Konoha
The mission in the Land of Hot Water was completed successfully, and its difficulty rating was raised to A-rank.
A few days after returning to the village, they received a notice about the Chunin Ninja Exams. The Hokage summoned all the village's Jonin to a meeting.
The conference room
"I called everyone here to discuss this Chunin Ninja Exams: the exam content and arrangements, and to recommend a group of outstanding Genin to take part."
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's words sparked a discussion as everyone worked out the content of the Chunin Ninja Exams.
It was now time for the Jonin to recommend their outstanding Genin to take part.
Namikaze Minato, wearing a green Jonin flak jacket, stepped forward.
"I recommend Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, and Nohara Rin for the Chunin Ninja Exams."
"I recommend Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, and Ebisu for the Chunin Ninja Exams."
Li Yu also stepped forward to stand before the Hokage.
"I recommend Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, and Uzuki Yugao for the Chunin Ninja Exams."
"I recommend..."
One after another, everyone recommended the Genin on their teams for the exams. The atmosphere was lively.
For a moment, Li Yu felt as if he were watching the Chunin Ninja Exams for Kakashi, Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Might Guy, and the others in their generation of the Konoha 12.
The exam content was more or less the same: a written test for the first round, the Forest of Death for the second, and one-on-one battles for the third.
After leaving the Hokage's conference room, Li Yu met up with the three students as they had arranged.
"Here are your recommendation letters. Take them to the Ninja Academy and sign up for the Chunin Ninja Exams."
"Sensei, the Chunin Ninja Exams..."
"That's great! We're finally going to become Chunin!"
"We won't have to do tedious D-rank missions anymore."
Seeing how excited they were, he gave them a few words of advice. Of the three, Uzuki Yugao and Yuhi Kurenai were top students, while Sarutobi Asuma was a little behind.
As for their abilities, Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao were a little weaker.
"Go register at the Ninja Academy within the next three days, then return to your clans and prepare well for the exams."
"Yugao, come with me."
"Yes, Sensei."
He took Uzuki Yugao to the Senju Clan's compound and entered the Senju ancestral home, where Li Yu currently lived.
"Sensei, why did you bring me here?"
"It's about time. I'm taking you to see your older sister, Uzuki Yuying."
"Really? My sister's on a mission with Anbu, so she rarely has time to come home and see me."
Just then, a figure with long purple hair falling to her waist, fair skin, and a graceful figure stepped out of the house with light footsteps.
"Big sister!"
"Yugao, what are you doing here?"
As she spoke, Uzuki Yugao threw herself into Uzuki Yuying's arms. The sisters must have had plenty of private things to talk about.
Li Yu nodded to Uzuki Yuying in greeting, then turned and left.
The Senju Clan's council hall
A group of the Senju Clan's remaining members had already gathered there and been waiting for some time.
When Li Yu entered, they called out in unison,
"Clan Leader!"
Li Yu took the seat at the head of the table and gestured for everyone on either side to sit down.
At the head of the left side sat Senju Fenghua, the son of Senju Toka. Next to him were his wife, Senju Qinghua, and their son, Senju Lihua.
At the head of the right side sat the sons of Senju Lijian: his eldest, Senju Qijian; his second son, Senju Qijian; and his third son, Senju Zijian.
Senju Toka and Senju Lijian had been trusted subordinates of Senju Hashirama.
One excelled at genjutsu, the other at developing ninjutsu. As for taijutsu, Super Strength, and chakra reserves, those were basic Senju Clan traits.
"I secretly gathered everyone here today because I want the Senju Clan to come together again."
"So we no longer have to hide our identities, skulk around, and gradually be pushed to the margins of the village."
"Our clan has produced two Hokage. We are a clan of honor."
After hearing Li Yu's words, the Senju Clan members present looked fired up, their fists clenched tight.
Seeing their reaction, Li Yu thought smugly, Looks like I have the potential to master the Hokage's most powerful jutsu too.
"Some of you may think that times have changed. When the Third Hokage came to power, his prestige was insufficient, so he divided most of his authority among the various clans to secure his position."
"I'm not here to discuss this with you. I'm formally informing you, and we can work out the details."
"Recently, the Senju Clan's businesses have been doing very well. We have ten hot pot restaurants across the Land of Fire and five gambling houses."
The meeting lasted until late at night. Though they had spent the whole day in meetings, everyone left looking energized and full of hope for the future.
Land of Earth
Iwagakure—Ōnoki
"Lord Tsuchikage, two shinobi from the Land of Wind have brought a scroll."
Ōnoki read the scroll, clicked his tongue, and remarked,
"The Third Kazekage has gone missing, and they suspect Konoha was responsible. Do they want to join forces and attack Konoha?"
"Heh. The Kazekage from their own village goes missing, and to shift the blame, they pin it on Konoha. That old woman Chiyo really has a way with things."
"As for an alliance, it's not out of the question."
"According to intelligence, Konoha's Zi Yu has left the village to gather information. He hasn't appeared in any of Konoha's S-rank missions either."
"I was careless last time. This time, we'll join forces with the other three great nations. My village still has more than ten thousand excellent shinobi."
Land of Lightning—Hidden Cloud Village
Third Raikage A held several intelligence reports in his hands. After reading them, he slammed his palm down on the table.
"Bang!"
"Hmph! Ōnoki actually suggested that we join forces to attack Konoha."
"He even claimed that Konoha has an Anbu member codenamed Zi Yu who's incredibly powerful and can use Wood Release."
"I think that's just an excuse for their failed attempt to surround and kill him. They're deliberately exaggerating."
"An alliance?"
"Hmph! That shorty Ōnoki loves playing tricks. He's no match for strength."
As he spoke, he punched the tabletop again, smashing the table to pieces.
The dark-skinned young man standing beside him spoke up.
"Father, a few days ago, we sent out two teams of shinobi to probe Konoha, and we lost contact with them. They were probably killed by Konoha's shinobi."
"An informant from the Land of Wind sent word: the Third Kazekage suddenly disappeared, and Sunagakure is in chaos."
Third Raikage A glanced at his son and Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, who stood beside him. His eyes gleamed.
"Send out the order. Prepare for war."
"Yes, sir."