Guy stroked his chin, muttering to himself, "Those who choose to fight alone must have real strength—like Uchiha Izumi or Gaara."
"And that kid Naruto," Kakashi added lazily, leaning against the railing as his gaze fell on the young candidates below.
Suddenly, his eyes settled on Sajirō. Though Sasuke's appearance had changed, Kakashi immediately recognized the former student he had once trained. Narrowing his eyes, Kakashi recalled another purpose behind Kaede's Chunin Exams—baiting the enemy into the trap.
So Sasuke had been reduced to a pawn by Danzō. Such a pitiful fate for the two brothers: one used until discarded, the other now pushed forward as a tool. Kakashi wondered how far Sasuke's strength had come. Had he improved at all? The Trial of Hell would be the perfect chance to find out.
Seeing Kakashi drift into thought, Guy nudged him with an elbow. "Hey, who do you think will win this?"
"Sasuke," Kakashi answered offhandedly.
"Sasuke? Where? I don't see him." Guy looked around in confusion.
Kakashi gave him a sidelong glance. "You've been overtraining again, haven't you?"
"Hm? How did you know? I've been hiding my strength, after all—"
"Don't just train your body. Try training your brain too," Kakashi cut in with his dry sarcasm.
"You calling me brainless?!" Guy flared up instantly.
"Yeah," Kakashi replied flatly, as if it were obvious.
Their banter grew heated, Guy nearly breaking into a spar with him right there, while Tsunade continued announcing the rules below.
"Within this arena, whether it's many-on-one or one-on-one, anything goes. Those who can no longer fight are eliminated. Anyone who steps outside the boundary is eliminated. Kill, and you will be expelled."
"This is practically a slaughterhouse," someone whispered from the audience.
The Chunin Exam of the Land of Gods was merciless.
"But many of these so-called genin already have the strength of chunin—comparable even to the Kakashi of his youth," another onlooker muttered, watching as Guy and Kakashi escalated their bickering into shoves.
"Could Kakashi with his Sharingan even match the Fourth Hokage's son, Naruto?"
"Quiet. Minato is no longer Konoha's Hokage. Konoha is not what it once was."
Tsunade's sharp gaze swept the field. At her signal, two masked jōnin leapt down, weaving seals.
"Ninja Art: Zero Stealth Technique!"
A thick mist burst out, engulfing the vast arena.
"From this moment, the Chunin Exam begins!" Tsunade's voice rang through the fog. "Only those left standing at the end will be victorious!"
The mist grew so dense that one could barely see a hand before their face, then slowly began to thin. As the view cleared, it became obvious—more than half of the participants had already been taken out in the chaos.
In the center, Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino stood back to back in a triangle, scanning their surroundings with tension.
"This fight won't favor us if we attack first," Shikamaru whispered. "We need to hide."
"Hide where? It's an open arena!" Ino hissed back, panic in her eyes.
Shikamaru stayed calm, his mind already racing through the possibilities. He had spotted a formation the Iwa shinobi were setting up.
"There. We'll go there," he said firmly.
"But those are Iwa shinobi…" Chōji hesitated.
"Just do it. Trust me."
Exchanging a look, the three moved quickly. But as soon as they slipped behind the stone wall, they froze.
Naruto was already there, panting heavily as he caught his breath.
The trio stared in surprise.
(End of Chapter)
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