After delivering the report, the Kumogakure ninja tactfully withdrew from the Five Kage meeting room.
For a moment, the entire venue fell into dead silence.
The other four Kage were still struggling to process the terrifying threat Konoha represented. As for Jie, he had no intention of explaining anything to them.
The heavy atmosphere, however, did not last for long.
Soon, more battle reports arrived one after another.
"A Konoha squad encountered an Iwagakure squad. The Iwa ninja were defeated in a single move."
"A Konoha squad encountered a Sunagakure squad. The Suna ninja were defeated in a single move."
"A Konoha squad encountered a Kumogakure squad. The Kumo ninja were defeated in a single move."
Each report felt like a loud slap across the faces of the four Kage.
At one point, Jie even felt that the leaders beside him were starting to lose themselves from the shock.
Fortunately, after the accidental deaths of the Kirigakure ninja earlier, the Konoha trio had deliberately held back slightly during their later battles, making sure no one else died.
Otherwise, Jie suspected at least one or two of the Kage might have completely lost their minds before the first phase of the Chunin Exams even ended.
After all, every Genin sent to this joint Chunin Exam was a genius carefully nurtured by their village. Yet once the battles truly began, those so-called geniuses were instantly crushed.
One move.
That was all it took.
Although the later opponents were luckier than the Kirigakure team and managed to survive, the humiliation was enough to make the Kage question reality itself.
Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows and secretly observing the Chunin Exams, Itachi felt extremely pleased.
Sasuke truly was worthy of being his younger brother.
This level of strength was not inferior to his own at the same age. In fact, Sasuke might even be slightly stronger.
Watching the Konoha trio effortlessly defeat older Genin with a single strike only strengthened Itachi's beliefs even further.
In his eyes, Sasuke and the others had clearly been nurtured by Jie's Will of Fire.
That was why, despite their young age, they possessed such monstrous talent and overwhelming power. Even against the elite Genin of the other great villages, they remained completely undefeated.
This only further convinced Itachi that Jie's Will of Fire was far superior to the so-called Will of Stone and Will of Water preached by the other villages.
In his view, if the entire ninja world could accept Jie's ideals, then everyone would share the same beliefs and goals. Only then could the ninja world truly enter an era of peace.
At that point, everyone would become part of Konoha's side, and wars would naturally disappear.
...
Meanwhile, only half of the allotted time for the first phase of the Chunin Exams had passed, yet the four Kage could no longer bear listening to those increasingly humiliating reports.
If the other villages fought among themselves, there might still be some suspense. But whenever someone encountered Konoha, the result was always the same.
Complete defeat.
Faced with such overwhelming results, none of the Kage wanted to remain there and continue losing face in front of Jie.
Naturally, Jie understood exactly how embarrassed they felt. And because of that, his mood only improved further.
'Good children. Not only did they complete the mission, they even exceeded expectations,' Jie thought inwardly.
'Once we return to Konoha, I should reward them properly. Although they're still a little young, perhaps it's time to start teaching them the Summoning Jutsu.'
Just like that, the two-day examination period passed in the blink of an eye.
Aside from the three unfortunate Kirigakure ninja who died during the exam, all the remaining participants eventually gathered at the assembly point.
The moment everyone saw the mountain of scrolls piled up beside the Konoha trio, then looked down at the pitiful number of scrolls in their own hands, many of the participating ninja nearly burst into tears.
The final results were even more brutal.
"Konoha Genin Squad, final score: 577 points. Ranked First."
"Kirigakure Squad, final score: 5 points. Ranked Second."
"Kumogakure Squad, final score: 3 points. Ranked Third."
"Kumogakure Squad, final score: 1 point. Ranked Fourth."
"Sunagakure Squad, final score: 1 point. Ranked Ninth."
And just like that, the first phase came to an end. In the end, only nine ninja squads managed to obtain any point scrolls at all.
The squads ranked from fourth to ninth had never imagined that possessing a single miserable scroll would actually be enough to place them in the top ten and qualify them for the next round.
Seeing these results, the four great villages technically still had teams advancing to the second phase.
Yet none of the Kage felt even the slightest bit happy.
After all, when the difference was one point versus five hundred and seventy-seven points, nobody could laugh about it.
As soon as the first round ended, the four Kage hurriedly gathered their own teams and left, eager to interrogate them about the exact abilities of the Konoha trio.
Meanwhile, Jie looked at the slightly excited Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata and gave them a thumbs-up without hesitation.
"Beautifully done!"
A wide smile spread across Jie's face. "Once we return to the village, each of you will receive a reward beyond your imagination."
He paused for a moment before adding meaningfully, "And here's a small hint... this reward will greatly increase your strength."
The moment strength was mentioned, Sasuke immediately spoke up. "Brother, this was completely different from what you told us."
A confused frown appeared on Sasuke's face.
"You said the other villages had plenty of geniuses. But during the exam, we practically hunted down every squad we encountered, and barely anyone was even remotely strong."
Hearing Sasuke complain, Naruto immediately nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah! Hokage-nii, those guys were way too weak!"
Naruto scratched his head with a disappointed expression.
"I feel like all the special training we went through ended up being completely useless!"
Hearing Naruto and Sasuke complain, Jie glanced toward the quiet Hinata beside them. Although she didn't say anything, the look on her face clearly showed that she agreed with the two boys completely.
Jie could not help but feel a little speechless. "Well... I honestly didn't expect the others to be this weak either."
After thinking for a moment, Jie helplessly spread his hands.
"But the special training was definitely useful. Even if you didn't need it this time, it still greatly improved your overall foundation."
Jie smiled and casually continued,
"Besides, isn't there still another round? Maybe the other villages are simply hiding their true trump cards for the next phase."
In truth, Jie himself wasn't even sure whether the next round of the Chunin Exams would continue smoothly after such a one-sided massacre.
Still, convincing these kids was naturally an easy task for Jie.
After hearing Jie's explanation, the trio immediately nodded in understanding.
'So that's how it is.'
'The other villages were deliberately hiding their strongest geniuses until the final round.'
'As expected, adult ninja are really cunning. We still lack experience.'
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