Konoha, at the village entrance.
A group of headscarf-wrapped ninja appeared. Their leader wore a white robe and a conical hat emblazoned with a large character for "Wind."
There were neither too many nor too few of them—several dozen in total. They were Sunagakure ninja, accompanying the Kazekage to watch the Chunin Exams.
"Kazekage-sama, the welcoming ceremony is ready. Hokage-sama is waiting. Please come with us!" the ninja responsible for receiving them said respectfully at the village entrance.
The Kazekage let out a soft laugh. Other than his eyes, every part of him was covered by white cloth, making his expression impossible to see.
"Then I'll trouble Konoha's young friend to lead the way. I'm quite looking forward to this visit to Konoha."
Thus, the group headed into Konoha.
For Konoha, the ceremony welcoming their Sunagakure allies was a grand occasion. In the chaotic Ninja World, finding a major nation willing to become an ally was no easy matter.
Konoha attached particular importance to its relationship with Sunagakure. If it could be maintained for the long term, then the situations from past Ninja World Wars—where one village was besieged by two or even three others—would never happen again.
Once the ceremony ended, the Kazekage and his party returned to their lodgings and waited quietly for the final stage of the Chunin Exams to begin three days later.
The interval between the second and third stages of the Chunin Exams was not short. It was mainly meant to allow the contestants to participate in the exams in their best condition. After all, injuries were unavoidable in the fierce clashes of the second stage.
That required a long period of recovery, so the next exam naturally could not be scheduled too soon.
This time, counting Naruto Uzumaki and the others who