Jiraiya grinned. "That's why it’s important to be on your toes. The other vilges will be watg Konoha closely. But don’t let that bother you too much—just stay sharp and focus on your own strength."

  Kabuto adjusted his gsses, his expression thoughtful. "Sensei, do you think others will have figured out our pn by now?"

  Jiraiya, leaning against the hotel wall, spoke up. "The Raikage will test us. He’ll make sure his vilge doesn’t lose fa front of Konoha. Especially in his own vilge," he paused for a sed, looking toward the three of them. "But I believe in you guys."

  A moment of silence passed as Kaida, Itachi, and Kabuto felt both proud and a little burdened by the praise. The weight on their shoulders increased slightly.

  "Rest up," Jiraiya finally said, his expression softening a bit. "Tomorrow, things are going to get real. You’ll need all the energy you get."

  The three nodded and headed inside, mentally preparing themselves for the exams ahead.

  ---

  Night settled over Kumogakure. Though still alive with activity, the vilge seemed quieter as the stars emerged over the mountain peaks. Kaida y in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about the other teams they had entered today.

  'Deidara, Ao, the Rain ninja... This in Exam is going to be intense,' he thought to himself.

  Turning over in bed, Kaida tried to push the thoughts away a some sleep. Tomorrow would be the true beginning of the in Exams—and the start of something far greater.

  ---

  The day, the vilge’s massive arena buzzed with the energy of young shinobi from all ers of the ninja world. Teams gathered, whispering amongst themselves, gng warily at one another. Among them stood the teams from Konoha, ready to represent their vilge with pride.

  Kaida, Itachi, and Kabuto stood together, waiting for the official annous to begin. Above them, high iands, the Raikage watched with a calg gaze. His focus paused on Darui, now officially representing Kumogakure in the exams.

  Raikage A leaned forward slightly, as was tradition, like every Kage did before events of this caliber in Konoha.

  A stood, his t frame anding the attention of everyone in the arena. His eyes sed the crowd of young shinobi. Without wasting time on pleasantries, he spoke in a deep, authoritative voice that echoed across the vast arena.

  "The in Exams are not just about testing your strength. They are about testing your resolve, your intelligence, and your ability to work as a team. Those who ot hahe pressure will not make it far. Kumogakure is proud to host these exams, and we expeothihan excellence from every partit. Fight with honor. Fight with purpose. And show the world the true strength of your vilge."

  His words were short, but they carried a weight that left no room for doubt. The young shinobi, especially those from Kumogakure, straightened up, inspired by their leader's direct approach.

  With that, Raikage A stepped back, and ae Jonin from Kumogakure—a tall man with a scar running down the side of his face—stepped forward to address the partits.

  "The in Exams will be held in three stages. The first stage is a written exam desigo test your knowledge and ability to gather information under pressure. The sed stage will take p the Thunder Pins, where you will face the dangers of nature and your fellow petitors. The final stage will be held here, in this very arena, where only the stro will rise. The rules are simple: survive, show your strength, and most importantly, don’t die."

  A murmur spread through the crowd as the Jonin's words sank in. He paused, letting the tension build before tinuing.

  The Jonin looked over the crowd o time before finishing. "Now, prepare yourselves. The exam begins soon."

  With that, the tension in the air intensified, and the partits began to mentally ready themselves for the gruelis ahead.

  With the initial speech dohey were sent toward a building designated for the first stage of the test—a big hall filled with seats like a ninja academy for the partits to sit.

  As the partits settled into their seats, the atmosphere thied with anticipation. Kaida, Itachi, and Kabuto exged gnces. But these were not just simple gnces—within seds, Itachi ected their minds with a subtle genjutsu. It was so difficult to detect that only a highly skilled sensor could find it, and Itachi could only do it because Kaida and Kabuto didn’t resist.

  The role of the genjutsu was simple: unication. Without saying a single word, all three of them could now unicate in their minds.

  The elite Jonin who had introduced the exam stepped forward once again, his scarred face set in a serious expression.

  "Wele to the first stage of the in Exams. You will all be given a series of questions that test your knowledge as shinobi. However, this is not just a writte. There is a hiddeo this examination."

  A ripple of curiosity swept through the crowd.

  The Jonin tinued, "You will be given a sheet with questions. There will be a total of 10 questions, but only knowing the answers is not enough..." he paused for dramatic effect, "after easwer, you must write a secret code pced at different locations securely in this area. You have to find those codes and write them below your answers. Only answers with codes will be evaluated at the end. If you are caught fighting by an instructor, you will be disqualified. A minimum of three answers are o pass the test. You will have three hours to plete the test."

  A low murmur spread through the partits. This was exactly the type of challehat Kumogakure thrived on: fighting, ing, and strategy.

  "Now, the question papers will be distributed," the Jonin announced, and as he spoke, a flurry of papers began to fly through the air, nding in the hands of eager partits.

  Kaida caught his sheet and sed the questions quickly. Eae required knowledge of ninja histeography, shinobi teiques, and various principles one should follow during missions. However, beh the surface, Kaida noticed the strategic phrasing. It seemed to ence partits to front other teams rather than simply answer questions.

  The codes could be destroyed by others, meaning passing the first stage would bee difficult for many teams. But the problem faced by the Konoha teams was entirely different.

  'This is going to get chaotic,' Kabuto said inside his mind, his voice ced with excitement. 'We o decide our approach.'

  'It would be wise to remaihy, at least at first,' Itachi suggested. 'Gather information and assess our petition. We engage if we have to.'

  As they discussed their strategy, some teams with hot heads had already started moving. The sounds of scuffling echoed from a nearby room. Kaida’s eyes widened.

  'Let’s move. We use this to our advantage,' Kaida thought.

  When they went out, they found three ninja running toward the location of the first code—they were her than the Iwagakure team led by Deidara. They were heading toward the room on the map used to store maps and scrolls, though all of them were fake. Kumogakure wasn’t going to take the risk of leaving the real ohere.

  Kaida and the group decided to follow them quietly.

  'Don’t make a sound. This is an excellent opportunity for us to decide our approach. Let them make the first move,' Itachi said using the mental link.

  With Sharingan activated, they followed Deidara's team from a distance.