Chapter 297: Chunin Exam

In the evening, Muzuki finished his studies with Tsunade and walked towards his home in the Main urban area.

“Are you still buying? If not, I’m closing up and going home. You’ve been standing here for almost an hour,” the owner said, looking at the red-haired girl standing in front of his cart, deep in thought, with a headache.

Mei Terumī didn’t answer the owner. She was seriously contemplating which ice cream to buy: strawberry, vanilla, or chocolate.

Chocolate ice cream held a significant place in Mei Terumī’s heart because it was the flavor she tasted the first time she had ice cream, making her realize such a delicious treat existed in the world.

Although vanilla ice cream appeared later, its fresh taste quickly claimed the top spot in Mei Terumī’s ice cream flavor ranking.

As for strawberry ice cream, Mei Terumī had never tried that flavor because she had never even eaten a strawberry, let alone strawberry ice cream.

One was the chocolate ice cream that opened the door to the world of ice cream for her, one was the vanilla ice cream she currently liked the most, and finally, there was the new, untried strawberry ice cream. This made it very difficult for Mei Terumī to choose, feeling that any choice had a good reason.

“If you can’t decide, then why not buy one of each?” Muzuki, who happened to be on the same street, offered a suggestion.

He could somewhat understand this decision-making difficulty because, in his previous life, he was also someone who could spend over an hour choosing takeout, sometimes even ending up picking the first restaurant he clicked on.

However, he felt he was much better than Mei Terumī, because he was choosing one from a pile of takeout, while Mei Terumī was just choosing one out of three.

“You can do that?!” Mei Terumī’s eyes widened, and she looked at Muzuki in shock. Was he a genius?

Thinking about it, it seemed perfectly fine. After all, she was a Ninja now and didn’t need to ask adults for money to buy ice cream. She could buy as much as she wanted. Mei Terumī felt as if a new world had opened up to her.

“Please give me two of each,” Mei Terumī immediately doubled her order to six portions.

The ice cream owner quickly packed six ice creams for Mei Terumī, put them in a bag, and handed them over.

Actually, if it weren’t for needing to go home for dinner, he wouldn’t have minded Mei Terumī standing there all this time. After all, a stall with customers always gave a better impression, but he had to close up eventually.

Muzuki also continued walking towards his home.

He just happened to run into her on his way home and simply helped her out; after all, it only required a single sentence. He had no intention of interacting much with Mei Terumī because she was a Mist Ninja.

Although he didn’t feel much loyalty to Konoha, he still had to maintain his superficial identity.

“That very enthusiastic-looking person, please stop,” Mei Terumī called out to Muzuki.

Because Muzuki was walking quickly, Mei Terumī, in her haste, blurted out her impression of him.

Muzuki turned to look at Mei Terumī. He was a little unsure if Mei Terumī was polite or impolite. To say she was polite, she just made up a nickname for him. To say she was impolite, she still used honorifics.

“Here, consider it payment for earlier,” Mei Terumī reluctantly took out the strawberry ice cream and handed it to Muzuki.

Although Muzuki was a Konoha Ninja, he was, after all, a benefactor who helped her open the door to a new world.

Moreover, Mei Terumī thought that an adult like Muzuki probably wouldn’t want a gift from a child from another Ninja Village. This way, she repaid Muzuki’s kindness and kept her ice cream, since it was Muzuki who refused it anyway.

“Then, thank you very much,” Muzuki said with a slight smile, accepting it.

He was too familiar with this kind of scenario. If he refused, there might be other developments. By simply accepting and leaving, nothing else would happen.

After speaking, Muzuki turned and left again, walking towards his home.

Mei Terumī stared dumbfounded at Muzuki, who turned and walked away so decisively. This wasn’t how she imagined it. Why didn’t this person follow the script? What kind of adult takes ice cream from a nine-year-old child?

Mei Terumī instinctively reached her right hand forward, but she was too embarrassed to call out to Muzuki again and ask for the ice cream back. She had given it away herself.

“I’m such a fool, truly!” Mei Terumī’s eyes gradually lost their luster. The ice cream that was almost hers had flown away.

“Maybe this strawberry ice cream isn’t even that good,” Mei Terumī consoled herself.

That way, her loss would be minimal, since her favorite vanilla ice cream and the nostalgic chocolate ice cream weren’t given away.

Mei Terumī found a park, sat on a bench, and immediately started eating. She first ate the vanilla ice cream, as it was her favorite. When she put a large spoonful of vanilla ice cream into her mouth, Mei Terumī showed a heartfelt smile.

Mei Terumī had originally intended to eat the chocolate ice cream second, but after thinking about it, she decided to try the untried strawberry ice cream.

When she put the ice cream with strawberry pieces into her mouth, a surprised expression appeared on Mei Terumī’s face. She felt it tasted even better than the vanilla flavor, but then her expression quickly turned dejected as she remembered something.

Good news: the new flavor of ice cream was delicious. Bad news: she had given one away.

