June, 10th.
Having bid farewell to spring, the Ninja World's weather began to turn slightly dry and hot.
Days of continuous sunshine had people shedding their coats.
Amidst this beautiful, bright weather, the unprecedented Joint Chunin Exams were about to be held in Konoha.
Ninja from all Ninja Villages in the Ninja World arrived in Konoha today.
Unlike the grand events held by Ninja World nobles, the Chunin Exams, with all participants being Ninja, did not require participants to be received days in advance like ordinary people's events.
The Ninja World was not small; the distance between each Ninja Village and Konoha varied, yet they all arrived in Konoha on the same day.
Including the Five Great Shinobi Villages, approximately 700 Genin were participating in the exams, with the Five Great Shinobi Villages alone accounting for about 400 people, an average of 80 people per Village, making up thirty to forty squads.
The large group of examinees, guided by staff, arrived at the Konoha Ninja Academy to collect their corresponding number plates, which served as their admission tickets.
The distribution of admission tickets was not indiscriminate; staff would also verify if the archives matched the individuals.
They also caught a small number of 'Genin' with graying hair and wrinkles on their faces deep enough to trap mosquitoes.
Everyone understood the extent of the 'Genin' participating in the Joint Chunin Exams, but superficial efforts still needed to be made.
As these 'Genin' collected their admission tickets, they were unaware that their fates had already been determined by the important figures.
On the other side, the leaders of the various Ninja Village teams were warmly received by Yuuki.
Hokage Building conference room.
The conference room, capable of accommodating all Jonin of the Village, was naturally more than spacious enough for the leaders of the various Village teams.
"First, I extend my sincere gratitude to everyone for sending your Genin teams to participate in this Joint Chunin Exams. Here, I… "
Yuuki recited a long string of meaningless platitudes from a draft he had just reviewed that morning.
An hour and a half later, he finally got to the main points.
"…This Joint Chunin Exams, as usual, and as I believe you are already aware, is divided into three stages: a theoretical assessment, team joint combat, and the most important individual battles."
"To prevent overly severe losses for each Village, the first stage of this Chunin Exams will be slightly different from before. The theoretical exam will filter out 80% of the examinees, leaving only 20% to participate in the remaining two rounds of assessment."
This statement immediately caused a stir in the conference room.
"Hokage-sama, isn't the pass rate too low?"
Glancing at the unknown leader of a small Ninja Village, Yuuki knew what he was worried about.
The Ninja World had held so many Joint Chunin Exams; the Great Shinobi Villages might not have participated many times, but the small Ninja Villages were forced to participate every time.
Unlike the Five Great Ninja Villages, who competed for performance in the final individual battles.
The small Ninja Villages competed for the number of people who entered the second stage of the exam, and the results they achieved in the second stage.
Meat is always eaten by those who never lack it, while those who drink soup only aim for one more sip.
Konoha now planned to filter out 80% of the examinees in the first round, and these small Ninja Villages, who had never set their sights on the third stage, were very concerned about the results they would achieve this time.
For a normal Ninja Village, low-ranking Genin were always expendable.
The reason why small Ninja Villages sent so many Ninja was to win by quantity. Before each Joint Chunin Exams, there would be such a meeting to discuss the pass rate of each stage of the exam.
The one presided over by Hiruzen Sarutobi in the original story did not count; with Sunagakure having ulterior motives, they refused to communicate with Konoha, and everything was left to Konoha's discretion.
"Whether it's appropriate, perhaps you should first look at this."
As Yuuki finished speaking, Mitsuba and Shikaku, standing behind him, distributed the documents in their hands to the leaders in two directions.
While everyone was reading the contents, Yuuki also observed them from time to time, his eyes constantly scanning, but his attention was mostly focused on the leader of Amegakure.
Each Ninja Village sent its own well-known Ninja to lead their teams, such as Zabuza from Hidden Mist, Kitsuchi from Iwagakure, Dodai from Kumogakure, and Baki from Sunagakure.
Most of the other Ninja Villages also sent Ninja recorded in intelligence.
Only Amegakure sent a Ninja whom almost no one present recognized.
Besides Yuuki, many people also looked towards Amegakure's leader, as the Land of Rain was familiar to everyone, but Amegakure had truly become incredibly mysterious since the Third Great Ninja War.
Now, with the leader being an unheard-of Ninja, it was normal to attract attention.
Yuuki was probably the only one present who recognized her identity: Akatsuki's White Tiger, Konan.
Yuuki glanced at the list in front of him, Amegakure Jonin, Shirao?
Konan, operating under the alias Shirao, was carefully reading the contents before her.
If Amegakure was incredibly mysterious to the Ninja World, Konoha Village was equally mysterious to the Akatsuki Organization.
Seizing this rare opportunity to openly come to Konoha, Nagato naturally did not want to give up and ultimately sent his most trusted Konan.
Konan felt incredibly absurd at this moment; compared to Amegakure, which was ruled by divine authority, Konan, who once thought the world was so simple, understood the complexity of society for the first time.
The content on the paper before her exceeded Konan's understanding.
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