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Sawara Kiri had indeed concealed quite a bit from Tsunade.
Konoha's application of the Ryumakyu and Chaldea was not limited to exploring cutting-edge technology; it was also crucial for the safety of Konoha and Sawara Kiri himself.
Long before Ōnoki proposed this series of plans, Konoha's Research Department had already observed countless possibilities of Konoha's destruction through the Near-Future Lens installed in Chaldea. Over the years, Orochimaru had been busy with various protective measures for Konoha.
It's no exaggeration to say that Konoha's true guardian is not the seemingly invincible Sawara Kiri, but rather this future observation facility, which silently observes everything from Konoha's shadows and prepares countless contingency plans.
Among these, the most critical task of this facility is naturally the observation and response to Ōtsutsuki attacks.
However, just as no two leaves in this world are exactly alike, naturally, the Near-Future Lens has never observed two identical world lines.
The moment they completed their observations, the world line had already changed under their influence.
Therefore, regarding the observation results of the world line, no one in Konoha, except Orochimaru, knows the complete outcome.
Even Sawara Kiri chose to fully trust Orochimaru, let alone Tsunade, who has an even greater influence on Konoha and the world.
It wasn't until Ōnoki and others, under various influences, gradually began to act in the same way as in the observed world line, allowing Orochimaru to observe corresponding behavioral influences from their movements, that he informed Sawara Kiri of the potential problematic outcomes of this operation.
He also conveyed some scenes he had observed from that world line.
A barren, nuclear-blasted cave.
A massive fire in Konoha's industrial district.
A small figure charging into the crowd at the venue.
And a dark figure, presumably an Ōtsutsuki, standing atop the Hokage Rock.
The only fortunate thing is that, according to Orochimaru's five-tier danger rating for the observed world line, from 'Special' to 'Fourth-Class,' this world line's danger level is 'First-Class.'
It hasn't reached the 'Special' level, where a full-scale Ōtsutsuki invasion would mean a high probability of death even for Sawara Kiri.
However, even a 'First-Class' danger level means Sawara Kiri would need to take some risks to resolve it.
For him, the undisputed 'Strongest Ninja in the Ninja World,' this is already a considerably dangerous level. For other Ninja, it would be a death trap with no escape.
For this reason, Sawara Kiri did not intend to tell Tsunade these things.
Their preparations were already sufficient.
"What's wrong?"
"You guys aren't really hiding something from me, are you?!"
Tsunade, embraced by Sawara Kiri, noticed his subtle tone, as if sensing something. Her voice immediately rose, and she struggled in his arms to turn around and glare into his eyes.
This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened.
Sawara Kiri and Orochimaru always kept things about future observation hidden from her, and Tsunade herself knew this.
Over the past seven years, similar incidents had occurred many times.
Even the observation results regarding 'Kimimaro' during the Hidden Mist incident, she only learned about afterward.
While Tsunade could understand their reasons for doing so, as the Village's Shadow, Tsunade was bound to be very sensitive to such matters.
Although all major daily affairs of Konoha passed through her hands, whenever truly critical matters concerning Konoha's survival arose, Tsunade always felt as if she had been sidelined by this detestable fellow—and indeed, that was the truth.
If it were merely a power struggle, it would be fine, as even Tsunade herself had long considered her young man to be the destined Fifth Hokage.
However, every time such a situation arose, it often meant that Sawara Kiri might need to take certain risks to accomplish things.
How could she easily accept that?
"I'm sorry, Tsunade."
Sawara Kiri maintained his embrace, gently blowing warm air into her ear:
"Some details cannot be told to you before the incident occurs."
"Orochimaru-sensei said the same thing."
"You—"
Tsunade wanted to say more, but he gently bit her earlobe, almost making her lose the anger on her face. A blush involuntarily appeared on her cheeks, and she angrily punched his back:
"Do you even know the nature of what you're doing?"
Sawara Kiri chuckled and tightened his embrace, intentionally saying, "Entering court without hurrying, bowing without naming, wearing swords and shoes into the hall, sleeping in the imperial bedchamber?"
