The sun had fully set, and a bright moon and countless stars now hung high in the blue night sky.
The primeval forest had split itself into two perfectly neat halves. Between them stretched a long, straight, wide road, and Konoha stood silently at the end of that road. The lights of countless homes cast a vast rainbow-like glow into the sky.
The ninja from each village, who had been separated into two groups by the split earth, returned to their respective teams.
Walking along the broad road that had risen from the depths of the earth, everyone felt as if they were dreaming. Even the ninja swords in their hands suddenly felt light and unreal.
Aoba Yamashiro pushed up his black sunglasses and stretched his neck to look at the distant lights, looking almost identical to the ninja crow perched on his shoulder. Raido Namiashi, usually expressionless, rubbed his eyes hard until his vision blurred, only then barely convincing himself that he was not trapped in a genjutsu.
Click.
With practiced ease, Asuma Sarutobi flipped open his lighter with his thumb. A cigarette hung from his lips, and his right hand trembled as he tried to light it. Even after the flame died, he still did not realize the cigarette had never actually been lit.
He stared blankly at Konoha in the distance, both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and out of habit began "smoking."
When he had first entered the Ninja Academy, there had been a rumor that sounded so absurd it made children laugh just hearing it.
They said that the Konoha training grounds and the dense forests stretching dozens of kilometers beyond the village had all been created by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, using Wood Release.
At the time, he had treated it as nothing more than a ridiculous story people told for fun. After all, even his father, known as the strongest Hokage of the current era, could not do something so outrageous.
But now, looking at that sea of lights in the distance, he was no longer so sure.
"Hey... that place isn't Konoha, is it?"
"I think it is."
The foreign ninja saw the stunned expressions of the Konoha shinobi and then looked at the direction the road led. By now, most of them had already guessed the truth.
A Grass ninja with darker skin, who looked almost like he came from the Land of Lightning, pulled out a map from his clothes and compared it with the mountain peaks in the distance for a long time before finally confirming their position.
"Damn, this place is almost twenty kilometers away from Konoha."
"N... no way."
"If you don't believe me, check for yourself."
Noisy arguments immediately broke out among the Grass ninja.
The Cloud, Sand, Stone, and Mist ninja also began taking out maps and comparing locations.
At this point, the forest outside Konoha looked as if someone had cut it apart with a giant blade and then shifted the land itself. Many landmarks on the maps were no longer accurate.
Fortunately, the Land of Fire was located in the center of the world and mostly consisted of plains. Unlike Kumogakure's towering mountains, there were barely even hills here. It was easy to find the marked mountain on the map and calculate the approximate distance from there.
"It really is twenty kilometers..."
Kurotsuchi's fingers turned white from gripping the map too hard as she stared at Konoha in the distance, disbelief filling her face.
A landslide was nothing special. Her father and grandfather could both do that much. But a doton technique that stretched twenty kilometers was completely beyond her understanding.
Akatsuchi and Han both fell silent, staring at Konoha without speaking.
"So this is Konoha."
Darui held a long sword in one hand and a map in the other, his face dark and serious. Karui and the others crowded around him, comparing the mountains and the village on the map.
What did a ninjutsu range of twenty kilometers even mean?
They did not know about other villages, but Kumogakure itself was not even that wide.
In other words, the person who performed this technique could destroy an entire battlefield with tens of thousands of people, a medium-sized hidden village, or even some small countries with a single strike.
Had Konoha just revealed a strategic-level weapon?
"Could it be a combined ninjutsu?"
Chojuro pushed his glasses and suggested a possibility, but Ao immediately shook his head.
"Whether that was even ninjutsu is still uncertain. At least I didn't detect any chakra fluctuations."
The Mist ninja looked at each other, feeling that the brightly lit village in the distance had become extremely mysterious.
As for the Sand village side, Temari and Baki exchanged frantic looks, clearly asking each other whether the Konoha Crush Plan should still proceed. Baki hesitated, the red paint on his face twisting with his expression. In the end, he decided he would send a message to the Kazekage later and confirm the plan again.
