The world I hear is completely different from yours.

At this moment, Kakashi and the others were completely unaware of the undercurrents swirling within the ninja world, and had no idea what strange enemies they would face in the future. Now, gazing at the gates of Konoha Village in the distance, their hearts were filled with the excitement of returning home. After several days of arduous travel, they had finally returned to Konoha Village from the Land of Waves.

"Finally back! Finally I can go home!" Sakura shouted happily, running joyfully towards her parents who came to greet her at the gates of Konoha. For Sakura Haruno, who was still just a whiny girl at this time, the mission to the Land of Waves had indeed left her physically and mentally exhausted. In particular, the bloody battle against hundreds of enemies had left her with a deep-seated trauma, to the point that she still didn't dare to eat barbecue. After all, Sakura at this time was far from the strong ninja she would become; she was just a girl with a girlish heart.

Seeing Sakura laughing and chatting with her family, Sasuke and Naruto's eyes dimmed for a moment. Then they exchanged a knowing glance, agreed on a place to train together that evening, and headed back to their empty homes. Only Kakashi Hatake, staring blankly, remained standing there alone. Even Yamato had just returned to Konoha to report to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Looks like I still need to work on strengthening teamwork within the squad!" Kakashi Hatake smiled wryly at his three students, somewhat regretting his previous neglect of discipline. He then shrugged helplessly and headed towards the Hokage Building, intending to submit the files Zabuza had entrusted to him and the report on this mission for Hiruzen Sarutobi's consideration. In particular, the internal organ doll that could cause Naruto's seal to loosen was something Kakashi planned to focus on in his report.

However, when Kakashi Hatake entered the Hokage's office building, he found that the Hokage's office was crowded with people, filled with Konoha's elite Jonin, and on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk were several animal entrails dolls.

"Oh? Kakashi, perfect timing, you're back. Come on over and take a look," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, puffing on his pipe as Kakashi Hatake walked in, casually handing him a scroll filled with information. "This information just came from the Land of Rice Fields today. It not only details the impact and harm these dolls pose to ordinary people, but it also thoughtfully marks the production and storage locations of those dolls. It's practically like someone specifically notified us to go and destroy these things!"

Kakashi Hatake scanned the intelligence scroll in his hand quickly, without immediately offering any opinion. Based on Kakashi's understanding of Hiruzen Sarutobi, when he presented this intelligence and summoned the elite Jonin of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi had likely already made some decisions in his mind. However, it was probably because these decisions were too significant that they required a collective discussion among the elite Jonin.

As expected, Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly said, "The village is short-handed right now, so let any ninjas who happen to be on a mission nearby take a trip over those dolls produced in the Land of Rice Fields! After all, other major countries should also receive this information, and they should send people over as well."

“There’s one more thing,” Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced silently at the assembled elite Konoha Jonin, exhaling a smoke ring, “Besides this doll matter, there’s another reason I’ve summoned you all here. Just yesterday, the other major powers jointly issued a request demanding that the Chunin Exams, originally scheduled for Konoha a few months later, be moved forward to three days from now! And if Konoha doesn’t agree, they will unanimously announce that the Chunin Exams will be held in another ninja village!”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the elite Jonin of Konoha present changed immediately, and even Kakashi, who was usually expressionless, frowned!

It's important to understand that the Chunin Exams are not merely ordinary exams for genin to advance to chunin; they are also a crucial opportunity for major powers to showcase their strength to the public, and a military competition where each nation evaluates the capabilities of its ninja villages. Therefore, ninja villages that excel in the Chunin Exams not only enhance their national reputation and influence in the world but also gain more public support, further strengthening their power. Thus, for Konoha, victory in the Chunin Exams is absolutely essential!

If one wants to win the Chunin Exams, then the location of the exams is a very important factor. After all, if one fights on home ground, one can fight in a familiar battle environment and in a familiar climate and terrain. In addition, with the secret help of examiners and referees from the same village, the three major factors of timing, location, and people are all in place, allowing the Konoha ninjas to demonstrate their fighting power to the fullest extent.

Therefore, for Konoha Village, which wants to make a name for itself in the Chunin Exams, the location of the Chunin Exams is absolutely not something they can give up!

After a long silence, a Konoha strategist spoke up: "But the village doesn't have many people right now, and many ninjas are out on missions and won't be able to get back to Konoha in time! If we agree to the demands of other major powers and hastily hold the Chunin Exams ahead of schedule, Konoha will be overwhelmed by a large number of foreign ninjas while its defenses are insufficient. If some hostile enemies manage to infiltrate the village, it will be in real danger!"

