a little frantic. "You... you actually forgot me..."
Genichi tried hard to maintain his cool and detached expression, then announced, "Begin!"
In the stands, Rin cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Obito, you can do it!"
Obito heard her, turned to look, and his face immediately broke into a smile.
But Guy had already leaped into the air. Konoha Strong Whirlwind (Konoha Gōriki Senpū)!
Thwack!
Obito took a solid kick to the face. His body and his goggles went flying at the same time.
Rin's cheering came to an abrupt halt. Beside her, Kakashi sighed, almost wanting to cover his face. This guy, he really is... Yesterday he was taken out by Guy with one kick over a lollipop, and now it's another kick.
Genichi looked at the unconscious Obito on the ground, his eyes blank, and wanted to laugh.
As expected, a woman will affect the speed of your sword-drawing!
A moment later, in the stands, Obito had a bandage on his face, listlessly watching the match between Kakashi and Guy, while beside him, Rin was cheering loudly.
If Genichi had been next to Obito, he would definitely have said to him: See? This is professionalism!
(End of Chapter)
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