[Prosperity : 2810]
[Points : 300,000]
"The next template will be unlocked soon," Nagasawa was imagining what the next template would be.
The first time template was newbie-friendly, making them relatively powerful. The second time is not as strong as the first, but by the third time, the templates' quality is comparable to the first.
Following this logic, the fourth template should be even stronger. Nagasawa speculated that the fourth set of choices would include individuals with Six Paths-level strength.
Although the Prosperity level hadn't reached the required threshold, Nagasawa had already planned the standard. The best option would be Konoha Shinobi that could make a lot of contributions to Konoha to increase the Prosperity.
Additionally, due to the system's unique rulings, if the template was a character from Konoha, he would get discounts when he raised the template's fusion rate, making it easier to max out the fusion rate and save a significant amount of points.
Points were valuable, whether for enhancing Nagasawa's strength or others'. If the strength between the templates wasn't that significantly different, choosing Konoha Shinobi would be a profitable move.
There were several Six Paths-level Shinobi in Konoha, especially Naruto in the future. If he lowered the standard a bit, individuals like Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha could be fit in this category as well.
This time, the Prosperity increased by 30 in two months, slightly better than the previous months. However, given the growth pattern, he could expect a slightly higher number soon due to the influx of graduating students becoming official Shinobi. By then, he might even get 100 Prosperity each month, and the fourth template would be unlocked soon.
Therefore, Nagasawa wasn't worried about the fourth template. Instead, he pondered which powerful characters would be available and considered the issue about the Chunin Exams.
The Chunin Exams were crucial in Konoha and was the main way to become a Chunin, especially during this time of peace. The Chunin Exams were held twice a year, in the first and second halves of the year.
This time, preparations were underway for the Chunin Exams scheduled for January. To showcase the strength of Konoha's ninjas and maintain a high standard for the exams, other villages were often invited.
In the past few years, Konoha had organized its own Chunin Exams without inviting other villages because the war had just ended.
Initially, there was a plan to invite other villages, but it fell through due to the incident with Kumogakure. Despite winning easily, the joint Chunin Exams weren't held afterward.
This time, after the discussions between Minato and Nagasawa, they felt it was time to organize a joint Chunin Exam again. They aimed not only to invite Shinobi from other villages but also many more people to showcase Konoha's strength and deter other countries.
Among the Great Shinobi Countries, Konoha invited Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure, along with smaller neighboring countries like Kusagakure, Amegakure, and Takigakure. Originally, they considered inviting Kirigakure, but Nagasawa said that Kirigakure was in chaos now, so Minato didn't invite them.
Both Iwagakure and Sunagakure confirmed that their respective Kage, Tsuchikage, and Kazekage, would personally attend the event. Raikage was initially reluctant, considering what happened between him and Nagasawa in their previous encounter. However, hearing that both Tsuchikage and Kazekage would attend, Raikage decided to go so that the other Kage didn't underestimate him.
To protect his reputation as a Raikage, he decided to come to Konoha, and he also told Killer B not to leave the village and ensure Kumogakure's safety until he returned.
Nagasawa saw through Raikage's thought. If he intended to kill Raikage, he could have done it during their encounter. Killing Raikage wouldn't serve him much, as he found it more profitable to sell the rare ore that Kumogakure provided all year round. On top of that, it was even less likely that Nagasasa would kill Raikage during the Chunin Exam where Shinobi from various villages were present.
With a lot of villages being invited, Nagasawa wasn't only thinking about how to hold the Chunin Exams, he had to think about how to organize them as well.
The old method involved written test to test the participants' knowledge, followed by the Forest of Death stage to evaluate teamwork and basic Shinobi skills. Lastly, they would have a one-on-one battle to assess their overall strength. However, with so many villages participating, including three Kage, Nagasawa wanted to add a little twist to the exams.
After some consideration, he decided not to alter the written exam and the final one-on-one combat, as tampering with the theoretical test could eliminate too many participants, making the next stage less interesting. The one-on-one combat ultimately relied on the participant's strength, so there was nothing to alter there anyway.
However, the Forest of Death provided ample room for innovation. It was Konoha's largest training ground, with a radius of about ten kilometers. The scroll-hunting phase in the Forest of Death, where participants had five days to collect Heaven and Earth scrolls and reach the central tower, offered significant room for creativity.
Nagasawa's eyes lit up as he envisioned introducing a Shinobi version of Battle Royale.
Over the past few months, he had been researching Medical Tag and some Ninjutsu Tag and managed to make several prototypes. Currently, he had developed Medical Tag, which could heal injuries, Lightning Tag that inflicted lightning damage on the nearby area, and Earth Tag that summoned a protective wall.
He had attempted to seal more powerful Technique onto the Tag, but to no avail, primarily due to the inability of regular Tag to withstand such immense power. Then, one day, he had the idea to use the Chakra-absorbing alloy that Master Tie created to create a material that absorbed Ninjutsu and sealed it inside, and it succeeded.
This new material, named "Summoning Steel Tag," was exceptionally challenging to produce. The Chakra-absorbing alloy was inherently durable, practically impossible to destroy by below Kage-level individuals, let alone engraving the Sealing formulas on it.
Nagasawa believed that even if he were to reveal the method to produce Summoning Steel Tag, only a handful of people in this world could actually create them. Moreover, most wouldn't have access to the Chakra-absorbing alloy.
He could place the Tags he developed as regular supplies, hide them within the Forest of Death, and have participants search for them during the Chunin Exams, adding an extra layer of complexity.
Additionally, he planned to use Summoning Steel Tag as a "supply" for participants to compete over. To prevent any participant who happened to find the Spirit Steel Seal from having an overwhelming advantage, Nagasawa decided not to include excessively powerful Ninjutsu in them. Although they were more potent than Explosive Tags or Lightning Tags, the effect would be toned down, and the activation time wasn't instant.
