One Second Is Enough: Chunin Exam Preliminaries

At Ino's suggestion, Hinata activated her Byakugan, focusing intently on the direction of the forest.

"I think I've found him... He's hiding on top of the biggest tree in that part of the forest."

"As expected, tracking is a breeze thanks to Hinata."

I praised her naturally, giving her head a gentle, affectionate pat before laying out the plan.

"Here's how we'll do it. Hinata and I will surround him and apply maximum pressure. As genin, stealing bells from a jonin won't be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easy. The odds are low, so instead of forcing a direct snatch, our goal is to tighten the encirclement while keeping up the pressure. Until then, Ino, you absolutely cannot let your position be discovered."

This time I looked straight into Ino's eyes. The moment our gazes met, she quickly ducked her head, her ears flushing bright red. I softly stroked her hair, and seeing her entire face turn crimson, I continued.

"Your role is the most important one, Ino... Stay hidden and approach without being noticed. Hinata and I will make sure the teacher can't focus on anything else. So, what's the effective range of your Mind Body Switch Technique?"

"The range is about ten to fifteen meters. Past that the chances of missing go way up... And even if it lands on a jonin, I doubt I could hold it for more than one or two seconds."

I winked at the uncertain Ino and spoke with full confidence.

"One second is enough."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The truth was, I had seen a comment in the chat saying the streamer’s agility rank was high so my speed would be fast. If Hinata and I handled the pressure and distraction, Ino could slip in with her technique and end it. It was simple but effective, so I went with it. Plus, if we showed real skill against a jonin, the girls’ trust in me would skyrocket.

"Hinata, is his position still the same?"

"Yeah... He’s watching us."

"Then let’s go."

We burst forward, splitting left and right to approach the jonin from both sides, deliberately kicking up dust as we circled him. The instant the jonin’s attention shifted from me to Hinata, I closed the distance in a flash.

I drove a mana-infused fist straight at him. Startled by the speed, he dropped from the tree and dodged to the ground.

Boom!! The jonin blocked Hinata’s strike with an earth wall, then threw a punch at her. I instantly stepped in front of Hinata.

Swish.

Thud!

Crash!

Bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam!!

BOOOOM!!!!

I softly redirected the opponent’s punch with one hand, disrupting his balance with a defensive counter. Using Vermilion Bird Gale I closed in, leaped, and punched upward with Azure Dragon Whirlwind, launching him into the air. Then White Tiger Mountain Thunder drove him straight back down. As the impact bounced him off the ground, I dove in again and unleashed the seven-hit barrage of Ultimate Black Tortoise Seven Consecutive Strikes.

The combo from the manga worked perfectly. The jonin flew back, slammed into a tree, and collapsed. Blood spilled from his mouth as he tried to stand.

Ino, who had crept close during the chaos, successfully took control of the jonin’s body. The bell jingled as she removed it and tossed it to me.

With that, our little “training” session ended. The jonin muttered “good work” and trudged away dejectedly. I later heard he was hospitalized with several fractured ribs.

"Jin… you’re seriously strong. How do you get that powerful?" Hinata asked, eyes wide with admiration.

I answered, "When you have someone you want to protect, you get stronger," while gazing at her warmly. She tilted her head cutely at first, then realized what I meant. Her face flushed scarlet and she looked down, embarrassed.

Ino, released from the Mind Body Switch, ran over and hugged me tightly.

"Kyaa!! You’re amazing, Jin♡ I had no idea you were this strong! You’re even stronger than the teacher!"

"He was going easy on us."

"Still, it’s amazing~ And it’s not just your face that’s handsome♡"

Ino was openly acting cute and flirting now. I chuckled, then turned to Hinata.

"Thanks to you, we shortened the chase time a lot, and the way you timed your attacks to create openings while syncing with me was perfect."

"And Ino, staying calm, waiting patiently, then using the technique without hesitation the moment the chance appeared—that was incredible too."

Both girls beamed at the praise. Since training had ended faster than expected, I suggested we grab dinner together. We agreed to meet after washing up.

On the way home the chat exploded again.

"Uh… I’m a little surprised myself. I was just testing how far my attacks could reach, but I didn’t expect it to go that far… I only opened the first gate of the Eight Inner Gates."

Looking at the chat, I realized I might have gone a bit overboard. What I hadn’t expected was how perfectly the Eight Inner Gates synced with the Four Gods Style. The jonin had also been weaker than I anticipated.