The elite Jonin of Konoha fell silent, clearly hesitant about this difficult decision. In the end, they all turned their gaze to Hiruzen Sarutobi, awaiting his final decision.

After taking a deep drag on his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the determined eyes of the Konoha Jonin present and finally made up his mind: "Notify the entire village that the Chunin Exams will be held three days from now! This time, Konoha must retain its position as the host country for the Chunin Exams. The village absolutely cannot afford to lose this rare opportunity!"

"As for the safety of the Chunin Exams," Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, looking at all the elite Jonin of Konoha present, "I trust you all!"

"Yes!! We will definitely protect the village!" the Jonin said in unison, and then they all left to spread Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders throughout the village, while also beginning their intensive preparations.

Only a few Konoha Jonin, such as Kakashi Hatake, Asuma, Kurenai, and Might Guy, remained to guide the Genin. They would draft a preliminary list of Genin to participate in the Chunin Exams for Hiruzen Sarutobi to refer to.

............

P.S. Two updates as usual. I'm going to write tomorrow's update now and try to get back to a normal update schedule.

Chapter Forty-Four: Persuasion and Arson at the Factory

In the Hokage's office, Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy stood side by side. After submitting the list of Konoha genin who would participate in the Chunin Exams, the other Konoha jonin instructors left one after another, but the two of them were asked by Hiruzen Sarutobi to stay behind.

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently looked at the names on the stack of papers in his hand—the preliminary list of examinees drafted by the Konoha's Jonin instructors—then, after taking a few puffs of his pipe, he asked, "Kakashi, how did your team's trip to the Land of Waves go? How is Sasuke Uchiha doing now?"

The Uchiha clan was once known for its immense power, thanks to the Sharingan, a remarkable bloodline limit. Even those in the lower classes who knew nothing about the ninja world or ninjas had heard of the Uchiha clan. Therefore, Sasuke, as a descendant of the Uchiha clan, could bring considerable benefits to Konoha with his outstanding performance in the Chunin Exams.

In the original story, many daimyo, nobles, and commoners who came to watch the match were eagerly anticipating Sasuke's appearance. So much so that the spectators were somewhat distracted by the previous matches, only gradually turning their attention to the other Konoha genin matches after witnessing Shikamaru and Naruto's outstanding performances.

This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was even more determined, hoping that Sasuke Uchiha would participate, along with Might Guy's student Neji Hyuga, to attract more viewers by having the Uchiha and Hyuga clans compete on the same stage, and to maximize the influence of this Chunin Exam.

Kakashi Hatake quietly explained the combat performance of the three genin during their mission to the Land of Waves. When he heard that Sasuke had already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened in surprise: "He's already at the three-tomoe level right after awakening? That's comparable to the eye power of a Jonin, isn't it?"

Meanwhile, Might Guy looked surprised. His three genin had graduated a year earlier than Naruto and the others, but considering their strength, Guy decided to let them train for another year before taking the Chunin Exams. This would also give them a chance to compete with the students under his nemesis, Kakashi.

"But it seems there are still more talented people in Konoha than you, Neji!" Guy thought to himself. Although he was very confident in Hyuga Neji's strength, the reputation of the three-tomoe Sharingan still made his confidence waver slightly! After all, the Uchiha clan's illustrious reputation was so great that any ninja would have to reassess their chances of winning after hearing the name Uchiha!

As for the entrails-like animals and lightsaber warriors that appeared in the Land of Waves, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't take them to heart. Yamato had already submitted a report on this mission in advance, explaining that Ame-no-Kage had gone to the Land of Rice Fields to deal with the source of those strange items. Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't too worried about them.

As for Ame-no-Tsurugi accepting Zabuza Momochi, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, and having him join the Konoha Anbu to secretly control the Land of Waves, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was always conservative, was somewhat resistant to this. However, since this matter was not openly related to Konoha, and with the Chunin Exams approaching, he could only acquiesce.

“There’s just one problem,” Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi Hatake, pointing to Sakura Haruno’s name, “Does Sakura really want to participate in the Chunin Exams? If a genin doesn’t want to participate in the exams, the village can’t force her to sign the Chunin Exams application form!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked this because Sakura's performance in this mission was truly terrible, ranking last among her fellow Konoha graduates. Therefore, Hiruzen was very worried that Sakura's lack of confidence would prevent her from participating in the Chunin Exams, thus dragging Sasuke and Naruto down. After all, the Chunin Exams are conducted in three-person teams; if one person is eliminated, the other two will also fail!

Kakashi Hatake paused for a moment, his intelligence allowing him to understand Hiruzen Sarutobi's unspoken meaning. He then replied in a low voice, "When I get back, I'll try to persuade Sakura. I believe she'll eventually participate in the Chunin Exams."

