BMG: Chapter 2: Contract Ceremony, Why Are Naruto And Sasuke Both Genin?
"You can handle the engagement party yourself. Right now, I just want to complete the contract ceremony as soon as possible and then seize the time to get stronger."
However, faced with Chen Chuxi's fawning, Jiang Chen remained completely unmoved.
It was now the fourth year since the advent of the Dimensional Era. The Otsutsuki Clan would arrive to colonize Earth in two years. The strength of those clans was monstrous. He had to keep getting stronger within these two years. At the very least, his strength had to reach the Kage level, because only then could he possess a shred of self-preservation power when the Otsutsuki Clan arrived. He didn't have the time to talk about romance or anything of the sort right now.
"Brother Jiang Chen really has lofty ambitions. It seems I have to work hard too, otherwise I might not be able to catch up to you, Brother Jiang Chen!"
Chen Chuxi smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes as she leaned closer to Jiang Chen. This made the surrounding male students' eyes go wide.
"Chuxi, after this contract ceremony ends, can I go with you guys to the Initial Secret Realm to grind levels?"
Just then, a sleazy-looking man pushed through the crowd and stopped in front of Chen Chuxi and Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen recognized him; he was from the class next door, named Wang Hao, a level 8 talent professional. It was said that he used to be a fanatical pursuer of Chen Chuxi.
"No."
Chen Chuxi decisively rejected Wang Hao's request. "I am Brother Jiang Chen's person now. If you get too close to me, I'm afraid Brother Jiang Chen will misunderstand. You should go find someone else."
"But—"
"Don't give me 'buts.' I don't want to talk to you anymore. Get lost."
Chen Chuxi scolded Wang Hao away in a cold tone, then immediately turned to look at Jiang Chen, forcing a gentle smile onto her face. "Brother Jiang Chen, rest assured, I won't let anyone destroy the relationship between us. My feelings for you will never waver, until my dying breath."
Jiang Chen gave a wry smile and was just about to say something. However, just then, the Divine Tree perched in the sky suddenly erupted with dazzling light. Immediately after, stone statues descended from the sky, appearing in everyone's eyes like falling stars. The contract ceremony had finally begun.
Beams of light descended from the sky, enveloping Jiang Chen and the others. When the beams disappeared, all the new professionals had been teleported to a huge platform space. Those Ninja stone statues that were previously hanging in mid-air were now standing on this platform. At the same time, Jiang Chen also noticed that besides them, there were many semi-transparent figures moving about as well. It seemed that the new professionals from other cities had also started their contract ceremonies.
The stone statues were distributed according to Ninja Rank. Genin were at the back, and they were the most numerous. At the very front were the Kage-level and Super-Kage Level statues. However, the Super-Kage Level statues had long since been contracted by others. Now, only four Kage-level statues were left standing there alone. These statues were unique; once contracted, they would immediately disappear and could not be contracted by anyone else.
Jiang Chen dared not waste time and immediately ran to the Kage-level area at the front.
The four statues in the Kage-level area were the Fifth Generation Mizukage Mei Terumī, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, and the First Mizukage Byakuren. Either women or old men. No wonder they were left for last.
"This Fifth Generation Mizukage Mei Terumī suits my taste. Brother Jiang Chen, you probably don't want a female one, right? Then I'll choose first."
Upon seeing Mei Terumī, Chen Chuxi immediately decided on her contract target. Professionals with a talent level above 9 had a chance to successfully contract a Kage-level Ninja, and Chen Chuxi's luck was not bad. She only failed four times before successfully contracting Mei Terumī.
In an instant, Mei Terumī's statue turned into specks of starlight and merged into Chen Chuxi's body. The statue disappeared, and Chen Chuxi was instantly teleported back to the playground of Jinghai High School.
At this moment, many people on the playground had already completed the contract ceremony. However, some were happy while others were sad. Some had successfully contracted the statue they had their heart set on, while others had failed and only randomly awakened an attribute talent, gaining the bare qualification to condense Chakra.
Not long after Chen Chuxi returned, her follower Wang Hao also completed the contract ceremony. Seeing his goddess standing alone on the playground, he immediately ran over excitedly. "Chuxi, I just contracted an Elite Jonin named Baki, and I obtained many powerful Wind Release skills all at once. How about it? Next time you team up to go into a secret realm, call me too, okay? I will definitely become your right-hand man."
Chen Chuxi was somewhat surprised. "It seems your luck is not bad. There aren't many people with level 8 talent who can contract an Elite Jonin, but compared to me and Brother Jiang Chen, your qualifications are still not worth mentioning."
Wang Hao was stunned for a moment. Seeing Chen Chuxi's arrogant demeanor, he immediately guessed something.
"Chuxi, don't tell me you've contracted a Kage-level powerhouse?"
"That's right. I've contracted the Fifth Generation Mizukage, Mei Terumī. Brother Jiang Chen has max-level talent, and his success rate for contracting Kage-level powerhouses is one hundred percent. So, do you still think you have the standing to show off in front of us?"
Wang Hao clenched his fists, feeling very unconvinced, but he still squeezed out a friendly smile. "I'm not here to show off. I just wanted to team up with you. After all, we need a team to enter the beginner secret realm. Could you consider me?"
Chen Chuxi thought for a moment. "We'll talk about that after Brother Jiang Chen comes out. If I really want to form a team for the beginner secret realm, Brother Jiang Chen will definitely be the captain. So, whether you can join or not is up to him. Also, from now on, address me by my full name. Only Brother Jiang Chen is allowed to call me Chuxi."
"Fine, whatever you say!"
As a devoted follower, Wang Hao naturally had no objections. But the hatred for Jiang Chen in his heart had only grown stronger.
Meanwhile, inside the contract space, many people's ceremonies were still ongoing. Jiang Chen was no exception. After thinking for a moment, he ultimately decided to contract the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. After all, it was a Kekkei Tota — a power that surpassed ordinary Bloodline Limits — and he was still young. If he inherited the other party's Kekkei Tota, his strength would surely surpass his predecessor.
However, just as he was preparing to contract Ōnoki's stone statue, a noisy barrage of curses suddenly came from a nearby platform.
"Damn it, why is that Genin stone statue called Uzumaki Naruto so hard to contract? My talent level is 5, yet I've failed to contract him three times. What the hell!"
"And that Genin stone statue called Uchiha Sasuke is the same. My level 6 talent failed five times. I'll go try my luck somewhere else with my last contract chance."
Jiang Chen was startled upon hearing this.
Uzumaki Naruto? Uchiha Sasuke?
How did these two end up in the Genin area?
The main changes beyond the word-level corrections include consolidating the choppy single-line paragraphs into more natural prose flow, which reads much better in English while preserving the novel's tone and pacing.