Inside the crowd, Danzo was also desperately signaling to Orochimaru with his eyes. However, Orochimaru was signaling back just as hard. When Danzo still did not understand, Orochimaru repeatedly glanced toward the dark night sky.
Danzo's heart stirred. He slightly lifted the brim of his hat and looked upward.
Only then did he realize that someone was standing in the night sky above all their heads.
His eyes widened and then narrowed again. Using the moonlight and starlight, he examined the mysterious figure. Wrapped in a black cloak with a slender figure, it was a woman wearing a crow mask.
As if sensing his gaze, the woman who had been looking toward the Mist group turned her head and looked down at Danzo in the crowd. The two black eye holes on her mask seemed deeper than the night sky itself.
Danzo's entire body tensed instantly. He lowered his hat brim and did not dare look up again. Beside him, Orochimaru also lowered his head, his golden eyes signaling frantically.
Only then did Danzo understand.
Looking at the sky meant: There is someone above. Do not reveal anything.
And the frantic blinking now meant: Is that woman Konome Taketori?
Danzo swallowed and shook his head slightly, indicating he was not sure.
Orochimaru immediately looked at him with disgust.
Useless. He cannot even recognize his own enemy.
Standing alone in the sky, Konome Taketori looked down at Orochimaru and Danzo exchanging signals and could not help but smile slightly.
Nothing inside Takamagahara could escape her perception. Their supposedly secret communication was as obvious to her as lines on a palm.
For now, she had no intention of killing them.
Under the influence of Takamagahara, her position had already become completely tied to Konoha. The Hokage position, which she previously did not care about much, had now become something she had to take seriously.
If she wanted to become the Fifth Hokage, there were still two necessary conditions.
First, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had to step down.
Second, she needed great achievements to offset her disadvantage of being too young.
Of course, she could seize power by force.
But if she could become the hero who saved the village, why become the villain hated by everyone?
Besides, she would not have to wait long.
As long as the Chunin Exams proceeded normally and Orochimaru carried out the Konoha Crush Plan, Hiruzen would inevitably take responsibility and step down due to his relationship with Orochimaru.
And she, the genius who saved Konoha at the critical moment, would naturally become the next Hokage.
After that, she would move ahead of the Akatsuki, capture the nine tailed beasts, collect bloodline limits, achieve the Six Paths, and ascend the throne of heaven as an immortal being.
She had already written the entire script.
Now she only needed everyone to perform their roles.
"There's someone in the sky!"
A shocked voice echoed across the wide road. Everyone looked up and saw Konome Taketori descending from the sky. A wave of unrest spread through the crowd.
She had never intended to hide herself. Floating in the air, she looked down at the crowd below and quickly locked onto the man with the Byakugan.
She had come for him.
The air distorted slightly as Konome Taketori slowly descended.
Takamagahara was part of her body. Flying inside it was effortless. Even splitting forests and earth felt no more difficult than cutting her own skin and letting it heal.
Within this domain, she was no different from a god.
Even if Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara fought together, they might only be able to compete with her.
More and more people noticed the descending figure. The crowd quickly spread out, forming an irregular circle around her. Seeing the tall masked figure floating in the air, many had already guessed her identity.
White mask and black robe were typical ANBU attire. She was most likely a powerful Konoha ANBU ninja.
Could that earth-splitting technique have been her doing?
Darui, Han, and the other elite jonin became even more cautious.
Asuma and the Konoha ninja were also unsure. They had never seen her before, but ANBU operated in secrecy and had many hidden experts. They could not be sure whether she belonged to Konoha or not.
As the strongest person on Konoha's side, Asuma had no choice but to speak first when no one else did.
"May I ask..."
Before he could finish, a black scroll flew directly in front of him.
"I am the chief proctor of this joint Chunin Exam, Konome Taketori. By order of the Third Hokage, I have come to escort the candidates from each village into Konoha for rest."
As she spoke, the scroll slowly opened.
Asuma saw the handwriting and the Hokage seal belonging to his father and quietly rolled up the scroll. He nodded to the tense Konoha ninja, indicating that the appointment document was genuine.
The Konoha ninja immediately relaxed a little.
The pressure from the floating figure above them had been enormous. Now that they knew she was from their own village, the pressure eased somewhat.