"I did do the last one."
"How does the Fourth Hokage intend to deal with a rebellious person like me?"
Listening to his joking tone, Tsunade couldn't help but blush and grit her teeth, muttering lowly:
"You know that?"
"In other Villages, they would have killed you already!"
"That's why I'm from Konoha," Sawara Kiri said with a matter-of-fact tone.
"…"
Tsunade seemed to think of something, and her rising anger subsided a bit. A hint of tenderness appeared in her eyes, though her mouth still wouldn't let him off:
"Pervert."
Tsunade's feelings for her young man were very complex.
At first, it was gratitude for him pulling her out of the abyss of hemophobia, and the feelings he showed her, transcending all barriers of identity;
In the middle, it was mixed with the anxiety of gains and losses after knowing Sawara Kiri's true identity, and her half-hearted resistance when their relationship progressed further;
Now, it was the possessiveness born from years of accumulated emotion, along with various worries about public opinion and age, and her resentment towards this little scoundrel for two-timing.
As for Uchiha Megumi? What Uchiha?
All in all, these layers of emotional changes gradually evolved into the current difficulty of letting him go, making Tsunade increasingly unable to accept the potentially huge dangers that might arise in the future.
"You won't be in trouble this time either, right?"
Tsunade's voice lowered a bit, staring directly into his eyes.
"Of course."
Sawara Kiri looked confident.
Hearing his answer, Tsunade, embraced by Sawara Kiri, immediately changed her expression. She grabbed his sleeve with incredible strength and pulled him directly towards the bedroom with large strides.
The sudden reversal of the situation made Sawara Kiri himself pause, being unilaterally pulled and pushed into the bedroom.
Tsunade's tone was exceptionally bold, showing no fear at all:
"Come on, get in the room with me!"
"Before you die, you little brat, I'm going to get my fill!"
"???"
The next day.
Despite being preoccupied, Kakashi still tried his best to get into peak condition to face the upcoming Chunin Exam.
However, Killer Bee and that guy named 'Han' still lingered in his mind.
Although Obito was an idiot, even the strict Kakashi had to admit that this guy, solely in terms of close-range combat, already possessed fighting abilities beyond the average Chunin.
Yet, he was beaten so badly by the opponent.
Just this tip of the iceberg was enough to judge the danger they were about to face in this exam.
Upon arriving at the meeting point as instructed, and seeing Sawara's slightly noticeable dark circles under his eyes, this judgment became even more certain.
'Even Sawara stayed up all night?'
'Last night, he must have had very complex matters to consider, right?'
At that moment, Kakashi's mind quickly flashed through the Chunin Exam, the tense global situation, the dire world economy, Ninja from various Villages who had to be laid off, and so on.
Thinking of this, even Kakashi couldn't help but sigh inwardly for the hardworking Sawara-sensei.
'Indeed.'
'Even the strongest Ninja in the Ninja World can't do as he pleases...'
'If only eliminating the leaders of each Village could bring peace to the entire Ninja World.'
Obito, who had come with him, had just had his injuries treated by the accompanying medical Ninja last night. His simple mind was basically filled with liquid, and he hadn't taken yesterday's 'minor incident' to heart at all, purely remembering the good times and forgetting the bad.
At this moment, he also noticed the dark circles under Sawara Kiri's eyes and immediately spoke loudly: "Hey—! Sawara, you didn't stay up all night to watch that late-night movie on the street, did you?"
"Damn it, I knew I should have gone last night!"
Sawara Kiri immediately glared at him with a dark face and said sternly:
"Go."
"Kids shouldn't meddle in adult matters!"
Kakashi squinted at him, suddenly feeling that the guy named Killer Bee yesterday had been too lenient.
But...
As he thought, his gaze shifted to the Fourth Hokage's face, which for some reason was glowing with health, and a hint of doubt appeared in his eyes.
'Tsunade seems to have rested quite well?'
'She probably left everything to the planning department and the temporary Jonin squad, right?'
"After all, she has other things to do today."
