Sharingan Evolution: Proficiency's Path

Riiiiing~

A sudden sharp ringing sound filled the room.

Qingming woke up from his nap, raising his head to see a group of Konoha ninjas walking into the room. The one leading them held a folder, clearly labeled with the words "Top Secret."

It was obvious—the first part of the Chūnin Exam was about to begin.

Unlike the later versions with flashy test elements, the jōnin proctor simply rearranged their seating, opened the sealed folder, and handed out the exam papers.

The only rule emphasized was no cheating; nothing else was mentioned.

Qingming glanced over the exam sheet quickly. The questions weren't overly difficult, and anyone with decent theoretical knowledge should be able to pass.

But merely passing wasn't enough. Qingming's goal was to score as high as possible.

With this thought, he concentrated and began to carefully answer the questions.

As for cheating…

Since the exam questions weren't designed to deliberately trip them up, the "no cheating" rule likely meant exactly that—no cheating. Of course, if someone could avoid getting caught by the proctors, they probably wouldn't be penalized.

However, Qingming didn't need to cheat. With his current level of knowledge, he was more than capable of achieving a good score.

With that, there was no need to take any unnecessary risks.

Time passed by slowly.

About halfway through the exam, a sudden voice broke the silence in the classroom.

"Candidate number 45, you can leave now."

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw one of the proctors standing up and approaching a candidate seated near the middle of the room.

The person, pale-faced, clearly knew what mistake they had made. After some hesitation, they silently gathered their things and left the room.

Afterward, the proctor simply returned to their seat.

The atmosphere in the classroom became noticeably more tense.

But Qingming thought to himself, "What does that have to do with me?"

He refocused his attention on the exam, continuing to answer the questions.

A few more candidates were caught cheating and escorted out, and eventually, the first part of the exam came to an end.

When the bell rang, everyone was told to remain seated. Once the proctor collected all the exam papers, the group was dismissed.

According to the exam schedule, the results would be posted later that afternoon. Those who passed the written test would move on to the second round, which tested comprehensive abilities.

In the meantime, candidates were free to do as they pleased.

Qingming, having stayed up the previous night and rushed to the exam in the morning, took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep.

After resting for two hours, Qingming returned to the Ninja Academy, where the exam results had already been posted.

As expected, he had passed the written test.

Additionally, fifty-nine other candidates had also passed.

Qingming did a quick calculation and realized that the pass rate for the first round was roughly 50%. It was neither too high nor too low compared to previous years.

Clearly, the village hadn't made the first round overly difficult.

This meant the second round of the exam was unlikely to be too challenging either.

Why?

The reason was simple—Konoha needed manpower, especially in terms of mid-level strength.

If the exam were too difficult and only a few candidates passed, it wouldn't meet the demands of the front lines.

So, the second round of the exam wouldn't be too strict.

As for those whose skills might not be up to par…

If they survived the battlefield, they'd be considered elite.

How many would die because of inadequate abilities? That wasn't something Konoha's higher-ups cared about.

In the end, the only thing that mattered to them was winning the war. Everything else was irrelevant.

Shaking his head, Qingming pushed those thoughts aside and headed toward the 44th Training Ground, also known as the "Forest of Death."

That's right—the second round of the exam would take place in the Forest of Death.

The Forest of Death, located within the borders of Konoha, had a diameter of about twenty kilometers. At its center stood a tall tower, with a perimeter surrounded by a barbed wire fence. The area between was filled with forests, lakes, and rivers.

Due to its unique ecosystem, the Forest of Death was home to poisonous insects, ferocious beasts, and toxic gases, making it an ideal place to test a ninja's comprehensive abilities.

As such, it was often used as the primary location for Konoha's Chūnin Exams.

This year was no exception.

After about ten minutes, Qingming arrived outside the Forest of Death.

There were still more than two hours before the exam started, but a fair number of candidates had already gathered.

They stood either in small groups or by themselves, but none were talking. Everyone waited quietly for the exam to begin.

Qingming understood their silence.

Most of these ninjas had survived the battlefield. Many had lost friends and family in the war. Promises made to become Chūnin together had become a distant memory, and now many of them stood alone.

Who could be in a good mood after that?

Even Qingming, standing here, couldn't help but think of Mizutani Shizuko and Ryosuke. How could others not have similar thoughts?

After a brief moment of reflection, Qingming composed himself, found a quiet corner, and sat down. He then began refining his chakra.

With his increased base attributes, Qingming found that practicing the Chakra Refining Technique not only restored his chakra but also gradually increased his chakra reserves.

Just as he had predicted when the Chakra Refining Technique reached level 4, he could now increase his chakra limit by sixteen points for every hour spent refining.

This was double what it had been at level 3.

Now, by training for a maximum of eight hours each day, he could increase his chakra reserves by 128 points.

According to his previous estimate, it would take roughly forty days for his chakra reserves to increase by five thousand points.

This was the benefit of having a high-level Chakra Refining Technique.

The only downside was that advancing the technique from level 4 to level 5 required over 1,400 more proficiency points.

At his current rate of accumulation, it would take around six months to level up.

Six months was far too long!

Otherwise, it would be an excellent way to "increase his chakra supply."

Based on the effect of leveling from 3 to 4, once the Chakra Refining Technique reached level 5, his daily chakra reserves would increase again, likely by no less than 1,300 points.

"Sigh! What a shame."

With a sigh, Qingming stopped thinking about it and refocused on his training.

As time passed, more and more candidates gathered at the exam site.

By the time an hour was left before the exam started, all sixty of the candidates who had passed the written test had arrived.

Only then did the atmosphere become more lively.

People began to talk, exchanging information and gossiping about the other candidates. The scene became much more animated.

During this time, Qingming overheard his own name being mentioned several times. He also noticed that some people were watching him from afar, but he paid them no mind.

What's the point of knowing about me?

In the face of absolute strength, any tricks or schemes were laughable.

Qingming remained unbothered by their scrutiny.

plz support me if you can.

patreon.com/Mano99

all the fanfic is 30 chapter a had and you will get 1 chapter everyday.