After briefly explaining the information on the card, Kabuto looked up and scanned the group.
"Do you know why the Chunin Exams are held jointly by different nations?"
A brief silence fell over the scene, broken only by the distinct crunching sound of Choji eating potato chips. The quiet seemed to urge him to continue.
But just as Kabuto was about to speak, someone beat him to it.
"To deepen friendly relations between nations, learn from each other, exchange ideas, and promote cultural and economic prosperity."
Everyone's eyes focused on Mamoru simultaneously.
Some looked thoughtful, some nodded as if they understood, some pretended to understand, and some were completely out of it—Naruto being the latter, though that didn't stop him from looking at Mamoru with admiration.
Mamoru cleared his throat, his voice deepening. "To put it bluntly, the Chunin Exams are a competition for the major nations to test the gap in each other's strength. If they confirm a significant disparity, smaller nations will form private alliances to guard against aggression from powerful neighbors."
"Why bother with such a troublesome thing?" Shikamaru asked lazily, his face clearly written with the words 'no motivation.'
A contemptuous and mocking smile appeared on Mamoru's face. "I also think it's a hassle. After all, once you know how powerful your enemy is, do you really have the ability to resist?"
"If only the First Hokage had been a bit more ruthless and decisive, the Ninja World would have been unified long ago."
Mamoru grumbled inwardly. Everyone said the Uchiha clan produced extremists, but compared to the bizarre logic of the past Hokage, his clansmen were perfectly normal, aside from being a bit more emotional.
This 'will of fire' pyramid scheme was true brainwashing that turned people into lunatics. Starting from the First, the thinking of Konoha's Higher-Ups seemed to have gone down a point of no return.
Look at the 'good deeds' these Konoha leaders did.
The First distributed the Tailed Beasts? That's no different from gift-wrapping strategic nuclear weapons for enemy nations. Is that a 'path to peace' any sane politician would come up with?
From the village's founding, the Second Hokage targeted the Uchiha at every turn, always using 'keeping an eye on threats to the village' as an excuse, eventually forcing out an ultimate imperial guard.
Could he not see the immense value of the Uchiha clan in deterring foreign enemies? That power was not inferior to the Senju clan at all. If the Senju could be Hokage, why couldn't an Uchiha?
In his view, Tobirama's targeting bordered on obsession, showing just how deep a psychological shadow Madara had left on him.
What's worse is that Konoha's subsequent rulers inherited Tobirama's legacy in full, pushing the Uchiha into a corner and ultimately leading to the bitter fruit of a coup.
If Tobirama hadn't planted those seeds of malice, would all this trouble have followed?
No wonder he couldn't find peace even after death, being dragged out from the Pure Land for a 'public flogging.'
The old Third? A top-tier actor.
That 'indecisiveness' was purely an act. For the dirty work he couldn't do himself, he had that old dog Danzo eager to handle it. Once finished, Danzo would naturally take the fall.
The Fourth? Following the same tradition, he probably wasn't much better, just that he exited the stage too quickly before he could do anything 'grand.'
The Fifth and Sixth? Their presence was thin.
The Seventh? Heh, he's the protagonist. A master of the 'Talk no Jutsu' secret art, doing whatever he wants, making Rasengans to pick up girls, and tearing Kaguya apart to become Hokage.
"The main purpose of doing this should be for mutual restraint, most likely." Kabuto pushed up his glasses and offered his insight.
Mamoru snapped back from his chaotic thoughts, shrugged noncommittally, and said in a half-joking, half-serious tone, "If I were the Daimyo, I'd first wipe out those small nations, consolidate power, then annex the major ones, and finally unify the Ninja World..."
Before he could finish, someone slapped him on the back with a 'thwack,' abruptly cutting off his grand speech.
He was right in the middle of his flow when he was interrupted. How could he stand this?
"Looking for—"
He immediately turned around in a rage, intending to teach the sneak-attacker a lesson.
However, once he saw the person's face, the word 'death' that was on the tip of his tongue was swallowed back down. His tone shifted into a somewhat stifled, "...for me?"
Tenten crossed her arms, her brow furrowed as she glared at him. "You're spouting dangerous rhetoric again. Can't you keep your mouth shut?"
Mamoru reached back to rub the spot where he was slapped, complaining aggrievedly, "Tenten, aren't you getting more and more violent?"
Tenten pointed at Mamoru's nose, shouting indignantly, "Whose fault do you think that is?"
"Tenten, you've changed." Mamoru leaned his head back slightly to avoid the finger almost poking his face, putting on a standard 'poker face' while secretly regretting his situation.
Just a few days ago, she was calling him 'Mamoru' so sweetly, and in the blink of an eye, she'd become this fierce.
Mamoru shifted the topic, looking at Kabuto. "Do those cards of yours record detailed individual information?"
"That's right." Kabuto looked at the boy with the strong presence and smiled back. "Is there someone you're particularly interested in?"
Mamoru frowned, feeling a bit troubled. Aside from Orochimaru, there was almost no one here he cared about. But Orochimaru's information would surely be fake, so asking would be pointless.
Just because he didn't have a question didn't mean others didn't. Someone had already stepped forward impatiently.
"I do."
Everyone looked toward the voice, it was none other than Sasuke.
Kabuto just gave a gentle smile. "The candidate information this time isn't perfectly complete, but I've saved it all, including yours."
"You even have information on me?" Mamoru looked at Kabuto suspiciously.
"It might not be complete, but I do." Kabuto picked up the stack of ninja registration cards and turned to Sasuke. "Tell me who you want to know about—name or any other info. I'll find it for you."
"Uchiha Mamoru, Gaara of the Sand, and Rock Lee." Sasuke clearly listed the three names.
"Me?"
Mamoru pointed at himself in surprise, thinking, 'I live under the same roof as you every day, and you still need to learn about me through someone else?'
"Actually... I want to know Mamoru's info too." Sakura's voice rang out.
"I'm pretty curious too." Ino added.
"Yeah, I want to see it too." Choji nodded while eating chips.
"Me too."
"..."
Mamoru stared at his former classmates, speechless.
So eager to know my details...
Are you guys planning to backstab me as a group?