"Hmph, our Hidden Mist buildings are still grander." Terumi Mei thought proudly as she looked at the mostly two-story houses.
The Hidden Mist Village has many towering stone buildings, which look quite majestic.
Hidden Mist Village, win!
After arriving at the designated inn, Terumi Mei put her things down and asked Yamamura Sozuki if she could move freely. She hadn't found any potential opponents among the Konoha welcoming team, so she wanted to go out and gather information.
"It's fine to move freely, but be careful not to cause trouble. This is, after all, another village, so it's best to act with your teammates," Yamamura Sozuki replied.
Terumi Mei selectively ignored what Yamamura Sozuki said afterward for a simple reason—she didn't like her two teammates. Other than during missions, she did not want to act with them.
Terumi Mei first familiarized herself with the surrounding area to prevent getting lost.
When she arrived, she was just comparing building sizes, but upon closely observing the streets and people of the main Konoha district, she found Konoha to be more prosperous than the Hidden Mist Village.
"So many shops, it feels like they're everywhere. What's that wonderful scent? It's sweets!" Terumi Mei suddenly realized she was standing in front of a dessert shop.
Looking at the sign's pictures of sweets and smelling the sweet aroma, Terumi Mei instinctively wanted to go in, but she managed to stop herself after taking half a step with great willpower.
"Terumi Mei, you're here to gather information, not to buy sweets!" she told herself.
Although sweets tasted much better than the various fishy-tasting seafood, obviously becoming Mizukage and changing the Hidden Mist Village was more important.
Forcibly shifting her attention from the dessert shop to the people around her, Terumi Mei noticed the differences in Konoha Village.
Although not everyone was smiling brightly, Terumi Mei could feel the light-hearted atmosphere. It wasn't heavy at all, unlike the feeling of a village at war with other ninja villages.
Terumi Mei had to admit that in terms of prosperity and village atmosphere, Konoha felt a bit more comfortable.
Hidden Mist Village, temporarily losing!
"What kind of village is Konoha, really?" Terumi Mei decided to continue observing.
"Why are you standing in front of the dessert shop? Do you need help with something?" Obito, who was about to ask Mokgetsu for advice on improving grades, noticed a red-haired girl standing still at the dessert shop and approached to ask.
"Did you forget to bring money if you want to eat? I can lend you some."
While pondering Konoha, Terumi Mei instinctively stepped back upon hearing a stranger's voice, ready to spew Lava Release if necessary. After hearing the words clearly, she realized she was still standing at the dessert shop's entrance.
"I'm not here to buy sweets." Terumi Mei insisted she wasn't someone who couldn't prioritize.
"Then why are you standing here without moving?" Obito scratched his head and asked in confusion.
"Hey, you're not a ninja from our village."
In his confusion, Obito scrutinized Terumi Mei and noticed her forehead protector wasn't from Konoha; it had an unfamiliar emblem.
"Could you be a spy infiltrating the village?" Obito immediately jumped back, looking cautiously at Terumi Mei, ready to enter Full Concentration Breathing mode and activate his Sharingan at any moment.
"What kind of spy would infiltrate with their own village's forehead protector?" Terumi Mei retorted at Obito's outrageous statement.
Although she did intend to gather information, it wasn't exactly spy activity.
"Maybe some spies use such psychology to conduct activities." Obito's eyes displayed a wisdom as if he had seen through everything.
Terumi Mei: ...
"I mean, isn't it possible that I'm a ninja from the Hidden Mist Village invited to your Chunin Examination?" Terumi Mei revealed her identity directly.
She felt that if she didn't clarify things, this seemingly foolish and equally foolish-talking Konoha ninja would really treat her as a spy and attack.
Although she didn't think this Konoha ninja who looked as young as she could threaten her, she didn't forget that this was Konoha, and causing conflict with Konoha ninja outside the exam grounds was unwise.
"Huh? Are there other ninja villages' ninjas participating in the Chunin Examination?" Obito asked with a shocked expression.
