Bang!

With the muffled sound of fists and feet colliding, the two figures stepped back from each other.

This was a secluded training ground, and the two people in the center were Shinji and Bai, practicing their martial arts.

Seeing his attack neutralized once again, Shinji frowned slightly.

Over the past few days of practice, he had clearly felt his progress, but no matter how much he improved, Bai always gave him the impression that with just a little more effort, he could win!

Instead, he was pushed back time and time again.

“Let’s try the breathing technique!” After making up his mind, Shinji looked at Bai and said, “Be careful, I'm going all out this time!”

Bai nodded in agreement, his expression serious.

“Total concentration!”

Huff...

After exhaling, Shinji's figure flashed, and he threw a straight punch aimed directly at Bai’s face.

“!”

A hint of surprise flashed in Bai's eyes, as if he hadn’t expected Shinji's speed to suddenly increase so much.

Bang bang bang...

In an instant, the two exchanged four or five blows.

With each punch Shinji threw, he exhaled misty breaths; each move seemed to follow a certain rhythm, and both his speed and power had significantly increased compared to before.

This left Bai feeling very uncomfortable, and he rarely showed signs of fluster.

Huff...

After lightly exhaling again, Shinji's speed surged once more, his figure swayed, and he circled around to Bai’s back, then swept a side kick!

But just as the side kick connected with Bai, with a whoosh, Bai quickly leaped up, not only avoiding Shinji’s side kick but also lightly tapping the leg Shinji had swept out with his toes, using the momentum to turn and return the kick to Shinji.

“What!?”

Shinji was taken aback, and with no time to change his move to dodge, he could only awkwardly raise his arms to protect his vital points.

Bang...

Accompanied by a muffled sound, Shinji was pushed back once again, and the rhythm of his breathing technique was disrupted.

Feeling a slight numbness in his arms, Shinji pouted, “Bai, your kick’s power is off; are you going easy on me?”

Bai panted lightly, “Shinji, it’s already quite strenuous to block your attacks; I don’t have any extra strength to intentionally let you win.”

Shinji shook his arms to relieve the pain, “You are going easy on me.”

Bai didn’t continue to explain; instead, he walked to the side of the training ground and handed Shinji a bottle of water. “Shinji, let’s take a break.”

Shinji took the water and drank silently.

He knew Bai had keenly sensed his physical limits, not only secretly reducing the intensity of their sparring but also actively suggesting a break to save his face.

After reviewing the earlier exchanges, Shinji confirmed that the ‘breathing technique’ significantly assisted his martial arts.

Without using the ‘breathing technique,’ his martial arts foundation posed no threat to Bai at all.

But once he used the ‘breathing technique,’ even in a half-baked state after just two weeks of practice, he could still create some trouble for Bai.

“The use of the water breathing technique is still not proficient; the rhythm is easily disrupted.”

Shinji silently reflected.

Bai took a sip of water and casually asked, “Shinji, can I ask why you’re working so hard to train when you’re already quite strong?”

Shinji inwardly scoffed, “If I say it’s to protect the ninja world, would you believe me?”

Who knows what kind of threat will invade the ninja world next; he couldn’t afford to slack off.

Seeing Shinji silent, Bai cautiously probed, “Is it because of that person? Why... why did he do such things?”

Shinji glanced at Bai, then turned his gaze away. “I don’t know either.”

Bai was naturally referring to Uchiha Itachi, who had slaughtered his entire clan.

It was no surprise that he had such doubts.

Many people in the village shared the same confusion; no one understood why Itachi, as the clan’s young leader, would personally destroy his own family.

But Shinji had a gut feeling that Bai cared too much about him and the Uchiha clan, even though Bai hid it well.

The next day.

“What? The Chunin Exam?”

Shinji was somewhat surprised in the classroom.

At the podium, Teacher Iruka was still explaining the arrangements for the upcoming Chunin Exam at the ninja school.

In simple terms, students like Shinji in the lower grades would be getting a break.

Whenever the Chunin Exam was mentioned, Shinji instinctively thought of Naruto’s Chunin Exam in the original story.

But in fact, the Chunin Exam is held once every three years.

