The Exam Begins / The Hidden Ones

Although he spoke very politely, the Sand Ninja who came to inquire was very nervous.

After all, he was just an ordinary Chunin, and what he did just now was really just a routine task, the kind where he would leave when it was time to go home.

He never expected that a big shot like Ninja World White Ghost of Leaf Village would actually stop and explain to him.

"Ah, no, no, it's no trouble at all, you're too kind," the Sand Village Chunin quickly said. "Then who are you looking for?"

"Actually, I don't know him either. Some guy just caused trouble at the hotel, and I figured I couldn't let him get away, so I'm looking for him now."

"Is that so?" The Sand Village Chunin shocked and furious. "This is outrageous! Shingen, what are that person's characteristics?"

"As for his characteristics..." Uchiha Shingen thought for a moment, "He uses Puppet Technique and wears Sand Ninja clothing."

Sand Village Chunin: "???"

Sweat started to bead on his forehead.

"Could it be...?" he asked weakly, "That I saw it wrong?"

"Brother, my eyesight is excellent." Uchiha Shingen showed off his Sharingan. "Tell me, with eyes like mine, how could I possibly misread this?"

"Yes... it doesn't quite make sense..." The Sand Village Chunin sweating even more.

"Sigh, I understand. Here's what you'll do: relay what I said to your superiors, and say that Leaf Village takes this matter very seriously and is determined to find the culprit who attempted to provoke the alliance."

"Okay... okay..." The Sand Village Chunin that this was all he could say.

"Don't worry, we're allies. We won't make things difficult for you. I Chunin before, so I understand."

In that instant, the Sand Village Chunin felt moved.

Unexpectedly, the ones who cared most for these low-ranking Sand Ninja were actually the Jonin of Leaf Village!

"Yes, Shingen. Please inform us before we begin. We will cooperate."

After saying that, the Sand Village Chunin hurriedly went to report.

Uchiha Shingen watched his retreating figure, he thought of his own lost Chunin days and felt a pang of emotion.

No matter which village, the ninjas at the grassroots level are really simple and honest. They don't think too much; they just want to get paid and do their jobs.

They could only passively endure the power struggles between villages and between powerful individuals.

That's why ninjas all want to become stronger.

Uchiha Shingen turned and continued forward.

The number of Sand Ninja around him began to increase; they were Sand Village's ANBU, but these ANBU did not interfere with his actions.

Uchiha Shingen finally sensed his own Chakra.

It's a bit strange, as if it's in a compressed state.

Moreover, his location was near the edge of Sunagakure.

The opponent's location, however, was outside of Sunagakure.

As they approached the city walls, the Sand Ninja's defensive forces came to meet them.

It's called a city wall, but it's actually a mountain.

Sunagakure is built among sand dunes, which not only protect against wind and sand but also serve as natural military defenses.

Just like before, Uchiha Shingen explained everything to the Sand Village patrol here, stating that he was going out to find someone.

The ANBU of Sand Village also made their appearance.

"Shingen, this was probably not the work of our village's ninjas."

"Yes, I feel the same way," Uchiha Shingen said. "What is the Lord Kazekage's opinion on this matter?"

"Lord Kazekage has instructed us to cooperate with your operation."

"In that case, let's take a look. Chakra perception doesn't lie. The other party is moving very slowly, so it might be a puppet. At least that way we can determine its identity."

"Good."

The Sand Village ANBU agreed and stepped forward to coordinate with the city wall defense forces. After a few words, he turned back to indicate that everything was OK.

Uchiha Shingen then pointed out the direction, and the group quickly passed through the passage carved out of the mountain and entered the desert outside.

Chapter Thirty-One: The Exam Begins

Outside Sunagakure, a miniature wooden doll is slowly walking across the sand.

Suddenly, a figure appeared next to it.

"It really is a puppet..." the newcomer muttered, flicking his wrist to cleave the puppet doll in two with a gust of wind.

Soon, more figures appeared here.

"Shingen Sand Village ANBU squad looked at the puppet on the ground, "Is this it?"

