At a training ground in Konoha Ninja Village, Orochimaru quietly watched the three in front of him—his students.
"You've been following me for several months now. I've seen your growth," Orochimaru glanced at Tian Yuan, Uchiha Juken, and Anko. "The Chunin exams are about to start. Do you three want to participate?"
"Let me tell you in advance, this Chunin exam isn't simple. Ninja Villages from the other four great nations will come to compete—a gathering of the strong, so it will be very difficult."
"I want to participate," Tian Yuan said. Only by raising his ninja level could he act more freely in the future and take missions alone.
"Me too," Uchiha Juken nodded promptly. His strength had improved a lot over these months.
"Then I'll join too," Anko raised her hand.
"Anko, your strength is still lacking," Orochimaru slowly said after hearing Anko.
Though Anko was among the stronger Genin, she was still a bit short of Chunin level. Maybe another year of training would be enough.
"Orochimaru-sensei, the Chunin exam hasn't started yet, right? So you can train me," Anko quickly said.
"Hmm, alright," Orochimaru thought and nodded. "The Chunin exam will start in half a month. Tian Yuan, Uchiha Juken, what do you two think?"
"Orochimaru-sensei, I won't train," Tian Yuan said. "With my strength, passing the Chunin exam shouldn't be too hard."
"That's true," Orochimaru smiled slightly. Given Tian Yuan's power, passing the exam was easy. At nine years old, having Chunin strength was extraordinary—a genius indeed.
"Orochimaru-sensei, I want to find my clan members to train me. I feel my Sharingan is almost ready," Uchiha Juken said.
"Sharingan," Orochimaru smiled, "Good, no problem."
"Anko, work hard," Tian Yuan encouraged.
"Don't worry," Mitarashi Anko nodded.
Then Tian Yuan and the others left the training ground.
Soon after, Tian Yuan met the Anbu, saying the Hokage requested him, which puzzled him. Why would the Third Hokage want to see him?
As for the old Root investigations, Tian Yuan didn't believe anything would come out now. Too much time had passed. If something was to be discovered, it would have happened already.
Recently, Tian Yuan had quietly been completing missions, sometimes eliminating rogue ninjas or ninjas from other villages.
Of course, Tian Yuan never let others see his conspicuous Konoha headband.
Most of the time, Tian Yuan simply killed those ninjas. Encounters like Sasori's were rare.
With Tian Yuan's current Jonin-level power, only elite Jonin posed a real threat.
Although his Chakra was maybe at Chunin level, his overall strength was very strong.
Naturally, some techniques couldn't be used yet, like the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Exposing that would be hard to explain, though claiming to be an Uchiha clansman might work—who would investigate his ancestry closely?
At this moment, Tian Yuan had not faced the clan or village's full power, so he kept things under wraps.
Honestly, Sharingan added some strength but not a huge amount.
Mainly, Tian Yuan now had too many abilities.
His strongest aspect was taijutsu.
"Tian Yuan, Genin, please enter," an Anbu stepped aside.
"Oh." Tian Yuan, curious, walked in and saw the Third Hokage alone. "Old man, what do you need?"
"Ahem, Tian Yuan, how's it going with Orochimaru lately?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
"Alright. Orochimaru-sensei studies ninjutsu deeply and is one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin," Tian Yuan said carelessly. "Old man, just say what you want."
"Do you still have that cigarette?" Sarutobi Hiruzen whispered.
"Old man, you called me here just for that?" Tian Yuan was surprised. Hiruzen had asked for cigarettes before, and Tian Yuan had given some. Had he already smoked them all?
"That's one matter," Hiruzen awkwardly said. "Also, did you give Asuma those cigarettes?"
"No, not at all," Tian Yuan shook his head. "Others maybe, but I only gave you and Jiraiya."
"I see," Hiruzen thought for a moment. He'd noticed Asuma had gotten hooked on smoking, and though it improved his performance, he was becoming more rogue-like.
"I'll give you the cigarettes tomorrow. If there's nothing else, I'll go." Tian Yuan complained. For this, Hiruzen had the Anbu invite him over—was that necessary?
"Oh, nothing else," Hiruzen replied. Just as Tian Yuan was about to leave, he said, "By the way, Tian Yuan, go find Tsunade more often."
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