Chapter 337: Temari and Her Brother Request an Audience
Hidden Leaf Village.
After Itachi Uchiha returned to the village, he learned of the news that Team 7 had clashed with the Hidden Mist Village while on a B-rank mission. This was not a major incident.
However, the Fifth Hokage still thought for a second.
He then issued a new order. The Konoha Hospital was to clear out a suitable room to house the aging Lord Third. Three squads of ANBU were to rotate on duty, reporting Hiruzen Sarutobi's condition to him at all times.
Itachi Uchiha sat in the Hokage's office, buried in his documents, and ordered in a low voice, "Izumi, deploy the idle teachers from the Ninja Academy to the Mission Assignment Hall to handle the distribution of commissions. Don't let Lord Third get involved in these troublesome matters…"
"Yes, Lord Fifth."
The slender ANBU ninja nodded. As she was leaving, she glanced at Karin, who was standing at the office door, and then slowly withdrew from the Hokage Tower.
Izumi Uchiha had had a smooth journey ever since graduation. She had worked in quite a few departments over the years and was eventually transferred to the ANBU by Itachi.
After the red-haired girl came in, Itachi looked up and said, "The joint Chunin Exams have basically been confirmed. Karin, you will be the instructor for the second stage, the Forest of Death!"
This was Tsunade's proposal, considered as mission experience for Karin before her promotion. It was unknown if the old blonde woman had some strange tastes in this…
"Understood."
After Karin nodded, she seemed to have thought of something and asked, "But will Sasuke and Naruto and the others also be participating?"
"Mm… probably!"
The Fifth Hokage rubbed his forehead, thinking of those two restless little ones. "With their strength, passing the Chunin Exams shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?"
"And Might Guy-senpai reported to me in advance that Team 3 will also be participating in this Chunin Exam. Neji and Rock Lee are very much worth looking forward to…"
"As for Tenten…"
Itachi Uchiha remembered the stubborn little girl he had met back then and said softly, "I've heard from Guy-senpai that she is quite proficient in the use of space-time jutsu and ninja tools…"
"The new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho are too young. That little brat Shikamaru is a bit clever. I don't know if Asuma-senpai will allow them to participate in this exam… And then there's the squad with Inuzuka Hana's little brother. Kurenai-senpai is very confident in them."
After he officially succeeded to the position, he intended to transfer Team 3 to serve as the Hokage's Guard. Therefore, this team had a high probability of being allowed to be promoted to Chunin…
As for the other little ones, they would have to rely on their own strength.
"What a pity…"
Karin looked at the Chunin uniform on her body and sighed softly, "This should be the Chunin Exam with the highest quality, right? And I can't even participate!"
"…"
Itachi was at a loss for words for a moment, then couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Just in time. When they see that their own contemporary and even their junior has already been promoted to Chunin, they will have great courage to face this exam!"
When Team 7 returned to Konoha, batches of Sand and Mist ninjas who were participating in the joint Chunin Exams also entered Konoha at the same time.
It was a case of enemies on a narrow road.
Zabuza Momochi glared fiercely at the little brat… That's right, he was the supervising Jonin in charge of leading the Mist squad to participate in the Chunin Exams.
Sasuke Uchiha looked at the Demon of the Mist with a rather arrogant expression. "Hey, did you come here to complain to my brother?"
"Bastard!"
Zabuza angrily drew his Executioner's Blade, wanting to have another showdown with Sasuke. But for a Jonin to make such a move would inevitably lead to speculation…
Another of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen stopped him.
Mangetsu Hozuki quickly grabbed Zabuza's wrist. "Calm down, Zabuza-kun… Let's go and pay a visit to Lord Kisame first."
"Hmph!"
The group from the Mist looked around strangely for a while, then followed their own supervising Jonin into Konoha.
On the other side, after the Sand ninjas had entered Konoha, a man and a woman stood at the end of the line. They looked at Team 7 nervously. "We'd like to ask, how can we privately request an audience with Lord Fifth Hokage of Konoha?"
"Hm? You want to see my brother?"
A trace of vigilance appeared in Sasuke's eyes. "Who are you?"
"Sorry, I am Temari, and this is my little brother, Kankuro. We are genin from the Hidden Sand, here to participate in the joint Chunin Exams." The girl brushed her hair back and said in a low voice, "But we have something we want to see the Fifth Hokage about. It's a five-year-old public case."
"Normally speaking, for a Sand genin to privately request an audience with Lord Hokage…" Sakura looked at Temari's figure and bit her lip. "…you would be reprimanded by Lord Kazekage, right?"
"You don't need to trouble yourself with that."
Temari shook her head. "My father is the Fourth Kazekage."
This identity, when brought out, immediately stunned everyone present.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had a rather impressive reputation in recent years. It was said that this fellow had single-handedly transformed the Land of Wind from a declining nation that had been defeated in the Third Great Ninja War into a new paradise on earth.
Not only that, but he was also the first to overthrow a corrupt Daimyo, directly changing the situation of the entire ninja world.
Outsiders might not know the inside story, but the people within the Sand Village more or less understood. They were all very clear about the Kazekage's administrative measures and abilities.
There was a high probability that the power of the Sand Village, and even the Land of Wind, had fallen into Orochimaru's control… It wouldn't be surprising if the Fourth Kazekage had already been controlled by Orochimaru.
When Itachi Uchiha saw Temari and her brother, he was still quite surprised. With that fellow Orochimaru's personality, he had actually spared the Fourth Kazekage's children!
This was truly… kind-hearted?
Itachi watched as the Sand siblings stood before him, reserved, and he tried to put on a benevolent expression that didn't match his age. "Is there something you need?"
"We have some intelligence about Orochimaru."
Temari lowered her head and said in a small voice, "Five years ago, Lord Kazekage invited Orochimaru to serve as the village's advisor elder, but Orochimaru's influence grew larger and larger. We can even rarely see him now…"
"We suspect that Lord Fourth Kazekage may have already been killed… And my little brother, the One-Tail jinchuriki, Gaara, may also have been killed by Orochimaru."
"Because the village is full of Orochimaru's trusted subordinates, Kankuro and I were only able to leave the village under the pretext of the joint Chunin Exams…"
"We hope that the Fifth Hokage will, for the sake of the former alliance between the Sand and Konoha, help us find out the truth!"
"…"
Itachi paused, an embarrassed smile on his face.
In reality, he knew more. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had probably already been made into a reanimated puppet… And that jinchuriki named Gaara had likely been captured by Madara and sent to the Akatsuki.
It was just that the agreement he had recently reached with Orochimaru was far more binding than the five-year-old alliance between the Sand and Konoha, and the benefits it brought were also greater.
And compared to the Fourth Kazekage and the others from the Sand, who didn't know when to advance or retreat, that fellow Orochimaru was more aware of the situation, laying his cards on the table from the start…
The Fifth Hokage of Konoha looked at the dependent siblings and put on a solemn expression. "I'm very sorry. For the sake of the former alliance between Konoha and the Sand, we can offer you asylum…"
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