Chapter 9

### Daidō Yoshizan, Konoha's Main Camp.

"We have received orders from the village. Tetsu, Obito, and Rin, the three of you will temporarily leave the Minato squad and return to the village to take the Chunin Selection Exam."

After the meeting, Minato gathered Tetsu Uesugi, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara, and announced the order.

It had been five days since the battle at Daidō Yoshizan.

During these few days, the relevant officials from Konoha and Iwagakure had been in negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Konoha shinobi, including Tetsu Uesugi and others, had been resting and regrouping at the newly established camp, always on guard against any attacks from Iwagakure.

Negotiations usually proceed alongside battles; whoever can achieve results on the battlefield will have more leverage at the negotiating table.

The shinobi world is no exception.

However, the negotiations had just begun, and the war was not yet intense. Konoha immediately decided to send most of the genin back to the village to take the Chunin Selection Exam, which would also help fill some of the vacant Chunin positions.

After all, the previous battle had caused many casualties, and the number of Chunin-level shinobi had significantly decreased. It was necessary to quickly promote some genin to fill the gaps.

Tetsu Uesugi was well aware that the negotiations between Iwagakure and Konoha would not be successful. The war between Iwagakure and Konoha would only end after the Kannabi Bridge battle, which was near the end of the Third Shinobi World War.

At this point, the Kannabi Bridge was still standing, and Kakashi had not yet received Obito's Sharingan. Therefore, the negotiations would definitely not be successful.

The war would continue!

"Chunin Selection Exam?!" Obito was startled. "Why just the three of us? What about Kakashi?"

Minato smiled and said, "Kakashi doesn't need to. He's already a Chunin."

"Eh?!" Obito was even more surprised. "When did he... Damn Kakashi!"

As he spoke, Obito gritted his teeth, realizing that the gap between him and Kakashi was still so large. Damn it!

It turned out that Kakashi had already been a Chunin for a while.

At this moment, Tetsu Uesugi felt a bit strange. According to his knowledge, Kakashi had been promoted to Chunin shortly after applying for early graduation a few years ago.

Recalling what Minato had just said, it was indeed true.

But why did he remember that in the manga, when Obito's genin team took the Chunin Selection Exam, Kakashi was also there?

Could Kishimoto have made a mistake...

After much thought, Tetsu Uesugi chuckled to himself. What did it matter to him?

He wasn't here for research or investigation.

"Sensei Minato, when do we leave?" Tetsu Uesugi ignored Obito's self-pity, put aside his thoughts, and asked Minato.

During the days of rest at the camp, Tetsu Uesugi, though no longer eating soldier pills, had been eating rice balls for five consecutive days. He felt like his mouth was going to taste like nothing.

Hearing the opportunity to return to the village, Tetsu Uesugi felt a surge of excitement. Ramen, barbecue, dumplings, sushi...

All kinds of delicious food seemed to float before his eyes.

He couldn't wait.

"Tomorrow. There's no time to waste. If you can return early, you'll have some time to rest," Minato said with a gentle smile.

He noticed Tetsu Uesugi's eagerness to return to the village and felt a bit moved.

No matter what, the team members in front of him were still children in his eyes. If possible, he would never want these children to fight on the battlefield.

At their age, they should be studying at the Ninja Academy, but because of the war, most of them had graduated early.

Those like Kakashi, who were exceptionally talented and had some strength, were better off. Those like Obito, who had average talent but good luck, were also fine.

But those genin who lacked both strength and luck would most likely end up as cannon fodder on the battlefield.

In the end, they would only be cold names on the Memorial Stone.

Thinking of this, Minato sighed inwardly.

War is ruthless.

Tetsu Uesugi did not notice Minato's unusual mood. He was excited to hear that they would return to the village the next day.

Finally, he wouldn't have to eat rice balls and soldier pills anymore.

That was great.

...

The next morning, nearly two hundred Konoha genin gathered at the camp gate. They were all going to return to the village to take the Chunin Selection Exam.

Tetsu Uesugi, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara were among them.

In front of the camp gate, in addition to the two hundred genin, there were a few Jounin leading the group.

In addition to safely escorting these genin back to the village, these Jounin had another task: to report the results of the "Daidō Yoshizan Battle" to the Third Hokage.

This included the achievements of the genin who were about to take the Chunin Selection Exam.

This was also one of the criteria for the Chunin Selection Exam.

Tetsu Uesugi glanced at the Jounin and didn't recognize any of them.

Could these extras safely escort two hundred genin back to Konoha?

Tetsu Uesugi couldn't help but worry.

However, it didn't take long for him to realize that his worry was unnecessary...

After the team was assembled and everyone was present, the Jounin in charge gave the order, and the genin team immediately set off, leaving the Daidō Yoshizan camp and heading east toward Konoha.

The journey was smooth.

There were no enemies, not even wild animals. From the border of the Land of Grass to the border of the Land of Fire, the journey was unimpeded, with no signs of danger.

Tetsu Uesugi thought about it and then felt relieved.

Iwagakure wasn't foolish. To send subordinates through Daidō Yoshizan, then through the heart of the Land of Grass, and finally through Konoha's multiple checkpoints for just a group of genin would be too difficult and not worth the effort.

Moreover, although the negotiations would ultimately fail, Konoha didn't know, and Iwagakure didn't know either. While negotiations require leverage, using a group of young genin as leverage would be a laughingstock.

And what value do genin have? It would be better to kill more Jounin, who are the backbone of the forces.

Tetsu Uesugi didn't know if the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure thought the same way, but the journey was indeed peaceful.

Three days later, when Tetsu Uesugi saw the rock face carved with the faces of Konoha's Hokage, he couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"Finally back."

The gates of Konoha were about to appear. Ramen, barbecue, dumplings... would they be far behind?

Originally, Tetsu Uesugi thought he wouldn't return for a year or more after this mission to the Land of Grass. He didn't expect that the Chunin Selection Exam would be approaching so soon, giving him a chance to return to the village.

Since he had been transported to this world a year ago, Tetsu Uesugi hadn't spent much time in Konoha. He was either on the battlefield or training with Tsunade. He didn't know how long this Chunin Selection Exam would allow him to stay in the village.