Chapter 170: Chunhin Exams Intelligence

A few days later, Namikaze Minato returned from a mission, bringing back an injured Obito and Nohara Rin. Consequently, Feng Zhe went to the hospital to visit them.

Rin was delighted to see Feng Zhe. Although Obito still had a sharp tongue, he expressed his gratitude as well.

"Feng Zhe, this time we ran into several Special Jounin from Sunagakure. If it weren't for the Fourth Hokage, we probably wouldn't have made it back."

Obito's leg was fractured. Seeing the distinct cut marks, Feng Zhe asked, "You ran into puppet users?"

"Yeah, that Special Jounin named Sasori was terrifying. I almost got killed by him."

Rin chimed in. The mention of Sasori caused a brief internal shock for Feng Zhe; judging by the timeline, Sasori had not yet defected from his village.

At that moment, Kakashi appeared in the hospital, still wearing his mask, though even that could not conceal his inner restlessness.

It seemed that anyone capable of becoming Might Guy's close friend was bound to be an impulsive person.

The group chatted and laughed in the hospital room. During the conversation, they learned that Feng Zhe was about to participate in the Chunin Exams, which took everyone by surprise.

Obito, in particular, immediately protested that it was unfair.

On the other hand, Kakashi seemed to know some inside information. He stated, "The Third Shinobi World War hasn't ended yet, and other villages have produced geniuses. It seems they are going to hold a joint Chunin Exam."

"I see."

The conflicts among the Five Great Shinobi Nations were constant. Especially this time, sending geniuses to participate in the Chunin Exams was a rare opportunity to showcase national strength.

Konoha had been under siege for so long, and even during this brief window to catch their breath, they needed to demonstrate their power—specifically, the strength of their genius shinobi.

This was precisely why Feng Zhe was being pushed forward.

Having figured this out, Feng Zhe returned home only to be summoned into the study by Namikaze Minato.

"If you don't want to participate in the Chunin Exams, I can help you decline."

"No need, I'd also like to test my skills against the experts from other shinobi villages."

"Here is the roster of participants from the other villages for this exam. These are the individuals you should pay special attention to."

With that, Minato actually handed over top-secret village intelligence to Feng Zhe.

Feng Zhe knew that, as the Fourth Hokage, this was technically a violation of protocol, yet Minato did it anyway.

Namikaze Minato truly regarded Feng Zhe as his own son and genuinely cared for his well-being. For this, Feng Zhe felt deeply grateful.

"Thank you."

Feng Zhe began reviewing the documents while Minato started explaining the details.

First was Sunagakure. The participants this time included Chiyo's relative Chiyo Whirlwind and Yura, along with Akasuna no Sasori.

"Isn't that Sasori already a Special Jounin? Why is he still participating in the Chunin Exams?"

Feng Zhe asked in puzzlement, to which Minato replied, "He will be participating in the capacity of an observer. On Konoha's side, we will also have Lord Orochimaru participate as an observer."

"Orochimaru..."

At the mention of Orochimaru, Feng Zhe couldn't help but frown. He genuinely disliked that man.

From Kirigakure in the Land of Water came Terumi Mei and the Jinchuriki Yugatura, with Hoshigaki Kisame acting as the observer.

Iwagakure was sending Onoki's disciple Deidara and his granddaughter Kurotsuchi, with the Jinchuriki Roshi serving as the observer.

Unsurprisingly, several smaller shinobi villages had also chosen to take part in this Chunin Exam.

Naturally, Kumogakure, which had been at war with Konoha for years, would not send anyone to such a competition.

Even so, this tournament commanded the attention of the entire world, particularly within the various shinobi villages, where there had been considerable dissenting voices.

After reviewing the files, Feng Zhe felt that things had deviated somewhat from the original plotline.

As for the reason, it remained unknown for now.

Suddenly, Feng Zhe asked a question, "Have you finished developing the Rasengan?"

Minato gave a soft affirmation and then produced a scroll.

