408. Chunin Exam?

"Teacher, are you saying that all of this was a test for us?" Shimura Kabuto asked with a dark expression after hearing Danzo's words.

"Exactly, that's right," Danzo replied with a calm nod. "From the moment you sent that letter, you had already entered the scope of the trial."

Seeing his teacher's unabashed attitude, Kabuto, as his student, couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.

He had only wanted to teach Chino a lesson, but now he had gotten himself caught up in this mess!

Meanwhile, Uchiha Itachi, after some thought, raised a question. "If this is a test, then those who died, like Captain Ueda, they weren't real, right?"

"Of course not," Danzo answered without hesitation. With a clap of his hands, branches sprouted from the ground beside him, and from those branches emerged familiar figures—not only Captain Ueda but also the two blood-stained 'Red Team'!

"So realistic..." Itachi and Kabuto both exclaimed in awe. No matter how closely they looked, they couldn't find any flaws in these fake bodies. Even the blood on them looked completely real!

"This is a clone I created by combining the Shadow Clone Technique and the Transformation Technique," Danzo explained. "It can simulate both body structure and demeanor quite well."

As he spoke, Captain Ueda smiled and waved at Itachi and Kabuto. "How are you doing, kids?"

Both of them gasped in unison.

In this day and age, could the combination of the Shadow Clone Technique and the Transformation Technique really achieve such an effect?

These clones were so lifelike that it was almost eerie.

"Of course, to ensure that this exam closely resembled real combat, the enemies you faced were real people," Danzo continued.

"They were death row inmates I carefully selected from the prison, each of whom had taken many lives. Most importantly, these people harbored deep hatred for me and Konoha. So, when they attacked you, they wouldn't have held back at all. As it turns out, the results were quite good."

Danzo looked at the two boys with approval.

Throughout the trial, both Shimura Kabuto and Uchiha Itachi had performed exceptionally well.

The former was resourceful and calm, demonstrating great courage and wisdom, whether it was in luring the enemy away earlier or staying behind alone to create an escape opportunity for his teammates.

His control over senjutsu chakra had also improved.

Of course, the most brilliant move was faking his death to trigger Itachi and Chino's awakening—truly devious!

Worthy of being the disciple of the "Darkness of the Shinobi."

The latter, Itachi, fully displayed the terrifying strength of a genius from the Uchiha clan.

Upon his first awakening, he directly achieved the Three Tomoe Sharingan.

What kind of monstrous talent was this? Even Sasuke only had one tomoe in one eye during his first awakening.


It just goes to show that one of the "Three Legendary Shinobi" truly lives up to his reputation.

In any case, with the Three Tomoe Sharingan, Itachi's strength had already far surpassed his peers.

If not for his chakra and physical stamina still needing some work, his strength might have already reached the level of a Jonin.

Moving forward, Itachi's training should focus on enhancing his taijutsu and physical conditioning to prevent his mind from being affected by the sudden surge in ocular power (Yin Release chakra).

In this timeline, Danzo didn't want to see the Uchiha clan reduced to just a handful of members again.

As for the last member of the trio—Chino.

She mainly filled the gap of not having a girl in the three-person team.

Ahem... To be honest, Chino's talent was also incredibly strong.

Awakening the Bloodline Limit: Blood Dragon Eye at the age of seven was a testament to her potential.

Her training would follow a similar pattern to Itachi's, focusing on improving her taijutsu to avoid being led astray by the powerful Yin Release chakra.

In short, Danzo was very satisfied with the performance of all three of them.

After all, the mysterious masked man he had sent out was at the level of an average Jonin.

If not for Itachi and Chino's sudden breakthroughs catching him off guard, the outcome of the battle would have been uncertain.

But such is the nature of the battlefield—luck and unexpected events are part of it.

A win is a win, and as for the losers... well, they're already dead.

"Since you've successfully passed the exam, it's time to receive your rewards," Danzo said, reaching into his robe and pulling out two items.

When Itachi saw what they were under the moonlight, his heart began to race. "That's... a ninja headband!"

He took the headband from Danzo as if it were a treasure, unable to suppress a delighted smile.

He had submitted multiple requests to the academy for early graduation, but they had all been rejected on the grounds that he needed to undergo an exam.

Now, he had finally gotten his hands on the headband—how could he not be excited?

Kabuto, on the other hand, reacted indifferently.

He just wanted to focus on being a researcher; he didn't need to become a ninja...

"I'll take care of notifying the ninja academy for you," Danzo said. "From now on, the three of you will form a team and train under me to prepare for the Chunin Exams."

Hearing this, Kabuto nodded in resignation.

Forming a team was something he had expected—otherwise, their teacher wouldn't have had the three of them undergo the trial together.

As for the training, he could understand that too.


After all, both he and Chino were Danzo's disciples, so it made sense for the famous "Darkness of the Shinobi" to personally guide them.

"But what's this about the Chunin Exams?!" Kabuto rarely questioned his teacher so directly.

"We just passed the exam to become genin, didn't we?!"

Danzo scratched his head and explained, "Well, the higher-ups are planning to invite other countries to participate in Konoha's Chunin Exams. As my disciples, you can't let me be embarassed on such an important occasion, can you?"

Danzo's retort left Kabuto speechless.

He really wanted his senior brother to come back and help their teacher save face, but having a Kage-level fighter with the Mangekyo Sharingan participate in the Chunin Exams would be a bit too much, wouldn't it?

And besides himself and Chino, it seemed their teacher didn't have any other disciples?

Thinking this, Kabuto let out a deep sigh.

There was no helping it—such was the fate of being the disciple of the "Darkness of the Shinobi."

"But if Chino and I are your disciples, why does Itachi have to join too?" Kabuto narrowed his eyes, staring at his teacher.

Danzo smiled calmly and replied, "Simple. Because I plan to take Itachi as my disciple as well."