Opening

Inside the Konoha arena, the air was already thick with the roar of the crowd.

High up in the stands, the seats were packed tight with spectators who had traveled from all corners of the land.

They were dressed in fine, vibrant clothing and carried themselves with distinct airs, but without exception, they were all influential figures from the Five Great Nations—high-ranking officials, dignitaries, and wealthy magnates.

At this moment, they swept their undisguised, scrutinizing gazes over the forty young ninjas gathered in the center of the arena who had passed the second round of examinations.

These individuals represented the future hope of each major ninja village.

Orochimaru let his gaze drift in a circle before finally settling on the highest point of the venue, the specially constructed tower.

Seated in the center of the tower were five figures, their presence heavy and composed, commanding respect without a word.

Those were the five most powerful people in the current Ninja World—the leaders of the Five Great Ninja Villages, five Kage-level powerhouses.

Due to the era, most of those currently in power were of the third generation for their respective villages.

Konoha's Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wore the familiar face of his teacher, currently carrying the composure of a host.

Iwagakure's Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was short in stature, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.

The Third Kazekage of Sunagakure, a mysterious man whose face was hidden in the shadow of his conical hat, held the title of the strongest Kazekage.

There was also the Third Raikage of Kumogakure, known for his formidable physical strength, and that... well, the Third Mizukage of Kirigakure, who seemed to have very little screen time.

This lineup was truly a rare sight to behold...

Orochimaru mused to himself; with so many Kage-level figures gathered in one place, even a Great Ninja War might not see such a lineup if not for the Joint Chunin Exams.

The clamor from the stands surged like boiling water, never ceasing.

Even from a distance, Orochimaru could clearly catch some high-frequency keywords.

"Uchiha!"

"Senju!"

Many people cast burning gazes toward the Konoha ninja camp, specifically at the two Uchiha clansmen wearing the fan crest, and... Tsunade.

"Tch, those guys are stealing all the spotlight!"

"Even though my performance was pretty impressive too!"

Jiraiya stood beside Orochimaru, muttering indignantly under his breath.

He was clearly quite satisfied with his own performance in the preliminaries, and finding that everyone's focus wasn't on him left him feeling somewhat depressed.

Orochimaru, however, didn't think much of it.

After all, it had only been a little over twenty years since the founding of Konoha.

The lingering prestige of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and that man, Madara Uchiha, still echoed throughout the Ninja World.

Their names and their clans represented the pinnacle of an era.

Even twenty years later, they remained the undisputed top tier of the world.

Just like in the Chunin Exams of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke's generation decades later, countless people would still be drawn by the title of "the last survivor of the Uchiha."

Konoha had likely used the gimmick of "Senju versus Uchiha" intentionally or otherwise for publicity, which was why so many dignitaries had been attracted to attend.

Tsunade clearly felt those strange gazes as well; her brows furrowed slightly, and a flash of displeasure crossed her deep blue eyes.

She didn't like being pointed at and discussed like some rare animal.

High atop the tower, the atmosphere between the Kage was also quite subtle.

"Heh, Hiruzen, the younger generation of your Konoha is truly excellent!"

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, stroked his red nose and offered praise.

It was hard to tell if his words were sincere admiration or carried a hint of probing.

"Hmph, enough! Stop dragging your feet, let's get started!"

The Third Raikage interjected in a gruff voice, his burly frame filled with explosive power.

He seemed eager to see some real, hard-hitting combat.

The Third Kazekage nodded slightly, the corners of his mouth beneath his hat seemingly curling into a curve.

Their Sunagakure had quite a few people pass this time; compared to the miserable Kirigakure next door, they were doing much better.

The Third Mizukage keenly noticed the subtle, fleeting glance cast by the Third Kazekage, and his expression instantly darkened.

For these Chunin Exams, he had sent out almost every young elite the village could spare, even going so far as to negotiate with those few bloodline clans to send over ninjas who had awakened their kekkei genkai.

And the result?

Only a measly two people passed!

They had the fewest number of successful candidates among the Five Great Ninja Villages!

Didn't this just make their Kirigakure look the weakest?

This time around, their Kirigakure had suffered a massive loss.

Damn that Third Hokage!

