"What is a Hokage?"
Answer: No matter what a Hokage is! The Hyuga Clan is the strongest!
"What do you think the fire will is like?"
Answer: No matter what will! The Hyuga Clan is the strongest!
"How do you view your comrades?"
Answer: The Hyuga Clan is the strongest!
"What will you do when faced with an impossible mission?"
Answer: The Hyuga Clan is the strongest!
The entire paper was filled with "The Hyuga Clan is the strongest."
This child must be doing it on purpose.
If he remembered correctly, this child was the offspring of that old monster, Hyuga Ichizoku.
Between the strokes of the handwriting, a force that permeated the paper was filled with anger.
The Main Family and the Branch Family, huh.
The cruel tradition didn't even spare his own daughter.
And with this child's usual intelligence, he didn't seem like someone who would say such arrogant words.
So, he was trying to prank his father, right?
Another troublesome individual.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, as a father.
However, he was powerless to help.
His power was not enough.
He couldn't change anything.
Next, the Third Hokage looked at the other children's test papers, which were all filled with simple and unadorned language.
When he saw a test paper with beautifully written words, the Third Hokage frowned in displeasure.
This was not the kind of thought a child should have; the subtly flattering language was beautiful but useless.
He couldn't see the child's true feelings.
And the intention was obvious.
The Third Hokage looked at the name.
Hiruko.
After noting it down, he looked at the other test papers.
One of the test papers made the Third Hokage smile.
The words were very silly and innocent, full of beauty, and the handwriting was ugly, but it was densely packed together, messy but earnest.
He had thought very seriously.
A lovely, silly child.
Jiraiya, huh.
He was a good child, and his duty as Hokage was to ensure such children grew up happily.
The Third Hokage, smoking, looked at another test paper, which also conveyed earnestness throughout, with elegant and beautiful handwriting, and neat and concise prose, making it incredibly comfortable to read.
Just the handwriting alone was enough to make him take notice.
Unlike Jiraiya, who made careless corrections, making his test paper too messy.
Not to mention its content, although equally innocent, it had depth, and the language was kind and humble, a cut above Jiraiya's.
The Third Hokage looked at the owner's name.
Uchiha Chiri.
Uchiha, huh…
"What a pity," the Third Hokage sighed, "between your clan and the Village, which one will you choose?"
Looking at the mountain of test papers before him, the Third Hokage sighed.
He had to finish reading them today.
It should be almost time, right?
As he thought, the Third Hokage took out his crystal ball.
The afternoon was for physical tests, with everyone in the entire grade testing together.
The sports field was very lively, for a moment it was like a sports festival.
Areas were divided by class.
Basic physical fitness tests such as sprints, long-distance runs, high jumps, and long jumps were conducted.
Each person tested three times, and the best score was recorded.
Although there were many people, it proceeded very quickly.
Miki achieved her usual results.
The level of the first echelon.
The examination was still in full swing, and Chiri remained at an average level.
That fellow was too careless; since no relatives would want to see her results, she was too lazy to perform.
Nor would she be like Jiraiya, who loved to show off to gain attention.
Therefore, she had no motivation to perform.
Miki, on the other hand, performed to gain a certain amount of attention and resources; at this point, she was basically in too deep to back out, and couldn't appear too deliberate even if she wanted to slack off.
Although Miki could be willful, the three old men didn't have many years left to live, so making them happy was also good.
Therefore, the persona of a genius could not be dropped.
So, why was that girl performing?
Hyuga Hitomi.
"What are you looking at?" Chiri asked, leaning closer to Miki.
"I'm watching a little bird take flight," Miki said.
"Hmm?" Chiri followed Miki's gaze and asked, "Is Hitomi any different from usual?"
Chiri didn't feel anything strange.
"The scent is different," Miki said, "It's the scent of confidence."
"Why can you smell it?" Chiri sniffed, but besides the sweaty smell of youth, she smelled nothing.
"The insects smell it; it's pheromones, a chemical substance secreted by the human body that has a communication function," Miki said, "Though most people can't detect it."
"Can I smell these pheromones?" Chiri asked, "That way we'll have a secret way to communicate."
"Not yet," Miki said, "but you can receive them and unconsciously be controlled by the pheromones."
"For example, whether it's happiness or fear, it's controlled by pheromones and can be contagious."
"Pheromones can control emotions?" Chiri asked.
"Yes," Miki said, "Not just emotions, but all five senses and behavior can be controlled by pheromones. Human social behavior is mutually influenced, and pheromones play a crucial role in that."
"That's a dangerous ability," Chiri said, "Isn't that just genjutsu? You can't even detect it!"
Miki glanced at Chiri.
A sharp one.
"You can understand it that way," Miki said.
Her Butterfly Dance: Illusion was performed using pheromones as a medium.
This was the true nature of the Flamebug' genjutsu.
The pheromones diffused in the air, though their Chakra was so weak it could be ignored, and they took effect slowly, they excelled in their stealth.
Even if they couldn't weave large, complex genjutsu, they were more than enough to interfere with the five senses.
Sufficient to edit some simple genjutsu content.
And simple doesn't mean not deadly.
"However, it's not undetectable; human subjective consciousness is enough to notice anomalies."
"In any case, that fellow is a bit dangerous right now," Miki said, "He's radiating a dangerous aura all over."
"Who? Hitomi?" Chiri asked.
Miki nodded.
Chiri looked at Hyuga Hitomi, deep in thought.
Hyuga Hitomi's test performance was much more effortless than before, and she had improved significantly; the written data showed her to be stronger than Miki's demonstrated performance.
She seemed to still have energy to spare.
After a careful look, Chiri noticed many details.
"She's gotten a lot stronger; Hitomi was really good at hiding it before."
Chiri was referring to their usual classes.
The exam continued, and gradually more and more people gathered.
Some students' parents came to watch the excitement.
However, gradually, the atmosphere became subtle.
Some unrelated people also came.
But they were also related.
Most were Shinobi, watching from high vantage points.
Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, Kurama, Ino–Shika–Chō, Aburame, Inuzuka, Sarutobi, Shimura.
Not a single one was missing; they all came secretly.
Everyone wanted to see what kind of person would become the Sandaime's disciple.
And whether the princess of the Thousand Hand Clan could shoulder Konoha's future.
Everyone's gaze was focused here.
The examination proceeded in an orderly manner.
After the shurikenjutsu assessment, it was the highly anticipated one-on-one combat.
Everyone perked up.
Candidates entered the arena one by one to fight.
As each one won or lost.
The expressions of the onlookers outside also varied; even among comrades, a few jests and taunts were inevitable.
Until the main characters entered the arena.
"Tsunade Hime!"
"Vs…"
"Oil Girl Insect Princess!"
As the words fell, there was a slight commotion in the crowd.
Miki narrowed her eyes, looking at Tsunade's surprised expression.
The exam was rigged.
Konoha's traditional art.
The three old men at home were also involved.
"Contestants, enter the arena!"
Tsunade and Miki stepped out from the crowd, facing each other across the field.
"Do you both understand the rules of the exam?"
The rules were no rules; one side surrendered or could no longer continue.
Both nodded.
"Form the Seal of Confrontation."
Synchronously, both raised their hands to form the seal.
"I'm betting my life on this; I'm going to make you cry today, so be prepared, Insect Woman!"
Tsunade spoke fiercely.
"Laughing to death, but not completely dead, Big Forehead," Miki replied coldly, just like their first meeting.
Tsunade's face twisted in anger.
But her hands still honestly formed the Seal of Confrontation.
Because Miki had already formed the seal.
"Begin!"
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!