Amegakure, the tallest tower.
The unceasing rain beat against the metal pipes on the tower's outer walls, producing a never-ending, dull, pattering sound.
Inside the tower, in a windowless room, the light was dim, illuminated only by a few twisted oil lamps on the walls, casting the three figures sitting in annular structure seats onto the cold, damp walls, stretching long, flickering shadows.
On the central seat, Deva Path Pain sat motionless. Beneath his short orange hair, those rippled purple eyes glowed coldly in the dimness, his expressionless face radiating a cold, solemn authority.
On the left, Konan sat quietly, pale blue-purple paper flowers adorning her hair, her features delicate and indifferent.
She held a scroll in her hand and reported in a steady tone: "...The invitation letter for the Joint Chunin Exams sent by Konoha has been confirmed received. As planned, we will send two Genin Teams to participate. The personnel have been preliminarily selected. This is a good opportunity to gather intelligence on Konoha's current defensive deployment, the strength of its new generation of Ninja, and the new generation of other great nations, especially the Land of Stars."
Her voice echoed in the spacious room, interweaving with the rain outside.
On the right, Obito, wearing an orange, swirling, single-eyed mask and a black robe, moving under the alias 'Madara', leaned against the back of his chair in a languid posture.
He let out a meaningless low laugh, his voice sounding somewhat muffled and distorted through the mask: "The Chunin Exams... gathering so many villages' futures. Maybe we'll even encounter Konoha's Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. How exciting."
Konan glanced at him, did not take the bait, and continued to Pain: "According to intelligence from Zetsu, the Land of Stars has confirmed it will send two team to participate, and the One-Tail' Jinchuriki is among the two teams. This might be our chance to acquire the One-Tail."
But neither she, Pain, nor Obito knew that Zetsu, responsible for intelligence reconnaissance, had long since reached an unknown secret deal with the Land of Stars' Shura.
The intelligence Zetsu relayed back was filtered or even distorted.
The Akatsuki was doomed to not truly capture the One-Tails in this operation, but could only, as Shura designed, acquire a portion of the Tailed Beast's Chakra to advance the Akatsuki's [Eye of the Moon] plan.
Pain's voice was as cold as ever: "Let Sasori and Hidan leave early and ambush on the possible return route between the Land of Fire and the Land of Stars. Konoha will be on high alert during the exam... it's not suitable to make a move. Intercept them after they leave Konoha's territory, on their way back. Prioritize seizing the One-Tail's Chakra. If there's an opportunity, capture the Jinchuriki. If the mission is impossible, focus on gathering intelligence and testing the Land of Stars' escort forces."
"Sasori and Hidan, huh... they are quite suitable for this kind of ambush work." Obito tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair, making a 'thud, thud' sound. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, "Oh, by the way, I haven't seen those two, Zabuza and Aoi, lately?"
Konan calmly replied, "They recently took on a long-term escort mission from a wealthy merchant in the Land of Water. The compensation is quite generous. They are responsible for protecting the Matsuo Group's shipping route between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire. They won't be back anytime soon."
"Matsuo Group?"
Obito seemed to have some impression of this company. It was quite large, and reportedly had a complex background, connected to several major nobles in the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, even the Daimyo's offices.
However, since it was a money-making escort mission, he didn't investigate further. After all, when Akatsuki's members were not acting collectively, most of their tasks were to earn money for the organization.
Obito's attention returned to the upcoming Chunin Exams.
"Konoha is making such a big deal this time. The Five Great Nations... and those small Ninja Villages will all send representatives. A real mix of normal people and geniuses. I'm sure many 'interesting' things will happen. I'm quite interested in seeing this 'lively' scene for myself."
A flicker of an elusive light passed through his single eye, suggesting he wanted more than just to watch the excitement.
Pain didn't object, just said indifferently, "Suit yourself. But watch your measure. Don't interfere with Sasori and Hidan's mission, and don't expose our plan prematurely."
"Heh heh, don't worry, I know my limits." Obito chuckled lowly, his body gradually becoming blurred and distorted, eventually sucked into the vortex-like spatial fluctuation generated in the hole of his mask, disappearing.
Only Pain and Konan remained in the room.
Konan put away the scroll, looked at Pain's eternally cold face, and said softly, "Nagato, 'Madara' seems..."
"Don't worry about it." Pain's voice remained cold: "He has his plans... we have our plan."
The rain outside the window fell harder, as if playing a prelude to the coming chaos.
…
Konoha Village, the corridor outside the Hokage's office.
After seeing off Shura, who had brought an invisible pressure, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, did not feel any relief. Instead, he felt the burden on his shoulders grow heavier.
The Joint Chunin Exams was imminent. This was not only a platform to showcase Konoha's new generation strength and consolidate its position as a Great Ninja Village, but also a dangerous stage full of variables, where various forces would covertly contend.
The affairs he needed to handle were piled up like a mountain: reviewing the participant lists submitted by each Ninja Village, coordinating reception and security for the various national missions, deploying the Anbu to strengthen vigilance, handling the surge of daily mission requests due to the approaching exam...
The over-sixty-year-old elder felt as if he had returned to wartime, handling various matters non-stop.
After bustling for a while, he temporarily left his desk piled with documents and came to the mission assignment hall.
