Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Seeing that Orochimaru remained silent, Danzo's mood plummeted, and his face darkened.

"...Hehe, I don't know if Danzo can restore his peerless appearance, but no one has ever performed this kind of surgery before. I can't guarantee whether Danzo would survive without the Sharingan after having Hashirama Senju's cells removed...Why would Danzo suddenly care about this?"

Although Orochimaru didn't know what Danzo was thinking, he still spoke the truth: it was always others who received cell transplants, and he had never seen anyone want to remove cells.

And what you should have done isn't removal surgery, it's a face transplant...

However, considering that they were still close teammates and Orochimaru was afraid of upsetting Danzo, he didn't say anything.

However, he was still very curious about Danzo, who had been sporting that ugly face for decades. He thought Danzo had gotten used to it, so why did he suddenly want to change his face?

"It's not allowed? Then forget it. When are you going to start taking action? It's already the last exam."

Danzo, of course, wouldn't tell Orochimaru the truth. Hearing that there was a potential danger to his life, he abandoned the idea of ​​having Orochimaru take action. Whether it was feasible or not, he'd have his subordinates study it slowly when he became Hokage; after all, he was still young...

"Hehe, it'll be soon. Advisor Danzo just needs to prepare to become Hokage. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now..."

Orochimaru realized that spending too much time talking to this old guy was like having his intelligence contagious. He didn't want to waste any more words with him. Why was he suddenly so concerned about his ugly face, and even calling it his unparalleled beauty? He didn't know where the confidence came from.

He sought cooperation with Danzo simply because he didn't want the old man to cause any trouble and ruin his plans while he was fighting with his teacher.

As for the Hokage position, it's not that he looks down on Danzo, but unless Konoha really has no one left, the Hokage position will never be his.

Tsunade, Nawaki, and Jiraiya are all still alive...

........

"Ahem... Now we're proceeding with... ahem... the final... ahem... Chunin Exams..."

"Ahem...the exam is now officially...ahem...officially beginning..."

"Bastard, is Konoha really that incompetent? Sending this sickly guy to be the examiner...-_-||"

"Damn it, why don't you just cough up that tuberculosis devil and kill him? You're wasting my time."

"It's about to start! Stop talking nonsense..."

On the field, after all the spectators had entered, the examiner for Konoha's final exam, the consumptive Hayate Gekko, stood in the center of the stage and announced the rules for the final exam. His few words made him cough for half an hour, leaving the surrounding audience speechless and worried that the consumptive would cough himself to death before he finished speaking.

Some of the more boisterous spectators didn't care whether it was Konoha's home turf or not. As Hayate Gekko coughed and announced the rules, they started making international hand gestures at him. Some of the wealthier families even threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at him.

They paid such high prices, some even bought scalped tickets, to come and watch the fight, not to listen to this consumptive cough.

The opening act alone was ruined by this bastard coughing for half an hour. Does he really think their money grows on trees?

981. Leonardo didn't even have a chance to get emotional.

However, the audience's emotions quickly calmed down as the large screen in the arena displayed a scrolling message. The exam had begun; they'd watch the game first, and then give that bastard a bad review afterward...

The final exam was a one-on-one contest.

Although not as intense as team battles, one-on-one duels are still a better way to showcase a person's strength and talent. In terms of excitement, one-on-one duels are indeed the most exciting and require the most skill. A one-on-one duel can reveal a person's knowledge and combat prowess. In contrast, three-person team battles emphasize teamwork, since truly exceptional geniuses who can dominate the entire arena are extremely rare.

"What?! Kankuro, you actually lost? You didn't even make it to the finals! That's so embarrassing! Don't ever mention knowing me again. I can't bear the shame..."

After Shinto finished joking around with the Daimyo, he ran over to the Sunagakure contestants. His main reason for coming was to keep an eye on Karin, that crazy girl, when Orochimaru caused trouble later. However, when he heard them talking about how, just like in the original story, Rasa, the good-for-nothing eldest son, was killed by the savior, he immediately joined the group that despised Kankuro.

