Chapter 33: The Chunin Exam Announcement
After everyone had eaten, drunk, and celebrated, Asuma suddenly called out to them from across the table:
"You guys, come over here. I have something to tell you."
Asuma looked a bit drunk, his face slightly red, and he waved his hand to gather the genin.
The genin, who had been talking enthusiastically among themselves, heard Asuma's call and paused for a moment. They looked at him in confusion and then moved closer.
After everyone had gathered around, Asuma looked at them mysteriously and said with a satisfied smile:
"It's almost time to finish eating and drinking. Since everyone is here, I'll let you in on something quietly in advance."
Everyone was taken aback for a moment, but they all perked up, wanting to hear what Asuma had to say.
Asuma cleared his throat, coughed a few times, and then said seriously:
"In a little while, the semi-annual Chunin Exam will be held. Do you want to take it?"
As soon as Asuma finished speaking, everyone was stunned. They looked at each other, and no one dared to speak up.
Chunin? That seemed a bit too early for these kids who had just become genin.
But before anyone could ask a question, Asuma looked at them encouragingly and said:
"I know you've only just become genin, and some of you haven't fully adapted to the life of a ninja yet. But like I said, the Chunin Exam won't be held for a while. During this time, you can train and improve yourselves."
Asuma glanced around at everyone, a look of satisfaction on his face, and continued:
"Honestly, this Chunin Exam might be a bit too early for you. You could skip this one and take the next exam instead. But I still hope you'll actively consider participating. After all, in my eyes, you're the best, the most outstanding group I've ever taught. Your overall strength is higher than any other class I've led."
"I think it would be good for you to experience the Chunin Exam this time."
"That's why I'm telling you in advance. You still have time to prepare."
Asuma's words made everyone fall silent.
They each took a few deep breaths, and a burning sense of expectation and urgency appeared in their eyes. Everyone there wanted to prove themselves. They wanted to prove their excellence, their skill, and that they could become great ninja.
Sasuke especially felt this way. The trip to the Land of Waves had shown him that his current strength was far from enough. He wanted to train and quickly improve his abilities during this Chunin Exam.
Looking at the expectant eyes of the genin around them, Asuma, Kakashi, and Kurenai all seemed to already know what the kids would answer. The three Jōnin smiled with satisfaction and nodded to themselves.
Then Asuma asked:
"What do you all think?"
As soon as Asuma finished speaking, Ino couldn't wait to say:
"Asuma-sensei, I want to participate! Sakura has already done a C-rank mission, and I want to train myself faster!"
"Ah, that sounds like such a hassle." Shikamaru complained upon hearing his teammate's enthusiastic response.
"I want to participate too. I can't lose to Ino!" Little Sakura said just as positively.
Asuma and the others nodded in satisfaction and said encouragingly:
"Good. I knew you'd feel that way. It's not wasted that I told you all in advance. Now, you need to focus on improving yourselves and try to perform well in the Chunin Exam."
These words had already ignited the fighting spirit of the genin.
They were all shouting about how they wanted to achieve great results in the Chunin Exam.
Soon, several of the genin began enthusiastically discussing how they would train next. Asuma and the other two Jōnin also said they would guide them.
While the young graduates were cheering and looking forward to the upcoming Chunin Exam, Kakashi looked at Asuma, who was beaming with joy, and said casually:
"You're telling the genin the news in advance. Isn't that cheating? Aren't you worried the Hokage will blame you?"
Asuma scratched his head awkwardly and said in a slightly drunken tone:
"Haha, the old man probably won't care about something like this. Besides, these kids really are outstanding. It's worth telling them ahead of time. I'm really looking forward to their performance in this Chunin Exam. The Hokage will probably want to see Konoha's genin showing off their skills too."
Kurenai Yuhi nodded from the side. She looked around at the group of young graduates and finally fixed her gaze on Naruto, who was sitting quietly off to the side. Her eyes grew thoughtful.
She always felt that Naruto might be even better than what Kakashi had described.
Because this boy looked too mature. Mature enough to seem completely out of place among the other genin around him.
The young ninja were already excitedly discussing strategies and training plans because of the upcoming Chunin Exam. But Naruto sat quietly to the side, completely unmoved, like an outsider who had already seen through everything.
Asuma noticed Kurenai's gaze and asked:
"Kurenai, what are you thinking about?"
Kurenai paused for a moment, looked back, shook her head, and smiled lightly:
"Nothing. I was just wondering if we know too little about Naruto."
Hearing Kurenai Yuhi's words, both Asuma and Kakashi were startled. Their eyes involuntarily drifted toward Naruto, who was sitting quietly on the side.
Kurenai was right.
They still knew too little about Naruto. Before these kids had become genin, they had almost forgotten about this child—the one who carried the hope of the Fourth Hokage, the one whose parents had sacrificed themselves to seal the Nine-Tails, the one who had suffered nothing but unfair treatment ever since.
Even Kakashi, who often tried to keep an eye on Naruto, had found himself paying less and less attention to the boy over time because of his busy mission schedule and the pain of losing his old friends.
And now, the three Jōnin realized something. They felt that none of them could truly see through Naruto—this one genin.