Chapter 26: Chunin Examinations

Shouts behind the door began to be heard, however, that boy ignored it completely.

"Hm?"

His eyes lit up as he looked at that shelf full of books.

He paused in front of it for a few seconds, until one of the books fell.

"Mm..."

The boy looked at the book with an emotionless expression as he picked it up from the floor.

He looked at the cover curiously.

After that, the boy walked over to the desk and placed the book on the table.

"..."

He took a few seconds to thoroughly check the cover of that book.

"This is..."

The boy opened the book, looked at it. Every letter, every little detail and every sentence written in the book itself made the boy's eyes widen with curiosity.

Slowly, as the screams were heard behind the door, the boy began to read the book.

The expressions on his face changed as he read.

Until.

"Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin..." Said the boy in a low tone of voice.

After that, he continued reading.

Every single thing that the people in that book had done left a great impact on the boy.

Those people who were still recognized even if hundreds of years had passed, those people who used their intelligence so that mankind could move forward.

After reading much of the book, the boy's eyes lit up as he remembered the meaning of the name he was given.

"Humanity's helper, huh..."

After saying that, the door behind the boy opened, revealing a mysterious woman, who was carrying a whip in her hands.

And when that woman raised the whip to strike the boy, Toru opened his eyes.

His breathing was heavy and a few beads of sweat trickled down his face.

(What was that?) He wondered, but could not find an answer to that question.

For a few seconds, Toru kept his gaze on the ceiling of the room.

He didn't know the boy in that dream, much less that woman, but for some reason, the names in that mysterious book seemed strangely familiar.

"What time is it?" as a sigh escaped his lips, Toru glanced at the clock beside the bed.

(Today we can resume the missions) Toru thought.

It had already been a week since Team 11 completed their first A-ranked mission.

During that time Hinata had been able to fully recover and Toru had already been able to regain his mobility, after all, Yasu's poison managed to paralyze much of his body, but after a long day of rest, Toru was able to regain his ability to move.

Ino, on the other hand, was completely fine, she only had a small cut on her cheek, but thanks to the medical ninja, the wound was able to heal without leaving any scars.

(I'm still missing materials) Toru thought while looking at that artifact that was on the table.

"I won't think about that anymore, for now I must get ready to leave" Toru said while trying to forget that strange dream.

-A few minutes later, somewhere in Konoha-.

Looking at the sky with a neutral expression, Yamato crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

At that moment he was waiting for his students and as always, he was the one who arrived first.

(She has Jounin class skills...) Yamato thought as he recalled the interrogation he had with Miroku.

That woman, strangely enough, was the same age as Yamato, they were both twenty-two.

He along with Kakashi took it upon themselves to evaluate Miroku's abilities, in the end they deduced that she was close to Jounin rank.

(Ha~ should I visit her?) Yamato thought, but was interrupted by someone who had just arrived.

It was easy for Yamato to tell who it was, as he was always the second to arrive.

"Good morning, Yamato-sensei" Toru said as he adjusted his scarf.

"Toru, you're early, as usual."

"Yes... it's normal for a ninja to be punctual" Toru said as he looked Yamato in the eyes.

"You're right about that" Yamato replied.

At that very moment, he remembered that night and some questions came up.

"Now, taking advantage of the fact that Hinata and Ino haven't arrived" Yamato said.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright? It's the first person you kill" Looking at Toru with a sharp look, Yamato asked.

This made Toru look at the sky to seconds later answer.

"I'm a ninja and as a ninja myself, something like that should be normal. am I wrong?" as his eyes glowed strangely, Toru answered with an emotionless expression.

Yamato felt a little surprised by Toru's response.

And as he looked at Toru, some memories from his past came back to his mind.

For some reason, Yamato saw himself reflected in Toru.

"Yes, it's a normal thing, but you shouldn't kill unless the mission is focused on assassination" Yamato replied.

Toru kept quiet at the answer, as he saw someone approaching.

"Good morning, Yamato-sensei, Toru-kun" Hinata said as she bowed.

"Good morning, are you feeling better?" Yamato said.

"Um... yes, I'm fine. And... I'm sorry for the trouble I caused, I won't do it again-"

"No need to apologize" Toru said, making Hinata feel confused.

"Toru is right. They intended to end our lives, the only choice we had was to defend ourselves. So you shouldn't apologize" Yamato said.

Hinata looked at this with a puzzled expression, before a slight smile formed on her face.

"I... um... thank you" Hinata said.

For a few seconds, all was silent until a girl's voice was heard.

"I'm home!" Ino said.

Hinata and Yamato looked at her with a confused expression, however, Toru just narrowed his eyes.

"Good morning, Yamato-sensei, Hinata.... Toru..." Ino said while trying not to look Toru in the eyes.

Everyone thought it was strange for Ino to greet Toru, except for Toru himself.

"Well, now that you're all here, I have something to inform you" Yamato said, ignoring Ino's strange attitude.

After listening to their sensei, Toru, Hinata and Ino stood in front of Yamato as they waited for orders.

"Tomorrow the registration for the Chunin exams will start" Yamato said.

