Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Cloud Village.

The Third Raikage rested one hand on his head while lightly tapping documents with the other.

"What do you think about Mist's proposal to host a Joint Chunin Exam?"

As a trusted advisor, Dodai paused before replying, "Perhaps it's an attempt to boost Mist's influence. Being overseas, they're nearly removed from the Five Great Shinobi Villages."

Beside him, A—already inheriting the title of Raikage despite still being its successor—spoke up, "Then let's just hold it! Our ninja are definitely the strongest in the *shinobi no sekai*!"

The jonin around him nodded in agreement.

In their eyes, Konoha was decaying and stagnant; Iwagakure was cowardly and timid; Sunagakure was fragile and arrogant; Mist remained remote and backward. None of the four great villages were worth mentioning.

Only Cloud Village was on the rise and deserved to be the center of this world.

The Third Raikage nodded, "I agree. Demonstrating our military strength before war begins will at least make smaller nations recognize who truly rules this world!"

"The question now is, who should host the Chunin Exams?"

As soon as he spoke, the jonin in the room began heated discussions.

"Obviously we Cloud ninja should host it!"

"Are you an idiot? What if other villages use this opportunity to investigate our military layout?"

"Konoha has also put forward a request."

"No way! Even if we don't host it, we won't hand it over to Konoha."

"But their offered rewards are quite tempting!"

"They also said even if we several villages want to co-host, we must provide prizes of equal value."

"What nonsense? Whatever belongs to Cloud Village never goes out!"

"Enough!" The Third Raikage raised his right hand, signaling for silence. "Send someone to inform Konoha—I accept their request."

"Raikage-sama, this..."

Heh, Konoha's handing us gifts on a silver platter—why not take them?" The Third Raikage said, then turned sideways. "Dodai, arrange for Yugito to graduate early!"

Dodai's eyes lit up, "You mean to say..."

"Although she's only eight years old, a Jinchuriki remains a Jinchuriki," the Third Raikage grinned wildly. "When facing enemies we cannot defeat, just let her release the seal!"

Shocked, Dodai replied, "Release the seal? What if Two-Tails escapes?"

The Raikage laughed, "That's Konoha's problem now. If they want to be the host village, they'll have to bear certain risks, right? At most, we could express our gratitude afterward for Konoha's 'contribution'!"

The surrounding jonin looked at him with admiration—he really knew how to play the game!

He might've seemed wild and hot-headed, but in truth, he was devilishly clever!

...

Sunagakure.

"Still no word from the Kazekage?" Ebizō asked solemnly.

Rasa, temporarily filling the role of Kazekage, shook his head, "However, the Kazekage is indeed the strongest Kage in Sunagakure history. With his power, he won't die easily."

"I hope so. Right now, Sunagakure is practically becoming the laughingstock of the shinobi world!" Chiyo murmured nearby.

"I know this might come off as cold-hearted..." Ebizō scanned the room, "But continuing the search will only spread our defense forces too thin. Given the current state of the shinobi world, it's truly not a wise move."

Hearing this, the Jonin from the former Kazekage faction became furious.

"Ebizō, what exactly do you mean by that?"

"You're not implying my Lord Kazekage was assassinated by your sister and you?"

"Chiyo's genius grandson Motoi seems to be missing too. Maybe you sent him away on purpose out of fear your assassination plot would be exposed!"

"Rasa, speak up!"

Internally frustrated, Rasa naturally agreed with Ebizō's suggestion from a rational perspective.

But emotionally, taking over as interim Kazekage while immediately halting the search for the previous Kage might invite doubts from others. It would inevitably cause internal conflicts within Sunagakure.

Seeing things spiral out of control, Rasa finally asserted his authority as Kazekage.

"Enough! All of you, stay silent! If you still recognize me as your interim Kazekage!"

As all eyes turned toward him, Rasa continued seriously, "The current situation isn't in our favor at all. We can't waste time arguing over meaningless matters anymore."

"First, continue the mission to locate the Third Kazekage. Second, approve the Joint Chunin Exam proposal put forth by Mist."

Tension eased slightly as Rasa further explained, "Each village probably already knows about the Kazekage's disappearance. Abandoning the search prematurely would only make other shinobi villages look down on us Suna-nin, viewing us as weak!"

"Of course, Elder Ebizō raised a very valid point. The key issue is time—we desperately need more time. And the Joint Chunin Exam proposed by Mist perfectly matches our current needs!"

The Jonin all nodded—Rasa was young, but undeniably capable.

"Rasa, who are you planning to appoint as team leader for the Chunin Exams?"

"Baki should go. While not an extraordinary genius, he graduated several years ago and surpasses ordinary Genin regarding experience and battlefield expertise."

"Mmm, even if we must buy ourselves time, we absolutely cannot lose face!"

...

Iwagakure.

"Tell me, exactly what happened?" Onoki wore an expression brimming with displeasure.

The assembled Jonin exchanged hesitant glances until Hikka stepped forward. "Tsuchikage, just like what the Grass ninja described, Yangdo bore clear signs of intense battle against Kuroishi. Even with Yamanaka clan ninjas present, there's absolutely no way they could have controlled an experienced Jonin for such an extended period."

"Furthermore, we've uncovered some secret activities Kuroishi engaged in previously. So, it seems he really did betray Iwagakure!"

They had certainly suspected Mui initially, but investigation concluded he wasn't lying.

After all, technically speaking, Mui hadn't lied about anything.

"One traitor wiped out dozens of our elite ninja and ruined nearly all our plans in Kusagakure. Unforgivable!"

If it weren't for the fact that Kuroishi had died so completely not even ash remained, he would've struck his corpse with [Dust Release] a few more times.

The group of jonin were also furious, cursing loudly one after another.

Onoki remained silent for a moment, then raised his hand to stop them. "Enough! Let this matter be buried forever! If we keep stirring things up, we're only giving other villages something to laugh at us about!"

Pausing slightly, Onoki asked, "What are your opinions regarding the Joint Chunin Exam?"

Magze voiced his thoughts first. "I think we should agree. This gives us the perfect excuse to divert internal conflicts within our village."

Taiseki nodded in agreement. "After all, that traitor caused dozens of families to lose their loved ones — the damage has been huge."

"As for Konoha's proposal, they're likely trying to take this opportunity to expand their influence over those smaller countries — there are no fewer than nine small nations bordering directly with them!" Hikka calmly analyzed. "However, this won't really hurt us in Iwagakure anyway."

"There are only three nations located between ourselves and Konoha — the Rain Country, the Grass Country, and the Stream Country. The Rain Country is controlled by Sanshouo Hanzo, while Kusagakure still leans toward us. Therefore, the only potential loss of position would be regarding the Stream Country."

"On the flip side, this gives us the perfect chance to see what Konoha's really hiding and get a read on their forces. Besides, didn't they offer rewards as well? Judging from any angle, we stand to lose nothing!"

Onoki pondered silently for a moment. "Send word to Konoha — we're in."

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