No miracle happened.
Especially once Hyuga Akira stopped holding back—even the seven who had still been standing were knocked unconscious.
The clones might have had average strength and limited chakra, but with Blue Flame (Shiranui) and Oni Back, their combat power skyrocketed. One ninjutsu, one taijutsu enhancement—
—and combined with the Gentle Fist, every movement of their opponents was completely read.
There was no way anyone could win.
In the end, even Nawaki and Mushi-hime enjoyed a "peaceful sleep."
"I knew it," Orochimaru sneered.
After spending some time observing Akira, he had already figured him out.
Akira never ended a fight casually.
He always fought for absolute victory—he wouldn't stop until the opponent completely lost the ability to fight.
Unless he couldn't win.
"Still… wasn't that a bit overkill?" Jiraiya muttered from the side.
They could've stopped earlier.
Instead, it turned into a complete wipeout.
Akira glanced at the experience notifications flashing before him.
[+27,312 EXP]
"I think it was great," he replied with a bright grin.
Aside from no item drops, everything had been perfect.
He barely had any opportunities to farm experience lately—there was no way he'd pass this up.
Whether the others were happy or not didn't matter.
He was.
Amid Akira's unrestrained laughter, the Chunin Exams came to an end.
That day—
everyone remembered the name Hyuga Akira.
And not fondly.
"From today onward, you are all chunin."
After the exam, the successful candidates gathered in a room within the arena to receive their chunin vests.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya personally handed them out.
Seven had made it to the end—
six were promoted.
The last one had already cried himself unconscious in the bathroom.
This was just bullying.
He'd lasted to the end too, hadn't he?!
So what had all that effort been for?
…For next time.
Akira tucked away the green flak jacket.
He didn't like green. It always felt… vaguely symbolic in a bad way.
He had already become a chunin in the Rain Village last year.
Yet here in Konoha, it had been delayed by a full year.
Ridiculous.
He still had that Rain Village vest, too.
"Orochimaru-sensei, when do we head to the battlefield?" Akira asked, a hint of anticipation in his voice.
Now that the exams were over, it was time to earn merit—
—and farm experience.
Compared to Akira's excitement, the others all stiffened.
They unconsciously edged away from him.
Who wants to go to the battlefield these days?
Every front had turned into a meat grinder.
Out of ten sent, maybe five came back alive.
Even jonin were dying at alarming rates.
This guy's not normal. Stay away from him.
Akira, of course, didn't notice that his words had just alienated all his newly promoted peers.
Which explained perfectly why—
he had no friends.
"Orders should arrive in a few days," Orochimaru said, rubbing his temples.
"Use this time to train. The stronger you are, the better your chances of survival."
The four battlefronts—
were desperate for manpower.
Another wave of shinobi would be deployed soon.
Tsunade had already dealt with Chiyo's poison and was on her way back.
Soon, the three of them wouldn't remain in the village either.
They would be assigned to the battlefield.
Whether together or separately—
depended on Hiruzen's orders.
Even from the front lines, the Hokage still directed the village.
The newly promoted chunin all wore serious expressions.
They had long prepared themselves for this.
"Still a few days…" Akira muttered, somewhat dissatisfied.
What kind of person looks forward to the battlefield?!
Chunin life was… boring.
Mostly because Orochimaru had gone silent—no idea what he was doing.
Nawaki had mysteriously disappeared, claiming he was undergoing "secret training."
Mushi-hime said she had invented a new insect dish—
one Akira would definitely love.
No.
He would rather die.
So all three of them vanished.
Leaving only Akira at home.
"Hey! That's my dessert!! How can you eat all of it?!"
A shout came from the kitchen.
Very energetic.
"Aah! I'm sorry! I'll give you all of it next time! Waaaah!"
…That escalated quickly.
Akira sighed and scratched his head, walking into the kitchen.
There he saw Hyuga Natsuna—
tied up tightly with Nen threads.
Even her pale neck had faint red marks from the bindings.
Beside her, Machi held the threads in one hand—
and calmly ate cake with the other.
The cake Natsuna had made.
…This kid really had it rough.
"Machi, let her go," Akira said helplessly.
Machi withdrew the threads and immediately ran behind Akira, sniffling as if she'd been wronged.
Pitiful, almost.
"Maybe you should just go home," Akira said.
"No way!!" Natsuna protested, eyes red, sniffling loudly—
and wiping her nose on his clothes.
"Hey—don't wipe that on me!!"
This was exactly why he didn't like little girls.
Since Natsuna moved in, Machi had completely quit doing chores.
Everything was dumped onto Natsuna.
She had resisted fiercely at first—
but under Machi's silent death threats, she eventually gave in, crying.
A grown woman bullying a seven-year-old—
really something.
As for Akira—
he didn't do housework anyway.
So it worked out.
Still…
was being engaged to Hyuga Hiashi really that terrifying?
Suddenly—
both Akira and Machi turned toward the window.
To Nen users, chakra was extremely noticeable.
"You two, go to your rooms," Akira said, waving them off.
At least Natsuna had her own room here.
A small blessing.
Akira sat down on the sofa.
A figure slipped in through the window.
ANBU attire. Masked.
Root—or ANBU.
"Player. Your new mission has arrived," the figure said coldly.
"Are you the one leading this mission?" Akira asked curiously.
He had only done two missions so far—
intercepting a Uchiha squad, and reinforcing the battlefield.
Since returning to Konoha, Root had been completely absent.
Now, finally—
they showed up again.
"Your direct superior is Crow. I am only here to deliver the mission," the Root shinobi replied emotionlessly.
"So…"
"You will carry out this mission alone."
He handed over a scroll.
Akira took it eagerly.
"…Is it to kill Uchiha?"
He immediately unrolled the scroll.
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