Bright sunlight streamed down upon Konoha.
Today was clearly a beautiful day, and many residents of Konoha had risen early.
They chatted and laughed as they headed towards the village's largest training ground, for today was the final tournament of the joint Chunin Exams.
"There are a lot of people."
In the stands, Deidara looked at the dense crowd and immediately turned to Takemi.
"Hey, you bastard, you're not going to run away today, are you?"
"How can you accuse others of running when you're always running around yourself?"
Before Takemi could speak, Kurotsuchi, standing beside Deidara, couldn't stand it anymore.
"Not only did you run off with the participating teams, but then you abandoned them! You're too much, aren't you?"
"Tch, what's that compared to this guy, hm?" Deidara pursed his lips, looking at Takemi with annoyance.
"That hateful guy, we agreed on an art competition, but when things went wrong, he ran faster than anyone, making it so I couldn't go out for a while."
"Idiot, you have no brain and you blame me?"
Takemi almost rolled his eyes. He leaned on the railing, looking down and speaking disdainfully.
"Even your junior might know that such an important exam would be strictly guarded by the village. You caused such a huge commotion and didn't know to run away, and you blame me?"
"Eh?"
Deidara was stunned for a moment. He turned to look at Kurotsuchi, who was covering her face, not wanting to speak, and his face instantly flushed.
"Bastard, that was me being immersed in art! It must be!"
"Tch."
Takemi was too lazy to answer him, but he still asked with some curiosity, "Why are you two here? Aren't you going to the Tsuchikage's side?"
"Whatever, it's free time now, so I'll do as I please." Deidara replied indifferently, his demeanor leaving Kurotsuchi beside him quite speechless.
But at this moment, Kurotsuchi sized up Takemi.
She had heard that name long ago, both from Deidara and from her grandfather, and it resonated like thunder.
She had always been curious about what kind of person made her grandfather so wary and Deidara so admiring.
"I can't tell his strength for now, but Deidara said he can counter Dust Release, so he must be really amazing. And he looks quite handsome, doesn't he..."
Kurotsuchi muttered to herself, but soon she felt a bit depressed.
She watched Deidara excitedly pull Takemi, asking him all sorts of questions, while Takemi looked disgusted.
She remembered, when she looked for Deidara, he seemed to be pretty much like this too?
"Senpai."
But before Kurotsuchi could figure it out, she suddenly saw a red-haired girl run over, and Takemi looked up.
"It's Karin. How is it?"
"Senpai, it's been checked. No special situations have been found in the venue for now."
Karin nodded. She glanced at Deidara and Kurotsuchi beside her before speaking softly.
Karin was not participating in this Chunin Exams. She was currently training with Tsunade, and she also had a mission during this Chunin Exams.
Her sensory abilities were great, so Konoha naturally wanted her to put them to good use. This could also be considered her Chunin Exam.
"That's good then."
Takemi smiled, and after a thought, he reminded her, "But you still need to pay close attention to everything around you, and no matter what happens, don't be too surprised."
"Huh?"
"Nothing, just enjoy the match."
"Oh."
Karin didn't know what Takemi meant, but in the end, she just nodded.
Then she stopped thinking and focused her attention on the match. It was her first time watching such a match.
And on the high platform of the venue, Hiruzen looked at the few people beside him with a smiling face.
"Everyone, it's rare for us to gather together."
"Indeed, it's rare."
The Fourth Raikage glanced at the people beside him and sneered, "Perhaps only your Konoha has the courage and strength to gather everyone together."
"That's right."
Ōnoki also laughed, especially as he looked at the empty sleeve of the Fourth Raikage's left arm, the smile on his face even clearer.
"Konoha's strength is truly extraordinary."
"You—"
The Fourth Raikage knew exactly what Ōnoki meant, but before he could say anything more, Ōnoki had already turned to the other two.
"It's a pity that the Fourth Mizukage couldn't make it, but I heard that Kirigakure is nominating a Fifth Mizukage? Isn't he still very young?"
"..."
Genji was very shrewd. He just gave an awkward smile and didn't respond, while Ōnoki continued to look at Rasa.
"And, I heard that Sunagakure even sent their Jinchuriki to the exam. Tsk tsk, truly worthy of an alliance."
"Alright, let's not talk about these things."
Hiruzen watched Ōnoki firing shots left and right, and he could only quickly interrupt.
"The match is about to begin, let's not discuss these matters."
"Indeed, let's just watch the match." Rasa nodded.
But the Fourth Raikage still sneered, "I just hope everything goes well today."
The Fourth Raikage's words made many people present fall silent, as no one knew what such an occasion might turn into.
"It seems I'm late."
However, just as everyone fell silent, a voice suddenly rang out.
Turning to look, they saw that Danzo was slowly walking up to the high platform.
"Danzo, you've arrived."
Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief. He disliked the heavy atmosphere from earlier.
"I was worried you'd refuse my invitation."
"Such a grand event, it's hard for me to refuse." Danzo shook his head, looking at Hiruzen with an expressionless face.
"Didn't you want to talk to me? I think now is a good time..."
On the high platform, all the important people had gathered. Below, by the railing, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Tsunade, and others were also gathered together.
"Have all the arrangements been made?" Jiraiya asked in a low voice.
"And where's Takemi? Why isn't he here?"
"He's over there."
Tsunade pointed to Takemi, who was with Deidara not far away.
"That Iwagakure brat is bothering him again. I really don't understand what's wrong with that brat."
"It's something about art or not art, I'm not sure either." Kakashi shook his head, then spoke with a smile.
"Takemi said it's because of Flying Thunder God, but this is good too. That kid's destructive power is not ordinary, and he has a good relationship with Takemi—"
"Perhaps he can influence some of Ōnoki's thoughts, after all, he's Ōnoki's favorite disciple." Jiraiya naturally knew Kakashi's thoughts, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"This kid even learned Dust Release, it's incredible."
"He's participating anyway, Jiraiya-sama, how have you prepared this past month?" Kakashi shook his head, somewhat curious about Naruto's situation.
"Naruto is doing well. Although I still can't handle those two types of Chakra in his body, he has learned Rasengan, and even Summoning Technique, which Takemi hasn't learned yet."
Speaking of Naruto, Jiraiya smiled, clearly quite satisfied with Naruto's performance. Kakashi also smiled upon hearing this.
"That's good. I also taught Sasuke about the application of Sharingan, and he's learned Chidori. Maybe in the future, he can learn Takemi's Purple Electricity."
"You two, why do you start talking about Takemi the moment you open your mouths?"
Tsunade looked at the two of them with amusement, which made them both pause.
But thinking about it carefully, it seemed true. Perhaps they both subconsciously used Takemi as a benchmark?