The Five Kage Take the Stage
Southwest corner of Konoha!
This used to be an empty space, but after the Chunin Ninja Exams were decided, a huge open-air arena suddenly appeared out of thin air within two days.
Powerful Ninjutsu can sometimes yield unexpected results when applied to construction, such as building fortresses. For example, a ninja skilled in Earth Release can construct a massive fortress from thin air in a single day, whereas an ordinary person would take at least several months to do so.
The entire arena is circular and enormous, covering hundreds of thousands of square meters and containing 50,000 seats.
Today, all 50,000 seats were filled, creating a massive crowd. Many people without tickets also gathered outside the arena, and numerous ninjas were maintaining discipline.
Even with glass partitions in the athletes' rest area inside the arena, it was difficult to block out the deafening shouts from outside.
More than 50,000 spectators waved their hands and shouted excitedly. The shouts of 50,000 people came together to form a huge sound wave that seemed to reach the sky and blow away the clouds.
"Wow, so many people! There must be tens of thousands!" Hizashi exclaimed, looking at the packed stands outside.
Yemo glanced at the sea of people outside and exclaimed in surprise, "Nearly fifty thousand! It's not just villagers from Konoha, but also quite a few villagers from other villages. I didn't expect there to be so many people."
"Of course," Hizashi replied matter-of-factly. "After all, this is the first time the Five Great Shinobi Villages have held the Chunin Tournament simultaneously. It's an unprecedented event, attracting the attention of over 50,000 people. It's truly the focus of everyone's attention."
At this point, Hizashi was extremely excited. Being able to compete on the same stage with geniuses from many villages under the gaze of more than 50,000 people was such an exciting thing.
It wasn't just Hizashi who was excited; even Hiashi usually composed Yemo clenched his fists unconsciously when he saw the sea of people outside. After all, he was still a child, and even if he was more mature than his peers, he was still a child. The other village ninjas were similar. Seeing the crowd of people in the stands through the transparent glass and hearing the faint shouts, many of them became even more excited, their faces flushed and their bodies trembling slightly.
Shouts echoed from the stands, and waving flags rose and fell like waves. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Five Kage, eagerly awaited by all, took to the stage one after another from the highest position in the arena.
"They're here! They're here! The Five Kage have arrived!" shouted an excited ninja from some unknown village inside the room.
Almost simultaneously, everyone's attention was focused on the high platform where five towering chairs stood. These were the positions of the 'Kage' of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. They would sit at the highest point, overlooking the entire arena, and watch the entire third round of the exam's one-on-one duels.
Under the excited and expectant gazes of 50,000 pairs of eyes, the five figures finally appeared. They stepped out from behind the tall chairs and appeared simultaneously on the high platform.
In the center is Konoha Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi of Konoha, who served as the host of the Chunin Ninja Exams. At the peak of his life, the Third was full of energy and spirit, wearing the Hokage uniform and a straw hat rusted with the character for fire, with a faint smile on his face.
To the left of the Third is A, the Third Raikage A Kumogakure. On such a formal occasion, the Third Raikage is also wearing the Raikage uniform, a white robe with blue trim embroidered with the character "Kage" and a straw hat embroidered with the character "Raikage".
On such occasions, the five Kage all wear the same attire: ninja uniforms representing their villages and straw hats embroidered with the characters for 'fire, lightning, water, earth, and wind'.
Next to the Third Raikage A, is the Third Mizukage of Kirigakure, with black hair and a faint smile on his face. His handsome face is the most handsome among the Five Kage.
To the left of the Third is the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Ōnoki of Both Scales, the shortest of the group, with a livid face and a very unpleasant expression.
All the teams from Iwagakure were wiped out in the second round of the exam, and none of them qualified to participate in the third round. It would be strange if Ōnoki looked good. Feeling the gazes around him, Ōnoki felt like he was about to lose all face.
Yemo's gaze lingered on Ōnoki for a long time. After all, he was the longest-lived of the Five Kage, having survived the Third Shinobi World War and Fourth Shinobi World War, led Iwagakure for decades, and single-handedly built the Iwagakure's strength.
To the right of the Third Tsuchikage is the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure, clad in a white robe. He is known as the most powerful Kazekage in history, but the thought of his eventual death at the hands of Sasori of the Red Sands fills Yemo with a sense of melancholy.
Thinking of this, Yemo couldn't help but look at the cold-faced, emotionless red-haired boy in the corner, Sasori of the Red Sands, the most powerful genius puppeteer in the Shinobi World, who created the Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets, possessing the terrifying combat power to destroy a country.
As if sensing Yemo's gaze, Sasori of the Red Sands turned to look at Yemo, and instantly the two gazes collided in the void, with invisible Kakkō raging.
After staring at each other for more than ten seconds, Yemo was the first to look away and gaze at Kirigakure on the high platform, a slight smile playing on his lips. He really hoped that he could be assigned to be with Wu Yin.
"Five Kage!"
"Five Kage!"
No one knows who first shouted "Five Kage," but in an instant, everyone in the audience shouted the words "Five Kage" at the same time. Fifty thousand mouths shouted at the same time, and the huge shouts shook the heavens and the entire Konoha echoed with "Five Kage."
In a little-known corner of Konoha, in a secluded valley where no one ever comes, no one would guess that this is actually the headquarters of Konoha's darkest organization, 'Root'.
Shimura Danzō in a long white robe, stood atop the valley, facing the oncoming cold wind, his robe fluttering in the wind.
The shouts of "Five Kage" carried on the wind to Shimura Danzō's ears. Gazing towards the arena, Shimura Danzō's face remained calm; no one knew what he was thinking at that moment Danzo.
Call out...
A dark figure appeared behind Danzo with a whooshing sound. It was a member of Root wearing a mask. He knelt down five meters behind Danzo.
Danzo didn't even glance at the Root members behind him, and asked calmly, "Has the investigation been completed?"
Upon hearing this, the Root members immediately replied respectfully, "Lord Danzo, we have investigated and found traces of Wood Release in the Lord Orochimaru's cooperation."
Upon hearing the report, even Danzo, who had long since developed the ability to remain unfazed in any situation, felt a surge of emotion. He clenched his right fist excitedly and turned to order, "Send out all Root members to search the dense forest area, secretly, and thoroughly search the village and the surrounding areas as well. Make sure you find those who have secretly infiltrated Konoha."
"Yes!" The root member acknowledged the order and vanished instantly.
Turning to look towards the arena, and hearing the echoes of "Five Kage," Danzo's eyes flashed with excitement. He clenched his fist, making no attempt to hide his ambition, and said, "Hiruzen, wait! I will definitely get the Hokage position! Your policies are too lenient. Only I can lead Konoha to its true peak!"