Inside the dimly lit Hokage office, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat quietly behind his desk, exhaling a thick plume of smoke from his pipe.
The shadows in the corner flickered as an ANBU operative wearing a porcelain mask materialized out of thin air, dropping onto one knee.
"Report," Hiruzen commanded smoothly.
"Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto has entered the Nakamura household," the ANBU reported, his voice low. "He has remained inside the estate for the entire duration of the night and has not departed since."
Hiruzen's hand paused over his pipe. "Do you have eyes on their current activities? What are they doing?"
"They began the evening with a banquet in the dining hall. Currently, Naruto appears to simply be spending his time as an honored guest of Shi Yan. There are no signs of abnormalities." The operative paused, waiting for direction. "Should we deploy a extraction squad to forcefully recover the Jinchūriki, sir?"
"No," Hiruzen replied, waving his hand dismissively as a cloud of grey smoke enveloped his face. "There is absolutely no need for a reckless escalation. Leave them be. Naruto will soon be completely occupied with the upcoming Chūnin Exams. Furthermore..."
The old Hokage leaned back, a calculating glint in his weathered eye.
"I am currently finalizing the preparations to recall Jiraiya back to the village. Once he returns, I plan to have Kakashi hand over Naruto's personal training entirely to him. Jiraiya's status will naturally draw the boy's attention away from the Nakamura estate, effectively decreasing his available time with Shi Yan."
Hiruzen's expression then turned cold and absolute.
"However, we must aggressively increase our active monitoring of Shi Yan. Every single movement, commercial transaction, or exit from his estate must be reported."
"Understood, Hokage-sama," the ANBU nodded sharply, vanishing into the shadows as seamlessly as he had arrived.
A moment later, the office door clicked open. A secretary stepped inside, bowing politely. "Hokage-sama, the Jonin commanders have fully gathered in the grand assembly hall for the scheduled security brief."
Hiruzen closed his eyes, took one final puff of his pipe, and stood up. "Let us begin, then."
The atmosphere inside the grand assembly hall was profoundly serious. The Third Hokage sat at the center of the rounded council table, surrounded entirely by the village's elite Jonin commanders.
"I assume you all already understand the gravity of the situation, based on the grim faces you can see around this room..." Hiruzen began, his voice echoing off the stone walls.
"So, it's already that time again..." Kakashi Hatake commented lazily, leaning against a pillar with his hands buried deep in his pockets.
"The other Great Nations have already been formally notified of the scheduling, correct?" Asuma Sarutobi asked, lighting a cigarette. "I've already spotted quite a few foreign shinobi wandering here and there throughout our commercial districts."
"And when exactly will the initial phase commence?" Kurenai Yuhi asked, crossing her arms.
Hiruzen let out a massive cloud of smoke from his mouth, his eyes sweeping across his commanders.
"IN ONE WEEK."
"That's incredibly sudden..." Kakashi muttered, his single visible eye narrowing slightly.
Poof.
Hiruzen tapped his pipe against the tray, clearing his throat. "Now... I shall make the formal military announcement. Seven days from today, on the first day of July the grand Chūnin Selection Exams will officially begin!"
The Jonin remained completely silent, absorbing the timeline.
"Now then, in conjunction with the beginning of the Chūnin Exam, let us first have those elite instructors in charge of the rookie Genin squads come forward."
On cue, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma stepped away from the crowd, standing in a straight line before the Hokage's desk.
"Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma..." Hiruzen murmured, scanning their expressions. "So? Are there any specific Genin from your respective newly graduated squads that you would wish to personally recommend for these grueling exams? It goes without saying, but as long as a Genin has successfully carried out eight or more formal missions, you have the right to recommend them if you so desire."
Hiruzen leaned forward, adding a realist caveat. "Though, as a general thumb rule, having carried out more than twice that baseline amount of missions is typically considered far more appropriate for their survival."
Off to the side of the hall, Iruka Umino's heart tightened in immediate panic. 'There's absolutely no need to even hear this...' he thought frantically to himself. 'It is far too soon for those children! They are practically fresh out of the Academy!'
"Then... let us begin with you first, Kakashi," Hiruzen directed.
"Squad 7, led by Hatake Kakashi," the Copy Ninja spoke smoothly, his voice completely devoid of its usual lazy cadence. "Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura. I, Hatake Kakashi, formally recommend these three for the Chūnin Selection Exam."
"Squad 8, led by Yuhi Kurenai," the kunoichi stepped forward gracefully. "Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. I, Yuhi Kurenai, formally recommend these three for the Chūnin Selection Exam."
"Squad 10, led by Sarutobi Asuma," the bearded Jonin exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji. I, Sarutobi Asuma, formally recommend these three for the Chūnin Selection Exam."
