The world I hear is completely different from yours.

"So you really did find out?" Kakashi replied helplessly, slowly raising his hand towards the eye hidden in his mask and headband, preparing to remove the covering.

“As long as the Sharingan user has enough strength, he can sense the ocular power of other Sharingan users and thus discover his own kind!” Uchiha Sasuke coldly looked at Kakashi. “Back in the Land of Waves, my eyes already detected the special nature of your eye!”

In the silence, Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing an eye that was rarely shown to outsiders—within the long scar on his face was a Sharingan that emitted a power far exceeding that of Sasuke's Sharingan!

"The Mangekyou Sharingan?! No, that's not right! Although its power far surpasses that of a regular Sharingan, the power itself hasn't undergone a qualitative change. It's still just a three-tomoe Sharingan, or rather, a three-tomoe Sharingan that has reached its peak, but it hasn't yet transformed into the Mangekyou Sharingan!" Sasuke quickly judged. "But how can an outsider like you possess the eyes of the Uchiha clan?!"

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't know either?" Kakashi said helplessly, then continued, "How about this, let's make a deal! If you can get good results in this Chunin Exams, then I'll tell you everything, okay?"

"Hmph! Then you'd better think of something to say sooner rather than later!" Sasuke silently closed his Sharingan and nodded.

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

If the nights in Konoha are a tranquil scene bathed in moonlight, then the nights in Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village of the Land of Water, are nothing but a pitch-black, deathly silence devoid of moonlight. This is because the thick fog that shrouds Kirigakure effectively absorbs external light and sound, so even on such a bright moonlit night, the sky over Kirigakure remains as gray as ever.

despair!despair!despair!

Ao, the Fourth Mizukage's most trusted adjutant and also a high-ranking commander of Kirigakure, knocked lightly three times before entering the office of the Fourth Mizukage, Nohara Rin.

"Lord Mizukage, you wanted to see me?" Qing asked respectfully.

“The Sand Village and the Cloud Village jointly sent an invitation to us to go to Konoha to watch the Chunin Exams. And now the Fourth Kazekage has announced that he will personally lead the team there. Do you think I should go back to Konoha to take a look?” Nohara Rin asked lightly.

After so many years, the once energetic and timid little girl is no longer the Konoha ninja she once was. Now, Rin Nohara has a rather curvaceous figure and a very beautiful face, but the innocent and charming smile she once had is long gone.

"Ao, what do you think Konoha's reaction would be if I expressed my willingness to go to Konoha to watch the Chunin Exams?" Nohara Rin asked casually as always. Upon hearing this question, Ao immediately lowered his head even more respectfully, not daring to give any response.

"Why aren't you saying anything? I thought you'd open your Byakugan immediately to see if I'm being secretly manipulated by someone!" Nohara Rin continued, a Sharingan slowly rotating in its socket. "Or do you think that people with Sharingan can't be manipulated by others? Just think, if even a perfect Jinchūriki like the Mizukage is being secretly controlled, how terrifying would that be!"

Qing remained silent with his head down. As a confidant of the Mizukage, he was already used to the Fourth Mizukage's occasional erratic ramblings. At this moment, all he needed to do was listen silently without making a sound and forget all of the Mizukage's "nonsense." This was one of the main reasons why he had been able to live so peacefully for so many years.

After a long silence, Nohara Rin spoke, her voice tinged with a hint of regret and helplessness: "Tell Konoha that I won't be going to this year's Chunin Exams. Just arrange for someone to represent Kirigakure. Also, have the Deep Sea Trident Unit deployed and stationed at the border, ready to be deployed at any time."

"Understood!" Qing said with his head down, and strode out of the Water Shadow's office.

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

If the nights in Konoha are tranquil under the moonlight, and the nights in Kirigakure are a dark and lifeless void without moonlight, then the nights in the Land of Lightning are far more lively. For the free-spirited Cloud Ninja, after a busy day, gathering together to drink, chat, and soak in hot springs is an indispensable evening entertainment.

The Fourth Raikage was leisurely soaking in the hot spring, sipping his drink with a contented expression, enjoying one of his rare moments of freedom. As the leader of a village, he usually had far too many administrative matters to attend to, so he rarely had time to relax like this.

At this moment, a Cloud Ninja strategist, guided by a member of the Raikage's personal guard, entered the Fourth Raikage's tent: "Lord Raikage, the notice we sent to Konoha requesting that the Chunin Exams be held ahead of schedule has now been officially replied to. They have expressed their willingness to hold the Chunin Exams ahead of schedule and have also invited you to come to Konoha to watch the competition."

