Just as they were chatting idly, Genma announced the opponents for the first match according to the pre-determined drawing order.
Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Neji.
"Yay, I'm first!"
Naruto seemed particularly excited, but Neji appeared very silent. He glanced at Naruto and walked straight out.
"Be careful, Naruto, he's very strong." Sakura said with some concern to Naruto.
Sasuke glanced at Neji before speaking, "Hey, idiot, don't embarrass yourself."
"Tch, no problem!"
Naruto gave a thumbs-up, then headed into the arena.
However, no one present noticed that in the high building of the contestant's lounge, Obito's voice quietly appeared.
"What a grand occasion."
"Indeed."
Black Zetsu nodded beside him, then spoke in a low voice, "Orochimaru's Otogakure has already set up the mission, and he has made quite a few preparations."
"It's hard to say what the other Kage will do, but the Fourth Raikage won't let it go easily."
"And Sunagakure even brought their Jinchuriki here, which gives us an even better opportunity."
"That's right, two Tailed Beasts erupting together will be very interesting." Obito nodded.
He looked up at the Hokage Rock in the distance.
"I want to see how Takemi will deal with this, and whether that Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki will come."
"Yes..."
Black Zetsu nodded upon hearing this. Even though Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki had been unusually quiet recently, the existence of such a person was terrifying. He dared not show the slightest slack.
"I'm also looking forward to seeing if he'll appear."
"Alright, let's go. Let's capture One Tail first."
"Hm, deal with One Tail first, then it'll be easier to handle Nine-Tails!"
Just as the two were taking action, on the high platform, Hiruzen was watching Naruto and Neji's battle.
Naruto, with his significant improvements, was performing quite well. At least he wasn't being overwhelmed by Neji. In fact, the situation had even reversed.
"It's quite interesting that a Jinchuriki is in the very first match." However, at this moment, Danzo suddenly laughed.
"Not only that, but even One Tail is here. I wonder if you are overly confident, or if Konoha's defenses are simply too lax."
"Hm?"
Hiruzen frowned slightly, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt an unusual Chakra fluctuation.
This Chakra immediately made Rasa stand up. He looked at the contestant's building not far away in disbelief.
"That's... Shukaku's Chakra, Gaara he..."
"You're not Danzo. Who exactly are you?" Hiruzen looked at Danzo before him, seemingly having a guess.
And Danzo just gently shook his head, his face full of a playful expression.
"You've truly grown old, otherwise you wouldn't have failed to recognize me until now—"
"Long time no see, sensei!"
As his words fell, an even more powerful Chakra erupted, and One Tail's roar echoed through the sky.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Inside the arena, Naruto suddenly felt something and turned his head to look at the contestant building nearby.
For some reason, he felt the Chakra within him begin to roar as well.
"What's happening?"
Naruto clutched his stomach, this feeling was far from good.
"Something's wrong."
Jiraiya and the others immediately sensed that something was amiss, they naturally felt that Chakra.
"It should be the One Tail. Could it be that Sunagakure…?"
Kakashi sensed it slightly and murmured, but Tsunade shook her head.
"It's not certain, but it's hard to say that Rasa didn't have his own agenda for bringing the One Tail this time, after all…"
After all, Sunagakure's current situation was not optimistic, especially with the alliance with Konoha, which led the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to significantly reduce subsidies and aid.
It was likely that Rasa was the one who most hoped for Konoha to fall into chaos, as that would force the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to open his purse.
"The One Tail was probably acted upon by someone from the Akatsuki."
Jiraiya immediately made a judgment at this moment.
He looked up at the distant high platform, then quickly said, "Act immediately! After all, we've rehearsed this so many times!"
On the other side, Deidara looked at the surrounding situation with confusion, he wasn't quite sure what had happened.
"Huh, what's going on?"
"It seems something is really about to happen."
Takemi, however, was very calm. He naturally knew what was going on.
After all, there was an insider in the Akatsuki, and he knew many of the Akatsuki's movements.
Even though he was just a clone now!
"Pay attention to yourself. Someone is probably going to cause trouble in Konoha. I probably won't have time to worry about you that much."
Takemi looked at the terrified villagers and the Ninja who were being evacuated. He briefly spoke to Deidara, then turned to Karin.
"Go to the medical team immediately and prepare with the medical Ninja."
"Yes, senpai, please be careful."
Karin immediately nodded, but didn't forget to caution Takemi before quickly leaving.
Takemi smiled, then turned to look at the high platform.
"The main body should be moving soon, so I need to be more active here now."
...
"Orochimaru?"
Hiruzen looked at Danzo in front of him and asked in disbelief.
"Where's Danzo?"
"Sensei, your reaction is too slow."
Orochimaru gently tore off his disguise and spoke calmly.
"Since I am here, think what has happened to Danzo?"
"…"
Hiruzen realized something, clenched his fists, and growled.
"Is this your plan? What exactly do you want to do?"
"It's not what I want to do, but what someone else wants to do."
Orochimaru laughed indifferently, then raised his hand and gave a signal.
In an instant, signal flares rose from all over Konoha, and the One Tail's Chakra also became increasingly turbulent.
"It seems this exam is somewhat beyond our expectations."
Ōnoki raised an eyebrow at this sight, but despite his words, he didn't seem to feel that way at all.
"It's regrettable for such a grand event to turn out like this."
Genji also shook his head. Only the Fourth Raikage glanced at Orochimaru, then at Rasa.
"You've truly been a great help, Kazekage."
"…"
Rasa didn't speak, as he himself didn't know what to say. Orochimaru, however, laughed.
"Everyone, your relationships with Konoha are generally not good, are they? Don't you want to do something about this grand occasion?"
"Orochimaru, you!"
Hiruzen's expression changed upon hearing this. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to say such words at this moment.
This was misleading the Kage of other villages into making terrible decisions, so he instantly made his move.
Fire Release: Great Flame Technique.
In an instant, his hand signs were completed, and a large sea of fire was directly spewed out by him.
The flames seemed to ignite everything, and the entire high platform was dyed red by the intense blaze.
"Sensei, your approach isn't very good."
However, Orochimaru seemed to understand Hiruzen very well. Almost the moment he made his move, he had already pulled away and used an Earth Style Wall.
When the flames dissipated, a coffin had already appeared in front of Orochimaru.
"Aren't you curious where Danzo is?"
"Could it be…"
Hiruzen paused, and at that moment, the coffin opened, and Danzo slowly walked out from inside.
"Danzo?"
Danzo looked at his old friend in front of him and only spoke after a long while.
"Hiruzen…"
But just then, a violent roar suddenly erupted, and the adjacent contestant resting building collapsed with a crash.
"I'm finally out!"
Amidst the swirling smoke, a piercing sound continuously echoed throughout Konoha, and a mountain-like figure flickered in and out of sight within the thick smoke.
"Damn it, has the One Tail come out?"
Hiruzen's face looked exceptionally grim, the appearance of the One Tail was deadly.
"So, everyone."
Orochimaru licked his lips. Although the high platform they were on was surrounded by Anbu and Ninja from various factions, he remained as calm as ever.
"What have you decided now? After all, opportunities like this are rare!"
Buzz—
However, at this instant, a vast Chakra suddenly erupted within Konoha, almost instantly sweeping across the entire billage.