The Opening Ceremony

Three tasks were being carried out at full speed: searching Sunagakure for the "Werewolves" controlled by Sasori of the Red Sands, holding the Chunin Ninja Exams, and promoting the finals.

The Chunin Ninja Exams seemed like the most important and attention-grabbing event, but at this point, they had become the least important of the three.

As the host, Sunagakure hadn't made any improvements to the previous Chunin Ninja Exams. They simply copied the last event's format: a written test, followed by "wilderness survival," in which the first sixteen to reach the designated location would advance.

The sixteen who made it to the final round would compete in group elimination matches over several days before the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and countless nobles, wealthy merchants, and public figures, until a final winner emerged.

Obito, Shisui, Kurenai Yuhi, and the others passed the first and second rounds without a hitch, advancing to the final sixteen.

Rasa also did Jiang Feng a favor. At the round of sixteen, he placed the two Uchiha and Kurenai Yuhi—Jiang Feng's almost-girlfriend—in separate brackets.

If they were lucky enough to beat their opponents in every round, they wouldn't meet until the semifinals. The other spot in the final four had naturally been reserved for a young prodigy from Sunagakure.

Everything went exactly as Jiang Feng had predicted. Pakura had nothing more to say.

The four brackets were clearly divided by strength. Even Pakura could tell that some contestants had practically been "given a free pass."

Once the final sixteen and match schedule had been decided, every "Werewolf" in Sunagakure had been rooted out—or so Rasa believed. Sunagakure officially began promoting the finals, inviting the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to attend the Chunin Ninja Exams and, while he was there, hold Rasa's investiture ceremony as acting Kazekage.

The choice of Fourth Kazekage, like that of the final four, was practically "predetermined." The elders of Sunagakure unanimously agreed that extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures, and Rasa could temporarily take the position of Fourth Kazekage.

Once they had overcome the crisis at hand, they would choose a Kazekage again in a fair, impartial, and open process.

Pakura had no objection.

First, there was precedent for this in the Ninja World. Hiruzen Sarutobi had risen to the position of Third Generation Hokage in a crisis, without an election.

Second, after Jiang Feng had repeatedly grilled and lectured her—and after she had seen Rasa handle everything methodically in a crisis—Pakura had gradually realized that Rasa was a more suitable choice than she was.

She was naive, not stupid.

Finally, deep down, Pakura was still an old-fashioned ninja. Old-fashioned ninjas tended to follow the Kazekage and the Council of Elders out of habit.

The elders had reached a unanimous decision, so Pakura had nothing to say.

The opening ceremony for the Chunin Ninja Exams finals went off without a hitch.

In front of countless nobles, wealthy merchants, public figures, ninjas, and ordinary people, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind announced Rasa as Sunagakure's acting Fourth Kazekage, then gave a long speech.

The wealthy merchants and nobles who had come after hearing about the Uchiha contestants and the Konoha-Sunagakure rivalry could only find the Daimyo's speech noisy and unnecessary.

Boring! We want to see bloodshed!

We can't wait to see the Uchiha prodigy face off against Sunagakure's prodigy, and the next generation of the two great ninja villages beat each other senseless to entertain us!

As soon as the Daimyo of the Land of Wind finished his rambling speech, he hurried back to the viewing platform. Only after seeing the Sunagakure experts guarding him on both sides—and Jiang Feng, whose reputation had recently soared across the Ninja World—did he finally relax.

Ordinary nobles didn't know that Sasori of the Red Sands might launch a surprise attack on Sunagakure that very day, but he did.

The Five Great Ninja Villages weren't equal in strength. The strongest among them—Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure—had more leverage when dealing with their respective countries and daimyo.

Aside from showing the daimyo and nobles respect on the surface, their relationship was closer to a partnership than a simple hierarchy.

Sunagakure was weak, and its economy was even worse. Its position in dealings with the Land of Wind was more vulnerable, and it relied heavily on financial support from the country's government.

Given all that, Rasa wouldn't dare deceive the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, even if he had ten times the courage.

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind was very concerned about his own safety. He held Jiang Feng's hand and showered him with praise for quite some time before finally letting go and allowing him to go about his business.

Jiang Feng wore a white robe today, making him stand out on the viewing platform. Because of the sandstorms in the Land of Wind, clothes of this color weren't popular there.

With Pakura and Konan beside him, he drew even more attention. Handsome men and beautiful women always made people take a second look, wherever they went.

"Will Sasori of the Red Sands really come?"

Standing beside Jiang Feng, Konan couldn't help asking, "He must have guessed by now that Sunagakure will have the Heavenly Net waiting for him today."

"He'll come," Jiang Feng said calmly.

Konan was puzzled. "He'd only be coming to die..."

With so many experts in Sunagakure, they could overwhelm Sasori of the Red Sands by sheer numbers.

Jiang Feng gazed into the distance. "He'll die even if he doesn't come."

"Why?" Pakura was completely baffled. If he didn't come, how could he possibly die?

Jiang Feng's tone remained calm, but he suddenly radiated an overwhelming confidence. "Because I'll kill him before the start of summer this year."

Besides Jiang Feng, Rasa and all of Sunagakure would also hunt Sasori of the Red Sands after the Chunin Ninja Exams. Pursuing him was politically correct for both Rasa and Sunagakure.

With Sunagakure's manpower and Jiang Feng's connections, Sasori of the Red Sands couldn't stay hidden for long. If Jiang Feng and Rasa cornered him, he wouldn't be in a better position than if he attacked Sunagakure directly—and he'd lose face, too.

Young people always cared a lot about saving face.

So he might as well come to Sunagakure of his own accord today. Even if he came and then left, with the right approach, he might not actually die here.

Konan seemed thoughtful, while Pakura was still completely confused. She couldn't figure out why Jiang Feng was so certain Sasori of the Red Sands would come.

Jiang Feng suddenly frowned and looked up at the sky. "The wind's picking up."

Konan and Pakura were taken aback. They didn't understand what he meant by that. Before they could figure it out, a cool breeze swept over them.

The wind really had picked up.

Jiang Feng looked at a poster clinging precariously to a wall nearby. "That poster will be blown over to us."

As soon as he finished speaking, the poster, now attached to the wall by only one corner, was swept away by the wind. It curved and twisted through the cool spring breeze before fluttering over to the three of them.

Konan and Pakura were both stunned. What kind of secret technique was this? How had he predicted the wind would pick up, and how had he known it would blow the poster over here?

The Heavenly Son's Qi Observation Technique!

Jiang Feng had already seen through the shifts in the flow of energy throughout Sunagakure and the surrounding desert, along with the natural patterns that governed them.

Jiang Feng picked up the poster that had blown over to them. Looking down, he carefully folded it into a paper flower and offered it to Konan. "This is for you."

"Th-thank you." Konan took the paper flower, her cheeks faintly flushed.

Pakura felt a little annoyed. She didn't know why, but seeing Jiang Feng give Konan a paper flower made her feel very annoyed.

Finally, Jiang Feng looked toward the end of the distant street. "In thirty seconds, around fifteen ninjas controlled by Sasori of the Red Sands will attack from there."

[Finally, I can join ANBU too.]