Early morning, the day of the third stage of the Chunin Exams.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood alone atop the Hokage Building, dressed as usual in the white ceremonial robe and Hokage hat that symbolized the leader of a village.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he silently gazed down below.
On the streets, large numbers of villagers and ninja were gradually making their way toward the venue for the third stage of the Chunin Exams.
Even from such a great distance, he could faintly hear conversations brimming with anticipation and excitement.
Yet that vibrant, energetic atmosphere could not reach Hiruzen Sarutobi. His heart remained exceedingly heavy.
After mysteriously appearing in Konoha during the second exam, Orochimaru had vanished without a trace and remained unaccounted for.
To Hiruzen Sarutobi, that was a ticking time bomb.
Shimura Danzō's death had not only cost Konoha a great deal of fighting strength, but also laid the village's dark side bare beneath the sunlight. The higher-ups had lost all prestige, signs of discord among the major clans were becoming increasingly obvious, and the Anbu had reported that Naruto had taken Jiraiya and Kakashi to meet with Nara Shikaku...
And early this morning, Jiraiya had suddenly left the village, his whereabouts unknown.
On top of that were the faint yet impossible-to-ignore unusual movements outside the village lately...
All those tangled thoughts combined left Hiruzen Sarutobi feeling waves of indescribable exhaustion even now.
It was precisely because of all those misgivings that he had put on this more mobile combat uniform beneath his ceremonial robe this morning, just in case.
As footsteps sounded behind him, Mitokado Homura approached Hiruzen Sarutobi's side, his expression equally grave.
"Hiruzen, it's about time. We should head for the venue." Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses and swept his gaze