Chapter 25: Chunin exam

The Suna council had met to discuss the upcoming Chunin exam that would be taking place in Iwagakure.

But first, they decided to hear what the informants sent by Suna were going to say and then discuss the decisions that would be made about it.

"We received information about the villages that would have agreed to participate in these Chunin exams, sir. In addition to Konohagakure which we knew would participate, apparently both Kirigakure and Kumogakure now confirmed their presence in these exams" said quickly Snake who was wearing the common Suna Anbu attire.

He was one of the few ninjas participating in this meeting who was not part of the council or patriarch of some important clan.

"That doesn't mean..." began one of the council elders.

"That's right, as my brother Ebizo assumed it would be, all 5 major ninja villages are participating in these Chunin exams" replied Chiyo calmly.

"Impossible..., wouldn't it then be the first Chunin exam in history where all 5 great villages participate together?" asked another of the council elders in shock.

Everyone was silent for a few moments until the Third Kazekage sighed and spoke again:

"Yes and this is why this year's Chunin exams will be of crucial importance to all the villages."

"Snake, do us a favor and explain the reasons why all the villages would have an interest in participating in these Chunin exams" Ebizo again requested the Anbu to speak.

"I understand" Snake nodded.

"When we went to investigate at Ebizo-sama's request which villages would participate in the examination, we discovered the background of why all of these accepted. We know that Kumogakure has wanted to expand their territory over the years; however, after the first ninja world war they had many losses and now it would be far-fetched to take on other villages" Snake began explaining.

"That's why now they intend to use these Chunin exams to demonstrate their strength and thus gain a greater amount of commissions, besides they intend to convince the Daimyo of the Lightning Country to provide them with more economic funds and counting with the help of the Daimyo everything would be easier for them, without their support it would be impossible for them to recover from their losses unless they wait many years" Snake finished explaining.

"Maybe, still, they seem to be forgetting that they won't be the only village interested in winning these exams, their losses could be greater than the gains" added Chiyo.

"I don't think so, Sister," said Ebizo.

"To me, it looks like they are prepared to use their best ninja and eliminate the competition. We all know how the third Raikage's methods are, there are no such things as weaklings in his eyes, he will do everything to win these exams and get the support of his country's Daimyo" commented Ebizo.

"I understand what Ebizo-sama brings up, but in the case of Kirigakure, what would one of the five great hidden villages that require nothing from their Daimyo gain by participating in these examinations? Besides, they don't usually participate in these exams, so it doesn't make sense for their sudden participation" said another of the council elders.

"Well... we think they decided to participate in these exams because they intended to take on the other four big villages, but we don't know exactly" answered Snake truthfully, clarifying that it was just speculation.

"That doesn't make any sense, what would be Kirigakure's reason to do that?" said Rodro Zensho who was the patriarch of one of the most important clans inside Sunagakure, he was also Pakura's father.

"Patriarch Zensho, it is likely that Kirigakure wants to prove their position as one of the five great villages and these Chunin exams gives them the perfect opportunity to do that" explained Chiyo calmly.

"Chiyo-sama is right Patriarch Zensho, we must not forget that in the first ninja world war Kirigakure was the only one of the 5 big villages that did not participate due to the death of the Second Mizukage and it is known that there are many rumors that for this reason the small villages do not consider Kirigakure as one of the 5 big ninja villages or consider it the weakest," said Keichi Seishin another patriarch of one of the most important clans in Suna, he was Karura's father.

"But more importantly, Kirigakure may even be seeking revenge against Iwagakure by killing the talented ninja they have in the Chunin exams" added Ebizo.

Everyone knew that the first ninja world war began with a conflict between Konoha and Kumo, which was later joined by Suna attacking Konoha for fertile lands.

The tensions between then and after the death of the ninja god Hashirama Senju, everyone decided to take advantage and participate in the war to get something.

But when only a few months had passed since the beginning of the war, the news of the death of the second Mizukage and the second Tsuchikage came out.

Apparently, they killed each other after an intense battle, triggered by differences in their plan to initiate a joint siege of Kumogakure and Konohagakure.

While the newly appointed third Tsuchikage, Oonoki, continued with his preparations to besiege Konoha; the heir to the dust element held a great resentment towards Konoha after the humiliation he and his master suffered from Madara, and because Madara and Hashirama were dead, he could not waste the opportunity he had been given, with or without the help of Kirigakure, he had decided to make Konoha pay, continuing his master's wish.

And with Konoha already fighting on two fronts (Suna and Kumo), it was a great advantage for him at the time, so he decided to attack.

But the new Third Mizukage of Kirigakure had given up on his predecessor's idea of attacking Konoha, and for that very reason did not end up participating in the war, after all, they didn't really have anything against Konoha.

"That's exactly what worries us, as we originally planned to work together with Iwagakure to eliminate the new generation of talented ninja from Konoha, but now that Kirigakure is also participating, it's likely that he will prioritize other things," said the Third Kazekage with annoyance, as it was the perfect opportunity to weaken the future generation of Konoha's ninja.

The patriarch of the Chikamatsu clan stood up, asking to speak:

"Kazekage, given the participation of Kiri and Kumo, it would be wise to desist from eliminating the young ninja of Konoha, and for now only ally with Iwa to face what awaits us in the Chunin exams, they must have a desire to avenge the death of their Tsuchikage just like Kiri with the death of his Mizukage"

"I agree with Patriarch Chikamatsu, an alliance with Iwa would allow us to keep not only our ninja safe, but we would also have a potential ally for future conflicts" supported and concluded the idea the Doku clan leader, while the patriarch of the Chikamatsu clan nodded to him and took his seat again.

It was obvious to everyone that both patriarchs had a good relationship, so they always used to support the ideas that the other proposed.

To get an idea of the bond that both clans had, it can be noted that Chiyo and Ebizo's mother was part of the Doku clan, while their father was part of the Chikamatsu clan.

The third Kazekage let out an annoyed sigh at the fact that they were once again trying to ruin his plans, and turned his gaze towards Skull, who immediately proceeded to respond:

"We already sent a message to the Third Tsuchikage to formalize the alliance, however, we have recent information that in Konoha the Third Hokage has decided to make his three apprentices take part in these Chunin exams, who have already proven to be the future pillars of Konoha"

Seeing the reaction of the leaders, the Third Kazekage nodded in agreement with what his right-hand man had said and for this reason, he decided to release a little extra information, hoping to convince most of those present that it was the perfect opportunity to eliminate future talents from Konoha with or without Iwa's support:

"That's why I propose not only to ally with Iwa but also to deal with the talented young apprentices of the Hokage, it is a unique opportunity, where even Konoha won't be able to protest their deaths being present the 5 great ninja villages"

The clan leaders and council elders began to murmur.

This could benefit them greatly, eliminating three of the future pillars of Konoha was very tempting, but also risky.