Chapter 102: Preparing for the Chunin Exam
Hokage's Office
The next morning, Renjiro met with Hiruzen and reported on the mission. After their discussion, the Third Hokage asked,
"The next Chunin Exams are coming up soon. Are you planning to recommend your genin to participate?"
Renjiro nodded. "Yes, they're already very strong. Becoming chunin shouldn't be a problem for them. Their teamwork is excellent too. During this mission, they easily took down an elite chunin, even though the terrain limited his abilities."
Hiruzen nodded approvingly. "Good. That's impressive progress."
He suddenly sighed. "I handpicked many genin and assigned them to capable jonin, hoping they'd be trained quickly. I wanted to track their progress personally, but unfortunately, I haven't had the time to follow up on everyone."
Renjiro remained silent. After all, he understood how busy the Hokage's schedule was.
"Can you tell me about your genin's current strength and their potential?" Hiruzen asked.
Renjiro nodded. "Of course, Lord Third. Like I mentioned, all three of them are very strong. Hodaka is still focused on the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist style, but he's already learned several mid-range jutsu. He's picked up some Earth Style and Water Style techniques as well. Once the Hyuga Clan begins training him more seriously, he could become a special jonin within a few years. As for elite jonin rank, it's too early to say."
"As for weaknesses, Hodaka still prefers taijutsu, which creates some vulnerabilities. He needs some B-rank jutsu to cover this flaw. His chakra reserves are pretty substantial though, so learning some B-rank techniques should help him a lot."
Hiruzen nodded. "Not bad. That weakness is common among the Hyuga Clan members."
He sighed. "They're too focused on the Gentle Fist."
Renjiro agreed. Few Hyuga ninja chose to learn techniques outside their clan's specialty.
"Once he becomes a chunin, I'll have him participate in several B-rank missions," Hiruzen continued. "What about the other two?"
Renjiro began talking about Mieko. "Mieko is very well-rounded. She excels in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. Like all Uchiha, she's also skilled with shuriken and wire techniques. Her Sharingan alone makes her incredibly powerful. Like most Uchiha, she has a strong affinity for Fire Style and can also use Earth Style techniques for defense."
"Once her chakra reserves increase, she should have no problem becoming a jonin. Elite jonin might also be within reach, but I can't say for certain yet."
"As for weaknesses, technically she doesn't have any major ones. But she can be impulsive and quite prideful. Her arrogance has decreased significantly over the past eight months, but it's still there."
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, the Sharingan does boost their confidence considerably."
As he spoke, he thought to himself, The tension between the Uchiha Clan and the village keeps growing. I hope they can settle down and let this old man enjoy some peace.
Renjiro continued, "Finally, there's Kaito. Surprisingly, he's shown the fastest growth in the squad. He's become an incredibly capable sensory ninja. From that perspective alone, he's already at jonin-level in sensing abilities."
"His chakra reserves have reached jonin level. He's learned kenjutsu and is highly proficient in Wind Style. He's also picked up the Strong Fist taijutsu style and has excellent chakra control. He can easily enhance his Wind Style jutsu too. He's also learned Earth Style techniques for defense."
Hiruzen's eyebrows raised when he heard that Kaito had learned the Strong Fist style. This was unexpected. He wondered, Does Kaito have some special lineage?
Renjiro went on, "Moreover, he's incredibly fast and can use the Body Flicker Technique—even the Wind Style Body Flicker—without hand seals. His fighting style is actually very similar to our ANBU operatives. I recommend you recruit him into the ANBU. I also suggest breaking tradition and not waiting until he turns thirteen."
"As for his potential, I'm confident he'll become at least a jonin. It's even possible he could reach elite jonin rank. I recommend teaching him the Wind Style: Vacuum Technique when he's ready. It would make him even more lethal."
"His weakness is that he's overly cautious, even during sparring. So he lacks real combat experience in emergency situations. Although his behavior doesn't show arrogance, Kaito is actually quite prideful—possibly more so than Mieko and Hodaka. He might not even be aware of it himself. However, this doesn't affect his combat performance."
Hiruzen chuckled. "They're all prodigies, and they're all very young. Even you were quite arrogant when you were their age."
Seeing Hiruzen tease him, Renjiro just sighed.
Hiruzen's tone became more serious. "I'm impressed that you have such high expectations for him. His chakra reserves grew so quickly, and he learned the Strong Fist style as well."
He thought for a moment. "Once he becomes a chunin, I'll keep an eye on him. I'll also consider your suggestion about ANBU recruitment."
Renjiro nodded.
"In any case, you've done an excellent job training these kids," Hiruzen said. "Now make sure they impress the Daimyo during the exams."
"Understood," Renjiro replied.
Before leaving, he discussed a few more matters with the Hokage.
Kaito, Hodaka, and Mieko spent the week resting, relaxing, and reflecting on their performance during the mission.
Kaito analyzed his actions and concluded, "I didn't do anything particularly different. Honestly, the mission went too smoothly. The only issue is that I didn't fight any chunin-level ninja one-on-one. But there was no opportunity for that anyway."
"That said, I have some ideas to improve my Wind Style jutsu and make my fighting style more lethal... But I might need to learn the Mystical Palm Technique first. Or bring a medical ninja with me... Hmm, even then it might not be safe enough. I might need to create some protective gear too. Oh well, I'll experiment with it later."
Unable to find any areas that needed immediate improvement, Kaito simply trained for the entire week.
For the following week, Renjiro once again put his students through brutal training.
Finally, on a clear day, Renjiro gathered the team after practice. He handed them three application forms.
The kids took them and looked. Their eyes lit up with excitement.
"I've nominated you to participate in the upcoming Chunin Exams," Renjiro said. "If you want to take part, fill out these forms and return them to me tomorrow."
"Thank you, Sensei!" they all said in unison.
A gentle expression crossed Renjiro's face. He smiled and dismissed the team.
After everyone left, he smiled sadly and sighed.
"I'm getting more and more attached to these kids. I can't even bring myself to tell them that this is their last training session with me as a squad."
He looked up at the sky, his smile fading into a serious, somewhat grim expression.
"May their fate be different from those who came before them."
The next day, all three submitted their applications for the Chunin Exams.
The first exam—a written test—would be held in one week. Renjiro gave the genin the entire week off.
The genin trained independently during this time, though they met every afternoon to discuss combination jutsu and teamwork strategies.
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