I'm Taking the Chunin Exam, and It's Being Livestreamed!

"Mm..." Temari nodded. "That Sasuke and Naruto are far too strong."

"Teacher Maki also told us to gather information."

"So it was best to find someone on the inside. That was the only reason we invited Kitahara Kaede to dinner."

That was how it was.

Temari and Kankuro's invitation had actually been meant to obtain information about Naruto and Sasuke.

After all...

Previously, whether it was Temari, Kankuro, or Teacher Maki, they had all believed Gaara to be very strong.

Gaara, who possessed the One-Tail, was a qualified weapon.

There definitely wouldn't have been a problem unleashing him in the Hidden Leaf Village...

But...

Now, two geniuses the same age as Gaara had suddenly appeared—yet in terms of Taijutsu, they could defeat him...

Not only did that make their mission much more difficult, but Gaara's unwillingness to admit defeat might also cause him to lose control.

If that happened... it would be terrible.

And so, this situation had arisen.

They had first approached Kitahara Kaede to pry for information.

But... they hadn't gotten anything useful.

Something about blue Sasuke Uchiha—the Uchiha Clan's top graduate from the Ninja Academy.

And yellow Naruto Uzumaki—the Uzumaki Clan's Dead Last at the Ninja Academy.

No way. Kankuro absolutely refused to believe that a Dead Last could send Gaara flying.

Kitahara Kaede had not left.

After Temari and Kankuro departed, one of the chopsticks transformed back into his appearance.

He had used the Transformation Jutsu and Wood Clone Jutsu right in front of Temari and Kankuro.

He had cast two jutsu at once.

Yet neither of them had seen through it.

That was only natural. After all, even Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had failed to see through it before.

Then Kitahara Kaede folded his arms and watched Kankuro and Temari leave together for the inn.

Likewise.

The small group observing Kitahara Kaede (^_-) noticed this scene as well.

Tobirama Senju: It seems Sunagakure's goal is to create chaos in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Tobirama was very clever. The children of the Kazekage's family approaching Kitahara Kaede showed that they wanted to obtain information quickly.

If they had no objective, there would have been no need to be so eager.

So it could be inferred... Sunagakure intended to attack the Hidden Leaf Village.

But their village's superweapon, Gaara, had been sent flying by Sasuke and Naruto the moment he appeared, so they were completely bewildered.

Hashirama Senju: Yeah.

As Tobirama's older brother, Hashirama Senju also spoke up.

Hashirama Senju: After all, Orochimaru is the Fourth Kazekage. Orochimaru shouldn't have low intelligence.

Hashirama Senju: But little Kitahara Kaede has probably already seen through their plan.

Tobirama Senju: Mm. Otherwise, Kitahara Kaede wouldn't be pretending to be weak. He could even use a handsome man's charm. After dealing with Orochimaru, he could gain control over Sunagakure through the favor he had already earned from the Kazekage's daughter.

Tobirama Senju: Rasa is hopeless, and among his three children, only Temari possesses a mindset capable of considering the bigger picture. Gaara has already become a weapon, while Kankuro lacks sufficient bearing.

Tobirama Senju: So Kitahara's handsome man's charm could have a major effect.

Minato Namikaze: As expected of Kitahara.

Minato Namikaze: His way of thinking is as flawless as ever.

Unmarriageable Older Single Woman: I feel pressured. It feels like someone is stealing my man.

Kidney-Deficient Hokage: ??

Kakashi, an old virgin who had only read Jiraiya's novels, did not really understand the thoughts of real girls.

Unmarriageable Older Single Woman: ...

The Mizukage also felt that she had misspoken and had nearly exposed the fact that she wanted to use a beauty trap on Kitahara Kaede too, so she hurriedly tried to salvage the situation.

Unmarriageable Older Single Woman: I mean, I support Orochimaru becoming the Fourth Kazekage.

Honest Kisame: +1

Minato Namikaze: Lord Orochimaru becoming the Kazekage? That could work.

Brother of Hashirama Senju: After all, they couldn't find a Kazekage worse than Rasa now.

Worst Kazekage—Rasa: H-Hey!?

Tobirama Senju: You still don't know, do you? Orochimaru ambushed you, then... continued your plan. He disguised himself as the Fourth Kazekage.

Tobirama Senju: Then Orochimaru planned to launch the Hidden Leaf Destruction Plan. And the cannon fodder in that plan... was your Sunagakure.

