"It’s clear now. Raijin is a mber of the Amatsukami Organization."
"If Raijin is part of Amatsukami... doesn’t that an...?" murmured Jiraiya, his mind drifting to the other two mbers of the Agakure Genin squad.
"Samsara and Tengu, too, right?" Kakashi nodded, sharing the sa thought.
The mory of Samsara from Agakure effortlessly defeating Temari of Sunagakure still lingered in their minds. Temari wasn’t just any random Genin—she was the daughter of the Yondai Kazekage, a disciple of the Godai, and the most likely candidate to beco the next Kazekage. She had even mastered the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai at such a young age. There’s no denying her potential and strength.
Yet, despite all that, Temari didn’t even have the opportunity to put up a fight against Samsara. The fight had ended almost as soon as it began, leaving everyone questioning Samsara’s power.
"And then there’s Tengu… he fought Shira of Sunagakure to a standstill without even getting injured and he didn’t show any signs of exhaustion either," Kakashi added, recalling their battle from a week ago. He also rembered the barrier formation Samsara had conjured instantly during that ti.
No matter how he looked at it, similar to Raijin, neither Samsara nor Tengu seed ordinary Genins.
"Yeah… neither Samsara nor Tengu are ordinary," Jiraiya agreed, his brow furrowed in thought. "They’re even more mysterious than Raijin. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re mbers of Amatsukami too."
"But what I don’t get is… if Raijin, Samsara, and Tengu are all part of Amatsukami, what are they doing here? Why are they participating in the Chunin Exams?" Kakashi asked, doubt clouding his expression.
At first, the idea that Raijin, Samsara, and Tengu might be connected to the Akatsuki Organization seed plausible. After all, Akatsuki mbers could have entered the Joint Chunin Promotion Exam with the intent of kidnapping the Jinchurikis participating in the exam. Considering that Akatsuki was founded in the Land of Rain and used Agakure as its headquarters for over half a decade, it wasn’t impossible for remnants of its influence to still be present in Agakure.
Similarly, the theory that they might be working for Orochimaru made so sense too. Raijin had briefly cooperated with Orochimaru in the second phase of the exam, suggesting they knew each other. Kakashi even suspected that Orochimaru had ulterior motives regarding Konohagakure—likely targeting Uchiha Sasuke. Considering that Raijin was also targeting Sasuke, it’s not far-fetched to assu he might be doing so under Orochimaru’s orders.
But now, assuming that Raijin, Samsara, and Tengu are mbers of the Amatsukami Organization, things beca harder to understand. Unlike Akatsuki, Amatsukami wasn’t known for targeting Jinchuriki, rather, they have protected the Jinchuriki from Akatsuki’s attacks on multiple occasions, therefore, Kakashi and Jiraiya were certain that Raijin, Samsara, and Tengu weren’t after Naruto or Fū… they ought to be after sothing else.
'If they’re not after the Jinchuriki… could Sasuke be their target?’ Kakashi thought, considering a new possibility.
Raijin had consistently targeted Sasuke throughout the Joint Chunin Exam. Whether it was before the exam officially began, during the second phase in the Forest of Death, or now in the third phase—it was clear to Kakashi that Raijin had his eyes on Sasuke.
The idea that Amatsukami might be after Sasuke couldn’t be dismissed either, especially given their history. They had previously kidnapped Uchiha Ryota and Uchiha Hideki and were in possession of Uchiha Fugaku’s Mangekyō Sharingan. With all of that in mind, Sasuke being their next target was entirely possible.
'Why do I feel like there's more going on here…?' Kakashi thought. He didn’t have any concrete evidence, just a gut feeling that Amatsukami’s involvent in the Joint Chunin Promotion Exam wasn’t solely about ‘targeting’ Sasuke.
If their objective was simply to kidnap Sasuke, they wouldn’t need to go through the entire exam process. There were far easier ways to capture him.
Yet, they chose to participate—and they did so as Agakure ninjas.
‘What are they truly after?’ Kakashi wondered, racking his brain as he tried to figure out Amatsukami’s reason for participating in the Joint Chunin Promotion Exam he was thinking of various reasons that could have prompted them to involve themselves in this exam.
