In a large hall inside the Hokage Building in Konoha. (From Tianlai Novels)
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat there, a pipe dangling from his mouth, pondering over several documents and lists in his hands amidst the swirling smoke.
Below the Third Hokage stood Konoha's Jonin and Elite Jonin, who were ninjas Genin teams, or rather Jonin instructors.
"So, the complete list of all those who have applied to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams is here."
The Third Hokage finished reading the documents in his hand, took a deep breath, puffed on his cigarette, exhaled a few smoke rings, and then looked up at the ninjas below.
At this moment, among this group of ninjas, Umino Iruka, the original Chunin teacher of Naruto, Sasuke, and the others, was clenching his fists tightly and gritting his teeth as he stared at Kakashi, while Kakashi had a calm expression on his face.
Clearly, the two had argued about whether Naruto and Sasuke should participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams, but Kakashi ultimately won, since Kakashi was now Naruto and Sasuke's captain and Jonin instructor.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, glanced at Iruka and Kakashi, shook his head slightly, and said nothing more. Instead, he stood up and asked a ninja beside him, "How are the arrivals of the ninjas from various countries going?"
" The Genin are currently touring Konoha, Jonin the groups are already inside the guesthouse, but..." The ninja beside Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his head and spoke, then hesitated slightly.
"Just what?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flickered slightly as he took the pipe from his mouth and held it in his hand.
The ninja said in a deep voice, "However, the Jonin leading the team from Amegakure hasn't arrived yet, while the ninjas from the other villages all arrived yesterday."
" Amegakure... didn't they only register three people?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment, then gave a slightly strange look. Logically speaking, Amegakure, as the sixth greatest ninja village, shouldn't have only sent three people to participate.
Konoha is the largest village and hosts the Chunin Ninja Exams in its own village, so it has the most participating ninjas. Besides Konoha, the other major ninja villages participating in the Chunin Ninja Exams are Sunagakure and Amegakure.
Sunagakure follows an elite path, so very few ninjas come to participate. However, Amegakure only had three people participating in the Chunin Ninja Exams Ninjutsu, which is very strange.
Furthermore, it's also strange Konoha the Jonin the team hasn't appeared yet, considering that Amegakure is much closer to Konoha than Sunagakure, since their lands are practically adjacent.
"Could they have been attacked on the way? That would be troublesome."
A Jonin's eyes flickered, his expression slightly grim. He said, "If the ninjas from Amegakure who are participating in the Chunin Ninja Exams are attacked within our Land of Fire, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to handle."
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed, and he said, "That's right, there are only three of them, and even including the Jonin the team, there are only four. That's indeed too few. If they are ambushed and killed by someone, it will be difficult to explain to Amegakure."
If it were another village, and a ninja who came to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams died on the way, Konoha wouldn't even bother to care. If they couldn't even get to Konoha, what was the point of participating in the Chunin Ninja Exams?
But it won't work against Amegakure.
Amegakure, though only the sixth greatest ninja village, is the most formidable of the six great ninja Amegakure in the Shinobi World, thanks to Uya's leadership!
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was preparing to send his Anbu to investigate with a grim face, a ninja suddenly burst in, a look of surprise on his face.
" Lord Hokage! Something's happened!"
"What's wrong?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was immediately startled. Could it be that the ninjas of Amegakure really...?
"That's right, Lord Hokage. Just now, Genin from various countries clashed in the streets. The fighting was so loud that it affected the village's security."
"Too much noise?"
Upon hearing that the problem didn't originate from Amegakure ninjas, Hiruzen Sarutobi first breathed a sigh of relief, then revealed a strange expression.
How loud can a fight Genin go? Destroying a house is probably the limit.
"Yes."
The ninja nodded to Hiruzen Sarutobi Hiruzen Sarutobi handed him a piece of intelligence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he looked at the intelligence report, then suddenly exclaimed in shock, "The entire street is frozen solid? And it wasn't Jonin who did it, but a Genin from Amegakure who participated in the Chunin Ninja Exams! How... how is this possible?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's words instantly caused an uproar Jonin the Jonin present.
A street frozen solid—that's quite a terrifying sight!
"Ice? Strange, Ice Release Kirigakure Kekkei Genkai, not the power of the Yuki Clan Kirigakure, why would it appear on a ninja from Amegakure?"
"Furthermore, is this really Genin from Amegakure? Or is it a Jonin Genin?"
After reviewing the final documents, and hearing the Jonin still discussing among themselves, Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "Quiet!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi still wielded considerable influence, and since everyone present was Jonin, a single sentence silenced the entire room.
"In any case, now that the ninjas from Amegakure have arrived, we'll find out the details once we meet their Jonin instructor, and we'll also be able to get information on the ninjas who participated in the Chunin Ninja Exams."
After Jonin the Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in a deep voice.
In his view, it was a good thing that the Amegakure ninjas had arrived in Konoha. Although there had been some trouble in Konoha, it wasn't a big problem. It was much better than the Amegakure ninjas being ambushed and killed on the way, which would cause a lot of conflict between Amegakure and Konoha.
Moreover, freezing a street isn't exactly a small power, but it's not particularly great either. As far as Hiruzen Sarutobi knows, there's One-Tail Jinchuriki among the Sunagakure Genin.
Since Amegakure only sent three ninjas to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams, it was expected and reasonable that they would be stronger and more special.
Upon hearing the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Jonin present nodded and remained silent, following Hiruzen Sarutobi towards the gathering place of the Jonin various ninja villages.
Soon, the group arrived at the place where the Jonin the team had gathered.
Hiruzen Sarutobi put on a smiling yet solemn expression, entered the room, glanced around the room, and first said a polite remark.
"On behalf of Konoha, I welcome everyone. Please forgive me if there has been any inadequacy in our hospitality."
" Lord Hokage kind, Hokage."
The Jonin present didn't show Hiruzen Sarutobi any particular respect, after all, they were all Jonin various ninja villages. However, upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's polite words, they each responded with a reply.
Just then, a Konoha ninja approached Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, " Lord Hokage, everyone except the Jonin the Amegakure team has arrived."
"Hmm, the Amegakure Jonin the team from Amegakure hasn't arrived yet?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly. He had already heard the news that Amegakure ninjas had appeared in Konoha, yet this Jonin from Amegakure still hadn't come to deliver the ninja information forms for the Chunin Ninja Exams.
The Jonin leading their respective villages all showed expressions of dissatisfaction Jonin hearing that the Amegakure had not yet arrived.
"What? That Amegakure who's Jonin the group, is he just going to leave us hanging here all by ourselves?" One of them snorted coldly, his tone tinged with impatience.
"Speaking of which, I'm curious, who exactly is this Jonin the team?" another person said in a sinister tone.
Listening to the words of the Jonin the team, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly. He was also a little curious about who this Jonin Amegakure was and why he hadn't registered before arriving in Konoha. Where had he gone?
Just as everyone was getting increasingly impatient, a person finally walked in from outside, glanced around the room with an indifferent expression, and spoke calmly.
Looks like I'm the only one left.
(To be continued.)