Expansion of the Chunin Exams

Minato folded his hands on the table, his brows slightly furrowed.

The terminal screen displayed the Cloud Village delegation's itinerary, Takigakure's movements, and intelligence from Kusagakure—all these pieces of information intertwined, forming a complicated web.

The others present might not have known, but Minato did: Menma was currently in Konoha, playing "ninja games" with his little brother Naruto.

A few days ago, Menma had even returned with the Flying Thunder God technique, specifically bringing them Naruto's ninja certificate with the face he had made on it, along with the Ninja Academy Class 63 Graduation Photo he had taken with his classmates.

Looking at the photo, at the sight of their two sons standing side by side, Minato and Kushina felt comforted, but complicated emotions also welled up in their hearts.

Minato's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop.

He remembered that Menma had once mentioned to him that Konoha Year 63 was a very important year.

Though he still did not know what was special about that year, Minato kept feeling that Menma's plan for the Fourth Shinobi World War to unify the shinobi world would very likely begin that year.

And although Orochimaru had submitted to Menma and was presiding over multiple research projects in the Land of Stars, he seemed more like a collaborator, maintaining a certain degree of independence.

The Otogakure he had established in the Land of Rice Fields had also always remained outside the Land of Stars' sphere of influence, making it an unstable factor.

And now, even Otogakure had received an invitation to Konoha's Chunin Exams—

Third Hokage, what exactly are you thinking?

"I will leave this matter for Asura to decide," Minato finally said. His voice was still gentle, yet carried unquestionable authority.

The meeting room fell silent for an instant.

In the Land