I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 586: Athletes struggling in higher leagues often dominate in lower leagues.

Inside the examination hall, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on a high platform, with Tatsuma beside him. Tatsuma was already wearing a custom-made jacket, although the words were not written on the back. However, everyone knew that it was almost time.

At this moment, Tatsuma didn't look like a ninja at all. He wore a long white trench coat, a light blue shirt with low saturation underneath, heavy dark straight-leg trousers made of linen and wool blend, and a pair of engineer leather boots, which made him look more composed.

If he took better care of his hair, he might look more like a professional doctor attending a medical seminar than a ninja.

To put it simply, it's about Sakata Ginpachi, who is made of more exquisite fabrics, doesn't wear glasses, and is in a more energetic state.

Some people say that as long as you have enough status and influence, it doesn't matter what you wear. Tatsuma has reservations about this view.

The saying "clothes make the man" is not without merit. Perhaps we don't need to pursue overly high-end or luxurious fabrics or exaggerated and trendy designs, but the clothes we wear must be appropriate.

Wearing appropriate clothing for different occasions is always a good idea, and for most people, that's enough.

As for going further up, adjusting clothing details according to the theme of the occasion or the people in the party is something you can do if you have the time and money, or you can have someone specifically responsible for it, like Chenma does now.

In fact, by observing those who excel in their fields, one can find that, with very few exceptions, most of these experts have a fixed image ingrained in them. This is because the image is no longer just their own, but rather that of a group of people, or even an entire field.

The same applies to the Kage. After a ninja is promoted to Jonin, they gain a certain degree of freedom in clothing, but once they become Kage, they lose that freedom.

Just like Minato in the original work, even amidst the busyness of battle, he still needed to take time to put on the robes representing the Kage, because he needed to give the entire ninja village confidence.

The Kage is a microcosm of a ninja village. Many people judge the "characteristics" of a ninja village based on the Kage's appearance and behavior. Tatsuma is too young, so his clothes cannot be bright and shiny, which would make the whole of Konoha appear frivolous.

At the same time, he couldn't be as relaxed as Hiruzen Sarutobi and wear various dark-colored inner layers, because if Tatsuma wore that outfit, people would suspect that Konoha had become stagnant, even rotten, and lacked vitality.

It needs color, but not too bright; it needs a low-key design, but it can't lose its clean lines. This is the image that the village requires for Tatsuma at this stage.

The meticulous attention to detail is crucial. Fortunately, the tailor hired by the village from Daming Prefecture was highly skilled. While meeting these requirements, he also left ample room for movement in the clothing, making it convenient for combat.

But the cost is... expensive, extremely expensive.

Tatsuma has almost gone through ten sets of Jonin standard equipment with this outfit he's wearing now. Anyway, it's impossible for Tatsuma to wear these clothes to the battlefield. Fortunately, he hasn't officially taken over yet, so he doesn't need to have this image welded onto him.

Otherwise, he would feel bad about it himself. Although it is accounted for by the village, this is not a reason for extravagance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also looked Tatsuma over, quite satisfied. He asked, "What's it like seeing these children from this angle for the first time?"

Not only was he standing on the high platform, but he was also looking from the perspective of the shadows. Tatsuma, leaning against the railing, looked down at the candidates listening to the examiner announce the rules and said:

"Completely clear. Hokage, aren't you so aware of all the little things Minato and I did back then?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and nodded, saying, "You mean that scene where you and Minato were plotting to defeat everyone? I remember it vividly; I was on the edge of my seat back then too."

Not only did he hear those words, but those two actually did it, and they almost wiped out their entire class. If it weren't for his timely intervention as the Hokage, Konoha Hospital would probably have been overflowing with patients during that period.

Tatsuma looked a little embarrassed. He was really young and impetuous back then, but it was because of his ruthless and aggressive tactics that he has the composure he has now.

"This year's candidates are all very good."

Tatsuma changed the subject, and Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, continuing the conversation: "Indeed, apart from the lack of once-in-a-century geniuses like you and Minato, the overall level can be said to be the highest in the last twenty years."

"Actually, the reason why Minato and I stood out back then was because of the right timing. If we were in today's world, we would be lucky to even get a promotion."

"That's a bit too modest."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. The reason why Tatsuma and Minato stood out was indeed partly because the candidates of that year were not good enough. After all, Tatsuma's contemporaries, the representatives of the new generation, are still in the Ninja Academy.

However, to say that the two of them would be uncertain about their chances of promotion if they were in the present day would be to underestimate themselves. Perhaps Kakashi's current strength is no less than that of the two of them back then.

However, this gap was narrowed only after accepting the vast difference between them, since neither Minato nor Tatsuma had a Konoha White Fang as their father.

Moreover, even if they were fighting against each other of the same age, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that Tatsuma and Minato would definitely win, after all, the difference in experience was too great.

Although Kakashi graduated a few years ago and participated in the war, he is completely incomparable to Minato, Tatsuma, and especially Tatsuma.

Back then, Tatsuma was always on the front lines. But with an irresponsible teacher like Tsunade, he hardly received any protection and instead grew wildly on the battlefield.

Nicknames like "Striking Jade Hand" and "Talkative Tobirama" wouldn't still be frequently mentioned today without a lot of battles and lives lost.

Although Minato had fewer experiences, he followed in Tatsuma's footsteps and retraced the steps he had taken. The number of battles they had participated in and the strength of the enemies they faced compared to Kakashi were far greater than Kakashi's.

