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At the same time.
Inside Konoha, within the Root's headquarters.
In a small house exclusively belonging to Danzo, the highest leader of Root.
A candle flame flickered without wind.
Upon hearing the report from his subordinate, Danzo suddenly opened his eyes.
His facial expression changed subtly, seemingly shocked by the news, but his eyes reflected a fierce determination. Like a weary traveler, he croaked with a hoarse voice, "Hiruzen made such a decision! It's so disappointing!"
Bang!
He suddenly stood up, his face now devoid of any expression.
"Let's go... I won't agree to this, no matter what!"
With coldness that seemed to be brewing anger, Danzo's words fell, and he slowly moved.
Hiruzen... are you going to tolerate a village like Amegakure... how can Konoha flourish under your leadership...
With this thought, a glint of determination flashed in Danzo's eyes.
....
Inside the Hokage's office.
The unexpected arrival of a guest made the atmosphere somewhat tense.
"Sarutobi, I need an explanation." A middle-aged man with short hair spoke with a grave tone.
He lifted his head slightly, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes with three tomoe embedded within, visible to everyone.
"Kagami, calm down! You have to remember, you are speaking to the Third Hokage!" Koharu Utatane said with a frown.
Kagami Uchiha didn't respond, only gazing at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hmm... I admit it was my mistake due to the faulty intelligence," Hiruzen said with a deep sigh.
"However, Kagami, you have to understand that Konoha is at a critical moment. We cannot afford any disruptions, even from the Uchiha clan."
Hiruzen took a deep breath of smoke and exhaled a dense cloud of it, locking his eyes on Kagami Uchiha as he spoke sternly.
"The village's actions this time put the Uchiha clan in a difficult position. I don't want it to happen again."
Turning his head, Hiruzen looked out the window and spoke softly, "As long as the Uchiha clan remains calm, the village won't take action. Currently, someone is trying to force Konoha's hand, and I'm worried that the Uchiha clan might become their target."
Hiruzen pondered for a moment before continuing, "Also, I plan to hold the third round of the Chunin Exams within the village and invite the Daimyo to attend."
"One reason is to increase the financial investment from the Daimyo in the village, and the other is to show the strength of Konoha to its citizens."
Hiruzen locked eyes with Kagami and emphasized every word, "I'm entrusting the security of this exam to the Uchiha clan, Kagami, I hope you can arrange it properly!"
Upon hearing this, Kagami Uchiha looked grave, while Koharu and Homura looked astonished.
Bang! Koharu pounded the table and sternly looked at Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen! Something like this has never happened before! Not to mention the safety of the Daimyo! Are you planning to let civilians watch a ninja exam!? What if something goes wrong!?"
Koharu Utatane questioned loudly.
At this moment, Hiruzen still looked at Kagami Uchiha.
Kagami nodded heavily.
"I understand! The Uchiha clan will fully bear the responsibility for the security of this exam!"
After that, Hiruzen ordered to inform about the change of the exam venue and the preparations needed.
Although Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado strongly disagreed with Hiruzen taking this risk, they couldn't resist his persistence.
So...
Inside the Death Forest Tower, first floor.
"What did you say!? Enemy village ninja attacking the exam venue!?" Shigeo Miyajima stared at Yasuha with wide red eyes.
Upon hearing Yasuha's loud exclamation, Shigeo suddenly lunged forward and quickly covered his mouth.
"Mmm... Wha... Why... Let... me... know..." Yasuha muffledly spoke while his mouth was tightly covered.
Giving Yasuha a stern look, Shigeo Miyajima quickly glanced around to ensure no one was nearby and then scolded him.
"What on earth are you doing!? How can you shout something like this out loud!?"
Although being scolded, Yasuha knew his behavior was improper and apologized with an embarrassed face.
"I'm sorry, I was careless. I'll be more careful in the future, please don't be mad!"
Regarding this, Shigeo shook his head helplessly.
"You really need to change this careless habit of yours!"
Having heard everything, Shigeo then explained the situation to Yasuha.
"It's like this, according to my uncle, two ninjas attacked the exam participants this time. Thanks to Sosuke they will be fine"
Yasuha nodded in affirmation as he spoke.
"What's the big deal about just two ninjas? If it were me, I would have taken care of them as well! They were just lucky they didn't run into me; otherwise, I would have dealt with them!"
Shigeo rolled his eyes at Yasuha, speaking a bit self-conceitedly.
Observing Yasuha for a moment, Shigeo shook his head and spoke in a deep voice.
"It's not that simple. In less than a day, over twenty participants have already died at the hands of those two. Although my uncle didn't explain in detail, we can deduce that the strength of those two ninjas should be above the rank of Jounin."
Hearing this, Yasuha was shocked and exclaimed, "You... You mean Sosuke defeated two Jounin!? How is that possible!? That would mean he's even stronger than your uncle!?"
"Shh... Shh... Keep your voice down!" Shigeo quickly gestured for Yasuha to lower his voice.
Then, with a profound gaze at Shigeo, he spoke discontentedly, "My uncle is an elite Jounin, not just any regular Jounin. As skilled as Sosuke may be, there's no way he could defeat my uncle!"
...
At the entrance to the second floor of the tower.
"Who said I couldn't win!?"
Jiraiya glared at Orochimaru, then turned his head away.
"Tsk! If it were you, Orochimaru, maybe I wouldn't be standing here right now. You see, back then, how I... Hehehaha..."
"Never mind him. Let's go in first. Orochimaru, Jiraiya, we can talk about the attack later."
Tsunade disregarded Jiraiya's boasting and spoke to Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Then, she pulled Sosuke and Dai, ignoring Jiraiya, and headed straight inside.
Pfft! Jiraiya spewed out a mouthful of blood!
Seeing this scene, Sosuke couldn't help but reminisce about their days as four friends studying at the ninja school. A happy smile crept up on his face, and he softly spoke to Jiraiya.
"All right, Jiraiya, we'll go ahead. You can stay here and contemplate how to defeat them. It'll help you improve your skills."
"Yes! Jiraiya, even though you're a bit weak right now, I see the flames of youth burning within you! You'll eventually become a strong ninja!"
Might Dai extended his thumb to Jiraiya, showing his bright teeth as he encouraged him.
Pfft! Jiraiya spewed out blood again!
Still weak... still weak... still weak...
Then, Orochimaru and Dai passed by Jiraiya, who was squatting in a corner, drawing circles with a grudge.
Dai chuckled softly.
Orochimaru glanced at him as he stepped into the entrance.
"...Idiot..."
A soft, disdainful voice fell.
Clang!
A heavy blow caused Jiraiya to spew blood for the third time!
GAME OVER....