Chapter 331: End of the Chunin Exam
"Damn it, he still won."
Obito had already started celebrating in his heart when Might Guy unleashed Leaf Dragon God. Yet in the very last instant, Kakashi cut through everything with an even stronger slash.
Kakashi only collapsed a moment later than Guy, clearly also at his limit.
As Hiruko's voice rang out, announcing the result, Obito felt indescribably bitter. When he saw Rin smiling with relief and then looking worriedly down at Kakashi, his mood plunged even further.
In his mind, the one standing there should have been him.
"I have to completely master Flame Breathing Chakra Mode as soon as possible. Then we will see if he can still withstand my Fire Release."
Right now Obito's drive to train had reached its peak. He wished he could practice all night, push his strength to a new level, and then defeat Kakashi right in front of Rin.
"Those two are really strong," Asuma breathed, unable to hold back his admiration.
Their fight, all the way to the very end, was a display of power that did not seem like it belonged in a Chunin Exam at all.
The ones who used to join Guy's special training were even more stunned.
Many of them were Guy's classmates. They had watched him go from dead last to first in the class, and now to second in the Chunin Exams.
During those training sessions, they could at least see where the gap between them and Guy was and had some vague estimate of how long it would take to catch up.
Now that gap looked like a canyon. They could no longer imagine how many years of training it would take just to reach this current Might Guy.
"Might Guy, today your youth burned at its absolute peak. I am proud of you!"
Might Duy raised a thumbs up toward his son, tears streaming down his face.
Guy had lost the final, but Duy did not feel that his son's efforts were wasted.
On the contrary, this Chunin Exams had carved Might Guy's name into the memories of Konoha's ninja. They all now knew there was a taijutsu specialist who could defeat countless geniuses using only his fists and kicks.
Even in defeat, Guy had only fallen in the very last heartbeat. When the final move ended, everyone was already at their limit.
As a father, of course Duy hoped his child would take first place. But second place was anything but shameful. Second already meant surpassing countless shinobi. From here on, all Guy had to do was keep training and surpass first place someday. That was enough.
In truth, Guy's rapid growth to this level had already far exceeded Duy's expectations.
Getting the chance to participate in the Chunin Exams at nine years old and then taking second place… that alone was remarkable.
"Might Guy, if you keep this up, you will definitely reach your dream," Duy decided with a warm smile. He secretly resolved to make a feast that night to celebrate Guy properly.
All around the arena, the audience continued to talk excitedly about the match. The ending had been explosive, and no one had predicted that last exchange.
"Letting Kakashi train under Minato really was the right call," Hiruzen said with a small laugh to the blond jonin behind him.
The Kakashi who had fought today was dazzling, far more dazzling than he had been at the Academy.
Back then he had only overwhelmed Konoha's students. Now he had taken first place in a joint Chunin Exam filled with elite genin and young chunin from other great villages. This victory was on an entirely different level.
Kakashi's performance far exceeded Hiruzen's expectations.
He had only hoped that Kakashi could walk out of his old shadows. Instead, Kakashi had not just walked out, he had broken his cocoon and transformed completely.
Looking at him now, Hiruzen could almost see the next Konoha White Fang.
"I did not do that much. Kakashi's excellence is mainly Mugetsu's credit," Minato said, shaking his head. "By the time I became his instructor, most of his inner shadows had already been healed by Mugetsu, and all of the core training had already been laid down by him."
Minato was not someone who would take credit for what was not his. Kakashi's current state truly did not have much to do with him.
At first, Minato had worried about how to teach Kakashi. But once he actually took over, he realized Mugetsu had already done the difficult part. Aside from speaking a little less than other kids, Kakashi was normal in every other way.
In terms of ninjutsu training, Kakashi currently focused on Breathing Technique, Lightning Release, and Earth Release. Minato knew almost nothing about Breathing Techniques.
He had learned a bit of Lightning Release, but was far from an expert. As for Earth Release, he did not know it at all.
For Obito and Rin, who were still new ninja, Minato could teach plenty of things: mission knowledge, how to handle unexpected situations, how to work with teammates.
But Kakashi had already been on missions for years. There was not much standard material Minato could teach him.
Of course, that did not mean Minato had no influence at all. He just felt that compared to Mugetsu, his share of influence was smaller.
"I see. But Minato, you don't need to be that modest," Hiruzen said, eyes soft. "I can see they all like you a lot. If there was truly a big gap between you and Mugetsu, with Obito's personality, he would have come to complain to me a long time ago."
