Having passed the second preliminary round.
Seiryū's group of three left the area under the gaze of the other teams.
The squad battles were not public.
So there was nothing to do by staying here.
What they needed to do now was simply wait for the selection matches to begin.
The time for the selection matches had already been set and would not be changed.
It would be on December 10th.
There were still five days left.
Walking along the road.
Kakashi said thoughtfully, "The upcoming selection matches won't be team battles. I wonder if they'll use a drawing lots format?"
Seiryū knew more, so he explained, "People from the same squad won't face each other in the selection matches, so you don't need to worry about an internal fight happening."
Duy gave the two of them a thumbs-up. "I believe in your strength, you should be able to pass the selection matches smoothly!"
Seiryū said, "That depends on luck. In this Chunin Exam, there are still a few troublesome guys."
Not to mention Duy, who could fight Orochimaru once he opened the Seventh Gate.
Even in this Chunin Exam alone, there were a few troublesome people.
Sasori and Ryōsuke.
Shimaichirō could barely count as one too.
Earlier, it was only because the other side had been careless that he ended up taking one of Seiryū's Rasengan.
Of course.
The other three Iwa shinobi who had already passed the preliminary round could not be underestimated either.
After all, their age was there, and their strength might not be weaker than Kakkō, Taiseki, and Mahiru. They might even be stronger.
"Yeah."
Kakashi nodded, then asked curiously, "Seiryū, if you ended up facing that Akasuna no Sasori, would you be confident in beating him?"
Seiryū thought for a moment before saying, "Hard to say. There are a lot of factors that determine the outcome of a battle. Without actually fighting him, it's not easy to judge."
Just like the battle just now, although it had ended very quickly.
There had been many factors involved.
Duy's instant explosion after opening the Sixth Gate drew the enemy's attention, Seiryū's strange and unpredictable sealing jutsu ambush, Kakashi's highly lethal Chidori that killed in a single blow.
Together with their grasp of timing, that was why things had looked so easy.
Information was extremely important in a shinobi battle.
Even someone with Kage-level strength like Kakuzu would suffer under an ambush from his Bakudō.
Under those circumstances, the three Iwa shinobi still dared to look down on them. If they did not die, who would?
But in a one-on-one fight.
Then the situation would be hard to say.
So, if he encountered Sasori, Seiryū did not have absolute confidence either.
"Is that so?"
Kakashi's expression turned somewhat serious, and he deeply agreed.
Although they had only made brief contact before.
Sasori, controlling ten puppets, had still left a deep impression on him and made him feel quite troubled.
He could not even think of a very good way to deal with him.
Seiryū reminded him, "If you run into him, it's best not to fight to the bitter end. In the Chunin Exam, surrender is an option. He has a grudge against you, he will go for the kill."
The most dangerous stage of the Chunin Exam was actually not the later selection matches or the final matches.
It was the preliminary round in the Forest of Death.
In the selection matches and final matches, you could surrender.
But in the Forest of Death preliminary round, there was no such option.
If a weak team ran into a strong team, they could only hope the stronger team was merciful enough to let them go.
Fortunately, because of Orochimaru's interference, the preliminary round in the Forest of Death had been changed to a different exam format, which at least let some of the weaker shinobi survive.
"I won't overestimate myself."
Kakashi naturally understood that as well, and said calmly, "I'm a few years younger than him, so I'm still at a disadvantage."
If even Seiryū said he was not confident of defeating him.
Then Kakashi, who had always been unable to beat Seiryū, naturally would not act recklessly either.
It was not as if he had no brain.
He could be considered one of the youngest people in this Chunin Exam.
In terms of age, he was at a disadvantage.
"I guess I'm the one taking advantage here, being this old and still participating in the same Chunin Exam as you."
Duy scratched his head awkwardly.
He should be the oldest participant in this Chunin Exam.
For some reason, he felt a little embarrassed.
"Uncle Duy, that's not what I meant."
Kakashi broke into a sweat and quickly explained, "The Chunin Exam doesn't have an age restriction. As long as you meet the requirements, you can participate. Uncle Duy, you're naturally qualified to take part."
Seiryū also smiled. "If it weren't for Uncle Duy, we would've been in real danger when we ran into that mysterious hidden shinobi earlier."
"After all, this is the first joint Chunin Exam among the Five Great Shinobi Villages. The system isn't complete enough yet. If there's a next time, they'll probably take the age factor into account."
Thinking about it carefully.
This Chunin Exam really did have some imperfect parts.
There were quite a few loopholes that could be exploited.
It was understandable.
This world was basically just a makeshift troupe to begin with, so it was perfectly normal for some leaks to show up.
The major shinobi villages still cared about face to some extent, and at least acted according to the conditions of the Chunin Exam.
They had not actually sent elite Jōnin disguised as Genin to participate.
Duy sighed. "It would be great if there were a next time. That way, at least the shinobi world would still count as peaceful."
"Yeah."
Seiryū nodded in agreement.
Then he saw Tsunade ahead, as if she had been waiting for them, and he froze for a moment. "Bad woman, why are you here?"
"What do you think?"
Tsunade walked over. "I am, after all, the guiding Jōnin of your temporary squad. Shouldn't I be here?"
"Tsunade-sama!"
Kakashi and Duy both greeted her respectfully.
"You're actually worried about us? How rare!"
Seiryū complained, then deliberately asked a question he already knew the answer to. "Did you find that shinobi who interfered?"
Tsunade shook her head. "No. We didn't even find any trace of him. He's an experienced old hand. If you hadn't seen him with your own eyes, and if those few Kiri shinobi hadn't been attacked, we wouldn't even be able to confirm that such a person existed."
Seiryū responded noncommittally, "Oh."
"Speaking of which."
Tsunade crossed her arms and stared at Seiryū. "With how smart you are, did you notice any clues about him?"
Seiryū had no intention of bringing trouble onto himself, so he shook his head. "No. He disguised his chakra fluctuations, so my sensory ability couldn't judge anything."
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Alright then."
Tsunade did not continue asking, and instead walked ahead with Seiryū.
She continued, "There's no need to care too much about it either. It's probably a scheme from another shinobi village, trying to throw the situation into chaos."
"But by coincidence, you ended up ruining it. Right now the situation is special, so it's not easy to investigate. After all, every shinobi village has that kind of motive."
"And they're all suspicious of each other."
It was impossible not to pay attention to it.
But without finding any related clues, there was no use thinking too much about it. The suspects were the other four great shinobi villages, but without evidence, it was hard to say anything.
After all, everyone had a motive for doing something like this.
So all the major shinobi villages maintained a tacit understanding regarding this matter.
If asked, the answer was the standard three denials, don't know, not sure, wasn't me!
They were all suspicious of each other.
After hearing that, Seiryū fell silent, then sighed. "Sure enough, this world really is just a makeshift troupe."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)