Chapter 87: The Fourth Raikage A's Preparations
Seeing the middle-aged Mist ninja's calm expression, the Fourth Raikage, A, remained expressionless, instead speaking in a low voice:
"Since you are from the Mist Village, killing you might yield some important intelligence."
The middle-aged Mist ninja was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head lightly: "I am just an ordinary Chunin, and my knowledge is limited."
After speaking, the middle-aged Mist ninja said nothing more. Instead, he took out a scroll from his robe and held it in his hand.
Seeing this, Samui quickly stepped forward, took the scroll from the middle-aged Mist ninja's hand, and gave it a brief inspection.
She then returned to the Fourth Raikage's side and respectfully handed the scroll to him.
The Fourth Raikage took the scroll and opened it directly. His eyes scanned the contents as he spoke in a cold voice:
"If this isn't important intelligence and you've disturbed my training, you'll be staying in the Cloud Village."
As for the consequences of keeping this middle-aged Mist ninja in the Cloud Village, the Fourth Raikage did not care in the slightest.
As his eyes continuously scanned the scroll's contents, the Fourth Raikage's casual expression grew increasingly grave.
After a full half a moment, a smile suddenly appeared on the Fourth Raikage's face, his tone carrying a strange emotion:
"Interesting, truly interesting."
"I didn't expect that besides the Leaf Village, someone else would know about that secret from back then. Samui, give him the intelligence we have regarding the Leaf Village from that incident."
The Fourth Raikage turned his head to look at Samui.
Samui was stunned for a moment, unable to recall what the Fourth Raikage was referring to.
Seeing this, an interesting glint appeared in the Fourth Raikage's eyes. As his secretary, this was the first time he had seen Samui forget something.
However, come to think of it, that incident had happened over a decade ago.
The Fourth Raikage quietly uttered the sound "Hi," then glanced at Samui's eyes.
After a brief pause, Samui understood and turned to leave.
The Fourth Raikage continued to hold the scroll, but this time he read it carefully, his expression occasionally showing a thoughtful look.
After a good while, Samui returned with a file. Her originally clean and tidy clothes were now covered in quite a bit of dust.
She had spent a considerable amount of time finding this file, which had been stashed away in some corner.
The Fourth Raikage took the file from Samui, glanced at it casually, and then tossed it to the middle-aged Mist ninja.
"Get lost," the Fourth Raikage said impatiently.
The middle-aged Mist ninja's expression did not change. He picked up the file, gave a slight bow to the Fourth Raikage, and turned to leave.
Only after the Mist ninja's figure had disappeared did Samui ask curiously, "Regarding that incident back then, we signed a related agreement with the Leaf Village. Is it really okay to do this?"
The Fourth Raikage did not speak. He simply tossed the scroll in his hand to Samui and turned to walk in the direction of the Central Mountain Range.
At the same time, his gruff voice reached Samui's ears: "Have Darui make preparations."
Watching the Fourth Raikage's departing figure, Samui lowered her head to look at the contents of the scroll. Her body couldn't help but tremble, and her pupils shrank deeply.
Recalling the Fourth Raikage's earlier words, Samui knew that whether or not they abided by the old agreement with the Leaf Village was no longer important.
At the same time, the Leaf Village, which was in a confrontation with the Mist Village, suddenly made an announcement to the outside world.
One week from now, the Leaf Village and the Sand Village would jointly hold the Chunin Exams.
Not long after, the Sand Village also issued a statement, saying that the Fourth Kazekage was already on his way to the Leaf Village for this Chunin Exam.
A meeting between the Kage of two villages was a significant event, but the entire ninja world reacted to this news with considerable calm.
The Chunin Exams were no secret; almost every year, the various ninja villages would hold them accordingly.
Simply put, this was an important occasion for the great nations to observe each other's national strength.
However, the Leaf Village's sudden announcement this time was clearly putting pressure on the Mist Village.
A meeting between the two villages' Kage would naturally be more than just watching a competition. By issuing this statement, the Leaf Village was telling the Mist Village to be wary of their two villages joining forces.
As expected, shortly after the news about the Chunin Exams was released, the originally firm stance of the Mist Village began to show signs of retracting on the diplomatic front.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen received this news, the worried expression he had worn for many days finally gave way to a slight smile.
This was naturally good news for the Leaf Village!
On another front, Sarutobi Hiruzen had also agreed to Iruka's request.
On a rooftop in the Leaf Village.
"Iruka-sensei, what did you call us here for?"
Naruto looked at Iruka with an unhappy expression.
Ever since Naruto discovered that his training speed had suddenly increased for some unknown reason, he had been marveling at his own genius while also training constantly during this period.
Therefore, Naruto was naturally unhappy that Iruka had called him over.
At the same time, Sasuke on the other side was also somewhat displeased, though he didn't show it on his face like Naruto did.
Iruka tapped Naruto on the head, and as Naruto cried out in pain, Iruka slowly spoke:
"Do you know about the Chunin Exams?"
The Chunin Exams?
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were all stunned at the same time, their faces filled with bewilderment. Clearly, they were not familiar with the Chunin Exams.
Seeing their expressions, Iruka smiled gently and gave a general introduction about the Chunin Exams.
"Iruka-sensei, are you telling us this because you want us to participate in the Chunin Exams?"
Sakura asked, her tone full of surprise as she looked at Iruka.
"That's right!"
Iruka nodded with a serious expression.
"B-but... we only just graduated recently."
Sakura's tone was a bit stuttery, her face showing disbelief.
She had originally thought Iruka-sensei had a steady personality, but who knew he could be so unreliable. Sakura couldn't help but complain in her heart.
"Familiarizing yourselves with the Chunin Exam process in advance will be beneficial for you. And what if you happen to pass?"
Iruka had a gentle smile on his face, even though he didn't believe his own words.
Compared to Sakura, the displeased looks on Naruto and Sasuke's faces had already vanished, replaced by excitement.
"I will definitely pass the Chunin Exams. I've become even stronger than when Mr. Kirihito was teaching me."
Naruto said excitedly, but as he said the words "Mr. Kirihito," he couldn't help but recall Kinoshita Kirihito's gentle smile, and a dim look flashed in his eyes.
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