Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Two days later, at the exam waiting area.

"Is he the one called Seiki Shimaseki? He's so handsome! Looks like a prince out of some storybook fantasy!"

"Pfft, you're such a fan girl! He's nothing special. But Yugito Nii from Cloud Village? Hehe, now *that's* pure cuteness incarnate!"

"Hey hey, are we here for the Chunin Exams or a beauty contest?"

"Exactly! We should be talking about their skills instead! These are the representatives from the three great ninja villages!"

"Now that you mention it, wasn't Baki from Sand also part of that agreement trio? Why isn't anyone even mentioning him?"

"Who knows... probably because he's way too ugly!"

Thanks to some 'well-intentioned' people deliberately spreading rumors, what was supposed to be a minor competition had turned into an all-out power struggle between the three major ninja villages.

In Konoha's section, Asuma glared unhappily at Seiki.

"They made the promise with *me*! How come it somehow became *you* when it spread around?"

At least people still mentioned Sand's Baki — he'd been completely forgotten!

Seiki looked amused yet helpless and sighed, "Maybe... your presence really is too weak?"

Asuma stood there dazed, trembling in anger. Is this shallow world even fixable anymore?

Just then, a ninja from Iwagakure approached.

"Seiki Shimaseki! I'll reach the finish line before you do!"

Seiki blinked. "Excuse me, may I ask who you are?"

"Tch! I'm Shidotatsu, Iwagakure's Fist of Giant Stones!"

Shidotatsu glared fiercely at Seiki. In his eyes, how could Seiki *not* know who he was — the strongest Genin in Iwagakure?

Pretending not to recognize him must've been intentional — a deliberate humiliation!

"The Fist of Giant Stones?" Muttering under his breath, once again ignored by everyone, Asuma 'quietly' commented, "An actual nickname for a Genin? So embarrassing!"

"Hmph! Just wait!" Feeling further insulted, Shidotatsu left behind a threat and stormed off angrily.

Everyone couldn't help but glance toward Asuma.

Asuma himself seemed completely unaware. "What? Why's everyone looking at me like that?"

Mori Ibiki patted his shoulder. "You've got quite the gift with words — perfect fit for our intel squad."

Elsewhere, in Mist's section.

Shiyaya, one of Zabuza's teammates, curiously asked, "Shouldn't we also make our presence known? Can't have people forgetting about Mist either!"

Mei Terumi shook her head. "No need. Everything depends on the final match. Winning early means squat."

Zabuza gave her a slightly surprised look. "So my elders-assigned teammates aren't total wastes after all!"

Shiyaya snapped, "Who exactly did you call useless?"

Zabuza simply snorted coldly and closed his eyes again.

The ninja reps from smaller nations were spread all over the place.

Among them, three Genin from Amegakure looked around curiously.

"Can't believe we actually snuck in! This is really Teacher's hometown?"

"There must be plenty others like us hiding their real identities. With all the old grudges floating around, you'd be lucky to survive if your name ever slipped. Konoha probably knows this already — that's why they're not wasting time digging deeper."

"Anyway, be careful everyone. Hey, can you move around even with your eyes blindfolded?"

"Don't worry. I'm a sensor ninja after all, and besides, aren't you all my eyes?"

Dinglingling!

"Seiki, let's go. What are you looking at?"

Seiki withdrew his somewhat unusual gaze and followed them.

The first exam was the written test.

Although these were extremely basic questions, there were still many people who couldn't answer them.

Within ten minutes of the exam starting, the whole classroom had turned into a mess.

Seiki didn't care though. After finishing his test, he simply closed his eyes to rest, only taking action to punish anyone who tried to steal or switch his answers.

A few test-takers who got caught in the genjutsu ended up embarrassing themselves by break-dancing like lunatics.

Two hours later, the exam finished and the results were announced immediately.

About half of the examinees were eliminated, while those who remained advanced to the second exam.

Seeing this situation, quite a few examinees sneered disdainfully.

"This is it? This is all the Konoha Chunin Exams have to offer?"

"Yeah, this difficulty level doesn't differentiate anyone at all!"

As the arrogant comments flew around, a man with a rather feminine look stepped forward.

"I am the proctor for the second exam—Orochimaru."

As soon as he spoke, all the noisy voices instantly vanished.

As one of the Sannin, Orochimaru's reputation throughout the shinobi world was naturally formidable.

"This exam will be very simple. You just need to cross the Death Forest within three days."

Upon hearing this, the examinees present were incredulous—this exam was too easy!

However, before they could feel pleased, Orochimaru smiled sweetly, "But then, quite a few of you seemed to complain that the exam was too simple, so I'll add just a little more difficulty to this exam."

"Some of you may already know—I have a summon named Manda..."

At the mention of Manda, many people began sweating bullets, glaring at the previous group. Those fools who claimed the exam was too simple had doomed them all.

"I'll place him inside the Death Forest, and your task is to survive and reach the tower at its center while being hunted by Manda!"

Many examinees who understood immediately collapsed mentally.

"Are you freakin' serious? This is suicide!"

"If that thing targets you, you're as good as dead!"

Meanwhile, those who previously boasted arrogantly were now trembling violently. Why were everyone suddenly glaring at us like we were dead meat?

One of them still stubbornly refused to admit fear, "So what if it's a summoned beast? What's there to be afraid of!"

Orochimaru smiled approvingly and then summoned Manda with a flourish.

"Orochimaru, you bastard..." Manda was cursing furiously, but the moment his eyes landed on the examinees, drool began pouring down like a waterfall. "Ssssiiss, are these little delicacies all my sacrifices?"

At the sight of this mountain-sized shadow and the waterfall-like drool, those examinees who previously didn't understand Manda's terror instantly turned their murderous gazes toward those arrogant troublemakers.

Orochimaru smirked with a hint of eerie elegance, "Don't be so eager. They're not yours yet. You can only start feasting once you've caught them in the forest."

Manda laughed loudly, "Hunting before dinner? I like this game!"

After saying that, it glared menacingly at the crowd with its terrifying vertical pupils, "Let's see… who smells the tastiest…"

"Huh? This aura… Huh? This aura…" Manda's pupils contracted sharply twice, before it shot Orochimaru an annoyed glare.

"There's actually someone among these sacrificial offerings that unsettles me. Whatever, I'll just pretend I didn't notice later."

Thinking that, Manda cackled sinisterly a few times and slithered its colossal body into the forest.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, "That guy Manda has the sharpest instincts—could he have sensed something dangerous?"

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