Chief proctor. Konome Taketori.
Raido and Aoba's eyes lit up. Their teammate Genma Shiranui had told them a few days ago about meeting the new leader of Root.
Aoba leaned toward Asuma and quietly explained Konome Taketori's identity. Asuma frowned slightly. No wonder he had never seen her before. She was from Root.
After confirming her identity with Konoha, Konome Taketori turned toward the ninja from the other villages, her tone becoming even colder.
"Lay down your weapons and submit to inspection. After passing inspection, enter Konoha in order.
Anyone who refuses inspection, carries prohibited items, or disobeys orders will be treated as a threat to village security and executed publicly as a warning."
Her extremely tough attitude made ninja from every village frown. Konoha usually treated outsiders politely and rarely spoke in such a threatening tone.
This kind of dominance was usually associated with Kumogakure.
"What an arrogant woman," Karui muttered quietly. After seeing the power that split the earth, even her fiery personality did not dare speak loudly.
Atsui shrank his neck, worried both that Omoi would say something inappropriate and that Karui would start trouble. Being on a team with these two was exhausting.
Omoi looked worriedly at the woman in the sky. Although logic told him Konoha would not casually kill foreign ninja, he felt that when she said "executed publicly," she was serious.
"Darui-sensei, what should we do?"
Darui scratched his hair and quickly made a decision after weighing the pros and cons.
"Kumogakure is willing to cooperate with the chief proctor's inspection."
A commotion immediately spread through the crowd. No one expected that after the Grass ninja, the next group to surrender weapons would actually be the usually arrogant Cloud ninja.
Konome Taketori responded casually. She did not have a good impression of Cloud ninja at all.
Asuma and the Konoha ninja looked at each other. Earlier, they had also asked these foreign ninja to hand over weapons politely, but no one listened. Now that this cold and terrifying woman appeared, everyone suddenly became obedient.
The Cloud ninja were clearly the type who respected strength above all else.
Clang.
Darui sheathed his sword and placed it on the ground, leading the Cloud ninja toward Asuma. Karui and the others raised their hands in annoyance, clearly unhappy about surrendering weapons.
This time, the Konoha ninja did not dare be careless like they were with the Grass ninja. Aoba and Raido called several careful female ninja and inspected the Cloud ninja thoroughly from head to toe. Even the sealing scrolls they carried were opened and checked.
Karui's face turned slightly red when she had to open a sealing scroll containing her underwear. She quickly showed it to the female ninja and stuffed it back into the scroll while muttering complaints.
Omoi and the others quickly passed inspection as well.
Seeing the Cloud ninja retrieve their weapons and stand together with the Grass ninja, the other villages became anxious.
The Sand village was the most nervous. Gaara's emotions were unstable, and Baki looked at the floating figure for a long time without saying anything.
Han hesitated due to his identity as a jinchuriki. He wanted to see what would happen with the Sand village first. If that red-haired boy was treated as a dangerous item and refused entry, he would need to consider other options.
While Sand and Stone remained still, Ao had no intention of waiting.
The Mist ninja were truly just here to participate in the exam and had not brought any prohibited items.
"Chief Proctor, we are willing to accept inspection as well."
Chojuro and the others threw their swords onto the ground. They had nothing to hide anyway.
Konome Taketori did not even respond this time. She simply looked down at Ao, who had already laid down his weapon, and slowly smiled.
This entire inspection rule had been prepared specifically for him.
Watching the woman in the sky ignore him, Ao snorted quietly and spread his arms, allowing Aoba to inspect him.
He showed all his sealing scrolls and talismans. Soon, the Konoha ninja nodded and allowed him to pass.
"Wait."
At the voice from above, the Konoha ninja immediately stopped Ao from moving forward.
Everyone looked up at Konome Taketori as she slowly floated closer. Ao, Chojuro, and the others felt their hearts pounding.
For some reason, when facing this mysterious ninja, they felt an inexplicable fear, as if something deep inside them was warning them of danger.
"That one-eyed ninja," Konome Taketori said while looking down at Ao, her smile growing more dangerous.
"I suspect you are carrying a dangerous item.
Take off your eyepatch."
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