"Hmph! I knew Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't hand over the power to host the Chunin Exams to other villages. He even went so far as to hold the Chunin Exams ahead of schedule!" The Fourth Raikage opened his eyes in dissatisfaction, clearly unhappy that Konoha had always held the position of the Chunin Exams organizer.

In the original story, due to the long-standing animosity between Kumogakure and Konoha, the Land of Lightning never sent anyone to participate in the Chunin Exams held in Konoha. Instead, Kumogakure had its own internal promotion and assessment system. However, this time, the Fourth Raikage intends to personally lead a team to Konoha, allowing the Kumogakure ninja to participate in Konoha's Chunin Exams for the first time.

"Notify Killer Bee to bring the genin we selected earlier; we're heading to Konoha immediately!" The Fourth Raikage stood up from the hot spring, revealing his muscular physique. "Also, have the communications team contact the Turtle Island fleet and prepare to proceed to the border to await orders!"

Chapter 48 Ramen and Puppet Robots

A few days later, when Tian Qing rushed back to Konoha Village, it was already the afternoon of the first day after the Chunin Exams began.

At this moment, all the candidates participating in the Chunin Exams had entered the examination halls and were taking the first written test in the classrooms. Of course, because the questions in these written tests included advanced mathematics, advanced physics, advanced chemistry, and advanced biology, the difficulty was extremely high. In addition, ninjas generally looked down on academic theory and valued practical combat and ninjutsu. Therefore, apart from Sakura Haruno, who was a top student, the other candidates could not answer a single question.

However, the purpose of this exam wasn't purely to test theoretical knowledge, but rather to assess the candidates' ability to gather information and cheat. Therefore, Konoha specifically arranged for several Chunin who had memorized the answers beforehand to infiltrate the exam hall, allowing the candidates to copy the answers. Of course, the prerequisite was that their cheating methods couldn't be discovered by the examiners; if cheating was discovered more than three times, it would be considered a failure.

Kiba Inuzuka sat among the examinees, pretending to be seriously answering the questions, while his ninja dog Akamaru perched on his head, using his height advantage to squint and sneak around with his clever eyes, secretly watching the answers of the examinees in front of him, and then using specific codes to inform Kiba Inuzuka so that Kiba Inuzuka could cheat.

As the son of the Inuzuka clan patriarch, Kiba Inuzuka is very good at cooperating with ninja dogs. His ninja dog Akamaru, although still a small puppy, is already exceptionally intelligent, and his cooperation with Kiba Inuzuka is seamless.

"Questions 1 to 5, ACADBA. Okay, I've copied down the multiple-choice questions. What are the answers to the true/false questions?" Kiba Inuzuka asked Akamaru, the ninja dog perched on his head, using a special code.

Akamaru squinted at the answers of the examinees in front of him, then gently wagged his tail, conveying the secret code unique to the Inuzuka clan.

"Yes, yes, no, no, yes, it smells so good, I really want to eat ramen... What kind of answer is this?!" Kiba Inuzuka, completely bewildered, deciphered the code sent back by the ninja dog and continued his conversation with the dog: "What's going on, Akamaru? Why did you suddenly mention ramen?! Oh, is it because you suddenly smelled the aroma of someone eating ramen outside the window, so you suddenly felt something?"

"Come on, don't get distracted! I'll definitely take you out to eat your fill after the exam, so it's all up to you now!" Kiba Inuzuka quickly reassured his ninja dog, while inwardly feeling deep resentment towards the guy eating ramen outside the window and disturbing his cheating.

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

Hidden among the foliage of a large tree outside the window, Tian Qing, his Grim Reaper mask half-lifted, was devouring a takeout bowl of ramen from Ichiraku Ramen, occasionally letting out a satisfied sigh: "Ah! It really feels so good to be full. I haven't had a proper meal these past few days, running around like this!"

Yamato cautiously advised, "Um, senior, isn't it a bad idea to eat ramen while on a surveillance mission? After all, ninjas have a good sense of smell, and it wouldn't be good if they noticed. Besides, vigorous exercise after eating isn't good for your health."

"Don't worry, it won't affect their exam!" Tian Qing patted her chest confidently. "If they dare to keep looking outside, the examiners will judge them as cheating! So even if they notice, no matter how unhappy they are, they can only keep it to themselves!"

"Wow, you win!" Yamato was speechless.

