Naruto : Blazing Legend

Chapter 23: Chunin Exam

The scars on Hatake Sakumo's wrists had faded, but the wounds in his mind remained raw. He'd stood at the edge too many times, blade trembling against his throat, wondering if silence would finally vindicate him. The village's whispers cut deeper than any enemy weapon ever could.

"Thank you, Jiraiya." The words came out heavier than they should have, weighted with everything left unsaid.

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, uncomfortable with the gratitude. "Hell, I barely did anything. Got myself drunk when you needed me most." His laugh held no humor. "That Uchiha kid, Rei—he's the one who saw through their bullshit first. Smart little bastard."

"Rei?" Sakumo's eyebrows rose. "That boy continues to surprise me. Most adults can't see past their own prejudices, yet he cut straight to the truth."

The ordeal had taught Sakumo something bitter: trouble doesn't care if you want it or not. It finds you anyway, strips away everything you thought you knew about loyalty and honor.

When he walked into the Hokage's office and dropped his ANBU captain's mask on the desk, the Third's face crumpled with genuine sorrow. But Sakumo's resolve had crystallized. Some wounds never heal while you keep picking at them.

Danzo's rage could be felt through the village's very foundations. All that scheming, all those resources burned, and the White Fang had simply... walked away. Victory through surrender. It left a taste like ash in the war hawk's mouth.

---

The Chunin Exams arrived like a funeral procession—inevitable and unwelcome. Rei found himself standing outside Minato's apartment again, swallowing his pride.

"The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique," he said without preamble. "I need it."

Minato blinked. "Don't you already—"

"Three clones isn't enough." Rei's voice carried a frustration that made him sound older than his years. "I've been training with shadows, but I need more. Six would double my progress."

The blonde jonin's eyes lit up with understanding and something approaching greed. "If that works... I could master Flying Thunder God so much faster." He was already reaching for his coat. "Kushina knows it. Let's go."

Kushina's apartment reeked of ramen and loneliness. The Uzumaki woman's face brightened when she saw them—probably the first visitors she'd had in weeks. Being a jinchuriki meant being an island, no matter how many people surrounded you.

"Finally, something I can teach you geniuses," she said with a bitter laugh. "Though be careful. This technique has killed people who bit off more than they could chew."

The next few days blurred together in a haze of chakra exhaustion and splitting headaches. By the time Rei mastered the technique, his old training regime felt like child's play.

---

"Ready for this shitshow?" Wada Yu asked as they approached the exam hall. His attempt at bravado couldn't quite mask the tremor in his voice.

Rei studied the crowd—hundreds of genin, most looking like they'd seen more battles than he'd seen birthdays. "Look at them. Half these people have been genin longer than we've been alive."

Hanazuki, ever practical, adjusted her weapon pouch. "Experience doesn't always trump talent. We'll be fine."

But Rei's eyes had found Might Duy in the crowd—that green-clad figure who'd become legend for all the wrong reasons. A dozen failed attempts, and still he came back. There was something admirable and deeply unsettling about that kind of persistence.

A prickle ran down Rei's spine. Someone was watching him. When he turned, the feeling vanished into the sea of faces.

"Something wrong?" Wada Yu noticed his tension.

"Maybe." Rei's hand drifted unconsciously toward his kunai pouch. In a world where children learned to kill before they learned to love, paranoia was just another survival skill.

The first examiner emerged—some Nara with dead eyes and the bearing of a man who'd seen too many wars. The written test claimed its victims quickly and efficiently. Might Duy's team fell first, as they always did.

"Youth never surrenders!" Duy's voice cracked like breaking glass as his teammates walked away. One of them looked back once, pity and exhaustion warring on his face.

"We're too old for this, Duy. Some of us want families, normal lives."

"Then live them!" Dai's thumbs-up seemed more desperate than hopeful. "But my fire burns eternal!"

Rei watched the exchange and felt something cold settle in his stomach. This was what the system did to people—ground them down until even dreams became burdens.

When the second exam's proctor stepped forward, Rei's blood turned to ice water.

Orochimaru.

The Sannin's smile was all sharp edges and hidden poison. This wasn't going to be a simple scroll hunt.

This was going to be a culling.

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