In the nearly month-long period before the Chūnin Exam finals in August, the main purpose—aside from giving the genin who advanced to the final matches time to gather intelligence on their opponents and improve their own strength—was actually to give the important figures coming to watch enough time to prepare.
Only joint Chūnin Exams involving multiple villages would be handled this way. In the Chūnin Exams hosted solely within Konoha, the gap between the second and third rounds would usually only be three to five days.
Back when Makoto participated in his own exam, they had only been given five days of rest.
This time, Team 7's situation in the finals was rather special. Unlike their other friends, all three of them were facing fellow Konoha shinobi.
Sasuke's opponent was Naruto. The two had known each other since childhood and had always been both friends and rivals. They understood each other inside and out.
During this month, aside from coming to the dōjō every morning for their usual training, the rest of their time was spent trying to come up with new tricks in hopes of surprising each other during the match.
Sasuke needed to grow accustomed to his three-tomoe Sharingan, while Naruto needed to prepare methods to defend against genjutsu. He even ran off to seek guidance from Jiraiya, which worried Uzumaki Kushina so much that she nearly tore her own hair out by the handful.
She was deeply concerned that her obedient and outstanding son might be influenced by some certain white-haired perverted old creep and turn into an indecent little pervert himself.
Sakura's opponent was Shino. What she needed to do now was maintain confidence in herself and learn more about the combat style of the Aburame Clan.
Makoto had no need to give them special training. He had never liked the idea of cramming at the last minute. He believed far more in laying down a solid foundation—because once that foundation was strong enough, talented shinobi would naturally bear abundant fruit.
Everything that needed to be taught had already been taught.
Sasuke had long since mastered Kakashi's Chidori and, following Makoto's advice, had continued developing the Lightning Release technique further.
Naruto had also long mastered the Rasengan. From here onward, being guided by his father was enough.
Because there were simply too many people coming to watch, Konoha's primary task during this month had been renovating the circular arena and expanding the audience seating. Otherwise, there genuinely would not have been enough room for everyone.
With ordinary construction crews working alongside Konoha shinobi, the project progressed at an astonishing pace with unbelievable efficiency.
Two days before the beginning of August.
Luxurious ox-cart caravans could frequently be seen entering the gates of Konohagakure. These belonged to nobles and even Daimyō from various countries.
They had come to watch the third-round finals and, at the same time, evaluate the strength of Konoha's shinobi through the battles of its genin.
Of course, the more important reason was that after a month of buildup, the betting pools surrounding the seven finals matches had become extremely lively, with many gambling businesses joining in.
How could nobles accustomed to seeking entertainment possibly miss such an opportunity?
Even the recently returned Tsunade had been studying the strengths and weaknesses of each contestant lately, intending to use this event to wash away her infamous reputation as a legendary sucker.
As for ordinary tourists and merchants, they had already begun arriving since the first round of the exams and had continuously been contributing to Konoha's economy ever since.
As for the Kage of the various villages, their travel speed was extremely fast, and their movements were kept under absolute secrecy. Generally, they would only arrive on the very day of the event.
The first-ever joint Chūnin Exam involving all Five Great Shinobi Villages had caused an enormous stir throughout the shinobi world. Even the ordinary civilian world had been swept up in widespread discussion.
This was an exceptionally grand festival.
It demonstrated the overwhelming influence shinobi possessed in a world where they held absolute military power, while also opening an entirely new perspective for many people regarding how the world could be viewed.
In some ways, it was similar to the Olympics or the World Cup from Makoto's previous life.
The population of Konohagakure had exploded to unprecedented levels. Shinobi from every nation gathered together, allowing many people to witness an alternative form of ninja competition outside of warfare.
...
On the morning of August 1st, a large group of Konoha's upper leadership stood waiting at the village gates.
Even Hiruzen, who had long since retired to stay home and take care of children, personally came to participate. The two generations of Hokage appearing together fully demonstrated Konoha's respect toward its guests.
The first to arrive was Konoha's ally, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
The man wore a stern expression. Accompanied by several elite guards, he exchanged a few simple greetings with the two Hokage before heading toward the accommodations prepared for Sunagakure's shinobi.
Soon afterward came Kirigakure's Fifth Mizukage, Terumī Mei.
The captain of the Kage Guard Unit behind her was none other than the famous "Byakugan Killer," Ao.
Mei was a young and beautiful woman with a stunning figure, roughly the same age as Hatake Kakashi. Not only was she the first Fifth Kage among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, she was also the first female Kage in shinobi history.
According to Konoha's intelligence, Terumī Mei had played the decisive role in ending Kirigakure's internal turmoil and restoring order to the village. In order to participate in this gathering of the Five Kage invited by Konoha, Elder Genji had directly elevated her to the position of Fifth Mizukage ahead of schedule.
