Autumn always came to Konoha at its own unhurried pace.
The wind traveled from deep within the mountain forests of the Land of Fire, carrying the scent of fallen leaves and the crisp freshness of rivers. It pushed open the windows of the Hokage Building at a leisurely pace, making the pages of documents rustle.
Shihōin Naraku sat at the head of the table, feeling the chill brush the back of his neck, yet his gaze never left the faces of the four Kage opposite him.
Gaara lowered his eyes, a thin layer of hesitation hovering in his pupils.
Sunagakure had little to begin with, and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had provided very little funding in recent years, so they could only struggle to get by.
The losses of the Fourth Shinobi World War had all but hollowed Sunagakure out yet again.
Now that they had finally caught their breath, even the slightest additional expense for a Chunin Ninja Exam would pain him.
But Konoha said they would cover everything.
That made it even harder to stomach.
Mei Terumi leaned back in her chair, a lock of reddish-brown curls slipping from her shoulder as her gaze roamed between Naraku and Shikaku.
In truth, Kirigakure was hardly better off than Sunagakure. Though she had long since washed away much of its reputation as the Village of the Bloody Mist, the internal fractures left by years of deep-rooted problems could not be mended overnight.
On top of that, there were the effects of the Fourth Shinobi World War and the Otsutsuki Toneri incident...
Kirigakure had no energy to spare for hosting any large-scale Chunin Ninja Exams.
Yet she also understood what mark such a Five-Nation Joint Chunin Selection Trials, organized entirely by Konoha, would ultimately leave in the eyes