Chapter 123: Gathering of the Underdogs

Aizen’s gaze swept discreetly over the other Genin candidates around him.

First, he dismissed a bunch of nameless background characters.

He skipped over the Rain and Taki ninjas without a second thought.

There were two Grass ninjas worth paying some attention to. One of them was Orochimaru disguised as a Grass ninja.

The other one was Karin, who hadn’t yet become a “battery” and still had no bite marks on her.

In his previous life, because the early parts of the story were so long ago, Aizen only remembered Karin appearing during the Chunin Exams, but had forgotten which village she came from.

So he hadn’t gone out of his way to save her.

Now, seeing the Hidden Grass forehead protector, he finally remembered.

It was likely her mother had already been drained by the Hidden Grass Village.

He figured he could consider handing Karin over to Tsunade for training later.

As for Sasuke enduring beatings in the future, without Karin as a living battery, whether he could hold out wasn't something Aizen needed to worry about. After all, Sasuke had the protagonist's plot armor, and the Sage of Six Paths would be watching over him behind the scenes.

If things really got bad, as his “stepfather,” Aizen could intervene if necessary.

Next up were the Sound Village’s Dosu Kinuta, and the sacrifices for the Edo Tensei resurrection of the First and Second Hokage—Kin and Zaku.

Orochimaru really went overboard in trying to hype up the Third Hokage’s strength, creating the illusion that he was the "strongest Hokage in history."

The strength of Edo Tensei depends heavily on the quality of the sacrifices.

The stronger the ninja, the stronger the resurrection.

How much of their original power could be displayed depended almost entirely on the strength of the sacrifices.

Using two lowly Genin as sacrifices for the First and Second Hokage, along with an incomplete Edo Tensei technique, it was no wonder they performed so poorly.

Moreover, under complete control, neither Hokage showed any combat intelligence.

If not for their Edo Tensei bodies, the Third Hokage might have killed them countless times.

After the Sound ninjas came the Sand ninjas—Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. Aizen had already seen them before, so there was nothing to pay attention to.

Finally, only the Konoha ninjas remained.

At that moment, Team 7, with Naruto and Sasuke, walked in.

Excluding Team 7, the only names worth mentioning were Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, Tenten, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Kabuto Yakushi.

Among them, Aizen gave a few extra glances to little Hinata.

He recalled those two winters from the past.

When Aizen had first met this little girl, a faint smile appeared beneath the bandages covering his face.

Compared to the original story, Hinata was still shy, but Aizen could sense that she had grown much stronger.

At the very least, she wasn’t much weaker than Neji, another member of the Hyuga clan.

It seemed like this little girl had indeed changed.

Perhaps sensing something, Hinata noticed Aizen looking at her. Just as he withdrew his gaze, she turned her head and looked over, feeling a strange flutter in her chest as she wondered, “Why is that Rain ninja looking at me? I don’t think I know him.”

Orochimaru and Kabuto, both old acquaintances, also noticed Aizen’s gaze.

The two exchanged glances, immediately recognizing him, their eyes filled with shock and seriousness.

Orochimaru, disguised as a Grass ninja, sat behind Aizen, their backs against each other.

“I didn’t expect Aizen-kun to actually show up. I suppose this young lady must be Miss Pakura. And who is this?” Orochimaru glanced at Itachi. Unlike his usual deep and raspy voice, his tone was sharp and oddly feminine.

Aizen knew that Orochimaru had taken over the body of a female ninja. This was probably the original voice of that female ninja.

Naturally, Uchiha Itachi recognized both Kabuto and Orochimaru, but he didn’t reveal his thoughts. He merely crossed his arms and lowered his head, preventing Orochimaru from discerning anything.

Aizen saw this and felt no need to disclose anything to Orochimaru either. He simply said, “Just a new intern. The leader asked me to bring them along for the experience.”

Aizen had also altered his voice, making it deeper.

“An intern, huh? How interesting,” Orochimaru said with a hint of suspicion in his eyes. “So, Aizen-kun, why did you come all the way to participate in this boring exam?”

“Didn’t you come to participate too?” Aizen countered instead of answering.

“I’m just here to assess whether Sasuke is qualified to become my vessel. I trust you won’t break our agreement, right?” Orochimaru answered directly, knowing he couldn’t hide anything from Aizen.

As soon as he said this, Aizen sensed Itachi’s reaction and smiled slightly. “Do as you like, just don’t harm the Jinchuriki,” he replied calmly.

While the two were conversing in low voices, Naruto, unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere, raised his right hand high above his head and pointed at everyone, loudly shouting, “I’m Uzumaki Naruto, and I won’t lose to any of you! Got it?”

His words instantly caused an uproar in the large exam hall, and the others began mocking and showing hostility toward him.

Soon after, a puff of smoke exploded on the stage.

Led by Morino Ibiki, the Konoha proctors made their dramatic entrance.

The first round of the Chunin Exam officially began.

The first round was as hard or as easy as you made it.

There were nine extremely difficult test questions. You couldn’t cheat sloppily. You had to cheat without the examiners or any third party noticing. Two of the Chunin knew the correct answers and were writing them down. If you were caught cheating five times, you’d be disqualified. It was a test of a Genin’s investigative or basic abilities. If you could do the questions on your own, that worked too.

There was also a bonus question that tested team cohesion. As long as you didn’t give up, you’d pass.

In the hall, everyone, including Uchiha Itachi, was either copying or writing their own answers.

Only Aizen, Pakura, and Naruto didn’t move their pens.

Pakura hadn’t because Aizen had warned her in advance, while Naruto simply didn’t know how to do anything.

In the end, thanks to Naruto’s overwhelming confidence, everyone was encouraged to face Morino Ibiki’s bonus question.

Many passed the first round of the exam.

However, in addition to the original number of passing teams—26 teams with 78 people—Aizen’s group of three also made it through.

“I’m the proctor for the second round, Anko Mitarashi. Follow me, rookies!”

But before anyone could celebrate, a black bundle smashed through the window from outside the classroom, turning into a curtain that draped over the stage.

Anko made a dramatic entrance with her usual flair.

The crowd was speechless, as was Aizen.

But not because of her entrance.

It was Anko’s appearance that left him at a loss for words.

Her short, fluffy light purple hair was tied into a messy ponytail. Her sweet, slightly edgy face and fishnet bodysuit emphasized her curvy figure. She wore a beige trench coat over it, giving her a bold and confident look.

Aizen couldn’t understand how such a beautiful woman would eventually turn into a frumpy, middle-aged lady in Boruto.