The more Nagasawa thought about it, the more feasible and exciting the idea sounded.
If his idea was approved, not only would Nagasawa have guinea pigs to test the newly developed Tags for free, Chunin Exams would also serve as a way to promote those new Tags to various countries.
If nothing else, Nagasawa was confident that the Medical Tags would sell like crazy. Let alone Shinobi, even wealthy merchants might be willing to spend a fortune to acquire a Medical Tag in case they needed one.
In the end, Nagasawa could showcase Konoha's strength, and gathered data about the Tags he developed—all in one go!
However, he couldn't use something like poison gas as a penalty to make it similar as the game.
Nagasawa thought for a moment and realized that it was doable, albeit with another method. All he needed to do was ask the Barrier Division to work a bit harder.
Every twelve hours, the battlefield would get smaller by establishing a new barrier. Those trapped outside the new barrier would be considered failed.
With this entertaining and practical plan in mind, Nagazawa hastily outlined a rough draft. He then left his office, took the stairs, and went up to the Hokage's office.
First, Nagasawa showed the plan to Minato.
After reading it, instead of bringing up the Chunin Exams, Minato inquired about the Tags.
"Have these Tags been successfully put into use?" Minato asked.
Nagasawa nodded and said, "I've used a few myself, and there haven't been any issues. However, I believe for practical use, we should let people try them out, which is why I came up with this plan."
Minato expressed concern, "Although that may be true, is there a chance that other villages could crack the Tags' mechanism and replicate it?"
This was his primary concern. Minato could tell from a glance that those Tags were extremely valuable. If the Tags' mechanism was compromised just for the sake of a successful Chunin Exam, it would be placing a cart before the horse.
Nagasawa smiled and said, "No need to worry about that. I can guarantee that within twenty years, no one will be able to crack my Tags."
Without adequate security measures, Nagasawa would never have released the Tags to the public. Even if someone did manage to crack the Tags' mechanism twenty years later, by then these products should've been outdated in Konoha, and they could do as they pleased with it.
"Having you in Konoha is better than having ten thousands Shinobi," Minato praised sincerely.
Nagasawa's value wasn't just in his strength but also in his ability to make others stronger.
Even Minato felt that he had something to gain from Nagasawa's ideas, let alone others.
"With great power, comes the great responsibility. It's my duty to strengthen Konoha," Nagasawa said with a smile.
"With great power, comes the great responsibility..." Minato repeated several times with a cheerful smile on his face.
His strong friend that laid low for years as a Chunin now spoke these words. Undoubtedly, his low-profile was a strategy to wait for the right opportunity.
...….
Special Combat Division
After discussing Chunin Exams with Minato, Nagasawa headed to the Special Combat Division Base.
Given this excellent opportunity, he wanted to showcase the prowess of the Special Combat Division, especially the effectiveness of his Breathing Styles.
After a year of training, the 27 members of the Special Combat Division had all passed their assessments and become official members, attaining the rank of E-class swordsman and eligible to take on Special Combat Division missions. With a year of rigorous training, all 27 members possessed combat skill equivalent to Chunin-level.
Among them were prodigies like Kabuto and Itachi, whose strength far exceeded the average Shinobi's understanding.
"So, that's how it is. Although Special Combat Division has our own rank, participating in Chunin Exams is also necessary. If you're interested, you can give it a try. This time, there are many Shinobi from other villages participating, which is a rare opportunity. I highly recommend you to take part," Nagasawa said to all Special Combat Division members on the training field.
"Of course, if you choose not to participate, that's fine too. It's entirely optional, and you can form your own teams with three members each."
Kabuto and Itachi exchanged a glance and nodded. They mutually understood each other's thoughts.
Then, Itachi looked at Hayate Gekkō was. "Hikari, do you want to team up with us?"
Hayate Gekkō scratched his head in embarrassment. "I'll pass this time. I'm going to team up with Yūgao Uzuki."
If it weren't for Yūgao Uzuki, he would have gladly teamed up with Kabuto and Itachi. After all, Kabuto and Itachi were prodigies, and teaming up with them would undoubtedly make things easier.
However...
Hayate Gekkō discreetly held Yūgao Uzuki's hand. Though there were some calluses from practicing swordsmanship, her hands were still smooth.
His girlfriend was obviously more important. The Chunin Exams and such were optional.
Kabuto nodded and did not see any problem with it. With 27 people, forming seven groups of three wouldn't be a problem. He just wanted to find someone familiar.
As he was about to check if there was anyone he knew who hadn't formed a team yet, a familiar figure approached.
"Kabuto, have you assembled your team?"
Kabuto fell into a silence.
Although this person was familiar, unfortunately, it was someone he didn't particularly want to see.
The person was Isamu Uchiha.
Isamu Uchiha would challenge him every time he felt he had made progress.
Despite numerous attempts and defeats, he became more spirited with each loss.
Kabuto could only admit that Isamu's parents chose his name well; this guy was genuinely courageous.
After a moment of thought, Kabuto spoke, "We still need one more member. You can join us, but I'm the team leader, so you have to follow my commands."
While dealing with Isamu Uchiha's constant challenges could be annoying, Kabuto acknowledged that his strength was commendable. Personally, Kabuto would say that Isamu Uchiha was among the most skilled members in Special Combat Division.
As a team member, he wasn't a bad choice.
Moreover, Kabuto admired Uchiha Isamu's determination.
Of course, Kabuto would appreciate it more if the challenger were someone else.
Considering that Itachi and Isamu were both from Uchiha Clan, Kabuto decided to let Isamu Uchiha join their team.