"The time is not yet ripe..."
Orochimaru silently murmured, his slimy long tongue licking his lips once more, suppressing the impatience in his heart.
"The forces that have infiltrated are still too thin."
His thoughts drifted to the next phase of the plan.
A cold, expectant light flickered in his eyes, as if he could already see the scene of chaos descending.
Everything must wait until the third stage... until the arrival of those noble yet fragile daimyo. Their arrival will be the best time for invasion.
Orochimaru chuckled sinisterly twice.
Even someone as powerful as Minato cannot fight without restraint.
Because, as the Hokage, he must consider all consequences, such as if any daimyo were to die in Konoha...
The position of Hokage is both a responsibility and a burden.
Finally, casting one last greedy glance at Sasuke, Orochimaru's figure also vanished from the Forest of Death.
After all, he could only follow this far.
As a former Jonin of Konoha, he naturally knew the arrangements for the next stage of the Chunin Exams; it was bound to be one-on-one combat.
This kind of battle under the watchful eyes of the public was not what Orochimaru desired.
With his strength, he could indeed win easily even without using his signature abilities, but...
There were still some within Konoha who were very familiar with his fighting style and behavior, like... that somewhat foolish but exceptionally resilient disciple of his.
Orochimaru believed that a person's subconscious actions and movements were difficult to change; actions that could be deliberately controlled were not subconscious.
Moreover, even if he didn't continue participating in the Chunin Exams, he had an excellent vantage point from which to observe the matches.
His personal participation in the Chunin Exams was merely to observe Sasuke and the other two targets up close.
...
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
Naruto's team 'narrowly' completed the trial of the second exam in the final half-day, successfully joining the ranks of the qualifiers.
During these precious days, they did not waste time, diligently collecting scattered information on every potential opponent within the perilous exam grounds.
Although this information was not yet sufficient to fully grasp their opponents' hidden trump cards, it still pieced together a general outline like a puzzle.
It provided crucial reference for the upcoming individual duels, allowing them to strategize and prepare in advance.
However, despite the number of participants in this second round of screening being significantly reduced compared to the original, the final number of Shinobi who successfully advanced still exceeded expectations.
This trial of scroll collection could theoretically produce a maximum of ten victorious teams.
But in the end, only six squads, totaling eighteen Shinobi, crossed the threshold into the next round.
This number seemed refined, yet it posed a problem for the subsequent arrangements.
The upcoming third round, the formal tournament, bore the important task of inviting the daimyo of the Five Great Nations to attend as honored guests.
According to tradition and convention, all fierce battles must be concluded within a single day.
Because the daimyo typically only have one day to watch the matches and leave within the stipulated time.
If all eighteen participants were to take the stage, it would mean nine one-on-one matches, a process too lengthy to be completed in a single day.
Therefore, a screening gate must fall.
To reduce the eighteen candidates to the ten required by the schedule, a mechanism called the 'Chunin Exam Preliminaries' was established.
And this mechanism... is combat. Only the victors can proceed to the next stage of the exam!
This will be another round of elimination they must endure on their path to the final stage under the spotlight.
The structure of these Chunin Exam Preliminaries, though different from the original, seemed to have fate stubbornly carving similar trajectories at certain key junctures.
The destined confrontation between the siblings, Hinata and Neji, was one of them.
On the field, Sasuke and Naruto had already easily defeated their respective opponents, not revealing their true trump cards.
At this moment, everyone's gaze was focused on the Hyuga siblings.
Neji, this genius of the Hyuga Branch House, showed an intention to concede from the very start of the match.
He had no desire to engage in a match with the Main House's young lady that might embarrass her in front of everyone.
However, his intention to withdraw was firmly stopped by Hinata.
Those pure white eyes, usually tinged with a hint of timidity, now shone with undeniable resolve, silently conveying her will. She wanted to face this head-on.
Seeing this, Neji sighed inwardly.
He then adjusted his mindset, deciding to treat this battle as an instructional match for the young lady.
