The Chūnin Exams were originally progressing fiercely, but Uchiha Madara's sudden attack cast a shadow over the entire exam.
To ensure the safety of the candidates, the exam had to be temporarily suspended.
However, the importance of the exam was self-evident—it concerned the distribution of interests among the various countries, so it could not be simply canceled.
In this situation, some countries chose to withdraw from the competition, automatically receiving the last place.
That country was the Village Hidden in the Mist.
The Third Mizukage of the Mist Village had been controlled by Uchiha Madara, leading to a series of incredible actions.
Moreover, his recovery to normal was largely thanks to Konoha.
After Madara's Elephant Transfer Technique was defeated that day, he was left behind as the controlled Mizukage.
Afterwards, he was overwhelmingly defeated by Uzumaki Mito.
Later still, it was Uchiha Hikaru who broke the genjutsu controlling him.
So, after regaining consciousness, the Third Mizukage naturally dared not linger in Konoha.
He also knew clearly that, as the shadow of a village, being controlled by someone and losing the Three-Tails was a huge blow to him.
He expected to face removal from his post upon returning home, so he chose to leave Konoha as soon as possible and return to the Mist Village.
The losses of the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Rock Villages were also significant; the Eight-Tails and Four-Tails have been confirmed dead.
But thinking about Uchiha Hikaru's overwhelming Susanoo, which defeated the Mizukage as easily as Uzumaki Mito crushed a child…
They dared not say much and could only swallow this bitter truth silently.
This time, the Hidden Sand got lucky.
Although they still could not defeat Konoha, they did not lose anything.
Konoha suffered many injuries in Madara's attack, but all were rescued in time.
Among them, the Medical Tags developed by Uchiha Hikaru played a great role.
The Four Tailed Beasts destroyed many buildings, but luckily were later taken away from Konoha Village by Uchiha Hikaru.
When Madara and Uzumaki Mito were fighting, most personnel had already evacuated.
Therefore, aside from damage to buildings, Konoha's other losses were minimal.
Although this news was not entirely positive, it did relieve Uzumaki Mito.
She then ordered the ninja to assist civilians in cleaning up the aftermath.
The next day, the sun rose as scheduled, unchanged by anyone's joys or sorrows.
However, the once bustling Konoha Village was now shrouded in an unusual cold silence.
The streets and alleys were missing their usual hustle and prosperity, replaced by worried and uneasy expressions on people's faces.
Recalling yesterday's battle, many were still filled with lingering fear.
It had been like a natural disaster-level catastrophe. Although there were no reports of casualties, the destructive power was enough to instill terror in anyone.
Especially the nobles—they perhaps did not worry that the ninja would harm them directly, but that fear of collateral damage made them flee Konoha overnight.
The Daimyos of the Five Great Nations had long since disappeared from sight.
At this moment, the Chūnin Exam venue was utterly empty.
Where just yesterday it had been packed, today no one came to watch.
The four Kage stood alone in the viewing stands, as if waiting for something.
Senju Yosuke entered the exam hall, preparing to announce the resumption of the exam.
Ōnoki suddenly spoke:
"Hokage, your participating candidates need not come up."
His voice was calm—perhaps overly so.
Uzumaki Mito frowned upon hearing this and looked at him with some surprise.
She did not understand why Ōnoki would suddenly make such a request.
After all, Uchiha Hikaru's strength displayed yesterday was obvious to all.
Would such a world-shattering ability not command their respect?
Fortunately, the Raikage spoke up to answer her doubts.
"Konoha taking first place this time is something agreed upon by several nations."
There was a hint of helplessness in his voice.
It turned out that it was not that they did not fear Uchiha Hikaru's strength, but after careful consideration, they made a compromise.
This decision was undoubtedly a huge concession for them.
But they knew in their hearts that Uchiha Hikaru's power had exceeded their imagination, even pushing them toward despair.
Especially Ōnoki, who yesterday had witnessed with his own eyes Uchiha Hikaru's single strike cutting down Uchiha Madara.
At that moment, his eyes nearly bulged out, filled with shock and fear.
He understood that this power was simply beyond what they could resist.
So, after consulting with the other Kage, they made the difficult decision—to concede first place to Konoha.
This decision was a heavy blow to them.
But they also understood this was reality, an unchangeable fact.
Uzumaki Mito now understood too: it wasn't that they were not afraid, but that they had directly admitted defeat.
This was good news for Konoha.
But just as Uzumaki Mito relaxed and prepared to continue watching the Chūnin Exam, a ninja in Anbu uniform suddenly appeared in her sight.
He glanced around, his gaze lingering briefly on the other Kage, seeming hesitant.
At that moment, Uzumaki Mito's expression changed slightly, as if sensing something.
She recognized this Anbu as the ninja she had specially assigned to handle intelligence in the Uzumaki Country.
Without hesitation, she stood and brought the Anbu to a relatively quiet place for a deeper discussion.
The other three Kage just glanced lightly and returned their attention to the exam.
They knew they had no authority over Konoha's matters, so rather than guessing and worrying here, they preferred to continue watching the matches.
Elsewhere, once the Anbu reached the quiet place, he immediately said:
"Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Country has sent out an urgent distress signal."
"The Mist Village is attacking them, and the Third Mizukage has led reinforcements from the Hidden Mist to join the battlefield today!"
Uzumaki Mito was somewhat stunned.
What did it mean that the Third Mizukage joined the battlefield?
Wasn't he controlled by Uchiha Madara and had just attacked Konoha?
How did he suddenly go to attack Uzumaki Country?
Could it be that the Third Mizukage was controlled by Madara again?
A flood of questions instantly surged in her mind, making her uneasy.
After all, only yesterday she had kindly spared the Third Mizukage and even helped him break the genjutsu control.
Yet today, the Third Mizukage was leading troops to attack his own homeland.
This scene was hard to accept, even for this strong woman who came from the Warring States era.
However, she quickly composed herself.
Regarding Uzumaki Country, she had long been prepared.
Although she had not expected Uchiha Madara to still be alive, as long as it was not him attacking Uzumaki Country,
her previous preparations were enough to deal with it, and there was no need to trouble Uchiha Hikaru.
But since Uchiha Madara remained a threat, she intended to hear Hikaru's opinion.
So, she returned home and found Uchiha Hikaru still sleeping.