The Land of Rain.
The entrance to Amegakure—Village Hidden in the Rain.
Three young figures, clad in raincoats, appeared at the gate.
"Stop right there! Who are you?" The Amegakure ninja guarding the entrance immediately stepped forward, blocking their path and questioning them sharply.
"We're here to take the ninja exam," the young man standing in the middle replied. "We want to become Amegakure ninja."
As he spoke, the three of them lifted their heads, allowing the guard to clearly see the faces hidden beneath their raincoats.
Two boys and one girl.
The boy who had spoken had short orange hair and carried himself like the natural leader of the trio.
The other boy had long red hair that covered his eyes, making one wonder whether he could even see the road in front of him.
The girl had long bluish-purple hair, with a paper flower tucked on the right side of her head. The faint smile on her lips made her look gentle and endearing.
If Aoshi were here, he would immediately recognize them as Konan and her two companions, trained personally by Jiraiya for three years.
After Jiraiya's departure, the trio began living independently.
In order to take on missions more easily and earn a living, they decided to come to Amegakure and officially become ninja of the village.
After carefully observing the three and noticing their young age, the gate guard's expression relaxed slightly. This was far from the first time he had seen people come to take the ninja exam.
"Wait here for a moment."
Unlike Konoha, Amegakure did not possess a formal Ninja Academy.
In fact, aside from the Five Great Ninja Villages, most smaller villages lacked dedicated academies altogether. At best, they maintained simple training institutions for nurturing new ninja.
Every village followed different rules.
In Amegakure, regardless of where one learned ninjutsu, anyone could come to the village and take the ninja exam.
Upon passing, they would receive an Amegakure forehead protector and officially become a ninja of the village.
After all, Amegakure could not compete with the deep foundations and long history of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
It was precisely through this system that Hanzō had rapidly built up Amegakure's current strength.
Although he could not guarantee the absolute loyalty of every ninja, he would never suffer from a lack of manpower.
Moreover, thanks to his fearsome reputation as the "Demigod," the overwhelming majority of Amegakure ninja obeyed Hanzō's commands without question.
Soon, a slightly older Amegakure ninja appeared.
"The three of you, follow me."
He was a stern-looking ninja who clearly didn't enjoy unnecessary conversation.
Under his guidance, the trio arrived at the examination area.
"Go inside. Someone there will tell you exactly what to do."
"Thank you for your trouble," Yahiko said politely.
The ninja merely gave a faint grunt in response before turning and leaving without another word.
Unbothered by his attitude, the trio entered the examination room with quiet excitement.
Inside, several others were already waiting to take the test—both men and women, all appearing to be around the same age as them.
"Register first and wait in line," said a female Amegakure ninja in charge of registration. "You'll be called when it's your turn."
The trio immediately complied.
In Konoha, becoming an official ninja required passing the Ninja Academy graduation exam, receiving a supervising ninja, and then passing a second assessment conducted by that supervisor.
Only then could one truly be called a ninja.
In Amegakure, the process was far simpler. They needed only to successfully perform a single ninjutsu to pass the exam and officially become Amegakure ninja.
That was all.
Simple and direct.
Even so, not everyone succeeded.
While waiting in line, the trio saw several candidates fail the test and leave with dejected expressions.
Of course, failing once did not mean the end. They could return and try again after further training.
"Next—Yahiko." Finally, it was their turn. Yahiko stepped forward first, with Nagato and Konan following afterward.
Given the trio's abilities, the outcome was never in doubt.
All three passed. Not only that—each of them achieved a perfect score.
From execution speed to control and proficiency, their performance was flawless in the eyes of the Chūnin overseeing the exam.
Three perfect scores in a row.
This was the first time such a result had ever occurred in Amegakure.
The commotion immediately drew the attention of the highest-ranking individual present—a Jōnin, who arrived in person.
With barely concealed excitement, he addressed the trio.
"Yahiko, Nagato, Konan— the three of you are true geniuses."
Despite the praise, none of them showed even a hint of arrogance. After all, they had already seen what a true genius looked like.
Unexpectedly, their calm reaction only made the Jōnin value them even more.
"My name is Noda Kei," he said. "I am a Jōnin of Amegakure. Would you be willing to become my subordinate? I can train you to reach Jōnin level as quickly as possible."
The trio exchanged glances before Yahiko stepped forward and declined politely. "Thank you very much for your high regard, Lord Noda, but we already have a teacher."
Noda Kei sighed, unsurprised by the answer. Suppressing his disappointment, he continued, revealing his true purpose.
"Actually, I came to see you about something else. Are you familiar with the Joint Chūnin Exams?"
The trio shook their heads in unison.
Jiraiya had never taught them about matters like this.
Noda Kei then began explaining everything about the upcoming Joint Chūnin Exams between Konoha and Sunagakure.