............................

In the Land of Fields, a raging fire was burning in the factory. The billowing flames engulfed the entire factory, preventing the workers who had just been awakened from their sleep from entering. They could only stare helplessly from the outside.

Wearing the uniform of Konoha's Anbu, Tianqing walked alone towards the factory's storage warehouse, where, according to the information she had obtained, the last batch of organ dolls produced in this factory were stored.

"This is the storage point for the last batch of organ dolls in this factory. Once I destroy this place, I can move on to the next factory!" Tian Qing thought to herself, but at the same time, she also had some doubts about the factory: "I haven't encountered any decent resistance along the way, not even a single ninja guarding this place. Does the other side not care about these things at all?"

Upon learning that these items originated from the Land of Rice Fields, Tenharu suspected Orochimaru might be involved. He even planned to destroy the dolls and, incidentally, give Orochimaru a good beating. However, during Tenharu's arson, the Sound Village remained completely silent. It wasn't until Tenharu apprehended a few Sound ninja and questioned them that he learned Orochimaru had already left the village with his elite subordinates, their whereabouts unknown.

"Fine, I'll destroy all these factories that produce organ dolls and ruin the plans of those madmen from the Truth Society before I go and get some answers from Orochimaru!" Tianqing thought to herself. Then she unleashed a massive fire jutsu at the storage warehouse in front of her and sped off into the thick smoke toward the next production factory.

.............................

Meanwhile, in another factory in the Land of Rice Fields, several Cloud Ninja wearing headbands from the Land of Lightning brazenly stormed into the factory. The ordinary guards around them didn't dare to stop them and could only stand at a distance and watch the Cloud Ninja's actions.

"How boring! Why is there not a single enemy on this mission we're on? The village said before that this mission might be dangerous, but it turns out they're all just ordinary people!" a Cloud Ninja said unhappily.

As a traditional military power, the Cloud Village has always followed the path of universal conscription, so most Cloud Ninja are battle fanatics with a strong fighting spirit.

Then, the Cloud Ninja suddenly smelled an extremely foul odor, and alarm bells went off in his mind!

Chapter Forty-Five: Tentacles and the Truth Society

When Tian Qing arrived, the last organ doll factory was already engulfed in flames. Only a large group of panicked workers were running away outside the factory in a panic. However, judging from their expressions, they did not seem to be frightened by the fire, but rather by something more terrifying.

"Monster... Monster! The monster ate people! The monster ate all the ninjas!" An ordinary guard shouted incoherently, crawling around on the ground in terror, as if he had forgotten how to stand and walk as a human being.

Seeing the chaotic scene, Tian Qing frowned and cautiously looked at the guard. She casually cast a calming illusion spell, then stared intently at the guard and asked, "Don't be afraid, you're safe now. What did you just see?"

Under the influence of Tian Qing's illusion, the guard barely regained his composure, and then slowly began to recall what had just happened within the illusion: "Just now... a few ninjas wanted to enter the factory to search, and we didn't dare to stop them... then... then they saw... that thing... tentacles! Tentacles!!"

Immediately, the guard, recalling the scene, rolled his eyes again, as if he had seen something he shouldn't have, and screamed wildly. After writhing in agony on the ground, he desperately grabbed the baton beside him and smashed it down on his head. He then collapsed to the ground, unconscious, a look of relief on his face.

The guard's clothes were somewhat more durable than his owner's. He stammered out a rough account of what had happened to Tian Qing. Just as the Cloud Ninja were searching the secret workshops within the factory, they were suddenly screamed as hundreds of tentacles burst out and swept away. The surrounding workers, upon seeing the foul-smelling tentacles, scattered in terror as if possessed. The guard, being closest to them, suffered the most psychological trauma, which explained his current state.

"Tsk, those lunatics from the Truth Society again? Looks like this is the real production site for those dolls!" Tian Qing looked at the factory engulfed in flames in the distance, secretly recalling information about the Truth Society from her previous life. It was said that while the members of the Truth Society were fanatically worshipping "it," they were also influenced and distorted by "it"'s power, turning into various bizarre life forms.

Therefore, although the members usually appear to be humanoid, their true forms are actually abnormally twisted and bizarre life forms. For example, one might look like a beautiful girl, but its true form is just a large, bloody, mangled mass of rotten flesh; or it might look like a cute little boy in yellow clothes with two tufts of hair, but its true form is the Yellow King, rotting all over and hiding in a yellow robe.