Feng Zhe picked it up and began reading without any burden, only closing it after a long while.

With his eyes closed for a moment, Feng Zhe began to share a few ideas, such as drastically increasing the amount of chakra channeled into the base Rasengan to form the Massive Rasengan.

He also proposed the concept of the Rasenshuriken, suggesting the high-density development and rapid spinning of the Rasengan.

This left Namikaze Minato astounded, as if a complete evolutionary path for ninjutsu had suddenly been laid out before him.

However, a moment later, Minato shook his head and offered a wry smile.

"Your ideas are brilliant, but there is one problem: my chakra reserves aren't like those of the Tailed Beasts; they don't regenerate endlessly for me!"

Feng Zhe was momentarily stunned before realizing the truth. The reason Naruto was able to develop so many variations of the Rasengan fundamentally boiled down to his ability to borrow the Nine-Tails' chakra, meaning chakra consumption was something he never had to worry about.

Minato, however, could not do the same. He was not a Jinchuriki; his chakra reserves were fixed. A ninja's combat capability depended not just on unleashing a single devastating blow, but on whether they retained enough stamina after executing such super-ninjutsu.

This was precisely the limitation of coming from a lesser-known clan—they could not provide their members with a clear, advanced path for ninjutsu development.

Even a genius like Namikaze Minato had to rely solely on techniques like the Flying Thunder God.

"If only I possessed the ninjutsu styles of Kumogakure."

Minato's elemental affinity was Wind. Not only did Feng Zhe lack it, but very few people within Konoha possessed it either.

Minato patted Feng Zhe on the shoulder and said, "Don't be discouraged. But you did give me an inspiration. Since I can't make it bigger, shrinking the Rasengan might be another viable path."

"Shrinking it?"

Since the quantity of chakra could not be increased, the only option was to condense and alter its quality instead.

Minato was exceptionally intelligent, especially possessing a rare spatial affinity. Perhaps he really could forge an entirely new evolutionary path for the Rasengan.

"Dinner is ready!"

Kushina's voice rang out, followed immediately by a distinct growling sound from Feng Zhe's stomach. Both Feng Zhe and Minato burst out laughing, and then they happily headed out to enjoy the meal.

Moments of laughter and joy were always fleeting, and there was no way of knowing how long this happiness could be preserved.

...

Half a month later.

Geniuses from various shinobi villages arrived successively in Konoha. The village maintained an exterior of calm while remaining heavily fortified inside, as no one could predict what might happen when so many powerful individuals were gathered together.

Hiding off to the side, Feng Zhe had no intention of getting involved in the proceedings. However, the appearance of a pale white snake forced him to look serious.

"Snake Uncle, you are always so full of surprises."

"Hiss-hiss-hiss, Zhe-kun, it's been a long time. Your chakra seems to have reached the level of a Special Jounin."

A white snake transformed into Orochimaru, his tongue appearing serpentine and making him look even more unsettling than before.

Absorbed in his experiments, Orochimaru had grown increasingly bizarre.

Feng Zhe smiled and delivered a counter-jab, "I heard you found an assistant who has been helping you out quite a bit?"

Just then, a young girl appeared beside Orochimaru and stated, "I am Lord Orochimaru's disciple, Mitarashi Anko. Please advise me."

"Well, are you interested in joining me? I've coveted your legendary genius for a long time."

Orochimaru never hid his intentions, believing that in the face of absolute power, everything else was entirely trivial.

"I have no desire to be turned into a walking corpse. Immortality holds no meaning for me."

This was not false modesty on Feng Zhe's part; he was essentially a deity, and death was a distant concept to him.

Yet Orochimaru caught a deeper implication in his words and remarked directly, "It seems you know something about my experiments. Let me guess who told you, because the Fourth certainly wouldn't know..."

Feng Zhe rolled his eyes and walked away dismissively, which only piqued Orochimaru's interest even further.

"Sooner or later, you will become my experimental subject!"

Hiss-hiss-hiss...