The Chūnin Exams arrived as scheduled, but the first month was dedicated to preliminary assessment projects.
Although this Chūnin Exams was an internal assessment and did not invite people from other villages to participate.
The necessary projects were still in place, but none of that was crucial; the most critical part was naturally the final assessment.
The final assessment also attracted many idle ninja to watch.
Although there was no grand ceremony, and no large facilities like an exercise ground were used, it was held in a training ground protected by a barrier.
But people naturally love excitement, and many came to cheer on their friends and family.
"Nii-san, over here!"
In the crowd, Uchiha Sasuke waved to his good elder brother, Uchiha Itachi, who was waiting in the preparation area.
With his good elder brother participating, he had to come and cheer him on no matter what!
Not only did he come, but many of his family members also came; one could say their family had the most cheerleaders.
"Alright, Sasuke, don't disturb your brother."
Uchiha Fugaku glanced at his younger son, then at his elder son who smiled and nodded at him, before speaking expressionlessly.
"He needs to focus now to handle the rigorous assessment ahead."
"Yes, father."
Little Sasuke pursed his lips; he dared not retort.
And seeing his younger son quiet down, Fugaku's gaze couldn't help but fall on Shisui, who was standing casually dressed nearby.
"Shisui, you told me that the examiner for this assessment is your friend. What is he really like?"
"Friend?"
Uchiha Izumi looked at Shisui curiously. She was also here to cheer on Itachi, and hearing this news made her particularly interested.
"Yes, he is indeed a friend."
Shisui nodded, but couldn't help but mutter to himself, 'We are also teammates!'
"And he is a very powerful guy. His abilities in all aspects are terrifying. Itachi, this time… just needs to perform well."
Although Shisui was a bit silly on weekdays, it didn't mean he didn't understand what Fugaku meant by asking this question.
Clearly, the Clan Head wanted to see if Itachi had any hope of winning.
Indeed, Itachi was very strong, having even defeated a Root ninja years ago.
But now he was facing Hidezawa, and as his teammate, he knew too well how exaggerated Hidezawa's combat power was.
Shisui still vividly remembered that earth dragon.
"Is your friend that difficult to deal with?"
Fugaku immediately understood Shisui's meaning, which made him frown.
"If it were you, what would the situation be?"
"This…"
Shisui himself couldn't quite say, but he felt his chances of winning would probably be higher.
Especially since he also had the Mangekyo Sharingan!
"Alright, don't make it difficult for Shisui."
Uchiha Mikoto, who was nearby, interrupted their conversation. She patted Sasuke's head and then said with a smile.
"They are all friends; there's no need to compete for victory. Besides, we're here to watch Itachi's perfomance, aren't we?"
"Alright, alright, I understand."
Fugaku stopped saying anything upon seeing this. Sasuke, however, still had blind confidence in his good elder brother. He waved his small fist and said seriously.
"Nii-san will definitely win!"
Shisui also gave a knowing smile upon hearing this, but he quickly withdrew his gaze and secretly muttered to himself.
"Anyway, Itachi won't get hurt. I've been nagging for ages and even treated them to several meals!"
Shisui naturally didn't want anything to happen to his little brother-like friend, especially since he was well aware of some of his "good" teammate's way of doing things.
To avoid any accidents, after learning that Hidezawa was Itachi's main examiner, he intensified his 'bribery'.
His request wasn't unreasonable; just don't injure Itachi.
"But speaking of which, why can Hidezawa be an examiner?"
Shisui stroked his chin. He was actually quite curious about this matter.
And just as he was deep in thought, in the examiner's backstage area, Third Hokage was also conversing with Hidezawa.
"Hidezawa, do you know why I agreed to let you be an examiner?"
"Uh…"
Hidezawa looked bewildered. The exam was about to start, so why was he being asked these random questions now?
'You didn't say anything for the past month!'
But Hidezawa still honestly shook his head.
"I don't know, Hokage-sama."
"You are a child who came from Root. Your way of thinking and logic are very different from others."
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and patted Hidezawa's shoulder, a benevolent smile appearing on his face.
"But you are also a Konoha ninja. You carried too much darkness before, and for that, I feel very sorry. Now I hope you can walk towards the light."
"…"
Hidezawa was somewhat speechless upon hearing these words. Instead of saying all this, wouldn't it be better to just shut down Root?
Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to say that. The existence of Root was very necessary, not to mention he himself had his eyes on Root.
"I know Danzo might have told you a lot of negative information about the Uchiha."
Hiruzen saw that Hidezawa didn't speak, but he didn't mind and continued with a smile.
"But I want to tell you that whether it's you or the Uchiha, everyone is a ninja belonging to Konoha. I hope to see everyone live in harmony.
Uchiha Itachi is a genius of Konoha, and you and Shisui are even teammates, which is why I decided to let you be his main examiner.
You are no longer a member of Root, so I hope to see a new, excellent Konoha ninja who is not influenced by dark will.
Can you promise me that, Hidezawa?"
"…"
Damn it, he said it so nicely, but it was just another person coming to 'blow wind'.
Hidezawa truly hadn't expected that the Third Hokage seemed afraid he would cause trouble, so he came over to specifically emphasize it again.
It's just that Shisui had already 'blown wind' for so long; his coming now was somewhat unnecessary.
Besides that, Danzo, that old man, also sent people to convey messages to him, roughly meaning, 'Remember the shame of Root.'
Ding!
[New Mission Acquired]
[Defeat Uchiha Itachi and make him understand the Shame of Root.]
[New Mission Acquired]
[Ensure Uchiha Itachi is not Injured.]
Looking at these two new missions, Hidezawa felt it was a bit absurd.
He truly felt that Hiruzen and Danzo seemed to be naturally at odds.
The missions they issued couldn't be said to be identical; they could only be said to be vastly different.
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
However, Hidezawa had, after all, experienced the Sunagakure mission, so he had ample experience with such almost contradictory missions.
"I won't disappoint you."
"That's good."
The wrinkles on Hiruzen's face became even more visible with a smile.
"I look forward to your performance. Go and prepare."
"Let's begin the assessment then."
*****
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✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
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