Chapter 18: An Uneven Exam (Part One)
Late April, Konoha Year 45. The weather had finally turned warm.
Inside the sweets shop on Tea Street, a young genin nearly choked on his chestnut cake.
"The Chunin Exams? Already? And he's going alone?!"
Namiashi Raido had worked alongside Osamu and the others on a mission not long ago, and even knowing what he did about Osamu's abilities, the news still caught him off guard.
"The higher-ups nominated him, so they clearly know what he's capable of," said Yamashiro Aoba, who had graduated the year before and had recently caught the eye of the intelligence division. He was eating his sweets with the air of someone analyzing a mission report. "Still, the joint exams are a different situation. A bit dangerous. I honestly thought they'd just promote Osamu directly, the way they did with Kakashi."
Might Guy, in his dark green sleeveless training clothes, was steadily working through a stack of chestnut cakes to fill the gap left by four hours of sprints. Once the worst of the hunger was dealt with, he let out a somewhat deflated sigh.
"If I could keep up with the geniuses, Osamu wouldn't have to go in alone."
"Two chunin on the team now, and after this we'll be splitting off to lead our own squads."
"..."
Guy had noticed the village's intentions after cycling through so many different team leaders. Every one of them had spoken highly of the White Fang's son. Kakashi, who had made chunin early, was already capable of leading a squad through missions independently.
"Lead genin through D-rank missions?" Kakashi was leaning against the doorframe. He had been back to his normal self lately, the dead weight gone from him, though he still had a habit of putting "talent" in every other sentence. "I'm not interested in babysitting people who can't keep up."
"You won't have to do much as squad leader. More time for your own training."
Osamu finished the last of his chestnut yokan and joined the conversation with a small smile.
"You'll both be entering the Chunin Exams too, won't you? Looks like we'll be on opposite sides."
Raido didn't answer right away. He leaned back against the table, stared straight up at the ceiling, and pulled his jacket open with a loud groan.
"There's no chance. I can't compete with Osamu and I know it. No wonder our sensei told us not to stress about this exam. Turns out the jonin already knew about the nomination the whole time..."
Yamashiro Aoba didn't try to cheer him up. He stroked his chin and nodded in agreement.
"If there's one spot, it's Osamu's. Honestly, joining the intelligence division was the right call. Making special jonin someday is more than enough for me."
Shiranui Genma, who had officially graduated the previous month, had been quiet through most of this. Hearing a senior plan out his entire ninja career this calmly was apparently too much to let go.
"Do you really need to decide all that now? Shouldn't you at least aim for jonin?"
"With the talent we've got? Special jonin is nothing to be embarrassed about."
Aoba said it without hesitation. Genma stared at him with a flat expression. Only Guy remained completely unbothered, having finished every last piece of sweets on the table, and delivered his verdict at full volume.
"Youth has no limits! How can you give up at this age? Our ninja careers are just getting started!"
"..."
Nobody responded. They looked at Guy, standing there with a thumbs-up and a blazing grin. In a way, this guy was a genius too.
"I'm heading to the medical division this afternoon," Osamu said, standing and straightening his headband. "I need a count of how many of the latest military ration pills are needed. Have Pakkun find me."
Kakashi gave an okay sign from the doorway. Running errands would be good training for the ninja dog anyway.
The others sat up and waved as Osamu left. Raido watched him go, then broke into a grin.
"We're lucky, our graduating class. Someday we might get to serve under Tsunade-sama through Osamu's connections."
"I heard from a senior that Namikaze Minato, the one Jiraiya-sama took as a student, is already a jonin. And the Hokage has his eye on him..."
Kakashi didn't join in. He understood exactly what they were implying: that all three Sannin had strong candidates for the next generation of Hokage. A few years ago he might have had something to say about that. But since his father's death, he'd found himself turning the Will of Fire over and over in his mind, and his thoughts on the Hokage had shifted into something he hadn't quite sorted out yet.
"Let's go, Kakashi. This isn't time to relax."
Guy's voice broke through his thoughts. Kakashi pulled himself together, waved goodbye to the group, and started toward the training grounds.
"Give it up, Guy. Your chakra control isn't going to get you there. Stop chasing nature transformation and focus on taijutsu."
"..."
* * *
That afternoon, Osamu assisted in a surgery Tsunade had organized at Konoha Hospital, and came away once again struck by what chakra could do. A penetrating wound, closed and restored through the Cellular Regeneration Jutsu.
The attending surgeon was a special jonin who gave Tsunade his report and left immediately. The number of injured coming in had been climbing, and the medical division was stretched thin.
It was rare to see one of the Sannin in an operating room. Every chunin on the team greeted Tsunade with visible reverence before filtering out.
When the room was empty, Tsunade's face had gone pale, but she kept her composure and got straight to the instruction.
"How you activate the body's cells is what this technique turns on. Using the seal formula correctly reduces the chakra cost. You'll need to study considerably more before you can lead a surgery like this yourself." She paused. "Once you make chunin, I'll have you taking charge of the medical team for basic operations."
Osamu nodded, then reached into his pocket and held out a piece of candy.
Tsunade blinked. Then she took it and put it in her mouth. After a long breath, she gave him a resigned look.
"I suppose you figured it out a while ago."
"It's fine, sensei. The research work is what matters."
Her hemophobia wasn't something he could fix. That was all he could offer. Tsunade didn't respond to that, and once she'd fully steadied herself she changed the subject.
"For the Chunin Exams, Uchiha Inabi will also be entering. One of the drawbacks of having a reputation. The Uchiha clan loves putting their strength on display. If any of them provoke you between now and then, one punch is enough."
"..."
Osamu did the math. Roughly four years older than him.
"Come to think of it, Uchiha Obito graduated early too. By that count, Obito's actually the bigger talent."
Tsunade's impression of Obito was primarily as the kid who followed Rin around like a shadow. She ignored the comment and continued in the same direct tone.
"Ninja conceal their methods. Don't let your opponents get a read on how you fight. Be careful about which jutsu you use in front of shinobi from other nations. If war breaks out, that intelligence becomes a path straight to your death."
Osamu agreed without hesitation. He had no intention of showing anyone his full hand. Dead men didn't file mission reports.
The two of them were still talking when they stepped out of the hospital, and Pakkun came sprinting up to Osamu's side. The moment the small ninja dog spotted Tsunade, his entire manner shifted.
"Greetings to the beautiful and magnificent Tsunade-sama!"
He sat up on his hind legs. A thoroughly ingratiating expression appeared on his dog face. Osamu, who had just been set aside without a second thought, watched Pakkun spin in a happy circle and muttered under his breath.
"Shameless little suck-up."