[Chunin Exam Venue]
Naruto and the others from the first elite class had all been promoted to chunin or special jonin. Neji had even become a jonin.
They no longer needed to take the exam.
Instead, they had become the examiners.
This year's Chunin Exam was for the new generation.
Besides Hyuga Hanabi, there were Kazamatsuri Moegi, Uchiha Hiroyuki, and others.
Rengoku used the Transformation Jutsu and turned himself into an examiner with no distinguishing features.
He appeared at the exam venue together with Hinata and the others.
The first written test was currently underway.
The written test was not entirely about evaluating intelligence-gathering skills.
Those who had taken the exam before and already passed the intelligence-gathering section did not need to take that test again.
Instead, they were given other chunin-level written questions, which were relatively easier and focused on teamwork and how to deal with unexpected situations.
Of course, you could also try to pass by cheating.
But there were no examiners in the room deliberately writing correct answers for people to copy.
Hanabi, Hiroyuki, and Moegi happened to be in Rengoku's examination room.
All three had taken the Chunin Exam before, but had been eliminated during the combat stage.
This test was not difficult. Hanabi finished very quickly and even winked at Hinata, who was sitting nearby with a serious posture.
Hinata glared at her younger sister.
It was her first time serving as an examiner, so she was somewhat nervous. She hadn't expected her sister to be so relaxed.
Rengoku found their little interaction amusing. He deliberately walked over to Hanabi's desk and tapped on it.
Hanabi looked at Rengoku, who had his arms crossed.
Rengoku stared at her with a warning look.
Under the pressure coming from him, Hanabi shivered and no longer dared to fool around.
Hanabi and Hinata did not know Rengoku's identity.
There were many special jonin and jonin in the village. It was normal not to know all of them.
Seeing Hanabi get warned, Hinata's expression became a little strange.
Part of her found it amusing.
At the same time, she felt that this person's presence was very strong. Could he be a new instructor at the Ninja Academy?
Rengoku had lived through two lifetimes and had supervised exams countless times.
As long as he put on a stern face, every student would become nervous.
He then moved over to Hiroyuki and Moegi.
There was no need to mention Moegi. She was already being taught Wood Release by Nawaki and had a bright future ahead of her.
When Rengoku walked over, he specifically glanced at Moegi's hair.
It was tied into two drumstick-shaped buns sticking out to either side.
That hairstyle would be impossible for most people to pull off.
Only because Moegi was cute could she barely make it work.
It had to be said that the double-drumstick hairstyle had become one of Moegi's trademarks.
One thing worth mentioning was that there was nothing supporting those drumstick-shaped buns.
It was entirely because her hair was thick and plentiful.
In Rengoku's previous life, countless people would have envied that.
Not far away, Hiroyuki was the first Uchiha clan member Rengoku had seen after returning to Konoha when he first arrived in this world.
The little kid from back then was now a teenager.
And he was already taking the Chunin Exam.
It left Rengoku feeling somewhat dazed.
Both of their answer sheets were filled from top to bottom.
Rengoku took a brief look.
Their answers were both quite good.
He then left the examination room and went outside.
His role was that of a roaming examiner.
He could visit any examination room he wanted.
But he felt a little lazy and did not want to continue.
As soon as he stepped into the hallway, Uchiha Kihiko came to his side and whispered a few words into his ear.
Kihiko was reporting that Ryuzetsu and Muku had come to visit again.
Since they were the first people Rengoku saw when he opened his eyes after arriving in this world, he still felt some attachment to them.
Rengoku nodded, "I understand. It's fine. Their students are still taking the exam. I'll go see them myself."
After bowing, Kihiko withdrew.
Although the Yamanaka clan could now use formations to freely transmit messages to people inside Konoha,
for this sort of matter, Rengoku would not go through the Barrier Department.
———
[The Central Tower of the Forest of Death]
Anko directed Hikari, Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, and the others as they inspected traps throughout the area.
In the original timeline, Neji became a jonin at a young age and was far stronger than the laid-back Anko.
But here, after Anko learned Sage Mode, her strength had risen rapidly.
She had also quickly become a jonin.
Because she often stayed around Orochimaru, she had been influenced by him, and now handled matters decisively.
Combined with her decent management skills, she had become one of Konoha's more capable jonin.
Anko participated in almost every Chunin Exam and was very familiar with the process.
As a result, many coordination tasks had been handed over to her.
"Anko-nee, I've finished checking all the venomous snake traps. I froze them all. Based on the timing, they'll wake up right when the exam starts this afternoon."
There was only one person in Konoha who called Anko that.
It was Haku.
Because there were poisonous creatures throughout the Forest of Death that moved around constantly, managing them was inconvenient.
Haku's Ice Release was perfect for situations like this.
He could put the poisonous creatures into a dormant state, calculate the timing, and have them wake up just as the examinees arrived.
Poisonous creatures that had just awakened would be especially aggressive.
"Good. Thanks for your hard work. Sit down and have something to eat."
Anko smiled and pushed a plate toward Haku.
On the plate were Konoha's enduring snack, three-color dango.
It was a sweet made from glutinous rice, sweet without being overly rich.
Haku covered his mouth and smiled. He placed his hand over the plate.
A layer of frost immediately formed on the dango.
He picked up a skewer and took small bites.
During the height of summer, eating cold dango was very refreshing.
Anko liked Haku very much.
He was gentle, polite, quiet, and refined.
Today, Haku was wearing a dress.
His hair was tied on both sides.
With red lips and white teeth, he was very good-looking.
Back when Anko first learned that Haku was a man, she had been quite surprised.
But as time passed, she gradually got used to Haku switching between men's and women's clothing.
After all, with Haku's face, he looked good either way.
A sound cut through the air as a tall figure landed beside Haku.
It was Kimimaro.
Because Kimimaro fought using the Shikotsumyaku, he always wore Orochimaru-style clothing.
The biggest feature of those clothes was that they were easy to remove.
Kimimaro's collar was cut very low, and the muscles underneath could be seen faintly.
His strong build, cool temperament, and handsome face
made him very popular within the clan.
Many women liked his type.
Although Anko preferred men who were more mature and had more depth, she still found Kimimaro pleasant to look at.
Kimimaro was always cold toward outsiders.
After returning, he merely reported to Anko, "Anko, the piercing traps have been set up again."
"Good. Thanks for your hard work. Sit down and have something to eat."
After Kimimaro sat down, Haku had already picked up a skewer of dango and held it to his mouth.
Kimimaro gave Haku a gentle smile before biting off one of the dango.
Anko raised an eyebrow and shifted her gaze between Kimimaro and Haku.
It was as if she had discovered something completely new.
Her eyes lit up.
At that moment, more sounds cut through the air as Naruto and the others returned one after another.
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