"You're kidding, right?" Mabui said with a surprised expression.
Anya shrugged innocently and replied, "What's the problem with that?"
Mabui sneered, "Too many problems! If you two participate, do the other Genin even stand a chance?"
Anya smiled indifferently and said, "We're just going for fun—just to pass the time."
Sasori responded gravely, "Orochimaru might be hiding among the Genin ranks. Our presence ensures safety, so Tenten won't get hurt."
Upon hearing this, Mabui gave up trying to talk them out of it and instead asked, "What identities will you use?"
Anya pulled out three forehead protectors and said, "Ninjas from this village are among those invited."
Takigakure? Afraid of getting found out?" Mabui asked, but then noticed there were three forehead protectors. Suddenly understanding, she pointed at herself and said, "Wait—you want me to come too, right?"
"Haha, relax. You can just stay in Konoha and enjoy yourself like a vacation. Such opportunities don't come often. Treasure it."
With that, Anya and Sasori left together.
The two men, wearing straw hats, twisted and turned through several alleyways until reaching a small high-rise building—Naruto's current residence.
As they pushed the door open, a small Yellow Wasp flew toward them.
Anya nodded at Sasori in signal.
Sasori took out a scroll from his robe and released its seal. A mechanized puppet, about the size of an adult human, appeared inside the room. As Ryumyaku energy flowed into it, the puppet became lifelike, resembling a real person.
The soul essence within the Yellow Wasp flowed into the puppet's body. With a glow of blue light from the mechanized eyes, its entire body softened, externally resembling Minato himself with striking similarity.
"Fascinating," Minato said while testing this new body. He felt almost no difference from a real human—the touch sensations were nearly identical.
Sasori threw a scroll toward Minato and said, "Instructions for use. Study it carefully. The energy stored inside supports only one full-scale battle, roughly at the level of an Elite Jonin."
Minato sincerely said, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me. I'm not helping you."
"Hehe, Either way, just take it." Anya handed each of them a forehead protector, then placed his own around his neck.
Looking at the protector in his hand, Minato's eyes flickered with emotion.
Seeing him spacing out, Anya smiled slightly and said, "Just to conceal your identity. We're not really making you pretend to be a real Takigakure ninja. Don't you want to test Naruto's growth in person?"
Without another word, Minato put the protector around his neck and nodded. "You're right."
Anya then pulled out three pre-carved masks and handed them out. They were styled after Red Spider, Hornet, and Megatron—bearing a strong mechanical aesthetic.
Sasori's eyes lit up with interest as he spoke enthusiastically, "This is their original form, huh? I tried designing several before but wasn't satisfied. These look good. I can improve upon them when we return."
Minato was slightly confused, not quite understanding, but obediently put on the Yellow Wasp mask.
With a sweeping wave of his hand and a confident grin, Anya declared, "Let's go."
With the Chunin Exams about to begin, genin from various nations began entering the village one after another. Close to a hundred participants in total, they all made their way toward the examination hall.
The trio had just stepped onto the staircase when a noise came from above. A ninja with a watermelon-shaped hairstyle wearing a green body suit was seen lying flat on the ground. Anya recognized him instantly—he was one of the earlier introduced key characters, Lee.
Izumo Kamizuki, who was guarding the door, remarked, "You really think you can take the Chunin Exams dressed like that? Maybe save it for another time, kid."
Tenten helped Lee up, stepped forward two steps, and said, "Please, let us through."
"Bang!"
Another sound rang out. Tenten took a hit on the face and fell backward, sitting on the ground.
Seeing this, Sasori's eyes turned cold as his murderous aura surged instantly. In a flash, the entire building turned icy cold.
The two guards, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, felt a surge of panic, unable to understand where this immense pressure had come from.
Anya quickly grabbed Sasori's arm and said, "They're just acting. It's not real fighting."
Sasori withdrew his killing intent and said, "I know. Otherwise, you wouldn't still be breathing."
The murderous intent appeared and disappeared as quickly as it had come, as if the scene had never happened. Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged confused glances, unsure of what had just occurred, but they still needed to finish their routine.
Izumo continued, "We're not letting you through for your own good. The Chunin Exams are a huge challenge. We've seen way too many genin drop out after realizing how brutal these exams can get, or break down under the pressure."
Kotetsu added, "Chunin are team leaders. If a mission fails and your subordinates die, it's all on the captain. Can you handle that responsibility?"
Just then, Team 7 arrived. Sasuke took the lead and said, "You're right, but I'm still going through. This Barrier you created with genjutsu—better take it down now. I'm heading to the third floor."
Minato, observing this, said, "That kid is from the Uchiha Clan, isn't he? His reaction was sharp—he saw through the illusion immediately."
Anya nodded. "Yes, he's the last surviving member of the Uchiha Clan in Konoha."
Minato was shocked. "What do you mean by that?"
"What else could it mean? The Uchiha Clan was wiped out, and he's the only one who survived."
"How could this happen? Who did it?"
Anya smirked slightly and said, "Care to guess?"
After recovering from the initial shock, Minato quickly came up with a guess. He replied bitterly, "Could it be...Konoha?"
Anya sighed. "Though Konoha didn't pull the trigger themselves, they were definitely involved behind the scenes. The sudden emergence of the Nine-Tails led the village to target the Uchiha Clan. I'm sure you can imagine what happened after that."
Minato spoke with regret. "Back then, before I became Hokage, the Third asked me to help balance the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village. If I had remained in Konoha, perhaps I could have stopped this tragedy from happening."
Anya had long foreseen the fate of the Uchiha Clan. The rift between the Uchiha and the other clans of Konoha could not be resolved quickly. If the Uchiha ever rose to power, they wouldn't help Konoha—they'd become its worst nightmare. Tobirama's constant vigilance against the Uchiha Clan was not without reason.
As the two were speaking, the genjutsu had already been released. The next legendary scene was about to unfold...
Lee solemnly approached Team 7 and addressed the only female there, "My name is Rock Lee. You must be Sakura. Please go out with me—I'll protect you until the day I die."
Caught off guard by the sudden confession, Sakura turned green. She rejected him coldly, word by word: "Absolutely not."
Anya, watching from the side, couldn't help but mutter, "Ah, youth..."
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