Shortly afterward, all the matches concluded, and the awards and promotion ceremonies were held in the center of the Village Hidden in the Sand arena.
Despite the somewhat delicate atmosphere in the Village Hidden in the Sand, the basic etiquette was not omitted, with the third Kazekage and the third Hokage both in attendance.
When the final results of the Chunin exams were announced, and Shinichi Higashino's name was read out, he was awarded Chunin status on the spot as the champion and the one with the best overall performance.
Once again, the entire audience erupted in a wave of cheers and applause.
Shinichi stepped forward and received the new vest and official certificate representing his Chunin status from the third Hokage, who was serving as a special award presenter.
He could feel countless gazes, including those of the Jonin leading teams and participants from different ninja villages in the stands, all focused on him.
Curiosity, scrutiny, apprehension, admiration... a whole host of emotions.
He knew that from this moment on, the name Shinichi Higashino would no longer be limited to the category of Genius Genin in Konoha.
With two undisputed victories, especially his performance in finally breaking through the Sand Shield, known as having absolute defense and revealing himself as the developer of powerful Ninjutsu, he successfully elevated his reputation and strength to a new and broader level.
Three days later, in a small town inn on the border of the Land of Wind.
The day after the Chunin exams ended, the Konoha group began their journey home.
At this moment, Shinichi, having finished his daily routine of training, returned to his room, closed the door, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
The fatigue from days of fierce fighting and long journeys did not diminish the gleam in his eyes.
With a slight thought, his system panel, visible only to him, quietly appeared.
Name: Shinichi Higashino
[Occupation: Chunin (new), Swordsman]
[Talents: Omitted]
[Number of draws: 1 (Blue)]
First, the Genin occupation in the job category has been replaced by the Chunin.
This was exactly what Shinichi had expected. Winning the championship in the highly anticipated Chunin exams and receiving personal recognition and approval from two kage, this official recognition from the highest level of the ninja system of the two major ninja villages was extremely efficient and directly propelled the rapid advancement of his occupation level.
[Chunin: You are now a core member of the ninja force and a team leader. Your abilities in formulating complex tactics, combining various Ninjutsu, and training in chakra nature and Change in Chakra Form have significantly improved. Your efficiency in guiding others in training has also slightly increased.]
The occupation attributes of the ninja system do not provide direct numerical bonuses like those of the swordsman system, but they are more like an elevation of authority and an efficiency amplifier.
Under the influence of the Chunin occupation, his future learning, training, and practical application in ninja-related fields will receive more efficient benefits.
It even possesses the ability to enhance guidance, which aligns with the fact that Chunin can serve as teachers.
Another important change is that in the talent bar, Proficient In Ninjutsu (Green) has been quietly changed to Mastery In Ninjutsu (Blue).
[Master of Ninjutsu (Blue): Your understanding of Ninjutsu principles and chakra control has reached an exceptional level. You can perceive the intrinsic connections between different Ninjutsu, easily combine and derive variations from the Ninjutsu you have mastered, or choose the most effective Ninjutsu to counter in the blink of an eye during combat.]
This upgrade was the direct reward for the success of his final strategy.
Using the shocking achievement of breaking Sunagakure's Absolute Defense as the hammer, and the astonishing act of publicly declaring himself the developer of an A-rank Sealless Ninjutsu as the anvil, the intense recognition forged by both finally broke through the bottleneck caused by previously low occupation-level recognition efficiency, pushing his long-accumulated ninjutsu cognition past the threshold of blue quality in one stroke.
In contrast, while Taijutsu shone brightly in this exam and attracted widespread attention, it was not immediately upgraded to blue level.
This was also within Shinichi's expectations. Unlike the Proficient In Ninjutsu (Green), which was already close to breaking through, the deep impression of his Taijutsu would require more time to settle and ferment.
He anticipated that this upgrade would not be far off. Perhaps within a month after returning to Konoha, as details of the matches spread and were discussed, the blue Taijutsu talent would come naturally.
Finally, and as expected, the panel clearly displayed: [Number of draws: 1 (Blue)].
This is a precious opportunity that can only be unlocked when one is promoted to Chunin or higher. A brand new talent, guaranteed to be of blue quality, is about to be in his hands.
Shinichi's gaze fell on the line [Number of draws: 1 (Blue)], a blue talent, each of which could bring about a qualitative change.
But he did not rush to extract it immediately.
He planned to return to Konoha first, and then, as always, solemnly bathe and change his clothes, and perform a seemingly devout prayer that he knew had no practical effect but was full of personal ritual before drawing the talent, in order to receive this important gift.
Even though it's not very useful, it's still important to have a sense of ritual.
After closing the panel, Shinichi walked to the window and pushed it open.
The night sky over the border town was clear, with sparse but bright stars, and the distant mountain ranges could be vaguely seen in the direction of the Land of Fire.
However, his thoughts drifted to the more distant future. Combining fragments of memories from his previous life with what he had seen and heard in this life, he had a rough but vague outline of the storm that was about to sweep across the Shinobi World.
Next year, as tensions between the various ninja villages continue to escalate, a silent arms race will intensify.
Each ninja village will desperately expand its military strength, and batches of Ninja Academy Students will be rushed to graduate early and fill the ever-growing ninja army.
Just as the Village Hidden in the Sand was gearing up for a major battle, Sasori of the Red Sand, who had long been dissatisfied with the higher-ups, took a look at the situation: "You old fossil, you played so badly last season that my parents were ruined, and yet you still have the nerve to plan a new one?"
So this ruthless man, who believed art is eternal, simply cleaned out his own ranks and took care of the third Kazekage.
When the third Kazekage went missing, the Village Hidden in the Sand initially tried to cover it up and search for him, but as time went on, the news inevitably leaked out like a sieve after such a high-ranking kage disappeared.
When this news reaches the distant Village Hidden in the Cloud...
What? The Kazekage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Sand, is gone? I'll go see what's going on.
Then the Third Raikage, famous for his physical toughness and decisiveness, and sometimes rather abstract behavioral patterns, perhaps found reports insufficient.
He personally led an elite squad, staging an extreme infiltration, passing through more than a dozen small countries, and swaggering into the territory of the Land of Wind under the watchful eyes of the Land of Fire and Earth.