The Jonin Are Summoned

Not only Orochimaru wanted to study it, but Uchiha Shingen also wanted to study it. This is just too damn intriguing.

Medical Ninjutsu can only reattach severed limbs; it can save someone who has been cut in half at the waist, but there is absolutely no hope if their head is severed.

Is that evil god merely a magical technique, a religion, or does it truly exist?

Can immortality block the Reaper Death Seal?

Can it resist the Human Path?

It intrigued him to no end.

"So besides Sand Village, there are also Iwagakure and Rain Village?"

"It's Akatsuki," Orochimaru corrected. "That guy is new; no one knows he's joined Akatsuki yet."

"And what about you?" Uchiha Shingen asked, "You went through all this trouble just to come here, to talk, and breathe the air of your homeland?"

"Hehe, of course not," Orochimaru laughed. "I really dislike things that don't move. Of course, sometimes I might be a little interested, but right now, I think things that don't move have any value. The wind has already started blowing, and I want to add some force to it."

"Target." Uchiha Shingen didn't want to beat around the bush with Orochimaru anymore. "Orochimaru, who is your target? Give me a name. Don't be vague. I don't want you falling into Jiraiya's hands."

"Shingen, you underestimate me," Orochimaru sneered. "There's no way I'd be captured by an idiot like that."

"Target!"

Seeing that Uchiha Shingen had already mobilized his Chakra, Orochimaru didn't take it seriously, because he knew that Uchiha Shingen wouldn't stop him once he heard his name.

"Before I left this village, I was fortunate to receive help from some people, and I would like to catch up with them."

"Really?"

Uchiha Shingen's Chakra calmed down.

He had to admit that Sarutobi Clan's forces were now almost identical to Leaf Village itself.

This faction occupied a significant number of positions in the Jonin Council, essentially monopolizing all the important mid-level posts in the village.

But their legitimacy comes from the Tobirama Squad.

Regardless of whether this force was acting according to Sarutobi Hiruzen's ideas, the establishment of Root, the death of White Fang, Orochimaru's disloyalty, Tsunade Jiraiya Jiraiya's departure, and Shimura Danzō's downfall all indicate that its internal cohesion was poor; it was a large alliance.

It has too many heads.

It also has too many elderly people.

In the past, its existence maximized the integration of Leaf Village's power, but now it has become an obstacle to Leaf Village's further development.

Uchiha Shingen pondered silently in his mind.

Orochimaru wasn't in a hurry and didn't urge him.

He wasn't convinced that Uchiha Shingen would choose the path he hoped for, but if that were the case, he would re-evaluate Uchiha Shingen.

He was indeed no match for Uchiha Shingen, and many of his techniques were restricted, but he could run away, and that aspect of his abilities was not limited.

Uchiha Shingen thought for a long time.

Finally, he asked, "Besides Sand Village, Iwagakure, and Akatsuki, who else has contacted you?"

"Of course, Cloud Village and Hidden Mist Village have also contacted me. However, the person from Hidden Mist Village doesn't represent the Mizukage. Cloud Village currently divided into three factions. The person who contacted me is their latest rising star, a member of the Raikage clan, and a strong contender for the next Raikage." Orochimaru didn't hide this, at least that's how it appeared. "So, the people who came this time are all enemies of Leaf Village."

In my opinion, none of them are as dangerous as you.

"Heh, at least in terms of their goals, they are in far more danger than I am. Not everyone is as wavering as the Kazekage."

Uchiha Shingen: "I will verify it, but there's something I need to remind you of."

"Please speak, I'm listening."

"No disrespect for the previous Hokage is permitted."

"Shingen, I remember saying that I no longer have their cells."

"Come on, Orochimaru," Uchiha Shingen said. "I don't care whether you research Wood Release or not, but if you do something that disrespects their will, then we can't be friends anymore."

"Don't worry, I never thought of that." Orochimaru nodded. "I can still promise you that."

"Alright, remember what you said." Uchiha Shingen glanced at him. "You should go now."

Orochimaru smiled slightly and made a hand seal.

The next moment, he vanished from Uchiha Shingen's sight.

Uchiha Shingen, who had been wearing a cold expression, was suddenly stunned. Orochimaru had actually used Space-Time Ninjutsu to leave.