What's even more terrifying is that when those members reveal their true forms, not only do they become much stronger, but they also constantly exert invisible mental pressure on the surrounding life forms. Any human who cannot withstand these mental pressures will immediately fall into madness, pain, and fear!

"Fortunately, I now have the body of a god, which makes me basically immune to the mental attacks of these low-level monsters!" Tian Qing thought to herself, and then quickly rushed into the sea of ​​fire, passing through the raging fire wall and rushing into the secret workshop in the scorching air.

The dark workshop was pitch black, filled with a nauseating stench. It was eerily quiet, as if the raging fire outside had no effect on it at all.

"Hmph! Playing tricks!" Tian Qing scoffed and waved his hand dismissively. The giant fist of the Colossus soared into the sky, instantly tearing off the outer walls and ceiling of the entire workshop, exposing everything inside the secret workshop to the surrounding raging fire!

Illuminated by the blazing firelight, Tian Qing was able to clearly see the monster hidden in the secret workshop.

It was a huge ball of flesh made up of countless rotting human corpses and blood, covered with countless tentacles, churning in a large pool of blood beneath the floor, intending to launch a sneak attack on Tian Qing who rushed into the workshop!

Instantly, the blood-soaked monster hiding underground, stimulated by the firelight, let out an extremely piercing scream and lashed out hundreds of tentacles made of rotting flesh, stabbing fiercely at Tian Qing! At the same time, it continuously emitted invisible mental shocks from its entire body, surging towards Tian Qing in waves!

If it were an ordinary Jonin, they would probably be stunned by this mental attack in the first instant. Although a ninja's strength would not cause them to be as fearful and frantic as ordinary people, their physical reaction would be greatly slowed down by this mental attack, making them unable to dodge the hundreds of tentacles and directly piercing them into a lump of flesh!

That's why those Cloud Ninja were instantly killed by this monster made of rotting flesh without any chance to fight back!

Unfortunately, Tianqing was much faster than the monster! The waves of mental attacks had no effect on Tianqing, like a gentle spring breeze. As for the tentacles that rushed towards her, Tianqing's response was another heavy punch from the Titan!

*Smack!* Just like a hammer smashing an egg, the Colossus's heavy fist shattered the tentacles that were stabbing at it, and then smashed it and the entire blood pool to pieces!

"Is this just a ghoul used to protect the production of dolls?" Tian Qing looked disgustedly at the rotting flesh and blood scattered on the ground, and the increasingly nauseating stench in the air fueled her growing hatred for the members of the Truth Society. Why do you guys have to be so weird? You only seem happy when things are twisted and mangled. Don't you find it disgusting? Have you ever thought about the people cleaning up the mess afterwards?!

Filled with disgust, Tian Qing reluctantly rummaged through the filthy, stinking, rotting flesh, trying to find clues. She felt like an unlucky soul searching for her lost phone in a cesspool.

This is one of the reasons why many people are unwilling to immediately become enemies with the Truth Society, because even if they win in the end, they will still be disgusted by those guys.

Chapter 46 Sasuke, let me teach you how to pick up girls! Kakashi said this.

After a long while, Tian Qing left the factory disappointed, having gained nothing. She then set the factory on fire again, burning all the filthy and disgusting things to ashes.

"What a waste of all that time I spent searching in that godforsaken place, all I got was a Philosopher's Stone that had completely run out of power!" Tianqing cursed inwardly, her resentment towards the Truth Society deepening. "It seems that even if we don't come and destroy the factory, those Truth Society members will stop producing the internal organs dolls because the Philosopher's Stone has run out of power!"

The Philosopher's Stone, an energy crystal used as the core energy source by members of the Truth Society, is the highest pursuit in the hearts of countless alchemists. It requires countless lives to be sacrificed to create and can be used to provide the energy needed for all production. However, in this currently peaceful world, due to the lack of large-scale wars and deaths, the Truth Society has had little opportunity to create and replenish it.

"So, their next targets are the Chunin Exams and the war between the Land of Wind and Konoha!" Tianqing quickly realized this, and immediately took off running towards Konoha. "It seems this year's Chunin Exams will be much more exciting than the one in the original story!!"

..................................

The Hidden Leaf Village remained peaceful in the dead of night, serene under the beautiful moonlight. Uchiha Sasuke, as usual, couldn't sleep, lying alone on the rooftop gazing at the bright moon. However, in Sasuke's eyes, burdened with worries, the moonlight seemed ominous, much like that night forever etched in his heart.

Every night, Sasuke would recall that scene and his brother's words.

My foolish little brother! Uchiha Itachi stood before his dead parents, his crimson Mangekyou Sharingan spinning incessantly, his long sword stained with his parents' blood, and then began the endless Tsukuyomi!

