"Shisui, if you be promoted to in in this exam, make sure to give it your all."

  " Leader, I actually think it's better not to be promoted. Sensei once said that a tree growing too tall is easily broken by the wind, and I believe he's right. Besides, the Uchiha don't need something like this just for appearances."

  "Is that what you think? Then do as you see fit."

  Shisui's mind repyed the versation he had with Fugaku the night before.

  The was truly plicated.

  He hadn't uood it before.

  But...

  Ever since Kyoichi taught Yahiko those lessons, Shisui had kept them in mind. After returning to Konoha, he trained while , gradually prehending much of what Kyoichi had said.

  Allies, enemies.

  That's right!

  That was the most important thing.

  Many people within the were not allies at all; in fact, some were ht obstacles. Their abilities were weak, but their schemes were endless—

  Take something as simple as the in Exams, for example. They had tur into a grand stage to showcase their strength.

  But...

  What was the point?

  Shisui, despite being only five years old, uood that it was meaningless.

  Just like the differeween the Land of Rain and the great nations—no matter how many geniuses emerged, it wouldn't ge the fual dee.

  Those old geezers in the treated Konoha like an imaginary enemy...

  It was only a matter of time before somethi wrong.

  "Shisui, I heard this exam is different from usual. You o be extra careful."

  "Uh…"

  Shisui looked up at Obito, his mouth slightly open as if he wao say something but theated, his expression slightly dumbfounded.

  Beside them…

  Kurenai couldn't hold back her ughter and teased, "Obito, I think you should be more worried about yourself. If you keep charging ahead recklessly, you might embarrass yourself this time."

  "Tch, this time Kakashi isn’t here. I'm going to prove myself!"

  Obito raised his thumb with pure fidence.

  A…

  The moment he saw the exam paper in the first round, he was stunned.

  A writte?

  Why was there a writte in the in Exams?!

  He was pletely dumbfounded.

  ---

  Kyoichi wasn’t involved in the first round.

  There wasn’t much to ge about the writte.

  However…

  The one who set the questions was Minato Namikaze.

  Outside…

  "You made the questions really difficult. Aren’t you worried Obito won’t pass?"

  Kyoichi was curious.

  Obito’s academic ability was on par with Naruto’s, but his taijutsu and ninjutsu were quite strong—a rather unusual case.

  "I want him to uand the importance of theory," Minato expined.

  "Minato, you're really looking out for him."

  Hayama Shirakumo sighed.

  Kyoichi thought for a moment, then chuckled. "You think this might stress him out enough to awaken his Sharingan?"

  "Huh?"

  Minato was momentarily stunned.

  Was that possible?

  But after thinking about it carefully, Obito was full of surprises both in battle and in daily life. His strength wasn’t weak either, so… maybe it really could happen.

  Meanwhile, Obito was scratg his head frantically.

  He was really anxious!

  So many questions, and he didn’t know a single one.

  Kyoichi sighed inwardly and patted Minato on the shoulder. "It’s tough… Maybe we should just break him down and rebuild him from scratch."

  A plete overhaul might not be a bad idea.

  Obito was a huge wildcard!

  And besides…

  Madara hadn’t even taken notice of Obito yet. At this point, Shisui robably a higher priority for him.

  But…

  Wiping him out was out of the question.

  Minato assumed Kyoichi was just joking.

  As the exam tinued, ihe hall, many examinees were sweating bullets. Some were already res to various means to cheat—something the Jonin proctors observed silently.

  However…

  A little bit of cheating was ohing.

  But Obito pulling out a full-o sheet was just too much!

  "Put him on the waiting list. If the numbers work out, he’ll be eliminated. If not, he join as a reserve."

  The Third Hokage chuckled.

  Obito…

  He had quite an impression of the boy.

  In fact, ihird Hokage's eyes, Obito otential sed ing of Kagami Uchiha. To him, Obito’s importance far outweighed Shisui’s, because he believed Obito had the potential to ge the Uchiha .

  Kyoiarrowed his eyes slightly.

  Obito, huh?

  Heh…

  Tobirama had been very clear about this—when Uchiha awaken their Sharingan, their personalities might undergo areme shift, even being the plete opposite of what they once were.

  But the Third Hokage hadn't remembered that part.

  He had only imitated the surface of Tobirama’s methods…

  Kyoichi didn’t say much.

  His ideology was different from the Third Hokage's, but ultimately, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a far better ruler than Danzo.

  If that old bastard were in charge, Kyoichi might already be lying on a disse table "for the good of Konoha."

  So in that regard, Hiruzen was at least tolerable.

  Time flew by.

  The exam ended!

  Kyoichi g the results, then picked up the scroll and prepared to head to the sed exam site.

  "ht, Minat the sed round, when the Jonihrough, take care of ‘eliminating’ the stragglers who are still visible to everyone."

  Kyoichi reminded him.

  He had to annouhe rules soon and wouldn’t have time to miahis part.

  Minato nodded, indig he uood.

  Then…

  Kyoichi walked away.

  Not long after…

  The exam results were posted.

  Even befrading, it retty clear who had passed just from the test-takers. The only real surprise was Obito.

  Hiruzen had personally put him on the reserve list!

  A crowd gathered around the results board.

  Obito was visibly nervous.

  He thought for sure he had failed, but deep dowill hoped for a miracle.

  One by one, he checked the names…

  No, no… Not there!

  He felt his heart sink.

  But then—

  "Did you really think you could pass after cheating?"

  A familiar voice.

  Kyoichi-sensei.

  Of course.

  Obito’s face fell.

  Of course, they had caught him.

  "Obito, look at the bottom!" Rin suddenly said, full of excitement.

  Obito quickly looked down.

  Reserve didate: Uchiha Obito.

  Huh?!

  He froze for a moment, then instantly lit up with joy.

  "Sensei, I passed!"

  "Happy? You might be celebrating too soon. Teams are assigned in groups of three—you’d better check whether the number of official didates is a multiple of three."

  Kyoichi smiled.

  "If it is, well… tough luck. You’re just a reserve. Unless someone drops out due to injury, you won’t be peting."

  "...Huh?"

  Obito's face fell instantly.

  Rin and Kurenai giggled beside him.

  They had already noticed it—there was exactly one missing spot.

  So clearly…

  Obito’s so-called "pass" was questionable.

  Shisui g Kyoichi, then at the se before him, deep in thought.

  Still…

  It was good that Obito had made it.

  He didn’t dwell on it further.

  "Alright, I told you all—you’re celebrating too soon. The first round was just a warm-up. In the sed round… yoing tret passing the first."

  Kyoichi smiled gently.

  But his eyes were deadly serious.

  The crowd instantly fell silent.

  Everyone uood.

  Kyoichi was the examiner for the sed round.

  And he was here to annouhe rules!

  "Very well, then..."

  Kyoichi unrolled the scroll, revealing a map.

  "You have one mio memorize this map. You are allowed to use ahod—except for direct physical tact."

  Whoosh!

  In an instant, everyone surged forward.

  A map!

  Every ninja knew how crucial maps were. In war, seg a map could cost numerous lives.

  Intelligehering!

  At this very moment, the exam had already begun.

  This was a test of their information-gathering ability—and also a measure of their overall skills.

  A moment ter…

  "Time's up."

  Gcell