Konoha began to grow lively. The village higher-ups attached great importance to this Chunin Exams.
This was a rare opportunity to display the village's strength. Ever since the Third Shinobi World War ended, there had been few large-scale conflicts between villages. Even Kumogakure's previous incident had fizzled out because of Naruto Uzumaki.
The Chunin Exams were precisely an opportunity to showcase the strength of each village's next generation and establish deterrence. Although only Konoha's ally, Sunagakure, was attending among the Five Great Villages, the other three major villages would be watching closely as well. They absolutely could not afford to lose face.
Thus, Konoha had begun preparing a month in advance. All supporting facilities had long since been put in place, and they only awaited the arrival of shinobi from the various villages.
Naturally, Konoha's younger generation was also fired up and ready to give it their all. If they could become Chunin through these exams, they would have a great chance of becoming Jonin within the next few years. Their status and standing would immediately become different.
Because of this, Naruto enjoyed a rare stretch of peace. Ino Yamanaka and the others had been dragged off by their respective Jonin instructors for special training, while even Hinata had been taken away by Hyuga Hiashi to intensify her training. Sasuke, meanwhile, had been trained so brutally by Uchiha Itachi that he was a sorry sight; whenever Naruto occasionally went to see him, he was always bruised and battered.
Time slipped by unnoticed, and in the blink of an eye, the Chunin Exams were just around the corner. Shinobi from the smaller villages had already arrived in Konoha one after another.
This was also the most chaotic time. A great number of outsiders had poured into the village, making it the