The one who found this hardest to accept was Uchiha Sasuke.
Ever since learning that Kaede Kitahara had awakened the Sharingan, Sasuke had unconsciously begun to see the two of them as the last remnants of the Uchiha Clan. Naturally, comparison followed.
Their ages were close enough that they could be considered peers. If Kaede was a little stronger simply because he was a few years older, Sasuke could accept that.
He had even thought about it himself. If things followed the original trajectory, then three years later, when he and Kaede were roughly the same age, his so-called White Robe Sasuke phase would comfortably place him at the elite jonin level.
So even during that month-plus in the Land of Waves, when he sparred with Kaede repeatedly and never won once, he had not felt discouraged.
In his heart, he had always been measuring Kaede against the version of himself three years in the future.
Kaede was strong, no doubt about it. He even had three tomoe already. But three years later, Sasuke would not be inferior.
That had been his belief.
But now Kaede's chakra had already reached Kage Level.
That clearly surpassed even White Robe Sasuke from three years later.
Unless it was his Mangekyo Sharingan era self, there was no way to compare. Yet Kaede himself did not have the Mangekyo Sharingan either. Comparing like that felt wrong, and Sasuke was not interested in winning by exploiting that kind of technicality.
So now, Sasuke felt a genuine sense of wariness.
By all logic, even if Kaede's bloodline had lucked into awakening the Sharingan, with such diluted Uchiha blood, how could his progress possibly be this absurd?
Kaede Kitahara's existence shattered people's assumptions again and again.
[Still, I have to say, the clash between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru was the first real Kage Level battle I ever saw. The pressure back then was intense. A true powerhouse looked like a powerhouse. Not like later on, when things basically turned into a joke. Stuff like Second Pillar's Uchiha Pile Driver, or that so-called fishing guy getting grabbed by Uchiha Pile Driver of all things. Just painful to watch.
That said, the day Second Pillar and the fishing guy show up is not far off either. There will be a good show.]
"What the hell is Uchiha Pile Driver? What nonsense is he talking about now?" Sasuke said, exasperated.
Seeing Kaede call him Second Pillar again left him speechless.
When was Kaede ever going to break this habit of giving people ridiculous nicknames?
"Fishing guy? What kind of powerhouse is that supposed to be?" Uchiha Itachi caught the reference and immediately wanted to figure out who this fishing guy was. Unfortunately, there was far too little information to go on.
Especially given Kaede's awful habit of handing out nicknames at random.
Before anyone could dwell on it further, a video appeared in the diary.
[Hokage vs Hokage vs Hokage!]
Beneath that bizarre title was a brand-new video.
"Finally," Jiraiya said, immediately opening it.
This might reveal the truth behind the Third Hokage's fall.
The scene opened inside the Chunin Exams arena. Thick smoke billowed across the ceremonial platform.
In the audience, Guy and Hatake Kakashi were instantly drawn by the explosion.
"Hokage-sama!" Guy was about to rush over when several Anbu suddenly burst out around them.
"Leave it to us."
Those Anbu leaped straight toward the highest point of the platform.
"The Chunin Exams venue," Kakashi said at once.
As Konoha's premier combat arena, it was not just used for the Chunin Exams. Even jonin promotion tests were sometimes held here, along with entertainment events meant to host visiting dignitaries.
"The spectators look unconscious. They dropped the moment the fighting started. That means it is not real unconsciousness. A large-scale mass genjutsu," Kakashi realized immediately. "And the Anbu pulling away from the Third Hokage means they are trying to maintain order and protect the nobles. Normally that would be fine, but if the enemy's real target is the Third Hokage himself, even the Anbu will be caught off guard."
Structurally speaking, Anbu were直属 forces under the Hokage. Under normal circumstances, at least one full squad would remain by his side at all times.
The fact that they now had to rush up from the stands already said everything.
To secure such a massive venue, Anbu strength had been spread thin.
The scene shifted.
Within the smoke, the Third Hokage looked at the Fourth Kazekage seated beside him.
"Kazekage-dono, what are you doing?"
The Kazekage did not answer.
At that moment, the Third Hokage realized something was wrong.
As his bodyguards moved to urge him to retreat, several shuriken shot out and struck them down.
