A week had passed since Kizaru began practicing his new techniques.
As the Joint Chunin Exams drew closer, shinobi from other villages began arriving in Konoha one after another.
The first team from outside the village to enter Konoha was from Amegakure, the Hidden Rain Village, which had formed a deep strategic alliance with Konoha.
As the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo personally led more than a dozen shinobi to Konoha.
Since Hanzo was the first allied leader to arrive, Konoha showed him considerable sincerity. The village received Amegakure's delegation with the etiquette and treatment normally reserved for a major nation.
Hanzo accepted it calmly, but the Rain shinobi behind him were clearly satisfied. Some of them even looked faintly honored.
For a village like Amegakure, which had long been caught between the great nations, being treated with such respect by Konoha carried a meaning that could not be ignored.
After Amegakure, the second village to arrive was Iwagakure.
As Konoha's newly established ally, and in order to further deepen the relationship between the two villages, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, personally led Iwagakure's participating teams to Konoha.
After Iwagakure came Kumogakure.
Like the previous two villages, the one leading Kumogakure's delegation was also a Kage.
The Third Raikage, who had only left Konoha not long ago, had returned once again.
However, unlike Iwagakure and Amegakure, the Third Raikage had not personally come to Konoha to improve relations.
His reason was much simpler.
Blue B had only recently become the Eight-Tails' jinchuriki, and the Third Raikage was here to prevent any accidents.
Although Blue B had remained quite stable after becoming the Eight-Tails' jinchuriki, and had even begun learning to use the tailed beast's chakra, the Third Raikage was not careless enough to treat that as absolute safety.
For that reason, he chose to personally accompany Kumogakure's teams to Konoha.
At the same time, the Third Raikage had also forcefully warned the Eight-Tails to behave itself.
After all, Konoha already had one certain "tailed beast bandit" who had caused enough chaos. The last thing he needed was for the Eight-Tails to lose control here and create another disaster.
Among the great nations participating in the Joint Chunin Exams, Sunagakure of the Land of Wind was the last to arrive in Konoha.
It was also the only one among the Five Great Shinobi Nations whose Kage did not personally lead the team.
The newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Lady Chiyo, had originally planned to lead the team herself and participate in the Joint Chunin Exams.
However, several stubborn elders in Sunagakure's upper ranks had forced her to remain in the village, using the defense of the village and the security of the Land of Wind as their excuse.
With no other choice, Chiyo, who had only recently taken the position of Kazekage and had yet to fully stabilize her authority, could only send her younger brother, Ebizo, to lead Sunagakure's delegation in her place.
"Hmph. The newly appointed Kazekage certainly carries herself with importance."
Inside a luxurious and comfortable reception room, the Third Raikage sat on the sofa with his arms crossed. The moment he saw Ebizo enter as Sunagakure's representative, he was the first to speak.
His tone was blunt, heavy, and clearly unfriendly.
But the Third Raikage's provocation was not simply because of his temper.
Nor was it some reckless impulse.
Kumogakure had suffered a painful defeat at Konoha's hands, and the compensation they had to pay because of Kizaru had placed a heavy burden on the village's finances.
Since Kumogakure could not take that loss back from Konoha, the Third Raikage had naturally turned his eyes toward Sunagakure.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Nations, Sunagakure had already been the weakest. Now, after suffering severe losses, it was even more vulnerable.
In simple terms—
Kumogakure could not bite Konoha.
But Sunagakure?
That was a different matter.
If he could find a reason to start a war with the Land of Wind, defeat Sunagakure, and seize enough resources, Kumogakure's financial pressure would be greatly eased.
That was why the Third Raikage deliberately provoked Ebizo the moment he entered the room.
As Sunagakure's chief strategist, Ebizo was naturally no fool. He understood the Third Raikage's intention almost immediately.
Kumogakure truly was shameless.
Unable to deal with the strong, they immediately turned toward the weak.
Ebizo cursed inwardly, but on the surface, his expression remained calm and polite.
"My sister has only just taken the position of Kazekage. There are many affairs in the village that require her attention, and she truly could not leave. I must apologize for that."
His tone was humble, his smile gentle, and his attitude flawless.
