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Raikage's Office.
As soon as Kazuki walked into the Raikage's office, several hostile gazes turned toward him.
Ignoring the unfriendly stares, Kazuki went straight to the chair designated for the Konoha representative and sat down. Without hesitation, he spoke first.
"Raikage, you called everyone here—did something go wrong with the exam? Why was it terminated early?"
"Kazuki, don't you think you should first look at yourself for the problem?"
Before the Raikage could respond, Chiyo couldn't hold back and lashed out.
"What kind of mentality drives you to mercilessly kill shinobi from other villages during an exam?!"
The thought of Baki's death made Chiyo furious. A key figure groomed by the village had just died in such a senseless way—who wouldn't be upset?
"Can't handle losing?"
Kazuki smirked disdainfully, then glanced at the representatives from the other villages.
"If you can't handle losing, you should've said so earlier. Konoha could've just sent two random shinobi instead of wasting my time."
Killing during an exam? Wasn't that normal? Why were they suddenly acting so hypocritical?
"Raikage, if that's how things are, then the exam is over as far as we're concerned. Konoha won't be participating in whatever comes next. Farewell, everyone."
With that, Kazuki stood up and left without hesitation.
If it weren't for the fact that this exam was an invitation from Kumogakure—one that Konoha couldn't easily refuse—Tsunade wouldn't have even bothered sending anyone.
Now, since they wanted to play hypocritical games, Konoha was done. They could do whatever they wanted.
"Kazuki, what do you mean by this?!"
The Raikage, who had been sitting back calmly waiting for the drama to unfold, abruptly stood up in shock.
He hadn't expected Kazuki to be so decisive—just leaving like that without a second thought.
"From the moment you all privately decided to end the exam without Konoha's input, it lost all meaning. You can play your little games by yourselves. I have no interest in entertaining a bunch of trash with hide-and-seek or make-believe."
Waving his hand, Kazuki disappeared through the door.
…He really left?
And called their shinobi trash?
No interest in playing childish games?
The representatives of the four great villages froze for a few seconds before their fury erupted.
The Raikage's face darkened as he slammed the table.
"This exam's failure is entirely Sunagakure's responsibility!!!"
Blaming Kazuki? Impossible.
He had already declared Konoha the winner of the second stage.
And Kazuki was right—they had excluded Konoha from the decision to end the exam early. If they weren't going to treat Konoha seriously, then fine. Konoha wouldn't waste time with them.
"Responsibility? For what? You were the one who announced the early termination, Raikage!"
Chiyo was no pushover either—she wasn't taking the blame for this.
The representatives from Iwagakure and Kirigakure remained silent, watching the chaos unfold.
Konoha had left. Chiyo refused to take responsibility.
All that was left was for Kumogakure to become a laughingstock.
Once word got out, this would be an absolute humiliation.
'Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have listened to that old hag!'
The Raikage was so furious he smashed the desk. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to kick Chiyo to death.
But he couldn't act recklessly. Attacking Chiyo would be tantamount to declaring war on Sunagakure.
The same went for the other villages.
Even though Kazuki had turned around and left, taking his team back to Konoha, the Raikage couldn't do anything about it—unless Kumogakure wanted to start a war with Konoha right now.
"Fine. I'll announce the truth to the world. If Sunagakure can't handle losing people, don't drag Kumogakure into it!!!"
If she wouldn't take the blame, then they'd just hurt each other.
Kumogakure would lose some face, but Sunagakure would be the ones who truly lost—both in strength and reputation.
And besides, 'their' people hadn't died.
"Everyone, you're dismissed!!!"
Suppressing his rage, the Raikage coldly ordered them to leave.
No way was he letting this black mark fall on Kumogakure.
At the right moment, he'd even reveal how Sasori had turned the Third Kazekage into a puppet.
Let's see how Sunagakure deals with 'that' mess.
If they wouldn't take responsibility, then they could suffer the humiliation instead.
---
Meanwhile…
"Let's go. We're heading home."
Shisui. "???"
Kakashi. "???"
When Kazuki returned to their quarters and announced they were returning to Konoha, both of them had the same reaction.
Unfortunately, Kazuki wasn't going to explain why.
They just had to follow orders.
They were leaving immediately. Whatever came next, Konoha wouldn't be involved.
The other villages could do whatever they wanted.
Kazuki wasn't joking.
The moment the four villages had privately decided to end the second exam without Konoha's input, he had already prepared to leave.
And then Chiyo had the nerve to question him?
Perfect.
'Game over.'
Flip the table and go home.
What kind of joke of an exam was this? Utterly meaningless.
It wasn't Konoha's idea in the first place. If anyone was humiliated, it was Kumogakure.
If the Raikage was unhappy, he could take it up with Chiyo.
If they could exclude Konoha from such an important decision, then Konoha wouldn't waste time with them.
They could play by themselves.
His mission for this trip was already complete.
Intimidation? Check.
Selling intel on the Akatsuki? Done.
Now, it was time to go home peacefully.
Though they had many questions, Kakashi and Shisui quickly packed up and followed Kazuki out of Kumogakure, setting off on the journey back.
---
Raikage's Office – Later.
"Lord Raikage, after leaving the office, the Konoha team immediately departed the village."
"Damn it!!!"
Hearing the report, the Raikage smashed his desk in anger.
The newly replaced desk was destroyed again—his replacement rate was even worse than Tsunade's.
He had thought Konoha would at least save face for diplomacy's sake.
Leaving like this made 'everyone' look bad.
Surely they'd try to smooth things over, right?
But Kazuki didn't care at all.
He just left.
And now Kumogakure was supposed to save face?
"Lord Raikage, should we intercept them?"
"Intercept them on what grounds?!"
The Raikage roared.
"If everyone wants to leave, are we supposed to forcibly detain them?!"
Ever since the Akatsuki intel had been revealed, the Raikage knew the exam had lost its original purpose.
Then Kazuki killed two people.
Then Chiyo stirred up trouble.
Now, the whole thing was ruined.
Compared to this farce of an exam, everyone was more concerned about the Akatsuki.
Besides, as Kazuki had said—Kumogakure had initiated this exam. If they were embarrassed, it was their own fault.
Chiyo was the problem, so why had he listened to her?
Sunagakure had lost people. Kumogakure hadn't.
Forcibly detaining the other villages' teams?
The Raikage might have a temper, but he wasn't stupid.
That would be a direct provocation to four great villages—potentially even sparking a war.
And even if they tried, could they actually stop them?
The memory of Kazuki's eyes and that golden skeletal figure made the Raikage wish he could storm Konoha and take all the Uchiha for himself.
'Why does Konoha get all these powerful bloodline clans while we don't?!'