The massive Combat Shinobi assessment stirred up a storm in Konoha, nearly bringing its administrative hub, the Hokage Building, to a standstill.
If Shingetsu, Izuna, and Tobirama hadn't dragged a whole army of overworked clerical staff into emergency overtime and quickly drawn up an extremely detailed examination schedule, nearly forty percent of the employees would have been sent off to take the test.
Seeing how many people were taking the assessment, even the biggest slackers hurriedly got serious, terrified of being eliminated.
To save their jobs, and with Madara breathing down their necks, these people finally showed a drive unseen in years, practicing ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu they had neglected for who knew how long.
Whether cramming at the last minute actually helped or not, at least it gave them some peace of mind.
On assessment day, the examination grounds were bustling inside and out. Besides the candidates, plenty of Civilian Shinobi and ordinary people had come to watch the show.
Kakuzu, keenly aware of the business opportunity, simply organized a group of unlucky subordinates to sell tickets at the entrance and made a killing.
Everyone was happy enough to pay. After all, the lineup was truly spectacular.
And who didn't love watching Combat Shinobi fight? It was thrilling!
After paying for their tickets, the spectators settled into the stands above the examination grounds. One glance down was enough to make them exclaim:
"Worth every penny!"
The current Hokage, Madara Uchiha, presided in person, and his mysterious assistant, suspected of being Izuna's illegitimate child, was there too. The eyes of the Cowboy Squad members scattered throughout the crowd lit up, and they all scribbled furiously in their notebooks.
Hashirama and Lord Tobirama stood on a raised platform where they could observe the candidates up close, accompanied by more than a