An indoor training ground in Konoha Village.
Beneath the hand seal of reconciliation formed by a pair of giant hands stood the twenty-two examinees who had passed, lined up neatly. At the front, the Third Hokage stood in the center, while the Jonin—including Kakashi—stood in a row behind him.
Anko, the proctor of the second exam, spoke first. Fortunately, she knew whose stage this was. After offering a few words of congratulations, she handed things over to the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage first congratulated all the examinees who had passed, his expression warm and kind. Then he explained the purpose of the Chunin Exams.
The Third Hokage had gone on and on, but to put it simply, the so-called joint Chunin Exams were a lot like the joint military exercises held by modern countries.
They were a chance for each country to show off its formidable military strength.
The Chunin Exams in the ninja world were a bit more messed up. Their main purpose was to prove the strength of each ninja village to the daimyo, so the villages could secure more missions from them.
Hao Shuai naturally felt disdain when he heard all this. He just couldn't be bothered to start a revolution. Otherwise, he'd wipe out all the daimyo and bring about a transformation of the ninja world.
Onstage, the Third Hokage finished speaking without waiting to see if anyone below understood, then stepped aside. Next, Gekko Hayate made his entrance, looking pale and vacant-eyed, with all the signs of being an Impotent Man.
Coughing as he spoke, he said, "Everyone, before we begin the third exam, there's something you need to do."
"It's a preliminary round to determine who can take part in the third exam."
"A preliminary round?"
"What does that mean?"
"Right, aren't we