Chapter 123: Is It Senior Kabuto or Senior Pot?

Chapter 123: Is It Senior Kabuto or Senior Pot?

Konohamaru and his two friends were shouting and clamoring, constantly asking about the contents of the Chunin Exams. They didn't yet understand the relationship between a ninja's strength and their rank, simply believing that Chunin were stronger than Genin, and Jonin were stronger than Chunin.

"I believe in your abilities. The Chunin Exams won't be too difficult for you, but…" Asuma still felt the need to offer some advice. "Ino, don't get arrogant just because you've defeated a few opponents your age. This world is vast, and there are many strong people out there. Shikamaru, don't take things lightly. Respect every opponent and give it your all in battle. Choji, muster your courage. Your teammates need your protection you are their strongest shield."

Team 10 and the three kids were enjoying a barbecue.

Meanwhile, deep underground in the Root headquarters of Konoha, Danzo received a reply scroll from one of his Root operatives, who had retrieved it from Orochimaru.

He unrolled the scroll and read it carefully.

Danzo lightly tapped his cane, and his two right-hand men, Yamato and Torune Aburame, appeared before him. Behind them knelt several black-clad Root ninjas, all eerily silent, like machines.

"We're leaving the village for a mission."

"Yes, sir." Root ninjas didn't ask questions; they simply followed orders.

Danzo didn't inform his old comrade, the Third Hokage. He and his subordinates quietly left Konoha, avoiding the chaos of the village.

The application for the Chunin Exams was submitted, and the exams would begin in three days.

Ino and her team gathered at the school gate. The three exchanged glances, nodded in unison, and then walked into the school grounds.

Shikamaru had his hands behind his head. "Did you guys run into Iruka-sensei on the way here too?"

Ino nodded. "Yeah, Iruka-sensei is probably worried about us newly graduated Genin, so he decided to test us. What a responsible teacher."

Iruka had seemingly identified her weakness in taijutsu. On the way, he had disguised himself as a Rain Village ninja and ambushed her. However, Ino used her Water Clone Technique to create distance, then trapped him with a combination of Mist Technique and Water Prison Technique.

Choji, who had been slow to catch on, suddenly exclaimed, "Wait, so that person who disguised themselves as Ino and tried to convince me to give up on the exams was actually Iruka-sensei?"

His chubby face showed a thoughtful expression. "I was wondering why Ino would act so weak. No matter what, Ino would never give up."

Ino chuckled awkwardly.

According to the rules, the village organized the Chunin Exams every six months. This was how Kabuto had managed to take the exams seven times in four years. The difficulty of the exams varied sometimes they were easy, and other times they were extremely challenging.

If the Chunin Exams were always as tough as this one, someone like Mizuki would never have become a Chunin.

There was no rush, but after this Chunin Exam, the Third Hokage would pass away. Tsunade would return to the village to become the Fifth Hokage, but she would be so busy that she wouldn't even have time to drink. It would take three years before the next Chunin Exams were held.

A ninja's strength was important, but their rank wasn't insignificant either it was a matter of pride.

For the sake of the Yamanaka clan, for the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, for the freedom to leave the village at will, and for all the complicated relationships involved, Ino had to participate in this Chunin Exam and achieve good results.

As she walked, a thought suddenly struck her: the Third Hokage would die before the Chunin Exams were over! How was she supposed to get the permission to leave the village? Cry over his corpse and beg, "Grandpa Hokage, don't die yet! Give me the permission first, then you can die!" Or maybe use the Reanimation Jutsu to bring him back? But that would involve the mask of the Uzumaki clan, and things were getting more and more complicated.

She rubbed her temples. On second thought, things seemed a bit off.

If Tsunade returned to become Hokage, Ino wouldn't need the permission to leave the village anymore. But she really didn't want to be stuck in the village all the time.

Naruto had stopped his graffiti antics, and Ino had been breaking windows around the village to earn "Pot Points," but it wasn't enough. She needed more time to cause trouble outside, needed alibis, and required both manpower and resources.

Torn between her options, she walked into the school building without having figured out what to do.

The three of them had arrived early. On the way, they had also run into Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, who had disguised themselves as Genin. The two veterans used genjutsu to fake the room numbers, tricking the Genin into going to the wrong classroom.

Since they were all familiar with each other, there was no real test involved. They just exchanged greetings and moved on.

The trio arrived at Classroom 301, where a number of Genin had already gathered.

The Sand Village trio they had fought before were also present. Gaara had been hearing phantom sounds for the past three days, constantly hearing those "crack! crack! crack!" noises. He was afraid he might lose control and fight Ino, so he avoided looking at her entirely.

Temari and Kankuro were on edge, carefully watching over Gaara, afraid he might go on a rampage at any moment.

Ino gave Shikamaru a scrutinizing look, then glanced at Temari.

"What's with that weird look?" Shikamaru asked, puzzled.

"See that girl from the Sand Village?"

"Yeah, I see her."

"Does she meet your standards for a plain-looking wife?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and didn't respond.

Choji, completely uninterested in such a boring conversation, sat in his seat munching on snacks.

Before long, the rest of the candidates arrived.

Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, and even the "eternal Genin" Kabuto had all shown up.

Noticing the group of nine newcomers, Kabuto whispered something to his companion and then walked over.

None of them knew Kabuto, so Ino, as the "vice-president," took it upon herself to introduce him.

If they pretended not to know each other, it would be too obvious, so her introduction was a bit more detailed than Kabuto's usual self-introduction.

The group wasn't familiar with Kabuto, but they were familiar with Ino. With her as the intermediary, some strange questions started to pop up.

Naruto, with his hands behind his head and his eyes squinted, asked, "Kabuto? What's that?"

To anyone else, this would have sounded like a provocation.

Sakura thought his words were too blunt and rude. She bowed apologetically to Kabuto while delivering two solid punches to Naruto's head.

"Idiot! Show some respect to your seniors!"

Naruto, now sporting two large bumps on his head, felt wronged. He had only asked because he didn't know.

Shikamaru, afraid Naruto might say something even more offensive, quickly explained, "Kabuto usually refers to a helmet. You've seen a helmet before, right?"

Naruto had never seen a helmet before. With his limited knowledge, he couldn't even imagine what a helmet looked like.

Somehow, he came to a sudden realization. "Is it like the pot we use to cook rice at home?"

Shikamaru facepalmed, not wanting to talk to this idiot anymore.

Kabuto's expression also turned awkward, especially when Naruto started shouting things like "Pot Master Kabuto," "Senior Pot," and "Brother Pot." His polite smile was barely holding together.

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