Uchiha Akaishi Tour

Chapter 100 Preliminary Test

After the preliminary qualification was confirmed, the genin who advanced also left. Akaishi specially approached Fugaku and invited Fugaku and the other two to go to the ramen shop together.

Upon hearing this, Fugaku hesitated for a moment, then smiled and politely declined. Yashiro, who was standing to the side, wanted to remind Akaishi of something, but Fugaku interrupted him, only telling Akaishi and his teammates to prepare well for the upcoming exam.

Watching the three clansmen leave, Akaishi felt that isolating himself from the village was not right, but there was nothing more he could do at the moment.

Inside the ramen shop, nine Konoha genin who had just passed the written exam were having afternoon tea.

"Why come to a ramen shop for afternoon tea?" Choza asked, puzzled.

"No, no, no, you're the only one who doesn't need to ask that!" Akaishi stared speechlessly at the stack of ramen bowls in front of him.

It's only four o'clock now, which isn't dinner time yet, so everyone just ordered some desserts.

Meanwhile, Minato, Shikaku, and Shimi were still analyzing the preliminary test results.

"A total of 30 groups of genin advanced, of which 15 were from Konoha, 3 each from Kirigakure and Iwagakure, and the remaining 9 came from nine different small villages—in terms of elimination ratio, 90% of those eliminated were Konoha ninjas," Shikaku remarked.

"But the rest are all elites, so prepare for tomorrow's practical test!" Minato said.

Only in Konoha did genin sign up themselves, while other hidden villages selected their elites to "showcase," so the elimination rate was naturally different.

Just then, a sound came from outside the ramen shop—

"We do not eat at the wrong time when not on a mission; this is an ancestral precept of our Hyuga clan."

"Let's go, let's go, today is a special day."

"To compromise based solely on a written test is to disregard all rules!"

"Don't be such a spoilsport—why don't you just watch me eat?"

Immediately, two young brothers, dressed in haori (a type of traditional Chinese clothing) and hakama (a type of traditional Chinese clothing), with pure white eyes, half-pushed and half-reluctantly entered the shop. Then, a boy wearing a green scarf could be seen pushing them in from behind.

It was the Hyuga brothers, Hiashi and Hizashi, and Shinnosuke Sarutobi.

"Your dream girl is here," Lan Wu whispered to Chi Shi.

Inuzuka: ? ? ?

Inuzuka Tsuru, who had overheard a bit, gave Akaishi a strange look—which one? Both of them are strange!

Upon seeing the people in the shop, the Hyuga brothers' faces hardened even more, while the cheerful Sarutobi exclaimed in surprise, "Oh? Everyone's here?"

"Ah Xin, do you have any inside information about the exam questions?" Lu Jiu teased him, as they were quite familiar with each other.

"Speaking of inside information, let me think—how could there be! Hahaha—" Shinnosuke finished playing dumb and making sarcastic remarks.

Akaishi:————

Shinnosuke has always been like this, but Akaishi isn't fond of this "cheerful young master" persona.

Shinnosuke and Akaishi weren't very familiar with each other before, since Akaishi wasn't particularly outstanding in his grade except for the "Uchiha" label.

However, in their limited interactions, Shinnosuke was very enthusiastic towards Akaishi.

At this moment, Shinnosuke even sat down next to him, patted Akaishi on the shoulder with emotion, and said, "Akaishi! I've really seen something new today. If my old man wasn't so busy, he'd probably want to take you on as a student!"

In Konoha, the one who truly mastered the art of ordinary ninjutsu was none other than the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Although the Second Hokage also possessed all five chakra natures, he focused more on Water Release and various secret techniques he developed himself, unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was famous for his "combination of five chakra natures".

"Not at all, I'm still far from good enough—" Akaishi said modestly.

"Haha, don't be modest! This doesn't seem like you're an Uchiha at all," Shinnosuke said with a laugh.

He said something embarrassing with a cheerful expression.

Those who know him well are already used to it.

As for the Hyuga brothers, they remained silent after taking their seats, both appearing quite dignified.

Because the two look exactly alike, from their appearance to their clothing, no one except Shinnosuke can tell them apart.

Recalling when they first formed Team 3, Shinnosuke suddenly had a brilliant idea and suggested that they wear their headbands around their necks so that it would be easier to distinguish them, since Hiashi had the "Caged Bird" curse mark on his forehead while Hiashi did not.

As a result, the third class almost disbanded that very day!

Hiashi wore a headband to avoid being seen as different from Hishi, while Hishi didn't want others to see him as a "caged bird."

"Shikaku, what are your guesses about the retest?" Shinnosuke asked expectantly, clearly trusting Shikaku's intelligence.

"Since we're meeting at the village entrance and they specifically mentioned bringing supplies, the exam location must be outside Konoha, and—it's probably not even close, or they might restrict our return to Konoha during the exam," Shikaku speculated.

Upon hearing this, Shinnosuke waved his hand and said bluntly, "Say something I didn't think of."

