Chapter 12

"You have an hour to take this bell from me. You can use any tactic or strategy you like and your time starts.....NOW!"

I jumped back and launched shurikens and kunais from both of my hands to where he was standing.

As soon as I did that, I coursed lightning throughout my body and especially to my mind. I wanted to increase my perception to see his next move.

That is what I had planned but.....

"You can't hit me with a weak attack like that." A playful voice entered my ears from behind me.

I turned around to see him just standing there with a smile on his face.

'That was too fast!! He just fucking disappeared!!'

I immediately checked the place where he was standing but there was no kunai with his marking there.

'So, did he used just body flicker jutsu to travel all the way over there without even catching my eye??'

The difficulty of this test just went through the roof. I had not once hoped to be actually able to take the bell from him but I thought that I could at least put up some struggle against his speed when he was not using Flying Raijin Jutsu.

I have barely passed the mark of speed for an elite jonin yet this guy is already at the Kage level. Not to mention he specialises in speed meaning that he is fast even by the standards of a Kage.

'I am not even close to his level. I am years away to even compete against his speed.'

"What are you standing in daze for? Time is running out you know." He said

I took in a deep breathe to calm my mind and started focusing on deciding my next move.

'There is no point in using projectiles against him since he can just evade it easily. Not to mention I am not very good at Shurikenjutsu either. So the only way for me to clear this assignment is to catch him by surprise.'

This may lead to the discovery of my ability 'Scanning and Projection' but I don't have any other choice right now. I want to pass this test and get my promotion so that I can take part in this mission and then change the original timeline.

'I will hound him with my physical abilities enhanced with the lightning and then use this ability at the right moment.'

I summoned my sword, the Nichrin- No Chakra Blade. And augmented it with my powerful lightning chakra.

I got into a stance with both of my hands gripping the sword and resting the sword at my eye level above my shoulders with my knees bent forwards.

As I got into this stance, I also saw Minato bringing his guard up slightly. He was expecting a powerful attack.

'He must have heard about my speed since he is friends with Kou Uchiha after all.'

I charged up even more, I doubt I will be able to control this sudden burst of speed. But Without even wasting a second, I dashed forward.

My vision blurred and in the next moment, I had already performed the 'stab' movement and was standing where Minato was previously standing. I was able to stop at the right time and had performed the perfect attack, But the only thing in which I failed was actually hitting my target. Since, Minato wasn't there.

**<3rd Person POV>**

Minato had narrowly dodged Shirou's attack by side stepping to his right. However this attack left a small cut on the lower end of his vest, just slightly above his waist where the bell was hanging.

This is the highest damage Minato had received in the past few years. Ever since he perfected the and mastered Flying Raijin Jutsu, he had returned from most of the missions uninjured even when he had performed <A> and <S> rank missions, he was unscathed.

So he was really surprised and impressed when Shirou managed to cut his vest not to mention that had his attack been only an inch lower, he could have separated the bell from him and would have actually passed the test.

But this raised a question in his head, 'Why didn't he aim his attack properly?'

The answer was obvious after he thought about it for a while, 'It is not that he didn't aim it properly but that he couldn't.'

After he realised this, an unsatisfied expression appeared on his face.

Sure Shirou was talented and strong enough to be called a genius leagues above other geniuses. He is 8 years old and is as powerful as a Jounin. This feat is not normal at all.

Minato himself was more than qualified enough to become one a few years earlier but was officially promoted to a Jounin at the age of 15 making him the youngest Jounin.

However, right now Shirou was missing the point of this test. He was taking this as a spar rather than focusing on the objective of obtaining the bell.

He charged in recklessly. If this was a real mission and he was against an Elite Jounin, he would have been severely injured.

Shirou at his current state can match and compete with a few Elite Jounins in speed but not all of them since most of the Shinobi who are at this rank are also speed type with only a few relying on other tactics and strengths.

While contemplating all of this, Minato had already retreated and had created a good distance between him and Shirou.

The frown on Minato's face deepened further after he sensed Shirou's chakra.

He had consumed over half of his chakra and it had only been 10 minutes since the test started.

At this time, Shirou was on the ground on his knees huffing and panting.

