Chapter 296: Chunin Exams

In the evening of the Chunin Exam, after finishing his studies with Tsunade, Mu Yue walked toward his home in the main city district.

"Are you buying or not? If not, I'm packing up and going home. You've been standing here for almost an hour." The shopkeeper looked with a pained expression at the red-haired girl who was deep in thought in front of his cart.

Mei Terumi didn't answer the shopkeeper; inside she was seriously pondering which ice cream to buy: strawberry, vanilla, or chocolate.

Chocolate ice cream held a significant place in Mei Terumi's heart because it was the flavor she tasted when she first ate ice cream, making her realize such deliciousness existed in the world.

Vanilla ice cream, though it appeared later, quickly claimed the top spot on Mei Terumi's ice cream flavor ranking with its light, refreshing taste.

As for strawberry ice cream, it was a flavor Mei Terumi had never tried 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, another was her current favorite vanilla, and the last was the new, untried strawberry flavor. This made Mei Terumi find it very hard to choose, feeling that any selection had sufficient reason.

"If you can't decide, why not buy one of each?" Mu Yue, who happened to be on the same street, offered a suggestion.

He could somewhat understand that indecisiveness because in his previous life he was also the type to spend over an hour choosing takeout, and even after much deliberation, he would end up picking the first restaurant he had clicked on.

But he thought he was much better than Mei Terumi, because he was choosing from a pile of takeout options while she only had to choose one out of three.

"You can do that?!" Mei Terumi's eyes widened as she stared at Mu Yue in shock. Could he be a genius?

Thinking about it carefully, there seemed to be no problem. After all, she was a ninja now, and she didn't need to ask adults for money to buy ice cream. She could buy as many as she wanted. Mei Terumi felt as if she had opened a door to a new world.

"Please give me two of each." Mei Terumi directly doubled her order to six portions.

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

Actually, if it weren't for the fact that he needed to go home for dinner, he wouldn't have minded Mei Terumi standing there all along—after all, a stall with customers always gives a better impression—but he had to pack up eventually.

Mu Yue also continued walking toward home.

He simply helped out when he happened to meet her on his way home, since it only took one sentence. He had no intention of having more interaction with Mei Terumi because she was a ninja of the Hidden Mist.

Although he didn't feel much attachment to Konoha, he still had to maintain his apparent identity.

"Hey, you look really hot guy, please stop." Mei Terumi called out to Mu Yue.

Because Mu Yue was walking quite fast, Mei Terumi blurted out the image she had of him in her mind in her hurry.

Mu Yue turned around to look at Mei Terumi. He almost didn't know whether she was polite or impolite—she casually gave him a nickname, yet she used honorifics.

"Here, this is your reward for just now." With a pained expression, Mei Terumi took out the strawberry ice cream and handed it to Mu Yue.

Although Mu Yue was a Konoha ninja, he was still the benefactor who helped her open the door to a new world.

Moreover, Mei Terumi thought that Mu Yue, an adult, probably wouldn't accept a gift from a child of another ninja village. That way, she could repay Mu Yue's kindness and keep the ice cream, since Mu Yue would have refused it himself.

"Then thanks a lot." Mu Yue accepted it with a smile.

This kind of scene was all too familiar to him. If he refused, there might be more complications; accepting directly and walking away would lead to nothing further.

After saying that, Mu Yue turned around again and walked toward home.

Mei Terumi stared in shock at Mu Yue, who decisively turned and left. This was not what she had imagined. Why wasn't this person following the usual script? What adult takes ice cream from a nine-year-old kid like that?

Mei Terumi subconsciously stretched out her right hand, but she was too embarrassed to call Mu Yue back and take the ice cream—she had given it to him herself.

"I'm so stupid, really!" Mei Terumi's eyes gradually lost their luster. The ice cream that was nearly at her mouth had flown away.

"Maybe that strawberry ice cream wasn't even good anyway," Mei Terumi comforted herself in her heart.

That way, her loss would be minimal, after all, she hadn't given away her favorite vanilla ice cream and her most nostalgic chocolate ice cream.

Mei Terumi found a park and sat down on a bench to eat. She started with the vanilla ice cream, after all it was her favorite. When she stuffed a big spoonful of vanilla ice cream into her mouth, she revealed a genuine smile.

Mei Terumi originally planned to eat the chocolate ice cream second, but after some thought, she decided to try the strawberry ice cream she had never tasted.