Inside the examination room, one examinee habitually stuck out his tongue, licking the air with a slightly greedy look at the aroma that ordinary people couldn't smell at all. Although he had never had any particular interest in food before, people returning to their hometown often become a little sentimental, and the aroma of ramen had unusually whetted his appetite. Perhaps he could try it sometime when he had time?

"But compared to the food, this target looks much more appetizing!" Orochimaru, disguised as an examinee, greedily licked his lips, looking at the target in the crowd. It was an examinee wearing clothes embroidered with the Uchiha clan crest, none other than Uchiha Sasuke, a descendant of the Uchiha clan!

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

In the desert of the Land of Wind, Kabuto walked alone across the vast expanse, occasionally raising his compass to check his location. In this sandstorm-swept desert, even a skilled spy like Kabuto could only rely on tools to barely ensure he wouldn't get lost.

"Tsk, what a boss who likes to boss people around! I was originally planning to take the Chunin Exams to confirm the target that Lord Orochimaru values, but instead I received a mission to come to the Land of Wind!" Kabuto muttered to himself, while secretly glancing at the Justice Warrior transformation seal on his shoulder.

Just as Ayako discovered that the Chunin Exams had been moved up, and that the Land of Wind might launch a war against Konoha ahead of schedule, she immediately used the Justice Warrior Transformation Seal on Kabuto to order him to go to the Land of Wind. Therefore, Kabuto, who had originally planned to continue participating in his third Chunin Exams in Konoha and cause some trouble, had no choice but to find an excuse to leave Konoha and head towards a certain location in the Land of Wind.

Since the Land of Wind acquired Konoha's puppet army technology more than a decade ago and transformed it into the Skynet system, it has rapidly erected countless signal towers throughout the country as signal relay stations for Skynet's mainframe to control its puppet robots. Therefore, even in this vast desert, a few signal towers that are teetering on the brink of collapse due to sandstorms can be seen here and there.

Unfortunately, the Land of Wind has a large amount of desert, and the frequent sandstorms in these deserts make the signals in the desert extremely unstable. Therefore, the puppet robots of the Land of Wind are simply unable to effectively monitor these areas when there are sandstorms. This is why Kabuto had to enter the Land of Wind from the desert, rather than from the main roads that are easily accessible by caravans.

“Coordinates XXX.XXX, that’s it, this is it!” Kabuto carefully checked the compass, then quickly began digging in the desert. Soon, he dug a large pit, at the bottom of which was a tightly closed iron door. Judging from the markings on the iron door, this was clearly a secret bunker of the Land of Wind!

Despite being called a secret bunker, it was actually just a huge iron box buried deep beneath the desert, covered with a thick layer of sand. This kind of structure, devoid of ventilation and air, was obviously not for living people, but rather for the puppet Terminator robots controlled by the Skynet system to escape sandstorms!

Chapter 49 Virus and Red Bean

"Finally found it!" A hint of joy appeared on Kabuto's face. He then concentrated his chakra in his hand and skillfully conjured an extremely sharp chakra blade. He sliced ​​open the iron box door, which was impossible for an ordinary person to open, as if cutting tofu, revealing the humanoid puppets stacked inside the iron box.

"Covered in human-like skin, they look almost exactly like strong humans. If I hadn't known they were all puppets, I would have almost thought this was some psychopath's secret corpse stash!" Kabuto chuckled to himself. After all, as a spy who was usually alone, learning to entertain himself appropriately could relieve his inner pressure and prevent him from making frequent mistakes due to excessive pressure—and for a spy, even a small mistake could cost him his life.

The puppet robots inside the iron box showed no reaction whatsoever, like a pile of mindless corpses. But Dou knew very well that it was only because the sandstorm in the desert had caused a large-scale signal interruption, which prevented these puppets from contacting the distant Skynet puppets and put them into a dormant state.

As soon as the sandstorm raging in the desert subsides, these weapon-laden killing puppets will immediately awaken and, under the control of the Skynet host, launch a frenzied attack on all enemies.

"It seems Konoha Village is quite familiar with the Sand Ninja's Skynet system, which is why they sent me infiltrated at this crucial moment! Otherwise, I wouldn't have known that the Land of Wind's Skynet system had such a weakness! It seems we can use this to our next plan to assassinate the Kazekage with Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto thought to himself, then took out a syringe filled with black liquid from his pocket, carefully inserted it into a puppet robot, and then pressed the syringe's actuator.

