Today is the day before the Chunin Exams.
Feng An gathered the Yukime sisters and all the members of Team 8, excluding Kurenai Yūhi.
Everyone sat together in a circle.
Inuzuka Kiba asked impatiently, "Feng An, why did you call us all here? I wanted to spend the whole day training hard with Akamaru."
Fubuki also nodded. "My sister and I had plans too. If you don't have anything important, just watch me... I'll curse you to death!"
She'd been about to say "beat you to death" but changed her words upon remembering she couldn't actually beat him.
Feng An raised an eyebrow.
Curse me to death? Funny! I'm a man who can handle nine papers at once.
Inuzuka Kiba patted Fubuki's shoulder and said with a grin, "Don't worry, I'll help you beat him up!"
Fubuki curled her lip. "Forget it, you're not even as good as Akamaru."
"Woof!"
Akamaru cried out, crawled out of Inuzuka Kiba's arms, and jumped into Fubuki's, nuzzling against her.
This made Fubuki giggle.
Inuzuka Kiba glared fiercely at Akamaru.
Only he understood just how much that horny dog was enjoying himself!
During this period, Yukime and Fubuki had often trained and sparred with Inuzuka Kiba and the others.
However, because Feng An had mentioned the rarity of Ice Release and that it might attract unwanted covetousness, Fubuki hadn't participated too much in the competitions. She came more to play with Akamaru.
Seeing everyone staring at him, Feng An didn't keep them in suspense and spoke directly.
"I know what the first written test of the Chunin Exams will be."
Hearing this, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing.
Inuzuka Kiba asked quietly, "Really?"
Feng An nodded.
"The first written test will assess a ninja's intelligence-gathering ability and willpower."
"You're allowed to cheat on the exam, but you can't let the proctor catch you. If you can't cheat, just hand in a blank paper."
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other.
Their eyes all conveyed the same thought: Feng An must have a fever that's fried his brain.
Otherwise, why would a sane person advise his teammates to hand in a blank paper?
Yukime, standing beside him, frowned and asked, "You're joking to help us relax before the exam, right?"
"No, I'm serious."
Feng An's expression was calm, without any fluctuation.
"If you don't know the answer and still try to answer, you'll be eliminated."
"As long as you don't answer, you can't make a mistake. But once you answer, you can't afford to be wrong. Gathering incorrect intelligence is the most fatal."
Everyone looked thoughtful.
What he said made sense, but the premise was that the exam truly was testing intelligence-gathering. If not, all this analysis was meaningless.
Aburame Shino, who had remained silent the whole time, asked, "How did you obtain the exam content?"
His question was exactly what everyone was wondering.
Feng An shook his head. "I can't tell you."
I've already read the script; it's hard to explain convincingly.
He had a good way to make them believe. Though they might be skeptical now, they would know the truth in time.
"You'll understand on exam day. The proctor for the first exam will be Morino Ibiki. He will explain the rules."
"Each person is worth 10 points. Points are deducted for wrong answers—one point per mistake. If you're caught cheating, you lose two points."
"And after the exam has been going for a while, he'll announce a tenth, additional question. You can choose whether to answer it."
"If you choose not to answer, your score is reset to zero and your team is eliminated. If you choose to answer and get it wrong, you are permanently disqualified from future exams and remain a Genin for life."
Everyone was momentarily speechless.
Then, Inuzuka Kiba suddenly asked, "Who is Morino Ibiki?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Only Aburame Shino, standing to the side, adjusted his black sunglasses and said, "He's the leader of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force. A sadist responsible for extracting intelligence from enemies through torture. He's said to have a very ferocious appearance."
Feng An smiled. "He does look scary, with several scars on his face."
Then Feng An stood up.
"Whether you believe me or not, I hope only the few of us know about this."
Inuzuka Kiba asked, "What about Kurenai-sensei?"
Feng An shook his head. "If word gets out that the exam content was leaked, then everything I said today will be for nothing."
He didn't directly answer Kiba's question but let everyone know that only they were privy to this information.
"Let's each do our own thing for the remaining time."
After speaking, Feng An took Hinata's hand and left.
Seeing this, Inuzuka Kiba was filled with jealousy.
He then turned to Fubuki, scratched his head, and smiled. "Fubuki, want to train together?"
Fubuki hugged Yukime's arm. "Feng An said to just hand in a blank paper. I want to go buy some tasty food with my sister."
She petted Akamaru and put him down.
"Go on, boy. I'll bring you some bones next time."
Akamaru stared after the retreating figures of Fubuki and Yukime, his big ears drooping.
Inuzuka Kiba squatted down and tapped Akamaru's head. "Sigh, you're the only one willing to stay with me."
Akamaru gave him a look of human-like disdain.
Then he urinated beside him and ran off.
"Woof woof woof!"
Inuzuka Kiba, who understood what Akamaru meant, widened his eyes in anger. "You kinky, ungrateful mutt!"
Aburame Shino on the side remained expressionless, the man and his insects nodding occasionally in silent communication.
…
Feng An brought Hinata to a sparsely populated area.
"Hinata, how many strikes of your clan's Gentle Fist technique, the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, can you perform now?"
Hinata replied somewhat guiltily, "I can only manage sixteen palms now."
Feng An nodded upon hearing this.
"Can I train with you for half the day today?"
"Okay," Hinata agreed.
Then she suddenly thought of something and added quickly, "But don't use Fire Release. I'm not good at long-range..."
Feng An looked at Hinata's nervous expression and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't use Fire Release."
"Shadow Clone Technique."
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
Four Feng Ans instantly appeared, surrounding Hinata.
Hinata blinked and muttered softly, "I'm not good against shadow clones either..."
"You'll have to adapt sooner or later. If you can't handle it now, you'll improve later."
Seeing Hinata still lacked motivation and seemed ready to give up, Feng An said calmly,
"Didn't someone say they wanted to get stronger and not be a burden to their teammates?"
"Neji always beats you. Have you ever thought about beating him just once? Don't you want to see what that so-called genius looks like when he loses?"
Hinata was momentarily dazed by Feng An's words.
These were things she would occasionally say when she was with Feng An.
She couldn't say these words to anyone else. Only with Feng An could she express her true thoughts without worry.
Gradually, her eyes grew determined, and she assumed the Hyūga clan's standard Gentle Fist stance.
"Byakugan!"
The moment Hinata activated her Byakugan, she raised her palm and charged at the Feng Ans surrounding her.
She wanted to become stronger. She wanted to be recognized by her father. She didn't want to always be the one protected by her companions.
The two trained until nightfall.
By then, Hinata was drenched in sweat, her arms trembling.
She charged forward again.
With every step, her body felt immensely heavy, and her vision began to blur.
"If I could just hit him once, just once..."
As she staggered, about to fall, Feng An hurried forward and caught her slender body.
Just as he was worriedly holding Hinata's soft hand, Hinata gently tapped his chest with her right palm.
Then she raised her beautiful eyes, blinked, and said with a slight upturn of her lips, "I got you."
With that, she had no strength left and fell into a deep sleep on Feng An's shoulder.
Hinata's demeanor reminded him of the time he had fallen asleep on her shoulder just like this.
Feng An smiled. "Is it my turn to be the pillow this time?"
He carefully leaned against a tree, adjusting his position to make Hinata more comfortable.
*****
You can read 30 advanced chapters on my Patreon.
Thank you for your support, and have a great day!
patreon.com/Izanami_no_Mikoto