"Forbearance card?"
Chōji Akimichi, seeing a Ninja Information Card for the first time, looked completely puzzled.
"People who've never experienced war wouldn't understand something like this at all. This is basically encrypted intelligence, isn't it?"
"That's right," Kabuto Yakushi replied calmly. "If chakra is used to encrypt information, then only chakra with the correct fluctuation can decode it."
Although Kabuto himself hadn't lived through a full-scale war, ever since the end of the Third Shinobi World War, conflicts between the major ninja villages had never truly stopped. Border disputes, covert skirmishes, and proxy battles were common.
"It took me over four years to gather this intelligence," Kabuto continued. "Whether it's information on active shinobi or participants in this Chūnin Exams, I've covered almost everything. If there's anyone you want to know about, I can provide some details."
Seeing Chōji's lingering confusion, Kabuto explained the function of the Ninja Information Cards and then casually spread more than two hundred of them across the ground.
"So that means you have detailed information on a lot of people here… even well-known figures in the shinobi world," Sasuke Uchiha said, his interest clearly piqued. "You should've said that earlier."
"It's only possible for famous shinobi," Kabuto replied with a faint smile. "Otherwise, intelligence collection would be impossible. Looks like you already have some targets in mind. Go ahead."
As he spoke, the lenses of his round glasses flashed briefly.
"There are a few," Sasuke said with a nod. "Gaara of Sunagakure, Rock Lee of Konoha, and someone named Ash Ketchum."
"That makes things easy—having the names helps a lot," Kabuto said lightly. His expression remained relaxed when he heard the first two, but the moment Ash's name was mentioned, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.
"Let's start with Rock Lee," Kabuto said.
"He has completed twenty D-rank missions and eleven C-rank missions. His instructor is Might Guy, and his specialty is taijutsu. Aside from that… his performance in ninjutsu and genjutsu is essentially nonexistent."
"His teammates are Neji Hyūga and Tenten. Like you, this is their first time participating in the Chūnin Exams."
Kabuto then moved on to the next card.
"Next is Gaara of Sunagakure. He has completed eight C-rank missions and one B-rank mission."
That alone was enough to draw sharp breaths.
"For a genin to carry out a B-rank mission is already impressive," Kabuto continued. "Because he's a shinobi from another village, I wasn't able to collect full combat data."
"However," Kabuto added quietly, "Gaara returned completely uninjured from that B-rank mission. It's hard to believe he only holds the rank of genin."
After Kabuto finished explaining, the mood among the group visibly changed.
A B-rank mission was already dangerous enough to cost lives with a single mistake—yet Gaara had completed it without suffering so much as a scratch.
In truth, this wasn't surprising.
Gaara was Sunagakure's Jinchūriki. Because the village's sealing techniques were not particularly stable, incidents involving rampaging tailed beasts were far from rare. Any shinobi who carried a tailed beast possessed overwhelming power by default.
Naruto Uzumaki was the exception.
Konoha's sealing techniques originated from the Uzumaki clan, making them exceptionally powerful and stable. Under normal circumstances, there was no risk of a tailed beast losing control—unless the seal weakened, or the Jinchūriki's emotional state became dangerously unstable.
"A genin who's already completed a B-rank mission… and came back unscathed," Shikamaru Nara muttered, sweat beading on his cheek.
"That's nothing to be shocked about yet," Kabuto said calmly. "The next one is the real problem."
As he spoke, he picked up a Ninja Information Card belonging to Ash Ketchum.
In fact, Ash's information could be found in almost every underground intelligence network and bounty exchange. It was unusually complete.
After all, Ash never bothered hiding anything.
Aside from his hidden trump cards—and techniques like Susanoo, which were practically impossible to conceal—Ash possessed the Sharingan, one of the most prominent Kekkei Genkai in the shinobi world.
That alone made him impossible to ignore.
"The God of Slaughter—Ash Ketchum."
Even in Konoha, his name was treated as a forbidden taboo. Throughout the entire ninja world, few dared to speak it aloud. All major shinobi villages shared an unspoken rule:
If a mission party encounters this person, they are permitted to abandon the mission immediately—without penalty.
Kabuto's voice was calm as he read from the Ninja Information Card.
"Mission record:
D-rank: 0
C-rank: 0
B-rank: 0
A-rank: 310
S-rank: 235
SS-rank: 121
SSS-rank: 32."
The room fell deathly silent.
"This individual is a rogue shinobi from Amegakure, an Uchiha who lived outside the village system," Kabuto continued. "He became known to the world during the Third Shinobi World War."
"The most infamous battle attributed to him involved five Kage-level combatants. Not one of them escaped. In that same engagement, more than three thousand shinobi were killed."
Kabuto paused briefly.
"Detailed records of his exact combat abilities exist… but they are incomplete."
"Because," Kabuto added quietly, "everyone who witnessed him fighting is already dead."
He flipped to the next section.
"This man also possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan of the Uchiha clan. Its abilities are extraordinarily powerful. I have not been able to record the specifics."
"The reason is simple."
"There are no living observers."
When Ash's profile ended, Chōji Akimichi stood frozen, completely speechless.
What kind of monster was this?
His first recorded mission had been A-rank—and the sheer volume of missions completed was absurd beyond reason.
In truth, Ash himself was rather helpless about this.
The staggering mission count was largely the result of his affiliation with Akatsuki. During the Third Shinobi World War, the organization had constantly accepted high-risk commissions to amass funds for its future plans.
As one of Akatsuki's core members, Ash naturally couldn't avoid carrying out missions—again and again—purely to earn money.
"Damn… that's insane," Sasuke Uchiha muttered.
Just from those numbers alone, Sasuke could already imagine Ash's terrifying strength.
Even a single B-rank mission had pushed their team to the limit. Compared to that, A-rank missions were on an entirely different level—let alone hundreds of them.
Soon after, just as in the original timeline, the remaining genin each demonstrated their own methods and passed the first written test without incident.
The next stage followed immediately.
The second exam—the scroll-snatching survival test in the Forest of Death—was about to begin.
From this point onward, contestants would be free to display their true strength.
Even killing an opponent… was permitted.
(End of Chapter)
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