Chunin!

The next morning, Zeus stood in a training ground, surrounded by forest from all sides. However, despite the shining sun in the sky, his mood was somewhat sour. It seemed like Hiruzen didn't completely understand the meaning of private, as there were multiple figures standing together with him.

Zeus recognized three of them since they were the old elders assisting Hiruzen in managing the village, Danzo included. However, there was also another figure with similar white hair as his, and a mask hiding his face. Judging from his frame, he looked quite young, maybe 14 years old.

'This Danzo bastard is staring at me like I am some kind of toy again.' Zeus frowned, making eye contact with the old man and delivering a provocative smile. However, Danzo didn't seem like he has taken that to heart and simply moved his eyes towards Hiruzen, who had come out forward to greet Zeus.

"You have finally made it, Zeus." Hiruzen smiled weakly. "I don't really want to keep my colleagues busy for too long, so perhaps we shall start your examination right away."

Zeus nodded, yawning slightly, earning a disapproving look from the elders.

"Alright," Hiruzen gestured towards the teenagers with a mask. "This is a Kakashi Hatake, a generational talent in the village of Konoha, and the one you will have a battle with today. Judging how well you fare against him, we will think about whether you are ready to become a chunin."

"Seems simple enough." Zeus didn't talk too much, and Hiruzen perhaps thought that Zeus was really concentrated on the upcoming battle. However, he couldn't be more wrong, as Zeus simply had a sore throat from shouting at Fugaku yesterday.

Hiruzen joined the three elders while Kakashi walked forward and took a stance right in front of Zeus. Staring at the enemy's mask, Zeus understood that the man was from Anbu, for he had heard and met them multiple times despite them working in the shadows. Mostly, it was because Hiruzen occasionally monitored his movement, and Zeus always felt when someone was on his tail, catching those Anbu people off-guard.

"How long do you think he will last?" Koharu Utatane asked.

"That depends on Kakashi's intention," Danzo answered without missing a beat. "If he gives the kid some leeway and lets him show off all his cards, then the battle might prolong for a few minutes. However, if Kakashi doesn't, then the battle might end from their first collision."

"I agree." Homura Mitokado added from the side, moving his eyes towards Hiruzen. "What do you think, Hiruzen?"

In response, Hiruzen simply smiled. "We will see."

Danzo furrowed his eyebrows when he heard Hiruzen's answer.

While they were talking, the battle suddenly began, as both Kakashi and Zeus disappeared from their spots. All of the elders quieted down, not expecting them to start fighting without even exchanging a word. However, what made the council frown even further was the ridiculous speed of both figures.

"Hey...Hiruzen, when you said your son was quite talented, that's not what I imagined." Koharu mumbled, her mouth slightly widened. Zeus was moving at an extreme speed, his entire body flickering with electrical threads. Even though Kakashi was avoiding the punches, it was clearly not that easy for him, as each attack passed closer and closer.

'This is...' Danzo frowned even further, seeing Zeus continue to overwhelm the enemy with his prompt movements. It wasn't just that, Zeus had top-notch taijutsu abilities, and he was completing spins and backflips in the air to catch Kakashi off guard.

"Yeah..." Hiruzen answered with a scratch of his head, a peculiar smile forming on his expression. He had known that Zeus was quite good, but not to the extent that he could fight off Kakashi. However, as they watched the battle, Zeus suddenly clapped, causing an extremely loud tremor to shake the entire vicinity. Leaves shuffled in directions opposite from their battle, and Hiruzen felt some ringing in his ears, as his mouth opened slightly in stupefaction.

Kakashi, completely stunned, didn't feel Zeus's clone appear beneath him, as he received a kick in the chin, lifting him into the air. The real Zeus jumped from the ground, performing a drop kick that send Kakashi flying away and disappearing into the bushes.

For an instant, there was nothing but silence, as the entire elder council had their jaws basically on the floor. However, they didn't say anything yet, for Kakashi shattered the ground beneath Zeus, flying towards him with a kunai in his hand from below.

"I knew that couldn't be so simple." Zeus reacted and dodged the attack easily, kicking the man, only for him to suddenly turn into slick mud. However, it hardened suddenly, and Zeus's leg got stuck in it. Before Zeus managed to take it out, he felt danger approaching from behind.

