Land of Fire.
Outside Konoha.
The sun was setting. Two figures with long shadows trailing behind them ambled over from the distance. They were the Severed Arm Person, Orochimaru, and the doctor Shennong, both in disguise.
"Orochimaru, the Chunin Exams are still more than a month away. Isn't it a little too early to come here?" Shennong asked in a low voice, gazing at Hokage Rock in the distance.
"I have some preparations to make. Shennong, we'll split up from here. Don't get in my way," Orochimaru said with a soft laugh.
He hadn't told Shennong his true reason for coming to Konoha, in case it complicated matters.
Shennong had keenly sensed this. His old face was full of displeasure, but Orochimaru was the mastermind behind the Konoha Crush Plan. No matter how unhappy Shennong was, he could only put up with it.
Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were once again on guard at the Konoha Gate.
They stood on either side of the broad entrance, lazily watching the flow of people coming and going.
Although things were tense along the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire, no major battle had broken out yet. Their duties were limited to keeping order, so the work was fairly easy.
Orochimaru, in the guise of a man with a severed arm, wore an ordinary kimono. He subdued his imposing aura and lowered his head, shuffling into Konoha among the crowds with a dejected air.
Shennong also shuffled along with a hunched back, blending silently into the masses.
As soon as they entered Konoha, Orochimaru ditched Shennong and quickly disappeared into a nearby alley.
Shennong planned to check out the terrain at the Final Venue for the Chunin Exams. He asked a passerby for directions, but after turning