In the Hokage's office.
The latest intelligence from the Land of Rain was stacked in piles on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.
The papers were thick as a full research document, and the contents were, without exaggeration, more absurd than any war intelligence.
Hiruzen picked up the report, his brows furrowed into a tight knot, and remained silent for a full half-minute.
Finally, he slowly read the summary aloud:
"...In short, Hanzo has sealed off the entire Land of Rain, halted all diplomacy, reconnaissance, and trade... and is now focusing entirely on hatching Ninja Beast Eggs?"
The three Anbu members nodded in unison, their expressions practically screaming disbelief.
Hiruzen was silent for a long time.
He closed the documents and sighed:
"And how does Danzo explain this? He insisted on placing the miniaturized Tailed Beast experiment in the Land of Rain."
"Now the test subjects haven't been recovered, but Hanzo suddenly establishes something called... a Pokemon League?"
The Anbu: "...We don't understand that either."
They truly didn't understand.
Experimental Tailed Beasts turning into Pokémon?
Ninja Beast Eggs hatching everywhere?
Mysterious creatures altering the terrain in the Land of Rain?
Hanzo suddenly abolishing Amegakure?
...
Root Base
Danzo was angrily slamming his desk.
"Just as I thought!"
He glared at the Land of Rain report, gritting his teeth. "That old fox Hanzo stole our experimental results!"
In Danzo's mind, everything immediately made sense:
After obtaining the miniaturized Tailed Beast results, Hanzo betrayed them and established the Pokemon League alone.
"That bastard Hiruzen, he approved all of this!"
Danzo was so furious his veins bulged.
Thinking this, he strode quickly toward the Hokage's office.
As soon as he pushed the door open, Hiruzen looked up at Danzo.
"How do you explain what's happening in the Land of Rain?"
"Hiruzen, how do you explain this?"
They spoke almost simultaneously.
The air froze for three seconds before both fell silent.
Danzo slammed the table: "Are you trying to shift the blame onto me?!"
Hiruzen didn't even look up: "Do you still have the records for your Root's miniaturized Tailed Beast experiment?"
Danzo: "Don't tell me you didn't get the experimental data?"
Hiruzen finally looked up, smiling without speaking.
"Danzo, you're not going to tell me you didn't even keep backup copies of the experiment?"
Danzo's pupils contracted.
He truly didn't have complete records.
Half a minute of dead silence passed.
Hiruzen finally couldn't contain his anger:
"So! Danzo! What have you been doing?!"
Coming to his senses, Danzo glared furiously at Hiruzen: "You, Hiruzen, you're actually the best at passing the buck!"
"You've always had the 'non-stick pan' quality from start to finish!"
Hiruzen slammed the table back: "Right now, I am the Hokage! Please answer me, do you have the complete data for the Tailed Beast miniaturization?"
Danzo roared: "I don't have the data, and you'll regret speaking to me in that tone!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he shoved the door open hard, preparing to leave.
"Wait, Danzo."
Hiruzen spoke coldly: "Regardless, from now on... your team needs to recover the Ninja Beast Egg data as soon as possible."
Danzo stopped, snorted coldly, and stormed off with a flick of his sleeve.
Watching his old comrade's departing back, Hiruzen rubbed his temples and slowly pulled out the Ninja Beast Egg he was hatching from under his desk.
He muttered under his breath, "Danzo is becoming increasingly difficult to control... How much of what he says is actually true?"
"Did he secretly take the Ninja Beast Egg research data?"
He grew more uncertain whether he was being kept in the dark.
"Better ask Orochimaru first."
...
Meanwhile, Danzo, who had left, was also lost in doubt.
The anomalies in the Land of Rain were too significant.
Hanzo wasn't the type to do such things.
Danzo gritted his teeth, "Could it be... Hiruzen already obtained the experimental data? Then deliberately destroyed the evidence and shifted the blame onto me?"
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Hiruzen clearly had already acquired the data and then destroyed it.
Now, with a quick maneuver, he was making me handle this mess?
"I need to ask Orochimaru what Hiruzen is really planning."
For the Ninja School assessment, the second and third rounds of the finals were combined this time.
They would proceed with a two-round elimination bracket via random draws.
Simply put, the second round would begin with a draw to determine the matches between two opponents.
Winners advance, losers are eliminated.
The third round would then have a fresh elimination draw.
The grand arena of the Fire Daimyo's estate was now buzzing with excitement.
For this second round, the Daimyo himself had ordered the opening of the most luxurious viewing stands, even inviting nobles and ninja from neighboring countries to spectate.
After all, this was the first time in Hidden Leaf Village's history that students holding Ninja Beast Eggs would compete on the same stage as this year's Chunin Exam qualifiers.
A clash of the old and the new.
The massive stone arena at the center of the venue gleamed under the sunlight,
The surrounding stands were already packed with spectators.
"Hidden Leaf has fifteen participants this time?"
"Twelve are students? The other three are this year's promoted Chunin?"
"I heard they all have some kind of Ninja Beast Eggs..."
"What kind of strange new system is this?"
Discussions rose and fell.
As a seasoned Jonin appeared, his voice echoed through the arena:
"First match: Minato Namikaze versus Arashi!!"
The audience immediately stirred:
"Arashi? Seems like a newly promoted Chunin, right?"
"Who's Minato Namikaze? Never heard of him."
"This match might be too boring?"
Amid the audience's anticipation and confusion, a blond-haired youth stood at the edge of the competition ground.
Minato Namikaze looked up at the vast arena,
Sunlight shone on his face, reflecting a genuine smile.
Not nervous, not afraid, but... excited.
It made his smile particularly dazzling.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the venue, the atmosphere was subtly tense.
Kushina Uzumaki, dressed in a bright red kimono, was inching her way toward Mikoto Uchiha.
She wanted to greet Mikoto, ask how she had been, and even share insights about Vulpix's growth.
However, Mikoto remained steadfastly by Fugaku Uchiha's side.
No matter how close Kushina got, Mikoto maintained a polite yet distant demeanor.
Kushina muttered quietly, "Why won't she acknowledge me..."
Fugaku completely ignored Kushina's presence and instead instructed Mikoto, "Mikoto, our goal is to focus on the competition."
Mikoto nodded gently, entirely unaware of Kushina's disappointed gaze.
Interestingly, at their feet, two Vulpix were already interacting warmly.
Their fluffy tails lightly brushed against each other, like two children bumping fists in greeting.
Kushina's Ice Vulpix let out a soft whimper, while Mikoto's Fire Six-Tails extended a tiny paw to gently pat the other's head.
Elsewhere.
On the outskirts of the sealed-off Land of Rain.
Orochimaru cast a peculiar gaze upon the nation enveloped by towering ancient trees.
He hadn't expected the Land of Rain to complete its national lockdown in such a short time.
Now, aside from three mysterious Gyms, there were no other means to enter the Land of Rain.
Hidden Leaf Village's Grass Gym.
The Rock Ninjas' Rock Gym.
The Sand Ninjas' Water Gym.
These three Gyms essentially served as three checkpoints, blocking all channels of internal and external communication.
However, Orochimaru was an exception, for he could freely enter the newly transformed Land of Rain.
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