Here, various Ninja and employers came and went, handing over missions, reporting situations. The noise carried the unique vitality of Konoha.
Hiruzen occasionally came here in person to oversee. On one hand, he handled high-level missions requiring the Hokage's decision, and on the other, he stayed close to the grassroots situation of the village, feeling the vitality contained in the hustle and bustle.
He had just sat down in the specially designated [Hokage's Seat], picked up his pipe, and before he could light it, he saw several familiar figures walking from the end of the corridor.
Leading the way was Kakashi, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the ever-present Icha Icha Paradise, his silver hair covering one eye.
He always looked languid and half-asleep.
Following him were three young boys and girls of similar age.
Naruto walked in front, large and brash, still seemingly muttering something.
Menma walked half a step behind and to his side, his gait steady, a stark contrast to the restless Naruto beside him.
Hinata followed closely beside Menma, a faint blush on her fair face, occasionally glancing quickly at Menma beside her, then immediately lowering her head, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.
"Oh? You're just in time." Hiruzen put down his pipe, a kind smile appearing on his face. He pulled a scroll marked with a 'D' from the pile of mission scrolls on the table and weighed it in his hand.
"Here's an urgent mission. Lady Shijimi's beloved cat, Tora, has run away again. This time it's in the woods downstream of the Naka River. I'll leave it to you..."
"Grandpa Hokage!!!"
Before Hiruzen could finish, he was interrupted by a deafening, anguished roar.
Naruto rushed to the special seat in one stride, slapped his hands on the table, leaned forward, almost pressing his face against Hiruzen's pipe, veins bulging on his forehead, and roared: "Why is it always finding cats and dogs, cleaning waterways, and helping old ladies harvest sweet potatoes?! We've been doing this for a whole month! Sixty D-rank missions! We're Ninjas! Ninjas who have passed a life-and-death test! I want to do higher-level missions, ones with more tension, that better reflect the value of a Ninja! Don't always treat me like a cat-catching expert!"
His voice was loud, drawing the attention of many other Ninjas in the hall, who let out kind chuckles. After all, many of them had been through the same as Genin.
Kakashi helplessly covered his face with his book, as if wanting to pretend he didn't know this noisy student.
The corner of Menma's mouth twitched slightly, obviously also feeling somewhat helpless about these endless D-rank missions.
Hinata was startled by Naruto's sudden loud voice, shrinking back behind Menma like a frightened rabbit, then softly added: "Um... Tora... seems to have run away for the fifth time this month..."
Menma followed Hinata's gaze and indeed saw, in the rest area next to the hall, the plump, elegantly dressed kimono-clad wife of the Land of Fire's Daimyo, Lady Shijimi, crying into her handkerchief.
Menma couldn't help but let a drop of cold sweat slide down his forehead. He also had a deep impression of Tora, the cat… a brown cat with a two lines pattern on its forehead and a red bow on its left ear... a female cat.
Tora escaped on average every three days, each time retrieved by a different team, then continued to endure the lady's 'heavy' caress. He could be called the number one 'victim' of Konoha's mission system.
Hiruzen's ears were ringing from Naruto's loud voice. He helplessly picked his ear, preparing to pull out the usual 'no mission is too small, it's all contributing to the village', 'accumulate experience, temper the spirit' spiel to educate this impatient kid.
But before he could speak, Menma stepped forward, gently pulled the still-spitting Naruto back, then bowed slightly to Hiruzen and said in a calm but clear voice: "Third Hokage-sama, although Naruto is impatient, his words are not without reason. Over the past month, our Team 7 has completed a total of sixty D-rank missions. Our attendance and completion rates are among the best of the current Genin Teams. In the process of executing these missions, we have also gained something."
He paused, looked at Naruto, and continued: "While searching for lost pets, Naruto learned and mastered the tree-climbing technique to track them up tall trees. While clearing clogged garbage from irrigation canals, he spent a day learning to walk on water to move on the riverbed. These are all valuable accumulated experience."
"Moreover, under Kakashi-sensei's guidance, we have also gained a deeper understanding of teamwork, mission procedures, and the basics of intelligence gathering and analysis."
Menma's gaze swept over Kakashi, finally resting on Hiruzen, his tone sincere and firm: "We believe that Team 7 has the preliminary conditions to attempt higher difficulty missions."
Menma's words were logical and well-reasoned. They both affirmed the value of D-rank missions, emphasized the gains, and tactfully expressed the desire to advance in mission rank.
Kakashi, who had wanted to continue slacking and watching the excitement, had to put down Icha Icha Paradise, scratch his silver hair, sigh, and nod to the Third Hokage: "Well... although this kid Naruto is still far from it, what Menma said makes sense. We've definitely repeated the basics enough. It's time to let them see the world outside the village. I'll keep an eye on them, don't worry."
Hiruzen looked at the four people before him… different but already a cohesive unit: the confident, steady Menma, who had a hint of leadership... the impetuous but energetic Naruto... the shy but determined Hinata... and the seemingly lazy but undoubtedly powerful Jonin, Kakashi.
The wrinkles on his face smoothed out a bit, revealing a slightly gratified smile.
"Haha... It seems you have indeed grown up and can clearly express your own thoughts." Hiruzen no longer insisted.