Half of Sunagakure's participants were eliminated this time. No one was eliminated in the first round of written tests, since they were all elite teenagers selected by Rasa, and their cheating methods were quite sophisticated. However, about half of them were eliminated in the second round, the Forest of Death. After all, in that environment, everyone except your own people is an enemy, and it's normal to be ganged up on and eliminated if you're unlucky. But as long as the two core members, Gaara's team and Karin's team, are not eliminated, there won't be any problems. Rasa also wanted his youngest son to show off his strength. He originally thought that Konoha's examination process and content would be similar to Iwagakure's, but who knew Konoha would come up with so many tricks? But that doesn't affect Rasa's idea of ​​showing off his strength.

However, in the elimination round in the Forest of Death, it's likely that Kankuro had beaten up Hiruzen Sarutobi's grandson, which Hiruzen remembered, and knowing that the savior was destined to be chosen, he deliberately had his underlings arrange for Kankuro to meet the savior.

As it turned out, the plot unfolded just like in the original work. At the beginning, Kankuro was arrogant and kept suppressing the Savior. However, the Uzumaki clan has strong vitality, and the Savior also had half of the Nine-Tails inside his belly, so his recovery ability was amazing. He was able to survive being stabbed into a hedgehog by Haku's ice senbon, let alone a fake genius puppeteer like Kankuro.

To be honest, Kankuro isn't a genius puppeteer at all. His talent is only average. He was able to join the core team purely because his younger brother Gaara protected him and because he was chosen from among the less talented. There wasn't a single decent puppeteer among this generation of kids. After all, puppetry is a technical skill, and because his uncle was a puppeteer, he learned puppetry early on, so he had a head start compared to many other kids. However, he can't compare to Sasori's parents, who are true genius puppeteers like Sasori.

However, Kankuro only uses the most basic black secret technique. High-level operations like white secret techniques are impossible to master without talent. Controlling ten puppets by oneself sounds simple, but without talent, it's impossible to learn. If you force yourself to learn, you'll end up with a mental illness because you can't multitask.

So when his puppet couldn't hit the opponent, and the savior's persuasive talk was starting to work, he finally lost his composure and was defeated by the savior's simple, unadorned basic attack.

However, because the Savior unleashed a burst of Nine-Tails energy, which was sensed by the fat cat inside Gaara's belly, Gaara went into full power when he went on stage to fight Leonardo in the Naruto version. He didn't give Leonardo much of a chance to talk back or play the emotional card by opening the Fifth Gate. He instantly defeated Leonardo in the first round, and Leonardo in the Naruto version didn't even have a chance to open the Fifth Gate.

Maki had witnessed the era when Konoha's strongest genin kicked the Seven Swords of Kirigakure askew, and he had also seen "Conan's dad" glow green and forcefully fight Minato Namikaze to a standstill. He knew how powerful the Eight Gates were, so when he saw that same green-skinned, tight-fitting, thick-browed, big-eyed, watermelon-headed guy, he immediately thought of Konoha's strongest genin back then, and even reminded Gaara of it. As someone who grew up under his father's love, Gaara naturally knew the power of the Eight Gates. After all, there was a Green Light in Sunagakure, and his father and teacher Maki had repeatedly boasted about the power of the Eight Gates. It was a super forbidden technique that even Shinto praised. And this Konoha green-skinned, thick-browed, big-eyed, watermelon-headed guy was so distinctive. He was probably no match for Leonardo DiCaprio in the Naruto version, who could kick a Jonin askew. Gaara wasn't the show-off from the original story; now he was a well-behaved kid, and listening to his teacher was always the right thing to do.

So, given the unequal strength of both sides, Leonardo DiCaprio in the Naruto version didn't even have a chance to get emotional before being instantly defeated at the start.

As for Karin, there's not much to say. Her opponent is one of Orochimaru's underlings. Orochimaru and Sasori have a good relationship, so of course he wouldn't let his underlings hurt this little princess. Not to mention the pursuit by Shiki, even the pursuit by Kakuzu and Sasori might not be enough for her.

Just let his underlings promote this little princess directly. Anyway, Orochimaru doesn't care about exams. He only established the Sound Village to cover up his true intentions. After killing his Hokage teacher this time, the Sound Village will definitely be exposed and disband.

Therefore, among the core members of Sunagakure, only Rasa's good-for-nothing eldest son, Kankuro, successfully stopped in the elimination rounds, and he has been looked down upon by Karin quite a bit these past few days.