Worst Kazekage—Rasa: Ah...

Rasa froze for a moment, then immediately exploded.

Because...

That had been his original plan. But now that Tobirama Senju had said it aloud, it meant that... the Hidden Leaf Village had been prepared all along.

So... Sunagakure had suffered a huge loss in this attack.

Who knew how many people would survive after the Chunin Exam!

Worst Kazekage—Rasa: How could this be!? Orochimaru! I'll never let you off!

Worst Kazekage—Rasa: You're going to destroy Sunagakure!

Tobirama Senju: Shut up. Your three children are still Genin. Don't think I can't see what you're planning!

Tobirama Senju: So even if Orochimaru hadn't screwed you over, you would have done exactly what he did! You both came here to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village!

Tobirama Senju: Big Brother! Release your aura!

Hashirama Senju: Mm, Tobirama, I'm your big brother.

Tobirama Senju: Big brother, shut up and get to work.

Hashirama Senju: Uh... fine!

Though he spoke with hesitation and cowardice, the pressure of the God of Shinobi had already descended.

Rasa once again suffered the inhuman pressure of the Senju brothers.

Third Raikage—A: So this is the pressure of the God of Shinobi.

Third Tsuchikage Onoki: The Hidden Leaf Village is still this monstrous.

Onoki was a living fossil of the ninja world.

There were three living fossils in the ninja world.

One was Kakuzu from the Akatsuki Organization. Kakuzu was a ninety-one-year-old old man who had been making money nonstop from the First Hokage's era until now.

Another was Maki Gekko from the Hidden Leaf Village. He had been a ninja under the rule of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, then learned the Second Hokage's Water Prison Wall. Later, the Third Hokage taught him his self-created Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. He had even served as the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's guard.

One man had met three Hokage.

And the last one was Onoki.

He was someone who had lived from the era of the First Hokage until now.

He also knew the First Hokage's power—the brat Madara Uchiha had defeated so badly that he wet his pants.

And he knew that Iwagakure had only breathed a sigh of relief after the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha were gone.

That was why he was the strongest among the Five Kage.

He had kept outliving everyone else, so naturally he became the strongest!

Yet... these people were all alive again.

H-H-How terrifying!

Onoki immediately found his place in the group—just act cowardly and be done with it.

Although the Dust Release he had learned was powerful, the absolute strength of the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, and Madara was simply too overwhelming. He had no confidence at all.

Therefore...

The longer the Third Hokage lived, the more rigid and old-fashioned he became, while the longer Onoki lived, the more cowardly he became.

As Onoki's mind churned violently, today's allotted three hours of observing Kitahara Kaede came to an end.

Kitahara Kaede returned from the barbecue restaurant.

The Chunin Exam was about to begin. Some of the candidates could be seen carrying textbooks with them, apparently preparing to review.

After all, the Hidden Leaf Village's Chunin Exam had always included a written test.

So even though practical ability remained the most important thing for ninjas, they still had to pay some attention to the written test.

Take Shikamaru Nara, for example.

Kitahara Kaede saw Shikamaru walking while holding a book and reading it.

Kitahara Kaede passed Shikamaru by. Their relationship could only be called ordinary; they hardly spoke in class.

Still, Shikamaru glanced in his direction.

Shikamaru seemed to hesitate.

Shikamaru turned back.

"Kitahara."

"If you're heading straight home, take the alley to the right," Shikamaru said. "I think I just saw Neji call Hinata away."

"..." Kitahara Kaede.

?!

Kitahara Kaede hesitated for a moment, then headed into the alley on the right.

He could hear voices as soon as he approached.

And the voice was familiar—it was Neji Hyuga's, whom he had been hearing a lot lately.

"You actually refused my proposal. Do you know how dangerous the Hidden Leaf Village's Chunin Exam is?"

That was Neji's voice.

"Do you know that you're from the Main Family, while I'm from the Branch Family?"

"Then we might run into each other in the exam hall."

"As someone from the Branch Family, I definitely won't be able to attack you when that happens!"

"Otherwise... I'll inevitably be punished."

"So... why are you and your father always trying to hold back my line?!"

That was Neji Hyuga's voice.

Though he had yet to hear the other person speak, Kitahara Kaede had already confirmed that Neji was talking to Hinata.

Otherwise, Shikamaru would not have specifically brought him here.