Chapter 178: Not Targeting Anyone—You’re All Equally Terrible!

Everyone already knew Konoha had some sort of detection capability, and a few geniuses had even been plotting ways to exploit a flaw—see if they could catch Konoha off guard and embarrass them a little. But… The shinobi on the glass screens were completely unaware that they were being monitored by an entire crowd. They looked around suspiciously, some thinking they were being stealthy as they observed others, full of self-confidence in their own cleverness. —But in reality— “Tsunade-hime, what’s this jutsu called?” “It was only just developed, so it doesn’t have a name yet. You’re free to call it whatever you like.” Tsunade smiled lightly. She’d felt a bit nervous at first, but now she was starting to settle in. What was so hard about public speaking? Back during the war, didn’t she deliver pre-battle speeches all the time? However… Not a single person believed her words. “Just developed”? Yeah, right! As former losers in the war, Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure had all suffered from Konoha’s intelligence tactics. Especially Kirigakure. They prided themselves on their infiltration and assassination skills—intelligence was one of their core strengths. And yet, even the Hozuki clan had been rooted out by Konoha somehow. Sure, Hozuki Chikage had been released not long ago, but by then, Konoha had already thoroughly studied him. So… To claim this jutsu was only recently developed? Not a chance. No one was buying that. Still… Even if they knew, there wasn’t much they could do. So everyone kept quiet—seeing through it without exposing it. Outside the exam grounds… A large crowd waited to enter. With all the different village shinobi gathered, things could have easily turned chaotic—but with Konoha’s mysterious viewing tech still a big unknown, most people kept their tempers in check, not daring to stir up trouble. That said… Kumogakure clearly wasn’t interested in playing nice. “Iwagakure scum—once we’re inside, wait your turn. I’ll hunt you down one by one… and kill every last one of you.” A girl with mocha-colored hair said coldly. “Yugito!” A blonde girl barked her name, then cast a cool glance toward the Iwa shinobi. “See you in the exam.” With that, she gave Yugito a pointed look and began leading her group toward a quieter corner of the area—obviously not looking to start a fight just yet. The rest remained silent. The Iwa shinobi didn’t talk back either. Though being insulted in public like that burned them up inside… They remembered Kitsuchi’s instructions. Personal grudges—avoid them if you can. Once inside, regroup immediately and rely on teamwork to handle the competition. As for Kumogakure’s provocation? Pretend you didn’t hear it. Cowardly as it might seem, they had their orders—and they had to obey. Back in the viewing area… Everyone had taken note of the mocha-haired girl. She was loud. Who was she? Ebizō noticed that the others in her group didn’t seem too close with her. They were gathered together, but there was distance—an odd sight for shinobi from Kumogakure. He narrowed his eyes slightly. Could she be…? Then, Ebizō raised his hand to signal. Tsunade saw it and gave a slight nod, indicating he was free to speak. “Our puppets are banned from carrying hidden weapons and poisons. So what about the Jinchūriki…? We only have the One-Tails in Sunagakure, and we didn’t even bring it. But if other villages send in Jinchūriki, wouldn’t that be unfair to everyone else?” With all weapons and ninja tools confiscated, the power of a Jinchūriki is practically a trump card—no one would be able to stand against that. “Don’t worry…” “Ebizō, no need to test the waters. Yugito may be a Jinchūriki, but before entering the exam, Konoha sealed her Tailed Beast chakra with the Uzumaki clan’s Four Symbols Seal. She can’t use the beast’s chakra at all.” A snort of laughter escaped A’s lips as he spoke. Ebizō nodded slightly, even offering a polite gesture of apology. “Raikage, I didn’t mean anything by it. Just voicing a thought, that’s all.” “Hmph…” A couldn’t even be bothered to respond. So what if he brought up the fact that Yugito was a Jinchūriki? That much… Konoha had already considered. The Fourth Raikage’s statement caused a brief silence to fall over the room. Jinchūriki… Even with their Tailed Beast powers sealed, Jinchūriki require extremely capable hosts. And this girl, Yugito, clearly wasn’t someone to be taken lightly. Everyone’s eyes immediately locked onto Yugito. That was when Tsunade stepped forward and spoke up. “There is indeed a Jinchūriki participating in this Chūnin Exam, but please rest assured—her Tailed Beast chakra has been sealed with the Four Symbols Seal. Once the exam is over, we will personally remove the seal.” “Of course, if she manages to break the seal on her own, that’s within the bounds of the rules. After all, if puppets can be used to craft poison needles and medicine on-site, then there’s no reason to forbid a Jinchūriki from trying to dispel a sealing jutsu.” Her words left everyone without a counterargument. A gave a small nod. Now that’s how you talk! Yugito might not have the power to break the seal, but Tsunade’s explanation was honest and to the point—unlike that sneaky old fox Ebizō, who came across as polite but was clearly probing with hidden barbs. A had no love for people like him. Not everyone was trying to pick a fight with Yugito, but Tsunade’s explanation certainly sparked more curiosity about her. The Four Symbols Seal. That was an Uzumaki sealing technique—way out of reach for someone like Yugito, who was just a child. And yet here she was, speaking with such confidence… She was either