Since Minato said Mugetsu had guided most of Kakashi's growth, Hiruzen believed him.
Minato was humble, but he would not erase his own contributions just to praise someone else unless there was real weight behind it.
"Mugetsu really is gifted in education. And not only in large group teaching," Hiruzen thought to himself.
That was one of the reasons he had rejected Danzo's request earlier.
Someone like Minato, a shinobi who could instantly cut down enemies on the battlefield, was still stationed in the village. How could he afford to send away a special talent like Mugetsu as well?
"What do you think about the final turning into a match between your own students? Did you expect Kakashi to win?" Jiraiya asked Mugetsu curiously.
Obito and the others' performance had made him genuinely acknowledge Mugetsu's teaching level. It was already close to his own.
"If I have any thoughts, it is simply happiness for them," Mugetsu said after a moment of thought. "As for who would win, I did not think about it. They are all my disciples."
He truly had not tried to guess the outcome. Their strength was very close. Any one of them could have taken first place, entirely depending on their condition and decisions that day.
In that situation, he found it hard to predict, and since they were all his disciples, he did not want to favor one in his heart.
During the last moments of the battle between Guy and Kakashi, the instant Guy used Leaf Dragon God, Mugetsu had activated his Byakugan.
He had seen clearly that Guy had forced open the Fourth Gate.
Under normal circumstances, if it had been a fully controlled Fourth Gate plus Leaf Dragon God, Kakashi would not have been able to win.
Transparent World relied on the user's base strength. The stronger the user, the sharper the Transparent World became.
But Guy had forcefully broken through the Fourth Gate. The damage to his body was immense. That was the biggest reason he went down first in the end.
By that point, it was no longer a question of willpower. His body simply could not endure it any longer. The fact that he could still say a few words to Kakashi before collapsing was already extraordinary.
"Since they are all your disciples, it does not matter who wins. It is already over, so hurry up and go buy the ingredients," Tsunade cut in, revealing her true priority.
"Lady Tsunade, my disciples are lying there half dead. Do you really think it is appropriate for me to go grocery shopping right now?" Mugetsu asked tactfully.
Without Tsunade's treatment, Guy would probably be stuck in bed for at least a month.
Kakashi was not much better. Guy had damaged his body forcing open the Fourth Gate, but Kakashi had also taken a direct hit from Leaf Dragon God, then pushed his battered body even further past the limit.
"I can see that they are indeed badly injured. Tsunade, why don't you treat them first?" Jiraiya suggested.
From where he sat, both Kakashi and Might Guy looked absolutely miserable. Their condition clearly was not something that could be brushed off.
"I will treat them first, fine. But you have to make an even better dinner tonight," Tsunade said, pointing a finger at Mugetsu.
"Hehe, what is the fun in just eating? I will bring a good bottle of sake and we can eat and drink together," Jiraiya said with a grin.
"You just want to freeload off my meal," Tsunade retorted, crossing her arms and raising a brow. She saw right through Jiraiya instantly.
"Haha, good things are only truly good when shared, right?" Jiraiya replied, thick skinned as ever.
Tsunade said that if he wanted to freeload, he had better bring high quality sake.
If he dared to show up with something cheap, she would let him experience her fist instead. After all, this was a feast she had earned with her work.
Jiraiya laughed and agreed quickly. Then the group headed off toward Konoha Hospital.
Shisui stayed at the arena a bit longer, then said goodbye to Mugetsu and left.
After watching that battle, he simply could not sit still.
Forget about being first on the team. Right now, he felt like he could only reliably win against Rin.
He was no longer confident about beating any of the other three, not even Obito.
Shisui could not understand how they had improved this quickly. That shock only made him more determined.
He had to train even harder to catch up.
"Mugetsu sensei, I am going back too," Obito said, seeing Shisui leave and seizing the chance to slip away.
Why would he stay and wait for Kakashi to wake up and mock him?
He was in no mood to be lectured by someone who had just taken first place.
When you win, anything you say sounds convincing. When you lose, even the way you breathe can be criticized.
Right now, Obito had only one thought: use every spare moment to train, surpass Kakashi while he was still recovering, and then beat him.
Then, he could mock Kakashi as much as he liked.
He had already prepared his lines: on the day of the Chunin Exams, he had not eaten breakfast at his usual spot, which affected his condition and let Kakashi sneak a win.
In truth, he would say, he had always been stronger.
Mugetsu nodded. There were people to look after Kakashi and Guy at the hospital, and with the two of them sharing a room, Kakashi would not be lonely.
