Naruto: Divine Reward System

Along the way, something strange caught Tatsuya's attention. He noticed several freshmen who had come to sign up being taken away by their mentors. Their expressions were downcast, their shoulders slumped in defeat.

As Sakura rejoined her team, their mentor led them away, leaving Tatsuya, Naruto, and Sasuke to continue alone.

When the three of them arrived at the door of the [301] classroom, Kakashi was already there, leaning casually against the wall as if he had been waiting for them.

Naruto furrowed his brow, confused. "Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?"

Kakashi gave them his usual lazy eye smile before dropping an unexpected statement. "Now you can officially apply to participate in the [Chunin Selection Exam]."

"Uh… what?" Naruto blinked, scratching his head. "What do you mean by that?"

Before Kakashi could respond, Tatsuya spoke up. "It's simple. This was a test for us freshmen."

"A test?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

Tatsuya nodded. "Only when all three of us arrive together are we eligible to participate in the [Chunin Selection Exam]."

Kakashi chuckled. "Tatsuya, you really are sharp." Then he tilted his head, curious. "When did you figure it out?"

"Yesterday, I had my suspicions. Now, I'm sure." Tatsuya glanced at Naruto and Sasuke before continuing. "When we came up just now, I saw several students being taken away by their mentors. They all had two things in common:

One, they were all freshmen.

Two, their team wasn't complete."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Wait, wait! So if even one of us wasn't here, we couldn't take the test?!"

"Exactly," Tatsuya confirmed. "Remember yesterday, when Kakashi-sensei gave us three [application forms]? He told us we could choose whether or not to participate. That means we weren't forced into this—we had to come here willingly.

The [Chunin Selection Exam] is dangerous. If we weren't prepared and came just because we had to, we'd panic during the real test and fail.

Also, I noticed that even ninjas from other villages came in groups of three. That's another clue. This exam is designed for three-man squads—the same reason why we were placed into teams after graduating from the Academy."

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in amusement. "And my presence here confirmed it for you?"

Tatsuya nodded. "If one of us hadn't shown up, you would've stopped the others from going inside."

Naruto and Sasuke were speechless. Even Kakashi, who had expected Tatsuya to be observant, was a little impressed.

At that moment, a familiar voice cut through the conversation. "Kakashi, you really lucked out with this one!"

The group turned to see Might Guy approaching, his usual enthusiastic energy radiating off him. Behind him stood his students—Neji, Tenten, and Lee—who were also eyeing Tatsuya with newfound curiosity.

Neji crossed his arms. "He's not just strong. He's intelligent."

Lee nodded eagerly. "He's amazing!"

Tenten, looking intrigued, studied Tatsuya more closely.

Kakashi turned to Guy. "What took you so long?"

"Ah, you know, some delays." Guy waved it off before flashing a grin. "But let's talk about something more important."

"What?" Kakashi asked flatly.

Guy's grin widened. "How about giving me this student of yours?"

Kakashi didn't even hesitate. "No."

"Come on!"

"No."

"…Just think about it—"

"No."

And with that, Kakashi turned his back on Guy, signaling the end of the conversation.

Inside [301] classroom, Naruto, Sasuke, and Tatsuya stepped in and immediately took in the sight before them. The room was packed. A sea of unfamiliar faces, filled with fierce and determined ninjas from all over.

There was no age limit for the Chunin Exam, meaning some of the competitors were much older and clearly more experienced. Compared to them, Tatsuya and his team were among the youngest.

Before they could process everything, a loud voice broke through the tension.

"Sasuke! There you are!"

Sakura and Ino rushed toward them, both laser-focused on one person.

Ino grinned, linking her arm with Sasuke's. "Sasuke, it's been so long! Did you miss me?"

Sakura's expression darkened. "Ino-pig, hands off!"

Meanwhile, Hinata, standing off to the side with Shino and Kiba, blushed when she spotted Naruto. Unlike Sakura and Ino, she didn't rush over. She simply watched quietly, happy just to see him.

"Tatsuya, you're here too."

Shikamaru approached, hands in his pockets, with Choji munching on a bag of chips beside him. "So this means we're all taking the Chunin Exam together."

At that moment, all of Konoha's twelve rookies had gathered in one place.

Shikamaru glanced around the crowded room. "Looks like we're the only freshmen taking the test this year. I wonder how far we'll make it…"

Kiba scoffed. "Just don't lose to us."

Naruto immediately fired back. "We won't lose to you guys!"

Hinata hesitated, then softly said, "Naruto…Kiba didn't mean it that way."

Before the conversation could continue, a new voice cut in—one that didn't belong to any of the rookies.

"You should all quiet down."

The group turned to see a young man with white hair and round-framed glasses approaching them.

Tatsuya narrowed his eyes slightly. He recognized this man instantly.

This wasn't just another competitor. This was Kabuto Yakushi.

The right-hand man of Orochimaru, and one of the key players in the Fourth Great Ninja War.

