["Everyone, please be quiet."]
["Next, we invite Lord Third Hokage to explain the matters regarding the third exam to everyone!"]
[After several proctors whispered among themselves for a moment.]
[Morino Ibiki stepped forward, looked at everyone, and said in a deep voice.]
[At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally stopped his hand from reviewing documents.]
[He looked up, showing a visible sense of exhaustion.]
[Naruto withdrew his gaze.]
[However, he still felt several gazes lingering on his back.]
[At the same time.]
[On the second-floor balcony, Hydrangea was already recounting the situation inside the Central Tower's lounge from a few days ago.]
[Konan's eyes flickered with light.]
[When she saw the branch made of Wood Release, a look of disbelief appeared in her beautiful eyes.]
[Hydrangea also uncontrollably looked away, subconsciously glancing at that golden figure.]
["Is that... what he said?"]
[Finally, Konan spoke.]
["Mm!"]
["I wouldn't dare hide anything!"]
[Hearing this, Konan slightly tilted her chin.]
['Understanding the Hidden Rain Village... has it been exposed?']
['No... it seems he truly wants to understand the Hidden Rain Village.']
['To determine his future attitude toward the Hidden Rain Village.']
[If he hadn't shown Wood Release, Konan might not have taken it seriously.]
[But the current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had clearly exceeded all intelligence expectations.]
[This forced Konan to take him seriously.]
[The small hand hidden in her long sleeve involuntarily clenched.]
['Then, Uzumaki Naruto... now that you know the true Hidden Rain Village, what do you intend to do?']
[...]
[Below.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his back hunched and hands behind him.]
[He came before the group of Genin.]
["Before I begin explaining the rules of the third exam."]
["There are a few things I need to make clear."]
[As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi straightened his posture.]
[Then he began a long-winded speech devoid of any substance.]
[The group of Genin all rolled their eyes in unison.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed not to notice.]
[He continued his performance.]
[However, several Ninjas behind him, who looked like secretaries, were whispering incessantly.]
[Their words were full of approval for Hiruzen Sarutobi's long speech.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally grew more enthusiastic as he spoke.]
[Until the very end.]
[The Genin began whispering among themselves.]
[They naturally didn't care at all about Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.]
[In fact, to put it simply.]
[The third exam was to fight in front of the Daimyo and the Ninja leaders of various villages.]
[But there were too many people, so another round of selection was needed.]
[It was that simple.]
[But Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke until his throat was dry.]
[Kankuro picked his ear.]
[He gave a mocking laugh.]
[This old guy's words sounded better than a song.]
["In that case, whether one can become a Chunin in the end is still just a matter of a word from Konoha?"]
["Then what is the point of this Chunin Joint Examination?"]
["Even if someone wins in the end, if you Konoha people say they don't meet the requirements of a Chunin, can't you just cancel the result?"]
["So much rambling, might as well start the selection quickly so we can go back and rest early."]
[Kankuro expressed his dissatisfaction.]
[His voice wasn't loud, but all the Ninjas present could hear it.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression remained unchanged as he moved on to talking about the Will of Fire...]
[Kankuro was indeed right.]
Ino Yamanaka: "To be shameless to this extent... it's truly a disgrace."
Orochimaru: "Heh heh heh... even the match list has insider manipulation."
Ino Yamanaka: "What?!"
Sakura Haruno: "You mean, the match between Ino and me... was also arranged?!"
Tenten: "Damn old man, is he psychologically twisted?!"
Hyuga Hinata: "Then... that fight with Brother Neji... was also arranged?"
Orochimaru: "Indeed. I know Teacher Sarutobi well; it's still the same old tricks. The fight between Sasuke and Sekido Kai was something I adjusted."
Kankuro: "This Konoha... the Third Hokage is really constantly lowering the bar for people's perception of him."
Temari: "To prevent any accidents, the final decision on whether one can become a Chunin is still held in their hands. Quite the foolproof plan."
Uchiha Izuna: So, no matter the outcome, as long as a single Konoha Ninja passes this selection, Konoha wins for sure.
Rasa: You underestimate Konoha's shamelessness.
Rasa: Even if none pass, they can say that during the second exam... someone performed exceptionally in the Forest of Death and possesses the qualifications to be a Chunin, while the others don't.
As messages continued to appear in the Chat Room.
On Konoha's side, hearts had gone numb.
Rotten village... ["This is so tedious, just start the preliminary rounds for the third exam already!" Sasuke said with an impatient look.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face stiffened.]
["Hurry up!" Kankuro immediately followed suit.]
["There's no need to say so much. If you keep going, the preliminaries won't start until tomorrow!" Kiba's mood wasn't great to begin with, so he also snapped back.]
["Cough, cough..."] Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed twice.
[He finally couldn't pretend not to hear anymore.]
[He felt a bit regretful and reluctant.]
[He was about to cut it short and announce the start of the third exam's preliminaries.]
[Just then.]
[Gekkō Hayate, who had been sent out to find Orochimaru and somehow hadn't been killed yet, suddenly stepped forward and blocked Hiruzen Sarutobi.]
["Cough, cough..."]
[He coughed a few times first.]
[Then, beating Hiruzen Sarutobi to the punch, he said with a pale face:]
["In that case... then I will take on the role of proctor for the upcoming preliminary rounds before the third exam."]
["The proctor for this selection match is me, Gekkō Hayate."]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."]
['It seems Hayate has grown quite a bit... finding Orochimaru's trail and bringing him back should only be a matter of time now.']
['I'll send him tomorrow; we can change the proctor for the later matches in the Arena.']
Yūgao Uzuki: "..."
"What are you two looking at me for?" Yūgao said somewhat helplessly.
Anko snorted and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Kurenai Yuhi also shook her head with a light smile.
"No wonder Hayate would die... even if it wasn't because of the eavesdropping... he probably would have been assigned some suicide missions later anyway."
Yūgao Uzuki: "..."
She shook her head helplessly.
After watching the black-framed large screen for so long.
She almost forgot she was in the gold-frame world.
Now she always loved projecting herself into the black frame world... Orochimaru: "Hahaha~"
Uchiha Izuna: Tsk tsk tsk, did he think he could get away unscathed after offending the legacy of certain people?
Kankuro: "It's nothing for us to complain, but there's a problem when this sickly guy from Konoha complains."
Hyuga Neji: "Humph!"
Hyuga Neji: "Kankuro is from another village, Sasuke is the only Uchiha, and Kiba is the future head of the Inuzuka clan."
Hyuga Neji: "The Genin are naive, but are you also naive?"
Hyuga Neji: "He was already sent out to find Orochimaru because of the matter with Yūgao Uzuki and Black-framed Naruto-kun..."
Neji's words were like sharp blades, stabbing into Gekkō Hayate's heart one by one.
He felt both miserable and wronged... but there was no place for him in the Chat Room, and he was in the Pure Land World...