Become Kizaru in Naruto World - Chapter 140
It had been a week since Kizaru began practicing his new techniques, and as the Chunin Exams approached, ninja from other villages began arriving in Konoha.
The first team of foreign ninja to arrive in Konoha was from Amegakure, which had formed a deep strategic alliance with Konoha. Led by their village leader, Hanzo, they brought a team of over a dozen members to Konoha.
Konoha showed great sincerity towards their ally Hanzo’s early arrival, receiving the team from Amegakure with the etiquette and treatment befitting a major nation.
Both Hanzo and the other ninja from Amegakure were very satisfied with this, feeling somewhat honored even.
Following Amegakure, the next village to arrive was Iwagakure. As newly formed allies with Konoha, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki chose to personally lead the participating team to Konoha to further strengthen the friendly relationship between the two villages.
After Iwagakure came Kumogakure. Similar to the previous two villages, the leader of the team from Kumogakure was none other than the recently departed Third Raikage.
However, unlike Iwagakure and Amegakure, the Third Raikage personally led the team to Konoha not to improve relations between the village and Konoha but to prevent any unexpected incidents involving Blue B, who had recently become the host of the Eight-Tails.
Although Blue B had shown remarkable stability since becoming the host of the Eight-Tails and could even preliminarily use Tailed Beast Chakra, the Third Raikage chose to accompany the participating team to Konoha for safety reasons.
At the same time, the Third Raikage also wanted to prevent any possibility of Konoha seizing the Eight-Tails under the pretext of Blue B going out of control.
Among the major Countries participating in the Chunin Exams, Sunagakure was the last to arrive in Konoha. Furthermore, it was the only one among the Five Great Countries that did not have its own leader leading the team.
The newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Chiyo, had originally planned to personally lead the team in this year’s Chunin Exams. However, due to the insistence of some old men in the village on the grounds of the village’s and the nation’s defense, he was forced to stay behind.
With no choice, Chiyo, who had just taken office as the Kazekage and hadn’t firmly established his position yet, had to arrange for his younger brother, Ebizo, to lead the team to Konoha.
“Hmph! The newly appointed Kazekage sure has an attitude!” In a luxurious and comfortable reception room, the Third Raikage, sitting on the sofa, fired the first shot as Ebizo, representing Sunagakure, walked into the room.
The Third Raikage’s mocking comment was not because he truly felt offended or acted impulsively due to anger. Instead, it was because he wanted to gain back some of the losses suffered by Kumogakure, which was already near the bottom in terms of strength among the Five Great Countries and had recently suffered significant damage to its vitality.
“It’s like picking on the weakest one, if my Kumogakure can’t beat Konoha, can your Sunagakure?”
The war reparations paid by Konoha for defeating Kizaru had placed a huge burden on the finances of Kumogakure.
If an excuse could be found to declare war on the Land of Wind and defeat Sunagakure, it would greatly alleviate the financial pressure on Kumogakure.
It was precisely because of this consideration that the Third Raikage took the initiative to provoke Ebizo as soon as he entered the room.
As the advisor of Sunagakure, Ebizo was naturally a clever man and would not easily fall into the trap set by the Third Raikage.
Cursing Kumogakure and the Third Raikage in his heart for their tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong, Ebizo still showed a polite smile on the surface.
“My elder sister has just taken office as the Kazekage, and there are many affairs to attend to. She truly cannot leave and come here. I apologize sincerely!”
Seeing that Ebizo didn’t take the bait and even smiled apologetically, the Third Raikage knew that this provocation wouldn’t work.
With a stern face, the Third Raikage nodded indifferently, acknowledging Ebizo’s explanation.
Sitting in the main seat, Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of Konoha, saw through the Third Raikage’s intention in provoking Ebizo.
With a subtle smile, the Third Hokage Hiruzen and another old fox, Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, exchanged knowing glances and chuckled together.
“Friends from Sunagakure have come from afar. You’ve worked hard! Please, have a seat, Elder Ebizo,” expressed Hiruzen kindly, looking towards Ebizo.
Just as the Third Raikage wanted to cut meat from Sunagakure to compensate for his own losses.
Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, also wanted to take advantage of the severely damaged luck of Sunagakure and the fact that it was being eyed by powerful enemies to show goodwill and completely pull Sunagakure into Konoha’s camp.
Having experienced a brutal war, Hiruzen understood deeply that Land of Fire, with its most fertile land on the continent, was unable to change the situation of being coveted by other major Countries.
Not wanting to always fight four against one, Hiruzen planned to truly turn the Land of Wind, the weakest among the Five Great Countries, into his own ally.
After all, his disciple Kizaru was only one person, and as a ninja, he would inevitably grow old one day.
Kizaru could bring decades of peace and strength to Konoha, but if he could support and transform Sunagakure into his own ally and faithful follower, the situation where Konoha was constantly besieged would be completely changed.
“Thank you for your understanding, Third Hokage!” Facing the goodwill released by Hiruzen, Ebizo sensed it and immediately gave feedback.
As expected by Hiruzen, Sunagakure, which was at its lowest point in history, could only resist the gaze and ambition of Kumogakure by tightly holding onto Konoha, their only way out.
With Ebizo sitting down, representing the representatives of the four major countries participating in the Chunin Exams, all gathered.
Next, Hiruzen spoke to explain the entire process and schedule of the Chunin Exams.
The Chunin Exams were scheduled to last for 14 days, divided into three rounds.
The first round of the exam was a written test, also an intelligence-gathering test, lasting for one day.
The second round was a team test, testing the teamwork and survival abilities of the genin teams, as well as their mission execution abilities, lasting for three days.
The third round was an individual strength test, where the ninjas who advanced to the third round would be numbered and then randomly selected for one-on-one combat, lasting for three days.
To better allow the participating ninjas to demonstrate their strength, the third round of the exam would be divided into two stages: selection matches and elimination matches, with a week of rest in between.
Regarding Hiruzen’s explanation of the exam process and schedule, the representatives of the other three countries did not voice any objections or rebuttals.
“When does the exam start?” After listening, the Third Raikage asked directly.
“The day after tomorrow at 9 a.m.,” replied Hiruzen, who had just finished speaking, while lighting a cigarette.
“Alright, I have no problem with that.”
Seeing the Third Raikage’s approval, Hiruzen looked towards Ebizo and Onoki, who were sitting on the side.
“No problem,” replied Ebizo with a smile.
“I agree,” said Onoki finally.
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