Hidden Sand Village
Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Hidden Sand Village was geographically the closest to the Hidden Leaf.
Because of this, news from the Chunin Exams reached Sunagakure faster than anywhere else.
When the Third Kazekage received the full intelligence report, he fell into a long silence.
Only after reading the document several times did he finally let out a slow breath.
At this moment, he felt nothing but gratitude—for his own caution.
He was grateful that, from the very beginning, he had insisted on maintaining friendly relations with the Hidden Leaf Village.
Because now, looking back, it was painfully clear.
The Hidden Leaf… was simply too strong.
At this stage, Konoha possessed an almost terrifying level of power.
First, there was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, still in his prime. A man hailed as the "Professor of Ninjutsu," who had mastered nearly every technique in the village and stood at the absolute peak of the shinobi world.
Then there was Danzo Shimura.
The so-called "Darkness of the Shinobi World."
A man who never appeared in the light, yet whose name alone was enough to make countless ninja feel unease. Even the Kazekage himself was wary of that shadow lurking beneath Konoha.
Beyond them were legends.
"Konoha's White Fang," whose name still haunted the battlefield long after his death.
And the "Legendary Sannin," three monsters forged in the Second Great Ninja War, each one powerful enough to suppress an entire battlefield alone.
None of these people were ordinary ninja.
Any one of them could serve as the foundation of a great village.
Yet the Hidden Leaf had all of them.
And now—
There was Hirakawa Aomizu.
A genin.
Yet his displayed combat strength was already no weaker than that of long-established elite ninja.
The Third Kazekage slowly closed his eyes.
What unsettled him even more was that Hirakawa Aomizu was not an isolated case.
During the Chunin Exams, the younger generation of the Hidden Leaf had performed astonishingly well. Whether against the Hidden Sand or the Hidden Cloud, Konoha's genin had demonstrated overwhelming dominance.
This was no longer a coincidence.
It was proof.
Proof that the Hidden Leaf's system of nurturing talent was far superior to that of the other villages.
If this continued, then—
The Hidden Leaf Village would undoubtedly remain the "Strongest Ninja Village in the World."
Unshakable.
Unless…
The Third Kazekage opened his eyes.
Unless another Great Ninja War erupted.
A Third Great Ninja War, where the other four great villages united to besiege Konoha.
But even as the thought arose, he dismissed it.
Impossible.
The scars left by the previous two Great Ninja Wars were still fresh. Hatred and suspicion ran too deep between the villages. True cooperation was nothing more than an illusion.
After a moment of contemplation, the Third Kazekage made his decision.
He immediately sat down and wrote two letters.
The first was addressed to Rasa.
He ordered Rasa to bring the participating genin back to the Hidden Sand Village once the situation in the Hidden Leaf stabilized.
The second letter was for Pakura.
He instructed her to remain in the Hidden Leaf as Sunagakure's representative.
Her mission was twofold: to openly support the Hidden Leaf's investigation into the incident, and to ensure that those responsible would be held accountable.
This was a golden opportunity.
An opportunity to further strengthen relations with Konoha.
And Pakura was the perfect choice.
After all—
She had a good relationship with Hirakawa Aomizu.
The Third Kazekage leaned back slightly.
In the coming era, alliances would matter more than ever.
And the Hidden Sand Village could not afford to stand on the wrong side.
Hidden Stone Village
Unlike the Hidden Sand, the Hidden Stone Village had not participated in this joint Chunin Exam.
However, that did not mean they were uninformed.
Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, paid extremely close attention to all intelligence related to the Hidden Leaf.
He never forgot the humiliation he had once suffered in Konoha.
Never.
That defeat had carved itself deep into his bones.
From that day onward, a seed had taken root in his heart.
One day, the Hidden Stone Village would surpass the Hidden Leaf.
Now, as he finished reading the intelligence report, his expression darkened.
He scoffed when reading about the Hidden Sand Village.
"Disgusting."
"Just a pack of dogs wagging their tails for Konoha."
Then he moved on to the Hidden Cloud Village's actions.
"Hmph. As expected."
"A bunch of barbarians who only know how to flex their muscles. No brains at all."
But when he reached the section detailing the Hidden Leaf's performance—
Ōnoki's expression finally changed.
The words blurred slightly as his grip tightened.
Once again.
Once again, Konoha had produced an astonishing genius.
"Hirakawa Aomizu… the genin who turned the tide."
Ōnoki clenched his teeth.