‘Could they be here as a precaution against the Akatsuki Organization?’ Kakashi suddenly considered a new possibility.
Based on his understanding of Amatsukami, its mbers rarely involve themselves in matters of the Shinobi World—unless the Akatsuki is involved. When it cos to dealing with Akatsuki, Amatsukami is quite proactive. Even if they work as rcenaries and charge the five great nations for their services.
Given the scale of the Joint Chunin Promotion Exam, with Genin from dozens of shinobi villages participating, it would be impossible to keep it a secret. Kakashi wouldn’t be surprised if the Akatsuki had also taken an interest in what was happening in Konoha.
Initially, he assud that Raijin, Samsara, and Tengu were sent by Akatsuki to participate in the exam in order to kidnap a Jinchuriki. However, since they belong to Amatsukami, that seed unlikely. Still, he couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility that Akatsuki might try to exploit the exam and attempt to capture Naruto or Fū.
‘If I can think of this possibility, then there’s no reason Amatsukami wouldn’t have considered it as well. And if they did, it wouldn’t be surprising if they sent soone to Konoha as a precaution,’ Kakashi thought.
While Kakashi was deep in thought about Amatsukami’s intentions, Jiraiya noticed Elder Hiruzen and Elder Koharu approaching them. He questioned, "Sarutobi-sensei… you’re here, does that an…?"
Elder Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, the last battle of the first round is over. They’re currently repairing the arena, so there’s a bit of ti."
Hearing that the final match of the first round had finished, Kakashi’s eyes lit up. "Jiraiya-sama, I need to speak with Kuroto. Please keep an eye on Sasuke for a while. I’ll be back shortly."
"Hey… wait…" Jiraiya tried to stop him, curious about what Kakashi was planning, but before he could say more, Kakashi had already disappeared. "And he's gone…" Jiraiya muttered, but he didn’t dwell on why Kakashi suddenly needed to speak with Kuroto. Instead, he turned his attention back to Hiruzen and Koharu, asking, "Who won the last match?"
Elder Koharu replied, "It was Itsuki from Sunagakure. He defeated Uchiha Kiyomi and qualified for the next round."
"Hmm… I see. So, the eight candidates who qualified for the second round are Uzumaki Naruto, Deidara, Hyuga Neji, Darui, Samsara, Tengu, Raijin, and Itsuki," Jiraiya mumbled, nodding to himself.
"That’s right," Hiruzen confird with a nod, then shifted the conversation. "Anyway… how is Uchiha Sasuke?" he asked, adding, "Since you seem so relaxed… he should be fine, right?"
Jiraiya nodded. "Hyuga Yui says he’ll be fine. It might take him a few days to recover, but there's no need to worry."
"I see… that’s good to hear," Elder Hiruzen replied with relief. But then Hiruzen's expression turned solemn as he said, "There’s sothing wrong with Raijin from Agakure." He expanded on his doubts regarding the Agakure Genin.
Hearing Hiruzen's concerns, Jiraiya nodded and shared his and Kakashi's speculations, along with all the details that had led them to this conclusion.
"From Amatsukami?" Elder Hiruzen and Elder Koharu were taken aback by this speculation. As they considered the possibility that Raijin, Samsara, and Tengu were mbers of Amatsukami, many things suddenly began to make sense. However, like Kakashi and Jiraiya, they were left wondering why mbers of Amatsukami would bother participating in the Joint Chunin Promotion Exam.
After pondering for a mont, Elder Hiruzen reached the sa conclusion as Kakashi. "Is it a precaution against Akatsuki?"
Jiraiya and Elder Koharu sowhat agreed with Elder Hiruzen's thoughts. "That seems possible..."
It was a pity that none of them were correct; and in truth, it was nearly impossible for them to guess the actual motive. Neither Elder Hiruzen nor Kakashi could have imagined that Raijin's primary goal for participating in the Joint Chūnin Promotion Exam was simply to cultivate his Lightning clone body and help Uchiha Sasuke awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan.
As for including Samsara and Tengu, one reason was the requirent for three mbers to form a Genin squad. The other reasons were to expose the two children–who had spent half their lives in isolation while being disconnected from the rest of the world–to the world of shinobi and help them beco more familiar with their powers.
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