Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed since the preliminaries of the Konoha Chunin Exams.
Near afternoon, Rinjin, wearing an ANBU mask, finally yawned as he walked out of 66 Tea Street.
Today was the day of the final Chunin Exam, and his pockets were already stuffed with sunflower seeds and snacks. Moreover, Rinjin had made up his mind—he absolutely wouldn't intervene today.
Anyone who dared stop Orochimaru from carrying on the time-honored tradition of the Hokage lineage would have to carry ten bags of rice!
Most importantly, he was finally going to be free from his violent wife!
Everyone thought Tsunade was easy to marry, but little did they know this woman had been a princess since childhood, complete with all the princess syndrome that came with it. Her personality was heroic and spirited at best, unreasonably domineering at worst.
Sleeping with her in his arms was basically no different from sleeping with Gamabunta! She'd randomly crush him like a mountain—you really needed a tough body to handle it.
Whistling, Rinjin arrived outside the spectacular exam venue, waved to the ANBU on duty, and strolled leisurely into the grounds.
Rinjin wasn't particularly interested in the Chunin Exams—he'd lived long enough to witness countless battles, big and small. Instead, he was eagerly anticipating the fight between Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi. The reason he'd only emerged in the afternoon was to catch the good show right from the start.
Walking up to the spectator stands, Rinjin had just found an empty seat when he saw the piercing Chidori tear through Gaara's sand sphere. Gaara, who had never been injured before, immediately descended into madness.
On the main platform, Orochimaru, disguised as the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, made his move.
A kunai was instantly pressed against Hiruzen Sarutobi's throat.
Below, Orochimaru's subordinates began casting genjutsu on the audience.
Rinjin sat in his seat, excitedly grabbing a handful of peanuts and stuffing them in his mouth, crunching loudly.
Here it comes! So exciting!
He'd been so thrilled about today's show that he couldn't sleep well last night!
Above, four Sound ninja appeared, positioned at the four corners of the broad rooftop.
"Four Violet Flames Formation!"
Their synchronized shout rang out. In an instant, a rectangular purple barrier materialized, encompassing most of the rooftop.
A breeze stirred, ruffling the corners of both men's clothes. The next second, yellow tiles beneath their feet shattered simultaneously, and with rapid footsteps, the two charged at each other.
"Ninja Art: Tile Shuriken!"
Hiruzen quickly formed hand seals, and the tiles on the ground gently floated up, shooting violently toward the rapidly approaching Orochimaru.
"How naive~" Orochimaru sneered, leaping high while forming seals, dodging the spinning tiles.
Then, Orochimaru jumped into midair with a low shout.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
In an instant, his impossibly long tongue emerged, transforming into a dark green, ferocious serpent. The snake rapidly extended and bit down on Hiruzen's neck.
Landing after his successful hit, Orochimaru smiled sinisterly and mocked:
"An attack of this level... I really don't want to grow old, Sarutobi... sensei..."
But before he could celebrate long, the Hiruzen caught in the snake's bite slowly melted into a large piece of chocolate.
Substitution Jutsu.
At this moment, Orochimaru, who had retracted his tongue and landed, realized he'd been fooled. His evil snake eyes quickly surveyed the surroundings.
Just then, behind him, Hiruzen formed hand seals and shouted:
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
In an instant, the ground liquefied, and a massive torrent of brown mud surged along the roof's slope, violently washing Orochimaru away.
Following up relentlessly, Hiruzen formed seven or eight more seals in one breath.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
As his words fell, a dragon head emerged from the source of the Earth Flow River, spitting numerous mud balls at Orochimaru.
"Fire Dragon Bullet!"
With a low shout, Hiruzen spewed forth a stream of flames. In an instant, fire and earth combined, and blazing hot mud balls heavily struck Orochimaru.
Outside the arena, Rinjin, who had somehow made it to the perimeter of the Four Violet Flames Formation, heard an ANBU nearby exclaim in amazement:
"To actually combine Fire Release and Earth Release—truly worthy of the Hokage!"
Hearing this, Rinjin nodded approvingly.
Inside the arena, Hiruzen's eyes beneath his hat remained calm as he watched the surging Earth Flow River, saying flatly:
"Stop the boring performance, Orochimaru."
As his words fell, accompanied by neurotic light laughter, Orochimaru emerged from underground.
"How impressive Sarutobi... sensei... But I've been underestimated too Do you think you can kill me with techniques of that level?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen gave a meaningful grunt and said slowly:
"You're still the same—not likeable at all."
"Don't say that~ Isn't it said that the more troublesome students are the more adorable? Sarutobi-sensei."
Saying this, he extended his sexy tongue that rich women loved and licked his lips.
Below, Rinjin shrank his head, the hair on his arms standing up.
When it comes to being disgusting, Orochimaru ranks first—I have no objections.
This guy loved spitting things out of his mouth or being spat out of something's mouth for no reason. People spitting snakes, snakes spitting swords, people spitting swords, snakes spitting people—all standard operations.
Rinjin had been a northerner in his past life and couldn't stand these wet, slimy things.
While he complained internally, on the battlefield above, the two who had exchanged verbal jabs removed their cumbersome Kage robes, revealing combat gear underneath.
It seemed both sides had prepared long ago.
Their auras exploded, the solid orange-yellow tiles crumbled, killing intent spread everywhere, and stone fragments flew about.
Beside Rinjin, several guys who were ANBU in name but commentators in reality started up again.
"So amazing, such powerful chakra!"
"Yes, it feels like even the air is pressing down on us!"
"..." Rinjin glanced speechlessly at these three ANBU, complaining internally.
Had Konoha been at peace too long? This level of oppressive feeling was considered impressive? Was this exaggerated way of speaking popular now? Was this old man falling behind the times?!
Above, after a round of morale comparison, both sides in combat gear finally began fighting.
Hiruzen started with a shuriken, immediately followed by Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. Faced with this minor skill, Orochimaru didn't hesitate to unleash his ultimate!
"Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation!"
The next second, a coffin with "First" written on its board burst from underground. Following that, a coffin marked "Second" also emerged.
Just as a third coffin marked "Fourth" was half-exposed, Hiruzen's hand seals suddenly changed.
With a low shout, the fourth coffin actually slowly sank back down.
Outside the Four Violet Flames Formation, Rinjin excitedly pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds, eyes gleaming as he watched the arena.
Here they come!
First Hokage Senju Hashirama, Second Hokage Senju Tobirama.
As the coffin lids fell heavily, the two former Hokage revealed their true forms.
Here it comes!
Rinjin clenched his fists, a surge of fighting spirit suddenly rising in his heart.
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