On the streets of Konoha.
"Tengen, you're an absolute monster." Jiraiya said after a few steps, shaking his head.
"Pervy Sage, you've said that like a dozen times already. It's just mastering the Rasengan." Tengen replied, exasperated.
Ever since Jiraiya witnessed Tengen perfect the Rasengan in such a short time, he'd been wearing a look of utter despair, as if he'd seen a ghost. It was both a crisis of confidence in his own talents and sheer awe at Tengen's monstrous aptitude.
Jiraiya puffed up at Tengen's words, glaring. "Just? You realize the Rasengan is an A-rank ninjutsu, right? And it's seal-less!"
"Fine, fine." Tengen conceded with a nod.
"Hey, how about during the Chunin Exams, you whip out the Rasengan? It'll blow Minato and the others away." Jiraiya said, clapping Tengen's shoulder.
"We'll see." Tengen said noncommittally.
"Wait a sec, Tengen, something just hit me." Jiraiya said, suddenly serious.
"What's that?" Tengen asked casually.
"Aren't you in the middle of the Chunin Exams? In the Forest of Death, no less." Jiraiya said, rapid-fire. "Why are you out here?"
"Oh, I reached the endpoint already. But the exam lasts five days, so I asked Minato-sensei for a break. I'll head back later." Tengen explained.
"A break? That's a thing?" Jiraiya blinked, dumbfounded.
---
Elsewhere.
Killer Bee returned to the Kumogakure's resting quarters, visibly frustrated.
Seeing someone he thought was dead had been a shock, but now Killer Bee just felt irritated.
"B, what's up? You look off. Something happen?" A asked, eyeing Killer Bee curiously. He didn't seem like he'd been in a fight, so what could have rattled him like this?
"It's nothing, brother." Killer Bee said, shaking his head.
"Nothing? B, I've known you for years. I can tell." A said with a grin.
Their bond went back to when Killer Bee was a kid, long before he became the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
"Brother, you remember a few months back, when I fought that Konoha-nin?" Killer Bee began.
"Yeah, you mentioned that. You were badly injured, took ages to recover." A said. "That Konoha-nin was named Tengen, right? Young guy, too. Shame he opened the Eighth Gate, certain death. Otherwise, he'd have been a Konoha prodigy."
"Right, I thought Tengen was dead for sure." Killer Bee said, then paused. "But I saw him today."
"You saw Tengen? You sure you didn't mix him up with someone else?" A asked, confused.
"Brother, if it was just a passing glance, maybe. But I talked to him. It's the same Konoha-nin who beat me. No mistake." Killer Bee insisted.
"He's alive?" A's expression grew serious. "Did he not open the Eighth Gate, then? Otherwise…"
"I'm not sure." Killer Bee admitted, shaking his head. "But back then, he broke through the Eight-Tails' unique sealing jutsu with raw strength."
"Either way, this Tengen is definitely a Konoha genius." A said, his eyes glinting.
"Maybe we need to look into this Tengen." A thought to himself.
A village with a prodigious ninja was a threat to others. If a shinobi like Madara or Hashirama emerged, other villages would struggle to compete.
Fortunately, no such figure had appeared in the current ninja world.
Hashirama and Madara remained legends in the shinobi world, for better or worse.
While the Kumogakure began investigating Tengen, he was carefree, wandering Konoha in search of a signal. Along the way, he stopped by the tower to tease Shizune, Kurenai, and others, living it up.
Minato Namikaze, witnessing this, could only offer a wry smile. What could he say?
Truthfully, Minato believed Tengen's strength already rivaled that of a Jonin. In some ways, he might even surpass Kakashi as a genius.
---
Five days passed in a flash.
At the tower, Tengen and the others gathered.
The Third Hokage appeared, delivering a lengthy speech filled with platitudes before congratulating them on surviving the Forest of Death.
From what Tengen knew, the Forest of Death had claimed many lives this time.
Some had fallen by his own hand, while most ninja from smaller villages had been taken out by those from the five great nations. In the end, only a handful of teams passed this stage.
Just twelve teams remained, meaning eight Heaven and Earth Scrolls went unclaimed.
Tengen himself had snagged a few extra scrolls.
As for Terumi, whose Heaven Scroll Tengen had taken, she and her team were present too.
With her strength and her teammates' coordination, grabbing another village's scroll was child's play for someone with two kekkei genkai.
Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki who had faced off with Terumi earlier, also led her team through the Forest of Death.
Teams from the Sunagakure and Iwagakure Villages had similarly qualified.
Tengen listened boredly to the Third Hokage's ramblings until he finally got to the point: they would first compete in preliminary matches, with the winners advancing to the final exams.
The final exams would begin in a month, attended by Kage from other villages and daimyo. That would be the time for each village to showcase its strength, as those performances would influence which villages received mission contracts from the great nations.
"I hope every ninja proves their ability and becomes a true Chunin." The Third Hokage concluded.
And with that, the preliminary matches began.
***
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