Once he had a free moment, Mugetsu pulled up his system panel.
[System: Disciple Uchiha Obito has diligently trained under your guidance and gained strength. Reward obtained: Fire Release, Fire Dragon Flame Bullet (Mastery Level).]
[System: Disciple Might Guy has diligently trained under your guidance and gained strength. Reward obtained: Reverse Lotus (Mastery Level).]
Both Obito and Guy had triggered upgrade rewards.
The rewards were excellent, though not particularly useful to Mugetsu himself at the moment.
The mastery level Fire Dragon Flame Bullet was extremely powerful, but Mugetsu did not lack large scale Fire Release techniques right now. His mastery level Great Fireball Annihilation was equally terrifying.
Reverse Lotus was actually more practical. It was not of much use to him personally, but for the current Might Guy, it was a very fitting taijutsu.
He could pass Reverse Lotus on to Guy.
Mugetsu did not see any rewards tied directly to the Chunin Exams yet.
He guessed the system would only tally those once the official results were finalized.
The thought of this made him a little excited. All three of his disciples had performed incredibly well. Even Obito, the lowest ranked, had entered the Top Four.
…
After the third exam ended, Genji gathered all of the Hidden Mist examinees who had qualified for it.
Mei Terumi felt nervous as she stood in front of him.
She was certain Genji was going to scold them.
After all, no one from Hidden Mist had made it to the final, and only one had reached the Top Four. She, who had originally aimed for first place, had fallen out in the quarterfinals.
In front of a Hidden Mist elder as influential as Genji, even someone as arrogant as Kurosawa did not dare put on an act.
He lowered his head and walked into the designated room like a scolded child.
Zabuza, on the other hand, wore an indifferent expression and tried to maintain his rebellious air.
Kisame's face was unreadable. He had been the best performer among the Mist ninja, so even if there was punishment, his would likely be the lightest.
But to Mei's surprise, Genji did not scold them.
Instead, he smiled and said, "Everyone worked hard this time. The village will remember your contributions."
"Even though the final result is a bit worse than Konoha's, this was still a Chunin Exams held in Konoha. They had the home advantage."
His tone stunned the Mist ninja.
Instead of blaming them for failing to take first, Genji actually comforted them, saying that Konoha had an inherent edge and they should not be too discouraged.
Some of the Mist ninja were so flattered they did not quite know how to respond.
This was Elder Genji, second only to the Mizukage in Hidden Mist.
If he had chosen to curse them out, no one would have dared complain.
They all knew very clearly that Hidden Mist had indeed been thoroughly suppressed this time.
"In the later rounds we were completely on the back foot against Konoha," more than one of them thought.
"However, we cannot forget our failure because of this," Genji continued. "You must remember the image of this defeat clearly and use it as fuel to train harder and raise your strength."
With his eye for talent, he could see that the Mist ninja were not weak. It was simply that the Konoha ninja participating this time were too monstrously strong.
So he had no intention of blaming the examinees. Instead, he meant to pick out a few geniuses, support them, and win their loyalty.
The Mist ninja nodded one after another, feeling that Genji truly deserved his status as a highly respected elder.
In the Village of the Bloody Mist, there were very few high ranking officials with such an approachable attitude.
If you failed a mission, the best outcome was often that you were not killed on the spot.
Mei quietly exhaled.
At the very least, not being scolded should not harm her path toward the position of Mizukage.
But Genji's next words made her tense again.
"Kisame, Mei Terumi, Zabuza. You three stay. The others are dismissed," Genji said once he felt the time was right.
Soon, only Genji and the three young Mist ninja remained in the room.
"You three are all geniuses of Hidden Mist," Genshi said with a smile.
Obito was already that strong, yet Mei had managed to suppress him for a period of time in their match. That alone proved her power.
Kisame's strength needed no explanation. He had nearly defeated Might Guy in the Top Four.
As for Zabuza, even though his results did not match Mei or Kisame, he was the youngest among the remaining group and had still performed the best of his age.
Kurosawa's performance had been similar to Zabuza's, but Kurosawa was older.
"Kisame, your abilities are exceptional. I believe you are suited to train in the Anbu," Genji finally said. "Also, if the two of you ever encounter any Water Release questions you cannot understand, you may come to me."
Mei's face lit up immediately. She nodded again and again, barely able to contain her joy.
Being able to follow Genji and learn from him would greatly increase her chances of one day becoming Mizukage.
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