With this speculation, Kakashi immediately felt it was only natural.
Once all the participating Genin had gathered, Tsunade gave her usual brief speech and then sent all these young Ninja into the Iwagakure examination hall.
The first stage of the Chunin Exam was the routine written test.
Before the exam began, everyone gathered in the examination hall.
Kakashi subtly scanned the dense crowd around him, his expression gradually becoming serious.
Among the examinees present, the largest number were naturally the local Genin of Iwagakure. Most of them were not worth his attention in Konoha. The only ones he valued were the team led by 'Han,' who had appeared before him yesterday.
'If I remember correctly, among the two Tailed Beasts owned by Iwagakure, Roshi of the Four Tails is a Ninja of the same generation as Ōnoki, which means Han is the Five Tails Jinchuriki?'
'Besides that, the two guys next to him are not easy to deal with either.'
'Their Chakra reserves are quite outstanding.'
Kakashi's gaze remained still, but the sensing Ninjutsu, which he was gradually able to apply under his father's guidance, gave him a more acute observation ability than his eyes.
The number of people from Sunagakure was small, but they too were subtly led by one faction.
While the Chakra levels of the other two members of the team in the center of Sunagakure were decent, Kakashi didn't see any particularly prominent features. Only the short, stout person surrounded in the center made him glance twice.
In terms of height alone, the opponent was even a head shorter than him, his entire body almost oval-shaped, covered in a black cloak and hat, making his appearance unclear.
However, when his Chakra spread out, Kakashi keenly noticed that the opponent seemed to tilt his head in his direction.
'Is this guy's perception so sharp?'
Kakashi's vigilance grew stronger.
As for the last team...
Kakashi turned his head and looked in the direction of the tall, dark figure.
Killer Bee met his gaze almost at the same moment his eyes swept over.
A grim smile appeared on his prematurely mature face, and he made a thumbs-up gesture, lightly drawing it across his neck.
The threat was obvious.
Besides the Ninja from these four great nations, these examinees also included many Ninja from smaller Ninja Villages. Their individual quality was even worse than that of Iwagakure's Genin, not worth his extensive attention.
Just as Kakashi was secretly evaluating his opponents, he suddenly noticed soft footsteps behind him.
"Who?!"
Kakashi turned around vigilantly, a Kunai whistling out of his hand.
Then, he saw a young Ninja, about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a Kusagakure forehead protector, instantly freeze behind him. The tip of his Kunai was pressed directly against his neck, and he skillfully raised his hands, not daring to move, cold sweat slowly trickling down his forehead.
He looked very weak.
"I, I just wanted to ask..."
The Kusagakure Ninja gave him an awkward smile. Under the threat of the Kunai, he slowly pulled open his vest, revealing a dense array of papers hanging on the inside of the vest. He lowered his voice, as if guilty:
"Student, do you want data cards?"
Kakashi's gaze paused, and he looked at him—and the papers hanging on his clothes—with a puzzled expression.
Seeing his demeanor, the Kusagakure Ninja knew this kid had little experience.
He first glanced at the other Ninja around him, then risked approaching a bit closer, continuing in a low voice: "You are Kakashi, Konoha's top Genin this year."
"This is your first Chunin Exams, right?"
"I'm from Kusagakure, and I've participated in five Chunin Exams already; I have a lot of experience!"
As he spoke, he confidently patted the data inside his vest, looking like a veteran: "These are all the Chunin written test collections I've gathered over the years, and also a summary of various information on the examinees—don't look at me like that, we Kusagakure are very poor, just earning some extra money while taking the exam."
"Even if you don't need them, I need them myself."
Kakashi still stared at him with a suspicious gaze, but the Kunai in his hand gradually lowered—it was too conspicuous like that.
However, he remained vigilant:
"What's your name?"
"Ri, my name is Ri."
Seeing his appearance, the Kusagakure Ninja's face broke into a worldly smile, and he lightly rubbed his hands:
"The price is five thousand Ryo per piece of information."
"Remember, it's your Konoha's 'Ryo'."
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