Even if they are not significantly different in terms of raw strength, the two of them definitely have more than one way to defeat Kakashi.

"Actually, the fact that children grow up so fast is a sign of our incompetence as adults."

After Tatsuma finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes dimmed slightly. He nodded and said, "Six years of ninja school life, plus at least one year of genin training, means that children are at least twelve or thirteen years old before they enter the stage of growing up."

But indeed, because of the incompetence of adults, these children are forced to grow up earlier and faster, to shoulder responsibilities that they should not bear at their age.

As the topic turned serious, the practical training below began, with teams engaging in individual battles, somewhat reminiscent of the dueling arena in Motou Village.

Tatsuma and Hiruzen Sarutobi also fell silent, observing Kakashi's strength, which was clearly a level above his peers, and Might Guy's equally formidable taijutsu skills.

"Next match, Uchiha Shisui will face off against Yuhi Kurenai. Please prepare for the match."

Suddenly, Shisui looked at Tatsuma on the high platform, and Tatsuma also looked at his student in perfect unison. Shisui scratched his head, recalling his teacher's teachings.

Try to avoid contact with Senior Red. Although I still don't understand why, it seems like I can't avoid contact in the upcoming battles.

"Uchiha Shisui!"

The examiner repeated it, and Zhishui suddenly realized what was happening and quickly ran into the examination room.

"If you don't look at the Uchiha clan crest on their clothes, these two children really look like siblings."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly spoke up, and Tatsuma smiled, replying, "Don't let Lady Yuhi hear such things, or I'm afraid Lady Shinku will..."

"Haha~ That's right, I was just talking nonsense."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned for a second before he realized what was happening. He really hadn't expected Tatsuma to make such a joke. No wonder he was a student taught by Jiraiya.

"Achoo!"

Jiraiya, who was not required to participate in this round of exams, was peacefully staying at the hot spring inn when he inexplicably sneezed.

"Go for it! Keep it up!"

Asuma waved from the waiting area, while his team leader, Jonin Shikaku, said disapprovingly, "Keep your voice down, are you afraid your dad won't know you're dating?

Upon hearing this, Asuma glanced fearfully toward the platform. Fortunately, his father was chatting with his most admired senior, Tatsuma, so he probably didn't hear anything.

Having calmed down, she spoke again, her tone and manner still slightly furtive, asking, "Shikaku-sensei, Shisui is so young, he shouldn't be stronger than Kurenai, right?"

Shikaku pointed to Orochimaru on the other side and said, "Do you think Lord Orochimaru would allow his substandard subordinates to come and take the exam?"

"this"

"Ready? Let's begin!"

At this moment, the examiner had already announced the start of the competition. Upon hearing the instruction, Shisui immediately chose to retreat, all the way to the edge of the examination room. This was his best effort to avoid contact with Senior Kurenai.

During the retreat, he also rapidly refined his chakra.

Unlike adult ninjas, children don't have the same ability to conserve chakra at all times. This technique isn't very suitable for children because it wastes too much chakra compared to refining it when needed.

However, prolonged chakra depletion can lead to developmental problems. Unless absolutely necessary, such as when going to the battlefield, the leading Jonin will advise his subordinates not to constantly refine their chakra.

Just as Shisui did, so did Kurenai. While Shisui retreated, she was also refining her chakra. The moment Shisui stopped, Kurenai's chakra was also refined. Her eyes widened slightly, her blood-red pupils locking onto Shisui, and a surge of chakra arrived immediately.

"The Art of the Fox's Mind!"

The moment the genjutsu's chakra struck Shisui, his eyes turned crimson, and he frowned. It was Kurenai's genjutsu.

A bit weak.

Orochimaru, in the waiting area, narrowed his snake-like eyes. This silly boy doesn't seem to have noticed the boost from the Sharingan. Kurenai's genjutsu isn't weak, at least not at this age.

But it would be very interesting if the opponent were an Uchiha ninja whose genjutsu talent was no weaker or even stronger, and who had awakened a Sharingan that greatly amplified genjutsu.

Moreover, Shisui had also learned medical ninjutsu. Although his mastery of it was not profound, his control over chakra was even stronger than that of Kurenai, who was several years older than him. This alone was enough to widen the gap between the two in terms of genjutsu skills.

However, Shisui had no experience fighting against genjutsu-type ninjas of his own age, and his judgment of the strength of genjutsu came from Orochimaru.

Compared to Orochimaru, Kurenai's genjutsu is arguably weaker.

"Magical! The world in the mirror spins!"

In an instant, Shisui saw through Kurenai's entire genjutsu and chose to deflect it. He even used his Sharingan to reflect the chakra at an even faster speed, hitting Kurenai.

A few seconds later

"Uchiha Shisui wins."

Shisui looked somewhat embarrassed at Kurenai, who had just walked out of the examination room and was only now realizing what was happening. He bowed politely, then looked up at his teacher. He guessed that he hadn't actually met Kurenai yet.

However, it felt like he hadn't even had a chance to show anything before it was over. Could he become one of those examinees who won the battle but still couldn't be promoted to Chunin?

If I had known, I wouldn't have defeated Senior Red so early.

He hadn't even put his knowledge of ninjutsu, taijutsu, body-flickering techniques, close-quarters combat, and battle strategies to use yet.

I certainly can't defeat my next opponent so early; I need to properly demonstrate my abilities!

"Next match, Sarutobi Asuma will face Uchiha Shisui. Please come down and prepare."

"Red! I will definitely avenge you!"

Asma patted his chest and said.

(End of this chapter)