A short while later, every match was over. The awards ceremony and promotion rite took place right in the center of the Hidden Sand's massive arena.
The Sand's mood was a little awkward, but they still followed proper etiquette. Both the Third Kazekage and the Third Hokage attended in person.
When the final Chunin Exam results were announced and Shinichi Higashino's name was called out as champion and top overall performer, he was immediately granted Chunin rank on the spot. The stadium erupted again—this time with a wave of stunned applause mixed with genuine awe.
Shinichi stepped forward and received the crisp new flak jacket and official certification scroll from the Third Hokage himself.
He could feel thousands of eyes on him—curious, appraising, wary, admiring—from Sand shinobi, visiting Jonin, and contestants from every village.
From this moment on, the name "Shinichi Higashino" was no longer just "Konoha's genius Genin."
With two undisputed victories—especially the one that shattered the so-called Absolute Defense—and openly revealing himself as the creator of a powerful new jutsu, he had just catapulted his reputation and strength onto an entirely new, much wider stage.
---
Three days later, in a modest inn on the border of the Land of Wind.
The Konoha delegation had set out for home the very next day after the exams ended.
Shinichi had just finished his daily training. He returned to his room, closed the door, and let out a long, slow breath.
The exhaustion from days of fierce fighting and long travel didn't dull the sharp light in his eyes.
With a thought, his personal interface appeared—visible to him alone.
[Name: Shinichi Higashino]
[Class: Chunin (New) / Swordsman]
[Talents: (list abbreviated – key changes below)]
[Draws Available: 1× (Blue)]
First, the [Genin] entry had been replaced by the brand-new [Chunin] class.
Exactly as he'd expected. Winning the championship in front of the entire Sand Village, with both Kage personally witnessing and acknowledging it, provided the highest-level "official recognition" from two major ninja systems. The promotion happened almost instantly.
[Chunin: You are now a backbone leader in the shinobi forces. Significant improvements to complex tactical planning, multi-jutsu combinations, chakra nature and shape transformation training. Minor boost to efficiency when instructing others in shinobi talents.]
Unlike the Swordsman class, the shinobi class didn't give raw stat bonuses. Instead, it acted like a "permission upgrade" and efficiency amplifier. From now on, every aspect of his ninja-related learning, training, and combat application would improve noticeably.
It even included a small boost to teaching others—fitting for a rank that often mentored teams.
The second major change: [Ninjutsu Adept (Green)] had quietly evolved into [Ninjutsu Specialist (Blue)].
[Ninjutsu Specialist (Blue): Your understanding of jutsu principles and chakra control has reached an outstanding level. You can easily see the inner connections between different techniques, organically combine or derive variations from what you already know, and instantly select the most effective jutsu in the heat of battle.]
This upgrade was the direct reward for his finals strategy.
The shocking feat of "shattering Sand's Absolute Defense," paired with the bombshell reveal that he had created an A-rank seal-less jutsu, forged an overwhelmingly strong public perception.
It finally shattered the previous bottleneck caused by his low class tier, pushing his accumulated ninjutsu recognition straight past the Blue threshold.
By comparison, his taijutsu talent—though it had shone brilliantly during the exams and drawn massive attention—hadn't jumped to Blue yet.
That was also expected. Unlike ninjutsu, which had been right on the edge, taijutsu needed more time to settle and ferment in the public mind.
He could already feel it wouldn't be long—probably within a month of returning to Konoha, once the full details of the matches spread and were discussed. A Blue taijutsu trait was basically guaranteed.
And finally, the expected bonus: [Draws Available: 1× (Blue)].
This rare opportunity only unlocked at Chunin rank and above. A brand-new, guaranteed Blue-tier talent trait was now waiting for him.
Shinichi stared at the glowing line, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Blue traits were game-changers.
But he didn't draw immediately.
He planned to wait until they reached Konoha, then follow his usual ritual—bathe, change clothes, perform that solemn but ultimately pointless "prayer" he did purely for personal ceremony—before pulling the new trait.
Ritual or not, it still felt right.
He closed the interface and walked to the window, pushing it open.
The night sky over the border town was clear, stars sparse but bright. In the distance, the rolling mountains of the Land of Fire were faintly visible.
Yet his thoughts drifted much farther ahead.
Combining his fragmented memories of the original timeline with everything he had seen in this world, he already had a rough outline of the storm about to sweep the ninja world.
Next year, as tensions between the villages escalated, a silent arms race would go into overdrive.
Every major village would frantically expand its forces. Batch after batch of Academy students would be rushed through early graduation to fill the swelling ranks.
While the Hidden Sand was gearing up for war, their own Red Sand Scorpion—already fed up with the higher-ups—would take one look and decide:
You old bastards screwed up the last war so badly my parents died, and now you want to start another round?
So the artist who believed "art is eternal" would clean house in the most literal way—by assassinating the Third Kazekage.
Once the Kazekage vanished, the Sand would try to keep it quiet at first, but such a huge disappearance couldn't stay hidden forever. The news would leak like sand through a sieve.
When the Hidden Cloud heard about it…
Wait, the Sand's leader is gone?
Let's go take a look.
And the Third Raikage—famous for his insane durability and sometimes… abstract decision-making—would decide a report wasn't enough. He'd personally lead an elite squad on a "extreme penetration" run, crossing over a dozen small countries right under the noses of the Fire and Earth nations, marching straight into Wind Country territory.
