Following Kazuki's order, the Konoha Studio's small theater was about to be presented to the spectators of the main shinobi villages.
The shinobi from the other villages, led by the Root shinobi, were led to a large plaza.
"Everyone, please wait a moment. After completing the registration, you can move freely. Welcome to Konoha..."
All along the way, it was not only Dodai and Omoi who were observing the expressions of the Konoha shinobi.
Chiyo, Kitsuchi, Fuguki and other jonin also silently gathered information from the smallest details.
As Dodai had mentioned, the Konoha shinobi seemed completely relaxed at their arrival, without a hint of alertness on their faces.
Although Konoha's previous response was very harsh, combined with the information they had just gathered, Konoha's words now seemed like a mere facade.
In the minds of the shinobi from the other villages, they had barely set foot in Konoha, and they already assumed that the next great shinobi war was inevitable. To them, Konoha was like a juicy piece of meat waiting to be devoured; anyone who didn't take advantage of it would be an idiot.
Dodai and Omoi looked around Konoha.
"Omoi, to come to a correct conclusion, it is not enough to think too much; you must observe more closely…" Dodai said. "If you think that Konoha is hiding its strength, then pay special attention to the opponents in the Chunin Exams. During our stay, analyze the small details of the village environment. These details contain the real elements that you need to uncover."
"If you allow yourself to be carried away by excessive worries and believe that there are ambushes everywhere, you will only delay our actions and endanger the interests of the village. Do you understand?"
Omoi nodded in agreement. "Understood, Dodai-sama!"
Compared to Dodai and Omoi who were still hesitant, the shinobi of other villages were already ready to fight.
Fuguki showed a sinister smile. "These shinobi, who seem so naive, wouldn't last even a moment against the elites of our Kirigakure. I could cut down ten of them in one blow." He said disdainfully. "And yet, they have the nerve to try to recruit our clans with Kekkei Genkai. How ridiculous!"
Kisame and Zabuza nodded silently.
Accustomed to an environment where betrayal and paranoia were common, they could not understand the relaxation that the Root actors displayed in front of them.
"So, can I go on a killing spree in the exam?" Jinzaburo asked with an eerie smile. "I heard you killed all your classmates during your graduation exam, Zabuza. Not bad. Let's compete to see who kills more people this time!"
Zabuza frowned and said coldly: "Okay, I accept the challenge!"
Mei, who had remained silent until now, sighed.
Although her mind was much more stable compared to her peers, she couldn't help but feel that the madness and violence of her village was taking a toll on her own sanity. As a young kunoichi of Kiri, she had accepted that she would probably never find someone willing to marry her.
On the other hand, Kisame remained silent, listening to Jinzaburo's words as he pondered. Although Konoha might seem weak in many ways, he preferred its stability to Kiri's constant internal struggle. Even on dangerous missions like this, Kisame still carried the responsibility of eliminating his own comrades if necessary.
In contrast, the Iwa-nin carefully observed the surroundings of Konoha. They were veteran jonin with exceptional intelligence gathering skills.
Meanwhile, on Suna's side, Sasori muttered with a cold expression: "Grandma, I can't wait to avenge my parents. I want to make Hatake Sakumo my puppet!" He smiled icily and added: "Not just him. I'm going to turn all the shinobi in this village into puppets!"
Chiyo shook her head. "Sasori, be patient. Wait for the war to break out."
Despite her words, Chiyo also felt the hatred towards Konoha gnawing at her insides. As soon as the joint chunin exam was over, she planned to begin preparations for an invasion.
At this moment, the two protagonists who had rehearsed many times appeared in front of the shinobi from the other villages.
Shisui walked out of the alley, and Asuma came over from the other side. The moment the two saw each other, they narrowed their eyes unkindly.
Although the street was wide enough, Shisui and Asuma walked in a straight line, neither willing to give way.
The shinobi from the other villages watched with great interest.
Shisui wore the distinctive uniform of the Uchiha clan, while Asuma's identity as the Hokage's son was well known to the Jonin present.
The relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha was one of the aspects that best reflected the current situation of the village. For many, it was also an inexhaustible source of valuable information.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Shisui and Asuma came face to face. Neither of them backed away, and their gazes clashed intensely.
Asuma narrowed his eyes, trying to bring to the surface his most unpleasant experiences with Shisui. His anger began to grow as his words came out laden with contempt: "What are you looking at?"
Shisui, for his part, did the same. His gaze turned dangerous as he replied: "What if I want to look at you? What are you going to do?"
Asuma snorted and pointed his finger at Shisui. "Try it again and see what happens!"
Shisui was not far behind and also raised his hand, pointing directly at Asuma. "Go ahead! Take the test!"
The tension between the two grew to such an extent that it seemed they had forgotten they were acting.
"Get out of the way, I'll say it one last time!"
"Who do you think you are? I'm the son of the Hokage!"
"I'm still an Uchiha!"
Shisui unsheathed his Tanto, while Asuma began performing hand seals.
Even though they were supposed to be acting, the fury and killing intent they radiated was real.
This was not the first time the two had faced each other seriously. Their clashes were so intense that they often ended up injured, forcing Kazuki to have to heal them.
For them, this scene was nothing more than a recreation of their daily disputes, this time in front of an audience.
The shinobi from other villages smiled and enjoyed watching this scene.
It didn't even seem necessary to wait for the joint chunin exams to notice the tensions in Konoha. If the son of the Hokage and a member of the Uchiha got along so badly, it was clear that the village's internal problems ran deep.
With a village mired in such serious internal conflicts, how could they even think of facing external pressures?
Seeing this scene as soon as they arrived in Konoha, the shinobi from other villages almost laughed out loud.
Meanwhile, a Root shinobi approached Kazuki and whispered in his ear: "Kazuki-sama, Uchiha Fugaku is heading towards Shisui and Asuma. Do you want us to stop him?"
Kazuki smiled slightly before answering: "No need, let him participate too, this is an amateur actor with real feelings."
Shortly after, Fugaku arrived at the scene. Seeing Shisui and Asuma with their faces flushed with fury, he was stunned for a moment. However, a genuine smile soon spread across his face.
Fugaku thought to himself: 'Fate does not favor Kazuki. He can't even reconcile the conflict between his own brother and the Hokage's son...'
Behind this apparent state of control, Kazuki's influence over his faction is surprisingly weak. How could this last in the long term?
At that moment, Fugaku remembered a crucial detail of his prophecy: Kazuki's figure did not appear.
Perhaps this time bomb that Kazuki has planted for himself is the reason for his future downfall.
Determined, Fugaku dropped the pretense. He watched Asuma and Shisui's argument with ease, growing more and more amused.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became of his prophecy. He even started laughing out loud, his voice booming like thunder: "Hahahahaha!"
His carefree laughter left Asuma and Shisui completely taken aback.
Not only them; the other shinobi from the other villages were also stunned.
From his perspective, the leader of the Uchiha clan had walked up, witnessed a fight between a member of his clan and the Hokage's son... and instead of intervening or at least feigning concern, he was filled with enthusiasm and even openly laughing?
What is this?
Had tensions between the Uchiha clan and Konoha's top brass reached this extreme?
This small theater was completely sublimated after the magical stroke of amateur actor Uchiha Fugaku.
The laughter of the veteran actor Uchiha Fugaku made these audiences from other villages realize what the madness of the Uchiha clan is...
If the clan leader was like this, what could be expected of the others?
Could they really fight for Konoha with loyalty and dedication?
The answer was obvious to everyone: impossible.
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