The Little Prince of Intelligence had arrived.

As the group stood in the packed classroom, a voice suddenly cut through the chatter.

"You must be the freshmen who just graduated from [Ninja Academy] this year, right?"

Sasuke and the others turned to see a young man with white hair and round glasses smiling at them. There was something unsettlingly composed about him.

Ino raised a brow. "And you are?"

Before the man could answer, Tatsuya spoke up, his tone cool. "His name is Kabuto Yakushi. He's taken the [Chunin Exam] six times and failed every single time."

The group went silent.

"Wait, six times?" Naruto blurted out, eyes widening. "That's rough, buddy! And I thought failing the [Graduation Exam] three times was bad!"

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, how can you compare the [Chunin Exam] to the [Graduation Exam]? They're on completely different levels."

Everyone nodded in agreement. There was no comparison between the two.

But what really caught their attention was how bluntly Tatsuya had exposed Kabuto's history.

Kabuto, however, remained unfazed. He simply adjusted his glasses and chuckled. "Hehe, you don't hold back, do you?"

Tatsuya smirked. "Not when it comes to people who like to play pretend."

A flicker of something unreadable passed through Kabuto's expression, but he masked it with an easygoing smile. "Well, as your senior, I thought I'd share a little wisdom with you all."

Sakura, sensing the tension, quickly asked, "What do you mean?"

Kabuto pulled out a stack of small cards. "This is a [Ninja Info Card]. It records all sorts of details about past [Chunin Exams] — participating countries, villages, the number of competitors, personal data, and more. If you're interested, I can share some insights."

Sasuke and the others leaned in, intrigued. But before they could ask anything, Tatsuya spoke again.

"No need. I already know everything you're about to say."

Everyone turned to look at him in surprise.

"If anyone has questions, just ask me," Tatsuya continued. "Considering Senior Kabuto has failed six times, we wouldn't want his intel to jinx us, right?"

Kabuto's smile remained, but there was a distinct sharpness in his gaze now.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head. "Well, he's got a point."

Sakura and the others nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, let's not take chances," Kiba added with a smirk.

For the first time, Kabuto found himself outmaneuvered before he even had the chance to establish control over the conversation. His usual confidence faltered slightly, but he quickly recovered.

"Alright then, Tatsuya," Kabuto said smoothly. "Since you seem so knowledgeable, how many villages are participating this time? And how many competitors are there?"

Without missing a beat, Tatsuya replied, "There are six villages, including Konoha, participating in this [Chunin Exam]. Konoha has 72 ninja, Sand has 30, Rain has 21, Grass has 15, Waterfall has 12, and Sound has 3. That makes a total of 153 participants."

The exactness of the answer made Kabuto freeze for a brief second. The others stared at Tatsuya, stunned.

"You even know that?" Kiba muttered in disbelief.

Sasuke crossed his arms, his interest piqued. "Then what about him?" He nodded toward Lee, clearly still stung from their earlier fight. "Tell me everything you know about Rock Lee."

Tatsuya glanced at Lee and began listing off details without hesitation.

"Rock Lee. Thirteen years old. Graduated a year before us. Completed 20 D-rank and 11 C-rank missions. His instructor is Might Guy. Excels in [Taijutsu], but his abilities in other areas are lacking. Last year, he was strong enough to take the exam but was held back by his mentor, who told him to be patient. This is his first time participating. His teammates are Neji Hyuga and Tenten. Together, they form Team 9."

Lee blinked. "W-Wait, how do you know all that?!"

Tenten raised a brow. "Even I didn't know exactly how many missions he's done."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Interesting."

Naruto, still fuming over being ignored by Gaara the previous day, pointed across the room. "What about that guy with the gourd?"

Tatsuya shifted his gaze to Gaara.

"His name is Gaara. He's from Sunagakure, the Land of Wind. Nicknamed the [Sand Demon Gaara]. He's completed eight C-rank missions and one B-rank mission. Not once has he ever been injured in combat. To be honest, his strength is already on the level of a Chunin."

Everyone fell silent as they absorbed this information.

"His teammates are his older siblings: Temari and Kankuro. All three of them are children of the Fourth Kazekage."

Kabuto, who had been trying to reassert control over the conversation, found himself completely overshadowed. Even his own intelligence gathering wasn't as thorough as Tatsuya's.

For the first time in years, Kabuto felt something close to frustration.

Shikamaru, Shino, and Ino exchanged glances. They were seeing Tatsuya in a completely new light.

Ino bit her lip, muttering under her breath, "Too bad this is just intelligence. If only he had Sasuke's raw power, I wouldn't have to compete with Sakura for him."

Meanwhile, Hinata simply smiled to herself, quietly supporting Tatsuya just as she always supported Naruto.

Tenten, who had been studying Tatsuya for a while now, finally said, "Huh. You're an interesting one."

Under the weight of Tatsuya's meta knowledge as a transmigrator, it was clear that the title of [Little Prince of Intelligence] was about to change hands.