As Ninjutsu recorded in the Book of Seals, Orochimaru had naturally seen the Flying Thunder God Technique, which is not surprising.

However, Uchiha Shingen did not expect that Orochimaru would also become interested in this type of Ninjutsu.

In this way, another teleportation Ninjutsu has emerged in the Ninja World.

Uchiha Shingen began to reflect.

When the Flying Thunder God Technique was first developed by Dog Lord, it was quite deceptive, which is why Dog Lord was known as the Godspeed Ninja World.

At that time, only a small group of people knew the truth. The Kumogakure later drew inspiration from this and created the Heavenly Transfer Technique.

When Namikaze Minato unleashed his power on the battlefield, the Flying Thunder God Technique, a Space-Time Ninjutsu, began to be widely recognized by other ninja villages due to the commander's extensive use of specially made Kunai.

When it came to Uchiha Shingen, he used it regularly and made frequent appearances. Now, no one can confuse the Flying Thunder God Technique with the Body Flicker Technique.

Orochimaru's Ninjutsu is clearly based on the Flying Thunder God, and operates on a similar principle.

However, despite being a Grand Slam winner, Orochimaru lacked an essential talent for mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique— Chakra perception.

To achieve this, something must be needed to replace Chakra perception and allow him to determine coordinates.

Uchiha Shingen finally understood how Orochimaru had broken through his spatial barrier and escaped back to Sound Village last time.

At the moment Orochimaru disappeared, he simultaneously sensed another Chakra, but it quickly vanished completely, a reaction to the depletion of Chakra.

Orochimaru has a great talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu, a fact that Uchiha Shingen knew, but he didn't expect that the ideas they had discussed when developing the Cursed Seal would be used by Orochimaru in this area.

He truly deserves to be called the most outstanding genius in the Sarutobi Clan's faction.

[So, this is how you escaped last time...]

Ninigi-no-Mikoto belongs to the Kekkei Mora, but Space-Time Ninjutsu often do not interfere with each other and can also cancel each other out.

In the original timeline, Hatake Kakashi also used Kamui to neutralize Kaguya Otsutsuki's Yomotsu Hirasaka.

However, judging from the results, Uchiha Shingen's judgment was correct; Orochimaru's method was based on the possessor of the Cursed Seal.

The Chakra that just erupted must have belonged to a Cursed Seal ninja.

Even if Uchiha Shingen chased after him at this point, he probably wouldn't be able to find Orochimaru. Orochimaru, who was skilled in body modification, still possessed considerable leg strength even without using Chakra.

This guy is truly unbeatable when it comes to these weird and wonderful things...

Uchiha Shingen shook his head, stood up, and turned back to the tower.

He needed to have a serious talk with Uchiha Fugaku about how to handle today's events.

The extent to which the various villages' hostility towards Leaf Village had developed was indeed somewhat beyond his expectations.

Now that we're prepared, the damage can be minimized.

Perhaps... this is Orochimaru's goal?

Uchiha Shingen felt that he had guessed Orochimaru's true purpose to some extent.

Including the "Konoha Crush" in the original timeline, many things that were not well understood at the time can be explained according to this logic.

This guy really is a chaotic and disorganized faction!

Uchiha Shingen slowly walked back to the tower.

However, Orochimaru's Chakra did not reappear until he re-entered the tower.

Without Orochimaru coming in to bluff, the second exam proceeded normally.

There was a little incident: suddenly a group of snakes appeared in the forest.

Yes, Orochimaru and Uchiha Shingen were having such a great time chatting that they left in such a hurry that they forgot to send back the snake that Orochimaru had summoned from Ryūchi Cave.

It also included the giant snake.

These scoundrels immediately proved with their actions that Uchiha Shingen was absolutely right to call them scoundrels.

They were one by one, and since Orochimaru forgot to cancel, they really "forgot" to go back. Taking advantage of the fact that Orochimaru was hiding from Uchiha Shingen and wouldn't expend Chakra to forcibly send them back, they started playing around in the Forest of Death.

When Uchiha Sasuke encountered his prized and beloved subordinate, "Little Red Flower," things almost spiraled out of control.

