Peace, this is undoubtedly a very desirable word.
Because it symbolizes a stable life, it symbolizes not having to worry about the fear of dying from being caught in unforeseen circumstances while asleep, it symbolizes being able to boldly pursue the future, instead of huddling in a hole like a stray dog, shivering with knees drawn.
Anyone who has experienced war would absolutely not wish to encounter it again in their lifetime.
Because, for humanity, war is the worst thing, bar none.
However, regrettably, peace also comes with a price.
The unfairness of this world is as ruthless as a set of scales. Peace is good for the vast majority of people, but... there are also some people who chase war, and even exist for war. For them, peace is rather unfair.
Samurai, ronin, weapon dealers, ninja, gladiators, and politicians, etc...
These people can even be said to be existences that feed on the blood from the blade of war, and thus are satisfied.
Even if large-scale wars cannot easily arise without clear benefits, the shadow of war—competition—has never left this human world.
"The Chūnin Exams, as you all know, has officially started registration for this year."
Standing before his students, Kakashi's face was uncharacteristically serious. The white-haired Jonin scanned his three students, his tone carrying a note of solemn warning: "As your teacher, I am pleased with your excellent abilities. However, this is no reason for you to be careless. Because the Chūnin Exams are not just a competition among our village's ninja, but a notoriously brutal test that gathers many Genin from other ninja villages. In other words... there is a possibility of death."
It must be said, Kakashi's warning had some effect. At least Sasuke and Naruto's expressions showed clear changes. In their previous fight with Zabuza, they had more or less seen blood as Genin, and were no longer as panicked.
Hinata naturally remained expressionless. For her, this Chūnin Exams clearly posed no threat. If anything, there was Orochimaru, who had his eyes on Sasuke's body. However, he was also an extremely goal-oriented individual, and his purpose this time was simply to place the Heaven's Curse Mark on Sasuke, to test his compatibility with the mark and observe whether his inner potential met his expectations.
Naruto and Hinata clearly held no utility for Orochimaru. After all, according to the original story, the power of the Sharingan indeed far surpassed that of the Byakugan and mere Nine-Tails chakra. It was not surprising that Orochimaru desired the best Sharingan bloodline.
However, despite that, who knew if other unforeseen circumstances might arise? So, if a problem occurred, she would simply adapt.
"Well~ I've said what I needed to say, and I've already registered you. So, here are your entry permits. Take a look."
With that, Kakashi's words concluded, and he returned to his smiling demeanor, handing the three letters to his students: "My students, participating in the Chūnin Exams in just their first year, makes me very proud~"
"Hey, hey, Kakashi-sensei, what do you mean other villages' Genin will also participate?"
Taking his entry permit, Naruto looked at Kakashi with a puzzled expression: "Isn't the exam held in our village?"
"Hmm~ That's because Konoha village is the head of the Five Great Ninja Villages, so other villages more or less hope to gain recognition from Konoha village's exams. So~ this is my point: elite Genin from other villages will also come to Konoha village to participate in the exam at this time. They are different from you; they might have been on missions for a year or even several years, and their combat experience is already extremely rich. Even you cannot let your guard down."
After patiently explaining the rules of the Chūnin Exams, Kakashi clapped his hands: "Alright~~ Registration officially begins in the afternoon. Now, go get ready, prepare your ninja tools and such. I'm off."
Watching Kakashi leave with a Shunshin, Hinata casually tilted her head in disdain: "It seems a world-class opportunity to test our strength has arrived. What do you two think?"
"Hmph, perfect. I also want to see what level my abilities are in this ninja world. If this exam is world-class, it suits me perfectly."
For Sasuke, this exam would clearly only bring excitement. The chuunibyou youth, hoping to revive the Uchiha clan, had a clear goal: first, to achieve a good ranking in this world-class ninja exam, so that people would know that powerful Uchiha still existed.
