And so it began.
Naruto started to recount everything to the Third Hokage, relaying the diary's spoilers almost verbatim.
The Third Hokage's reactions to these revelations were mixed.
Some of the spoilers he dismissed outright, even finding them absurd.
For instance, the idea of Obito being the Ninja World's ultimate boss—Obito was dead! How could a dead man be the boss?
And the claim that Naruto would become "best friends" with the Nine-Tails? That was even more ridiculous.
Ever since the First Hokage captured the Nine-Tails, how many Jinchuriki had there been?
Konoha had tried every possible method, but no one had ever succeeded.
Forget "best friends"—even slightly reducing the Nine-Tails' hostility was considered a major achievement.
And it wasn't just the Nine-Tails.
Across the entire Ninja World, it seemed that only the old monk from Sunagakure and Killer B from Kumogakure had managed to coexist peacefully with their Tailed Beasts.
Moreover, in the Third Hokage's eyes, Tailed Beasts had always been weapons.
They were meant to be controlled and utilized. Why bother with anything else?
Besides, given Naruto's intelligence and personality, the very idea was nothing short of a joke.
The Nine-Tails would be lucky if it didn't slap Naruto to death!
As for something like the Infinite Tsukuyomi, which could supposedly trap the entire Ninja World, the Third Hokage found it even more absurd.
We're talking about the *entire* Ninja World here!
How could such a jutsu possibly exist?
This was bragging without even a shred of a plan.
Never mind the First Hokage—even if the legendary Sage of Six Paths himself were to be reincarnated, he couldn't possibly achieve such a thing.
And then there was this "Ten-Tails" nonsense.
It was common knowledge that there were only nine Tailed Beasts in the Ninja World. When did a tenth one appear?
Utterly ridiculous.
This information only deepened the Third Hokage's doubts about this so-called "future prediction."
He grew even more skeptical, convinced it was all just a way to fool a child like Naruto.
Yet, even while doubting its authenticity, the Third Hokage couldn't afford to completely dismiss certain pieces of information.
He had to treat them with a degree of seriousness.
For example...
"Orochimaru has made a secret pact with Sunagakure?"
The Third Hokage's expression grew grave.
According to Naruto's account, Orochimaru and Sunagakure were planning to stir up trouble during the Chunin Exams.
Naruto had also mentioned earlier that he would be killed by Orochimaru during the exams.
So, that mysterious thing in Naruto was saying that Orochimaru and Sunagakure would try to kill him during the Chunin Exams?
Could this be the Konoha Crush?
Of course, the Third Hokage couldn't possibly believe such a claim without any evidence.
But as the Kage of a village, the Third Hokage also couldn't completely ignore such a bombshell of intelligence.
After all, Naruto had been hit by a jutsu that the entire Konoha Village couldn't understand. It couldn't have been just for the sake of playing with him, right?
Although much of the information above seemed absurd to the Third Hokage, when it came to the Konoha Crush, it was better to believe it than not.
If it were false, no harm would be done. But what if it were true?
Wouldn't that be a disaster?
If there was even a sliver of a chance, he couldn't afford not to be prepared!
Not to mention...
Among all that seemingly unreliable information, there were actually some pieces of intelligence that were quite accurate.
For example...
When Orochimaru defected from Konoha, he had indeed held back.
Yes, the Third Hokage himself had let Orochimaru go. In the end, the old man couldn't bring himself to kill his own student.
And during that battle with Orochimaru, there were no other ninjas around.
All the Anbu ninjas at the scene had been killed by Orochimaru, and Enma was his own summoned beast.
So, the fact that he had let Orochimaru escape was something truly no one else knew about.
Take, for example, the Uchiha clan massacre. He had also known about Danzō's plot long before it happened.
He had even made arrangements in advance, deploying the Anbu to other locations to facilitate Danzō's operation.
This matter, too, was known only to Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
Of course, this was different from letting Orochimaru escape. After all, no one was stupid; many could vaguely guess what was going on.
But the crucial point was, who would bring up such a sensitive matter and expose it?
Considering all these circumstances, the Third Hokage pondered for a moment and finally made a decision.
Setting aside other intelligence for now, the possibility of Orochimaru and Sunagakure conspiring together was something he absolutely had to guard against.
"Someone come see me!"