"Chunin exams?" Ino asked.

In response to that, Yamato smiled and answered.

"Yes, as you should already know, ninja have ranks that define their abilities. Genin, Chunin and Jounin."

Yamato crossed his arms and continued speaking.

"You are still Genin, but you can raise your rank to Chunin if you complete this exam."

"I've read about that" Toru said as he crossed his arms.

"Ninjas from different parts of the continent gather together to complete a certain number of exams that will test their skills as ninja, depending on the ninja's performance during the exam, it will be decided whether they will be able to move up in rank or stay as Genin until they can take the exam again" Toru finished speaking.

"Exactly, that's why I'm telling you this. If you want to enter the exams it will be your own decision."

"What do you mean sensei?" said Hinata.

"In this exam there will be powerful ninja from all over the continent, each with abilities they have never seen. Also, it is very likely that they will get to die during the exam" With a serious look on his face, Yamato spoke.

Hinata and Ino kept silent for a few seconds as they thought about what Yamato had said, but Toru interrupted.

"I'll enter the exams" Without thinking twice, Toru agreed, he was sure that he could advance a lot in the exams, plus he would finally show the world his true potential.

Hearing Toru's words, Ino's eyes widened.

|Weak, pathetic, cowardly, a wretched kunoichi who is useless in every aspect.

Those words came back to Ino's mind, causing her face to change to a worried expression.

(I... won't be a coward)

Clenching her fists, Ino looked up and with a defiant smile said:

"I want to be in the Chunin exams too."

Hinata was surprised, Toru and Ino had already decided, however, she was still hesitating.

Although she was lucky enough to survive during that night, she wasn't sure if her skills would allow her to advance.

But still, she wanted to be strong, that was the path she had chosen and she was sure that if she doesn't put aside her weakness, she would remain someone weak for the rest of her life.

"I... I... I want too" Raising her hand shyly, Hinata said.

This made Yamato's eyes widen, he was proud of his students, he was sure that they could put on a great show during the exams.

And if it was something they had decided themselves, he wouldn't be able to stop them.

"So, if they want to enter the exams so badly, I don't plan to stop them. Moreover, I plan to support them as their teacher" Yamato said.

"Thank you, Yamato-sensei" Ino and Hinata said in unison.

"Well then, make sure you go early for registration tomorrow, if you are late, you won't be able to register" Yamato said with a slight smile on his face.

-The next day-

Walking at a slow pace, while his hair moved to the rhythm of the wind, Toru walked in the direction of the place where he will register for the Chunin exams.

But he saw something interesting that made him stop.

There were three people, one girl and two boys.

(The protectors are not from Konoha) Toru thought when he saw that the protectors of those people had a different symbol from Konoha.

Their way of dressing was also very different from the clothing normally worn in Konoha.

The one that attracted the most attention was that boy with the giant bottle on his back.

His hair was red and he had a strange tattoo on his forehead.

The second was the boy who seemed to have a mummy strapped to his back. His clothes were black, and he had the forehead protector stuck on his clothes.

The last one was a girl with blonde hair tied in four pigtails, she has blue-green eyes, as well as carrying a large fan tied to the obi of her clothes.

(They are not from Konoha, I guess they also come to the Chunin exams).

Toru narrowed her eyes and came out of her hiding place.

The fan girl noticed that, but just kept quiet as she looked at him.

After that, Toru disappeared, causing the fan girl and the mummy boy to be surprised.

However, the red-haired guy kept quiet and without changing the serious expression on his face.

(The guy with the bottle, he's dangerous) Toru's eyes glowed in the darkness of the trees as he looked at the red-haired man.

(I'm getting late) Seeing the sun in the sky, Toru realized the time, so he disappeared from the place without a trace.

But before disappearing, the red-haired boy looked up, and let out a small grunt.

-Somewhere else-

"He's taking his time" Looking around, Ino spoke.

"Maybe something happened to him" Hinata said.

But suddenly, a big breeze appeared in front of them.

And then, when the breeze stopped, Toru appeared.

Just seeing him for a second, Ino's face turned red as a tomato.

"Hey, how dare you make us wait!" Ino said, but Toru looked her in the eyes, and immediately fell silent.

"Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts" Toru replied with the typical poker face she always tends to have.

"No problem, for now we should hurry, registration closes in thirty minutes" Hinata said while looking at Toru.

"Okay, let's go then."

Toru said as he entered that building, followed by Ino and Hinata.

After that, with his hands in his pockets, Toru walked to the front of the group.

But when he entered the building, Sasuke shot out as if someone had hit him.

Toru watched Sasuke fall beside him and then a voice was heard.

"I thought the Sharingan was stronger" Said that big eyebrowed boy.

"I guess I was in for a disappointment" Shaking his head, the boy sighed.

But his eyes widened when he looked at the emblem on Toru's sweater.

"But what do we have here, not only do I meet an Uchiha, but also an Asahi" Said the boy as he smiled.

It seemed like a flame was lit in the pupil of his eyes, The flame of youth!

______

Please comment before the author gets depressed.