"Why is it always the Hidden Leaf?"
"In such a vast Hidden Stone Village, is there really not a single person capable of inheriting my Tsuchikage position?"
"How unfair is heaven!"
Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Hidden Stone Village suffered the most severe talent drought.
Young elites were scarce.
True geniuses were almost nonexistent.
After venting his frustration, Ōnoki slowly calmed himself.
He summoned an ANBU operative.
"Go."
"Release a mission on the black market."
The ANBU kneeled. "Target?"
"Hirakawa Aomizu."
Ōnoki's eyes were cold.
"Set the bounty at ten million ryō."
The ANBU's eyes widened slightly.
Ten million ryō was no small sum.
It was enough to tempt even high-level bounty hunters into risking their lives.
"If he dies, good."
"If not, it costs us nothing."
Ōnoki waved his hand dismissively.
He enjoyed this kind of move—causing trouble for the Hidden Leaf with nothing more than money.
Hidden Mist Village
Within the mist-shrouded halls of Kirigakure, Yagura Karatachi entered the Mizukage's office.
Though he looked like a child, he was already a grown man.
In his arms, he carried a thick stack of ninja files.
"Mizukage-sama," Yagura said respectfully. "The selection of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen has concluded."
"These seven are the final candidates."
He handed the files over.
The Third Mizukage flipped through them carefully.
After a while, he nodded.
"Very good."
Yagura, however, did not smile.
The price paid to select these seven had been enormous.
Over the past few years, the Blood Mist Policy had pushed countless ninja to their limits. Many could not accept it and chose to defect.
Even Yagura himself felt conflicted.
"Mizukage-sama," he hesitated, then spoke. "Is it truly appropriate to make such sacrifices for the sake of selecting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"
The room fell silent.
"Are you questioning my decision?" the Mizukage asked calmly.
Yagura's heart skipped a beat.
"N-No, I wouldn't dare."
The Mizukage sighed softly.
"You are still too focused on immediate gains and losses."
"You must look to the future."
He then took out another intelligence report and handed it to Yagura.
It was information about the Hidden Leaf.
"The Hidden Leaf has an endless stream of geniuses," the Mizukage said slowly. "Hirakawa Aomizu, previously unknown, is now famous throughout the ninja world."
"This is the gap between us and Konoha."
"What use are countless ordinary ninja?"
"Without enough truly powerful individuals, the Hidden Mist Village will never surpass the Hidden Leaf."
Yagura remained silent.
After a pause, the Mizukage continued.
"Now that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen have been selected, the Blood Mist Policy can be slightly relaxed."
"I would never make a decision that harms the village."
Yagura bowed deeply.
"Yes, Mizukage-sama."
Hidden Cloud Village
In the Hidden Cloud Village, the atmosphere was completely different.
The Third Raikage slammed his fist onto the desk.
"That damned Hirakawa Aomizu!"
"He ruined our entire plan—and even dared to kill Troy!"
The killing intent in the room was palpable.
"The Hidden Leaf must hand over the culprit!"
"Otherwise, we go to war!"
The rage was understandable.
Their plan had been flawless.
Kushina Uzumaki had already been captured.
If Dodai and the others had escaped the Land of Fire, Konoha would have been helpless.
Yet everything had collapsed because of a single genin.
Not only that—
They had lost Troy.
A jonin with a bloodline limit, capable of using Magnet Release.
Such a loss was unbearable.
Several jonin hurriedly spoke.
"Raikage-sama, please calm down!"
"We cannot go to war with the Hidden Leaf right now!"
War was something no one truly welcomed.
Even ninja raised to kill understood one truth—
On the battlefield, even jonin could die like ants.
It was a meat grinder.
"Are we just going to swallow this humiliation?!" the Raikage roared.
No one could answer.
Dodai was still absent.
Without him, no one could persuade the Raikage.
Finally, an older jonin spoke carefully.
"Raikage-sama… unless you plan to send Blue B to the front lines for a suicide mission against Konoha."
The room fell silent.
Blue B.
The Eight-Tails jinchuriki.
He had failed to become a perfect jinchuriki and was unstable, on the verge of losing control.
Sending him against the Hidden Leaf would be equivalent to sending him to die.
The Third Raikage clenched his fists.
"…We'll discuss this again after Dodai returns."
That was as good as giving up.
And across the ninja world—
One name echoed through every village.
Hirakawa Aomizu.
Famous throughout the ninja world.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)