Terumi Mei felt that Konoha's way of nurturing ninja must be gentler than the Hidden Mist. Such a foolish person would usually die in the Hidden Mist's graduation exam.
"Then wouldn't that make you my opponent in the Chunin Examination?" Obito seemed a bit excited, not expecting there would be ninjas from other villages. If he could defeat all the external ninjas and win first place, his image in Nohara Rin's eyes would surely rise.
"You're participating in this Chunin Examination?" Terumi Mei glanced at Obito a few times, not expecting to encounter a source of information so quickly.
"Of course." Obito gave a thumbs up. "Not only participating, but I'll directly become a Chunin!"
Looking at Obito's silly demeanor, Terumi Mei remained skeptical of his words. After all, being able to become a Chunin at this age would be quite the prodigy.
Terumi Mei never focused on her peers; those she compared herself to, her enemies were always the older ninjas.
That's the confidence brought by her Double Kekkeigenkai. Among her peers, she was unbeatable!
"I'm Uchiha Obito. If you're not in trouble, then goodbye." Obito waved to Terumi Mei and turned to find Mokgetsu.
Even though he said he'd directly become a Chunin, the thought of the theoretical exam being the first stage made his heart tremble.
"The omnipotent Sage Mokgetsu will surely solve this problem." Obito clasped his hands, praying to Sage Mokgetsu.
He's always believed solely in Sage Mokgetsu.
"What a strange ninja. Are all Konoha ninja like this?" Terumi Mei thought as she watched Obito leave.
If there's no difficulty, then goodbye. Would he really help a ninja from a different village he just met?
...
Without knowing if Mokgetsu was home, Obito headed directly to the Southern Border Forest. Even if Mokgetsu wasn't there, there was a high chance one of Mokgetsu's Shadow Clones would be.
Obito's judgment was correct. Upon his arrival and some searching, he saw Mokgetsu advising Shisui on Fire Release. It was unclear if it was the real Mokgetsu or a Shadow Clone.
"Teacher Mokgetsu." Obito jogged over, calling out. Then he clasped his hands and bowed to Mokgetsu.
"Please help me improve my theoretical grades!" Obito looked at Mokgetsu with a sincere expression as he pleaded.
Splat!
Mokgetsu's finger accurately landed on Obito's forehead.
"What's wrong? Don't you often say theories aren't necessary at all?" Shadow Clone Mokgetsu chuckled.
He was a Shadow Clone split off this morning, easily guessing Obito's request was related to the Chunin Examination.
"I wish that were true, but the theory exam still exists," Obito wailed, clutching his head.
"I've already told Rin that I'll definitely become a Chunin this time. If I fail because of the theory, Kakashi will surely mock me, and Rin will be disappointed too."
Though full of confidence around others when claiming he'd become a Chunin, he looked genuinely pathetic asking Mokgetsu to improve his theory skills.
"Just come to my house tonight. I've got the solution there," Shadow Clone Mokgetsu smiled as he helped Obito up.
This Chunin Examination had Mokgetsu's exam questions. He had already anticipated Obito's situation, preparing several practice tests with similar questions for Obito to complete.
If he absorbed the knowledge smoothly, Obito would likely pass the exam flawlessly. If not, it would at least reduce the pressure on Kakashi and Nohara Rin helping Obito.
"Is it a Sage Treasure that lets you instantly grasp a lot of knowledge?" Obito looked at Mokgetsu expectantly.
He longed for knowledge-imprinted bread, where eating would grant knowledge—then Kakashi might not excel over him in knowledge. In terms of eating, Obito didn't think he was any worse than Kakashi.
Shadow Clone Mokgetsu smiled silently. Such a beautiful thought—if such a good thing existed, he'd have used it to study medical ninjutsu long ago.
"It's not doing practice tests, is it?" Cold sweat began forming on Obito's forehead, though the sun was blazing, he was sweating from anxiety.
Reminded of a once terrifying experience of losing track of time doing practice questions, Obito thought back with dread.
Shadow Clone Mokgetsu nodded with a warm smile.