Instantly, the black liquid rapidly entered the puppet robot's body, and the Shadowduck virus injection was complete!

"I don't know what the point is for Lord Tianqing to have me give the puppet robot an injection, but with this, my mission is complete, right?" Kabuto said, then jumped out of the iron box and, taking advantage of the sandstorm not having completely stopped, quickly ran away into the distance.

This Shadow Virus, developed under the supervision of Ame-no-Tsuru and specifically designed to target puppet robots, appears to be a liquid, but in essence it is composed of countless extremely tiny particle puppets. Therefore, Kabuto, who is skilled in medicine but not in puppetry, has no idea what it does. In addition, the presence of the cursed seal also prevents Kabuto from doing anything to it.

After a long time, as the sandstorm in the desert gradually subsided, the puppet robots in the iron boxes gradually received signals from the distant SkyNet host and began to move one after another. However, the distant SkyNet host never noticed the black patterns on the puppets' bodies that were gradually disappearing into the puppets' interiors.

Soon, these Shadowduck viruses will gradually spread throughout the Skynet system of the Land of Wind, following the footsteps of these puppet robots, waiting for the moment when the sky clears to awaken them.

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

Meanwhile, in Konoha Village, the first written exam of the Chunin Exams was nearing its end.

Just before the exam was about to end, the bald examiner used effective rhetoric to put constant pressure on the candidates, gradually breaking down the psychological defenses of many of them and forcing them to raise their hands and admit defeat.

Finally, it was Naruto Uzumaki, the indomitable guy, who bravely stood up and declared that he would never give up, which finally brought a satisfied smile to the examiner's face, and he announced that everyone else had successfully passed the first test.

As enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted in the examination room, the person who had been standing outside finally breathed a sigh of relief, then patted his face to encourage himself and prepare for his dazzling debut.

Yes, Mitarashi Anko, a special Jonin of Konoha Village, is also the chief examiner for the second round of the Chunin Exams. In fact, not long after the first round of the exam began, she stood outside the exam room with a small package, eagerly waiting for the exam to end.

In the nearby bushes, Yamato looked at Anko with a strange expression: "That must be the examiner for the next exam. Why did he come here so early? Is he trying to observe the candidates so he can formulate corresponding strategies for the exam later?"

"It's nothing, she's just a little nervous. She's been like this since she was little, so in order to ease her nervousness, she tries to gather information in advance to prepare herself mentally." Tianqing looked at Hongdou silently and said with a nostalgic tone.

Yamato, who was standing to the side, looked at Tenharu with a strange expression and couldn't help but ask, "Um, senpai, have you ever seen Mitarashi Anko when she was a child?"

“Of course, little Hongdou was very cute back then, and now she’s grown into a beautiful woman!” Tianqing replied, looking at Hongdou with admiration.

It has to be said that Anko's current appearance is really good. Her curvaceous figure is comparable to Tsunade's. Her proud bust and flexible yet explosive waist exude a charming allure at all times. Moreover, the fishnet bodysuit tightly worn under her trench coat is like wearing stockings all over her body, making people want to lick it. Combined with Anko's heroic face, it has a special contrasting temperament.

After so many years, Anko, Orochimaru's former disciple, grew up despite the strange looks from those around her after Orochimaru's defection. She reached the peak of her personal strength and appearance. Then, in the near future, she will become an overweight middle-aged woman because she eats too many sweets and doesn't pay attention to exercise.

"After the Chunin Exams, I'll remind Anko to take care of her health!" Tianqing thought to herself, then took out her memo and wrote it down so she wouldn't forget it later.

Yamato stared blankly at Tensei, secretly shifting his original estimate of Tensei's age forward by more than ten years, changing it from "a senior member of the Anbu who returned to the scene after retiring a few years ago" to "an old senior who became famous more than ten years ago, experienced several ups and downs, returned to the village to enjoy his retirement, and finally came out of seclusion for Konoha again."

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

P.S. This is my first update, albeit belatedly. I spent the whole day playing Command & Conquer 3 with the top student. To be honest, Kane's bald head and Yuri's bald head really do look quite alike.

Chapter Fifty: The Second Exam Begins!

The second round of the Konoha Chunin Exams was held at Konoha's 44th Training Ground, a place known as the Forest of Death. There are many similar training grounds within the Land of Fire, used normally for ninja's combat training, but easily modified in wartime to become defensive positions filled with traps.

