Chapter 296: Nine Years Old, Targeting the Fifth Mizukage (Two in One)

“Teacher Yamamura, this mission is just to perform well in the Chunin Exams in Konoha, right?” Mei Terumī looked at Konoha, which was not far away, and reconfirmed the mission details with her instructor.

“Yes, just unleash your full strength as usual,” Yamamura Sōki nodded in response.

Before Konoha’s invitation arrived, Hidden Mist had not expected Konoha to suddenly invite them to participate in the Chunin Exams, because the Land of Water is an island nation, Hidden Mist Village rarely participated in the activities of the other Four Great Shinobi Villages on the continent.

However, since they were invited, Hidden Mist would certainly not be cowardly, and felt that this was a great opportunity, not only to make Hidden Mist’s name known on the continent but also to observe Konoha’s strength.

Although Hidden Mist Village rarely participated in the Shinobi World War, they were not entirely unconcerned; they still sent Ninja to investigate intelligence, knowing that the Four Great Shinobi Villages on the continent were engaged in a chaotic war.

However, this had nothing to do with Yamamura Sōki and his squad members, as the mission he received was simply to defeat Konoha Ninja in the Chunin Exams and achieve a good ranking.

Yamamura Sōki was very confident about this, because his squad included a Ninja genius named Mei Terumī, who had mastered two Bloodline Limits at the tender age of nine and had also cultivated Water Release very well.

“By the way, that shark-faced guy, I remember he’s a Chunin, isn’t he? Why is he also participating in the Chunin Exams?” Mei Terumī glanced at Kisame Hoshigaki and asked quietly.

Kisame Hoshigaki had a very distinctive appearance, which made Mei Terumī remember him at a glance. She remembered that Kisame Hoshigaki had become a Chunin last year by passing the Chunin Exams within Hidden Mist Village.

“He was demoted for failing a mission, don’t delve into that question. During the exam, no matter who your opponent is, you must fight with all your might. The better your results, the better the rewards from the Village,” Yamamura Sōki casually explained and then instructed.

Survival of the fittest is the law of Hidden Mist Village, and Yamamura Sōki naturally hoped that his disciples could go further and gain more rewards.

Mei Terumī nodded, no longer asking about Kisame Hoshigaki. Having grown up in Hidden Mist’s high-pressure and cruel environment, Mei Terumī knew that she didn’t need to know things she shouldn’t.

She just secretly alerted herself to this fellow Ninja from the Village who was participating in the Chunin Exams as a Chunin, believing that Kisame Hoshigaki was a major opponent in her quest for first place.

As they got closer, Mei Terumī also saw Konoha’s giant wooden gate.

There were many tall buildings in Hidden Mist Village, so Mei Terumī was not surprised by this. She only felt a surge of excitement, because she was going to defeat all the Konoha Genin participating in the Chunin Exams here, taking a solid step towards her dream.

“As long as I can get first place here, I will be valued in the Village, and even Lord Genshi and the Third Mizukage will look at me with new eyes,” Mei Terumī thought to herself.

In a Chunin Exams held jointly by two Five Great Ninja Villages, if a nine-year-old Genin like her stood victorious at the end, she would definitely be considered a genius among geniuses.

Although it was just an exam, Mei Terumī believed this was a big step towards her becoming Mizukage.

Mei Terumī liked Hidden Mist Village because it was her hometown. She liked the morning scenery of Hidden Mist Village, where white mist was everywhere, making everything look beautiful. Mei Terumī disliked Hidden Mist Village because the atmosphere was very oppressive, suffocating people, and even students had to fight each other to the death.

Mei Terumī didn’t want to dislike her hometown. To ensure she would only like Hidden Mist Village in the future, Mei Terumī wanted to become Mizukage. She wanted to change the Third Mizukage’s high-pressure policies and make Hidden Mist Village peaceful.

When she saw Konoha Ninja seemingly waiting to greet them at the gate, Mei Terumī carefully observed every Ninja, wanting to find her opponents for the Chunin Exams.

When Mei Terumī saw Muzuki, Muzuki was just using Appraisal Technique on Mei Terumī, and their gazes met.

Although facing an adult Ninja much older than herself, Mei Terumī looked at Muzuki without fear, even trying to widen her eyes to increase her presence.

However, Muzuki had no desire to compete with Mei Terumī to see who could stare longer without blinking. He smiled slightly and began appraising the next person.

It was late June, and spring had passed, giving way to the hot summer.

Under the scorching summer sun, Muzuki’s dazzling golden hair became even more striking, and the gentle smile he usually maintained on his face genuinely carried warmth.

“What’s wrong with this person? Why is his smile so hot?” Mei Terumī, who had been a little smug, thinking she had won the staring contest, couldn’t help but mutter when she saw Muzuki’s smile.

