Kakashi could tell that Icha Icha Paradise had plenty of characters who were thinly veiled references to people in the Real Shinobi World, but he didn't care.
The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi had plenty of those, too, didn't it?
What worried Kakashi now was that he might never see another book come out.
He'd been waiting for the next Icha Icha Paradise since he was eighteen, and it still hadn't appeared—even though Jiraiya had kept writing without pause and gathering material on the road.
So what about Shirozumi's Jingman Paradise?
Would Shirozumi really have the leisure to write another one like he had during the mission in the Land of Snow?
It would probably be his last.
A few days later, Kakashi and a group of Jonin arrived at the Hokage's office, where they were briefed on which other factions would be taking part in the Chunin Ninja Exams.
Of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, only Kazekage Rasa of Sunagakure had told them in advance that he planned to participate. The rest were smaller villages.
The remaining visitors were there purely to watch the spectacle.
Now, after being silent for so long, Kirigakure was participating, as was Iwagakure, which had recently caused a stir with its sweeping reforms.
This made Hiruzen Sarutobi a little uneasy.
This wasn't the Chunin Exams from the Boruto era. Factions from three major villages, including their Kage, were gathering in Konoha. It was far too dangerous.
With only the Kazekage coming before, Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't been too worried.
He understood Sunagakure's situation.
But Iwagakure and Kirigakure were different.
One had just undergone a major upheaval, while the other was shrouded in mystery.
"Hmm? Lord Third, they're participating too?"
Kakashi spotted a familiar name on the guest list.
"Mm."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, but said nothing more.
After Kakashi had brought back information about Death Possession Blood, Hiruzen Sarutobi had told him to keep quiet to avoid causing panic.
Whether it was true or not, the fact that the other party had brought it up meant they had some goal beyond simply killing people.
For now, the best approach was to wait and see.
Since the other party was going to appear at the Chunin Exams, perhaps their goal would soon become clear.
The other Jonin didn't know about this, so they were puzzled by the person Kakashi had mentioned.
"Who?"
Might Guy was the first to crowd over, following Kakashi's gaze to the list.
There were only two visitors from Amegakure: the village chief, Shirozumi, and Konan.
"Don't know him."
Might Guy scratched his head, tossed out the three words, and returned to his spot.
Though Team Guy had also taken part in the mission in the Land of Snow, they'd stayed hidden the whole time. Besides, Might Guy had a mysterious inability to recognize people. He could forget people he'd met and even fought, let alone Shirozumi.
The other Jonin paid no attention to the two visitors from Amegakure on the list and instead looked at the densely packed names below.
"Why are there so many people from Kirigakure and Iwagakure?"
Kurenai Yuhi's eyes widened in disbelief.
"The Mizukage and Tsuchikage said that they'd lost too much of their fighting force in the past, and that the new generation of shinobi hadn't seen much combat. They want to send them to the Chunin Exams for experience. Whether they pass or not doesn't matter."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe and explained.
"Kirigakure is probably referring to the Blood Mist, and Iwagakure to the Third Shinobi World War and the battle with the Third Raikage... The reasoning checks out, but can it really be true?
If this many shinobi are allowed into the village, what do we do if they join forces and start a riot?"
Asuma took a puff of his cigarette and raised his concern.
"I'll have the Anbu monitor and assess the shinobi from both countries on their way to the Land of Fire. If they really are only average in strength, then the Mizukage and Tsuchikage mean no harm.
As for whether the Mizukage and Tsuchikage will notice and take offense, we can apologize to them later."
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his fingers on the desk and quickly came up with a plan.
Kirigakure and Iwagakure were sending large numbers of Genin to the Chunin Exams. If they really were all Genin and dared to start a riot in Konoha, they'd likely suffer heavy casualties.
Jonin were the key to a village's strength, and Chunin its backbone, but that didn't mean Genin were expendable.
Most Genin had the potential to become Chunin. Losing too many of them would leave a gap in the village's fighting strength for a time.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't dare take that risk.
So he decided to play it safe.
Even if the Anbu reported nothing suspicious, he still had to guard against the Mizukage and Tsuchikage having other plans.
Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to have the Anbu search for Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were both away from the village, and tell them about the crisis Konoha was facing.
If they could find him, Jiraiya would probably return. Tsunade was harder to predict.
They could only do their best to persuade them.
Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed the Jonin.
Then he began puffing away in the Hokage's office.
The one thing he was glad about was that even if the Tsuchikage and Mizukage had some scheme in mind, the Kazekage wouldn't be part of it.
According to the intelligence, Iwagakure and Kirigakure had joined forces in something called the Inter-mutual Alliance, almost as if they'd formed an alliance.
But Sunagakure hadn't joined.
A few days later.
Shirozumi and Konan arrived in Konoha. Konan wore a conical hat and had come under the name of Amegakure's village chief.
The people from Iwagakure and Kirigakure had arrived earlier.
The inns in Konoha were instantly packed.
The Anbu reported back to Hiruzen Sarutobi: they really were all Genin, and even on the weaker side among Genin.
That was right.
Hiruzen Sarutobi really had been overthinking it.
The large-scale participation of Kirigakure and Iwagakure in the Chunin Exams had been Shirozumi's suggestion.
He wanted to prevent another batch of comical shinobi like the ones Hozuki Gengetsu had trained during the Fourth Shinobi World War—shinobi who could only throw Kunai and Shuriken, then beg the enemy to let them pick them back up.
That was also why Shirozumi hadn't simply told these old hands about the Otsutsuki Clan.
Sometimes, telling the truth didn't mean people would believe it.
"Things are lively here."
Konan looked at the sights of Konoha and remarked.
"Don't worry. Our place will be lively one day, too."
Shirozumi chuckled.
A weak country sandwiched between others was a miserable buffer zone for great powers.
A strong country in the middle, on the other hand, was the center of the world, with roads leading to every corner.
"Are you really not going to join in? If you want teammates, I can call Hydrangea and the others over to team up with you."
Konan's gaze swept across the young, spirited Genin teams. The corners of her mouth lifted as she suddenly asked Shirozumi.
"What's the fun in picking on kids?"
"You're not that much older than they are, are you?"
"..."
That was true.
Never mind the older Genin from Kirigakure and Iwagakure, or Kabuto Yakushi, a spy in his twenties.
Temari from Sunagakure was already fifteen, and she wouldn't become a Chunin until the next Chunin Exams, when she was seventeen.
So age really wasn't an issue.
The Chunin Exams weren't some "cultivation selection" or "Rashomon Tournament" with age limits.
"I'll pass. I'm not as shameless as Orochimaru, using Kage Level strength to bully a few Genin."
Shirozumi still refused.
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