He was clearly tacitly agreeing that Shikaku was definitely smarter than him.

Shikaku rolled his eyes and said, "If we really have to analyze this—first of all, I think the furthest we can go is beyond the borders of the Land of Fire. After all, if the Chunin Exams were held overseas, there would be too many uncontrollable factors."

As Shikaku spoke, he simply dipped his finger in water and drew the outline of the Land of Fire on the table, with Konoha located in the north-central part of the Land of Fire.

"Secondly, since the location is within the Land of Fire, the exam questions should favor Iwagakure and Kirigakure, otherwise they wouldn't agree, and it's even possible that the other two great hidden villages will be the ones setting the questions and choosing the locations." Shikaku added a point that most of the others hadn't thought of.

Immediately, Shikaku's serious expression relaxed, and he said nonchalantly, "If we're going to analyze it later, it will basically revolve around these two points. For example, if Iwagakure and Kirigakure set the questions, they should be simulations related to war. However, since it's the Chunin Exams, I don't think it's going to be a simulation of a direct battlefield."

Chunin are essentially beasts of burden on the front lines of major battles; there's not much to simulate. When it comes to actually going to the front lines, they don't get a chance to exert their initiative; they just have to contribute what they can.

"Furthermore, based on this, I don't think it should be placed on the western border. Otherwise—a written test is one thing, but actually going to the vicinity of the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind for a battlefield simulation would be too stimulating to the current tense situation."

The more Shikaku analyzed, the more specific he became.

"As expected of a genius from the Nara clan, his mind is so sharp—anything else?" Shinnosuke was practically ready to take out his notebook and write it down.

"It's no use flattering me—we're here to discuss, not to listen to my explanations, right?" Lu Jiu reminded everyone that the purpose was to brainstorm, not for them to just sit here and wait for him to give them something for free!

Seeing this, Minato said, "If it is Konoha's own exam, then of course we can arrange and clean the exam location in advance to ensure the exam goes smoothly."

"But if Kirigakure and Iwagakure come to choose a location, and it was only proposed in the last few days, then we can only choose a place that we already have a high degree of control over. We can't go to some really deep mountains and forests because there isn't enough time to make arrangements."

Zhiwei, who was standing to the side, said succinctly, "It's impossible for it to be an important stronghold either."

If Iwagakure and Kirigakure wanted to designate certain sensitive locations to investigate Konoha's secrets, Konoha would certainly not agree.

There were basically no clues at first, only "meet at the village entrance" and "bring more supplies," but after some analysis and elimination, they were able to narrow down the general area!

Even if you don't know what the specific questions will be, having a guess about the location can help you prepare some things accordingly.

That evening, each team began their preparations.

July 2, eight in the morning.

Ninety genin from various villages were already waiting at the village entrance.

At this moment, a ninja wearing round-framed glasses, who looked to be about the same age as Jiraiya, appeared before everyone.

"Hmm? It's the Special Jonin Santoku from the Analysis Class." Lan Wu recognized the newcomer immediately.

"Analysis?" Akashi's expression shifted. Last night, the questions everyone had predicted included "the transmission or interception of coded information," since this was also an important part of the ninja war.

"I am Santoku, the examiner for this round. Some of you may know me, so you should know I'm very busy. I won't keep you in suspense any longer. As Chunin, passing on and intercepting codes will also be your tasks!"

"This exam is going to test this. Afterwards, you will be given a scroll, which will indicate whether you are responsible for transmitting or receiving codes, and how to make contact."

"Now I can tell you that there are three meeting places: End Valley, Tanabata Town, and Post Town. Your first task is to complete your meeting mission and pass on the code."

"Once the sender completes the transmission, it is considered that the task has been completed. The receiver must ensure that the code it received has not been leaked before the end of the subsequent fourteen-day pre-test in order to be considered to have completed the reception. If the task fails, 1 point will be deducted."

"During these fourteen days, you won't only have one delivery mission. After completing the rendezvous or the delivery completely fails, the mission on the scroll will refresh, which may require you to travel between the three locations. During this time, you cannot go to places outside the mission area. Also—"

"Besides passing and receiving codes, you can also intercept and trick other teams into giving you codes. In the end, your score is the product of passing, receiving, and stealing points. I think if one of the multipliers is zero, the result will be zero." I don't need to emphasize this.

"In addition, regarding interception, it is useless to intercept the messenger after the messenger has completed the delivery. It can only be intercepted during the delivery or by intercepting the team that has received the code."

"Ah—right, let me tell you all, in Tanabata Street, because it's a bustling area, the guardian forces are very strong. Theoretically, you're not on the same side as the locals, so if you openly fight and alert the guardian ninjas, everyone who's discovered will be eliminated on the spot."

"As for the post town, it's more like a post station, so the protective forces aren't that strong. But if you alert the ninjas there, you'll have to leave immediately. As for the Valley of the End—that's up to you. No one will stop you from fighting."

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