If one heart counted as one life, then he had lost several lives in a row without even touching the corner of the other party's clothes. Saying that Kaede Kitahara was no weaker than him was simply putting gold on his own face, but there was no better way to put it.
Kaede Kitahara's fighting style was far too unpredictable. The Flying Thunder God he had used back then had left an extremely deep impression on Kakuzu.
He had never personally fought the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, but after truly fighting Kaede Kitahara, he finally understood why the people from those ninja villages had been so wary of Namikaze Minato back then, and why they had given him the nickname Yellow Flash. Was that something a normal human could fight?
Even among Kage Level experts, Namikaze Minato belonged to the very top group.
At the very least, if his opponent was a human powerhouse, Namikaze Minato was definitely one of the absolute peak.
"The informant Sasori planted in Sunagakure previously sent back news. Sunagakure is planning an operation and intends to launch a surprise attack on Konoha during the Chunin Exams. When that time comes, Konoha will inevitably fall into chaos," Deva Path Pain said.
"At that time, both the One-Tail Jinchuriki and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki will appear in the Hidden Leaf Village. Go to Konoha and see if you can take advantage of the chaos to capture either the One-Tail Jinchuriki or the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Bringing back either one will do."
"We're acting now?" Kakuzu frowned. He remembered that according to their plan, it should not be time to act yet.
"Although the time has not yet come, if there is an opportunity, bringing one of them back early would not be bad," Nagato said.
They were not far from finally realizing peace in the Shinobi World. After a few more years, everything would be fully prepared.
Kakuzu thought it over. If they moved during the chaos, it was doable.
Otherwise, expecting the two of them to break into two heavily guarded ninja villages and capture Jinchuriki was nothing short of fantasy.
He could not fly, and he did not possess Deidara's large-scale destructive firepower.
"Hahahahaha! Then we'll have sacrifices for Lord Jashin!"
At the thought of using powerful opponents as sacrifices to Jashin, Hidan's face twisted into a savage, crazed expression.
In the Hidden Leaf Village, as the Chunin Exams began, Konoha grew livelier and livelier.
At Ichiraku Ramen in the Hidden Leaf Village, Kaede Kitahara, who had just finished a night shift, was eating ramen in big mouthfuls. As expected of a famous specialty from Naruto. Now it was not only Uzumaki Naruto who liked eating here. Even Kaede Kitahara had grown fond of it.
"You can still eat ramen right now? Today is the first round of the Chunin Exams. Aren't you nervous at all?"
Not far away, Hatake Kakashi leaned against the wall with a copy of Make-Out Paradise in his hand and complained at Kaede Kitahara.
"What do I have to be nervous about? I'm not the one taking the exam."
Kaede Kitahara looked baffled.
In any case, even if they failed, they could just take it again half a year later. This Chunin Exams would be difficult, but the one half a year later would be much easier.
Hatake Kakashi looked at Kaede Kitahara's completely calm expression and could not help sighing. But as a Jonin Leader, he could not be that relaxed.
Over the past half year, because of Kaede Kitahara's appearance, the subordinates under him had all made astonishing improvements in strength. Under normal circumstances, passing the Chunin Exams would not be that difficult. Unfortunately, this year was anything but normal.
Still, after seeing how calm Kaede Kitahara was, Hatake Kakashi somehow calmed down as well.
At the venue for the first round of the Chunin Exams, inside the vast hall, the nine newly graduated rookies naturally gathered together because they had all been classmates.
Of course, they were not the only Genin who had graduated that year. They were merely the only three teams, nine people in total, who were allowed to participate in the Chunin Exams during the same year they graduated.
Aside from Uzumaki Naruto and Sakura Haruno, almost all of them were Clan Ninja with proper backgrounds. Eight months after graduation, they were already capable of taking part in the Chunin Exams. Their combat strength was already comparable to ordinary Chunin.
As for other Civilian Ninja who had not been born so lucky, they might still be working like oxen and horses under their Chunin Leaders and Jonin, hoping to receive some guidance in Ninjutsu. Some had even already lost their lives on the spot.
"I'm gonna become a Chunin soon, then a Jonin, and finally the Hokage! Hahahahaha!"
A little theater had already started playing inside Uzumaki Naruto's mind. None of these competitors were his match. In the future, they would all willingly crawl at his feet and call him Lord Hokage.
Especially that annoying Uchiha Sasuke. In the future, Naruto would make him obediently kowtow.
As for Uchiha Sasuke, he carried the Kusanagi Sword at his waist, and his look had already begun moving closer to what he would be like three years later. The only difference was that compared with his much taller self three years from now, the current him was still too short. The same Kusanagi Sword fit perfectly on him three years later, but right now, it was a little too long.
Fortunately, ninja outfits were already strange to begin with, so it did not draw too much attention.
His gaze swept through the crowd as he began inspecting the people present. He did not activate his Sharingan. He only used his naked eyes to judge which people were dangerous.
One by one, he matched them to the people recorded in Kaede Kitahara's diary. Gaara, Hyuga Neji, that thick-browed Rock Lee, and Kaede Kitahara's two teammates, Hyuga Keiko and Amakusa Ryuji, along with the unfamiliar teammate they had found.
The only ones here who could truly pose a threat to him were Gaara and the spy following Orochimaru, Yakushi Kabuto.
The others were strong rivals, but they would not threaten his life.
He directly ignored the provocations from Kiba Inuzuka and the others beside him. These people had already been no match for him back at school. Now, they were even less worthy of being called powerful enemies.
Seeing Uchiha Sasuke completely ignore him, Kiba shouted in frustration.
Then Uchiha Sasuke saw several Genin wearing Sound Ninja Forehead Protectors mixed into the crowd.
Orochimaru's village, huh?
Interesting!
"Uchiha Sasuke!"
Hyuga Neji looked down at the new graduates talking below, his gaze dark and unreadable. Although the future Uzumaki Naruto would become the savior of the world, at this current stage, Uchiha Sasuke was still the one who drew more attention.
A few traces of envy flashed through his eyes. Although Uchiha Sasuke had lost his entire clan, he possessed the freedom Neji did not have, the boundless possibility to soar freely and ignore fate.
"There are quite a few strong people this year."
Not far away, Hyuga Keiko warned Amakusa Ryuji. She had not activated her Byakugan. In this situation, opening the Byakugan would undoubtedly be seen by everyone as a provocation.
However, she could still judge many things by sensing the strength of their Chakra.
As Konoha's scouts, the Hyuga Clan naturally did not lack inheritances related to Sensory Ninjutsu. She had specifically gone to the clan to request a method for training in Sensory Ninjutsu. Since it was not some secret Ninjutsu, she had easily learned it.