foolish—or hiding a trump card. So, which one was it? Of course… Not every village was paying attention to her. Many of the smaller ninja villages hadn’t come to the Chūnin Exam because of the exam itself. After all… The “Chūnin” title, while useful, wasn’t essential. Not having it didn’t stop them from taking missions, and those with real strength could still perform missions at a Chūnin level. If you lacked the strength, the title was just for show. Besides… Most of the ninja from these smaller villages had fairly limited abilities. In such a large-scale Chūnin Exam, promotion was practically impossible. During the pre-exam briefing, most of the Jōnin told their students flat-out— “Don’t expect to win. Just survive.” Villages like these weren’t uncommon. Even Sunagakure’s expectations were similar— Ebizō’s demands were minimal. Just staying alive counted as a success. On the monitors… Though the exam hadn’t started yet, the tension among the genin was already thick. There was no open confrontation or verbal sparring, but everyone was watching each other closely. Even Konoha’s side. Shisui glanced around silently, then subtly made a few hand signs. His teammates understood immediately. They were coded signals they’d picked up during training with the Konoha Military Police Force. What Shisui meant was— “Avoid that girl.” Searᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. … “Kyoichi-kun, was it you who sealed Yugito?” Orochimaru watched the screen with great interest as Yugito appeared. He didn’t believe she was stupid. Far more likely—she was the other kind. “No, I had Kushina do it. Right now, the seal inside Yugito is the same as the one used for the Nine-Tails, so there’s no way she can break it on her own.” “Ahem, I didn’t mean anything by it.” Orochimaru chuckled dryly. Still… Learning that the seal was Kushina’s work made it pretty clear Yugito wouldn’t be able to undo it herself. He was a bit disappointed by that… A Tailed Beast showing up during an exam would’ve made things very entertaining. “She can’t break it,” Kyoichi explained, “but because the Tailed Beast wasn’t fully sealed by Kumogakure, her body developed abnormally. Her physique is far beyond normal standards. Even without chakra from the beast, her taijutsu alone won’t be weak.” “I see. That explains why she’s confident enough to draw attention. Still, whoever ends up on her team… might just be out of luck.” Orochimaru looked over the images flickering across several crystal balls in front of Kyoichi, his expression amused, like a spectator munching on popcorn. He had volunteered to stay in the control room, partly to avoid the noise up front—and partly to reassure the old man. Lately, the Third Hokage had been reminding him—implicitly and explicitly—about past misdeeds, laced with warning and worry. And honestly, Orochimaru had lost interest in that experiment. Not that the old man believed him. So… To avoid suspicion that he was up to something shady during the exam, Orochimaru figured it was best to stay in plain sight. But now that he was here, he found it surprisingly fun to watch everything from the back end. Just then… “All teams, begin the draw. Some participants will need to be pre-assigned. After the draw, have them pull their entrance number for the test area.” Kyoichi relayed the message to the examiners through Katsuyu. It had to be said— Katsuyu was so convenient! Orochimaru stayed silent, watching the examiners through the crystal balls. Rigging the draw behind the scenes? Totally normal. Pure randomness wasn’t always ideal. For example… If Yugito and Samui—two of Kumogakure’s strongest candidates—ended up on the same team, Iwagakure would probably lose their minds and accuse Konoha of sabotage. Likewise… If Konoha’s top picks—Asuma and Shisui—got lumped together, other villages would cry foul too. Better to spread the talent thin, so everyone suffered equally. Think they’re aces? Let’s toss them a couple of dead weights. That should shut everyone up. Take Hōzuki Mangetsu, for instance. His teammates? Gōzu and Meizu—the infamous “Demon Brothers” of the future. The only reason those two graduated was Kirigakure’s lax standards. In terms of quality, they were average at best—worse than Kotetsu and Izumo. Of course… Gōzu was currently suspected of being under Madara’s genjutsu. Kyoichi wasn’t sure how strong he really was, so… They were placed in one of the exam’s most remote zones. Basically… In the first area, they were unlikely to encounter any Konoha genin. Within the rules, rigging wasn’t easy. But if you really wanted to do it—it was child’s play. Mangetsu glanced at the draw results and sneered before turning to Gōzu and Meizu. “Don’t drag me down. If you screw up, don’t expect me to save you.” “Yes, sir!” The two bowed respectfully. Mangetsu thought he’d drawn the short straw with lousy teammates—until he looked around a bit more and realized Konoha hadn’t played favorites… Everyone’s teams were equally meh. Uchiha Shisui? Teamed up with Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki—clearly kids from civilian backgrounds. Sarutobi Asuma? His teammates weren’t from any notable clan either. The only team that really looked dangerous was Shiranui Genma, Nara Tayuen, and Raitō Ayatsugi… But that wasn’t even Konoha’s standard trio. Normally, the Nara clan teamed with the Akimichi and Yamanaka to form the famed Ino-Shika-Chō. That was common knowledge across the ninja world. So in a way, Konoha was being “fair” to everyone. Mangetsu’s irritation eased considerably. This outcome… was acceptable after all. And he wasn’t alone—many others felt the same way. Even the squad leaders from other villages nodded in agreement.