As the daimyo of the Five Great Nations arrived in Konohagakure one after another along with the Kages, the third phase of the Joint Chūnin Promotion Examination—marking the transition from confrontation to alliance among the Five Great Shinobi Villages—finally kicked off.
Early in the morning, the streets of Konoha were bustling with noise. People gathered from all directions, forming a wave that slowly surged toward the venue in the center of the village, which had been renovated several tis for the occasion.
"Naruto, this way! This way!" “Mika-chan… over here…!”
Amidst the passing crowds, Chōji and Ino stood on tiptoe, calling out as soon as they spotted Naruto and Mika in the distance. Naruto and Mika quickly noticed them and squeezed through the crowd to reach Chōji and Ino. Alongside them were Shikamaru and Asuma, who were also headed to the venue.
When Asuma noticed that only Naruto and Mika from Team 7 had arrived, he asked, “Why are there only two of you? Where are Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke?”
Naruto shook his head. “We don’t know where they are. We searched everywhere but couldn’t find them!”
Mika, looking worried, added, “Asuma-sensei, do you have any way of contacting Kakashi-sensei? I’m concerned they might forget that today is the day, or that they might be late…”
Reflecting on what happened the previous week and recalling the solemn expression on Kakashi’s face, Asuma said, “Don’t worry about him. I’ll send him a ssage.”
Chōji, struggling with the crowd due to his size, grumbled in a dissatisfied tone, "Why are there so many people on the streets today?"
Asuma frowned at this. “Yeah, it’s a bit too crowded around here… I hope the Konoha Military Police Force can manage to maintain security.”
The presence of the daimyo from the Five Great Nations had attracted nobles and rchants from all over the country, eager to witness this unprecedented joint Chūnin exam alongside the daimyo. This influx of visitors caused the number of tourists in the village to skyrocket, making the once clean and spacious streets of Konoha suddenly overcrowded.
Although the surge in tourism brought significant economic benefits to Konoha, it also posed a serious challenge to the village’s security. Even though Asuma knew that many Anbu operatives were secretly protecting Naruto, he still decided to personally escort Naruto and Mika to the venue in Kakashi’s absence. “You two, stop running around carelessly and follow to the venue!”
"Yes, Asuma-sensei!" Naruto and Mika, who were already heading to the venue, nodded quickly and followed Asuma, along with Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino.
Led by Asuma, the group quickly arrived at the venue and entered the participants’ rest area.
The venue was far livelier than it had been during the combat stage of the Godai Hokage Election. Although more than an hour remained before the official start of the third phase of the exam, the auditorium was already filling up rapidly. At a glance, one could see that the venue was nearly packed with people.
At this ti, Kurenai, Guy, and Shizune, who were also leading their respective Genin squads, arrived in the rest area one after another. Noticing that only Naruto and Mika were present from Team 7, Kurenai asked doubtfully, "Where's Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke?"
Asuma shook his head. "I don't know, probably still training Uchiha Sasuke, but I’ve arranged for the ANBU to find him."
Guy, a little concerned, added, "He won’t be late today, right?"
The Jōnin instructors knew that Kakashi had been busy conducting special training for Sasuke, so they weren’t too worried about his safety. Their main concern was that Kakashi might miss the start of the exam, causing Sasuke to miss it as well.
"Naruto, you have to give it your all in today’s exam!"
“Neji, make sure you defeat everyone!”
“Kiyomi-chan, avenge my defeat too!”
"Yes, let's show the candidates from other villages that Konoha shinobi are the best!"
"Let them see how powerful we are in Konoha!"
While the Jōnin instructors chatted, fellow Genin gathered around Naruto, Neji, and Kiyomi in the rest area.
Listening to the encouragent from his classmates, Naruto laughed and said, "Don't worry, I’ll definitely do well. I have been training for the past month just for today!"
Although Neji and Kiyomi didn’t boast like Naruto, they were also prepared to give it their all.
“Co on, you guys, don’t put too much pressure on them,” Shikamaru sighed as he watched the other Genin crowding around Naruto, Neji, and Kiyomi, offering advice and encouragent.
Hearing Shikamaru’s words, everyone quieted down sowhat.
Neji’s eyes then locked onto Raijin in the rest area not far away. He warned Naruto and Kiyomi, "Naruto, Kiyomi, be careful of that Agakure shinobi, Raijin!"
Naruto and Kiyomi both looked in the direction of the Agakure squad and nodded seriously. It wasn’t just Raijin they needed to be wary of, but also Samsara and Tengu. None of the three Genin from Agakure were to be underestimated.
Sakura, noticing their focused gazes, asked, "I heard that Raijin from Agakure is the most popular contender after Deidara of Iwagakure for the final phase. Is he really that powerful?"
