[The Land of Rain, Hidden Rain Village.]
[A country that never stops 'crying'.]
[The heavy rain continued in the Hidden Rain Village. Inside the head of the Strange Statue, a graceful figure stood on the statue's mouth.]
[In front of her was a man wearing a Red Cloud Black Robe.]
[The man stood on the protruding tongue of the Strange Statue, letting the rain wash over him.]
["Konoha has sent an invitation."]
["The Joint Chunin Exams, spearheaded by Konoha and Sunagakure."]
[Below the mouth of the Strange Statue, the graceful figure slowly stepped out.]
[She had beautiful short, light blue-purple hair and was also wearing a Red Cloud Black Robe.]
["Should we go?" Konan asked.]
["The time is not yet ripe... now is not the time to make Konoha carry the rice."]
["Go, collect intelligence."]
["The plan has not yet begun. It is not suitable to expose the power of the god right now."]
[As he spoke, the man standing on the protruding tongue of the Strange Statue turned around.]
Senju Tobirama: "That eye... is it the Rinnegan?"
Senju Tobirama: "But he doesn't look like a living person."
Uchiha Izuna: "It's a puppet path. Look at the black rods on him... they must be the Chakra threads controlling the 'puppet'."
The two of them, speaking back and forth, revealed Pain's true nature.
Finally.
Uchiha Izuna: "Is that right? Big Brother?"
Uchiha Madara: "..."
You two have said everything already.
Senju Hashirama: "Hahaha~"
Orochimaru: "So that's it... no wonder I felt something was strange back then."
Tsunade: "Hmph! Worthy of the lineage."
Senju Tobirama: "..."
There's no helping it, the Akatsuki organization looks like a 'villain' at first glance.
["Konan, you lead the team personally this time."]
["Go check on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's situation."]
["That guy returned injured about five years ago. Perhaps Konoha is hiding some secret."]
["I understand."]
[As her voice faded, Konan's beautiful face melted back into the darkness.]
[A moment later, Konan appeared beneath the Strange Statue.]
["Angel-sama!"]
["Master~!"]
["Gather the Genin and head to Konoha to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams."]
["Yes~!"]
Ino Yamanaka: "Wow~!"
Ino Yamanaka: "Her voice is so pleasant to listen to~!"
Sakura Haruno: "Mhm, mhm, she's also very cute!"
Tenten: "But she looks a little younger than us."
Temari: "Will she be in this Chunin Exams?"
Kankuro: "I don't know, but if we see her, she's probably already dead."
...[At the same time, all Ninja Villages received the invitation.]
[Of course, not everyone would attend or give Konoha face.]
[The Hidden Cloud Village couldn't even be bothered to reply.]
[Iwagakure and the Hidden Mist Village both refused as well.]
[Naturally, some of the smaller Ninja Villages that were invited could not refuse.]
[Thus, each Village began selecting personnel to travel to Konoha for the Joint Chunin Exams.]
[The Joint Chunin Exams also held many benefits for them.]
[They could showcase the strength of their Village's younger generation in front of many dignitaries and Ninja leaders.]
[They could also show their faces to many potential employers.]
[In this way, those sponsors would think of them when considering issuing missions.]
[Of course, the premise of everything was based on strength.]
[If the younger generation couldn't even field one person worthy of showing off, the effect would turn into a negative consequence.]
[As the host, Konoha would naturally gain more benefits if more of their Genin passed the selection.]
[Those smaller Ninja Villages would likely become even more dilapidated because of this.]
[At the same time, they couldn't resist. This Joint Chunin Exams was also Konoha's way, after many years of silence, of wanting to flex its muscles to the outside world.]
[Even Sunagakure, the allied Village of the Land of Wind, was not in a much better position than the smaller Ninja Villages.]
[If they, who were already impoverished, were used as a stepping stone by Konoha this time, they would likely be reduced to eating dirt and would have to rely on Konoha's goodwill for their livelihood from now on.]
[This so-called alliance was like slicing meat with a dull knife...]
[Konoha.]
[Hokage Building, Hokage Office.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi was still not in good condition.]
[Fortunately, this Joint Chunin Exams was considered a preliminary success.]
[Which offered him considerable comfort.]
[Konoha also began slowly returning to normal, getting back on track.]
[However... looking at the mountain of piled-up documents, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt another headache coming on.]
["Hokage-sama, with great power comes great responsibility. You are the Strongest Hokage; everyone in the Village relies on you~"]
["Hahaha, I'm getting old, getting old." Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed and waved his hand.]
["The future belongs to you young people... Where the leaves dance, the fire burns bright..."]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi routinely recited the Will of Fire.]
[The Ninja who came forward to submit documents to Hiruzen Sarutobi all spoke highly of him.]
[They praised Hiruzen Sarutobi to the heavens.]
[Although Hiruzen Sarutobi could sense that something was off, since everyone said so... he could only reluctantly accept it all.]
[...]
["Chidori!!"]
[Whoosh—]
[The Chidori's characteristic sharp chirping sound rang out.]
[Boom—]
[Sasuke shattered the massive rock in front of him.]
[He then gasped for breath and looked at Kakashi nearby.]
["Kakashi... Sensei, another wall!"]
[Kakashi, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, was startled awake by the shout.]
[He suddenly opened his eyes.]
[A flash of lightning flickered in his eyes.]
[Sasuke's whole body shook, and he immediately felt cold all over.]
["Hmph!"]
[He let out a muffled grunt, shaking off the killing intent Kakashi had imposed.]
[Kakashi closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, they were back to his dead fish eyes.]
["Show some sincerity."]
["Also, don't interrupt my training, or if I lose control, I might split you in half with a Chidori Stream strike."]
[Hearing this, Sasuke remained silent, only looking at him coldly.]
[Seeing this, Kakashi slowly got up.]
[His movements were sluggish, yet, the next second, Kakashi vanished from his spot and reappeared behind Sasuke.]
[He delivered a swift kick right to Sasuke's butt.]
["You!"]
[Caught off guard, Kakashi succeeded in his sneak attack.]
[Sasuke was filled with rage.]
["Do you still want an Earth Style Wall?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes.]
["Hmph!"]
[I could find someone else too.]
[But Sasuke also realized that what he had done just now was indeed inappropriate.]
[So he kept quiet.]
[Kakashi rolled his eyes at him, then erected a Dog Head Wall.]
["Konoha Whirlwind!!!"]
[Just then, a green figure appeared behind Kakashi.]
[A howling sound of rushing air entered his ears.]
[Kakashi quickly raised his arm to block.]
["Come on, my eternal rival!"]
["Let us together..."]
[Before Might Guy could finish speaking, he felt an indescribable Pain shoot through his rear end.]
["Secret Technique: Thousand Years of Death."]
[Kakashi's indifferent voice sounded from behind him.]
[Might Guy: "..."]