At Konoha's main gate, Renye and his two teammates had just returned from a mission.
On this mission, they had jointly eliminated a Chunin squad from the Land of Wind.
Just then, Renye noticed Yusuke Senju had arrived at the gate at some point.
“Yusuke Sensei, why are you here?” the three asked, puzzled.
“Hey, hey, hey, you three guys are taking me, your guiding Sensei, a bit too lightly, aren't you?” Yusuke Senju rubbed his brow with a troubled expression.
As their Jonin squad leader, he was theoretically supposed to accompany the three on missions to ensure their safety.
But every time Renye went to accept a mission, he wouldn't tell him.
By the time Yusuke found out, the three had already left to execute the mission.
Sometimes, he only found out after the mission was already completed…
In principle, a Genin squad needs to be led by a Chunin or Jonin Sensei to accept missions at the Mission Hall.
However, due to the trio's special identities and their strength having reached Chunin level, the staff responsible for mission registration chose to turn a blind eye.
Who told them their Sensei was Lord Tobirama?
Renye's reason for not wanting Yusuke Senju to follow was simple.
If Yusuke, a Jonin, was secretly protecting them, they wouldn't push themselves to the limit during missions.
Subconsciously, a sense of reliance would develop, greatly diminishing their fighting will and potential.
When encountering powerful enemies, they would instinctively wait for the Jonin to resolve the crisis, instead of actively thinking about how to use their learned skills and teamwork to overcome the difficulty.
Over time, their combat awareness would become lax, and psychologically, they might even form a 'someone will always cover us' mentality.
And this mentality was often the most fatal.
Once Renye realized this, he stopped informing Yusuke Senju when taking on missions.
Initially, Danzo and Koharu didn't understand, but they gradually came to comprehend it during the missions.
Of course, the missions Renye accepted would not exceed the squad's capabilities.
He just wanted to get stronger; he wasn't foolish.
What's the difference between exceeding one's capabilities and seeking death?
Renye recalled one instance where the mission target was said to be a Chunin squad.
But upon arriving at the scene, he discovered that this squad was actually led by a Jonin.
Renye estimated that the success rate of taking down the opponent through a sneak attack was only 40%.
He didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately abandoned the mission, and fled with the other two.
A Jonin who survived the Warring States Period possessed extremely rich combat experience and was also more cautious.
The opponent wouldn't let down their guard just because Renye and his companions were young.
Instead, they would use their full strength to resolve the battle in a very short amount of time.
Because the graves of those arrogant fools were already three meters high.
After all, a Ninja is like an assassin with high offense and low defense; their physical toughness isn't high.
Even a Jonin could potentially be defeated by a Chunin or Genin.
Renye was unwilling to engage with a Jonin who had survived the Warring States Period in the short term.
Unless it was an absolute last resort and he was forced to fight.
Other times, if he could run, he would run; it wasn't shameful.
Yusuke Senju naturally understood Renye and his companions' thoughts and was very pleased.
But this made him feel very insignificant.
It wasn't wartime now, and all the Jonin in the Village were leading students on missions, while he was just loafing around the Village every day.
To think that he, a dignified Jonin, was acting like an unemployed person.
Those Jonin who were close to Yusuke often teased him,
“Have your students ostracized you?”
Whenever this happened, Yusuke could only smile without speaking; only he knew the bitterness in his heart.
Students being too independent wasn't always a good thing.
To stop being an idle person in the Village, he pondered and finally made a decision…
“Your performance has been excellent, so I've signed you up for this Chunin Exams,” Yusuke said.
“I believe with your strength, passing the exam won't be difficult… This way, I can go and lead newly graduated Genin.”
Generally speaking, Chunin are the backbone of the Village, an important part of the Village's combat strength.
After passing the Chunin Exams and becoming a Chunin, a squad no longer needs a squad leader.
In fact, most Genin instructors are Chunin.
After all, the number of Jonin in a Village is limited.
Typically, a group of Jonin guides Genin, and once the Genin become Chunin, they are then assigned to guide newly graduated Genin.
Upon hearing this, the three immediately froze.
They hadn't expected Yusuke Senju to say such a thing.
“Yusuke Sensei, you don't want us anymore?”
Renye swallowed, muttering to himself:
“Did they anger Yusuke Sensei by not including him in missions, causing him to quit?”
The three exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
“Yusuke Sensei, please don't be angry,” Utatane Koharu said weakly. “At worst, we'll take you with us on the next mission…”
“That's right, Yusuke Sensei, you're a Jonin after all; you can't possibly hold a grudge against us, can you?” Danzo Shimura pouted.
As if he had already seen through his Sensei's little scheme.
Renye didn't speak, just sighed helplessly.
His expression seemed to say something, yet nothing at all.
Yusuke Senju: “???”
He had just felt guilty towards the three.
As for now, that feeling of guilt had vanished completely.
He felt immensely fortunate in his heart that he had made the right decision, otherwise, he would have been angered to death by the three sooner or later.
“The Chunin Exams are in five days. Don't go out on missions these next few days; prepare well.”
Yusuke no longer wanted to see the three, so he quickly turned and left after speaking.
Just then, Renye called out to him.
“Yusuke Sensei, wait…”
Yusuke turned to look at Renye, asking in confusion, “Do you still have a question, kid?”
“This… that…” Renye scratched his head and asked tentatively, “There won't be any theoretical questions in the Chunin Exams, right?”
“Of course there are,” Yusuke replied.
He was a little curious, why would Renye ask this question?
Wait, why does this kid's face look so bad?!
“Renye, are you alright?” Yusuke Senju asked.
“Hehe… No, I'm fine.” Renye was still a bit dazed.
“Since you're fine, I'll be going now.”
With that, Yusuke's figure disappeared from the spot.
“Renye-kun, don't be nervous; the theoretical exam is very simple,” Utatane Koharu comforted him.
Renye didn't speak, looking up at the sky.
At this moment, he felt a helplessness he had never experienced before.
Did he not know whether the theoretical exam was simple or not?
His dazzling score of five points was still taped to the wall at home.
He had thought that after becoming a Ninja, he wouldn't have to study academic subjects anymore, but he didn't expect the Chunin Exams to be waiting for him.
His grades were already poor, and it had been over a year since he graduated.
Renye felt that his chances of becoming a Chunin were hopeless in this lifetime.
Danzo sighed helplessly at the sight, Renye's academic performance was truly hard to describe.
“We'll see if we can cheat then.”