He believed that with his strength and experience far surpassing his peers, he could still control the situation with ease and end the fight while 'instructing'.
However, the moment they clashed, a strong sense of shock surged in Neji's heart.
The force transmitted through their intersecting fists and palms, the swiftness of her footwork, the precision of her Gentle Fist execution...
Everything was completely different from the Hinata he remembered and expected.
He realized he had been somewhat arrogant.
In the year since graduating from the Shinobi Academy, the growth this young lady of the Hyuga Main House had undergone far exceeded his estimation.
Her sweat and effort had quietly accumulated into the strength displayed on this field.
If calculated carefully, it wasn't that Hinata's progress was unbelievably huge.
Rather, she was finally able to face a battle head-on. Her gentle nature often prevented her from performing at her training level during actual combat.
And now, within this year he was unaware of, she had finally changed this fatal flaw for a Shinobi.
Neji stared at Hinata's unprecedented seriousness, an expression he had never seen even during their private sparring sessions.
He finally understood completely: the young lady sincerely desired a formal, unreserved duel with him!
What shocked Neji even more was that his original plan to win easily in the posture of an 'instructor' had become exceptionally difficult in the face of Hinata's tenacious resistance and significantly improved strength.
If he didn't exert his full effort and bring out his true skills, this battle could very likely be dragged into a long, stalemated war of attrition.
This would not only consume his precious stamina but also risk exposing more of his trump cards, which would be detrimental to the crucial matches ahead.
Considering all this, Neji finally put away that 'instructive' mindset born from the disparity in their strength.
His gaze became sharp as an eagle's, the flow of chakra around him suddenly condensed, and he began to engage in this battle with the earnest attitude of facing a true opponent, holding nothing back.
In the end, the chasm of strength remained clearly visible.
Despite Hinata exerting her utmost, displaying growth and resilience far beyond expectations, the result of the battle still ended with Neji's 'easy' victory.
This result itself did not come as a surprise to Hinata.
When she decided to stand opposite Neji, she had already clearly foreseen this outcome.
No one understood the despairingly vast gap between them better than she did.
Even facing the Neji from just after graduation, victory or defeat would have been hard to predict, let alone the current him whose strength was even more unfathomable?
But at this moment, there was no disappointment in Hinata's eyes, only a trace of relief and calm after fulfilling her wish.
What she sought was never victory itself.
What she desired was merely this one battle, to be taken seriously by Neji.
And she, in the duel just now, had achieved precisely that with her actions and will.
For her, this... was enough.
Of course, although the battle between the Hyuga siblings still erupted, the outcome was different from the original.
Hinata was not seriously injured, and Naruto did not harbor much hostility towards Neji.
He only felt a twinge of regret; Hinata's strength had actually reached the threshold of a Chunin.
However... under the exam rules that test ability through actual combat, strength merely touching the Chunin threshold ultimately proved insufficient.
Immediately after, when the names of the next duel's participants were announced, Naruto's pupils constricted sharply.
Standing in the arena was that extremely brutal Gaara, and his opponent was Konoha's Rock Lee!
Although his friendship with Lee was not deep, the fact that they were both Shinobi of Konoha made it impossible for Naruto to stand idly by.
He also stepped forward and solemnly informed Lee of Gaara's danger and the fatal killing intent hidden beneath that calm exterior.
Rock Lee accepted this information with a determined gaze and thanked him earnestly.
But the fighting spirit burning in his eyes did not waver in the slightest; he still decided to exert his full strength to challenge this powerful opponent.
Subsequently, a fierce battle that shocked everyone present erupted.
Sasuke stared intently at the figure moving at high speed in the arena, the pupils of his Sharingan contracting uncontrollably, a storm of shock raging in his heart.
He was horrified to discover that he had no absolute confidence in defeating either that sand-controlling monster Gaara or this Lee who pushed taijutsu to its limits!
