The next morning, Ishiki Kujo followed the directions and arrived at the venue for the Chūnin Exams.
There were plenty of participants, but compared to the version Naruto and his peers experienced in the manga, this one was far more streamlined.
The exam was structured into three parts:
— A review of the candidate's completed missions.
— A direct test of personal combat ability.
— A basic sparring round.
Ishiki easily cleared the mission requirement.
1 A-rank, 2 B-ranks, 11 C-ranks, 32 D-ranks.
The A-rank had been done under Uchiha Shisui's command. One B-rank had been with Kawahara Junji's squad; the other was when he'd rescued Junji. As for the C and D-ranks, most of those were medical-based missions during his time stationed at the forward camp.
Medical-nin missions—especially those involving healing—weren't always counted toward official records. Only those verified and evaluated by mission control qualified for rewards and credit.
Thankfully, Ishiki's logs were all approved. Which meant: bonus pay.
Money wasn't a problem.
If anything, his earnings were a direct reflection of how much Konoha relied on missions from the Land of Fire and its daimyō's funding. Without that system, the village would've crumbled under the cost of war long ago.
The other two stages of the exam? Child's play.
By that same afternoon, Ishiki had been officially promoted to chūnin.
Of course, jōnin was still a ways off. He lacked the mission volume. Combat strength alone didn't qualify someone. "Jōnin" was a position, not just a reflection of power.
Same thing with "Hokage"—a title, not just "the strongest."
Still, in practice, most Kage did tend to be the top-tier fighters in their village.
Ishiki returned home in high spirits and settled into his usual schedule:
— Morning training.
— Full shifts at the hospital.
— Occasional evening meetups with friends.
— More often, burning the midnight oil in quiet study.
The deeper he delved into medical ninjutsu, the more he realized how little he truly understood.
Chakra Scalpel, for instance, had opened entirely new avenues in surgical application. Lately, Ishiki had been invited to assist in increasingly complex procedures.
He'd also begun learning pharmacology.
Which meant: he was busy.
His ninjutsu training had been paused for now.
There wasn't much left to practice. His jutsu scrolls were few. Flying Thunder God was still far beyond reach—a mystery not solvable by study alone.
So, instead, Ishiki focused his energy on medical science and senjutsu research.
His discoveries with Yang Release + Ripple healing were already incredible. Now he wondered:
What could Senjutsu Chakra do in the medical field?
But Sage Mode was flashy—too attention-grabbing—so he hadn't dared use it in the hospital. Instead, he bought lab mice and ran experiments at home.
The results were… unexpected.
He tried healing a leg injury using Senjutsu Chakra + Healing Palm—and ended up incinerating the mouse's entire foot.
The chakra, drawing from the sun's energy, was pure heat.
If he pushed further, the mouse's limb would've vaporized entirely.
That kind of result implied a temperature above 8000°C.
Beyond even the heat generated by Fireball Jutsu.
Almost… solar plasma levels.
Ishiki couldn't help but think of Kars from JoJo Part 2—how, after evolving into the Ultimate Life Form, his Ripple output could melt human flesh into vapor.
If Sage Chakra + Ripple could be mastered, Ishiki might not need any traditional ninjutsu.
The sun would be his weapon. His scalpel. His purifier.
That thought took root deep in his mind. And from then on, his study of senjutsu became an obsession.
His top priority now was temperature control. The only path forward was through refining his Ripple breathing technique.
As for his Stand… Survivor hadn't been forgotten.
It couldn't be activated at random—but it also couldn't remain a one-time phenomenon locked in Root.
Now that Danzo had been forced into silence by the Third Hokage, he was unlikely to move against Ishiki for a while.
And that was dangerous.
Because the longer Danzo waited, the more Sharingan he'd steal, the more cells he'd graft from Hashirama, the harder he'd be to kill.
Ishiki wasn't a forgiving person. And he knew Danzo wasn't the kind to let go.
So instead of waiting… he'd strike first.
He'd take Danzo off the board before he could evolve into the monster from Part One.
The problem, as always, was Hiruzen.
The Third never played the villain. He always wore the "good guy" mask.
Unless you had proof, unless you caught a ninja red-handed, the Hokage would do nothing. And even then, he often handed off the dirty work to Danzo—his "shadow of Konoha."
Ishiki's record in the village was spotless.
If the Third wanted to act against him, he'd need hard evidence.
And if Danzo died first, then Ishiki would still just be a "suspicious" figure.
So what would the Hokage do once his "favorite son" was dead? What mask would he wear then?
Ishiki almost looked forward to finding out.
Lately, he'd also started sensing surveillance—someone tailing him.
That worked perfectly.
If Survivor erupted again while he had a rock-solid alibi, Danzo would panic. The Third would begin to question. It would shake the board.
But this time, the location couldn't be Root HQ.
That place was under reconstruction. Too dangerous. Too watched.
Instead, Ishiki picked a new target:
Konoha Prison.
The Maximum-Security Block under the jurisdiction of the Konoha Police Force.
Perfect.
No civilians. Plenty of chakra-hardened inmates. Confined space.
And when Survivor activated, the riot would be spectacular.
Of course, this was playing with fire. So Ishiki prepared his failsafe:
Only a shadow clone would remain in the village.
If something went wrong, he'd be gone—completely untouched.
"...Am I already preparing to defect?" he mused, chuckling to himself.
But his heart stayed calm.
If it came to that—if he really had to go rogue—would the ones sent to hunt him be Renge? Mirina? Guy?
That… was a thought that gave even Ishiki pause.