That’s right, she felt that Muzuki’s smile was a bit too warm for her.

Mei Terumī rarely saw others smile. When she first started school, it was fine; everyone would play and laugh together. But after a year, it became less frequent, because besides yourself, everyone else could be an enemy. In such a situation, how could they still play and laugh together? Cruel sneers, however, were possible.

The discussions between the higher-ups didn’t take much time. After a few simple pleasantries, the Hidden Mist team followed the welcoming Konoha team into Konoha, heading towards a hotel in the Leaf Village Main District.

Mei Terumī didn’t know much about Konoha, only that it was a Ninja Village of the same level as Hidden Mist, and its leader was called the Hokage.

This was her first time in the Land of Fire. She had left the Land of Water before on missions, but she hadn’t gone to continental countries; instead, she had performed missions on surrounding islands.

“Hmph, our Hidden Mist buildings are still taller,” Mei Terumī thought proudly as she looked at the mostly two-story houses.

Hidden Mist Village had many tall stone buildings that looked magnificent.

Hidden Mist Village, win!

After arriving at the designated hotel, Mei Terumī put down her belongings and asked Yamamura Sōki if she could move freely. She hadn’t found any potential opponents among the Konoha welcoming team, so Mei Terumī wanted to go out and gather information.

“There’s nothing wrong with moving freely, but be careful not to cause trouble. This is, after all, another Village. It’s best to move with your teammates,” Yamamura Sōki replied.

Mei Terumī selectively ignored Yamamura Sōki’s latter words, for a simple reason: her two teammates were the kind of Ninja Mei Terumī disliked. Aside from missions, Mei Terumī did not want to act with her teammates.

Mei Terumī first moved around the surrounding area, familiarizing herself with the nearby roads to avoid getting lost.

She had only been focused on comparing building sizes when she arrived, but as Mei Terumī carefully observed the streets and pedestrians of the Leaf Village Main District, she found that Konoha was more prosperous than Hidden Mist Village.

“So many shops! It feels like there are shops everywhere. What a delicious smell, it’s dessert!” Mei Terumī suddenly found herself standing in front of a dessert shop.

Looking at the dessert patterns on the signboard and smelling the sweet aroma, Mei Terumī instinctively wanted to walk in, but with strong willpower, she only took half a step before stopping.

“Mei Terumī, you’re here to gather information, not to buy desserts!” Mei Terumī told herself inwardly.

Although desserts were delicious, tastier than all those fishy seafood dishes, becoming Mizukage and changing Hidden Mist Village was clearly more important.

Forcing her attention away from the dessert shop and onto the people around her, Mei Terumī noticed the difference in Konoha Village.

Although not everyone smiled warmly, Mei Terumī could feel the relaxed atmosphere, not heavy at all, completely unlike a Village currently at war with other Ninja Villages.

Mei Terumī had to admit that in terms of prosperity and Village atmosphere, Konoha was more comfortable.

Hidden Mist Village, a small loss for now!

“Konoha, what kind of Village is it exactly?” Mei Terumī decided to continue observing.

“Why are you standing in front of the dessert shop? Do you need any help?” Obito, who was about to ask Muzuki for a solution to his grades, noticed a red-haired girl standing motionless at the dessert shop and went up to ask.

“Could it be that you wanted to eat but forgot your money? I can lend you some.”

Mei Terumī, who was deep in thought about Konoha, instinctively recoiled and gathered Chakra, ready to spit out a stream of Water Release, upon hearing the unfamiliar voice. Only after understanding the words did she realize she was still standing in front of the dessert shop.

“I’m not here to buy desserts,” Mei Terumī stated, indicating that she was not someone who didn’t know her priorities.

“Then why are you standing here motionless?” Obito scratched his head and asked confusedly.

“Huh, you’re not a Ninja from our Village.”

As he looked at Mei Terumī in confusion, Obito finally noticed that Mei Terumī’s forehead protector was not Konoha’s, but an emblem he had never seen before.

“Could she be a spy infiltrating the Village?” Obito immediately jumped back, looking at Mei Terumī cautiously, ready to enter Total Concentration Breathing and activate his Sharingan at any moment.

“What kind of spy infiltrates with their own Village’s forehead protector?” Mei Terumī couldn’t help but retort, as Obito’s words were too outrageous.

Although she did intend to gather information, it wasn’t exactly espionage.

“Maybe there are spies who exploit that very mentality to operate.” Obito’s eyes revealed wisdom, as if he had seen through everything.

Mei Terumī:…

“I mean, is there a possibility that I am a Hidden Mist Village Ninja invited to your Village’s Chunin Exams?” Mei Terumī directly stated her identity.

She felt that if she didn’t clarify, this seemingly foolish and foolish-speaking Konoha Ninja would really take her for a spy and attack.

