Konoha's Tatsuya

At the Hokage Building, Nara Shikaku, having finished his day's work, was just stepping out of his office when a voice called out to him from the hallway.

"Shikaku-sama, the Hokage requests your presence!"

Shikaku turned to see a young ninja with long brown hair, wearing a blue forehead protector. It was Shiranui Genma, a Tokubetsu Jonin of Konoha and a newly recruited member of the Fourth Hokage's guard squad.

"Alright," Shikaku nodded and followed Shiranui Genma towards the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage, what can I do for you?" Shikaku pushed open the door and entered the Hokage's office, finding the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, carefully reviewing a stack of documents.

"Shikaku, the Chunin Exam will likely have to be postponed for a while," Minato said, looking up at Shikaku.

In Konoha, the Nara clan was renowned for their Shadow Techniques and high intelligence. Thanks to their exceptional intellect, the Nara clan's leaders generally held important positions in the village. Nara Shikaku had already begun working in the Hokage Building during the Third Hokage's reign. After Minato took office, he began to delegate many tasks to Shikaku, his classmate.

After the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha had suffered heavy losses across all ranks and urgently needed fresh blood to replenish its forces. Among them, Chunin, as the backbone of the village, were tasked with the most numerous and diverse missions, making the need for personnel the most pressing.

Two days prior, the Konoha Council had decided to organize a Chunin Selection Exam in one month. Nara Shikaku had been appointed as the chief examiner for this exam. Normally, a newcomer like Shikaku wouldn't be assigned as the chief examiner for the Chunin Exams.

However, this Chunin Selection Exam was different from previous ones. It was necessary not only to select enough talented individuals to be promoted to Chunin but also to achieve a genuine assessment, avoiding the appearance of excessive leniency. The balance was difficult to strike.

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had only recently taken office. Any mishap in this Chunin Selection Exam would severely damage his reputation. To be safe, Minato had boldly appointed Nara Shikaku as the chief examiner. Considering the transition of power between the old and new generations, the Third Hokage and others did not object to this decision.

However, compared to his son's age when he became a Chunin Exam proctor, Nara Shikaku was still considered quite old.

"Lord Hokage, has something happened?" Shikaku asked, frowning slightly.

"There's been an incident in the Death Forest. A ninja snake has devoured many of the large animals there, disrupting the ecosystem. It's no longer suitable as a location for practical combat training," Minato explained, rubbing his temples, clearly troubled.

"How could such an ecologically disruptive ninja snake appear in the Death Forest? Didn't the Barrier Corps responsible for maintenance deal with it and report it promptly?" Shikaku asked, puzzled.

Minato sighed. "It was a genin from the village's summon that got into the Death Forest. The Barrier Corps reported it a few months ago, but at the time, the Third Hokage and I were busy with the handover, so we didn't pay much attention to it. Yesterday, I sent Mizuki and Chishima Matsu to deal with it, only to discover that this ninja snake's strength far exceeded our expectations."

Shikaku's expression turned slightly odd. "A genin's summon? And Mizuki and Chishima Matsu couldn't handle it?"

Minato nodded. "Yes, Shikaku. It's not an ordinary ninja snake. Even Lord Orochimaru's giant serpent couldn't suppress it. They were caught off guard by the lack of proper intelligence, which is understandable. Furthermore, I sensed natural energy emanating from that ninja snake."

"Oh? Even Orochimaru's giant serpent couldn't suppress it? Its strength is truly formidable. How was it resolved in the end?" Hearing Minato's words, Shikaku's expression showed his surprise.

In Konoha, Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, was a master of snake-related techniques. The giant serpent he summoned was a powerful summoning beast of the second tier, second only to Manda and Gamabunta. Its strength was difficult even for ordinary Jonin to handle. And Manda, of course, stood at the pinnacle of summoning beasts in the entire ninja world, with power almost comparable to a Tailed Beast.

Minato nodded. "The genin in question sensed his summon's activity nearby and summoned it away directly."

"Hearing you say that, Lord Hokage, makes me rather curious about this genin," Shikaku said with a hint of intrigue.

"Here's his file. Take a look," Minato replied with a smile, handing the documents to Shikaku.

Shikaku took the file and immediately began to read, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected that the genin possessing such a powerful summoning beast would be from the Akimichi clan.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio was one of Konoha's trump cards. Throughout generations, the "Ino-Shika-Cho" formation was typically composed of the current or future clan heads of the three families, forming a close-knit alliance where they supported each other.

This alliance meant that the three families were very familiar with one another. Based on Shikaku's knowledge, there had never been an Akimichi ninja with a powerful ninja snake summon like Tatsuya's. This meant that the ninja snake summon was likely something this young man, Akimichi Tatsuya, had either captured or cultivated himself.

A ninja snake summon comparable to a Jonin... it seemed the Akimichi clan's younger generation had produced another talent! This was good news for the Nara clan, as their allies.

However, when Shikaku reached the section detailing Tatsuya's mission records with Shisui and Itachi, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Shikaku, the village urgently needs personnel, and the Chunin Exam needs to be postponed. Therefore, I'd like you to conduct a separate promotion examination for Akimichi Tatsuya. Based on his strength and mission accomplishments, he's already qualified to be a Chunin," Minato said, seeing that Shikaku had finished reading the file.

"Rest assured, Lord Hokage. I will have someone arrange this as soon as possible," Shikaku replied, nodding in understanding.

Although Tatsuya's completed mission count was still relatively low, it included three A-rank missions and two B-rank missions. Given his strength and accomplishments, conducting a separate examination for him wouldn't raise any objections from other ninjas. Besides, a fifteen-year-old Chunin wasn't unusual in Konoha. Among the major ninja clans, there were many geniuses who reached Chunin rank at that age.

After deciding on Tatsuya's individual Chunin promotion exam, Shikaku discussed the postponed Chunin Selection Exam with Minato in the Hokage's office for a while before leaving.

Stepping out of the Hokage Building, Shikaku hesitated briefly on the street before heading towards the Akimichi clan compound.