Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
To put it bluntly, during these seven days, capable teams avoided provoking theirs, while the incapable ones couldn't even track their movements.
It was practically a camping trip.
Uchiha Kin's trio returned to the starting point.
Orochimaru stood at the forefront of the crowd, flanked by Might Dai and two other shinobi, as more participants trickled out of the forest's entrance.
"So few made it," Kushina muttered under her breath.
A quick scan revealed only a tenth of the original thousand participants remained. Compared to the earlier sea of faces, the area now felt eerily spacious. The contrast made the survivors seem pitifully sparse.
"Compare it to previous years," Kin retorted with an eye-roll. Most years saw zero or single-digit promotions to jonin—the largest batch in history barely cleared a dozen. Decades of such meager numbers had barely accumulated a few hundred jonin. This year's crop alone could rival that.
At this rate, they could form a small hidden village. Add one Kage-level fighter, and boom—major village status. Just look at Sunagakure's later struggles.
"Fair point," Kushina conceded, clicking her tongue. The scale of this year's potential promotions was staggering.
"Other villages have been promoting more jonin lately," a bystander chimed in.
The crowd buzzed with gossip.
"I heard Iwagakure assembled a 'Thousand-Man Unit'—all jonin."
"Sunagakure rebuilt their Puppet Brigade."
"No intel from Kumogakure, though."
Cloud's terrain and culture made espionage a nightmare. As for Kirigakure? The Uchiha present scoffed. Ordinary shinobi knew nothing. Only the Uchiha understood the Mist's true state.
The chatter painted a clear picture: despite war losses, every major village had honed its elites. Survivors weren't pushovers.
Orochimaru raised a hand, and silence fell instantly.
"923 participants. 88 pass."
The last straggler emerged.
Orochimaru's eye twitched toward Might Dai, whose beaming face made his stomach churn. Dai's "pass" was pure fraud.
His #3 tag had scared off challengers, forcing Orochimaru to plant a fake target. For six days, Dai sprinted around like a headless chicken until Orochimaru's agent "conveniently" appeared. Without intervention, the man would've failed spectacularly.
Normally, Orochimaru wouldn't bother, but Dai was both his subordinate and Hiruzen's pet project. Letting a powerhouse of his caliber rot as a chunin was unthinkable.
Why does this walking anomaly exist?
Orochimaru averted his gaze before his blood pressure spiked. He'd delegate this headache to someone else tomorrow.
"The comprehensive jonin exam begins now. Follow me."
"Wha—!?" Kushina wailed. "No break!?"
She wasn't ready! How would she pass the written test!?
Orochimaru's temple throbbed. The Nine-Tails jinchūriki was another logistical nightmare.
"A shinobi must always be prepared for exams."
What am I saying?
Might Dai's idiocy had short-circuited his brain. Whatever. The jinchūriki was a lost cause anyway. He led the group onward.
"Shinobi have to prep for tests on demand!?" Kushina looked crushed.
None of us knew that either!! the crowd screamed internally. But contradicting Orochimaru? Unthinkable.
The exam hall was a grid of isolated cubicles, each monitored by a jonin. The entire village's elite had been mobilized, eliminating any chance of cheating. Future colleagues wouldn't risk leniency—ignorance got people killed.
THUD!
A jonin kicked open a cubicle and dragged out its occupant.
"Failed!"
The shinobi was tossed outside without protest. At the hall's center sat the ultimate authority: Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, puffing on his pipe.
The village watched closely. Jonin were its backbone—no room for error. Survival skills had been tested earlier; now came knowledge.
Kin handed his scroll to the proctor with a polite smile.
"Your evaluation, Hizure-sama."
Hizure blinked. "You know me?"
Despite being the Sannin's contemporary, his lack of strength or achievements left him obscure.
"I've long admired you."
"For the genius Uchiha Kin to recognize me is an honor." Hizure smiled. "But no favors."
"Of course, Hizure-sama." Kin's deference remained flawless.
Hizure's grin widened. This—this—was what he craved.
"Perhaps we could collaborate sometime."
"If time permits."
"I'll take my leave then."
Kin strode past Hiruzen without breaking stride.
"Later, old man."
The whiplash from Kin's earlier respect made Hiruzen's vein bulge.
The audacity of this brat.
Orochimaru, seated nearby, studied Hizure with renewed interest. They'd been friends in their youth, but Hizure's mediocrity had driven them apart.
Yet Kin's attention suggested hidden value.
His tongue flicked out. Kin waved cheekily before exiting. Orochimaru nodded in acknowledgment.
"Hizure…"
His gaze lingered.
What surprises did this man hold?
...
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(End of Chapter)