Unlike Rasa, Mei greeted everyone with a radiant smile and gave off an extremely approachable impression.
After all, first impressions were based on appearances.
And shinobi were no exception.
After exchanging formal greetings with the two Hokage, Mei asked, "Hokage-sama, why haven't I seen Higashino Makoto-san from your village?"
Minato smiled faintly. "Makoto isn't fond of occasions like this. Please allow me to apologize on his behalf, Mizukage-dono. Is there something important you wished to discuss with him?"
"I merely wished to thank him for showing mercy last time, as well as for persuading Momochi Zabuza and Haku to return to the village."
"Makoto is a peace-loving shinobi. Everything he does is in accordance with Konoha's ideals. After the matches conclude, Mizukage-dono will have an opportunity to thank him personally."
"Then I thank Lord Hokage for the arrangement. In that case, we won't disturb your work any further."
Led by Konoha shinobi, the Mizukage's group admired the scenery of Konohagakure's streets as they headed off to reunite with Zabuza and Haku.
Mei was in quite a good mood.
Kirigakure had only sent two squads to participate in the Chūnin Exams—the fewest among the Five Great Shinobi Villages—yet two of their shinobi had still managed to enter the finals. Regardless of victory or defeat afterward, it had already demonstrated the formidable potential of Kirigakure's next generation.
The third group of guests to arrive was Ōnoki and his entourage from Iwagakure.
The old man's expression went beyond mere seriousness—it was downright ugly, like someone had force-fed him a mouthful of shit.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, he was currently the only remaining Third Kage still in office. He was an entire two generations older than Terumī Mei.
And this time, Iwagakure had failed to get even a single shinobi into the finals.
They hadn't even survived the second-round survival trial.
That only deepened Ōnoki's sense that the village lacked worthy successors. The old man had worried himself completely bald, with only a stubborn ring of hair around the sides of his head still desperately clinging to its post.
The little old man looked displeased with everyone. After the required formalities were finished, he immediately began speaking venomously.
"Third Hokage, retirement must be awfully boring, hm?"
Hiruzen cheerfully took a puff from his pipe. "How could it be? Under the Fourth Hokage's management, Konoha is flourishing more with each passing day. That lets me peacefully stay home taking care of my grandchildren. And whenever I get bored, I can always head to the Academy and teach the children a few lessons."
"So, Ōnoki-dono, I suggest you learn from me and retire early yourself. After being Tsuchikage for so long, aren't you worried the people below you might start having opinions?"
"Hmph. That's none of your concern."
The little old man flicked his sleeve and walked off, his stomach full of suppressed anger.
Did he not want to retire?
It wasn't that he didn't want to—it was that he couldn't.
If the village had juniors like Namikaze Minato or Higashino Makoto, he would gladly slam the Tsuchikage hat onto their heads the very next second.
And the only disciple with truly exceptional talent happened to be mentally unstable. Two years ago, that brat had even run away from home outright.
Yes, although Deidara called himself a rogue ninja, Iwagakure only acknowledged that on the surface. In truth, if the boy sincerely wanted to come back, he would still be Ōnoki's favorite precious brat.
Unfortunately, reality rarely went the way people wished.
At this moment, the old man had completely lost the mood to admire Konoha's scenery.
Right now, all he wanted to do was head to the guest hall and beat his disappointing granddaughter Kurotsuchi until her face swelled like a pig's head.
The last to arrive was the Fourth Raikage, A.
The tall, dark-skinned powerhouse looked directly at Minato. "Hokage-sama, after all these years, we meet again."
Minato smiled. "Indeed. After our last farewell, I never expected it would take this long before we met again. By the way, how is your brother Killer B? Why didn't he come visit Konoha as well? I still fondly remember the scene of the three of us meeting back then."
"The village needs someone to protect it. He couldn't leave, so I'm afraid you'll have to be disappointed, Hokage-sama."
After saying that, the Raikage also departed with his group.
Did Killer B not want to come?
No—he simply didn't want to see a certain bastard who had tied him up like a rice dumpling.
Unless, of course, Konoha agreed to hold a personal concert exclusively for him after this unprecedentedly grand Chūnin Exam concluded.
Walking through the streets and witnessing Konoha's prosperity only made the Raikage feel even more depressed.
After welcoming the Kage of the four great villages, Konoha's upper leadership immediately began preparing for the third-round finals of the Chūnin Exams and the matters that would follow afterward.
Thus, ever since the first gathering of the Five Kage in the Land of Iron decades ago under the initiative of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, the Five Kage had once again assembled together—this time in Konohagakure at Konoha's invitation.
For a time, every other power in the shinobi world turned their gaze toward this place, speculating on what kind of profound impact this meeting might have on the future of the world.
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