When she put the ice cream with strawberry chunks into her mouth, a pleasantly surprised expression appeared on Mei Terumi's face. She felt it was even tastier than the vanilla flavor. But then, as she thought of something, her expression quickly turned gloomy.

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

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

……

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

Because many ninjas, including many from other villages, would be coming to take the exam at the ninja academy, the school simply gave the students a day off to prevent any unnecessary incidents.

"The Chunin Exam... I didn't think we'd get to take it so soon. A few months ago, becoming a Chunin felt so far away." Shiranui Genma sighed as he looked at the entrance of the Ninja Academy.

A few months ago, he wasn't even a Genin, and in his eyes back then, a Chunin was a very reliable existence.

"Just because we're taking the exam doesn't mean we'll definitely become Chunin. Besides, the reason we can take the Chunin Exam is because of Guy." Ebisu said rationally.

Their team's situation was a bit similar to Obito's team. Teacher Chen felt that Might Guy's record and strength meant he would have no problem passing the Chunin Exam, so he recommended them to take it.

However, to prevent Shiranui Genma and Ebisu from being disappointed, Teacher Chen told them in advance that while they were quite strong among their peers, becoming a Chunin would be very difficult, advising them not to hold out hope for promotion—no expectations, no disappointment.

"Hehe." Shiranui Genma grabbed Ebisu's arm and chuckled, "A person's got to have dreams, right? Kakashi became a Chunin at six years old, and we're already nine—maybe we'll make it."

"Let's just give it our all in the exam. That way, even if we fail, we won't regret it." Might Guy flashed a bright smile and gave them a thumbs up in encouragement.

Ebisu nodded. Although he sounded pessimistic, now that they were here to take the exam, of course he had some thoughts.

"Hey, Guy, you guys are taking the Chunin Exam too?" Obito saw Might Guy's group and immediately waved to greet them.

"Yeah. You guys too, right?" Shiranui Genma smiled and nodded.

"Of course! Not only are we taking it, we're going to pass it in one go and become Chunin." Obito replied with a big laugh.

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

"Rival, let's have a match full of youth and passion! Let's see who gets the better results in the Chunin Exam."

"Alright. Let's compare our scores in the first stage." Kakashi nodded calmly and agreed directly.

"My youth is starting to burn!" Seeing Kakashi respond so decisively, Might Guy felt his blood boil with excitement, wishing the exam would start right away.

Ebisu thought this scene was quite harmonious, but soon he realized something was wrong. His expression turned strange because Kakashi, who was already a Chunin, seemed to be participating in this Chunin Exam.

Thinking about this, Ebisu noticed that Kakashi wasn't wearing his Chunin vest today.

Puzzled, Ebisu walked over to Kakashi and asked, "Kakashi, are you going to take this Chunin Exam with Obito and the others?"

Kakashi's expression was a bit complicated. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Yes. For various reasons, I will be participating in this Chunin Exam."

Ebisu's expression turned grave. He felt that his chances of becoming a Chunin had shrunk even more. A Chunin taking the Chunin Exam—how could that be?

"I hope Kakashi is just an exception." Ebisu sighed inwardly.

Shiranui Genma and Might Guy didn't notice anything unusual. They thought it was perfectly normal for Kakashi, as a teammate, to take the Chunin Exam together with Obito and the others.

As the exam start time approached, more and more ninjas arrived at the Ninja Academy. Ebisu keenly noticed that there were also ninjas from other villages.

"Rain Village, Waterfall Village, Grass Village, Mist Village." Ebisu identified their villages by their headbands.

"You guys are taking the Chunin Exam so soon?" Asuma saw Obito and the others and walked up to greet them.

He had graduated last year, and this was his first time taking the Chunin Exam.

"Is that not allowed?" Obito scratched his head and asked Asuma in confusion.

Obito's question actually stumped Asuma. He was also taking it for the first time and didn't know much about it.

"It doesn't matter. I've gotten a lot stronger since my special training. If we run into each other in the later battles, you'll be very surprised." Asuma said confidently.

"I've improved a lot too." Like Asuma, Obito was also full of confidence in himself—except for the first theoretical exam.

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

When there were still ten minutes until the exam started, all the proctors entered the classroom and began announcing the rules for the first part of the Chunin Exam.

There will be another chapter later, but it probably won't be written until around one o'clock. I suggest reading it tomorrow. Staying up late is harmful to your health. I'll also try to adjust my schedule tomorrow.