Only Chiyo hoped that Hatake Sakumo could survive, so that Sasori would still have something to hold on to in his heart.
Aomi stood at a high place, observing Chiyo and Sasori, and smiled.
In this joint Chunin exam, Konoha played the role of appearing strong but actually weak. Except for Uchiha Obito, the rest of its ninjas resembled figures like Might Duy, who were completely unlike rookie Genin.
In contrast, the other Hidden Villages sent ninjas with at least Jonin-level strength.
Take Sasori, for example; his current battle prowess was unclear, but he already had the strength to assassinate the Third Kazekage...
Such a ninja was sent by the Hidden Sand to participate in the joint Chunin exam...
The ninjas from The Hidden Rock Village arrived shortly after.
The leading Jonin was Onoki's son, Kitsuchi, a solidly-built, tall ninja. Behind him was the Tsuchikage's guard, Akatsuchi.
Compared to the Hidden Sand and Hidden Rain, who sent younger ninjas to the Chunin exam...
Onoki seemed unwilling to even pretend, bringing along the Tsuchikage guard Akatsuchi, veteran Jonin Higashi Shibito, Mahiru, and Fumiya...
From appearance to physique and even personal aura, they had nothing in common with Genin.
The Hidden Cloud ninjas arrived last.
The leading Jonin was Dodai, the brains of the Hidden Cloud and a Lava Release Ninja.
Behind him were Darui, C, and Omoi, all future Raikage or Shadow Guard members, elites among elites.
Omoi observed Konoha and glanced at the meticulously planned village by Aomi, sighing.
From his perspective, although Konoha seemed prosperous, it lacked a certain crucial spirit.
But Omoi's character, while very cautious, was also somewhat excessive, even neurotically worrying without cause.
"Speaking of which, with Konoha in this state, how dare they respond so strongly to Lord Raikage?"
Omoi sighed:
"Look, the passersby aren't even wary of us, they seem to truly believe we're here to sign a peace agreement..."
"If it really came to a fight, the Hidden Cloud could tear them apart in minutes."
"I can't shake the feeling that this is not real—could this be Konoha ninjas intentionally showing weakness to provoke us into initiating a war?"
Dodai furrowed his brows and reprimanded:
"Omoi, you're overthinking again. You need to observe with your eyes, not make blind guesses…"
Dodai squinted, watching the passing Root extras, confidently saying:
"The Konoha ninjas and residents all look completely unguarded. In their eyes, I only see relaxation, which isn't something easily faked…"
"This kind of gaze only appears when they genuinely believe we're here to strive for peace and prevent war—if Konoha truly had the confidence to defeat the entire Ninja World alliance, do you think this is possible?"
Omoi pondered and nodded: "You're right, Lord Dodai!"
"No matter how strong Konoha is, their ninjas couldn't possibly be so relaxed if facing the entire Ninja World. This feeling of ease can only stem from their relief over peace agreements, the genuine thoughts surfacing from such concerns about war…"
Dodai patted his shoulder: "Stay confident, Omoi. I appreciate your caution, but don't take it too far!"
And atop Hokage Rock.
Uchiha Hachida quietly approached Aomi: "Lord Aomi, is it time to begin now?"
"Let's begin. It's time to show them just how disharmonious Konoha and the Uchiha really are…"
With Aomi's command.
The Konoha storyline, activate!