Chapter 139: Joint Chunin Exams
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"Yes," Kado accepted the order, drenched in sweat, and departed. Indeed, as one of the Kage of the Five Great Nations, Uchiha Douhuan had the ability to decide the fate of this continent.
Over the next few days, Karin and her mother, newcomers to the village, gradually settled into a routine after meeting their current Clan Head. Uzumaki Anri's health was personally attended to by Tsunade, while Karin was arranged by Uchiha Douhuan into Naruto's class.
Then, Naruto's nightly Sealing Jutsu lessons gained another classmate.
However, as she learned, Karin started to feel somewhat unconvinced about her current Clan Head.
"Are you really the Clan Head of the Uzumaki clan?" Karin asked, looking at Naruto scratching his ears and cheeks over a Two Symbols Seal.
"Don't talk yet! I'm almost done!" Naruto clearly had no time to deal with Karin at the moment. He was fully focused on maintaining the formula on the sealing scroll.
"Wrong position!" Karin looked at the scroll he was gesturing towards and facepalmed.
Sure enough, the next instant, Naruto's chakra directly tore the scroll apart. By now, a stack of ruined scrolls had already piled up beside him.
Naruto dejectedly stacked the ruined scroll aside, then took out a new one.
"Why would Teacher Douhuan give me the task of teaching you the Two Symbols Seal?" Karin said at this point, looking completely exasperated. "And it's clearly so simple! Why can't you learn it?"
"I really want to learn it too! But what can I do if I always miss by just a little bit each time?" Naruto retorted, puffing his cheeks in annoyance.
"Sigh, if not for your perverse recovery ability, I would really doubt if you are actually one of our clan members," Karin said. "Never mind that your hair color is different from mine and my mom's, your Sealing Jutsu is just too awful."
"Forget it, let's try again," Karin said. "Who told you to be my Clan Head."
"Please!" Naruto gathered his spirits again and pulled out another blank scroll. "I'll treat you to ramen after class."
During this period at the Academy, Karin's relationship with Naruto, Sasuke, and the others had become quite good.
When she first arrived at the school, Karin was ridiculed for her hair color, just like Kushina years ago. But soon, those who mocked her experienced the iron fists of the Seven Star Society school tyrants. Naruto seemed genuinely determined to be a good Clan Head and protect his clanswoman. Usually cheerful with everyone, he would directly resort to violence when facing those who mocked Karin. And Sasuke and the others wouldn't just stand by and watch. So, it only took two days for no one in the entire Ninja Academy to dare mock Karin's hair color anymore.
And Karin, who had experienced little friendship since childhood, naturally cherished these friends she met because of Naruto. Therefore, even though teaching Naruto Sealing Jutsu was truly immense torture, Karin would at most complain a little.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Douhuan, having someone else suffer the torture for him, leisurely brewed tea in the Hokage office.
However, before long, Uchiha Inahi knocked on the Hokage office door.
"Come in," Uchiha Douhuan casually called out.
Uchiha Inahi walked into the office, bowed, and reported, "Lord Hokage, Iwagakure has sent a letter."
"A letter from Iwagakure?" Uchiha Douhuan raised an eyebrow. "Bring it over."
"Yes!" Uchiha Inahi handed a letter to Uchiha Douhuan.
After Uchiha Douhuan took it, looking at the letter sealed with Iwagakure's wax seal, he couldn't help but chuckle, "Old man Onoki is being quite formal."
Uchiha Douhuan opened the envelope and began reading the letter sent by Onoki.
In the letter, Onoki first congratulated Uchiha Douhuan on becoming Konoha's Fifth Hokage. After writing more than half a page of pleasantries, Uchiha Douhuan finally saw something substantial.
Iwagakure invited Konoha to participate in their Joint Chunin Exams.
"Joint Chunin Exams?" Uchiha Douhuan looked with interest at this letter sent by Onoki, thinking inwardly, "Is the old fellow finally making a move?"
"Inahi," Uchiha Douhuan looked up and called.
"Present."
"Who is the current Chief Instructor of the Security Department?" Uchiha Douhuan asked. Since taking office as Hokage, besides inspecting roughly every two or three weeks, he hadn't managed Security Department affairs much.
"The Chief Instructor of the Security Department? It's Brother Shisui," Uchiha Inahi replied.
"So it's Shisui?" Uchiha Douhuan nodded.
After the coup ended previously, Uchiha Douhuan had originally planned to have Shisui become a squad captain in the Anbu, but Uchiha Itachi's death plunged him into deep internal conflict.
Fugaku's family had gradually moved on from Uchiha Itachi's passing, but Shisui consistently believed that if he had persuaded Itachi more back then, Itachi wouldn't have met that end.
Therefore, after that day, Shisui politely declined Uchiha Douhuan's promotion offer, merely holding a leisurely position within the Security Department.