By then, the arriving Anbu had already regrouped with those stationed nearby.
"Wood squad, up top. Fire squad, down below. Protect the lords."
At the order, the Fire squad immediately leapt off the platform to safeguard the various nobles attending the event.
From the smoke, several Sunagakure ninja charged out.
"In the way!"
The Anbu squad leader shouted, cutting them down in an instant.
At the very least, this Anbu captain possessed jonin-level combat strength.
But in the next moment, the Kazekage appeared behind the Third Hokage and instantly seized him, carrying him up to the rooftop.
At the same time, several figures sprang up from among the Sunagakure ninja who had seemingly been defeated. They landed at the four corners of the rooftop and formed the Four Violet Flames Formation, sealing off the area.
One Anbu failed to dodge in time and slammed into the barrier. His entire body ignited as he fell screaming from the roof.
"Sunagakure… and the Hidden Sound," Kakashi said, quickly piecing together the exposed clues.
In the earlier video where he had confronted Orochimaru, Orochimaru had been wearing Hidden Sound attire and a Hidden Sound forehead protector.
At the time, Kakashi had not thought much of it. With Orochimaru's abilities, if he wanted to impersonate a Hidden Sound ninja and sneak into Konoha, even the Hidden Sound Village itself would not notice.
Even with a jonin leading the team, Orochimaru could easily influence them with genjutsu. So wearing a Hidden Sound headband had not necessarily meant anything.
But now the truth was laid bare.
The Hidden Sound Village and Orochimaru were absolutely connected.
In fact, Kakashi was already certain that Orochimaru had likely orchestrated the rise of the Hidden Sound Village himself, simply choosing not to appear publicly as its leader.
"So you were hiding in the Hidden Sound Village all along, Orochimaru," Jiraiya muttered, reaching the same conclusion.
He had wandered the shinobi world for years and had heard of that small village in the Land of Rice Fields, known for its sound-based techniques. It had seemed interesting.
He never imagined it was Orochimaru's creation.
The timing lined up perfectly with Orochimaru's defection from Konoha.
For a moment, Jiraiya felt the urge to storm over there and kill him. But he knew better. One person could not take on an entire village. He would be worn down eventually.
And Orochimaru's strength was no weaker than his own. Defeating him quickly was impossible.
Orochimaru had looked utterly helpless against Uchiha Itachi, but that was because Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu hard-countered him. Jiraiya did not have that advantage.
Of course, if the opponent were Jiraiya, Itachi would not be able to instantly crush him the way he did Orochimaru either.
"Is that a barrier jutsu?" Guy asked, looking at the Four Violet Flames Formation in the distance.
"It is even faster than the Anbu," Kakashi said grimly. "These are not ordinary opponents."
Just as the two of them were about to rush in, an Anbu-clad figure suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their path.
"What are you doing? The Hokage is in danger!" Guy demanded.
The man remained locked in a hand seal.
At the same time, several Hidden Sound ninja emerged from the crowd and faced Kakashi and Guy from a distance.
"This is troublesome," Kakashi said.
"I did not expect the enemy to disguise themselves as Anbu," Guy added, immediately understanding.
"The one using genjutsu is this guy, right?"
"Yes. It is him," Kakashi confirmed.
Only then did the people watching outside the video fully understand what had happened.
Clearly, during the early stages of the Konoha Crush Plan, a large number of Hidden Sound ninja had infiltrated the venue using the Transformation Technique, disguising themselves as ordinary villagers.
Some had even posed as Anbu.
Since Anbu wore masks, no one had noticed.
The scene was far too chaotic for anyone to check whether an Anbu was real or fake. And they could always switch disguises anyway. Checking Anbu alone would not solve anything.
At the same time, outside Konoha, two ninja stationed atop the towering village walls were complaining about being assigned guard duty on such an important day.
Konoha might be called a village, but in reality, it was a heavily militarized fortress.
"Damn it, what bad luck. Of all days to be on duty, it had to be today. I wanted to watch the Chunin Exams too," one ninja grumbled.
"Quit whining. The Chunin Exams happen twice a year. You will have plenty of chances," his companion replied.
"But this year has that kid from the Uchiha Clan competing. If I miss it, I will regret it forever."
The moment he finished speaking, something went wrong.