"Sand Village, an arena, the Chunin Exams?" Hatake Kakashi immediately realized what this meant.
Generally speaking, ninja villages were military collectives, and their control over foreign ninja was extremely strict. To put it simply, unless you were a spy sent in covertly, if you arrived openly, you could not wander around freely.
You went only where you were told to go.
Likewise, it was rare for a village to openly send its own ninja into another village. After thinking it through, Kakashi quickly understood. This was most likely the Chunin Exams, and not an ordinary one at that.
It was a joint exam.
In a normal year, the Chunin Exams were held to promote outstanding genin within a single village. The scale was usually small, often unnoticed by outsiders, and the difficulty was not especially high.
But there were certain years when multiple villages would jointly host the Chunin Exams. Sometimes they were held in Konoha, sometimes in another village.
The reason for joint exams was simple. Mutual deterrence and a display of strength.
A joint Chunin Exam was essentially a military exercise during peacetime. By observing the performance of each village's genin, one could judge that village's overall development.
Sunagakure was currently Konoha's ally, so holding a joint Chunin Exam together was perfectly normal.
Even so, Kakashi couldn't help feeling uneasy.
He suddenly remembered that in the previous video involving Orochimaru, Orochimaru had appeared in Konoha wearing an Otogakure forehead protector.
The fact that Orochimaru could appear openly under Otogakure's banner meant that Otogakure had most likely participated in this joint Chunin Exam as well.
That raised a troubling question.
The so-called Konoha Crush plan Orochimaru later orchestrated… could Sunagakure have had a hand in it as well?
His instincts told him it was unlikely, but he couldn't be certain.
After all, they were allies now, but just a few years ago, they had been locked in a brutal war.
The reason his father, Hatake Sakumo, earned the title White Fang of Konoha was largely due to his battlefield achievements against Sunagakure.
Most notably, the battle that made his father famous was the killing of Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, both advisors of Sunagakure. That single battle caused Sakumo's reputation to skyrocket, making him a strong contender for the position of Fourth Hokage.
If he hadn't died by suicide so early, it was still unclear who would have won the Fourth Hokage election.
For a moment, Kakashi's thoughts spiraled.
It seemed everyone was waiting for Uchiha Sasuke to arrive, yet even as the final moment approached, there was still no sign of him.
Thirty seconds remained.
Uchiha Sasuke still hadn't appeared.
Then, the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage came into view.
Just as everyone assumed the time limit had expired and Sasuke was about to be declared defeated, a leaf drifted down.
A gust of wind surged up.
Two figures stood facing each other.
At the very last moment, Hatake Kakashi arrived with Uchiha Sasuke.
[What a textbook case of Pretend Release. When it comes to acting cool, I, Kaede Kitahara, acknowledge you as the strongest.]
Kaede Kitahara's teasing comment drifted across the top of the screen.
Seeing it, Sasuke scratched his head in embarrassment. Making a dramatic entrance at the final second, under the gaze of the entire crowd, really was cool.
But with Kaede Kitahara's comment layered on top, it suddenly felt off.
Cool, but also painfully awkward.
"Sorry about that. We're late," Hatake Kakashi said with a narrowed smile.
The master and student duo made a spectacular impression the moment they appeared.
"Name?" Shiranui Genma asked with a faint smile, a senbon clenched between his teeth.
"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke replied with a slight frown.
The instant Sasuke stepped onto the field, cheers erupted from the crowd.
His opponent, Gaara, appeared as well, wearing a feral grin.
At Shiranui Genma's signal, the match began.
From the enormous gourd strapped to Gaara's back, sand poured out in torrents.
"So this is the sand Kakashi talked about?" Sasuke hadn't personally seen Gaara fight before, but Kakashi had told him about him.
Before Sasuke could react further, Gaara seemed to sense something and suddenly clutched his head in pain, muttering to himself.
"Don't be so angry, Mom. I'm sorry I made you eat so much disgusting blood earlier. But this one will definitely be delicious."
"Something's wrong with his mind."
Outside the scene, Kakashi reacted instantly. Is this guy insane?
Among ninja, who were sent to kill on battlefields from childhood, there were plenty who snapped under the pressure.
Only Uchiha Itachi wore a grave expression.
He had already recognized Gaara's identity.
Sunagakure's One-Tail Jinchuriki.
The identity of a Jinchuriki was among a village's most closely guarded secrets. Outsiders rarely knew, and even within the village, only a handful were aware.
After all, a Jinchuriki was still just a human. They could be ambushed and assassinated.
The best approach was to limit knowledge of their identity as much as possible. Everyone knew Tailed Beasts existed, but not who their hosts were.
This secrecy, however, meant nothing to Akatsuki.
Their very purpose was to capture Tailed Beasts. They had long since investigated every village's Jinchuriki in detail.
That was why his future self would immediately target Uzumaki Naruto.
Jinchuriki were not easy opponents.
It didn't matter which village they came from. Even a relatively weaker Tailed Beast like the One-Tail was something ordinary Kage Level fighters could not handle.
Everyone could feel the terrifying killing intent radiating from Gaara through the video.
For Kakashi and Itachi, it was manageable.
For Sasuke, the pressure was immense.
That killing intent far surpassed even what the Demon, Zabuza, had emitted.
Sasuke's legs trembled. He instinctively activated his Sharingan to resist it.
"What kind of jutsu is that? What is that sand? It's like it has a will of its own."
Countless thoughts surged through Sasuke's mind.
At the same time, his on-screen self had already made a move.
He flicked out two shuriken.
They were effortlessly caught by a sand clone Gaara formed from the flowing sand.
Sasuke seemed to have anticipated this. He charged in immediately, launching a rapid series of taijutsu strikes that shattered the sand clone in an instant.
is it alright yes or no?