"Tsk! Why am I remembering all this again!" Sasuke suppressed his resentment towards Itachi with annoyance. After receiving the memories of the younger version of Sasuke, Sasuke now understood Itachi's good intentions to some extent. However, even though he understood the whole story, these were just memories implanted by someone else, so Sasuke couldn't truly empathize with them, let alone feel anything, much less be stimulated to evolve his next Mangekyou Sharingan.

After all, there are some things you'll never understand unless you experience them firsthand. This is the real reason why Sasuke, despite receiving so many memories and having such a powerful advantage, could only awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan.

"It seems I still need further power so I can personally go and ask Itachi for an explanation!" Sasuke secretly made up his mind. However, the young Sasuke only transmitted some simple memory scenes, which did not contain many training methods and could not grant Sasuke much power. On the contrary, the books that Tianqing stuffed into Sasuke's mind afterward contained many seemingly very advanced techniques that seemed worth practicing.

So, which of these many techniques should he choose? Should it be the "A-Fu Flying in an Airplane" technique, the "I Am the Only One in Heaven and Earth, Fear the Gods and Demons" technique, or the "Tintin, Di-Shi, La-La, and Little Po" technique, where the four Teletubbies play mahjong? Uchiha Sasuke thought to himself with some trouble. After all, the names of these three techniques sounded like incredibly cool and powerful ninjutsu, much better than names like "Chidori Stream."

"Sigh, is this the trouble of a genius, being troubled by the many roads ahead?" Sasuke tossed his hair narcissistically, a hint of smugness showing, but for some reason, Naruto Uzumaki's silly smiling face appeared in his mind.

"How about I give that loser a training manual tomorrow? After all, it's not good for the whole team if he falls too far behind me!" Sasuke muttered to himself, then quickly added, "Of course, I'm not doing this to help Naruto, it's just for the whole team! Hmph!"

Kakashi Hatake appeared silently on the rooftop, then stared blankly at Sasuke Uchiha, who had an arrogant expression on his face. He couldn't believe his eyes and couldn't connect the person in front of him with the student who always had a cold face. He awkwardly asked, "Um... Sasuke, what are you thinking about? Why are you smiling so happily?"

Swish! !

A sudden change of expression is the most deadly!

Sasuke Uchiha quickly switched to his usual cold expression, turning back to look at Kakashi with a cold gaze: "Why are you here so late? Is there something you need?"

"You brat, would it kill you to call me Kakashi-sensei? Is it because I accidentally interrupted your daydream?" Kakashi thought irritably with his deadpan eyes, then directly stated his purpose: "In three days, the village will hold the Chunin Selection Exams. If you participate in this exam, you can have a good match with many strong ninjas from other villages. Are you interested?"

Sasuke nodded with interest. Sparring with many strong opponents was an excellent way to improve one's strength, and he naturally didn't want to miss it. However, the memories transmitted from the young Sasuke didn't contain any relevant information, leaving Sasuke completely unaware of the various mysteries hidden after the Chunin Exams.

Kakashi nodded in satisfaction. Although even if Sasuke didn't want to participate, Konoha would find various reasons to force him to participate, it was best if he had the will. Kakashi then revealed his true purpose: "However, the Chunin Exams are conducted in three-person teams, and all three members of the team must volunteer to participate. A single person cannot participate. Sasuke, you and Naruto should be fine, but I'm worried Sakura might not want to participate this time. So, Sasuke, could you try to persuade Sakura?"

To strike a snake, strike its vital spot; when doing something, focus on the key point! Kakashi Hatake astutely perceived Sakura's greatest weakness: Sasuke! Whether it was Sakura's parents or Kakashi himself trying to persuade her, they might not be able to convince her. However, if it was Sasuke's request, Sakura would definitely agree!

Furthermore, if Sasuke could show Sakura a bit of the domineering CEO-like concern he does, I believe Sakura would definitely burst into the Chunin Exams with explosive power!

"So, tonight I'm here to teach you how to pick up girls!" Kakashi Hatake said with a grin.

.............

PS: Third update!

Chapter 47 The Moon Isn't Always Rounder Abroad

Despite Kakashi Hatake's teasing suggestion, Sasuke coldly shook his head: "No need. I don't need to learn that kind of thing. I believe Sakura will also think about the whole team. However, I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?" Kakashi countered.

Whoosh! Sasuke's eyes blazed red, and the three tomoe of his Sharingan spun rapidly as he stared intently at Kakashi's face: "If you want me to help persuade Sakura, then as a condition, I want to see your other eye!!"