376 Chapter 151

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A\N: Sorry for the delay so far. I got hooked by one Korean Manhwa, God of Highschool. I already read the Beginning Chapters buy stopped midway due to some issues some months ago.

Seeing it in my Library today while I was browsing through it, I decided to read it and see how far they've gone only to find they've actually finished.

After reading a couple chapters, I ended up reading till now. The funny part is that I haven't even eaten since morning.

Sigh... The life of a Neet right?

Anyways, here goes.

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Title: Jounin Exams 2

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The day after the Chunins of the various villages arrived, the Chunins of the different villages gathered in what was the venue of the exams, a large hall usually used for silver and gold rank promotion exams in the village, hence the enormous size.

The four villages' Shinobi gathered together at different parts of the hall as they whispered between each other while looking at the other Shinobis.

Though the hall was huge, and signs of the whispering was evident, a pin drop silence enveloped the hall nonetheless... One would say... 'As expected of Shinobis.' in situations like this.

However at that very moment the door to the room was slammed open and a white haired young boy sauntered into the room. Looking at him, one would describe his appearance to be striking, with pale skin.

He wore a black high-collared coat, gloves, and a blindfold-like headband to conceal his self proclaimed most beautiful eyes. His confident and enigmatic demeanor adding to his memorable presence.

"Yo." He greeted everyone who was looking at him with a smile before looking towards the Konoha group. "Heya Itachi."

"Shun..." Itachi whispered and smiled wryly at his friend. This was supposed to be an exam, a Jounin level one at that. Would it kill him to be a little bit more aware.

"Yugao-chan, you're here as well, I didn't see you yesterday." Shun said as he approached them with his two teammates following behind him.

"Hm." The purple haired babe nodded. "I had gone sightseeing when you came around, sorry about that."

"No need for that, I'll just have to reintroduce you to my lovely teammates. Kimizu and Kitsume." Shun introduced and then said in a low voice which everyone still heard. "She's a Chinoike."

"I'm pretty sure we can see that." Takeshi, an older looking boy from Konoha said while pointing to her eyes.

"Well, you wouldn't be too sure about that." Shun rolled his eyes at him, not that anyone saw. "Just wanted to give my friend a hint in case you encounter her."

"Hi, I'm Yugao, please take care of me." Yugao bowed in courtesy which the two girls behind Shun reciprocated.

BAM!

The door of the room was slammed open once more and a group of three people entered the hall. They each wore a flower patterned silver medal on different parts of their body.

As they entered, they casually looked around the room before finding an area to make themselves comfortable, but not before looking at Shun and giving him a stink eye.

"They don't seem to like you much..." Yugao muttered and Shun snorted. "It's to be expected. No one ever likes someone better than them." Shun said loudly enough for everyone in the hall to hear.

"You say something kid?!" Someone shouted from a direction that wasn't from the trio that just entered.

Looking at the source of the shout, everyone saw a blond haired kid standing up and giving the stink eye to Shun.

"Huh? Who are you calling, kid, brat?" Shun shouted back at the boy who was from Iwagakure

"You calling me brat, kid?" The boy shouted back and climbed the table in the hall.

"Yeah. I did, what are you going to do about it?" Shun said and stood up on the table too.

"Deidara, that's enough. Remember what Tsuchikage-sama said." One teenage girl from Iwagakure said instantly calming the boy down.

"Humph, watch your back, kid." Deidara didn't forget to threaten before he climbed down and sat on the table.

Shun snorted and climbed back down and sat beside Itachi. "You're surprisingly different from the image I had of you." Yugao said.

"What image did you have of me? That I was the indifferent and arrogant genius type?" Shun asked with a smirk to which Yugao and everyone other than Itachi nodded.

"Wha- That's not me. I always meet every action with an equal reaction. No more, no less." Shun said.

"Eh? Really?" Takeshi asked, looking at me weirdly.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not Kakashi. I always treat everyone the same way they treat me. Ask my teammates." Shun said confidently. "Even Itachi can testify to that."

BAM!

The door to the hall was slammed open once again causing the anger of some people in the room to rise up a notch.

'What's with people and slamming the door open!?' Many of them thought as they watched to see which participants would walk in this time.

