It was a vast, high-ceilinged meeting hall. Sitting inside were the leaders from each village who had come to oversee the joint exam.
Saitama had tucked himself away near the back, avoiding the spotlight. Beside him sat a Kusagakure ninja with an unusually pale face and a Takigakure ninja who looked rather unremarkable.
For this joint exam, Konoha had invited all acknowledged shinobi villages—although some still chose not to attend. Still, most of the shinobi world's villages had sent their representatives to take part.
After all, Konoha stood as the foremost ninja village in the entire Shinobi World. Showing respect was expected—and besides, it was all in the name of world peace.
At the head seat sat Shikaku—not Konoha's current Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Although those present were the leaders representing their respective villages, today's gathering was only a routine pre-exam meeting—his time to shine hadn't arrived yet.
Besides, as the saying goes—king for king, general for general. It made sense that only another Kage-level figure should deal with someone like a Kage.
Shikaku's position within Konoha was no small matter—he practically held the highest authority beneath the Hokage.
Even the retired Third Hokage couldn't interfere with Shikaku's current role—after all, he'd stepped down, and the Fourth was still alive. As a result, he remained nothing more than a respected elder with no real authority.
Seated at his assigned place, Saitama wore a lazy grin, casually scanning the room like he was already half-bored by the whole affair.
He spotted the Iwagakure Jonin Kitsuchi, the Kumogakure Jonin Dodai, the Sunagakure Jonin Baki, and an unfamiliar ninja wearing the forehead protector of Kirigakure.
In other words, all Five Great Villages had indeed joined this coordinated effort.
Looking around again, Saitama noticed many representatives from minor villages seated quietly, exchanging soft words with familiar faces beside them.
"Cough, cough!"
Perhaps everyone who needed to arrive had already arrived. Seated at the front, Shikaku coughed a couple of times to signal for quiet.
His coughs were indeed effective—the conference room fell silent instantly.
"Firstly, I'm very pleased that you've all accepted our invitation from Konoha and joined this Joint Chunin Exam!"
Standing up, Shikaku bowed deeply toward everyone present, showing Konoha's friendly attitude.
"The Chunin Exams will officially begin tomorrow. There are two stages. The first is a written test, followed by field combat testing set within Konoha's Forest of Death. Those Genin who pass these two stages will proceed to the final round."
With a serious and meticulous expression, Shikaku briefly explained the structure of the Chunin Exams.
"In the final stage, all remaining participants will be randomly grouped into pairs for elimination matches. Winners advance to the next round. Then all victors get re-grouped for further competition until one final winner remains who shall be promoted to chunin! If there happens to be an odd number of survivors, whoever gets selected during the first round will automatically qualify to move forward, while the second round will be arranged according to specific circumstances at that time."
After explaining the rules of this exam, Shikaku swept the room with his gaze, indicating that anyone with objections or questions could now speak up.
"We of Kumogakure have no objection—we accept this arrangement!"
"Do you agree with this plan?" Nara asked, looking at the others.
Dodai crossed his arms and nodded directly, fully confident in his village's ninja capabilities. He looked to be in his early forties, appearing frail, yet held a vital position in Amegakure Village.
He served as the reviewer for successive generations of [Lightning Release: Double Lariat], responsible for selecting bodyguards capable of perfectly coordinating with Raikage and inheriting the title "Bee."
Moreover, his own strength was formidable; he possessed the powerful Kekkei Genkai [Lava Release]. In his youth, he had been deeply trusted by Third Raikage.
Under the Fourth Raikage, Dodai remained one of Kumo's elite ninja, holding a rank comparable to Shikaku's in Konoha.
"Iwagakure has no objection either!" Kitsuchi sat on Shikaku's right side, directly opposite Dodai.
The war between Iwa and Kumo had ended just a few years ago. That both sides were able to sit down and negotiate instead of fighting showed remarkable self-control.
After all, during the Third Great Ninja War, one side lost their Kage while the other lost thousands of ninja—both were devastating losses that shook their respective villages to their core.
Dodai slightly turned his right eye toward the tall Kitsuchi but said nothing, merely snorting through his nose.
If he hadn't previously pieced together recent events and realized they were barely on the same side, he wouldn't have given this Iwa ninja even a neutral expression!
"Sunagakure has no objection either!" Baki was likely the youngest among this delegation representing the Five Great Villages. Seeing that the other two villages had already expressed support and feeling that such exam rules were acceptable, he quickly agreed.
"As for Mist, we also have no objection!" The Mist ninja looked like the oldest person present, yet his eyes sparkled with vitality and his sharp teeth showed no sign of aging.
Saitama sat in the back row, observing quietly. He noticed the unnamed Mist ninja occasionally reaching for a big water bottle to take a sip, clearly staying hydrated.
"He must be a member of the Hozuki clan. After mastering [Hydrification Technique], the body needs constant hydration, or else it will become weak," Saitama quickly deduced the Mist ninja's background, then continued staying silent while observing others.
His purpose for coming here was simply for fun—to pick up a bit of intel if possible, though it wasn't essential.
As for the Five Great Villages forming alliances earlier than originally expected, Saitama felt no anxiety.
The Five Great Villages still didn't seem to grasp Akatsuki's true threat—they saw it merely as a terrorist group made up of rogue ninja who would only strike ruthlessly from the shadows, too scared to face anyone head-on.
Shikaku then went over a few more key points, mainly emphasizing the importance of fostering peace between villages and urging the leaders to remind their ninja not to resort to excessive force during the exams—promoting harmony above all else.
When the meeting ended, people began to disperse. At first, Saitama didn't move, continuing to sit in place.
Because he noticed Shikaku kept casting subtle glances his way—he caught on despite how well they were hidden.
Soon, nearly everyone had left the meeting room when Saitama prepared to stand up and leave too.
Just as his butt lifted off the chair, Saitama heard Shikaku's voice.
"You must be Yufei, the Jonin from Amegakure?"
Shikaku approached Saitama, his brow deeply furrowed, as if puzzling over a mystery he couldn't quite solve.
"Oh, Jonin Shikaku, I am indeed Yufei!"
Saitama shrugged nonchalantly and replied to Shikaku.
"Amegakure has sealed its village off for several years already. We feel truly honored that you accepted Konoha's invitation this time!"
Shikaku stared into Saitama's eyes. Though the face was unfamiliar, he felt certain he'd seen this Rain ninja somewhere before.
"Actually, it's quite an honor for us to receive Konoha's invitation!" Saitama said with a smile.
"Saying that makes me wonder, Jonin Yufei… have we met before?"
Shikaku let his hands hang at waist level while his right hand held a folder, tapping rhythmically with his finger. He locked eyes with Saitama and stared unflinchingly, as if trying to see through the mask he was wearing.
"How could that be, Jonin Shikaku? This is our first meeting, and I rarely leave the village..."
Saitama's heart thumped hard, but outwardly, he remained calm without showing even a hint of suspicion.
He couldn't figure out why Shikaku seemed to sense something off about him or what exactly had triggered his suspicion.
After all, they'd only met twice in the past few days—it was unlikely anything suspicious could've been caught from those brief encounters.
Still, he couldn't show anything unusual because someone clever like Shikaku loved using psychological traps to provoke slips and pull out secrets.
"Perhaps you just resemble someone I used to know, Jonin Yufei. I still have work to do, so I'll take my leave first!"
Shikaku kept eye contact with Saitama, finally offering a smile as he patted the folder against his thigh. With a wave, he walked toward the exit.
Saitama's lips curled upward slightly as he watched Shikaku's back disappear, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
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