Konoha: On the night of the massacre, I summoned Inuyasha.

Indeed, unlike veteran ninjas like Ibiki, the young Anko might not be able to hold her own in the Chunin Exams, a joint exam involving the entire ninja world.

That's why Kakashi was forced to work.

Recalling Kakashi's impatient expression, Yue quickly imagined many things.

"However, Training Ground No. 44..."

A strange smile flickered across Yue's lips.

"That seems to be the Forest of Death, doesn't it?"

Even the Death Forest outside of Konoha Village has almost been turned into a safe zone by me.

Is the Forest of Death in Konoha still dangerous?

Yue's expression was somewhat strange. In his eyes, the Death Forest, which had been reduced to nothing but rabbits, was no longer a suitable testing ground for the exam.

In fact, since Yue had already given up on the monster-hunting area of ​​the Death Forest, she was unaware that recently, in order to make the Death Forest dangerous again and a suitable testing ground.

The Jonin of Konoha expended tremendous effort to capture a large number of wild beasts and some ninja beasts from extremely distant places.

This made these guys suffer terribly from all the running around.

After all, some forests relatively close to Konoha have already been largely cleared by Yue.

Even in more distant places, the moon's footprints are everywhere.

It must have taken Konoha a tremendous amount of effort to rearrange the Forest of Death into a suitable testing ground.

The Third Hokage and Danzo, among others, once believed that Orochimaru must be plotting something to wipe out the powerful ninja beasts and ordinary animals surrounding Konoha.

Perhaps it was some kind of horrific, bloody experiment.

This made the entire Hidden Leaf Village even more wary of Orochimaru.

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

"Mr. Itachi, is it alright for us to come to this village openly and honestly like this?"

Isn't this a bit too blatant...?

In the second preliminary round, two men dressed as Iwa ninja stood beside an Iwa ninja who had already fainted.

The slightly taller man spoke with a hint of surprise in his tone.

"Pain sent us here to find out the Five Kage's purpose and to track down Orochimaru, who might appear in this Chunin Exams, which is actually the Five Kage Tournament."

Another short man, Iwashinobu, spoke up, his tone indifferent.

"Even so, I was still a little apprehensive about invading the village like this."

After all, this is the village where You, Itachi, once lived, and it's widely recognized as the strongest ninja village in the ninja world.

The tall Iwatobi spoke, his tone still one of shock.

"Alright, Kisame, stop with the nonsense."

"To be honest, what amazes me even more is that Orochimaru possesses his current power."

A strange, inexplicable look flashed in the eyes of the short Iwa ninja.

He knew perfectly well that his companion's so-called shock was nothing more than lip service.

Chapter 145: The Overwhelming Power and Infinite Loop from Itachi Uchiha

However, the fact that the guy named Orochimaru has managed to get to where he is today is something that the short Iwa ninja could hardly imagine.

"I was quite surprised, or rather, somewhat horrified, about this."

I vaguely remember that Orochimaru only defected from the organization after being defeated by Itachi.

The tall Iwa ninja Kisame still spoke in a surprised tone, but unlike before, this time there was genuine surprise in Kisame's eyes.

"Our goal is to uncover the Five Kage's plans."

And, to gather information about Orochimaru, who might appear in this village.

After all, such an obvious alliance of the ninja world...

If Orochimaru is truly the one who wreaked havoc throughout the ninja world, then he certainly wouldn't miss this Chunin Exams.

"Before that, let's finish this Chunin Exam."

"Kisame, take this Iwa ninja with you, it's time to set off."

The short, rock-dwelling Itachi whispered and had already taken the lead, heading in a predetermined direction.

"How interesting, Lord Orochimaru."

Kisame chuckled softly, lifted the Iwa ninja beneath his feet, and followed Itachi.

………………

"Hey, Sasuke, Naruto!"

"You guys seem to have absolutely no sense of crisis!"

In the Forest of Death, Naruto and Sasuke strolled leisurely, one on each side.

Caught in the middle, Sakura, seeing the two of them completely unprepared, loudly complained.

"Well, aside from Yue and those guys, what's there to be afraid of in an exam like this?"

Even that bastard Yue, Sasuke and I combined could easily beat him to a pulp.

Naruto spoke casually, with a confident expression.

"Except for Yue, the rest of the genin are all worthless."

Sasuke gave Sakura a cool glance, his face cold and aloof.

"While that's true, I feel like you guys are being too relaxed."

Sakura nodded in agreement with Sasuke, but her expression still showed some hesitation.

"Also, Naruto, you idiot, you should just face reality sooner rather than later. There's a powerful ninja like Tsuki."

Don't even mention adding Sasuke.

Even if you team up with the Sage of Six Paths, you still absolutely cannot win.

boom!

Sakura punched Naruto on the head and said fiercely.

"I will definitely defeat the moon!"

The pale-faced boy looked defiant, then Sakura hit him on the head several more times.

Sasuke watched the farce unfold before him, his expression remaining cold, though a hint of tenderness flickered in his eyes.

In any case, in this life he has the moon and the companions in the Youth Cultivation Team, so his mentality is much more normal than in the original history.

"Who?"

Suddenly, Sasuke's expression changed, and he looked in one direction.

This immediately startled Sakura, who stopped torturing Naruto. Even Naruto raised his head slightly in alarm, though the large bump on his head looked rather comical.

"There's no one here, Sasuke."

Aren't you being too sensitive?

Naruto grimaced and touched the bump on his head. Sasuke looked in the direction of the tree, but there was nothing else there except for a large area of ​​trees.

"Naruto, you idiot, don't be so careless!"

Since Sasuke has discovered something, it can't be that simple.

Sakura looked warily in the direction where there seemed to be no one, her movements tense.

"If you are unwilling to come out voluntarily, then even if you are killed, do not cry in the Pure Land."

With a slight sneer on his face, Sasuke had already formed hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The next moment, a terrifying fireball was spewed from Sasuke's mouth, and then rapidly expanded into a huge fireball the size of a house.

After swallowing everything in its path, it exploded with a deafening roar.

At the same time, two figures darted out of the flames and landed in front of Sasuke and the others.

"what?

There really is someone here?

"Is that a headband from an Earth Ninja?"

Naruto looked at the two ninjas, one tall and one short, with surprise in his eyes.

"It's Iwagakure ninja, you idiot."

The Iwagakure ninja from Iwagakure Village in the Land of Earth!

Hearing Naruto's words, Sakura's tense mood immediately relaxed, and she then punched Naruto on the head.

As Naruto screamed in agony, the already large bag swelled up even more.

"Funny kids?"

"I didn't expect you to be able to find us."

Kisame glanced at Naruto and Sakura with interest, then smiled at Sasuke.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Itachi beside him, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

If Itachi hadn't revealed a bit of his aura just now, even with Sasuke's current strength, he wouldn't have been able to detect them.

As for whether it was intentional or unintentional...

Ah, after all, he's Itachi's only younger brother.

"I never expected that there would be two such strong individuals among you guys."

"He was completely unharmed by my ninjutsu!"