Seeing that Ebizo had no intention of taking the bait—and had even apologized without giving him any opening—the Third Raikage knew this provocation would not work.
His expression remained cold, but he only gave a faint nod, as if reluctantly accepting Ebizo's explanation.
Sitting in the main seat, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, naturally saw through the Third Raikage's intentions.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
At almost the same moment, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, glanced at him.
The two old foxes exchanged a brief look.
Neither of them said anything.
But both understood exactly what the Third Raikage had been trying to do.
"Everyone from Sunagakure must be tired after such a long journey," Hiruzen said kindly, looking toward Ebizo. "Please, Elder Ebizo, have a seat."
Just as the Third Raikage wanted to carve meat from Sunagakure to make up for Kumogakure's losses, Hiruzen also had his own plans.
Sunagakure had suffered heavy damage and was now being watched by powerful enemies. This was the perfect time for Konoha to show goodwill and pull Sunagakure completely into its own camp.
After experiencing the last brutal war, Hiruzen understood one thing very clearly.
The Land of Fire occupied the richest and most fertile land on the continent. Because of that, Konoha could never escape the covetous eyes of the other great nations.
That reality would not change.
And Hiruzen had no intention of letting Konoha continue fighting one against four forever.
Kizaru was his disciple, and with Kizaru's strength, Konoha could enjoy decades of peace and dominance.
But even shinobi grew old one day.
If Konoha could support Sunagakure, guide it, and turn it into a true ally—perhaps even a loyal younger brother among the great nations—then Konoha's long-standing predicament of being surrounded by enemies would finally begin to change.
"Thank you for your understanding, Third Hokage."
Facing Hiruzen's clear goodwill, Ebizo immediately noticed the meaning behind it and responded at once.
Just as Hiruzen had expected, Sunagakure, whose strength had fallen to its lowest point in history, needed Konoha's protection if it wanted to resist Kumogakure's ambition.
For Sunagakure, holding tightly onto Konoha's leg was currently the safest path.
After Ebizo entered the room and took his seat, the representatives from the four major nations participating in the Joint Chunin Exams had all arrived.
Hiruzen tapped the ash from his pipe, then began explaining the full schedule and process of the Joint Chunin Exams.
The exam was expected to last fourteen days and would be divided into three rounds.
The first round would be a written examination, as well as a test of intelligence gathering. It would take one day.
The second round would be a team examination. It would test the genin squads' teamwork, combat ability, survival skills, and mission execution. This round would last three days.
The third round would test individual combat strength.
Those who advanced to the third round would be assigned numbers, and then their opponents would be selected randomly for one-on-one battles. This round would take three days.
In order to allow the participating shinobi to show their strength properly, the third round would be divided into two parts: the preliminary selection round and the final tournament.
Between those two stages, there would be one week of rest.
None of the representatives from the other villages raised any objections to Hiruzen's explanation.
Every village held its own Chunin Exams internally, and the contents and methods were not too different from what Konoha had arranged.
"When does it begin?" the Third Raikage asked directly.
"The day after tomorrow, at nine in the morning," Hiruzen replied, calmly taking another puff from his pipe.
The Third Raikage nodded.
"Fine. Kumogakure has no objections."
After receiving the Third Raikage's response, Hiruzen turned his gaze toward Ebizo and Onoki.
Sunagakure's elder smiled politely.
"Sunagakure has no objections either."
Onoki floated slightly above his seat, arms folded inside his sleeves, his old face unreadable.
"Iwagakure agrees."
Hiruzen gave a slow nod.
"Then it is decided."
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Outside the reception building, Konoha was already growing livelier by the hour. Shinobi from different lands walked through the streets under watchful eyes, and beneath the surface of this seemingly peaceful exam, every village carried its own calculations.
Amegakure wanted respect.
Iwagakure wanted stability.
Kumogakure wanted to recover its losses.
Sunagakure wanted protection.
And Konoha—
Konoha wanted the future.
As for Kizaru, the person whose name had quietly influenced many of these plannings…
He was nowhere near the meeting room.
At that moment, he was probably lying somewhere under the sun, dragging out his words with that lazy tone of his, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
And yet, every Kage in that room knew very well—
Konoha's current confidence existed because of him.
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