Ch.9 Chunin Exam

Boom!

In the muffled sound of fists and feet clashing, two figures separated.

This was a secluded training ground where Shinji and Haku were sparring in taijutsu.

Noticing that his attack was once again deflected, Shinji frowned slightly.

Over the past few days of sparring, he had clearly felt himself improving, but no matter how much he progressed, Haku always gave him the illusion that he was just one step away from winning!

The result, however, was that he kept getting pushed back.

I should try the Breathing Technique!

After making up his mind, Shinji looked at Haku: "Be careful, I'm going all out this time!"

Haku nodded seriously, playing along.

Total Concentration!

Huff...

After exhaling a breath, Shinji's figure blurred, and he threw a straight punch aimed at Haku's face.

!

A flash of surprise flickered in Haku's eyes, as if he hadn't expected Shinji's speed to suddenly increase so much.

Bang, bang, bang...

In an instant, the two exchanged four or five blows.

Every time Shinji punched, a mist of breath escaped his mouth. Each move seemed to follow a certain rhythm, with his speed and strength significantly enhanced compared to before.

This clearly made Haku uncomfortable, and for once, he showed signs of panic.

Huff...

Exhaling another breath, Shinji's speed increased again. His figure blurred as he moved behind Haku, then smoothly delivered a sweeping kick!

But just as his kick was about to land,

Whoosh!

Haku quickly leaped up, not only dodging Shinji's sweeping kick but also using his toes to lightly tap on Shinji's leg, using the momentum to counterattack with a sweeping kick of his own.

What!?

Shinji was taken aback, and with no time to change his move or dodge, he barely managed to raise his arms to protect his vital areas.

Bang!

With a muffled sound, Shinji was once again pushed back, and the rhythm of his Breathing Technique was disrupted.

Feeling the slight numbness in his arms, Shinji smirked: "Haku, the strength of that kick was off. Are you holding back on me?"

Haku panted lightly: "Shinji-kun, just defending against your attacks is already difficult. How could I have the energy to hold back?"

Shinji shook his arms to relieve the pain: "You're definitely holding back."

Haku didn't continue explaining and instead walked to the side of the training ground, handing Shinji a bottle of water: "Shinji-kun, let's take a break."

Shinji accepted the water and silently drank.

He knew that Haku had sensed his physical limits, not only subtly reducing the intensity of the sparring but also suggesting a break to save face for him.

Reflecting on their recent exchange, Shinji confirmed that the Breathing Technique indeed provided a noticeable boost to his taijutsu.

Without using the Breathing Technique, his taijutsu foundation wasn't even enough to pose a threat to Haku.

But once he used the Breathing Technique, even in the half-baked state he had after only two weeks of training, he could clearly cause Haku some trouble.

My control of Water Breathing is still not refined enough; the rhythm is too easily disrupted.

Shinji silently criticized himself.

Meanwhile, Haku took a sip of water and casually asked: "Shinji-kun, can I ask why, even though you're already very strong, you're still training so hard?"

Shinji inwardly thought: "If I said it was to protect the Shinobi World, would you believe me?"

Who knows what kind of creature will invade the Shinobi World next time. I can't afford to slack off.

Seeing Shinji remain silent, Haku tentatively asked: "Is it because of that person? Why did he do such a thing?"

Shinji glanced at Haku, then looked away: "I don't know either."

The person Haku was referring to was, of course, Uchiha Itachi, who had massacred the entire clan.

It was understandable for him to have such doubts.

Because many people in the village had the same question—they didn't understand why someone like Itachi, the heir of the Uchiha Clan, would personally destroy his own family.

But Shinji had a hunch that Haku was overly concerned about him and the Uchiha Clan, even though Haku hid it well.

...

The next day.

"What? The Chūnin Exams?"

Shinji was a bit surprised in the classroom.

On the podium, Iruka-sensei was still explaining the various arrangements for the upcoming Chūnin Exams at the Ninja Academy.

To put it simply, the lower-grade students like Shinji would be on break.

When the Chūnin Exams were mentioned, Shinji instinctively thought of the Chūnin Exams from the original story involving Naruto.