The situation didn't truly spiral out of control because Uchiha Shingen couldn't stand by and watch. With his authority as a successor of Ryūchi Cave, he personally took action to send the snakes back.

But it seems he acted a little too late.

When Gaara of Sunagakure met Uchiha Sasuke again in the tower, his eyes looked completely off. He seemed to think that the snakes were summoned by Uchiha Sasuke on his own.

Uchiha Shingen didn't have time to concern himself with such matters.

As the final timer expired, fifteen groups of Genin Leaf Village. Of the remaining eight groups, Hidden Mist Village had the most, with three groups making it through, followed by one group each from Sand Village, Iwagakure, Cloud Village, Sound Village, and Rain Village.

As one of the Jonin the teams, Uchiha Shingen, along with the other Jonin their teams, led their respective teams into the training grounds of the tower.

The four actors are already standing here; they will address the shortlisted candidates.

Chapter Thirteen Jonin Summoning

Uchiha Shingen listened to the four Kage's speeches; they weren't exactly nonsense, but they were certainly clichés.

Compared to when the village was first established, the speaking style of these younger generations is noticeably less persuasive, but their sentences are much longer.

This isn't talk-no-jutsu; it's trapping and escaping.

After that, nothing new happened.

Due to the large number of participants, it naturally became a preliminary round.

In the original timeline, the preliminary rounds were one-on-one duels.

But in this timeline, the population has increased by nearly half, and if they still engage in one-on-one battles, wouldn't that be disastrous?

There are four... no, five shadows squatting here; they could probably watch all day.

Therefore, Hidden Leaf Village, upholding its fine tradition of respecting history, brought everyone back to the Forest of Death for a group-based PK battle.

However, this meant that Uchiha Shingen and the other Jonin the team had to go into the forest to act as referees.

After one round of group matches, the number of participants was reduced to twenty-one.

The teams from the Sound Village and Rain Village factions were completely wiped out, literally.

Leaf Village only had three teams left, Konohamaru Sarutobi's team was also eliminated. It wasn't that Konohamaru Sarutobi wasn't good, but his teammates couldn't keep up with him. He couldn't defeat the opponent by himself.

After all, his opponents were Gaara and his group.

Ultimately, he was Sarutobi Hiruzen's grandson, and his own strength was also outstanding, so there were no casualties. Gaara was also very stable and did not suddenly start taunting.

The young Ino-Shika-Cho were also eliminated. Nara Shikamaru, the only one in the original timeline to be promoted to Chunin, did indeed work hard. His opponents were Uchiha Clan, Neji Hyuga, and Uzumaki Clan Karin.

Everyone knows each other well, and fellow countrymen are very skilled at fighting each other. However, this generation of Ino-Shika-Cho when they were in school. As a result, they were no match for each other in terms of raw strength, Nara Shikamaru's planning skills were not put to use.

Of the remaining teams, one group each from the other four major ninja villages was left behind. The three Kazekage of Sand Village were a given, and in the Hidden Mist Village team, a boy named Hozuki Suigetsu displayed excellent skills in forced assassination, having been well-trained by Zabuza Momochi.

In Uchiha Shingen's opinion, the Genin from Iwagakure and Cloud Village were not particularly outstanding, but their opponents were from Sound Village and Rain Village, who were even less impressive.

However, twenty-one people are still too many.

The preliminary rounds continued, and this time, the twenty-one people were brought back to the tower to begin their duels, just like in the original timeline.

Uchiha Shingen kept a close eye on Gaara throughout the entire process.

Gaara's ability to become Kazekage within just a few years of returning to the original timeline is not only due to the depletion of talent in Sunagakure, but also because of Gaara undeniable strength.

According to Uchiha Shingen's observation, Gaara's strength is not stable. He possesses the power of Shukaku, so his strength is undoubtedly at the strategic level. However, in terms of his current strength, if he is in good condition, he can already be considered Jonin gatekeeper.

However, his mental instability is a major flaw.

But he remains the strongest candidate in this year's cohort.

As for Sasuke and Naruto, it can only be said that they had too easy a life and didn't fully utilize their talents.

But regardless, at Uchiha Shingen's level, the Chunin Ninja Exams are completely unwatchable unless you place a bet.

In the end, eight people remained.