Double-transformation: I, Sakura Haruno! Will crush the pirates!

After listening to the report from the ANBU ninja, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out his pipe from under his desk and lit it.

Recently, due to everyone's exams, he has been under increasing pressure, and he has started smoking more frequently.

"Activate the village's protective barrier to its maximum, double the number of guards, and send someone to summon Jiraiya back to the village!"

A series of targeted orders were issued by Hiruzen Sarutobi. The ANBU member kneeling before him nodded and vanished in an instant.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and went to the window, gazing at the scenery he had protected for over twenty years.

I never imagined that my momentary leniency more than ten years ago would put the village in danger.

His aged heart gradually grew cold, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's killing intent surged.

In any case, Orochimaru's actions this time have crossed his bottom line.

Even if it were his most beloved disciple, it would be against the village that Hiruzen Sarutobi had dedicated his life to.

He would kill him without hesitation, showing no mercy whatsoever!

"But this would mean that the security forces for the Chunin Exams would be insufficient."

In the office shrouded in murderous intent, a deep voice rang out against the tide.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's sharp gaze swept over his old friend sitting on the sofa: "Did you do something, Danzo?"

"Hiruzen, you know me. I would never do anything to harm Konoha!"

Leaning on his cane, Danzo Shimura leaned back on the sofa with a relaxed and contented expression.

The only visible, dim eye turned towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"That's best!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi withdrew his gaze, choosing to trust his old buddy nonetheless.

However, the current multinational joint examination cannot afford to fail, and ninjas are needed both inside and outside the examination hall to maintain order.

He had already deployed his original secret forces to ensure the safety of the village, so the area inside the examination hall would have to be...

"Danzo, you are hereby reinstated as the leader of Root. You and Root are responsible for maintaining order in the examination hall!" Hiruzen Sarutobi took off his pipe and exhaled a puff of smoke. "You should know the importance of this exam. There can be absolutely no mistakes."

Sitting on the sofa, Danzo smiled slightly, barely perceptible, upon realizing that he had achieved his goal.

He gripped the handle tightly with each of his five fingers and stood up, leaning on his cane.

"Don't worry, Hiruzen, I'll take care of this."

"But what about those two geniuses from the Aburame and Yamanaka families before..."

The implied meaning in Danzo's tone was quite obvious.

With this little money, it's difficult for me to do anything for you!

During this special period, Hiruzen Sarutobi was held hostage by Danzo and had no choice but to agree.

"I can grant you the approval, but you must not plant the seed of 'speaking evil' in them!"

The cunning and shrewd Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally wouldn't allow Danzo to achieve his goals so smoothly, so he added a restriction to him.

"can!"

After a moment of silence, Danzo Shimura nodded in agreement.

It's simply about not planting the seeds of future trouble through one's tongue!

With Shimura Danzo's brainwashing...cough cough...personal charisma, he could easily take down two mere geniuses from the ninja clans!

"Since they both gave them to me, shouldn't Sakura Haruno also...?"

"How about you let me join your roots tomorrow?"

"Is there such a good thing?"

"Get out, now!!!"

Chapter 133 The Preliminary Rounds Begin

"Sakura-chan!"

Inside the central tower, Ino, seeing the pink-haired girl's figure, rushed towards her.

"Ino...it smells so bad."

Sakura twitched her nose, and one sentence left Ino speechless.

After a long day of travel, they were attacked by several groups of ninjas from other countries along the way.

Putting aside the sour smell of Ino's dried sweat, there were also remnants from when she burrowed into various miasma swamps, rotten wood and mud to escape the enemy's pursuit.

The various strange smells mixed together, and the person looked like a golden retriever that had just run wild outside the village, extremely dirty and messy.

"Wait, where did you take a bath in that Death Forest environment?!"

As Ino approached Sakura, she also caught a whiff of the fragrance emanating from Sakura's hair.

Instantly, those blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, ninjutsu, isn't it amazing~"

Sakura glanced sideways at Leviathan perched on her shoulder and shrugged at Ino.

"You wretched Sakura, how dare you say I stink! I'll get you dirty!"

A mischievous glint flashed in Ino's clear eyes as she opened her arms and pounced on Sakura.

Sakura uses her Observation Haki to predict Ino's every move and cleverly uses her paper drawing to dodge Ino's hungry tiger pounce.

While the two girls were playing around, all the examinees who had passed through the Forest of Death had gathered, and the Jonin leading the teams from various ninja villages had also arrived at the second floor of the tower.

Amidst the commotion, a group led by the host, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and accompanied by representatives from the three major ninja villages, Onoki, Rasa, and Darui, ascended the high platform.

Sakura quickly stopped what she was doing and went with Ino to the inside of the hall to meet up.

The candidates' formation was quite large. Including the group that was killed in the initial attack on Sakura, there were still 65 candidates left to enter the third exam after the second exam.

Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed and began a long speech on the high platform, as he had developed a fondness for reminiscing about the past as he got older.

The key point is that as the host, he talked about Konoha's past, and the two Kage actually listened attentively. No wonder Onoki and Rasa were able to become Kage; they're really good at interpersonal relationships!