Only to find… nothing but sand and rocks. Broke as hell.
Maybe they decided the place had zero value. Or maybe the Third Raikage finally cooled off from his hot-blooded state and realized charging across half the continent with a small team was, in hindsight, a bit much.
By then the Sand—now unified under the magnetic Rasa—would be ready for all-out war.
The Raikage would look at the situation, realize he was outnumbered, and decide a bloody fight for worthless desert wasn't worth it.
So he'd order a "victorious retreat."
Afterward, both sides would loudly declare total victory.
Internal crisis would create a new leader. Thanks to his Magnet Release and performance during the emergency, Rasa would rise to become the Fourth Kazekage.
New boss, new problems:
1. The previous Kazekage mysteriously vanished—need an explanation for the village.
2. The treasury was drained from the search and war prep—gotta strike while the iron is hot.
3. He needed to build authority fast.
After thinking it over, Rasa would slap his thigh:
Classic move. Let's pin this giant black pot on our dear old neighbor and ally—Konoha.
So the Sand would launch a surprise attack and declare war.
The Cloud would see that and think: Perfect, you hit Konoha? We'll hit Konoha too!
The Stone and Mist would look at each other: Can't let them have all the fun.
And just like that, the Third Great Ninja War would explode across the entire shinobi world in a chain reaction of accumulated grudges and cold calculations.
Shinichi shook his head, pushing the slightly mocking metaphors out of his mind. His eyes turned sharp and calm again.
Humor aside, war was brutally real.
He had roughly one year of relative peace left.
He had to use this window—along with his new [Chunin] privileges and the upcoming Blue trait—to raise his strength high enough to stand firm in the coming storm… and maybe even steer its direction.
Next steps… how should I play this?
With the new class and the upgraded ninjutsu trait, he estimated he was already close to proper Jonin-level combat power.
He might still lack a bit in experience, mission record, and handling complex situations, but in pure fighting strength he was almost there.
And in one year, when the war's shadow truly descended, he was confident he would be solidly on the Jonin line—maybe even stronger.
He would be just ten years old then.
That was more than two years earlier than Kakashi, who became Jonin at twelve (almost thirteen).
And in Shinichi's opinion, Kakashi's promotion at that age probably hadn't even met the full Jonin standard yet. He got crushed by a Stone Jonin, lost his father's White Light Chakra Sabre, and even an eye. His real breakthrough only came later, under the extreme pressure of losing his comrades and awakening the Sharingan.
"I should have genuine, solid Jonin combat power—or better—within a year," Shinichi calculated silently. "At that level, as long as I don't charge into the worst meat-grinder battlefields or take the most suicidal missions, I should be able to protect myself just fine when the chaos starts."
With that thought, he turned away from the starry sky, ready to end the day.
But the moment he moved—
A vague, indescribable pull rose from deep inside his chest.
It wasn't strong, but it was clear—like a stone dropped into still water, sending out perfect ripples.
"Hm?"
He stopped. Instinctively reopened the interface and looked straight at the [Draws Available: 1× (Blue)] line.
The faint, magnetic feeling didn't fade. It grew sharper, more urgent, as if silently urging him forward.
The [Auspicious Omen] trait was kicking in.
The last time he felt something like this was three years ago, at the Konoha cemetery while talking to Kakashi.
That vague pull had guided him to speak words that perfectly echoed the Second Hokage's final will—right under the Third Hokage's watchful gaze—earning him far more attention and resources than any normal Academy student could dream of.
So this time…
Shinichi's eyes sharpened. He didn't hesitate.
Screw waiting for the ritual back in Konoha.
Opportunity waited for no one.
Right here, in this border-town inn, under the starlight—this was the perfect moment.
He took a deep breath, steadied his slightly quickened heartbeat, and focused every ounce of attention on that glowing line.
Draw.
A tiny, almost imperceptible ripple passed through his mind and vanished.
The "1× (Blue)" disappeared.
Then, at the very bottom of his talent list, a deep azure light bloomed—like a star igniting in the deep sea.
Within that radiance, brand-new text rapidly formed and solidified.
[Clone (Blue): You may replicate a portion of your own origin and fuse it with the bloodline genes of a living being to create an independent, permanent, continuously growing clone. The clone shares full consciousness and memory with the main body. It inherits one Class trait and 50% of your Talent traits (rounded down), including at most one Purple-grade talent. It cannot inherit this trait itself or any talents unrelated to its assigned Class. Specific inherited traits may be freely reassigned by the main body through physical contact.]
[Note: The outside world can form perceptions of the clone, but the effect is only 50% of normal. All resulting cognitive effects feed directly back to the main body. Sacrificing one Purple-grade talent possessed by the main body will upgrade this trait to Purple grade. This is the only upgrade method.]
[The main body may actively reclaim the clone, absorbing a small portion of its origin to strengthen itself. Once reclaimed, the clone cannot be restored. If the clone dies, it cannot be restored.]
Oh?
Now this… is an unexpected surprise.
Shinichi's eyes gleamed. The corners of his mouth curled upward in a smile he couldn't suppress.
Looks like the next phase of the plan needs some serious adjustments.
He stood by the open window, staring into the starry borderland night, already recalculating every future move with cold, delighted precision.