"Hmm, you're a very skilled puppeteer." Uchiha Shingen looked at the puppet still crawling on the ground. "Every time I see your Sand Village puppets, I feel like you've misallocated your talent points."

I wouldn't be surprised if you guys actually managed to build a Gundam someday!

"Indeed, very impressive." The Sand Village ANBU's eyes gleamed.

To outsiders, Puppet Technique is simply making a wooden puppet, setting up a bunch of mechanisms, and then controlling it with the unique Chakra Threads technology of Sunagakure.

However, this thing also has Chakra circuits, and they are highly individual; each puppeteer's Chakra circuits are different.

This thing is a pure Ninjutsu. If a Puppet Technique is classified as A-rank, then it is indeed a Ninjutsu with an A-rank learning difficulty.

Even though the puppet doll in front of us was split open by the Wind Release, part of it was still functioning.

These puppets, with their built-in power and ability to operate according to the "program" set by the puppeteer, represent the highest level of Sand Village Puppet Technique.

Second Shinobi World War, the Sand Ninja's Puppet Technique shone brightly on the battlefield. For Leaf Village, if it weren't for Tsunade, Leaf Village's losses would have been many times greater.

The Puppet Technique mechanisms are indeed designed to target people, and the visual effects are not very good, but they are quite effective at killing.

Without a 360-degree wide-range attack like Shinra Tensei, or something like Gundam, and without immunity to poison, unless one can remain unscathed or possesses a sufficiently advanced detoxification ability, being hit by a puppet would definitely be fatal.

There are very few people in Sunagakure who possess such Puppet Technique and can create such a puppet.

" With Puppet Technique reaching this level, your Sunagakure must have a record of it," Uchiha Shingen said. "Take this back and show it to Lord Kazekage. As an outsider, I won't interfere."

"Thank you for your understanding!" The words from the Sand Village ANBU came from the bottom of their hearts.

This is Sand Village's own fault; they can't pin the blame on others.

As a member of the Sand Village's ANBU, he now dared not even make any guesses.

This tiny puppet is involved in many significant matters.

"However, as the leader of Leaf Village, you can't blame me for being too extreme next time this happens," Uchiha Shingen reminded them.

We understand, we're sorry to have troubled you.

"It's alright. An inside man is indeed a very troublesome matter. I hope you can resolve it as soon as possible."

After saying that, Uchiha Shingen disappeared from the sight of the Sand Village ANBU.

He reappeared in the hotel's rest area, which belonged to the Leaf Village Konoha Ninja, where they were discussing what had happened earlier.

Upon seeing Uchiha Shingen, everyone stood up.

"Lord Shingen."

Ninjas are not ranked by age, but by strength.

Uchiha Shingen is now recognized as Kage Level powerhouse in the Ninja World, and in the eyes of these Konoha Ninja, he is a very important figure.

"Shingen, those Sand Ninja just now..." Pakura stopped mid-sentence.

Because Uchiha Shingen waved his hand to stop her.

"Kakashi, I'm giving you a mission." Uchiha Shingen thought for a moment and then gave some instructions. "During this time, pay close attention to your surroundings. Also, everyone should stay home. I'll discuss it with Hidden Mist Village, and we'll have both teams operate simultaneously."

"Okay." Hatake Kakashi nodded.

With the Sharingan, he is a visual-sensing ninja, and the Obito that Sharingan left him is of a very high level. It can be said that among the people present, apart from Uchiha Shingen, he has the largest range of perception.

As for ninjas with Chakra perception, they are extremely rare; there are only a handful in the entire Leaf Village.

Otherwise, it would be more convenient to carry out security work.

"Lord Shingen, is there something wrong?"

"Hmm, there are a lot of people here for this Joint Chunin Exams, and Sunagakure's defenses against infiltrators have weakened." Uchiha Shingen recalled the reaction of the ANBU just now.

It's highly unlikely that the disturbance was caused by people from Sunagakure.

It is highly likely that someone else is trying to disrupt the situation.

Moreover, he is a puppeteer of a very high level.

