"Job? Need 1000 people to paint the village?" The people gathered beside the public notice board and read the latest notification stuck there.

Nobody knew why 1000 people would be needed for painting but many did report to the recruitment office since people needed the money and jobs were really bad right now. Even overqualified retired ninjas headed to get this job, as painting was a relatively less tiring work.

The Recruitment office was a relatively new thing in the village. This new office had one task, which was to help people find jobs according to their abilities. So, in the past few days, the new office conducted a survey asking each person their qualifications. Then they made a list of it so it may help in the future.

Painting, though, was something anybody could do. So anyone above 16 years of age was asked to come. Out of them, 1000 people were chosen, retired ninjas were given priority, however, as they could do it faster.

Shiroken had already chosen what he wanted the paints to be. Instead of just one colour, he will be creating circles in layers, each circle with different bright colours spanning the entire village.

So, the people started working with complete motivation because their salary was fixed instead of it being based on the number of hours or days. The ninja painters were fast and painted the whole village in just 2 days.

The final result was satisfactory and made the village look much more cheerful now, instead of desolate and barren. It gave the feeling of hope and playfulness now.

Shiroken headed out to look around with his nephew in his arms. "Look, not poopy anymore."

Shirajin was excited by the many different colours. Shiroken too felt it and just had an idea, "Now, with this distinct feature, Sunagakure can become a tourist destination. As long as we develop a good exotic and authentic desert-based cuisine and make good hotels, people will love it here. Also, I should create a high point on one of the cliffs, a big platform that overlooks the village so people can go there and watch the view. Haha, I am a genius."

"Shisho..." Shirajin tried to call his name.

"What is it, my overpowered nephew?" Shiroken asked. He had named him Overpowered because he was born with his Sharingan activated. It was only now that he had learned to deactivate it after Monari taught him painstakingly.

"We go where?" Shirajin asked him.

"Outside the village, we will be two farmer boys today, hehe, just like Saiken. But we will plant trees," He planned.

They walked through the village openly, and everyone recognised him at first sight. Perks of being the only person with white hair who still looks young.

But some still saw him with a look of hostility, even when he had given them food for free. It was shocking how some people can be so ungrateful. But, he didn't care, as most people were changing slowly.

Ignoring all the eyes, he looked at the village. Its central part was greenish, then there was purple, then orange and finally blue. The middle part was the Administrative district, the purple part was the best area to live, there were shops and also consist of many government buildings used to store materials. There were also many workshops important for the village. The orange part was mainly homes and shopping streets. The last blue ones were various small shops, factories and more homes.

Shiroken bypassed the cliff without going through the gates. He flew out of the village to look at the whole land he now owned. It was thankfully not full of sand and didn't have sand dunes. The area was flat and empty and looked yellow all the way. There were no other mountains as far as he could see.

"If all this land can become farmland, forget about the Wind Country, I can feed even other countries, of course, at a price." He muttered.

Next, he started to work, forcing Natural Energy from his body to get inside the land, making it fertile. The process would normally take years if done with the same method as said in that scroll. But, because Shiroken had access to more and better Natural Energy, the process was cut short by many folds.

He hovered above the ground and flew from one end to the other at a very high speed, enough to cover the 20 square kilometres in a whole day. At the same time, Shirajin was stuck to his back like a koala and enjoyed the wind hitting his face.

"HAHAHA... FASTER Shisho..." Shirajin cheered. Shiroken didn't complain or try to correct his pronunciation. Why? Well, because Shisho also meant teacher/master and he would love to be his nephew's master.

"Boy, if I flew faster you might end up flying away too, and I'd rather not get an earful from your mother," Shiroken said jokingly.

"I take care of Mumma." Shirajin confidently replied.

"Really? But the last time she yelled at me you ditched me and hid under a table." Shiroken reminded him.

But Shirajin just ignored that, "I was small."

"It happened 3 days ago, kid. Anyway, let's end this work. I will be leaving for Konoha later." He quickened his pace.

"I come too," Shirajin said, more like stated.

But his little heart was broken immediately, "No, I might be fighting there. It will be dangerous for you. Also, your mum will never allow it."

"Ummmm..." Shirajin pouted in dissatisfaction.

...

Konoha,

The Chunin exams had already begun. Naruto, like everybody else, was taking the exam with great enthusiasm. He just wanted to hurry up, get promoted, make more money and also become the next Hokage, since Hirzuen seemed old enough to drop dead anytime soon.

