"It's over. I'm doomed!"
After the first exam, frustrated Ay, angrily walked out of the classroom.
Under the care of a shameless invigilator, Ay's cheating attempt failed, and he could only bluff his way through the paper.
Ay could already imagine the furious look his father would have when he found out that the team of lower-level ninjas assembled by the village to restore its reputation was stopped after the first round because of him.
Not only would he get beaten up, but he might also be locked in his father's study every day to cram theoretical knowledge.
Thinking about it, Ay, who didn't like studying, couldn't help but shudder!
With a heavy heart, accompanied by his two teammates, Ay forced a smile as he returned to the accommodation arranged for them by Konoha.
After enduring his father's inquiries and admonitions, Ay, in a bad mood, returned to his room to rest early.
The next morning, as Ay stepped out of his room, preparing to face the impending storm of reprimands, he unexpectedly received news that he had passed the first round of exams.
Turning worry into joy, Ay's expression showed surprise.
Did all the candidates this year do so poorly? Even his hastily written answers managed to pass.
In fact, the reason Ay's haphazard answers passed was very simple.
His Raikage of a father!
With just this one factor, Ay wouldn't be eliminated as long as he could write his name on his paper.
Even if Konoha's relationship with the other villages wasn't great, the most basic respect still had to be shown.
To eliminate Ay, they would have to wait until the second round's combat and teamwork assessment.
Unaware that he only passed the first round because of his father's influence, Ay's face showed a mix of gratitude and joy.
The toughest written exam was over, and all that remained were the survival and teamwork assessments for the second round.
Thinking about it, Ay realized he'd be randomly killing opponents.
Feeling more confident, Ay smiled again, regaining his self-assurance.
Encouraged and admonished by his father, Ay left with his two teammates for the location of the second-round exam.
The second-round exam, assessing the survival and teamwork abilities of lower-level ninjas, took place in the Valley of Death outside Konoha.
Guided by an examiner, Ay's team arrived early at the large iron gate leading into the Death Forest.
Coincidentally, as Ay approached the gate, the teams from Iwagakure and Sunagakure also arrived at around the same time.
Rasa, Onoki's son, and Ay, representing the young generation leaders of Suna, Iwa, and Kumo, converged.
Perhaps due to a connection between powerful individuals, the three leaders, each standing at the head of their teams, looked at each other.
Kitsuchi: Those guys from Kumogakure won't be easy to deal with!
Ay: Is that the Tsuchikage's son? I really want to fight him!
Rasa: I can't lose to them for the sake of the village!
"Oh ho ho! We must continue to work hard for the passionate youth!"
"Work hard! We must win first place!"
Standing next to the two hot-blooded monsters, Minato touched the back of his head with a headache and smiled apologetically in front of everyone's gaze.
Konoha idiots!
Looking at Duy, who was wearing a green jumpsuit, and the vibrant Nawaki beside him, many candidates from other villages complained in their hearts.
"Um...everyone is looking at us." Minato reminded with a smile as he reached out and patted the two teammates beside him.
"Minato! Thank you for your support!" After receiving Minato's reminder, Duy also looked at the place in front where the candidates gathered, and confidently gave a thumbs up, showing his shining white teeth.
"Thank you for your support! We will work hard!" Nawaki on the side, along with Duy, also raised his right hand with a passionate look and gave a thumbs up.
Slapping his right hand on his forehead, Minato turned around silently, facing away from the other candidates.
The stiff smile that was barely maintained on his face was already Minato's greatest tenderness.
For a moment, the scene fell silent. Facing such ordinary and confident two Konoha genins, everyone was silenced.
"Minato is so pathetic!"
Inabi's team, who had just arrived here, happened to see this scene.
With sympathetic eyes, Minato's three classmates looked at Minato, who had his back turned to everyone.
"If it were me, I would rather give up the exam." After imagining the scene where he and Minato were swapping, Inabi felt a chill.
For the arrogant Uchiha, he would rather commit suicide if he were to team up with such two weird teammates.
Nodding silently, Yuki and Toda, standing on both sides of Inabi, agreed.
"I'm going to kill that bastard!"
In the village's monitoring room, Tsunade, who cared about her younger brother, and Jiraiya, who cared about his disciples, came here together, wanting to see the performance of the team through monitoring.
As a result, the first scene Tsunade saw was a passionate performance art jointly performed by her brother and Duy.
Thinking of her younger brother who was quite normal before forming the team, and then looking at the younger brother who was assimilated by Duy on the screen, Tsunade was so angry!
His cheeks twitched, and Jiraiya couldn't help but sympathize when he saw his disciple Minato's autistic look on the surveillance screen.
"Thank you so much for your hard work, Minato!"
"Oh ho ho! It's getting more and more interesting!"
Instead of going to the control room with Tsunade and Jiraiya, Kizaru, who had a special mission, was hiding next to a big tree in the corner of the scene with the help of the invisibility genjutsu he developed.
In the village's surveillance room, Jiraiya, who was concerned about his disciple, Tsunade, and his friend, Tsunade, arrived with a special mission to monitor the Eight-Tails' jinchuuriki and prevent him from going berserk if he appeared.
Because of this simple mission, Kizaru became one of the examiners for the second round.
At the same time, the plan formulated by Danzo, which Hiruzen approved.
However, Hiruzen had one request regarding the execution of the plan.
The sons of the Third Tsuchikage and the Third Raikage could be disabled but not killed.
Hiruzen didn't make this request out of kindness; instead, he was concerned that if they went too far, it would alert the Tsuchikage and the Raikage, who would then discover the truth and put Konoha in a passive position.
Danzo naturally wasn't pleased with this, and the two had another classic confrontation in the office.
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
"Danzo, I'm the Hokage!"
At the end of the performance, with a snort from Danzo, the angry Danzo left the office.
When Danzo left, uneasy about this old friend Hiruzen, he asked Kizaru again for his favor.
"Kizaru, if the sons of the Raikage and Tsuchikage are in mortal danger during the assessment, you must intervene."
Faced with Jiraiya's request, Kizaru simply smiled and nodded, indicating he understood.