"You're saying this place used to be Mount Myoboku..."
It was still that unfamiliar sea as before. Madara Uchiha summoned White Zetsu and ordered him to figure out what was going on.
"Yes, I've heard about it from them," White Zetsu replied.
"What about Konoha?" Madara Uchiha continued.
"We're proceeding with the Iwa ninja's original plans. However, Lord Madara, those guys aren't very strong. We can't rely on them. Naruto and Sasuke also seem unreliable..."
By reclaiming control over White Zetsu, Madara also obtained a wealth of intelligence through them.
This was probably something even Black Zetsu hadn't anticipated at the beginning.
Madara now regained his omniscient perspective.
If anything surprised him among the intelligence White Zetsu provided, it was the existence of a different Kaguya and another world.
Even one Kaguya Otsutsuki required at least strength comparable to the Sage of Six Paths—what more when there were two?
Therefore, he had to eliminate their power while one of them was away and completely seize this world.
Forest of Death.
Among Konoha's new generation, four highly regarded teams gathered together: Hinata Hyuga, Kimimaro Kaguya, and Uzumaki Karin; Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten; Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi; Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Sakura Haruno.
The male members took turns on night watch.
In contrast, ninja from Sunagakure, Iwa, and Kiri acted individually like headless flies, searching everywhere for prey and targeting nameless nobodies.
Observing these differences between both groups, the White Zetsus watching the examination grounds felt somewhat speechless.
"What are they doing? Didn't Izumi Uchiha already inform Onoki that Konoha knows about their plans? Why are these people still running around like clowns?"
"Hmm... Maybe Onoki hasn't managed to pass along new intel to them yet..."
"It's on us now..."
"What should we do? Shall we lure them toward Hinata Hyuga?"
"One jinchūriki, one descendant of the Uzumaki, [one with the Tenseigan], plus other Konoha noble clans... Do you really think this trash can handle them? A single tailed beast would scare them half to death..."
"...Should we interfere? Let them die then."
"Forget about them!" The White Zetsus quickly agreed.
"The more involved we get, the easier it'll be for others to suspect us."
After all, they merely wanted to use ninja from rival villages as tools, not genuinely caring whether they lived or died.
Inside the inn, Onoki and Rasa wore gloomy expressions on their faces.
They lacked someone like White Zetsu who could deliver updated intelligence to their ninja participating in the Chunin Exams.
"If nothing unexpected happens, those people will likely perish. Our plans have been exposed—we've been caught with our pants down in front of Tsunade."
Rasa said bitterly.
They exchanged silent gazes briefly. Then Onoki stood up first.
He walked into where the Iwa ninja were staying, gave some instructions, then left with part of his men.
Rasa followed similar actions shortly after.
Neither disturbed Terumi Mei nor the other Mist ninja deliberately.
Their destination was the Forest of Death.
The endpoint of the second exam was the Central Tower.
Inside the tower, it was relatively quiet—only some staff members were busy at work.
Most of them were chunin; there were very few jonin.
When they saw Onoki and Rasa entering with a group of people, they immediately stopped what they were doing.
"Kazekage-sama, Tsuchikage-sama, what brings you here...?"
"We wanted to be here to greet the children who pass the exam as soon as possible," Onoki explained.
Upon hearing this, the ninja under his command automatically began searching for seats for him.
Rasa and the Sand Ninja did likewise.
The Konoha ninja felt helpless but had no choice but to report what was happening to the Hokage Building.
Soon after, Tsunade arrived with Yugao Uzuki and Izumi Uchiha.
"Tsuchikage-sama, Kazekage-sama, the exam lasts five days—it's only the first night. There's no need to rush here so soon."
Her gaze swept across the three women's faces, but Onoki still firmly held to his previous statement: "I want to personally greet and congratulate the Rock Village's genin as soon as they arrive."
Tsunade smiled slightly without giving clear approval or objection, choosing not to persuade further and simply staying behind as well.
Whether Bee and Onoki would actually stay here waiting for their own village's genin was up to them alone.
It all depended on whether those genin stayed in line or not.
Based purely on strength, whether they'd win if they encountered Hinata's team was uncertain.
But if they harbored murderous intent, that would mean certain death.
From Onoki's tone, he seemed to be hinting she shouldn't take advantage of being home ground to interfere with the exam and ruthlessly eliminate participants from their villages.
However, that wasn't something solely in her control.
Right now, she didn't particularly feel like getting involved anyway.
After all, things were already close to breaking point.
"Hokage-sama, Tsuchikage-sama, Kazekage-sama—we've prepared some empty rooms. Please follow me."
Seeing these high-ranking guests seemed determined to stay for a while, the Konoha ninja naturally took care of arranging accommodation for them and invited them inside to rest.
Time flew by.
It wasn't until the next afternoon that teams finally started arriving at the Central Tower after successfully collecting both Heaven and Earth Scrolls.
The first team to appear was from Kumogakure.
The three Kages stepped forward to offer their concern and congratulations.
"Hmm? Where is the Raikage…?" Whether out of genuine curiosity or not, Rasa suddenly asked this question.
Tsunade glanced at him briefly before replying, "The inn where the Kumogakure ninja are staying isn't far from the Sand Village's location. Haven't you, Kazekage-sama, interacted with the Raikage at all?"
"I do admit we haven't communicated much. Although Yugito has held the title of Fifth Raikage for quite some time, I can't help but still see her as just a young girl," Rasa replied.
They exchanged a few more polite words while simultaneously passing time and keeping watch on the genin teams entering the Central Tower.
The second team to arrive was another Kumogakure unit.
Third came yet another team from Kumogakure...
A cold snort echoed in Onoki's mind—just as Izumi Uchiha had predicted, their allies from Kumogakure had also sent elite teams to support Konoha's efforts.
Then came the third day—with no genin teams appearing…
By the fourth day, the number of passing teams remained zero.
Since nine Kumogakure Genin had entered the Tower, an eerie silence had settled inside.
Could it be that ninja from other villages wiped out those kids from Konoha?
That's what Onoki was thinking.
"This exam is certainly taking a rather unexpected turn..."
Looking at the nine Kumogakure Genin standing quietly beside him, Rasa broke the silence.
"True enough. Seems like those kids had quite the fight..." Tsunade added.
The Kumogakure Genin exchanged glances, wondering if they should say something.
After acquiring both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, they had headed straight for the Central Tower without getting involved in anything else.
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