"What huge trees! I can't believe there's a place like this near the village!" Naruto Uzumaki looked up at the towering, dense trees in the distance and exclaimed in surprise. After all, as a genin, Naruto had only been to the Land of Waves once, so he had never seen anything like it before.

"This forest isn't just big!" Red Bean, standing at the front, replied, "This circular training ground, about 20 kilometers in diameter, contains rivers and a large number of trees. Moreover, the forest is home to many dangerous creatures such as giant bloodsucking insects and large carnivorous animals. It was specially scattered throughout the forest by Konoha Village as a test for all the examinees!"

"Huh, there are giant bugs too?" Upon hearing this, Sakura's scalp tingled, and she looked like she should never have come here. However, after glancing silently at Sasuke beside her, she forced herself to cheer up and continued listening to Anko's introduction.

"Next, each of you must sign a consent form. Only when all three members of your team have signed the consent form can you enter the examination room in front of you to take the exam. Now hurry up and get the forms!" Hongdou continued to shout to the examinees.

"Huh? Didn't we already sign the form to participate in the Chunin Exams before the exam?" Naruto Uzumaki asked loudly, "Why do we have to sign it again now?"

Looking at the many confused examinees in front of her, Hongdou smiled heartily: "Because the upcoming exam might be fatal, I'm going to have you sign a waiver beforehand. That way, if you die during the exam, it won't cause any trouble like medical disputes!"

Huh? Could I die? Sakura, who was already wavering, hesitated again. However, when she saw Sasuke handing over three application forms, she gritted her teeth and signed her name on the forms.

Damn it, I'm going all out! I'll risk my life for my idol, what's death compared to that? This is the ultimate level of a brainless fan. All those fans who go crazy getting abortions for their idols, spending money to buy trending topics, and hiring online trolls to whitewash their idols have to admit defeat in front of me!

Looking at the signed consent forms in her hand, Mitarashi Anko nodded in satisfaction and continued to introduce the venue for the exam.

"This circular training ground has many entrances. You will all enter the examination room simultaneously from different entrances. At the center of this circular training ground, about 10 kilometers from all the entrances, stands the finish line of this exam: a tall tower. All candidates must undergo a 5-day wilderness survival in this dangerous training ground, starting simultaneously from different entrances, and reach the finish line within the specified time."

Then, Hongdou gestured to the other examiners to distribute the exam props to the candidates: scrolls with different words written on them: "In addition, to encourage the candidates to fight against each other, each of your teams will receive a scroll with words written on it. Only by collecting two different scrolls and bringing them intact to the tower at the finish line can you officially pass this exam. Do you understand?!"

"Understood!" the candidates responded sparsely, and then followed the other examiners one after another, heading towards their respective entrances.

Hidden in the bushes some distance from the examination hall, Yamato stood up, dusted himself off, and said to Tensei beside him, "Senior, now that Naruto and the others have entered the practical examination hall, our mission can be considered complete. I believe the examiners will ensure their safety. Why don't we just go to the tower in the training ground and wait for them? If we continue to follow them like this, it's easy to cause misunderstandings for the other examinees."

"You go to the tower first, I still have some things to do here!" Tian Qing stood up quietly, then silently slipped into the training ground and ran off in a certain direction.

Tianqing was quite familiar with this training ground. After confirming that it would be used as the examination venue for the Chunin Exams, Tianqing took the time to enter the forest beforehand and set up miniature surveillance puppets in many corners so that she could get to Naruto and the others as soon as possible.

It wasn't that Amehari didn't want to continue following and protecting Naruto and the others. As Yamato said, their clandestine surveillance was easily detected in a forest teeming with enemies. It could also easily lead other examinees to suspect that Konoha had orchestrated something, causing them to doubt the fairness of the Chunin Exams.

Therefore, Tian Qing had no choice but to adopt this compromise to ensure her surveillance of the entire forest.

"This training ground is indeed a bit too big! Even with the worst-case scenario in mind, I probably won't be able to get there until a few minutes after I discover Orochimaru's whereabouts!" Tianqing silently estimated the time needed and headed deeper into the forest: "Right now, I just hope that I can find Orochimaru as soon as the exam starts!"

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

At one of the entrances to the training ground, the examiner looked down at his watch, preparing to open the door for the three candidates behind him who were wearing Konoha headbands.

"Little Leaf, are you feeling a little nervous right now? Don't be afraid, your big brother will protect you!" Akado Kai said in a gentle voice, so that the newly graduated genin next to him wouldn't give up on the exam prematurely due to excessive fear.