After dismissing Naruto, the Third Hokage immediately summoned an Anbu ninja.
He issued orders to investigate the matter.
"Yes, sir!"
The Anbu ninja immediately accepted the mission and departed. A series of actions began to unfold rapidly, as one would expect.
But unfortunately...
Orochimaru and Sunagakure's conspiracy was a top-secret plot. Even the assassination of the Kazekage hadn't been discovered by Sunagakure itself, only coming to light much later.
How could such a matter be so easily investigated?
Moreover, with the Chunin Exams just a month away, time was running short.
So, as the days passed, Konoha failed to uncover any useful clues.
The Third Hokage also began to get busy preparing for the Chunin Exams and other related matters, gradually pushing this issue to the back of his mind.
As for Naruto?
After a few more missions catching cats and dogs, he, Sasuke, and Sakura, under Kakashi's leadership, went to the Land of Waves.
They carried out the mission to protect the bridge-building specialist and experienced their first truly perilous life-and-death battle.
Each of them grew significantly from the experience.
Especially Naruto, who not only improved his strength but also broadened his horizons, learning "obscure knowledge" like the Sharingan and Kekkei Genkai.
They all gained a great deal.
After Team 7 returned triumphantly, Konoha Village gradually became more bustling.
Ninjas from Sunagakure and other ninja villages arrived one after another in Konoha.
They were here to participate in the Chunin Exams hosted by Konoha this time.
Zhou Cheng, who had been hanging around Konoha for over half a month and was about to leave, quickly changed his mind after seeing this situation.
"The Chunin Exams are about to start!"
"This is a major event in the Naruto World!"
Seeing the new faces appearing on the streets, Zhou Cheng's interest was completely piqued.
*What's stopping me then?*
Zhou Cheng immediately changed his mind and decided to stay in the Naruto World for a while longer.
*Since I've come across such a grand event, I can't miss it.*
He resumed his casual stroll through Konoha Village.
Because he had lowered his presence, Zhou Cheng had become a complete ghost in Konoha.
As long as he didn't deliberately cause a scene, everyone subconsciously ignored him.
The villagers no longer noticed him for being a stranger, and the Anbu paid him even less attention.
It was the picture of carefree freedom.
"Hey, kid, are you looking to die?!"
As he leisurely turned a corner, a sharp voice caught Zhou Cheng's attention.
Zhou Cheng looked toward the source of the voice and saw a man with a very unconventional style, carrying a puppet wrapped in white cloth. He was hoisting a small child into the air.
The man's expression was fierce.
*This is... Kankuro!*
Zhou Cheng instantly recognized the newcomer.
It was none other than Kankuro from the Sand Siblings.
As for the child Kankuro was holding, it was naturally Konohamaru, the Third Hokage's grandson.
It turned out Konohamaru had accidentally bumped into Kankuro, who then grabbed him.
Not only the Sand Siblings, but Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were also present.
The atmosphere on the scene instantly became tense and oppressive.
"You bastard, let him go!"
Seeing Konohamaru captured, Naruto immediately rushed forward, intending to teach Kankuro a lesson, but was easily knocked down.
He made a complete fool of himself.
In contrast, Sasuke, as usual, showed off brilliantly, taking down Kankuro with just a small pebble.
This immediately caught Gaara's attention.
The conflict between the two sides ended quickly, and everyone went their separate ways afterward. No one even spared a glance at Zhou Cheng, who was standing on the sidelines eating melon.
"I'm getting more and more excited!"
Zhou Cheng's eyes grew brighter. In the eyes of ordinary people, only a few ninjas like Gaara had come from Sunagakure.
But Zhou Cheng knew that a large group of Sunagakure ninjas had arrived and were already lying in ambush outside Konoha Village.
They were just waiting for the Konoha Crush to begin before launching their attack on Konoha.
*Buzz.*
Zhou Cheng immediately released his Observation Haki, enveloping the entire Konoha Village and all the ninjas in the surrounding area.
However, Zhou Cheng was somewhat surprised that he couldn't sense any of the Sunagakure ninjas.
Aside from Gaara and the other Genin participating in the exams, the only people from Sunagakure present were Baki and his delegation.
"I see. It is indeed a bit early."
After a brief moment of reflection, Zhou Cheng understood what was happening.