"What?! Gaara said that brat is just like him. If it weren't for his tailed beast connection, I would have won already... o(╯□╰)o"

He'd been looked down upon by Karin for days, and now this old man was doing the same. The worst part was that Karin could at least retort, but this old man couldn't even argue back. His Kazekage father was bowing and scraping like a son in front of this old man; what was he compared to him?

"That's because you're useless. Brother Bai beat that guy to a pulp back then, but he didn't seem that great."

Karin, who had been clinging to Haku's arm and licking the screen ever since Haku appeared, continued to express her disdain.

"That makes sense. When you're out in the game, you have to be prepared to take a beating and admit defeat. I've never seen any tailed beast dare to talk back to me. I've even taken down the Nine-Tails inside that brat's belly. You're weak, so don't make excuses for yourself. When you get back to the village, you should team up with Zhenmi and practice gymnastics. I've said it before, a puppeteer needs a strong body. Now look at you, getting knocked down by someone's basic attack. I'm ashamed to even say it. I've never seen a puppeteer get knocked down by a basic attack. You're the first. Gaara, you're the same. Even though you have Fat Cat protecting you, being strong yourself is the most important thing. Don't rely too much on external forces."

Ignoring Kankuro's bewildered expression, Masato continued to side with Karin, giving her a disdainful look before calmly lecturing her.

982. Being too smart extends from being afraid of one's wife to being afraid of girls.

"Yes, Lord Shinto..."

Gaara is a humble and eager-to-learn child. Hearing the old man say this, he could only accept it humbly. Fortunately, the old man Shukaku in his belly was sleeping. If it had heard the old man calling him a fat cat, it probably would have already gone on a rampage before even meeting Kurama.

Gaara had no objections, but his brother Kankuro looked miserable.

After returning to the village, you need to team up with Senior Zhenmi.

Just kidding, someone with Kudo-sama's level of cultivation could die, but since this old man has spoken, I guess his father won't say anything when he gets back.

"Huh? Temari, you're in the first match! Your opponent is... Nara Shikamaru? Who is that??"

Just as everyone was collectively despising Rasa's eldest son, the scrolling on the large screen in the center of the arena stopped, and the words "Temari VS Nara Shikamaru" appeared.

The Nara clan is quite famous in the ninja world, being one of the two most intelligent clans. However, this fame is limited to the upper echelons of various villages, as they are essentially office workers who enjoy air conditioning and use their brains. Their importance is only apparent during wartime or power struggles. In peacetime, they serve as assistants to the Hokage. However, due to the overwhelming power of the Four Great Leaders of Konoha, and the fact that the current Konoha Grand Marshal, Nara Shikaku, is a generation younger than the Four Great Leaders, he has no say in many matters. Furthermore, the Nara clan's ancestral laziness makes them averse to trouble, so they never participate in power struggles. In fact, if Hiruzen Sarutobi fires him, that would be great; he's guaranteed to submit a resignation letter of hundreds of thousands of words to Hiruzen Sarutobi the next day.

Moreover, Nara Shikaku, the current Konoha Grand Marshal, was originally the secretary of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. When Minato was alive, he needed Shikaku's help to handle the endless documents. After Minato died, Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to the scene. With three good friends by his side, Shikaku had no chance to help him.

Therefore, compared to before, the Nara clan has been much more low-key in the decade or so since Minato Namikaze's death. Everyone knows that the Raikage's secretary in Kumogakure is the head of the Azabu clan, and those who don't know might mistake the Grand Marshal of Konoha for one of Hiruzen Sarutobi's three best friends...

It's normal that newcomers like Karin, who haven't been in the industry for long, haven't heard of the Nara clan.

"The Nara clan of Konoha is famous for its high intelligence. Along with the Azabu clan of Kumogakure, they are considered the pinnacle of intelligence in the ninja world. Their strength isn't particularly high, but with an average IQ of over 190, they can always outmaneuver their opponents. It's said that Nara Shikamaru's IQ is a terrifying 200 or higher. He won the Fire Country Adult Shogi Championship at the age of three and achieved an unprecedented three-peat by the age of five. After that, he had no choice but to retire due to a lack of rivals. Moreover, the Nara clan's shadow techniques are incredibly versatile in their hands. However, because they are too intelligent, almost everyone in the Nara clan is afraid of trouble and henpecked..."