"Huh?!" Iruka let out a sharp gasp of pure shock, taking a step forward in absolute disbelief.
"I heavily do not agree with this decision!" Maito Gai suddenly stepped up from the crowd, his face dead serious as he slammed his fist against his chest.
"I intentionally chose to have my own team completely skip out on the Chūnin Exams last year," Gai argued passionately, pointing a finger at the rookies. "I trained them to the absolute bone for a whole grueling year before letting them face this hell! In my expert evaluation, I feel that all nine of these new rookies lack the baseline ability to safely participate in this lethal exam!"
"Gai," Kakashi spoke up, turning his head slowly toward his eternal rival. His tone was freezing. "Just because your students were far too weak to attend the previous examination session, it does not give you a single right to point fingers and judge the capabilities of my students."
Kakashi narrowed his eye, delivering a crushing, nonchalant flex.
"Lest you forget... I was exactly six years younger than Naruto currently is when I successfully became a Chūnin. And I was three years younger than his age when I ascended to the rank of a full Jonin."
Gai's jaw clenched, staring bitterly at his rival, completely unable to refute the historical facts of Kakashi's monstrous genius.
"It is settled then," Hiruzen interrupted, slamming his gravel to cut through the rising tension. "Prepare the registration paperwork for the exams. Dismissed."
As the crowd of Jonin began to file out of the grand room, Hiruzen's voice echoed out once more. "Kakashi... stay behind for a while. I need to privately discuss a few pressing matters with you."
The Following Morning
The early morning sun reflected beautifully off the rushing river flowing directly beneath the training bridge.
"He's incredibly late again!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, stomping her foot violently against the wooden planks. "And whenever we dare to ask him why, it's always those exact same lame, ridiculous excuses!"
Sasuke stood completely silent off to the side, leaning his back against the railing, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. But while his silence was entirely characteristic, Naruto's presence felt noticeably unusual.
Naruto sat calmly on the edge of the bridge, his legs dangling over the rushing water. He possessed a remarkably serene, tranquil expression on his face.
Yesterday had been an absolute, momentous turning point in his entire existence. Right now, he could feel an unbelievable, near-infinite amount of pure, vibrant energy circulating flawlessly through his internal meridian pathways.
Following the excruciating but painless ritual inside the hidden dungeon, Shi Yan had successfully unlocked the supreme Asura Overlord Demon Body Art within his vessel, actively guiding his core through his very first true cultivation session.
To secure his progress, Shi Yan had laid down an advanced restriction array over the inner cage, completely locking away the malicious, erratic fluctuations of the Nine-Tails' chakra that had created a massive burden on him.
With the fox's disruptive malice fully suppressed, Naruto's raw chakra control had soared to unprecedented heights.
By utilizing Shi Yan's advice deploying his Shadow Clones to continuously grind water-walking exercises while he rested, his energy refinement had experienced a great growth.
And under Shi Yan guidance, in a single night he had successfully forced his way directly into Stage 2 of Body Forging.
According to the ancient memories seared into his mind, the path of physical refinement was divided into a total structure of twelve distinct evolutionary tiers:
[ CULTIVATION PATH: THE 12 STAGES OF PHYSICAL REFINEMENT ]
1. THE HUMAN STAGE (3 Basic Levels)
- Stage 1: Muscle Refinement (Inner energy is imbued directly into the muscle tissue)
- Stage 2: Bone Refinement (Energy is permanently fused into the skeletal sturcture)
- Stage 3: Blood Refinement (Energy is seamlessly synthesized into the bloodstream and marrow.)
2. THE DISASTER STAGE (3 Advanced Levels)
3. THE LEGEND STAGE (3 Supreme Levels)
4. THE GOD STAGE (3 Primordial Levels)
Having successfully shattered the threshold into the second stage of the Human Tier, the raw energy of the world had fused directly into his skeletal matrix, transforming his bones into something as dense and unbreakable as forged iron.
Naruto felt an astronomical, terrifying leap in his baseline physical strength, kinetic agility, and sensory awareness.
Furthermore, he now possessed the terrifying Asura Overlord Form resting at his disposal, a trump card capable of directly siphoning and weaponizing the pure, raw chakra of the Nine-Tails to manifest a world-destroying cosmic battle form.
However, the technique placed an immense strain on a mortal vessel, and Shi Yan had strictly barred him from attempting to utilize it until his body reached the blood refinement.
"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura's loud, piercing voice suddenly shattered his internal monologue, her face looming right in front of his nose. "Why on earth aren't you saying a single word today?!"
"Eh?!" Naruto startled, his glassy blue eyes rapidly blinking as reality snapped back into focus. He rubbed the back of his neck, offering a soft, uncharacteristically calm smile. "Ah... sorry about that, Sakura. I was just... a bit distracted thinking about some things."