Chapter 160: It Seems So Fitting
Land of Wind, Hidden Sand Village
The Third Kazekage put down the report from the Land of Rain, a mixture of satisfaction and regret on his face.
"So Pakura was eliminated in the round of six," he mused. "And Sasori was unlucky, to have met an opponent who countered him."
The report, of course, was more than just the results. It also contained a description of each battle in the third round, and a record of the contestants from each village.
Pakura had lost to Han in terms of raw strength, while Sasori had been unlucky to have faced a contestant who had turned explosive tags into an art form. The relentless bombardment was the ultimate counter to a puppet master. Sasori's meticulously crafted puppets had had no chance to show their worth, serving only as shields.
But as the first of the five great villages to be eliminated, the Third Kazekage still felt a headache coming on.
But the Joint Chunin Exams had been a true test. The talent of Pakura and Sasori was there for all to see. And the others, like Yashamaru and Baki, who had been expected to do well, were a tier below.
And with Rasa, who had been too old to participate, the future leaders of the Sand would likely come from these three.
He was confident that the three of them would eventually grow up to support the future of the Sand.
He was almost fifty himself. When the next generation had had a few more years to grow, he could finally retire in peace.
He thought of the current state of the ninja world.
Besides the fallen Third Hokage and the Third Mizukage who had stepped down under pressure, the other three Third Kage were all approaching fifty. The oldest, Onoki, was already fifty-four, and was heading for sixty.
Normally, a ninja's strength would begin to decline at this age. He felt that all the villages were probably already looking for their own Fourth.
As for the Sand, the Fourth would likely be one of the three. The others of the younger generation were not up to par. A hidden village, after all, was a place where strength was everything.
Rasa's advantage was that he had mastered the Magnet Release, a standard ability of the Kazekage lineage, which had various benefits for the village. He was also older, and his current strength was greater than the other two. Though the Third Kazekage felt that this would not last long.
Pakura's advantage was the immense power of her Scorch Release. And as a woman, she had the support of the village's female ninja. She had a good image, a good temperament, and a hidden gentleness. Compared to Rasa, she was much more popular in the village.
And Sasori... he thought of the silent boy. Not only was he a genius puppet master, but he was also the grandson of Elder Chiyo, and the grandnephew of Elder Ebizo. His parents had been heroes who had died for the village. With the status of Chiyo and Ebizo, and the special significance of puppetry to the Sand...
Wait a minute. When he thought about it, Sasori was actually the most competitive candidate.
But the boy's personality was a bit strange, likely due to the death of his parents.
But after the exams, the village would, in any case, invest more in his training and try to change his strange disposition.
Land of Earth, Hidden Stone Village
Onoki was very pleased with the report.
"Third place? Not bad, not bad. Han is still young, and he wasn't even allowed to use much of the tailed beast's power. This is a very good result. As expected of someone I trained myself."
After the death of his old rival, Hiruzen, at the hands of the new generation's Yotsuki Dana, he had suddenly become worried about the Stone's own next generation. So he had put aside his many duties and had begun to spend a great deal of time training the village's young ninja. He had gathered the most promising of them and had been putting them through a grueling special training.
He was determined to change the Stone's reputation for not producing geniuses!
And now, he was already seeing the results. But Mahiru and Oiwa were still a long way off. They would have to train even harder when they got back!
"But 'Steam Boy' is such a terrible title," he grumbled. "Who does this Hanzo think he is? Going around giving people titles."
Mainly because it was a tier below "Yellow Flash" and "Crimson Fortress."
He had been in a good mood, but then he remembered that the Cloud still had the "strongest new star," Yotsuki Dana, who had not even participated, and they had still taken first place. He was suddenly not so happy anymore.
It seemed the young people of his village were still not training enough.
More training! More training!
As long as it doesn't kill them, train them to death! This is also the Will of Stone!
Seeing that Kitsuchi was spacing out again, he seemed to have found an outlet for his frustration. He whacked him on the back with the stick.
"Focus!"
"My hand is cramping..."
Land of Fire, Hidden Leaf Village
"I see," Sakumo said after listening to the report. "Second place... so Minato still lost to that red-haired young man. The 'Crimson Fortress' of the Cloud. What a majestic name."
Elder Homura was also in the office. He read the report for a long time. "I don't know where this Uzumaki Hiroto came from," he said. "He was a complete unknown before. Did he never go on missions? First the Purple Moon Demon, and now the Crimson Fortress. The Cloud has so many geniuses..."
In fact, it wasn't just those two. Both Konan and Yusuke had also shown considerable skill. If it hadn't been for a certain person's bad luck with the draw, their ranking might have been even higher.
Sakumo nodded with a sigh. He remembered that when he was young, he had often heard people marvel at how many geniuses Konoha had. But now that he was Hokage, he was the one marveling at how many geniuses the other villages had.
What goes around, comes around.
"The young people of our village have all worked very hard this time," he said. "Even those who did not get a good result should not go unrewarded. We will organize a commendation ceremony for all of them, especially the ones who made it to the third round."
Homura nodded. It was the proper thing to do.
Besides encouragement, money, and merits, he also thought of rewarding them with the right to train in some of the village's secret jutsu. He had recently been reviewing the Scroll of Seals and had found a jutsu that was perfect for Minato.
Its name was the "Flying Thunder God Technique."
Outside the Land of Rain, the Third Raikage and Hanzo were arm in arm at the village gate.
"Brother Hanzo," the Raikage said, "the Joint Chunin Exams were a great success! Congratulations, congratulations."
"Not at all, not at all. It was all thanks to your support."
Dana watched the two of them act out a tearful farewell scene and yawned. They had been at it for almost twenty minutes.
The Cloud's contingent had long since packed and were waiting outside. They were all wondering how much longer the two of them would keep it up.
Finally, the two of them finished their act, and the Cloud's party was allowed to leave.
Many of the contestants looked back at the gate with a sense of reluctance. The Joint Chunin Exams had been a precious memory of their youth.
The group followed their planned route, but after less than an hour, they stopped again.
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was waiting for them.