Even when she lay in bed that night, Mei Terumī couldn’t forget it for a long time. Her mind was filled with the blond man’s smile and the strawberry ice cream she had given away. There were once two delicious strawberry ice creams placed before her, and she didn’t cherish them. If she were given another chance…

…

On the morning of July 1st, the Chunin Exams officially began.

Because many Ninja would come to the Ninja Academy for this exam, including quite a few Ninja from other villages, the school simply gave students a day off to prevent unnecessary incidents.

“The Chunin Exams, I didn’t expect to be able to participate so soon. Just a few months ago, Chunin felt so far away from us,” Shiranui Genma said, looking at the Ninja Academy gate with a sigh.

A few months ago, he wasn’t even a Genin. At that time, a Chunin was a very reliable existence in his eyes.

“Just because you participate doesn’t mean you’ll become a Chunin, and we can participate in the Chunin Exams because of Might Guy,” Ebisu said rationally.

Their team’s situation was somewhat similar to Obito’s. Might Guy’s resume and strength made Teacher Chen believe that passing the Chunin Exams would be no problem, so he recommended them to participate in the Chunin Exams.

However, to prevent Shiranui Genma and Ebisu from being disappointed, Teacher Chen told them in advance that while their strength was good among their peers, becoming a Chunin would be very difficult, and they shouldn’t hold out hope for promotion to Chunin. No expectations meant no disappointment.

“Hehehe,” Shiranui Genma hooked Ebisu’s arm and chuckled, “People always need a dream, right? Kakashi was a Chunin at six, and we’re nine. Maybe we’ll make it.”

“Just give your all in the exam. That way, even if you fail, you won’t regret it,” Might Guy said, giving them a bright smile and a thumbs-up of encouragement.

Ebisu nodded. Although he was pessimistic in his words, since he had come to participate in the exam, how could he have no thoughts at all?

“Might Guy, you Guys are also participating in the Chunin Exams!” Obito saw Might Guy and his group and immediately waved and greeted them.

“Yeah, you too, right?” Shiranui Genma said with a smile and a nod.

“Of course! Not only will we participate, but we’ll pass in one go and become Chunin!” Obito replied with a loud laugh.

Might Guy looked at Kakashi, who was walking over, and his fighting spirit ignited. He challenged Kakashi:

“My rival, let’s have a youthful and passionate competition! Let’s see whose Chunin Exams score is better!”

“Alright, let’s compare the results of the first stage,” Kakashi said calmly, nodding and accepting the challenge directly.

“My youth is burning!” Might Guy felt his blood boil when he saw Kakashi accept so decisively. He wished the exam would start immediately.

Ebisu watched this scene and felt it was very harmonious, but he quickly realized something was off, and his expression became a little strange, because Kakashi, who was already a Chunin, also seemed to be participating in this Chunin Exams.

Thinking of this, Ebisu then noticed that Kakashi wasn’t wearing his Chunin vest today.

A puzzled Ebisu walked up to Kakashi and asked, “Kakashi, are you also participating in this Chunin Exams with Obito and the others?”

Kakashi’s expression was a bit subtle. After thinking for a moment, he replied, “Yes, for various reasons, I will be participating in this Chunin Exams.”

Ebisu’s expression became a little grim, feeling that his hope of becoming a Chunin had diminished even further. A Chunin participating in the Chunin Exams was quite something.

“I hope Kakashi is the only exception,” Ebisu sighed inwardly.

Shiranui Genma and Might Guy didn’t notice anything unusual, believing that it was perfectly normal for Kakashi, as their teammate, to participate in the Chunin Exams with Obito and the others.

As the exam time drew closer, more and more Ninja arrived at the Ninja Academy. Ebisu keenly noticed that there were also Ninja from other Ninja Villages.

“Amegakure, Hidden Waterfall Village, Grass Ninja Village, Kirigakure,” Ebisu recognized their Ninja Villages based on their headbands.

“You Guys are participating in the Chunin Exams so soon!” Asuma said, seeing Obito and the others, and walked over to greet them.

He had graduated last year and was only participating in the Chunin Exams for the first time this year.

“Is that not allowed?” Obito scratched his head, looking puzzled, and asked Asuma.

Obito’s question truly stumped Asuma. He was also participating for the first time and didn’t actually know much.

“That doesn’t matter. I’ve gotten much stronger since my special training ended. If you run into me in a later battle, you’ll be very surprised!” Asuma said confidently.

“I’ve also made a lot of progress,” Like Asuma, Obito was also very confident in himself, except for the first, theoretical exam.

The nine of them chatted as they walked towards the designated exam building, entered the examination room, and then sat down in their pre-assigned seats.

When there were still ten minutes until the exam, all the proctors entered the classroom and began to announce the rules for the first stage of the Chunin Exams.

There will be another chapter, but it probably won’t be written until around 1 AM. I recommend reading it tomorrow. Staying up late is bad for your health, and I’ll try to adjust my schedule tomorrow as well.