The preliminaries of the chunin ninja exams had ended. By then, it was evening, and the candidates and their team leaders had all gone back to rest.
Meanwhile.
In the Hokage's office.
The atmosphere was rather delicate. A draft through the room made the candle flames flicker, casting the examiners' shadows against the walls.
They stretched long, then shrank short.
They were all familiar faces.
Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi.
Mitaraishi Anko.
Genma Shiranui, Gekko Hayate, Ibiki Morino.
And a few chunin responsible for the cleanup.
Hyuga Seigo couldn't be bothered to come, and no one dared complain.
Not even Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Let's hear it."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat at the head of the room, his fingers rubbing the purple clay teacup before him. Steam curled from its rim, but failed to dispel the lingering smell of blood in the air—
It had been brought back from the Forest of Death, mingled with the raw scents of soil and vegetation... scrolls containing all manner of remains.
People had died.
Quite a few of them.
"Lord Hokage."
Genma, who was responsible for compiling the data, spoke first. He had just returned from the Forest of Death, and a few dead leaves clung to his black headband.
"Yes, Third."
"The preliminaries of the chunin ninja exams have all concluded, and the list of candidates who passed has been compiled. As you instructed, preparations for the finals venue will be completed within half a month."
Hiruzen nodded, tapping the desktop with his fingertips. "What about the representatives from the other villages? No problems with the intelligence being passed along?"
"None," Ibiki Morino added from beside him. He had just met with the observation teams from Sunagakure and Iwagakure, and two teams had also been stationed to watch those from the Cloud Village and Kirigakure.
"The