Konoha's plans to hold the Chunin Exams
quickly spread throughout the Shinobi World.
Once the news got out, the clashes along the Land of Fire's borders instantly died down.
The number of spies heading into the Land of Fire also dropped sharply.
Konoha officially invited every ninja village through formal channels.
While the smaller ninja villages all agreed to attend, Cloud Village, Hidden Mist Village, and Hidden Stone Village all found excuses to decline.
Every notable Konoha clan—the Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame Clan, Inuzuka Clan, Hyuga, and others—
recalled their children and had them temporarily stop taking missions in favor of two months of special training.
The goal was to achieve good results in the Chunin Exams.
The Chunin Exams were generally held twice a year, but too much had happened in Konoha before.
As a result, one session had been delayed.
That was why an especially large number of people had registered for this round.
Orochimaru had set aside two months to build momentum and expand the venue.
Construction was underway everywhere in Hidden Radiance Village, leaving no manpower at all for organizing ninja examinations.
Two Uchiha clansmen had now reached Chunin-level strength and needed to take the exam.
Shamu was also preparing to bring some people over to see the situation for himself.
Another reason was that Shamu had discovered that Kimimaro's medicine was about to lose its effectiveness.
Kimimaro could very well suffer an episode. Shamu had discussed contingency plans with Orochimaru, but many things had only been worked out in theory.
No one knew what the actual situation would be.
So it would be better for him to stay by Orochimaru's side.
But whether he faced it or avoided it, the blade would still fall.
This hurdle had to be crossed eventually.
With two months still remaining, Shamu