"Yeah!" Neji and Naruto responded in unison, while Kiyomi silently clenched her fists.
In the second phase, they had all suffered at the hands of Raijin and the Agakure ninjas, so they were well aware of their opponent's strength.
Soon, an hour of waiting passed, and the daimyo of the Five Great Nations along with the Five Kage from the Five Great Shinobi Villages arrived at the venue, taking their seats in the VIP stand one by one, the final phase of the Joint Chūnin Promotion Exam, hosted by the Five Great Shinobi Villages, officially began.
Whoosh!
Amid a gust of wind, Uchiha Itachi, the principal of Konoha Ninja Academy and the organizer of the Joint Chūnin Promotion Exam, landed in the middle of the arena and began explaining the rules that the participants needed to follow.
Given the presence of the daimyo, the Kage, and the large number of spectators, it was crucial to avoid unnecessary casualties during the exam. The rules clearly stated that candidates were not allowed to use dangerous ninjutsu that could threaten the safety of the venue or the surrounding audience. Normally, such precautions wouldn’t be necessary, as the jutsu used by Genin typically aren’t very dangerous or powerful. However, this year’s Chūnin Promotion Exam featured participants like Darui, Deidara, Raijin, Temari, and Naruto—all capable of causing mass destruction and significant casualties if not careful—so these asures were essential.
After reiterating the rules, and amid the cheers and excitent of the audience, Itachi announced the first match: “The first battle is between Uchiha Sasuke of Konohagakure and Raijin of Agakure!”
In response to Itachi’s announcent, Raijin imdiately left the resting area with a grin. "It’s finally ti…" he muttered as he arrived at the arena. However, to his surprise, there was no sign of Uchiha Sasuke. Even after waiting for about a minute, Sasuke still hadn’t appeared. Growing impatient, Raijin asked Itachi, “What’s going on? Is he coming or not?”
The audience shared Raijin’s confusion, murmuring among themselves about Uchiha Sasuke’s absence.
Itachi, equally uncertain, responded, “Wait a mont… I’ll find out what’s holding him up.”
…
In the Konoha rest area, Naruto was shocked. "What? Sasuke is up first?!"
Mika grew anxious as well. "Oh no, Kakashi-Sensei and Sasuke-kun haven’t arrived yet. What do we do?"
Asuma and the other Jōnin instructors quickly turned to the ANBU nearby and asked, "Is there still no news about Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke?"
The ANBU responded helplessly, "We’ve searched all the training grounds in the village, but we still haven’t found them. There’s no trace of Kakashi-sama or Uchiha Sasuke. We suspect they may not be in the village at all."
While the ANBU, Jōnin, and Genin were growing increasingly anxious, Jiraiya and Tsunade entered the rest area side by side. Jiraiya asked, "Where’s Sasuke? Why hasn’t he gone to the arena yet?"
Asuma quickly replied, "Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke still haven’t arrived."
Jiraiya, knowing that Kakashi had taken Sasuke for special training outside the village, frowned. "It’s already ti. Why haven’t they co back yet?"
Shizune approached Tsunade and asked, "What should we do now?"
Tsunade sighed. "We’ll have to skip this match for now and move on to the next one."
"But will Raijin of Agakure agree to wait for Uchiha Sasuke?" Kurenai asked. The decision to wait was up to Raijin. If he refused, he would win by default and advance to the next round, while Sasuke would be disqualified.
Tsunade, feeling helpless, replied, "I don’t know… We can only hope he’s willing to wait." She then sent an ANBU ninja to inform Uchiha Itachi of the situation.
…
Back at the arena, upon learning from the ANBU that Uchiha Sasuke hadn’t even arrived, Itachi was stunned. “What? How could he make such a mistake?” He then turned to Raijin and inford him of the situation, which surprised Raijin as well.
Taking a deep breath, Itachi asked Raijin, “The decision is now up to you. Are you willing to wait, or…?”
“Wait? Well, of course, I’ll wait…” Raijin replied, though his tone was laced with dissatisfaction. As he turned and left the arena, he thought to himself, ‘What the hell is Kakashi doing? Don’t ruin my plan!’
The fight against Uchiha Sasuke was specifically arranged as part of the plan to complete Sasuke’s stimulation project. Because of this, Raijin had no choice but to wait, even if it ant delaying the match.
In fact, a similar situation had occurred in the past when Sasuke was late for his match against Gaara. Now, it seems that so things can’t be avoided at all!
With Raijin’s decision, the first match between Uchiha Sasuke and Raijin was postponed. Itachi then announced, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, the first match has been postponed. We will now proceed with the second match. Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure and Shira of Sunagakure… please step forward!”
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