Quickly, Zeus twisted his neck, only to see a huge water dragon falling towards him from above. 'Where did fucking water come from?' Zeus cursed, unable to come to a prompt decision. Actually, as he went through his arsenal of techniques, Zeus had no way to counter this at all, unless simply dodging.

However, it was too late, and a tsunami descended upon him, causing him to collide with the ground strongly. Then, Zeus was pushed by the currents, so he curled into a ball, so as to not get seriously injured. Eventually, the water spread through the vicinity, and Zeus stood up from the ground, his hair drenched in water.

Looking around, Zeus understood that he was somewhere in the woods, so he promptly made his way back to the field, where Kakashi was waiting for him, his expression hidden beneath the mask. Zeus felt no anger or anything, just fascination. Was it a coincidence that he had been meeting so many strong people, or was there just an abundance of them?

"Your name was Kakashi, right? I will remember you." Zeus said, staring at Kakashi while scratching his ear. Some soil fell out his ears, for that was the protection against his own clap technique. "However, I know that's not everything that you can do, so show me more."

Kakashi didn't seem to take Zeus's words into consideration, but suddenly the surroundings lit up in blue light. Kakashi's right hand exploded with lightning power, coating and circling around it. To others, Kakashi may have appeared threatening and deadly when using this jutsu, but Zeus stumbled back instead.

Falling onto his butt, Zeus started laughing, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He laughed so loudly and whole-heartedly that others got really confused, and even Kakashi stopped in his tracks, his head slightly twisted to the side.

"Sorry...I just couldn't hold it in." Zeus removed the tears from his eyes with his index finger, breathing in out to calm down. Finally, he stood back up. "It's been so long since I have laughed like that. Who would have thought that someone would use lightning against me..."

"So, how do you do this?" Zeus glanced at his own hand, then switched to Kakashi's Chidori. Looking at it for a good second, Zeus started pushing the lightning chakra toward his palm. He concentrated hard, feeling it grow and expand, until blasting within his hand. His eyes closed, Zeus heard the noise reminiscent of birds chirping coming from below, with a slight pain ensuing.

It was slightly unstable due to it being his first try, causing his skin to start peeling off, but it was nothing to worry about. Honestly, now that he thought about it, the technique was quite good because it didn't just increase his speed, but it also had some adequate explosive power within it. Now, Zeus wished for nothing but to test it out.

He raised his head, only to be greeted by an utter silence. All of the elders had moved past their surprise, and instead were just looking at Zeus's Chidori with scowling expressions. All of them knew how difficult and deadly this jutsu was, yet Zeus had replicated it at first glance.

Were they witnessing a birth of a monster?

Zeus cared little about them and rushed towards Kakashi, promptly appearing in front of him, his speed amplified by both Chidpri and Overlock. Kakashi reacted as well, pushing his own Chidori to collide with Zeus's hand.

However, just as they were about to touch, Hiruzen appeared in between them, grabbing them by the hands and causing their Chidori to move away from each other. Rocks and soil flew into the sky from their jutsu. Kakashi created a medium-sized hole in the ground, as he then turned around, only to see a huge crater created by Zeus's Chidori.

"Damn, old man. That was just getting fun!" Zeus shouted, falling onto his back.

"That was enough of a performance, Zeus. We have seen enough. Nobody was meant to be injured here." Hiruzen answered with a voice befitting the Hokage and then took out a headband with the village's sign on it. Glancing towards the still-shaken elders, Hiruzen continued. "I believe that Zeus is more than worthy to become a chunin. Do you agree?"

Nobody protested. Nobody even moved. Dazno was especially quiet as he kept staring at the hole in the ground like he was looking at a pile of gold.

"Then, Zeus, you have officially become a chunin, and you are excluded from the required attendance to the academy," Hiruzen said, producing a weak smile. "In a few weeks, there will be new graduates from the academy, and then you will enable to join a team of three shinobi, where you will create strong bonds with fellow teammates and enhance your strength. Additionally, you are now officially eligible to participate in missions, so be prepared at any given moment."

Zeus sighed, realizing that this position was going to take away some of his free time.

"Grow your Will of Fire and make the village proud," Hiruzen concluded with a smile on his face.

***

Insert Gif: Chunin.

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