The previous attack did consume a lot of his Chakra, but it had consumed his Stamina and mental power even more. His legs were killing him right now. Whenever he tried to stand up, he left a stinging pain in his legs.

Using a huge amount of electricity on the inside is never a smart move. This method is only suited for battle hungry people with nothing driving them but the urge to fight and give it their all even if they have to sacrifice their body.

The muscles in his legs had torn apart because of the over exertion. He was having trouble even standing up.

Seeing this, Minato shook his head and walked towards Shirou to stop him from struggling so he doesn't injure his legs even more.

"This is enough. The test conclude here." Minato said

Hearing this, a panicked expression appeared on Shirou's face.

"N-No wait! I can still do more!" He said

"Stop!! You have done enough. I already have my evaluation about you ready." Minato said. "Kakashi, Rin. Take him to the hospital and get him treated."

""Yess Sir!!"" Both Kakashi and Rin who were standing there dazed regained their composure and answered at the same time.

Before leaving Minato glanced at Shirou who looked completely defeated and then vanished.

***

Half an hour later, inside the Hokage's office.

"...That is my evaluation of him." Minato said

He had submitted his official evaluation which contained the result of Shirou's test, his strengths and weaknesses as well as about his personality, IQ, etc. All of it was inside the envelope resting on the Hokage's desk with a green seal, indicating the sign of approval.

"I see you have deemed him worthy of being a Chunin." The hokage said

"Yes. Although he did not live up to my expectations, deviated from his mission and injured himself while making a desperate and stupid move, his skills and strength are enough to qualify him as a Chunin."

"I see. Since it was you who came to this decision, it must be correct.....now comes the task to give him a proper rank. Whether he will be placed under the rank of a Tokkubetsu Chunin, Chunin or Elite Chunin."

"I would place him as an Elite Chunin." Minato said without even sparing a second.

Hiruzen was surprised when he heard this.

"Are you sure? Shouldn't we place him as a regular Chunin for now." He voiced his concerns

To be honest, Minato had also thought that he should be promoted to a regular Chunin but he looked at the cut on his vest and said "I thought the same as you did Lord Hokage, but his skills are the real deal. Also, he will be very important in the upcoming mission."

Minato looked at Hiruzen in the eyes and confidently said, "He can defeat most of the Chunins of our village without even breaking a sweat. Hell he can even match against a few Jounin and hold his own against them."

Hiruzen was even more surprised than he was previously. After all such a talent is incredibly difficult to come across. Everyone from the Shinobi world who had that amount of talent, all eventually reached the power level of a Kage.

The thought of getting another young one who could one day lead the village made Hiruzen genuinely happy. The other one was obviously Kakashi, which is why Kakashi was placed under the supervision of Minato, the future Fourth Hokage.

Although the election of the next Hokage was yet to take place and Hiruzen hadn't even announced his resignation yet, he had already decided that he would retire after the war and make Minato the Hokage.

"....."

Hiruzen leaned back on his chair in thought and after a while a smile appeared on his face and he nodded his head in satisfaction.

"Alright. As of now, Hatake Shirou will be a Chunin of the Leaf." Hiruzen declared

"Minato, bring Hatake Shirou to my office at once. I want this promotion to be taken care off by dawn. Also, you will teach him about his responsibilities as a Chunin. You don't have much time before you leave for the Land of Rice, so I suggest you get a move on."

"I will Lord Hokage, however Shirou is right now in the Hospital. As I mentioned before, he injured himself during his test. Although it is not a severe injury considering that he is so young, he should focus on recovery."

"..haahh" Hiruzen sighed

"How long do you think it will take him to recover from his injuries?" Hiruzen asked

"He should be healed up by tomorrow." Minato stated

"Alright." Hiruzen continued saying while standing up from his seat, "We should get going now"

"Uh? Where will we be going Lord Hokage?" Minato asked

"What? Don't you think I should meet the new genius of the leaf village?" Hiruzen asked rhetorically.

He had a smile spread across on his face at the thought of meeting a prospective future Hokage.

Though the reason for him wanting to meet Shirou wasn't just plain curiosity. He wanted to bring Shirou over to his side before Danzo could get his hands on him.