"Ai-ya. Sorry. Sorry. I can practically feel your bloodlust aimed at me right now." A middle-aged man entered the room, his intelligence was evident in his keen eyes and composed demeanor, though his lazy disposition was equally apparent in his languid movements.

His perpetual tiredness seemed to hang around him like a shroud. Apologetically, he let out a weary sigh and mumbled an apology, his voice tinged with resignation. Observing the sea of angry and bloodthirsty children, he couldn't help but comment with a wry smile, "Ah, it seems the spirit of competition has brought out your collective bloodlust. Well, let's channel that energy into acing this exam, shall we?"

"Are you the proctor of this exam?!" One young man from Sunagakure asked the man after he finished speaking.

"You are right young man. I'm the proctor of this part of the exam. You don't need to know my name as you'll not see me in your entire life again... probably. Anyways..."

"That's not an explanation Tai-chou!" One of the three Hanagakure kids who entered last called out, causing the man to sigh. "You kids, can't you just be calm and allow me to land? You're all here for the Gold exam..or Jounin Exams. Staying calm in all situation is a prerequisite for becoming one."

Everyone in the room immediately straightened up as he said that. It was common knowledge that Jounins are the highest level of Shinobi. The Kage rank was just a stronger or the strongest Jounin in the village.

"Good. Now..." The proctor said and his demeanor immediately changed. His presence alone demanded respect, and his previously lazy eyes turned sharp as he scanned the crowd before he raised his voice to address the participants.

"Welcome, candidates, to the first day of the Jounin Selection Exams," he began, his voice echoing across the hall. "Today's challenge will test your ability to think critically, devise strategies on the fly, and make quick decisions under pressure. These are the qualities of a true leader and guide. You will face a series of puzzles, riddles, and tactical challenges. Only those who prove their worth here will move on to the next stage."

"Now. As there are 19 of you here, which is less than we originally planned, we'll be having a little revision of the tests. There will be 7 tests which will include puzzles, riddles, and tactical challenges. You all will be going in as a team of three. The earlier you find the answer to whatever challenge is posed against you, the earlier you come out of the Genjutsu, and the higher the chances of you passing." The proctor said and scanned the crowd.

"Mind you. Not all Jounin are focused on this part of the job. So just do your best as calmly as you can with no pressure. However, know that we already began accessing you the moment you stepped into this village. Your results will be passed to your respective Kages after these exams. They will hold the authority to make you a Jounin or no." The proctor said and looked at the Iwagakure girl raising her hands up.

"Yes?"

"You say Genjutsu?" She asked.

"Yes. Information can be passed in so many ways. By writing, by words, by painting, by riddles, puzzles, self induced Genjutsu and any other form of Genjutsu. Of course, whichever way seems safer... The Tabs in front of you..." He said and snapped his fingers as a black tablet with lights flickering within appeared in front of everyone.

"Will be your test. You all just need to pour in a little bit of your chakra and you'll all be dragged into a Illusion Scape. How you pass will be up to you." The proctor said and brought out a stopwatch. "You have all day. You may begin." Saying that he disappeared from the room with a puff of smoke.

"..."

"Damn, that was a clone?" Takeshi muttered, causing Shun and everyone around him to look at the boy weirdly.

"That's what is bothering you right now?" Kimizu asked the older boy.

"What? Of course it's bothering me. I didn't feel he was any different from real flesh and blood." Takeshi shrugged and defended himself.

"Well, he's the captain of the Tactical and Analytical squad of the village. A True Diamond Ranker." Kitsume said with awe in her tone.

"Diamond rank? That's..." Yugao said, confused.

"Someone with a chakra on par with any Kage." Itachi answered. "Right?" He asked and Shun nodded.

"Did your Sharingan tell you that much?" Shun asked and the Uchiha nodded. "His chakra was already on par with Kakashi-san. For that to be a clone should tell you how much chakra his real body possesses."

"Well, that's how strong this village is..." Shun shrugged and turned to look at his team's tablet.

"And there are 10 more like this with one being even stronger?" Itachi muttered inaudibly as his understanding of this village deepened. "Interesting."

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