Kakashi understood well this feeling of being completely helpless when a friend passes away, so he arranged the position of Security Department Chief Instructor for Shisui. The daily work merely involved instructing members during training time after their patrols ended.
"Have him come over," Uchiha Douhuan said.
"Yes." Uchiha Inahi accepted the order and left.
Before long, Shisui arrived at the Hokage office, bowed to Uchiha Douhuan, and asked, "Lord Hokage, is there something you need me for?"
"It's not working hours now; no need to be so distant," Uchiha Douhuan said, pouring Shisui a cup of tea. "Speaking of which, this is the first time you've come to this Hokage office since I became the Fifth, Brother Shisui."
"Yes," Shisui looked up at the Hokage office, whose furnishings were now completely different from the Third's time, and couldn't help but feel mournful. Speaking of which, his own straying onto the wrong path had begun in this very office.
"Douhuan, tell me, why did you call me over?" After a while, Shisui finally looked towards Uchiha Douhuan and asked.
"Are you the one training the Security Department members? Among the batch of new members recruited previously, are there any particularly talented ones who meet the Chunin standard?" Uchiha Douhuan asked.
"If we only consider the village's standard for Chunin, there are indeed a few with outstanding talent," Shisui replied. "But why ask this suddenly?"
Uchiha Douhuan handed Onoki's letter to Shisui. After Shisui finished reading the letter, he also frowned. "Joint Chunin Exams? If we go by that standard, then none of the Genin currently in the Security Department meet the criteria."
Generally speaking, such Joint Chunin Exams usually serve as a stage for villages to display their strength externally. Therefore, the strength requirements for Genin sent to other villages are stricter than for ordinary Chunin exams. After all, being away from home represents the village's face. Thus, each time such Joint Chunin Exams are held, the participating ninja villages dispatch their own super geniuses to compete. Some smaller ninja villages even suppress the rank of some talented but not quite sufficient ninjas for this purpose, resulting in some overage Genin participating.
Among the Five Great Nations' ninja villages, except for the Land of Wind, they generally don't resort to such tactics because they can't afford to lose face.
"If it were a few years later, once Sasuke and the others have grown up, this kind of Joint Chunin Exam would be the best stage for them to gain fame throughout the ninja world. But now, although I hate to admit it, the village currently has no presentable super geniuses."
"Sigh, if Itachi had graduated normally, his age would have been just right," Shisui sighed at this point.
"Let's not talk about that. Due to the village's current situation, I plan to use this Joint Chunin Exam as an opportunity for the Security Department's Genin to broaden their horizons. As for the final results, I won't insist on them," Uchiha Douhuan said.
"Not insisting on results?" Shisui frowned slightly upon hearing this. "But if the village's Genin perform too poorly, wouldn't it be you, the Hokage, who loses face?"
"What face is there to lose?" Uchiha Douhuan chuckled. "Believe it or not, even if our ninjas perform really badly, Iwagakure, as the host village, will find ways to manipulate things so that I look good."
Shisui was somewhat puzzled, looking at Uchiha Douhuan with confusion.
"This is the confidence our ancestors brought us," Uchiha Douhuan said.
"But, regardless, I'll trouble you for these next few days. Select a few highly talented individuals from the Security Department, teach them some B-rank ninjutsu. Just make sure their performance is presentable," Uchiha Douhuan instructed.
"Understood," Shisui nodded.
After Shisui left, Uchiha Douhuan also finished work at the Hokage Building after a while.
After returning home, Uchiha Douhuan also went to the study. Seeing Naruto still struggling amidst an ocean of sealing scrolls, Uchiha Douhuan chuckled and walked over.
"How's the learning going?" Uchiha Douhuan asked.
"Teacher Douhuan."
"Teacher."
Seeing Uchiha Douhuan arrive, the two quickly looked up and greeted him.
"Still can't do it!" Naruto's small face was almost crying. "Do I really have to learn this? Teacher, didn't you say you also can't..."
"Shut up! Insolent disciple!" Uchiha Douhuan slapped the back of Naruto's head. "Besides, I'm different from you! I understand the principles of that stuff! I just can't control the force well! Unlike you, who hasn't even entered the gate of Sealing Jutsu!"
Naruto clutched his head and looked aggrievedly at Uchiha Douhuan. After a moment, Uchiha Douhuan finally sighed.
"Forget it. You're a genius; you shouldn't waste your talent learning this stuff," Uchiha Douhuan said helplessly. "In a while, I'll teach you some other ninjutsu."
"I don't have to learn this anymore?" Naruto instantly perked up upon hearing this.
"I wanted you to learn Sealing Jutsu because I didn't want the Uzumaki clan's Sealing Jutsu inheritance to end with your generation," Uchiha Douhuan said. "But since you really don't have the talent for it, then I guess we'll have to let it go."
(End of Chapter)
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