I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

The Akatsuki organization might have some connection with Amegakure. Ye Lan withdrew his gaze. The girl didn't seem dangerous and probably wasn't a member of the Akatsuki.

The next morning

Ye Lan arrived at the entrance to the Demon Desert of Sunagakure and first listened to the host village ninja announce the competition rules.

The rules are not much different from the previous second exam. It is still a competition for the Heaven and Earth scrolls. The only difference is the venue. Success is achieved by collecting all the Heaven and Earth scrolls within 72 hours and reaching the stronghold in the center of the Demon Desert.

The genin distributed the scrolls and set off, while at that moment, Guy and several jonin found Yelan.

"What is it?"

As the examiner for the second round, Ye Lan had to monitor the actions of all the examinees present and try to avoid any deaths or injuries.

There was no time to do anything else, and the fact that Kai and the others arrived together indicated that things were not simple.

"That's right. We received information from Lady Tsunade that someone might want to assassinate Gaara, so we also need to infiltrate the Chunin Exams to protect Gaara's safety."

Someone wants to make a move against Gaara. Could it be Akatsuki? There's still some time before the Three-Tails is resurrected, which isn't in their interest.

"Is it the Akatsuki organization?" Ye Lan asked directly, having never heard of such a thing before.

"No, it's the forces in Sunagakure that are targeting Gaara. Gaara was about to become the Kazekage, but these people have been opposing him. So we're taking this opportunity to help Gaara resolve this issue."

Asma exhaled a puff of smoke as he explained.

"If we fail, it will affect the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha."

Ye Lan was well aware of the danger of this approach. Gaara wanted to use himself as bait to resolve the matter and eliminate him as an obstacle on the path to becoming the Kazekage.

This scheme of using someone else to do one's dirty work would never have been Gaara's idea a year ago.

Not only has his strength increased, but his mind has also become smarter. Gaara's changes during this period have been somewhat unexpected.

"You can go ahead, I'll supervise the exam."

Without interference from other Jonin, Ye Lan had a good opportunity to collect some materials.

Quite a few people died in the Chunin Exams. Ye Lan wouldn't have thought anything of it when everyone else was around, and now that he's the only one left, no one would mind if he managed to get some loot.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Ye Lan."

After bowing deeply, Kai, Asuma, and Hong headed to the examination hall.

Ye Lan returned to the monitoring room, where he could see everything happening in the Sand Village's examination hall. Many sensory ninjas were working there, with Maki at the top directing the operation, and Kankuro and Temari beside him.

"Where are Jonin Yelan and Jonin Kai?"

Upon seeing Ye Lan return, Ma Ji immediately asked what was wrong. He was very respectful to Ye Lan, after all, Ye Lan had saved his life.

Ye Lan's reputation was largely spread by the Sand Village; his fame in the Sand Village was even greater than in Konoha.

"They've gone to do other tasks..."

Ye Lan was somewhat perfunctory, but seeing that Ma Ji's expression was a little unpleasant, she had no choice but to continue.

"Don't worry, it won't affect the Chunin Exams. It's just that my own students are taking the exams to avoid any appearance of impropriety."

At this point, Maki's expression improved considerably. He was worried that Konoha ninjas might do something bad in Sunagakure. Although the two villages were allies now, they still couldn't be complacent.

"So you two have become Chunin too..."

Ye Lan looked at Kankuro and Temari. Besides the Chunin Exams, each village could also promote ninja ranks. Otherwise, why would they hold exams during wartime?

It's just that Chunin who are produced through this kind of exam are more highly regarded.

"No need for you to worry, we all became Chunin through rigorous testing."

Temari's expression was somewhat unpleasant. Back then, the three of them were powerless against Ye Lan, who easily defeated them. Even as allies, they were still somewhat intimidated by Ye Lan.

"I have no doubt about your strength to become Chunin, just don't be so nervous. But speaking of which, Gaara has already become a Jonin, right?"

Ye Lan was a little bored, so she said casually, glancing at Gaara's room next door.

Chapter 100 Hydrangea

Temari couldn't help but look at Gaara. Indeed, Gaara had changed a lot since he returned to the village last time, making her, his older sister, feel like a mere decoration.

He wouldn't easily share his thoughts with himself or Kankuro.

The key point is that Gaara is very likely to become the Kazekage now. Whether from a personal perspective or from the perspective of the village, Gaara becoming the Kazekage would be a good choice.

However, as the older sister, she inevitably felt too much pressure. She had seen Gaara's changes in the past and did not want Gaara to become like their father.

"Many people should pass the Chunin Exams and become Chunin this time."

Shikamaru suddenly appeared. He was the examiner for the first round of the joint exam and had now arrived in Sunagakure.

"Seeing you, such a listless man, makes me angry. How can someone with your personality become a Chunin?"

Temari was a little angry at Shikamaru's expression; Shikamaru had made her lose face a lot in the past.

"I'm sorry, but someone like me is indeed capable of becoming a Chunin."

Shikamaru yawned, wondering where Asuma had gone. Apart from Yoru, all the other Jonin were nowhere to be seen.

