Chapter 128: The First Joint Chunin Exams are Coming (Part 1)
Konoha, year 42. Hidden Cloud Village.
The Third Raikage received a letter from Hanzo of the Salamander. In it, Hanzo first paid his respects and then expressed his desire to hold a special event, inviting the Hidden Cloud to participate.
The Third Raikage read the letter several times and then passed it around to his high-ranking advisors.
"Dana," he asked, "what do you think?"
"A 'Joint Chunin Exam'?" Dana said, looking up from the letter. "A very good idea. It will certainly increase the Hidden Rain's influence. Including themselves, as long as three of the 'six great villages' participate, it will be a success."
"Then should we participate?"
"Of course," he said without hesitation. "Why not? Hanzo will surely make it a grand event. He even says he's inviting the Daimyo of the various countries. The other great nations will probably ignore him, but the nearby countries of Grass, Rivers, Birds, and Rain will likely give him face. It will be a gathering of merchant guilds and potential clients, a good opportunity to show off our strength. Hanzo probably wouldn't have proposed this if he didn't have a few promising new talents of his own."
"If we can support him, we should," the Third Raikage said with a nod. "It's a good opportunity for our young people to gain some experience. We in the Cloud have nothing to fear. And we need to let the ninja world know that we were strong in the past, we are strong now, and we will be even stronger in the future. Haha!"
Not to mention the ridiculously overpowered Yotsuki Dana, the Ninja Academy and the advanced ninja school had also produced a number of talented individuals. It was just that the Cloud's reformed education system allowed the outstanding ones to continue their studies without having to rush into missions, so their names were not well-known. The most typical example was Hiroto Uzumaki. At the same age as Dana, he was already quite strong and had a high aptitude for the five elemental releases. But who in the outside world knew of him? Besides that one time in the Land of Fire, he had mostly just been catching cats and dogs in the village.
And so, that very night, Hiroto Uzumaki, for having a mission record filled with nothing but D and C-rank missions, was stripped of his not-so-high Chunin rank and was told he would have to be re-evaluated to become a Chunin again.
When he heard the news, he was completely bewildered.
Land of Water, Hidden Mist Village
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, also received a letter from Hanzo. He had voted in favor of him at the Six Kage Summit, so there was a certain degree of goodwill between them. He was one of the ones Hanzo had been hoping would participate.
Yagura sat up in bed and fastened the button on his chest, covering the sealing formula on his abdomen.
He had become the Three-Tails Jinchuriki two months ago. The beast within him had gradually calmed down, and he had begun to explore ways to control its power.
Among the tailed beasts, the Three-Tails was relatively quiet and inactive. It had even been allowed to roam free in a lake for a time. This was why he had chosen it over the Six-Tails.
Though the Mist had many Kekkei Genkai, they lacked top-tier fighters. The defeat of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist at the hands of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki had made it clear that they were not in the top tier of the ninja world's combat power.
Though he had not witnessed the recent top-tier battles himself, he believed that he needed to become stronger to better protect his village. As the Kage of a village, to become a Jinchuriki himself was an unprecedented act, and a testament to his resolve.
He returned to his office and read the letter. Hanzo had, in a very polite tone, invited the various nations and villages of the ninja world to participate in a Joint Chunin Exam to be held in the Land of Rain. He had invited not only the leaders of the villages, but also the Daimyo of several countries.
Whether they would come or not was another matter, but he had clearly sent out a lot of letters. Considering that each one was handwritten, it must have been a lot of work.
Yagura had always been a proponent of breaking the Mist's isolation and strengthening their ties with the mainland villages. An event like this was right up his alley.
He guessed that of the great villages, the Hidden Rain would of course participate, and the Cloud was also very likely to agree. If the Mist also participated, then the event would be a success.
In the letter, Hanzo had also invited him to attend personally, promising to be a gracious host.
He was very interested, but then he came to the difficult question: who to send?
For a public Chunin exam like this, you either sent your prodigies to show off your strength, or you pretended not to care and sent your weakest, so that the outside world would think you were hiding your true strength.
He thought for a long time and finally decided to participate. An opportunity to interact with the mainland villages was too rare. To break the Mist's long-standing isolation, the once-in-a-decade Kage Summit was not enough.
Oh, from now on it was the Six Kage Summit.
He had to take the initiative.
He hoped the young people of his village would not disappoint him.
Land of Fire, Hidden Leaf Village
In the Hokage's office, Sakumo Hatake was processing documents when an ANBU agent suddenly appeared. "Lord Hokage," he said, "a letter from the first Amekage of the Hidden Rain, Hanzo of the Salamander."
He placed a letter on his desk.
Though the Hidden Rain was still a long way from the five great villages, he was, in name, a Kage, and a famous powerhouse of the ninja world. He deserved to be taken seriously. Sakumo put down his work and opened the letter.
"A Joint Chunin Exam? A very novel idea."
He had no negative feelings towards Hanzo. It was not in his nature. But as a former enemy in the Second Great Ninja War, and as the Hokage, he had to consider many things.
He could either refuse to participate or boycott it, making the so-called "Joint" Chunin Exam a joke. But he didn't know what the other villages would do. If only one or two refused, it would make Konoha look cowardly.
If he were to participate, he had to make a good showing. He had to let the world know that Konoha was still the strongest.
Lately, with the increase in trade caravans, the number of commissions in the village had slightly increased. If he could show off Konoha's strength at the Joint Chunin Exam, it would be a great boost to the village's overall influence.
He would have to discuss this with the three elders.
After the "Night of the Purple Moon," the village had been united in grief and a desire for revenge. Even the high-ranking leadership was on good terms. The power vacuum left by Hiruzen's death had been gradually filled, and a large portion of it had returned to him, the official Hokage. But the village was still not his to command. Important matters had to be discussed with the three elders.
Konoha had always been known for its prodigies. He had faith in his village's young people. But he still needed some insurance.
"Minato," he said, "how old are you?"
"Lord Hokage," the ANBU agent said, confused, "I'm almost fifteen."
"Fifteen," Sakumo mused. "To be promoted to Chunin at fifteen... that's reasonable."
"Um... my lord," Minato said awkwardly, pointing at himself, "I'm already a Chunin."
"Oh. Well, not anymore."