"There really is a ninja village that wants to take advantage of the opportunity!"
Uchiha Fugaku was slightly surprised.
The one who just revealed his eyes to monitor the five people from the Hidden Rock Village was naturally his Spore Clone.
After a period of time, the number of Spore Clones had reached more than a hundred.
Because in the original work, Orochimaru and the Hidden Sand Village had once caused chaos during the Chunin Exam, he was particularly wary of the ninja villages that came to participate in this one.
He sent out a large number of Spore Clones to secretly monitor the ninjas from these visiting villages.
As a result, he actually discovered that one of the villages was indeed planning to exploit the Chunin Exam.
"No wonder the Hidden Rock Village came to participate in the Chunin Exam this time. It turns out they were eyeing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
A look of realization appeared in his eyes.
After seeing that the Hidden Rock Village had joined the Chunin Exam, he already had his suspicions.
Now those doubts were confirmed. These ninjas from the Hidden Rock Village had come with a purpose.
"It's a good idea, but it's doomed to fail."
A sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Since he already knew their plan, there was no way they would succeed.
If he allowed the other party to succeed despite being prepared, where would he put his face?
"Daring to target the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? No one who came this time will be able to escape!"
He snorted coldly and stood up.
He was about to mobilize manpower to capture the visitors from the Hidden Rock Village.
"Well, actually this is an opportunity..."
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he sat back down.
During this period, he had been thinking about how to rapidly improve his reputation in the village.
And the operation the Hidden Rock Village was planning to launch was an excellent opportunity.
Although the five-man team was fairly strong, that was all.
He didn't believe that five people alone could kidnap Uzumaki Naruto from under Anbu surveillance and successfully smuggle him out of Konoha.
The real threat should be the group of people mentioned in their conversation who were tasked with causing a diversion.
They were likely trying to use that disturbance to distract the Anbu and snatch Uzumaki Naruto.
To draw the Anbu's attention, the disturbance would have to be big—possibly even involving a Kage-level threat.
If those five were captured now, the Iwagakure plan would fall apart.
The diversion team would never show up.
But if he pretended not to know and waited for the commotion, he could intercept the group when they moved.
If that group was killed or captured, his reputation would rise significantly.
"But we can't be careless. If the Jinchuriki is lost because of this, it will not be worth it."
After some thought, he made a decision.
Send Spore Clone No. 1, who now had Kage-level strength, to secretly stay near Uzumaki Naruto and protect him closely.
With such a high-level bodyguard whose presence could remain hidden, Uzumaki Naruto would not be lost.
...
A few days later, the Chunin Exam began.
The first test was a written exam, and nothing happened. It passed peacefully.
The second test was the scroll battle, held in the Forest of Death—just like in the original timeline.
After all, the only suitable location in Konoha for such an event was the Forest of Death.
Halfway through the exam time, suddenly—
Crackling—
A loud noise erupted from the Forest of Death, like many trees being violently knocked down.
A flock of birds was startled and flew off.
Hearing the commotion from the forest, the Konoha ninjas and the leading shinobi from the visiting villages were all alarmed.
"How could there be such a huge noise?"
"This definitely isn't something a Genin could cause. Even a Jonin would struggle to create this much destruction!"
"What in the world is going on in the Forest of Death?"
Many team leaders from the ninja villages wore worried expressions.
What happened in the Forest of Death?
Would the candidates from their own villages be in danger?
Swish—
A ninja serving as an examiner rushed over.
"Hokage-sama, Orochimaru has appeared in the Forest of Death."
The examiner knelt on one knee before the Third Hokage and reported anxiously.
"What?! S-rank rogue ninja Orochimaru appeared in the Forest of Death?"
"How could Orochimaru be there? The exam must be stopped immediately!"
"Lord Hokage, we request to halt the exam immediately and enter the Forest for rescue!"
...
Upon hearing the report, the Konoha ninjas and team leaders from other villages all turned pale.
With Orochimaru's power, if any Genin encountered him, they would be helpless.
"Orochimaru?"
Uchiha Fugaku's eyes flashed with surprise.
He had known that Iwagakure would stir up trouble in order to kidnap the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
But he hadn't expected that the one causing the chaos would be Orochimaru.
"How is Orochimaru involved with Iwagakure? Oh, right—he's part of the Akatsuki now."
"And Iwagakure has hired the Akatsuki many times. They're practically Akatsuki's biggest client. This time, they probably commissioned them again."
He quickly understood the situation.
Before Akatsuki revealed their full threat, Iwagakure had indeed hired them multiple times and funded them heavily.
That was clearly asking for trouble.
And in the end, both of Iwagakure's Jinchuriki—Rōshi and Han—were killed when their tailed beasts were extracted by Akatsuki.
"The Chunin Exam is suspended."
The Third Hokage's tone was grim as he received confirmation of Orochimaru's presence in the Forest of Death.
His eyes landed on Uchiha Fugaku. A calculating light appeared in his eyes, and he spoke immediately.
"Captain Fugaku, please lead a squad into the Forest of Death and capture the rogue ninja Orochimaru."
"Other clan heads, please take your shinobi and surround the Forest of Death to prevent Orochimaru's escape."
Both Orochimaru and Uchiha Fugaku were thorns in his side. If the two fought, and either one was injured or killed, it would be to his benefit.
"This old man wants to use Orochimaru to get rid of me?"
Uchiha Fugaku instantly saw through the Third Hokage's scheme.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
However, he didn't refuse but instead accepted the task.
He immediately led his elite guards toward the source of the disturbance in the Forest of Death.
The Third Hokage wanted to use Orochimaru against him, but in Fugaku's eyes, this was also an opportunity.
Orochimaru was an S-rank rogue ninja, despised by many clans in Konoha for using their people in his forbidden experiments.
If he could capture Orochimaru now, his reputation in the village would soar.
As for Iwagakure's plan to abduct the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he wasn't worried.
With Spore Clone No. 1, who possessed Kage-level power, secretly watching over Naruto, there was no way the boy would be taken.
And once Orochimaru was dealt with, he could chase down the Iwagakure squad.
That would be yet another reputation boost.
(End of this chapter)