===
"So, Lord Noda, you want the three of us to participate in the Joint Chūnin Exams as representatives of Amegakure?"
Noda Kei nodded.
He was responsible not only for the Genin examinations, but also for matters related to the Chūnin Exams.
During the previous Joint Chūnin Exams, Amegakure's performance had been extremely poor, which allowed those who were on bad terms with him to seize the opportunity and criticize him relentlessly.
But this situation was unavoidable.
After all, Amegakure did not possess a relatively complete ninja training system like the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Even though it was a ninja village ruled by the famed "Demigod," aside from their leader, Hanzō, there was not a single other ninja who could truly be called outstanding.
That was precisely why the appearance of Yahiko and the others made Noda Kei place such high importance on them.
"Yahiko, I think we should participate." Konan was the first to voice her opinion.
She was naturally willing to seize this opportunity to go to Konoha and see Brother Aoshi. It had already been more than two years since they last met, and she missed him deeply.
Yahiko himself was also tempted and wanted to go to Konoha. It was, after all, the hometown where their teacher, Jiraiya, had grown up.
However, Yahiko did not immediately agree. Instead, he turned to look at Nagato, who had remained silent the entire time.
He had not forgotten that Nagato's parents had died at the hands of Konoha ninja. Nagato did not harbor much affection for Konoha.
"It's fine, Yahiko. This is a rare opportunity, and going to Konoha would be a valuable experience."
Thanks to Jiraiya's guidance, Nagato no longer held the intense hatred toward Konoha that he once had.
It was only a trip to Konoha to participate in the Chūnin Exams. He would not reject it to that extent.
With that, Yahiko no longer hesitated. "We are willing to participate in the Chūnin Exams."
Upon receiving their affirmative answer, Noda Kei was overjoyed.
He immediately helped the three of them complete the registration procedures for the Chūnin Exams.
"The Joint Chūnin Exams will begin in about a week. If you have no urgent matters to attend to, you can depart for Konoha tomorrow."
Given the distance between Amegakure and Konoha, normal travel would take two or three days.
"Then let's leave tomorrow."
…
The gates of Konoha.
A squad of Sunagakure ninja appeared at the entrance. They had arrived to participate in the Joint Chūnin Exams.
"So this is Konoha!"
Unlike the endless yellow sands of the Land of Wind, the environment of the Land of Fire was exceptionally pleasant.
The Genin who were visiting Konoha for the first time all stared around in amazement.
Pakura, who was leading the team, was not surprised by their reactions. She had reacted the same way when she first came to Konoha.
As a side note, Rasa did not come for this Chūnin Exam. Pakura was fully in charge.
"Pakura, long time no see."
Aoshi, who had been waiting there for quite some time, recognized the familiar, smooth silhouette and proactively greeted her.
Following Sarutobi Hiruzen's orders, he would serve as Konoha's chief representative for the Joint Chūnin Exams. In other words, he would be working together with Pakura throughout the event.
Seeing Aoshi, Pakura spoke with a complicated expression.
"Long time no see, Aoshi."
The two of them had first met during a mission. Due to conflicting objectives, their sides had clashed in battle, and she had ultimately been defeated by him.
The competitive Pakura had always planned to challenge Aoshi again once she became stronger, hoping to reclaim her pride. However, even now, she was not confident that she could win.
Naturally, Aoshi had no idea what Pakura was thinking. He simply continued speaking with a faint smile.
"Konoha has already arranged accommodations for you. Please follow me." With that, Aoshi turned and led the way.
Pakura and the Sunagakure ninja followed closely behind.
After settling her group into their lodgings, Pakura followed Aoshi to a conference room.
The reason she had arrived in Konoha a full week early was to discuss the specific details of the Joint Chūnin Exams.
This time, Sunagakure was not merely a participant—they were also one of the hosts.
"So, the specific plan has been finalized. Is that acceptable?"
Pakura nodded, raising no objections.
"I didn't realize it had gotten so late."
Aoshi stood up and began tidying his things. Glancing out the window, he noticed that the sky had already darkened.
Without realizing it, the two of them had spent the entire afternoon discussing arrangements.
"How about this?" Aoshi said. "As the host, I'd like to treat you to dinner tonight."
Pakura was slightly taken aback by the invitation.
Although they had known each other for a long time, their relationship was not particularly close.
Every interaction between them had been driven by mission requirements, and this time was no exception.
That was also why she usually maintained a serious demeanor when dealing with Aoshi. She was never as relaxed as she was around her own people.
Even so, Pakura had to admit that Aoshi was exceptionally outstanding—both in strength and appearance.
If they had been comrades from the same village, she might even have taken the initiative to pursue him.
Shaking off those stray thoughts, Pakura finally smiled and accepted.
"That sounds good. It's been a long time since I've had Konoha's cuisine—I truly miss it."
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