"Why was that jonin so weak? He’s supposed to be teaching genin…"

Nobody knew that man’s name. And they never would.

After getting home, showering, and having dinner with the girls, we grew even closer. Before long, the day of the Chunin Exams arrived.

I met them at the exam hall entrance and we climbed the stairs together. The second floor was packed with people buzzing with nervous energy. I pushed through the crowd to catch Rock Lee and Neji’s first scene in person.

Right then, a disguised examiner and Sasuke were exchanging kicks. Lee slipped between them and blocked both attacks. I couldn’t help but admire the sight.

"Seeing that bowl cut and green jumpsuit in real life… The manga version really was better."

In person Lee looked even more old-fashioned. Sasuke was visibly shocked that his attack had been stopped. Nearby, Naruto watched with wide eyes while Neji wore his usual arrogant expression.

"Hey! I’m Jin. Nice to meet you."

"Huh? Oh, hey!"

I greeted Tenten, then turned back toward my team. Neji placed a hand on my shoulder and asked,

"Are you on the same team as Lady Hinata?"

I brushed his hand off sharply and rolled my shoulder.

"Yeah, I’m on Hinata’s team. And I don’t like guys touching me, so could you be careful?"

As I tried to walk away, Neji reached for my shoulder again.

I grabbed his arm, spun, and threw him backward. Since I hadn’t opened any of the Eight Gates this time, my strength was lacking and the throw wasn’t very far. Neji flipped in mid-air and landed cleanly, then charged at me with a Gentle Fist strike.

I prepared to use Gale Slash again to redirect the blow when Rock Lee once more jumped between us and stopped the attack.

"You started the fight and I attacked first, so let’s call it mutual fault and move on. I don’t want to waste energy before the exam."

"Tell me your name."

Neji’s interest, which should have gone to Sasuke, had shifted to me instead. Since Neji and Sasuke never really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠interacted much in canon, I figured the butterfly effect wouldn’t be too bad.

"Jin. And you?"

"Hyuga Neji."

"Cool, cool~ See you later."

As I walked away I heard Rock Lee challenging Sasuke to a fight. I told Hinata and Ino to head into the exam room first and stayed behind to watch the match.

"Jin. Long time no see. Your personality seems to have changed a lot!"

"Yeah, it has been a while. Naruto, good to see you too!"

I greeted Sakura and Naruto, then turned my attention back to the fight. Sakura tried striking up conversation, asking how I’d been and what missions I’d done. Since I’ve never particularly liked her—in fact I’m closer to disliking her—I answered curtly and ended the talk so I could focus on the match.

Both of them were incredibly fast. Of course, if Lee took off his weights it would be a total stomp, but his terrible luck with matchups was the real issue. If it hadn’t been Gaara, the main characters wouldn’t have stood a chance against him. Especially Naruto—no amount of protagonist buffs could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overcome that gap.

After several exchanges, Lee tried to use his Leaf Whirlwind. A kunai pinned the bandage on his arm and a giant turtle appeared with Might Guy standing on top. The seven-man squad ignored how ridiculously similar Guy looked to Lee’s dad.

"How’s Kakashi doing?"

"You know Kakashi-sensei?"

Guy vanished from sight and reappeared behind Naruto and Sasuke.

"Of course. People call us eternal rivals, after all."

"Fifty wins, forty-nine losses. I’m stronger than Kakashi!"

Anyone claiming to be the rival of the Copy Ninja Kakashi was definitely a Kakashi fanboy. Fifty to forty-nine? I was sure Guy-sensei hadn’t opened the Eight Gates and Kakashi hadn’t used his Mangekyo Sharingan.

After watching for a while I returned to my seat. As expected, trouble soon broke out. The Sound Village ninjas clashed with Kabuto. Everyone was fascinated by the Sound ninjas’ strange attack methods and began analyzing them excitedly.

Bang!

"Sorry to keep you waiting… I am Morino Ibiki, the first examiner for the Chunin Selection Exam."

He introduced himself, threatened to fail anyone who didn’t listen, and started the test. We drew numbers and took our seats. I ended up near Ino, while Hinata, as in the original story, sat beside Naruto.

Before the test began I told Ino she didn’t need to use Mind Body Switch on me, then prepared to just zone out. But one viewer switched to ghost mode, wandered around copying answers, and fed them to me, so I simply wrote them down.

After several people failed, Naruto’s loud declaration marked the end of the first test.