"Ahem~! That's right! I'll become a Chūnin first, then a Jōnin like Kakashi-sensei~ After that, it'll be the Anbu, and finally~~ hehehehe, the Hokage~~"
Holding his entry permit, Naruto was practically drooling, clearly immersed in a daydream of reaching the pinnacle of life, becoming a CEO, and winning a beautiful rich wife. However, Hinata and Sasuke were long used to his antics.
"Leave the other things aside for now. Let's go~ We need to go to the barbecue restaurant and discuss our battle plan."
The collective special training that began half a month ago was clearly not in vain. In fact, the increase in individual strength was secondary; the main improvement was in the teamwork and cooperation among the three squads.
The barbecue restaurant was directly cleared today. As the director of Fox Whispers and the leader of the Hinata squad, Hinata didn't want anyone eavesdropping on their plans.
When Hinata and her two teammates arrived, the other six members of Team 8 and Team 10 were already there, chatting around a large barbecue table.
"Ah~ Sasuke-kun~~ You're finally here~ Come, sit next to me~~"
Spotting Sasuke behind Hinata at a glance, Ino and Sakura almost simultaneously stood up, patting the seats beside them with heart-shaped eyes. Hinata, with a sneer, clearly couldn't be bothered with such a clichéd love triangle. After neatly settling into the head seat, she spoke: "It seems, everyone, you have all received your entry permits, correct? I refer to the Chūnin Exams."
"Uh... Your tone, are you trying to scare us to death?? What's with 'everyone,' what's with 'I'... just speak normally, please..."
Undoubtedly, Hinata's overly formal, Yakuza-boss-like opening surprised everyone present. Shikamaru, who at least had some manly spirit, opened his mouth in dumbfounded retort, while everyone else had basically instinctively adopted proper kneeling postures. For a moment, the entire barbecue restaurant was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, as if it had suddenly transformed into a gang's main hall meeting.
"The formation and stability of an organization require meticulous maintenance. So, everyone, may you answer my question?"
Ignoring Shikamaru's retort, Hinata casually picked up the juice glass in front of her. As if by reflex, Sakura, sitting next to Sasuke, sprang up and instinctively poured juice from the nearby bottle into Hinata's glass.
"Hai! As you commanded, we have indeed all received our entry permits. Our respective instructors have also reported our eligibility for the exam. We await your instructions."
However, Shikamaru's uncooperativeness didn't mean others wouldn't cooperate. At least Shino had already spoken with full immersion, bowing his head. His devoted retainer posture, if he were given a costume, could probably directly play a retainer serving a Daimyo in an ancient play.
"Excellent~ The plan was very successful. Now, I announce the second phase of the operation plan. Although we don't yet know the exact content of the exam, it's certain that there will be team-based stages. Therefore, my instruction is: if such a situation arises, gather all members as quickly as possible and use the strength of the team to confront and resolve any potential troubles."
Hinata took a satisfied sip of the juice in her glass, while Ino on the other side, also reflexively, pushed several peeled shrimp balls towards the Byakugan girl. Clearly, their maid-like roles were also fully immersed.
"...Okay... Then, I believe: if this strengthened team action mode is implemented, it might greatly increase the delay and reduce the stealth of our movements. Is this situation acceptable?"
Seeing everyone else getting into character, Shikamaru wisely decided to play along. Casually picking up a folding fan from the table to cover half his face, he immediately displayed the demeanor of a strategist.
"Our team composition is perfect: reconnaissance, combat, traps, and healing are all covered. Even in theoretical knowledge, we have Sakura, who consistently scores first in the entire grade's theoretical exams. So, in such a perfectly complementary team mode, the immense advantages are enough to outweigh a few minor drawbacks."
Hinata's earnest praise undoubtedly made Sakura blush, but at the same time, the pink-haired girl was also a little proud, because theoretical knowledge was exactly her forte. As for how strong her theoretical knowledge was, well~~ let's just say she could get a perfect score on the written exam that even Jōnin might not be able to answer in the original story.
"I see~ In that case, whether it's written exams, combat, survival, or puzzles, nothing will be difficult for us."
Shikamaru dramatically fanned himself twice with his 'legion fan,' and just as he was about to say something more, he heard Shino beside him suddenly speak: "Bugs are coming."
