A Tiger Among Sheep

Hokage Building.

In the incredibly spacious room, Orochimaru, wearing the Hokage hat, sat in the main seat, watching the group of Jonin, Special Jonin, and Chunin enter.

These were all guidelines recommending their respective subordinates to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams.

"Everyone, please double-check. Once it's confirmed, there won't be any changes. We're setting off for Kumogakure tomorrow, so we need to deliver the list of participants to the Cloud Ninja today... This is our last chance."

Nawaki stood beside Orochimaru, surveying everyone in the arena, and conveyed Orochimaru's will in a deep voice.

As soon as Nawaki finished speaking, a small commotion broke out below, mainly with the Chunin, while the Jonin remained unmoved, clearly having already made up their minds.

After a while.

Someone was the first to step forward.

"In the name of myself, Uchiha Obito, I recommend 39th Session, Team Two Chunin Ninja Exams: Senju Sayuri, Hiruzen Haruka Kaguya Shuuya..." Obito solemnly declared, raising his right hand to his chest in a hand seal.

"Wow! Obito's quick!"

The Jonin below began to murmur amongst themselves.

Immediately, a second person stood up.

"Ahem, in the name of Might Guy, I recommend 39th Session, Team Three: Neji Hyuga, Tenten, Rock Lee to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams..."

With a watermelon-shaped haircut, a green bodysuit, and super thick eyebrows, the second Taijutsu master from Konoha stepped forward.

After someone took the lead, a group of Jonin expressed their determination.

Finally, Nawaki shook the roster in his hand.

"No one quit, right? Great! I understand."

Nawaki put away the roster, took two steps back, said something to Orochimaru, and left to submit the list to the Cloud Ninja so they could prepare.

After Nawaki left, Orochimaru coughed lightly and looked at the crowd.

"Please be extremely careful on this trip to Kumogakure. I have appointed Minato as the chief envoy and Kakashi Hatake as the deputy envoy. In addition, I have also transferred a group of skilled personnel from the medical department, who will accompany you north..."

Orochimaru paused, his expression turning serious. "Remember this, all of you. Keep a close eye on your subordinates. Don't give the Cloud Ninja a chance to steal your Kekkei Genkai or Secret Techniques. Although other ninja villages like Sand Ninja, Rain Ninja, and Frost Ninja are also participating this time, there's always the chance someone in the Cloud Ninja might act recklessly. In short, don't be careless."

His sharp gaze swept over Shisui, Kai, and the others.

"Of course, we can't back down when facing the Cloud Ninja. This time, we'll teach those barbarians a lesson, let them know what the difference is, and show them that even in twenty years, they won't be a match for Konoha."

Orochimaru wore a cold smile, seemingly noticing the ugly expressions on the faces of the Cloud Ninja.

"Learn."

"Receive."

"It's not a big problem."

The Jonin patted their chests in agreement, full of confidence in their subordinates, with Shisui's smile being the most composed and calm.

There was nothing he could do; with Shuyuan around, he couldn't even imagine how they would lose.

"Isn't that a little... unfair?"

Shisui thought to himself, putting Shuyuan among a group of Genin is like letting a tiger into a sheepfold!

Kumogakure.

"Big brother, is it true that we're going to co-host the Chunin Ninja Exams with Konoha?"

What? You don't believe me?

"No! I'm just curious about how strong the ninjas of Konoha are. Isn't Konoha supposed to be the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages? I've always wanted to spar with Konoha ninjas."

"Don't worry, we'll have plenty of opportunities to fight the Konoha Ninjas this time."

On the steep mountain path, three burly figures struggled forward carrying huge boulders on their backs. At their feet was a bottomless abyss, and the vast clouds and mist obscured their vision. The blazing sun hung in the sky, so bright it made one dizzy.

However, it wasn't hot at this altitude; on the contrary, the mountain wind blowing from the north made people's noses tingle with cold.

"Ugh! It's really suffocating to be sweaty in the wind."

"Haha! Just bear with it, it'll pass. Didn't you see the village elders practicing their boxing shirtless on the mountaintop?"

Mountain summit.

The Third Raikage stood on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the churning sea of clouds, like a stubborn rock standing there.

The mountain wind was cold, a bone-chilling cold. The young female secretary, dressed in light clothing, walked over, shivering.

"Lord Raikage, Konoha and Rain Ninja have already sent over the lists of participants for the exam."

Oh! How many people are there?

The female secretary glanced down at the roster in her hand. "There are a total of 111 participants from Konoha, divided into 37 groups."

At this point, the female secretary swallowed hard, looking cautiously at the Lord Raikage. She knew that even after selecting all the best genin, the Genin Cloud Ninja only managed to gather nineteen teams, totaling fifty-seven people—about half the number from Konoha.

It's not that the entire Kumogakure can't find a single Genin.

Genin are the cornerstone of a village and the most numerous rank in the ninja community. However, their large numbers don't mean much, as most Genin level.

Let alone Jonin, Chunin is an unattainable illusion for many.

It's worth mentioning the Chunin Ninja Exams. If it were just an exam within each village, there wouldn't be many restrictions. But the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams are essentially a stage for performance.

At that time, nobles and many guests will come to watch the Chunin Ninja Exams.

This is not a stage for 40- or 50-year-old Chunin to show their faces; the village leaders can't afford to lose face like that.

Therefore, there are two conditions for participating in this joint Chunin Ninja Exams: one is to be young enough, at least not older than twenty, Five Great Ninja Villages have even higher requirements for this.

The second requirement is sufficient strength. Of course, this condition is somewhat redundant, since you can't become Chunin without strength. However, when conditions one and two are combined, the threshold is greatly raised.

The Third Raikage had a dark expression, but since he naturally had a dark complexion, it was difficult to discern his mood.

"Where is Rain Ninja?"

The female secretary blinked and quickly said, "There are a total of twenty-four participants from Rain Ninja, divided into eight groups."

This number is quite normal. Amegakure is one of the more powerful small ninja villages, so having double-digit numbers of participants is quite common.

"Once the number of participants from Sunagakure is confirmed, issue the order to prepare the examination venue!"

The Third Raikage's gaze deepened, and he suddenly asked, "Are any of these names listed on Konoha's roster?"

"Yes, all the highlighted names are on the roster. This time, all the participants are those touted as geniuses by Konoha... Also, the Hokage of Konoha said he is unwell and unable to travel far. According to the latest information, the person chosen to lead this team is Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of Konoha."

The female secretary answered, trembling.

"Yellow Flash?"

The Third Raikage's eyes narrowed, and he fell silent. If it was this person who came, some of his plans would have to be changed.

"What a troublesome guy... Space-Time Ninjutsu." (To be continued)