This feeling of being intimidated by a gap in strength was something he had only ever felt when facing Naruto before. Now, it flooded his pride like a cold tide.
The appearance of two such powerful peers at once made this proud genius of the Uchiha name feel an indescribable sense of suffocation and shake for the first time.
Beside him, Naruto also wore a grave expression, observing this fierce dragon-and-tiger fight with rapt attention.
They had naturally collected information on Rock Lee in advance, knowing he was a Shinobi specializing in taijutsu.
However... information was one thing, witnessing it firsthand was another!
At this moment, he deeply understood the chasm-like gap between an 'ordinary taijutsu Shinobi' and a 'taijutsu Shinobi who has mastered the Eight Gates'!
Naruto rapidly simulated duels with these two in his mind, but the results were filled with variables.
Without drawing on the Nine-Tails chakra, the scales of victory would tip entirely on split-second judgments and extreme responses in the heat of battle.
Of course, all things considered, he still held greater confidence in his own chances of ultimate victory.
His massive chakra reserves gave him too great an advantage in prolonged battles. He just needed to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses; wearing these two down wouldn't be too difficult.
"Indeed... in this world, no one should be underestimated." Naruto murmured quietly, warning himself.
In truth, they had never looked down on anyone.
Otherwise, with his current level of strength, even without such detailed intelligence work, passing the Chunin Exams wouldn't be difficult.
But they still chose the most cautious approach. This wasn't cowardice, but absolute respect and vigilance maintained towards any opponent.
Finally, this arduous and hard-fought battle reached its conclusion. Gaara, relying on his formidable defense and terrifying sand control, barely managed to defeat Rock Lee.
However, the key difference was that Lee did not suffer the devastating, bone-shattering injuries as in the original!
This wasn't due to Gaara holding back. At the critical moment when the deadly sand cascade was about to engulf Lee, a golden flash suddenly cut through the tense air of the arena!
It was the Fourth Hokage, Minato!
His perceptiveness far surpassed the aged Sandaime. He had accurately predicted the victor the moment the final clash occurred.
More crucially, he had keenly caught the unmistakable, cold killing intent in Gaara's eyes.
If that sand, imbued with destructive power, were to hit the defenseless Lee, the consequences would be unthinkable!
Without the slightest hesitation, Minato shunshined into the arena at a speed beyond visual perception and decisively announced, "Winner, Gaara!"
Simultaneously, his casual strike blocked that fatal final blow.
Rock Lee lay exhausted on the field. Though disappointment was in his eyes, he accepted this outcome with composure.
When he had exerted his all, opening the Fifth Gate, the Gate of Closing, of the Eight Gates, pushing his speed and strength to the limit, and still couldn't completely shatter Gaara's impregnable defense, only injuring but not defeating him, he already understood the outcome was decided.
The Jonin from Sunagakure witnessing this scene had obvious displeasure flash across their faces.
But when their gazes fell upon Minato's calm figure, all protests that rose to their lips were forcibly swallowed back.
That intangible pressure made them, despite the myriad grievances in their hearts, ultimately hold back and silently accept this result.
However, the moment Gaara turned to leave the arena, his gaze shifted and collided violently in mid-air with another line of sight.
What churned in Gaara's eyes was an undisguised, intense killing intent. This naked malice stabbed forth, causing Naruto's brow to subconsciously furrow.
Why?
The question rose rapidly in Naruto's heart.
His interactions with this Jinchuriki from Sunagakure were few; there was no deep-seated grudge between them. Where did this sudden hatred come from?
Though puzzled, this killing intent itself failed to stir even a ripple of fear in his heart.
After all, in comparison...
Naruto's mind flashed to the overwhelming hatred and despair he felt when facing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within him.
The killing intent Gaara released now was not even one ten-thousandth as heavy as what the Nine-Tails brought.
He even began to feel a faint anticipation.
Anticipation that his next opponent would be Gaara.
Based on the intelligence he currently possessed, among all the participants, only Gaara was worth him fighting with his full strength!