But in reality, the Chūnin Exams were held every three years.

The scale of the exams varied.

Naruto's exam had a very large scale, but under normal circumstances, the scale would be smaller.

The venue wasn't always in Hidden Leaf Village either. All villages that had alliances or cooperative relationships with Hidden Leaf were eligible to host the Chūnin Exams.

"Great, we get a break!"

"I heard that a lot of villages are sending people this time."

"That means there will be some good matches to watch, right?"

The students were all smiles, as if the village was about to hold a festival.

In fact, the Chūnin Exams were indeed like a festival, with the final matches even allowing villagers to buy tickets to watch.

After leaving the Ninja Academy, Shinji and Haku strolled down the street.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the distance.

Following the noise, Shinji saw a procession approaching at the end of the street, with a luxurious carriage in the center.

Haku also looked over: "It looks like the symbol of the Land of Demons. Could the Miko of the Land of Demons be attending this Chūnin Exam too?"

Shinji's expression stiffened: "The Miko of the Land of Demons?"

Haku said: "Yes, the one in the carriage is probably the Miko from the Land of Demons."

Why did she come to Hidden Leaf? Did she break free from my genjutsu?

Shinji, secretly alarmed, looked in the direction the Land of Demons' procession was heading and thought: "Are they going to the Hokage's office?"

Noticing that Shinji's expression didn't look good, Haku asked with concern: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Shinji shook his head and walked away from the street.

Even though he knew that Shion's presence in Hidden Leaf was highly unusual, there was nothing he could do about it.

This was the center of Hidden Leaf, only a few streets away from the Hokage's office. Any action he took could have unpredictable consequences.

The only thing he could do now was pray that Shion hadn't broken free from the psychological suggestion he had implanted.

With unease, Shinji passed the day.

No ANBU came to detain him, and there were no rumors about him or the Mangekyō Sharingan, as if the Miko's arrival had nothing to do with him.

Later that day, the teams from Hidden Sand, Hidden Grass, Hidden Rain, Hidden Waterfall, and Hidden Mist also arrived in Hidden Leaf.

Hearing this news, Shinji was filled with doubt.

In his memory, the relationship between Hidden Leaf and Hidden Mist was quite tense, and Hidden Mist had never sent anyone to participate in the Chūnin Exams in Hidden Leaf.

The number of people sent by the other villages also seemed to be unusually high.

It seems that participating in the Chūnin Exams is just a pretense. The real reason these villages are here is to verify the rumors about the Uchiha Clan's massacre.

After thinking about it briefly, Shinji understood why the other villages were so eager to send people to this Chūnin Exam.

After all, the Uchiha Clan was a prestigious family with nearly a thousand years of history, a clan that had stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World even before the great ninja villages were established.

So the news of the Uchiha Clan's massacre was a major shock to the entire Shinobi World.

...

In the evening, Shinji didn't relax. He continued to spar with Haku in taijutsu.

During a break, while wiping sweat with a towel, he casually asked: "Why is the Land of Demons participating in the Chūnin Exams? Do they have a shinobi village?"

Haku shook his head: "I've never heard of a ninja village in the Land of Demons."

"Then why is the Miko of the Land of Demons here?"

Haku smiled: "I'm not sure, but I heard that the Miko from the Land of Demons spent the day shopping in the village, visiting quite a few stores."

"Oh."

Shinji responded, deep in thought.

Rustle, rustle.

Suddenly, there was a sound from the bushes at the edge of the training ground.

Shinji and Haku looked over.

They saw a small figure emerge from the bushes.

She was petite, dressed in a luxurious gown, her cheeks puffed as if she were chewing on something, and she was holding a skewer of three-colored dango.

Shion!?

Shinji's heart skipped a beat as he recognized her.

The figure that had clumsily emerged from the bushes was none other than Miko from the Land of Demons, whom he and Haku had just been talking about.

Shion didn't seem to expect anyone to be in such a secluded place. She made a shushing gesture towards Shinji and Haku, then lifted her gown, preparing to sneak away.

But after taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped, tilted her head, and ran up to Shinji, staring intently at him: "You..."