Time passed.
In the blink of an eye, a month went by.
The Raikage Building.
Looking at the message from Konoha on his desk, the Fourth Raikage said with little interest, "The Chunin Exams? What's Konoha up to?"
Kree!
Just then, the cry of a bird of prey rang through the sky.
Two eagles circled above Kumogakure, crying as they flew.
The beautiful secretary Mabui leaped out the window. A short while later, she walked into the office carrying two secret letters.
The Fourth Raikage took the letters and glanced them over, raising an eyebrow.
The spies Kumogakure had planted in Iwagakure and Sunagakure had sent word.
Both villages had agreed to Konoha's proposal to jointly host the Chunin Exams with the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
"It's only an ordinary Chunin exam, yet Kumogakure and Sunagakure are far more eager than expected."
Dodai stood off to the side and said calmly, "We don't know what Kirigakure thinks, but Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure have already agreed to hold the Chunin Exams together. Whether Kumogakure and Kirigakure agree no longer matters."
In recent years, although the Five Great Shinobi Villages had schemed against one another in secret and clashed repeatedly, at least there hadn't been any major open conflicts.
Even if Kumogakure and Kirigakure both refused, the vote would still be three to two.
Mabui spoke up. "Konoha has proposed a joint Chunin exam at this point because it probably wants to use the event to show off its strength and restore its reputation as the foremost village."
"I think so too."
Dodai nodded slightly, agreeing with Mabui.
Konoha was still the foremost village, but in recent years it had been badly weakened and had fallen behind in every regard.
Konoha had won the Third Shinobi World War, yet astonishingly, it had