However, the first exam was an hour-long written test of ten questions. Written exams were Naruto's weakest points as no matter how much he tried he could never memorise everything by reading it.

As soon as the proctor, Ibiki Morino announced that any person who scored zero would lead their team to get disqualified Naruto felt stares from Sasuke and Sakura.

He scoffed and lifted the sheet. ~I'll show you, I will score more than you two.~

He started reading the first question. Though he then started to feel complicated. Nobody in the room knew that the real purpose of the exam was not to test the students but to disqualify as many students as possible.

The questions in the exam were way above Genin level, answers to these would only be known by a chunin. The real objective, therefore, was to cheat: either copy from one of the few genins that can answer the questions or from one of the chunins embedded with the examinees. If a genin is caught cheating five times, they and the rest of their team are disqualified.

The goal was also to force the genin to apply critical thinking. In most cases, being caught cheating means instant failure, but the two-point reduction was meant to give them a chance instead of trying again without being caught and make them realise they have to cheat. Getting the correct answer to these nine questions was not ultimately important, as it was possible to pass without answering any of them at all.

So, as soon as the genin saw the questions, most of them groaned in annoyance. But, quickly a few gutsy ones started cheating, they got caught 5 times and were thrown out. A few smart ones then realised that they just needed to cheat in a way they can't be caught.

But, poor Naruto didn't have that much critical thinking, not because he didn't have it in him, but because he didn't need it, at least not today. He was already writing on the sheet passionately.

From a distance, Sakura and Sasuke felt scared that Naruto might be taking random guesses and this would lead them to lose. But, despite how much they tried to help Naruto cheat, Naruto was too focused on writing.

"N-Naruto-Kun... I can show you the answers." Hinata, a kind little girl, sitting on Naruto's side offered.

But, Naruto proudly rejected, "It's fine, Hinata-chan, I know the answers to a few."

He focused back on writing. ~Hehe, the first question is about coding. Didn't Pervy Sage once send me a similar code when he needed my help as he was stuck inside a public bathroom and was hiding?~

Kurama, who was looking at everything sighed, ~At the very least, that useless man's fetishes came to use. But kid, look around you. Everyone is cheating, use common sense. This exam's main purpose is not to answer the questions, but to cheat without getting caught."

~I know... But I won't cheat. Only cowards cheat. Ah, by the way, Kurama-chan, can you give me some hints for this one? I think I know the answer.~ Naruto asked mentally.

Kurama though got enraged, ~YOU HUMAN! You dare add chan to my name? I will destroy you...~

~Oh, esteemed lord Kurama, sorry. I was talking to Hinata-Chan before that's why I made a mistake.~ Naruto quickly apologised.

~Huh, I know the answers to all the questions, boy. I am the most knowledgeable of my siblings.~ Kurama boasted.

Slowly, Naruto gave answers to all the questions in the sheet. And he didn't cheat at all in any questions. The biggest reason he could answer these questions was due to his recent training with Jiraiya as well as Kurama. He was experiencing some things daily that even some Chunins don't.

Slowly, forty-five minutes went by in the first stage. The Genins were given the opportunity to answer the tenth question. They were first warned that if they answer the question incorrectly, they will not be allowed to take the exams ever again; if they forfeit it will also disqualify them, however, they will be allowed to retake the exams another time.

This option was, itself, the tenth question; if a genin was willing to face the unknown of the tenth question, they were ready to be a chūnin. That was the idea behind it.

Slowly, some weak-willed Genin raised their hands, in fear that they would not be given a chance next year. They left the exam quickly.

But Naruto at the time sat there calmly, with his arms folded behind his head and his legs on the table. "Hinata-chan, how was your exam? Mine went very well, I think I got at least 7 questions correct."

Hinata flustered and nodded silently. She was always the timid one from the start.

After 15 minutes, the exam was over and only the genins who were waiting for the next question were left. However, it never came. "YOU ALL PASS THE EXAM! The last question was meant to discourage you. But, you all didn't quit. So, you pass the next exam."

Everyone took a sigh of relief and went out of the exam room happily. Sakura and Sasuke were very happy with the result. They were expecting Naruto to be pulling them back and had lost hope already.

...

Proctor, Ibiki Morino, stayed and collected the sheets left by the Genin. One by one, he also looked at the answers. However, when he stopped after picking one of them, he was stunned all of a sudden. "This... how did he solve all of them, and all answers are unique too, this means… NO CHEATING?!"

[A/N: This was exactly the opposite of what happened in the canon. Ibiki found the empty answer sheet of Naruto there.]

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