It seemed there was a full month between the two stages of the Chunin Exams.
Ambushing now was indeed too early.
With this realization, Zhou Cheng focused his Observation Haki more intently on the Kazekage.
Sure enough, he discovered that the man was no longer the Kazekage.
It was Orochimaru!
And at this very moment, the Third Hokage was personally leading several Konoha officials to receive Orochimaru.
"Kazekage-sama, you've traveled far. It must have been an arduous journey," the Third Hokage said with a gentle smile.
"This is a Chunin Exam jointly hosted by our two villages, so I naturally had to come in person," "Rasa" replied, showing no signs of abnormality as he exchanged pleasantries with the Third Hokage.
"Kazekage-sama, everyone, please come inside!"
After a few brief words, the Third Hokage personally led "Rasa" and his group inside.
He then personally settled "Rasa" and his entourage.
"Kazekage, if you have any requests, please let me know immediately."
"For now, please rest for a while."
After saying this to the "Kazekage" and his group, the Third Hokage finally left with several other Konoha high-ranking officials.
"Sensei, it's been... a long time!"
What the Third Hokage never expected was that after he left, the face beneath the "Kazekage's" mask revealed an incomparably sinister smile.
A tongue even flicked out to lick his lips, just like a venomous snake!
But Orochimaru also never expected that after the Third Hokage left, he would turn to Inoichi Yamanaka beside him and ask a question with an extremely solemn expression.
"Well?"
"What did you find?"
The Third Hokage's gaze fixed on Inoichi Yamanaka, filled with gravity.
"He's not the Kazekage!"
"His chakra is completely different from the Kazekage's!"
"Although he has suppressed almost all of his chakra, no one can suppress it completely!"
Inoichi Yamanaka stated with absolute certainty.
That's right.
This was the real reason the Third Hokage had specially brought Inoichi Yamanaka along to receive the Kazekage!
According to the intelligence Naruto had provided, Orochimaru had collaborated with Sunagakure to launch the Konoha Crush by killing the Kazekage!
That was precisely why the Third Hokage had kept Inoichi Yamanaka, a top-tier sensory ninja, by his side—to probe the situation.
And to his surprise, Inoichi had actually found something!
"Are you certain?"
The Third Hokage's expression changed abruptly, his eyes locked onto Inoichi.
"I'm certain!" Inoichi gave a definitive answer.
Konoha and Sunagakure had clashed many times during the Third Shinobi World War. As a veteran of that conflict, Inoichi was no stranger to Rasa. He could recognize Rasa's chakra signature instantly.
"So, this Kazekage... is a fake!"
The Third Hokage's composure shattered.
The Kazekage was a fake!
The Kazekage was actually a fake!
What did this mean?
Could the intelligence Naruto provided be true? Had Orochimaru really killed the Kazekage?
Was Orochimaru truly planning to use this Chunin Exam to assassinate him?
To execute the Konoha Crush?
The Third Hokage's breathing grew heavy.
"What is Sunagakure trying to achieve? Why would they send a fake Kazekage?"
"If the Kazekage couldn't attend, they could have just told us. Why send an impostor?"
Inoichi Yamanaka's voice rang out. He immediately sensed something unusual.
The Kazekage being a fake was one thing, but the key was that the Hokage seemed to have known all along, having ordered the Sensory Unit to be on alert in advance.
What was going on?
"Hokage-sama, do you know something?" Inoichi Yamanaka couldn't help but ask the Third Hokage.
"I cannot be certain yet."
After a moment of contemplation, the Third Hokage did not reveal the truth to Inoichi. Instead, he simply gave an order: "Have the Sensory Unit strengthen their vigilance and keep a close eye on every move of the Sunagakure ninja."
"Also, search for any other Sunagakure ninja who may have infiltrated."
Inoichi Yamanaka's expression immediately changed. "Is Sunagakure planning something against Konoha?"
What the hell?
How many years has it been since the Third Shinobi World War?
And now Konoha and Sunagakure are supposed to be allies!
This is getting out of hand.
"It's not certain yet, which is why we need the Sensory Unit," the Third Hokage instructed Inoichi.
"Understood."
"I'll go make the arrangements right away!"
Given the gravity of the situation, Inoichi Yamanaka dared not be negligent for even a moment. He immediately turned and rushed off.
-----------------------
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