As the daimyo of the Five Great Nations arrived in Konoha one after another, the third round of the Chunin Exams—signaling the Five Great Shinobi Villages' shift from confrontation to cooperation—finally began.
Early that morning, Konoha's streets were exceptionally lively.
On the packed streets, crowds converged from every direction like a tide, slowly flowing toward the repeatedly renovated arena at the center of the village.
"Naruto, over here! Over here!"
Amid the passing crowd, Choji stood on tiptoe and waved to Naruto from afar.
Naruto and Sakura, who had been heading for the arena, struggled through the crowd and finally squeezed their way over to Choji and the others.
Asuma, who had brought Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino along, saw that only Naruto and Sakura were there and asked, "Why are there only you two? Where are Kakashi and Sasuke?"
Naruto said, "Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke are both missing!"
Sakura also looked worried. "Asuma-sensei, have you seen Kakashi-sensei or Sasuke in the past couple of days? We haven't seen either of them for days!"
Remembering how mysterious Kakashi had acted the night before last, Asuma said, "Don't worry. Sasuke must be with Kakashi."
Perhaps because he was too fat, Choji kept getting jostled by passersby, so he quietly complained, "Why are there so many people on the streets today?"
Asuma frowned at that.
The presence of the daimyo of the Five Great Nations had drawn nobles from all over, all eager to watch this unprecedented joint Chunin Exam in shinobi village history alongside the daimyo.
As a result, the number of tourists in the village had soared, making even Konoha's clean, spacious streets, rebuilt after the disaster, suddenly unbearably crowded.
While the influx of tourists could bring Konoha considerable economic benefits, it was also a severe test of the village's security. So