It was 9:30 AM.
The venue for the third stage of the Chunin Exams was already packed with people.
It was still the same venue as in the original work; Tomoki hadn't bothered to tear it down and rebuild it, but he had made some minor alterations to the layout.
First, a roof had been added, similar to the football stadiums Tomoki knew from his previous life. Aside from the central competition area, all spectator areas were now protected from wind and rain.
The entire venue's spectator areas were re-divided, now featuring a Public Welfare Zone, a Standard Zone, a VIP Zone, and private viewing rooms.
The Public Welfare Zone was cheap and offered similar views to the Standard Zone, but it was exclusively for Konoha residents.
The Standard Zone primarily catered to others who came to Konoha for the excitement, while the VIP Zone was the choice for various nobles and Ninja Clans from different countries.
The private viewing rooms were reserved for the Daimyō of various nations, including those from smaller countries, and were located in the innermost circle at the very top of the venue.
Inside, it felt as if one were suspended in the air, with a panoramic view of everything below, and each room was equipped with an independent live broadcast screen.
The Kage and leaders of each village, on the other hand, watched from the Presidential Platform.
At this moment, the Presidential Platform was completely empty, with no one present.
There were a total of five matches today, so tickets were sold five times. This ticket revenue alone had already recouped the cost of hosting these important figures.
Entry had begun fifteen minutes earlier, and most people were now in their seats.
This included the Daimyō from various countries in their private viewing rooms, who were currently lounging comfortably on large single sofas.
Time passed minute by minute, and people continuously appeared and took their seats on the Presidential Platform.
Before the matches even began, many spectators turned their gaze to the Presidential Platform, watching the Ninja village leaders appear on the Presidential Platform in an instant, moving at speeds they couldn't possibly discern.
The Presidential Platform was built by Tomoki in the air, quite massive, supported by only a few pillars around it, unlike the Daimyō's private viewing rooms, each of which had a 'manual' intelligent elevator directly to it.
To reach the Presidential Platform, if one wasn't a Ninja, they would have to climb up the poles.
Each time a leader entered, it would cause a burst of cheers, with some people asking each other who the newcomer was.
The Konoha newspaper didn't have enough space to cover these leaders of smaller Ninja villages, so each entrance sparked a discussion.
At 9:50 AM, only the five central seats on the Presidential Platform remained empty.
"Huh, what's that?"
The center of the arena was covered by a vast expanse of white mist, which soon extended a corner, spreading towards the Presidential Platform.
A moment later, the mist on the Presidential Platform and in the arena dissipated directly, as if it had been everyone's illusion.
Looking at the Presidential Platform again, Mei Terumī, dressed in Mizukage attire and wearing the Mizukage's hat, was already standing on the Presidential Platform. She then found the seat deliberately marked with the character 'water' (water) and sat down.
A great cheer erupted, interspersed with many shouts of 'Lady Mei Terumī, I love you!'
Thanks to the Konoha newspaper's reports, everyone present recognized Mei Terumī and knew she was single and unmarried.
Before the cheers subsided, golden sand appeared again in the arena.
Slowly, the golden sand coalesced, revealing Rasa in full battle gear, with only his eyes visible.
Many were awestruck by this miraculous sight. Although Rasa was completely covered, it didn't detract from how impressively he executed this move.
Cheers erupted from the stands. Rasa himself had initially been against such flashy entrances.
After all, others could glean a lot of information about him through his techniques.
However, if he didn't make a flashy entrance, he would have to run quickly along the walls. While such a method would be fine if only ordinary people were around, as they were just there for the spectacle, there were many Ninja present.
After Mei Terumī's leading example, if he were to run up in such a humble manner, it would be a disgrace to Sunagakure.
With no other option, Rasa, thinking it was better to go early, followed Mei Terumī's entrance closely.
After a simple Sand Shunshin, seeing the countless cheers around him, Rasa's initially reserved mindset began to change.
The last time he appeared before so many people was a long time ago, it seemed, on the day he became Kazekage.
The difference was that on that day, the Ninja of Sunagakure were angry and confused, whereas now, the crowd was excited and cheering.
After a moment of stillness, Rasa chose not to use the previously planned Sand Shunshin to appear on the Presidential Platform. Instead, the golden sand beneath his feet coalesced, forming a Presidential Platform that lifted him.
He then slowly flew from the center of the arena towards the Presidential Platform.
Instantly, the cheers in the arena intensified.
After Rasa took his seat, everyone looked towards the center of the arena, but to their surprise, a loud boom came from above. Everyone looked up and saw a black lightning bolt, like a living creature, crossing the sky and striking the Presidential Platform.
The next moment, Darui's figure appeared.
What a fast man!
Similar to the leaders of the smaller Ninja villages earlier, he appeared and disappeared in an instant, but Darui's entrance came with special effects.
It still elicited waves of cheers from the people.
Everyone became excited again, and the audience's enthusiasm was met with a response.
Suddenly, stones erupted from the arena, then formed a human figure, and Ōnoki appeared. He then floated to the Presidential Platform without anything beneath his feet.
Cheers erupted, but they were sparse and few.
How to put it, Ōnoki's technique was quite impressive in the eyes of Ninja of a certain caliber.
However, in the eyes of many ordinary Ninja and common people, it was quite unremarkable, severely falling short of expectations.
Especially after seeing Rasa's entrance, Ōnoki's seemed rather plain.
Ōnoki, now seated, had a sour expression. In his mind, all of this was the Konoha morning newspaper's doing.
After the few scattered cheers, everyone suddenly noticed.
The sky had darkened!
Looking up, a boundless golden giant stood in the sky, its full form impossible to discern.
No one was not astonished; the stronger the Ninja, the more they could comprehend Tomoki's power at this moment.
Ōnoki's previously sour face had vanished, replaced by sheer horror in his eyes.
As the Susanoo gradually descended and approached the venue, people realized that just one foot could completely flatten the entire arena.
As its feet drew closer and closer to the venue, seemingly about to collide, the golden giant vanished, and a tiny golden-red flame figure appeared in their line of sight.
For the sake of a grand entrance, purely to show off, Tomoki had truly given his all, directly using the Complete Body Susanoo.
But it also completely stunned everyone, including Ōnoki.
At this time, Tomoki was not using the Human Torch template, after all, a Hokage robe is not fireproof.
He was purely relying on the Fire Man template and Kagutsuchi to control the flames covering his entire body, creating an effect similar to the Human Torch template.
The main purpose was to awe the ordinary audience; Ninja with a bit of insight knew that the flames around Tomoki at this moment had nothing to do with Chakra Mode.
However, the insightful Ninja were already left dumbfounded by the Susanoo.
If power cannot be used to show off, it loses ninety-nine percent of its meaning.
Slowly flying to his seat and settling down, the last Kage entered!
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