Almost simultaneously, a rather loud voice rang out at the entrance of the barbecue restaurant: "Hey, hey~! What kind of attitude is your establishment showing? Is this how you treat guests who've traveled a long way?"
"We apologize, honored guests~ But, our establishment has indeed been reserved today~~"
The restaurant owner's strained explanation clearly indicated what was happening. Undoubtedly, Hinata's tyrannical act of booking the entire establishment had stirred up some dissatisfaction among some chuunibyou hotheads.
"Huh? But we traveled a long way to get here. Are you really going to turn us away?"
Listening to the commotion at the entrance, Shino's sunglasses glinted slightly. The bug user subtly raised his right hand, then quickly extended three fingers in succession: first the middle and index fingers, then finally the thumb alone.
This gesture was simple; it meant: two individuals of comparable strength were currently at the restaurant entrance, and one individual stronger than both of them was currently a distance away outside the door. Undoubtedly, Shino's special training during this period had given him better reconnaissance habits and abilities, and this was part of what was being showcased.
Hmm~~ At this time, a group of three appearing in Konoha village, and being so arrogant... could it be...
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Hinata also spoke coldly: "What's going on?? Why is it suddenly so noisy??"
"Ah~ I'm truly sorry, Hinata-sama. It's just that this guest from outside insists on coming in to eat..."
The sweating restaurant owner hurriedly walked over and bowed in apology to Hinata. As he moved, two figures also appeared in everyone's sight.
One was undoubtedly male, dressed in a black martial arts uniform with strange purple oil paint on his face, giving him an eerie clown-like appearance.
Undoubtedly, the recent argument must have come from him.
The other was a beautiful woman. She had the same height as Sakura and Ino, along with rather full breasts and shapely waist and legs, and daring, fiery fishnet stockings. Her beautiful and refined face held a hint of undeniable wild beauty, and her playful four-bun hairstyle added a sense of wild playfulness.
"What's this~ Just a bunch of brats?! Hey, hey, don't you know that unilaterally reserving a place causes trouble for others, hmm?!"
Kankurō's personality clearly wasn't mature yet. As a Sand Shinobi who had traveled a long way to reach Konoha village, all he wanted was to enjoy a good meal and rest comfortably, but he encountered this rejection. His youthful hot temper was immediately ignited, leading to the scene of conflict.
"Um~ excuse me, we just wanted to eat, we didn't mean to disturb you~"
Compared to Kankurō, Temari on the side was clearly more rational and mature. In fact, upon seeing that the group in front of them were Konoha Genin, she couldn't help but feel a sudden unease, because these Genin's expressions were very strange. They showed neither anger at being looked down upon by Kankurō, nor unease at encountering a sudden situation, but rather a very strange... scrutiny...?
Temari couldn't quite describe the exact feeling, but she vaguely thought that this gaze was like how people look at monkeys in a zoo. There was no deliberate disdain or mockery, because their statuses were simply not on the same level.
"You are not Konoha village ninja."
Hinata, sitting at the head seat, raised her glass, then drained the juice in it. Her words and actions made the observant Temari instinctively flinch, then take a small step back before speaking: "Ah~ We are Hidden Sand Village ninja. We came to Konoha village this time to participate in the Chūnin Exams. Haven't you received notification?"
"In terms of written documents, indeed... no."
Shino, sitting in his original spot, spoke faintly. Clearly, he had understood Hinata's intentions.
"Is that so... Then that's troublesome, Shikamaru. What should we do if we find unannounced ninja from other villages within the village?"
Narrowing her eyes, Hinata made no attempt to conceal the killing intent around her. Shikamaru, with his eyes closed, let out a weary sigh: "Subdue them on the spot, then hand them over to the village's Anbu for processing."
"Very good~ Then, seize them."
Gently parting the bangs from her forehead, Hinata calmly gave her command.
"If they resist, kill without mercy."
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TL: Since ninja activities are team-based, then~~ no objection to them forming a ten-person team and pushing through? it's not like it's forbidden or something.