Although she didn’t think this Konoha Ninja, who looked about her age, could threaten her, she hadn’t forgotten that this was Konoha, and it was unwise to have conflicts with Konoha Ninja outside the examination hall.

“Huh? Are there Ninja from other Ninja Villages participating in the Chunin Exams?” Obito asked, looking shocked.

Mei Terumī felt that Konoha must cultivate Ninja much more gently than Hidden Mist; someone as foolish as him would usually die in the graduation exam in Hidden Mist.

“Then aren’t you my opponent in the Chunin Exams?” Obito’s expression was somewhat excited. He really hadn’t expected the Chunin Exams to have Ninja from other Villages. If he could defeat all the foreign Ninja and take first place, wouldn’t his image in Rin Nohara’s eyes become even grander?

“You’re participating in this Chunin Exams?” Mei Terumī eyed Obito a few times. She hadn’t expected to encounter a piece of information she could gather so quickly.

“Of course.” Obito gave himself a thumbs up, “Not only am I participating, but I’ll also become a Chunin directly!”

Mei Terumī looked at Obito’s silly appearance and remained skeptical of his words, after all, being able to become a Chunin at that age would be considered a considerable genius.

Mei Terumī never focused her attention on her peers; the beings she wanted to compare herself to, her enemies, were all Ninja older than her.

This was the confidence that having two Bloodline Limits brought Mei Terumī: she was unrivaled among her age group!

“My name is Uchiha Obito. Since you don’t have any difficulties, then goodbye.” Obito waved at Mei Terumī and turned to find Muzuki.

Although he said he would become a Chunin directly, Obito’s heart began to tremble when he thought that the first stage of the Chunin Exams was a written test.

“The omnipotent Sage Muzuki will definitely solve this problem,” Obito clasped his hands and prayed to Sage Muzuki.

When it came to Sage Muzuki, he always believed first and then believed again.

“What a strange Ninja. Are all Konoha Ninja like this?” Mei Terumī thought as she watched Obito.

He said goodbye if there were no difficulties. Would he really help a Ninja who wasn’t from the same Ninja Village and whom he had just met?

…

Since he didn’t know if Muzuki was home, Obito went directly to the South Border Forest. Even if he wasn’t there in person, there was a high chance that Muzuki’s Shadow Clone would be there.

Obito’s judgment was correct. After a quick scan upon arriving, he saw Muzuki, who was instructing Shisui in Fire Release, though he didn’t know if it was the main body or a Shadow Clone.

“Teacher Muzuki,” Obito jogged to Muzuki’s front and called out, then clasped his hands and bowed to Muzuki.

“Please help me improve my theoretical grades!” Obito looked at Muzuki with a devout expression and requested.

Slap!

Muzuki’s finger landed precisely on Obito’s forehead.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you always say that theoretical things are completely unnecessary?” The Shadow Clone Muzuki said with a chuckle.

He had created this Shadow Clone this morning, and he could easily guess the reason for Obito’s request: the Chunin Exams, nothing else.

“I wish, but the written exam is still there,” Obito wailed, holding his head.

“I’ve already told Rin that I’ll definitely become a Chunin this time. If I fail because of the written test, Kakashi will laugh me to death, and Rin will be very disappointed.”

He was confident and spirited when he told others he could become a Chunin, but he was truly miserable in front of Muzuki, begging for help with his theory.

“Just come to my house tonight. There’s something there that can solve your problem,” the Shadow Clone Muzuki smiled and pulled Obito up, saying.

Muzuki had set the questions for this Chunin Exams, and he had long anticipated this situation with Obito. After creating the questions, he had prepared several practice tests with similar questions for Obito to work on.

If Obito absorbed the knowledge smoothly, he would be able to perfectly handle the exam himself. Even if it wasn’t smooth, it would reduce the pressure on Kakashi and Rin Nohara to help Obito.

“Could it be a Sage artifact that allows one to instantly master a lot of knowledge?” Obito looked at Muzuki with anticipation.

How much he wished for a kind of bread that could imprint knowledge, allowing him to gain knowledge just by eating it. That way, Kakashi might not necessarily surpass him in knowledge. When it came to eating, Obito didn’t think he was worse than Kakashi.

The Shadow Clone Muzuki smiled without speaking. He was dreaming quite sweetly. If he had such a good thing, he would have used it to study Medical Ninjutsu long ago.

“It’s not doing practice tests, is it?” Sweat began to trickle down Obito’s forehead. Although the sun was blazing, he was sweating cold sweat.

Because he recalled that terrifying memory of once losing track of time while doing problems. Even now, Obito found it terrifying to think back on.

The Shadow Clone Muzuki nodded with a gentle smile.

The second major chapter, finally finished at 2 AM, a small repayment for yesterday’s debt. I’ll keep working hard tomorrow, but I probably won’t stay up that late.