Swah—

The sudden appearance of several members of the Anbu in the monitoring room alerted Maki and the others from Sunagakure. Ye Lan raised his hand to signal them not to panic.

Then, a member of the secret service wearing a mask with an eagle pattern walked up to Ye Lan and whispered a few words in his ear.

After listening, Ye Lan said in front of Maki and the others, "Don't worry about this kind of thing. We just need to ensure that the Chunin Exams proceed smoothly."

When leaving the village, Tsunade handed over command of the ANBU squad to Ye Lan, asking him to keep an eye on the examination hall in case of any accidents.

"Has something happened to Jonin Yelan?"

Seeing Ye Lan's actions, Maki didn't hide anything from the Sand Village members and went straight up to ask.

"It's just that you Sand Village have more insects, it's not a big deal. I believe the examinees can handle it."

Ye Lan said with amusement.

"That's just how the weather is in the Land of Wind. You'll get used to it."

Machi may not have understood the implied meaning and spoke directly.

"Sasuke?"

Shikamaru walked up to the ANBU member wearing an eagle-face mask and said softly.

The ANBU member glanced at Shikamaru but didn't say anything or indicate anything was wrong.

Seeing this, Shikamaru knew he had guessed correctly. His eyes involuntarily turned to an ANBU member wearing an antelope mask, and he continued speaking.

"I heard you're about to become a Jonin. You can come visit the Cipher Department more often; we often hand over our work to each other."

Sasuke did not accompany Tenzo on this mission. Even though this ANBU captain was on the same mission, Sasuke rarely saw him fight; he mostly just gave orders.

Aside from his exceptional Water Release and Earth Release techniques, I really don't know why he's rumored to have unfathomable strength.

"If you want to find antelopes, you don't need to beat around the bush."

Sasuke's voice was at a normal volume, yet it still attracted the attention of others.

Sasuke had a good relationship with his clever old classmate and directly shared his thoughts.

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Shikamaru blushed and said somewhat flusteredly.

"boring."

Temari couldn't help but purse her lips as she watched Shikamaru being all intimate with a group of Konoha ANBU members.

Ye Lan didn't care, keeping a close eye on the examinees on the monitor. He hadn't forgotten his duty and didn't know who the Sand Village ninja who wanted to assassinate Gaara was.

Seeing the familiar genin from Konoha begin to display their skills, Ye Lan couldn't help but nod. It seemed that everyone's strength had improved considerably over the past year.

When he saw Tenten and the female ninja from Amegakure, he felt a sense of familiarity.

This purple-haired female ninja uses space-time ninjutsu, which is somewhat similar to Tenten's fighting style, as they both use pre-sealed weapons in combat.

This ninja was certainly not as wealthy as Tenten; his weapons were made of paper.

As Ye Lan watched the papers exploding repeatedly on the monitor, he fell into deep thought about this move.

He also remembered that when he fought against Tiandao, the female ninja beside Tiandao used the same ninjutsu, which involved writing on paper.

It seems the previous judgment was wrong. This girl may also be related to Akatsuki. This girl participated in the Chunin Exams as a formal ninja. What exactly is the Akatsuki organization in Amegakure?

Information about the other villages in Amegakure is limited to Hanzo, the demigod ruler who defeated the Legendary Sannin in the Second Shinobi World War. Nothing else is known, and it now seems there might be internal problems within Amegakure.

This situation went unnoticed by the other ninjas, who were still observing the battles of the other examinees. As time passed, more and more examinees collected the two scrolls and got closer and closer to the center.

Ye Lan didn't stay in the monitoring room the whole time; he would just come over from time to time to make sure everything was alright before leaving. An accident happened when the exam was almost over.

The entire examination hall was hit by a huge sandstorm. The previous barrier class had not sensed it at all, and the sudden sandstorm threw them into a panic.

As expected, the barrier teams in every village were all the same, Ye Lan couldn't help but complain. He knew that the real mastermind was about to make his move.

"Temari, Kankuro, come with me to rescue the examinees. A sandstorm of this magnitude will definitely kill many examinees. Sunagakure absolutely cannot let this happen."

Maki remained calm and directly directed the group to begin their operation.

Gaara, who was present, did not speak, but silently walked back to his room. Maki knew that many people in the village were unhappy that Gaara had become the Kazekage, so staying here was the best choice for him.

Gaara's actions brought him some comfort as a teacher.

"Let's help too, Eagle."

Ye Lan stepped forward, and Sasuke and several other Anbu members instantly appeared beside him, ready to serve at any moment.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Jonin Yelan."

Maki hesitated for a moment but still agreed to Ye Lan's support. As an examiner in the second examination room, Ye Lan's actions were in accordance with the requirements.

"Then I'll go too."

Shikamaru stepped forward, ready to go with Yelan to rescue the examinees, but Yelan stopped him.

"Shikamaru, you stay in the monitoring room. Report any information to us immediately. Leave the rescue of the examinees to us."

Shikamaru glanced at Ye Lan with some surprise, but felt that what he said made sense, so he nodded in agreement.

"Alright, everyone, let's go!"