"You two, hurry up, we're almost late!" In a large, circular arena, a small boy, around seven or eight years old, was urgently running along a walkway. As he ran, he kept looking back, urging his two companions behind him to quicken their pace. The boy was wearing a yellow short-sleeved shirt with the Konoha symbol printed on the chest, and a pair of green, double-rimmed goggles perched on his head.
Behind him were a boy and a girl of roughly the same age. The little girl had brownish-yellow hair styled into large pigtails on either side of her head. The remaining little boy wore round-framed glasses, and as he ran, a snot bubble occasionally appeared at the tip of his nose. All three of them had cute, round faces, looking endearingly clumsy and innocent.
"Konohamaru, I can't run anymore!" Hearing the leading boy's urging, the little boy trailing at the back said, his voice tinged with tears.
These three young children were none other than Sarutobi Konohamaru, Kazamatsuri Moegi, and Ise Udon, who proudly called themselves the "Konohamaru Ninja Squad." Konohamaru was running at the front, while Udon was lagging behind.
"No way! Big Brother Naruto's match is about to start! We can't hold him back!" Konohamaru replied, turning his head to give Udon an encouraging thumbs-up.
The moment Konohamaru's words fell, enthusiastic cheers erupted from the spectator stands above. Hearing this, Konohamaru's expression changed. He couldn't wait for his two companions any longer and turned, about to continue running up the walkway.
"Oof!"
However, just as Konohamaru turned, he felt his body collide hard with someone. Caught off guard, Konohamaru lost his balance and stumbled, his body tumbling towards the lower part of the walkway.
"Konohamaru!" Seeing this, Moegi and Udon, who were behind him, both cried out in alarm. The walkway in the arena was quite high; if Konohamaru fell from here, he would definitely get hurt.
Just as Konohamaru's body was about to fall, a hand shot out and grabbed him, pulling him back from the edge. The hand belonged to the person Konohamaru had just bumped into in his haste.
"Be careful there, little one!" a raspy voice said.
Konohamaru, having regained his balance, looked up and immediately saw a man wearing a Kage hat. Beneath the hat was the somewhat stiff-looking face of a middle-aged man. His narrow, golden, reptilian eyes held a strange, unsettling glint. For some reason, being stared at by this man, Konohamaru suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, and an inexplicable sense of fear gripped his heart.
After being pulled up by the man, Konohamaru stood frozen in place, completely stunned. Seeing Konohamaru's dazed expression, the man's lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile, then he turned and walked away.
"Konohamaru!" Below, Udon and Moegi had already caught up, both looking at Konohamaru with concern.
"He's…" Watching the man's slender figure recede into the distance, Konohamaru murmured softly to himself.
"That person… he looks like the Kusakage from Kusagakure," Moegi, standing beside him, offered an explanation upon hearing Konohamaru's soft mumble. As she spoke, a hint of confusion also flickered in her large eyes. For these three little ones, the Kusakage of Kusagakure was definitely a very important figure. Moegi felt somewhat puzzled. The matches were about to begin; why would such a prominent figure still be down here in the walkways?
"Naruto!" "Go, Neji!" ... ...
However, this fleeting confusion quickly passed from the little girl's mind. The attention of all three children was soon drawn back to the fervent cheers erupting from the spectator stands above.
"Let's go, quick!" The tide of cheers, like a roaring wave, snapped Konohamaru back to his senses. He no longer dwelled on the earlier incident and, after calling out to Udon and Moegi, took the lead and ran off.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the spectator stands. By this time, the stands were already packed with spectators. Today was the final, official round of the Chunin Exams. All those who had made it this far were undoubtedly the elites of their respective villages, and the number of people who had come to watch the matches was immense.
Down in the arena below, the two contestants for the upcoming match were already in position.
Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyuga.
In the examination area, with a flicker, the head proctor, Gekko Hayate, vanished from the spot. The moment Gekko Hayate departed, Naruto and Neji both simultaneously charged towards each other. The match had officially begun.
"Go, Big Brother Naruto!" Seeing this, Konohamaru, in the spectator stands, quickly led Udon and Moegi to their seats, then began to shout encouragement towards the arena below with all his might. As he cheered, Konohamaru couldn't help but subconsciously glance towards the VIP viewing box. There, all the important dignitaries who had come to observe the Chunin Exams were seated.
Among them, Konohamaru quickly located the man he had bumped into earlier. As if sensing Konohamaru's gaze, the man also looked in his direction. Their eyes met, and Konohamaru immediately felt as if he had been bitten by a snake, quickly averting his gaze. For some reason, whenever he met that man's eyes, Konohamaru felt an inexplicable sense of fear welling up in his heart.
In the VIP box, the Kusakage, who was silently watching the match, was none other than Orochimaru in disguise. Seeing the startled Konohamaru, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Orochimaru's lips. The grandson personally trained by the old man doesn't seem to be anything special after all! Thinking this, Orochimaru shifted his gaze away from Konohamaru and focused on Naruto and Neji, who were fiercely engaged in combat below. Watching the two of them intensely exchanging taijutsu blows, Orochimaru lightly licked his lips. In just a few short years, Konoha really has undergone a heaven-and-earth-shattering transformation!
Beside him in the VIP box, Tsunade, who had caught this subtle action out of the corner of her eye, frowned deeply. Towards this rather unremarkable Kusakage beside her, she felt that something was not quite right. That cold, unsettling aura… it felt disturbingly familiar.
Outside Konoha Village.
In a dense forest, atop the sturdy branch of a large tree, Tendo Pain stood silently. Below, the other five Paths of Pain were all present and accounted for. High above in the sky, Konan, with a pair of angelic wings formed entirely from white origami paper sprouting from her back, floated silently.
In the distant sky, a small white dot was rapidly approaching. It was Deidara's giant clay bird. On the bird's back, Sasori and Deidara sat quietly. And just below the clay bird, several figures were rapidly leaping through the trees. They were Kisame Hoshigaki, Uchiha Hiroomi, Kakuzu, and Hidan.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~
With a series of air-cutting sounds, all six of them quickly arrived at the rendezvous point.
Whoosh~
The moment the six of them arrived, a swirling spatial vortex opportunely appeared, and from within it emerged Obito, dressed in an Uchiha clan uniform, and another man wearing a white, spiral-patterned mask.
The moment the man in the white spiral mask appeared, he greeted everyone enthusiastically, "Hi! Hello there, seniors! I'm the new member who just joined the organization, Tobi!"
"Let's go." Watching this unfamiliar man who had appeared for the first time, Tendo Pain's eyes narrowed slightly, but he made no comment, merely uttering two indifferent words. With that, Tendo Pain took the lead and headed towards Konoha Village. Behind him, the other five Paths quickly followed.
The remaining Akatsuki members, seeing this, also silently set off in pursuit.