"Ahem... Lord Hokage, leave the rest to me!"

Seeing that his boss showed no sign of stopping, the examiner for the third exam stepped forward.

After all, the time it takes for a Jonin to earn tens of thousands of taels of silver is extremely limited. Being an examiner is a job where the rewards are disproportionate to the effort. They are not happy to waste their time on such a meaningless thing.

Sakura's eyes lit up when she saw someone interrupt Hiruzen Sarutobi's spellcasting.

Moonlight Gale, well done! Just for what you did today, I'll make sure you live to see the next biography.

"Ahem, alright then, I'll leave the rest to you, Gale!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat and retreated off the stage with a hint of regret on his face.

"Before the third round begins, there is one more chance to quit. Quitting now will not affect your teammates. Does anyone want to quit?"

While coughing, Moonlight Gale announced the pre-exam instructions for the third exam to the candidates.

His gaze darted back and forth between the records in his hands and the candidates below.

"I abstain!"

Kabuto Yakushi, standing in the crowd, chose to abstain, just as he had done in the past.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was on the high platform, was paying extra attention to the exam because of Orochimaru, and immediately noticed this guy's information.

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently took a drag of his cigarette and handed a document to Danzo.

Danzo, understanding his meaning, quietly disappeared without alerting anyone.

"Yes, there are still sixty-four candidates. The preliminary round will be conducted in pairs."

Seeing that no one else would abstain, Moonlight Gale announced the rules for the third preliminary test and turned on the electronic screen hanging high at the back of the examination room.

Inside the examination hall at this time, there were still five squads from Konoha, three squads from Iwagakure, three squads from Kumogakure, two squads from Sunagakure, and several genin from other minor ninja villages.

Sakura glanced casually at the big screen, completely unconcerned about who her opponent was.

Of all those present, only Gaara, the Jinchūriki, could command her respect by releasing the One-Tailed Beast.

Even the others, like Kurotsuchi and Samui, who were sent in by the Iwakage and Kumogakure to harass Sakura, are still no match for her right now.

As for Naruto, he still has a long way to go before he can control the Nine-Tails, and it is too early to consider the Nine-Tails as part of his fighting force.

"Match 1: Rock Lee vs. Red Earth!"

Looking at the results on the screen, Moonlight Gale called for the candidates to enter the examination hall.

Sakura, accompanied by Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino, retreated to the suspended walkways on either side.

"It's that guy with the thick eyebrows again. Who do you think will win this time?"

Like Sakura, Sasuke leaned on the railing with both hands, his gaze slightly turned to the girl beside him.

"It's most likely Xiao Li. That master and apprentice pair are hiding a very tricky technique."

Sakura brushed aside her loose hair, seemingly already seeing the outcome.

"That guy, how is that possible!"

Sasuke found it hard to believe that this guy had almost no chakra and had even been defeated by him before.

To be able to defeat a ninja with such a powerful chakra aura as perceived by Observation Haki.

"Don't rely too much on Observation Haki. Battles are dynamic, and there are many instances of the weak defeating the strong, not to mention..."

Sakura curled her lips into a smile, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense, which made Sasuke, standing to the side, grit his teeth in frustration.

Riddler, get out of Konoha!

In the middle of the field, Locke Lee took a deep breath, slowly turned around, and first exchanged a passionate look with Kay.

Then, the boy with the green watermelon-shaped haircut turned his head to Sakura, his face flushed, and gave her a flirtatious wink.

"Well..."

Sakura shivered and pulled Naruto aside to block the heart before it floated over.

"Ugh~"

Naruto and Sakura both bent over at the same time, leaning against the railing and gagging.

Sasuke, standing to the side, sighed helplessly as he watched the two of them. Ino squatted down next to Sakura, patting her back to help her catch her breath.

"Akatsuchi, you better fight well, give those guys from Konoha a taste of... ugh ugh ugh!"

The energetic little princess of Iwagakure, perched on the railing, was about to make a shocking statement.

Huang Tu, the Jonin leading the team, felt his scalp tingle upon hearing his daughter's words and quickly covered her mouth, pulling her down from the railing.

"Black Earth, shut up!"

Kurotsuchi then pouted and looked at Sakura on the floating corridor opposite with a cute but fierce expression.

At the center of the field, Moonlight Gale gave the order.

Xiao Li quickly got into position and charged towards the red earth.

The towering Akatsuchi formed hand seals and spat out a large amount of soil from his mouth, forming a rock giant.

—Earth Escape Technique: The Rigid Style.

The Rock Giant, a formidable force capable of both offense and defense, wreaked havoc on the field, raising clouds of dust.

No matter which angle Xiao Li tried to get closer to Chi Tu from, he would be pushed away by the stone giant's thick arms.

"It's no use, you can't break through my defenses, just admit defeat!"

The honest and simple-minded Chi Tu tried to persuade them to surrender.

After all, he has rarely made any offensive moves since the start of the war, hoping to deter the Konoha ninjas with absolute defense.

Unexpectedly, the other party was also a very determined ninja.

If the fighting continues like this, he might have to use offensive spells, so to avoid casualties, he could only offer a warning.

"No, my youth won't be so easily defeated!"