After all, he was only an ordinary person without a Kekkei Genkai.
Hozuki Mangetsu was clearly determined to take first place in this Chunin Exam.
"Then what about our village?" Utatane Koharu immediately asked.
Every time Konoha held a Chunin Exam—
As long as it was open to outsiders—
The village would not finalize its slots until the last moment.
The point was to adapt as needed and send suitable Genin, allowing themselves, as the hosts, to save face.
"Currently registered are Shisui Uchiha of the Uchiha Clan, along with his friend. Mitaraishi Anko, Orochimaru's disciple..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped through the documents.
The supervising Jonin submitted the application materials, but whether they were approved had to be personally decided by the Hokage.
"The Senju Clan, Hyuga, Ino-Shika-Cho... the major clans have all made moves as well."
Danzo and the other two reviewed the files.
Basically... they were barely satisfactory.
They would be more than enough to crush everyone else, but not one of them was a match for Hozuki Mangetsu.
"I will send Terai."
Danzo spoke directly, intending to dispatch one of his most capable subordinates.
At those words, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two stiffened.
Terai was a codename, not an individual name.
Once the previous holder died, someone new would take their place.
Terai... represented the strongest tier of ninja within Root.
Sometimes, they were children. Sometimes, adults.
Without exception, they possessed formidable strength or talent.
They could be said to be killing machines that had crawled out of piles of corpses after brutal selection.
In the Original Work, Terai had even been a ruthless figure on equal footing with Root ninja such as Fu Yamanaka and Dan Kato.
"The current Terai is eleven years old, just the right age."
Danzo made the final decision.
This assessment concerned