The Third Kazekage naturally saw through their intentions.
Sarutobi and Danzo had teamed up, staging a good-cop-bad-cop routine using reverse psychology—all to publicly pressure him into accepting Konoha's challenge.
But they underestimated Sunagakure's ninja strength.
Rasa and Pakura were both once-in-a-lifetime talents in Sunagakure, hailed as twin stars. Not long ago, each had mastered a powerful secret technique—trump cards strong enough to decide the outcome of battle. If used, Konoha's ninja wouldn't stand a chance.
So the Third Kazekage played along—he pretended to hesitate at first, drawing them in, then suddenly agreed.
"What does the Third Hokage think?" the Third Kazekage turned the tables, narrowing his eyes at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Do you have confidence in Konoha's ninja?"
Hiruzen hesitated for a moment.
If this trade negotiation failed, both great villages would suffer. But since Konoha had long held a major trade surplus over Sunagakure, cutting economic ties completely would hurt Konoha far worse in the end.
The treaty must be signed.
Looks like there's no other way around it.
"Fine."
Hiruzen finally nodded. At the same time, he subtly glanced toward Hiashi Hyuga standing among the gathered representatives, instantly feeling more assured.
Hiashi truly was a rare genius—given time, he would become the strongest warrior of the Hyuga clan.
And Sarutobi also knew that beyond Hiashi, Danzo had prepared other contingencies...
"Cough, cough."
After both Kage leaders reached an agreement, Danzo cleared his throat and officially announced the contest to everyone present.
Whoosh!
The banquet erupted into excitement.
Young ninja from both sides reignited their rivalry, many eager to seize this opportunity and make a name for themselves on such a grand stage.
Meanwhile, Danzo, Tsunade, Chiyo, and the Sunagakure elders gathered to finalize the match rules.
Time was limited, so holding an elimination-style tournament like the Chunin Exams was out of the question.
After discussion, both sides agreed that Konoha and Suna would each send seven participants, fighting in a rotating challenge format—alternately attacking and defending the arena. The side with remaining fighters at the end would win.
This setup saved time while giving everyone a shot at the spotlight, essentially pitting the overall strength of the new generation against each other.
Once the rules were set, both sides began selecting their candidates.
Chiyo oversaw Suna's selection while Tsunade led Konoha's team. Both were medical ninja, ready to provide immediate treatment if anyone got injured during the match.
But when picking their team, Konoha found itself at a bit of a disadvantage.
Although Sunagakure had fewer participants than Konoha in this round of exams, their average age was three years older—an accumulation of top talent over recent years.
Previously, Suna had promoted seven ninja to chunin, while Konoha only had five.
Two short.
Would they really have to pull replacements straight from the genin ranks?
Tsunade felt a headache coming on, temporarily unable to find suitable candidates.
"Tsunade-sama, please allow me to join the team and participate in the competition."
At this moment, a ninja named Sada stepped forward and whispered, "This is Danzo's wish."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Tsunade looked toward Danzo in surprise, only to see the latter give a barely perceptible nod.
Turning back, she examined Sada carefully. He had indeed participated in the previous Chunin Exams but hadn't left any strong impression, and his appearance was quite ordinary.
Was he someone arranged by Danzo? Could he be a Root member?
No wonder Danzo had been so aggressive, using the trade agreement to challenge Sunagakure—he clearly came prepared.
Thinking thus, Tsunade suddenly understood and agreed to Sada's request.
"If so, then we just need one more participant."
She muttered softly, her gaze scanning across several eager Konoha Genins. Then she spotted a familiar figure walking straight toward her through the crowd.
"Big sister Tsunade, may I participate too?"
In front of everyone's astonished stares, Heiyan approached Tsunade directly and requested to compete.
He originally had no interest in getting mixed up in this squabble between the ninja of both villages.
However, with the high-ranking elders getting involved, the situation escalated until the trade agreement itself was on the line—
Heiyan knew it was time. His long-awaited opportunity had arrived.
If he could perform remarkably well in this competition, he would have the chance to make a request from the Third Hokage—to obtain the highly desired [Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu].
"What are you doing here, Master Heiyan? Why don't you just find some other mess to dive into?"
Before Tsunade could speak, others began expressing their dissatisfaction, grumbling openly.
Although Heiyan was loaded—being the secret host behind tonight's banquet—he couldn't just waltz into a serious contest like this.
After all, almost everyone knew that even his Genin status had been purchased.
"Heiyan, are you serious about this?"
Tsunade finally spoke, her expression serious. She needed to confirm whether Heiyan had thought this through carefully rather than acting impulsively.
"Big sister Tsunade, please believe in me,"
Heiyan responded firmly. "I'll give it my all."
"All right."
After confirming Heiyan's determination, Tsunade greatly appreciated his courage and immediately approved his participation in the competition.
Truthfully speaking, the key to winning this match rested upon several talented ninja from both Sand and Leaf—the specific ones being Rasa, Pakura, Hiashi Hyuga, and Danzo's subordinate, Sada.
The others were simply irrelevant supporting roles; whether they were slightly stronger or weaker wouldn't significantly influence the outcome.
That's why Tsunade gave Heiyan a pass.
Even though those present felt discontented inside upon hearing Tsunade's decision, they couldn't really say much more.
Thus, Konoha's seven participants were finalized, including five newly promoted Chunins and two Genins: Sada and Heiyan.
Likewise, Sunagakure selected their seven as well—as expected, all freshly promoted Chunins.
Then came the issue of choosing a venue for the match.
Fighting in the restaurant was off the table, but going to the training ground felt way too far.
"Behind this hotel, there's an undeveloped lot we could use as a battleground."
Heiyan was the first to speak.
With that, the group marched out of the hotel in grand fashion and arrived at the back lot.
As people began preparing to build the arena, The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, spoke up:
"I'll handle this. Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I last got to stretch my limbs."
In a flash, he performed Hand Seals quickly and slammed his palms onto the ground, letting out a low shout:
"Rise!"
Before everyone's astonished eyes, the ground slowly lifted upward, forming a simple circular platform thirty meters in diameter.
The battle was about to begin.
Whoosh!
From the Sand side, a figure darted forward and appeared on the stage — surprisingly one of the two prodigies, Rasa.
It seemed Sunagakure wanted to make a strong opening statement and secure an early victory.
"So then, who will be my opponent?"
Rasa maintained his usual indifferent expression, sweeping his gaze across the Konoha ninjas.
Hiashi Hyuga remained unmoved because his task was to hold the line — if the first six Konoha fighters lost, he would have to turn the tide.
To Hiashi, this strategy made perfect sense.
Let's face it — heroes always make their grand entrance at the very last second, right?
As for the others, although they were elite ninja from various Konoha clans, facing Rasa first made them hesitate.
"Why don't you take the stage first, Elite Heiyan?"
Someone suggested just then, with others quickly chiming in agreement.
They all wanted Heiyan to go first as cannon fodder to wear down Rasa's chakra. After all, with his strength alone, he was just another disposable pawn.
"All right then."
When Heiyan heard this, he actually welcomed the opportunity.
For him, this was the perfect chance to prove himself for Konoha. The sooner he fought, the better — waiting too long might mean missing his moment entirely.
However, just as Heiyan took a step forward, preparing to ascend the stage—
"Wait!"
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