Thinking of this, the Third Mizukage shot a fierce, venomous glare at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

According to the intelligence he had received, the vast majority of their Kirigakure ninja had been defeated at the hands of Konoha ninja!

He even began to suspect whether that old geezer Hiruzen Sarutobi was secretly and maliciously targeting their Kirigakure!

Sensing several different gazes upon him, Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat and stood up with composure.

He stepped forward, his resonant voice carrying across the entire arena:

"Everyone, thank you all for traveling from afar to observe this Joint Chunin Exams!"

"Now, I announce that the third round of the Chunin Selection Exams—officially begins!"

As his voice fell, the names of countless examinees began to scroll rapidly across the massive electronic screen on the side of the arena.

A moment later, two names suddenly locked into place.

First match: Sunagakure, Tessen! Versus! Sunagakure, Sasori!

Hm?

A civil war within Sunagakure?

Seeing the first matchup, the spectators in the stands lit up.

Hearing the result, the two Sunagakure ninja on the field exchanged a distant glance, and as if they had reached some sort of consensus in an instant, they both nodded in unison.

Tessen took the stage first, his black iron sand forming wings as he flew directly into the arena.

Watching this scene, the spectators let out gasps of amazement.

As for his opponent, the red-haired youth named Sasori, he remained calm, pulled a scroll from his robes, and summoned ten puppets.

Under normal circumstances, he would be unable to control ten puppets at once, but the situation now was anything but normal...

The gong signaling the start of the match rang out!

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Formation!"

Tessen slammed his hands onto the ground, and in an instant, a massive amount of black iron sand surged out from beneath his feet, as if it possessed a life of its own.

On the other side, the red-haired youth Sasori did not show weakness; his hands danced, and with chakra threads connected, every puppet was filled with hidden mechanisms, flashing with dangerous cold light as they nimbly engaged in a fierce offensive and defensive battle against the iron sand!

For a time, iron sand whistled across the field, puppets flipped through the air, and various attacks intertwined and collided, sending sparks flying everywhere!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's incredible!"

"Is this what a ninja battle is?!"

"Unbelievable!"

The two went back and forth, prioritizing flashiness above all else, with all sorts of large-scale techniques appearing one after another. The dignitaries in the stands were left dumbfounded, their mouths hanging wide open as they let out bursts of exclamation from time to time.

"What the hell!"

"Isn't this cheating?"

Seeing this, Jiraiya's expression shifted abruptly, and he instinctively looked toward Orochimaru beside him.

These Sunagakure guys were playing dirty; these two were clearly coordinating, and that guy playing with iron sand was even helping control the puppets...

"There's nothing to be done about it..."

Orochimaru shook his head, looking somewhat helpless.

The content and purpose of this third round of exams had already been discussed with them by Teacher Hiruzen in advance.

To put it bluntly, this was no longer a simple fight to the death; it was more like a "muscle show" for the outside world, the best stage to demonstrate the formidable strength of each village's younger generation.

The experts look for the technique, while the laymen look for the spectacle.

The "big shots" present today were, for the most part, laymen.

If they were made to watch the psychological warfare and tactical application between ninja, they certainly wouldn't understand it.

To make them intuitively understand the power of a ninja, the best way was, naturally, to use those large-scale ninjutsu that looked sufficiently flashy and shocking to the eye.

Therefore, this exam leaned more toward a performance.

In fact, many of the matchups had been arranged long ago.

For instance, Tsunade would soon face someone from the Uchiha clan, staging a "fated duel" between the two great houses of Senju and Uchiha.

"Then how are we supposed to fight later?"

Jiraiya scratched his head and asked.

Those two kids from Sunagakure started off with such a massive display!

When he faced Orochimaru later, how could he fight in a way that would steal the spotlight back?

That guy Tessen was using large-scale Magnet Release ninjutsu that altered the terrain with every gesture, and that kid named Sasori was controlling puppets that were equally flashy and looked incredibly powerful.

This was just too foul!

With the crowd heated up like this, how were the people coming after supposed to play?

The pressure had suddenly spiked!

Orochimaru watched the two fighting fiercely in the arena, then glanced at the worried-looking Jiraiya beside him, a faint, imperceptible curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

Abilities suitable for this occasion... they did have them...

It was precisely because of this that he had specifically asked the Third to arrange for him and Jiraiya to be opponents...