Yes, they had come. The fabled Chunin Exams. But there wasn't much excitement in the village because of the tensions; the village had been holding its own exams before. These were the first exams held after the war. Tsunade had left the village on extended leave. Which, with how popular she was, could not be hidden. The council had tried to shove it off as a long-term mission, which had caused even more backlash for lying.
With the village short of two Sanins, People were feeling the pressure. Orochimaru had already withdrawn from public life, mostly. No doubt starting those infamous experiments of his. I had been practicing my spars and a new seal I had been working on. It worked on a principle from my past life, Elasticity. Although it took almost 2 weeks to create one of them. They functioned essentially as a reflective shield. It wasn't good for elite Chunin encounters, but inferior and average ones? Its use was bound to become an absolute nightmare.
I was confident of defeating almost everyone as I found no named characters in my batch. I didn't expect to win it all. But the podium seemed within reach. I planned on unveiling the Lost Mirror. And if completed, my variant explosion tag that I created based on the cluster grenades in my past life. I had noticed that explosive tags had a small range. Especially in combating enemy shinobis. I just hoped I could complete them before the finals.
-----
2 hours later.
I had failed. No, the results weren't up yet. But I knew I had failed. Not in the Second round or the Playoffs. I failed in the first. No, there had been no tricks. But I just realized that I was pretty uneducated by Shinobi Standards. The test had focused on military movements during the war. Which, for all those older applicants and clan shinobis, was nothing. After all, the elders had lived it while the academy had taught it. Between Fuinjutsu, the clan, and increasing my power, I had never bothered to actually complete the theoretical subjects.
A scathing laugh escaped my lips. I had it all planned. My getting an official promotion to Chunin would also establish clan head authority. Not that I needed it, but having a rank advantage helps in smooth running. Most of all, I feared the reputational damage. It hadn't even been 3 weeks since the Genin exams. We were still in the spotlight. This was essentially my debut as the Kurosawa clan head. What a disgrace it would be. I could already imagine. That's when Bear appeared from behind me. "Time to face the music, I guess."
I stood in the Hokage's office. Hands behind, Head bowed. The Hokage held a sheet of paper in his hand. His pipe was strangely absent.
"Ren-kun." He spoke slowly, almost curiously, "What is this?" His voice is calm. Like your mom is calm with an F on the report card. She doesn't start hitting you, but you still flinch at every move because you know the flight of her slipper is just a matter of time. "I apologize, Lord Third. I was never really a good student."
-----
Hiruzen sneak peak.
My right eye twitched. Not a good student? This from the boy who had created a new goddamn seal a few days ago. Even I had to take a bit of time to understand how it works. And that tells you a lot coming from me, the professor himself. Yet, when I looked at his answers, it was absolute shit.
"Why would you want continuous higher ground while retreating? That essentially means you are climbing up a hill! You're supposed to be escaping! And this, this question. Mid-size combat. Why would you try to attack with this carpet bombing or whatever? Shinobi battles occur over a large terrain. They are essentially a series of small conflicts. And how are you planning to get so many explosive tags and flying Jutsu users? "
This was absolute chaos. And the worst thing was, to raise morale and attract investors, I had invited a few people to this. The batch wasn't good, but that new seal and the rise of a Fuinjutsu clan in Konoha would attract missions. And now this guy was out before we even began.
-----
"Listen, Ren. I understand that your education has been… unorthodox. But I need you to participate in the exhibition fights. So I'm gonna pass you," he said after he had calmed down.
"But won't that be.."
"Don't worry about it. Hosts get a little leeway. That's why the exam location rotates. Nobody except me and the examiner knows. It won't get out. But you'd better make sure to show that Fuinjutsu Technique of yours perfectly."
I nodded, "Yes, Lord Third, I will do my absolute best! I shouted, doing the formal military salute. The old man just sighed.
-----
As I was returning to the clan, my eyes fell on a benign little poster. Grand opening - Ichiraku Ramen. Finally, I need to buy all my properties around that thing. We had already been thinking of moving to a proper residence now that we had a stable, large income. What better place to build than near that legendary Undestroyable Ramen shop? That thing had more plot armor than the Hokage tower. Besides, the land around the tower had insane prices.
As I hurried back, I ran into Souta and another Hyuga, whom he introduced as his cousin Kenjiro. "Ren! How did it go with you?"
"It was tough. My formal education is lacking. But I think I'll pass. Did you see Rina?"
"No, but I told her to meet me at that weird lamppost."
I didn't ask about him. He was a Hyuga. Defected or not. Those perfectionists must have taught him everything.
"Oh, that one. Fine, I'll come along. But afterward, I'm going to try out this new place. Wanna come?" I handed him the poster. He shrugged. "Why not?"
And just like that, we set off to find Rina.