As a transmigrator, Uchiha Shingen would naturally think of a certain guy who liked to Human Puppet. Judging from that guy's preferences, he was indeed suspected of causing trouble.

The Sand Village's Joint Chunin Exams can be said to have gathered forces from most of the Ninja World, including a plethora of strange and unusual abilities, including bloodline limits. It's estimated that such a concentration has never been seen since the establishment of the ninja villages. If he were a Human Puppet, he would also want to take some materials back with him.

However, preconceived notions are undesirable, and conclusions should not be drawn lightly.

For some reason, Uchiha Shingen felt a sense of familiarity with this situation.

"Everyone, there's no need to worry too much. Just maintain normal vigilance." Uchiha Shingen looked at the Chunin and Genin. "Your task is to prepare for the exam. Our task as team leaders is to ensure that you can participate in the exam in the best possible condition. Even though you are in Sunagakure, you represent Leaf Village. There's nothing to be afraid of. If the sky falls, I, as the team leader, will bear the brunt; it won't fall on you."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt relieved.

Hatake Kakashi also felt that his teacher Namikaze Minato, had a very fair assessment of Uchiha Shingen.

When this person is being unserious, he's incredibly unserious, but when he's serious, he's very responsible and puts people at ease.

Having ability does not necessarily mean having responsibility; responsibility is something far more precious than ability.

In Leaf Village, there were those who held reservations about the Uchiha Clan obtaining the position of Kage, but the opinions of various factions regarding Uchiha Shingen were generally positive.

The main point is that Uchiha Shingen was truly thorough when it came to serious matters.

Whether you like the Uchiha Clan or not, no one can argue about this.

In the days that followed, as instructed by Uchiha Shingen, the Konoha Ninja prepared for the exams with peace of mind, and the security measures in Sand Village were significantly strengthened, with no similar incidents occurring again.

Under the arrangement of Uchiha Shingen and Terumi Mei, the participants from Leaf Village and Hidden Mist Village got along quite well. However, everyone's expressions towards Kimimaro were rather strange during their meals together.

The main reason is that this handsome little guy can be quite fierce when it comes to eating.

This made it hard for some female ninjas who were obsessed with appearances to look at him directly. They felt that the ninja from the Taketori Clan wouldn't stop until he raised Kimimaro to be as muscular as them.

Kimimaro didn't finish a whole bucket of rice at each meal, the ninjas of the Taketori Clan would keep urging him to eat more.

Everyone knows why the Taketori Clan all grow horizontally.

Uchiha Shingen felt that the handsome young man from the original timeline was probably no longer alive.

The Kaguya Clan may have initially provided Kimimaro with food according to what they considered "abuse"...

The Taketori Clan may now be trying to make Kimimaro eat his fill with "normal" food.

Kimimaro, lacking any bulky flesh, was likely considered malnourished by them.

Tenten passed by, and finally, Sunagakure issued a notice that the Chunin Ninja Exams would officially begin.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Hidden Person

The process of the Chunin Ninja Exams is actually quite random.

Hidden Leaf Village was relatively affluent, and its Ninja Academy was the oldest, with its academic curriculum excelling. Thus, in the original timeline, their first exam was a true exam.

Let everyone do a test.

However, Sunagakure is not in an environment like Hidden Leaf Village.

In terms of local customs, the five ninja countries— the Land of Fire, the Land of Water, and the Land of Earth —are all countries with a certain level of social civilization and a standard of urban economy. The Bloody Mist Village has labeled the people of the Land of Water as terrorists, but this is somewhat unfair to the Land of Water itself.

It is because of the geographical environment that the degree of autonomy in various places is relatively high, but the people there are actually quite normal, and the country has abundant resources and a high level of social civilization.

The Land of Earth has a lower per capita economic level, but it is large enough, its resources are not too unbalanced, and its overall level of social civilization is up to standard.

This is why Uchiha Shingen recommended to the Hokage Building and the Fire Daimyo's Court that these three countries be used to build a community of shared interests.

The Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning are truly completely different in style.