Chapter 43 : Three Months Time Skip

Three months.

That's how long I haven't taken any missions and have been solely focused on training. Right now, there is nothing in my life besides grinding. I can't remember the last time I felt like this—so focused on one thing that I lose track of time, what's happening around me, and even dates.

I've been grinding and getting stronger, making sure that I am ready by the time the Chunin Exam rolls around.

So if I lose track of time and dates, how come I know that the Chunin Exam is almost around the corner?

"So, what do you think, my boy? Do you plan to participate in the Chunin Exam?" Hiruzen asked, puffing on his pipe. He had two profiles on his desk for me to see.

I was glad that he brought this up himself, but otherwise, I would have done it myself. The issue was the two profiles he was showing me.

Kabuto Yakushi and Misumi Tsurugi.

Yoroi, the person I killed back then to acquire his chakra absorption skill, was a member of this team. All three of them were spies for Orochimaru.

And now this old man wants me to join their team since Yoroi no longer exists. Now it's time for me to choose—should I join their team or let it go and participate in another Chunin Exam?

Well, there is only one answer to that.

"I'll participate in the Chunin Exam. Please count me in," I replied, loud and clear.

"Hmmm… Great then. You can meet your team directly tomorrow at the exam hall," Hiruzen said with a smile.

I, on the other hand, was in a daze. Tomorrow?

I don't even have a day until the exam starts.

Shit, it's a good thing this old man called me, otherwise, I would have missed the exam altogether. But this also causes some trouble for me. I have no idea about my teammates. Though I know them from the anime, I would at least like to meet them personally before the exam.

If nothing else, I need to assess their threat levels. I can't leave my back open to them. It's honestly very dangerous to stay with them all this time in the Forest of Death.

Gotta plan this out.

In the three months, I've improved quite a bit. Now I can make up to four clones, though to be honest, three are more practical.

I'm not planning to use all of them together, as that would leave me without any chakra—a pretty dangerous situation.

However, after all this time, I've come up with a few interesting gadgets and tricks that I can't wait to use in real life.

Thinking about how much I've improved in these three months makes me grin to myself.

With the help of shadow clones and my own body, I've nearly completed a full training regimen of a year. I'm looking forward to the upcoming exam.

While thinking about all this, I stepped out of the Hokage's office and headed home. Since the exam starts tomorrow, I won't be doing any more training. My body needs rest, and I clearly don't have enough time to train anymore.

Now that it's final that I'm participating in the Chunin Exam, I need to decide what I'm going to do and what I'll keep away from.

There are many elements of the Chunin Exams that I need to pre-plan before going to the exam center tomorrow.

The biggest concern is Orochimaru and him giving the curse seal to Sasuke. I've become strong, but I'm not strong enough to take down Orochimaru. Saving Sasuke sounds nice, but if it means exposing myself to that snake, then I'm out.

I don't think I have any way to actually stop Orochimaru from giving Sasuke that curse seal. Even if I somehow manage to do so—assuming I could—what's stopping Orochimaru from placing the seal on Sasuke later, like after the preliminary rounds?

Then there's the issue of how many teams pass in the first place. In the anime, all five teams from Konoha passed, including Team 7, Team 8, and Kabuto's team. There were also two non-Leaf teams: the Sound and the Sand teams.

If I'm not mistaken, the preliminary rounds only took place because there were too many people who passed through the Forest of Death. Initially, I wanted to reduce the number of teams, but that isn't possible given the teams I'm up against.

I can't even go near Team 7. I'd rather stay away from those troublemakers if possible. Even if I plan to go after them, that would only happen after Orochimaru is done with them, but doing so would be difficult with Kabuto around.

I won't be touching Team 8 for personal reasons. Kurenai has helped me too much to do that to her team, and I've worked really hard to train Hinata.

Team 9 consists of Lee and Neji. Taking both of them on is not possible for me right now. Even if I somehow pull it off with some crazy plan, that team is Tenten's. I don't want to do that to her.

Team 10 is in a similar situation. If only Shikamaru—my literal cousin—wasn't in that team, I might have acted.

The Sand team has the most troublesome member besides Orochimaru, of course. I'd rather not interact with Gaara if possible.

Maybe the Sound team is the only one I can take down without much trouble, but even then, will taking out one team make a difference?

I doubt it.

Ultimately, I can't change the canon much without taking significant risks. Sigh, I'll just go with the flow this time around.

xxx

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