Chapter 310: Fulfilling the Promise
After the arrival of the Mist Village ninjas, the rest of the participating ninja teams from the other three major villages also began to arrive at Konoha.
What surprised Tonari was that besides the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, who was under his control and personally led his team to participate, another Kage from a different village had chosen to come to Konoha.
That Kage was none other than his old acquaintance—the recently appointed Fourth Kazekage, Rasa!
Rasa arrived with his Kazekage Guard Squad and the Genin participating in the Chunin Exams from the Sand Village.
Tonari hadn't received any prior information about Rasa's arrival, so it took him by surprise. However, after giving it some thought, he realized that it actually made sense. He could more or less guess Rasa's purpose for coming.
Apart from the Mist and Sand Villages, the other two major villages—Rock and Cloud—did not send their Kage to Konoha.
Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, known for his cautious nature, would never put himself in a vulnerable position. After losing to Tonari in battle, he was even more reluctant to venture into Konoha.
As for the Fourth Raikage A, he had no intention of meeting Tonari either. Given that Cloud Village and Konoha were technically still at odds, Cloud's participation in the Chunin Exams was already a reluctant concession, primarily due to external pressure.
Thus, all the major villages, including various small villages, gathered in Konoha for the exams.
Konoha's non-essential ninja forces were mobilized to maintain order and monitor the influx of foreign shinobi. Fortunately, most of the visitors behaved themselves, aware of the circumstances.
Once all the participating villages arrived, Tonari, as the Fourth Hokage, immediately convened a pre-exam meeting with the village representatives to discuss the exam procedures.
The meeting was held in the conference room of the Hokage Building. Tonari, as the Hokage, naturally sat at the head of the table.
To his left sat Minato Namikaze, captain of the Hokage Guard Squad, and Nara Shikaku, the head of the Chunin Exam operations.
To his right sat Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, accompanied by his bodyguard, Baki. Next to them sat Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, and his guard Ao.
In the next seats were the representatives from Iwagakure and Kumogakure. Iwagakure was represented by Kitsuchi, Onoki's son, while Kumogakure was represented by Tutai, a trusted aide of the Fourth Raikage.
When everyone had taken their places, Tonari cleared his throat.
"First of all, thank you all for coming to Konoha for the Chunin Exams."
After the customary greeting, he motioned to Shikaku.
"Shikaku, explain the exam process to everyone."
Shikaku stood up and unrolled a scroll.
"This Chunin Exam will be divided into three stages."
"The first stage is a written exam, assessing teamwork rather than individual academic skills. It's designed to weed out weaker teams through their cooperative abilities."
"The second stage is the survival test in the 'Forest of Death,' where killing is permitted. Any deaths in this stage will not be held accountable regardless of the circumstances."
"The final stage is a one-on-one combat tournament to showcase individual prowess. Promotion to Chunin will be based on the evaluation of each participant's overall performance throughout the exams."
When Shikaku finished, everyone had absorbed the details. Some of them appeared contemplative, while others seemed unfazed.
Tonari himself couldn't help but feel amused.
"This format... It's almost identical to the Chunin Exams I knew from my past life. Was Shikaku also the one responsible back then?"
Shikaku concluded his explanation:
"To prevent anyone from giving instructions to their teams, we've already begun the first stage of the exams. At this very moment, the Genin are taking their written tests."
Some of the representatives were visibly startled by this announcement, realizing they had lost the chance to brief their teams.
"We've also set up live monitoring of the exam hall, which will be projected here."
An Anbu member activated the projector, showing the current exam hall on the screen.
What unfolded next was a display of cheating techniques from various villages:
Konoha's Hyuga clan using Byakugan and Uchiha clan using Sharingan.
Sand Village employing the Third Eye technique and miniature puppets.
Mist Village using Water Clone and Mist Concealment techniques.
Rock Village employing camouflage and hiding in the floor.
Cloud Village, however, had no subtle techniques and resorted to blatantly copying from others' papers.
Tonari couldn't help but smirk.
"Their creativity truly knows no bounds," he commented lightly.
Kitsuchi glanced at Tutai and mocked,
"Those big guys from Cloud Village don't seem too smart, do they?"
Tutai shot back,
"At least they're not hiding like moles underground!"
The two exchanged glares, and their tension was palpable.
Tonari found their bickering amusing. Let them quarrel—it only furthered his agenda of keeping them divided.
After the meeting ended and the delegates left, Rasa remained seated, signaling that he wanted to speak privately.
Tonari gestured for Minato and Shikaku to leave as well. When they were gone, Rasa finally spoke up.
"When are you planning to fulfill your promise?"
Tonari raised an eyebrow.
"Promise? Haven't I already fulfilled it? You're the Fourth Kazekage now, with solid authority over your village. Isn't that enough?"
Rasa's face darkened.
"You know that's not what I meant."
"Oh, you're talking about your Jinchuriki problem."
"Yes. After the death of the previous Jinchuriki, Bunpuku, we had no choice but to seal Shukaku into my third child—Gaara."
Tonari raised an eyebrow.
"So you went through with it after all... Your own son?"
"It's necessary. As the son of the Kazekage, Gaara must shoulder the burden. He will understand one day."
Tonari's eyes turned cold.
"Do you even realize the kind of life you're setting him up for? Making your own child a Jinchuriki at such a young age, with the unstable Shukaku sealed within, is nothing short of cruel."
Rasa remained unfazed.
"As the Kazekage, I must ensure the village's power. To do that, Gaara must become a perfect Jinchuriki."
Tonari sighed.
"I told you before, you can't rush it. Perfect Jinchuriki status requires self-awareness and chakra control. Your son is just a child."
Rasa gritted his teeth.
"I understand, but our sealing techniques aren't strong enough to fully suppress Shukaku."
Tonari glanced at him, realizing that Sand Village's inadequate sealing techniques were the core problem.
"Fine. I'll help, but don't expect instant results. Gaara will need guidance and time to master Shukaku's power."
Rasa finally relaxed.
"That's all I ask. If you can help stabilize the seal, I'll owe you a favor."
Tonari smirked.
"I'll make sure that favor is worth something."
After a brief silence, Rasa got up and prepared to leave.
"I'll await your instructions," he said before walking out.
Tonari remained seated, contemplating the situation.
He couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for Gaara. A child born into torment, expected to master power beyond his control.
As he leaned back, Tonari whispered to himself,
"Fathers like you... are what make children suffer the most."