Konoha Notes

Chapter 172 Changes
The level of commitment that Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village) has put into this year's Chunin Exams is truly extraordinary...

When the massive, perfectly circular stadium built against the mountain came into view, this thought involuntarily popped into Shuji's mind.

Konoha has its own joint exam venue, but it doesn't have the same scale as Kumogakure.

"The participating genin team members will be led by our people to the designated rest area for accommodation."

Samui spoke to Shuji, and at the same time, several Cloud Village ninjas stepped forward, preparing to guide the Konoha genin team in another direction.

This stance suggests that they do not intend to allow Konoha's participating teams to directly enter Kumogakure.

Shuji didn't express any objection, but simply turned to Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao and nodded slightly. The two returned knowing glances, indicating that they would keep an eye on the group.

Samui explained, "Please understand, this is for the sake of unified management. All ninja teams from other villages have been assigned to this specially designated area outside the village. The Cloud Village has prepared all the necessary living supplies and will provide them in sufficient quantities."

"If there are any specific needs, there are also some shops around the venue that can provide services."

"Within this designated meeting area, you are free to move about without any unnecessary restrictions."

It's normal for Kumogakure not to let people into the village easily, since this is their first time holding the joint Chunin Exams. Shuji understands this and thinks it's good that they won't be under close surveillance.

After confirming that the young leader from Konoha did not show any resistance, Samui led him into the gates of Kumogakure.

Unlike the somewhat ostentatious competition venue outside the village, the real Hidden Cloud Village is hidden deep among the steep and rugged mountain peaks, with most of the buildings built on the mountainside and the roads winding and twisting.

Once inside, it's easy to get lost if you're not familiar with the path or haven't explored it beforehand.

Shuji had been to the Kazekage's office, and since last year, the Hokage's office had become a frequent destination for people working overtime.

In comparison, the Fourth Raikage's office style was the simplest, even rugged, of all the Kage-level offices he had ever seen.

The spacious room has almost no unnecessary decorations. Apart from the necessary desks, chairs and filing cabinets, there are even some fitness equipment such as dumbbells and hand grips in the corners.

The Fourth Raikage, A, is a man who is always training his muscles.

“The Hokage actually sent you here,” Ai Zizi said casually, sitting on the sofa. “The last time I saw you was last year, wasn’t it, Shuuji?”

"Lord Raikage has an excellent memory."

"Enough with the useless small talk." The Raikage cut to the chase. "There's something I need to tell you about Konoha beforehand."

His sharp gaze fell on Shuji, and he said, "Regarding the specific procedures for this Chunin Exam, our Kumogakure's ideas may be different from your Konoha's past practices. We have our own set of assessment standards and methods."

"Written tests and wilderness survival assessments are skills that a ninja aspiring to become a Chunin should naturally possess. However, considering the possibility of exceptional cases, we are willing to retain this part."

"However, wilderness survival assessment is unnecessary. As ninjas, if they don't even have this ability, yet they are still selected to participate in the Chunin Exams, then this is a responsibility that the participating ninja villages themselves need to bear."

Shuji listened quietly, not surprised that Kumogakure was going to change the exam process. In fact, when he saw the enormous, clearly well-funded, dedicated venue outside Kumogakure, he already had a guess.

Since tickets are going to be sold, the game's entertainment value must be increased.

The written test was quick and uneventful. If Yunyin could control the difficulty appropriately, many people would be able to pass the test and advance to the next round, thus ensuring a sufficient number of participants for the main competition.

There are too many uncontrollable factors in the wilderness survival part, especially given the current lack of mature remote monitoring or video transmission technology. The whole process is lengthy, fragmented, and difficult to show to the audience intuitively.

For Kumogakure, which aims to directly gain economic benefits through the Chunin Exams, this aspect is likely to have more negative effects. The investment is large, but the returns are not immediately apparent. If the number of participating candidates from each village suffers too many losses in the wilderness survival assessment, it will inevitably lead to very few participants in the subsequent main competition, forcing a shortened and carefully prepared competition schedule.

That is, like Konoha, they finish the battle in one day.

"Regarding the decision to cancel the wilderness survival assessment and retain only the written test, I have already communicated with the representatives of Yugakure and Shimogakure, and they have both expressed their acceptance," the Raikage continued, fixing his gaze on Shuji. "Now, we are only waiting for Konoha's final response."

Instead of directly answering whether he agreed or not, Shuji raised another crucial question: "Since the wilderness survival assessment, which accounts for a significant portion of the assessment, has been eliminated..."

"So, in order to ensure the comprehensiveness of the assessment and the effectiveness of the selection, will the specific format, process, and scoring criteria of the main competition be changed or adjusted accordingly?"

At this moment, Mabui, the female ninja who had been standing quietly beside the Raikage and holding a stack of documents, spoke up: "Regarding the specific arrangements for the main tournament, including the tournament format, process, rules, and detailed scoring criteria that you are concerned about, we will provide a complete written explanation document for your reference and review."

Samui, who brought Shuji in, stood quietly not far behind him. The Raikage and his secretary in front of him also turned their gazes to him, and an invisible pressure permeated the office.

Shuji pondered for a moment, then replied calmly, "In that case, in order to be responsible to the participating genin, please allow me to carefully understand the specific competition procedures and rules before giving a formal reply."

Raikage Ai stared at Shuuji for a few seconds, then after a brief silence, he said in a deep voice, "Fine. I'll give you one day. Tell me Konoha's reply by this time tomorrow."

"Samui, take him back."

When Shuji returned to his assigned camp area in Konoha, accompanied by Samui, he noticed that there were quite a few Kumogakure ninjas on the outskirts of the camp.

They didn't get too close, but their gazes toward the encampment were filled with undisguised scrutiny, mixed with a hint of eager provocation.

The Konoha ninjas who were being watched showed wary expressions, and some even looked somewhat uneasy.

Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate remained hidden among the crowd, and would not make a move unless Kumogakure made any substantial action.

Samui, who was escorting Xiu Si back, watched this scene. Her gaze swept across the crowd and quickly locked onto a figure, causing her to frown.

She strode forward and whispered to a blond-haired boy who looked quite young, "Azii! What are you doing here?"

"Sis! I just want to see just how powerful and exciting the Konoha ninja who could defeat Senior Xi really is!"

“This isn’t cool at all, go back!” Samui grabbed his brother’s arm.

As Atsi was being dragged away, he kept shouting things like "not exciting enough" and "just wanted to see what it was like," until Sami forcibly dragged him more than ten meters away.

Then Samui apologized to Xiu Si, saying, "I'm sorry, you must have found this amusing."

However, she only apologized for her brother's behavior, ignoring the other Cloud Village ninjas who were still watching.

Shuji watched the siblings leave without saying anything, and walked straight into Konoha's camp.

"Go inside, everyone. I have something important to tell you about the exam," he said to the Konoha ninjas who were still standing outside, their expressions varied.

He had no intention of refusing Yunyin's proposal, but he wanted to check the detailed process to see if there were any hidden pitfalls.

From the current perspective, Kumogakure may not have any intention of doing anything to Konoha, but they would probably be happy to see Konoha's ninjas embarrass themselves in the competition and dampen Konoha's spirit by taking advantage of their home ground, and they might even be secretly encouraging it.

(End of this chapter)