The scale can vary greatly.

Naruto’s exam was very large in scale, while under normal circumstances, the scale would be smaller.

The venue might not necessarily be in Konoha; all villages that have alliances or cooperative relationships with Konoha are generally qualified to host the Chunin Exam.

“Awesome! We get a holiday!”

“I heard many villages will send people to participate this time.”

“Then there will be a good show to watch, right?”

The students were all smiles, as if the village was about to hold a festival.

In fact, the Chunin Exam is indeed not much different from a festival; during the final match, villagers could even buy tickets to watch.

After leaving the ninja school, Shinji and Bai strolled through the streets.

Suddenly, a commotion could be heard from a distance.

Shinji turned to look and saw a procession approaching from the end of the street, with a lavish carriage at its center.

Bai looked over as well. “It looks like the symbol of the Land of Demons; is the priestess from the Land of Demons also attending this Chunin Exam?”

Shinji’s expression stiffened. “The priestess from the Land of Demons?”

Bai said, “Yes, the one in the carriage is probably the priestess from the Land of Demons.”

“What is she doing in Konoha? Has my illusion been broken?” Shinji thought to himself, feeling anxious, and looked again in the direction the Land of Demons’ procession was moving, pondering, “Are they going to the Hokage Tower?”

Noticing that Shinji's expression was somewhat off, Bai asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Shinji shook his head and left the street.

Even though he knew it was very unusual for Zhi Yuan to appear in Konoha at this moment, he couldn’t take any action.

This was the central area of Konoha, only a few streets away from the Hokage Tower, and any action he took could lead to unpredictable consequences.

The only thing he could do now was pray that Zhi Yuan hadn’t lifted the psychological suggestion he had placed on her.

Anxiously, Shinji spent the day.

This day, no Anbu came to control him, nor did any rumors about him or his Mangekyō Sharingan circulate, as if the arrival of the priestess from the Land of Demons had nothing to do with him.

Later that day, the teams from Sunagakure, Kusagakure, Amegakure, Takigakure, and Kirigakure successively arrived in Konoha.

Upon hearing this news, Shinji was filled with confusion.

In his impression, Konoha’s relationship with Kirigakure had been quite tense, and Kirigakure had never sent people to participate in Konoha’s Chunin Exams before.

The number of people sent by other ninja villages was also noticeably higher than usual.

“It seems that participating in the Chunin Exam is just a pretense; the real purpose of these villages is to verify the rumors of the Uchiha clan’s extermination.”

After a bit of thought, he understood why these ninja villages were so eager to send people to this Chunin Exam.

It’s worth noting that the Uchiha clan had been a prestigious family for nearly a thousand years, already at the top of the ninja world before the major ninja villages were established.

Thus, the news of the Uchiha clan’s extermination was a bombshell for the entire ninja world.

In the evening, Shinji didn’t let his guard down and continued to practice martial arts with Bai.

During a break, he wiped the sweat off with a towel and casually asked, “Why is the Land of Demons sending people to participate in the Chunin Exam? Do they have their own ninja village?”

Bai shook his head. “I haven’t heard of a ninja village in the Land of Demons.”

“Then what is the priestess from the Land of Demons doing here?”

Bai laughed and said, “I’m not sure, but I heard that the priestess from the Land of Demons has been wandering around the village all day, visiting many shops.”

“Oh.”

Shinji responded, contemplating.

Rustle...

Suddenly, a sound came from the bushes beside the training ground.

Shinji and Bai looked over.

A figure emerged from the bushes.

She was small, dressed in a gorgeous gown, her cheeks puffed as if she were chewing something, and she held a skewer of three-color dumplings in her hand.

Zhi Yuan!?

Shinji was startled and recognized her identity.

This hurried figure that had popped out of the bushes was none other than the priestess from the Land of Demons he had just spoken of with Bai.

Zhi Yuan seemed surprised that anyone would be in such a remote place; she made a shushing gesture to Shinji and Bai, then lifted her gown, preparing to sneak away.

But just after taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped, tilted her head, and ran in front of Shinji, staring intently at him: “You...”