Shinto pushed up the glasses that he had somehow gotten into his face, and with a scholarly air, he gave a short explanation to the kid who was greeting him and said he had never heard of the Nara clan before.

"puff!"

"An IQ of over 200?! Shinto-sama, you're not kidding, are you?! (?Д?)ノ"

After hearing about his sister's opponent's information, Kankuro vomited, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Although he didn't know what an IQ of over 200 meant, he already considered himself smart with an IQ of 140, so over 200 would be incredible.

"Mmmmmmm..."

"That kid looks like he just woke up; he doesn't look like it at all..."

Hearing such an impressive introduction, the surrounding kids turned to look at Nara Shikamaru, who was making his entrance looking like he hadn't woken up yet. It wasn't that they didn't believe in Master Shinto, but his ghostly appearance clearly didn't match the awesome battle record Master Shinto had described...

"So you kids are too shallow. You can't judge a person by their appearance. Can you tell that I, Master Masato, was once a peerless beauty in my youth?"

Seeing a group of kids clearly not believing it, Zhen Dou shamelessly indulged in self-congratulation.

"The teacher is right. The Nara clan not only inherited their high intelligence but also their laziness. Many things that others can't figure out are very simple for them. So almost everyone in the Nara clan is like this, but their brains are indeed terrifying."

"Wow! I didn't expect this guy to be so skilled, I never would have guessed..."

Compared to the unreliable Master Shinto, the perpetually stern-faced Master Maki was far more trusted by these kids. At least, they believed Master Maki more readily than Master Shinto; after all, his perpetually serious expression made him seem honest and reliable just by looking at him…

"......"

Shinto looked at the kids' reactions and looked up at the sky speechlessly. Am I really that unreliable?

"Grand Uncle, the opponent is very strong. Temari won't lose, will she?"

Although Karin is a fangirl, especially with her older brother Bai right next to her, she is worried because her best friend is going up against such a strong opponent.

"Don't worry, this brat from the Nara clan is probably just too smart. So, his family's ancestral fear of his wife has extended to his fear of girls. I reckon he'll just show off his skills at the beginning and then obediently admit defeat. Your best friend is as steady as an iron egg."

"I can comfort you," Masato said.

"No way? That guy's going to give up? This is the Chunin Exams."

Karin clearly didn't believe this claim either. Although she was never worried about how well she did in the Chunin Exams, her grandfather had said that even if she didn't do well, she could still be promoted to Chunin upon returning to the village.

That's how awesome you are when you have powerful connections.

However, she still did her best in this exam, at least not to embarrass the village and her family. Her family were all famous ninjas, so she certainly couldn't be too sloppy.

Moreover, in a public exam like this, admitting defeat would be incredibly embarrassing.

"...Their sense of face disappeared after their clan's reputation for being afraid of their wives spread throughout the ninja world. Besides, the position of Konoha Grand Marshal is hereditary, which is even more prestigious than the Hokage. However, no matter how the Hokage changes, the Konoha Grand Marshal can only bear the surname Nara. Their background may not be as deep as yours, but they have one thing in common: they can easily become Jonin after a few years of casually working their way up... This kind of exam doesn't mean much to them."

Masato shrugged and explained.

"Snap!!"

As soon as Masato finished speaking, a series of heart-breaking sounds rang out all around.

Is this even human language?

What does it mean to casually become a Jonin after just a few years? A group of teenagers with no family background or connections clutched their chests as they watched Masato; their ninja dreams were shattered...

983. You can't choose your birthplace.

"...!"

Maki looked at the group of boys whose ninja dreams had been shattered, and speechlessly stared at his teacher. Although the ninja world was indeed unfair, he had known this since birth, so he wasn't too bothered. After all, one couldn't choose their birthplace. If he could, he would have liked to be born into one of those wealthy and powerful families, possessing a bloodline limit from birth, and at least rising to the rank of Red Pole without any effort. However, after years of hardship, he came to realize that some things are beyond one's control. If God chooses your birthplace for you, you can only accept your fate.

But you shouldn't say this out loud.

Isn't this crushing on a child's ninja dream?

......

"Wow! This brat from the Nara clan is amazing! He's got the art of manipulating shadows to perfection!"