Without bothering to pay attention to Sasuke’s reaction, Zixu and his group quickly left. He had no interest in listening to the compints of a sore loser. Frankly, it was already generous of Lee not to have seriously injured him. Zixu had no idea where Sasuke got the audacity to challenge them in the first pce.
As the Chunin Exams drew closer, the entire vilge underwent noticeable changes. The event had always been a stage where different vilges tested each other's strength, determining future power bances and alliances. Naturally, every vilge treated it with utmost importance—it directly influenced how much influence and power they could gain.
Zixu could sense these changes all around him.
“The security seals have increased, and the barriers are stacked yer upon yer like nesting dolls. Why are they being so cautious?” He muttered to himself, taking note of the increased defensive measures.
The reason wasn’t hard to guess. The streets of Konoha were now filled with shinobi from various vilges, all supposedly arriving early to “acclimate” themselves to the exam environment. But anyone with half a brain could tell these guys weren’t here just for sightseeing. There were undoubtedly hidden agendas at py.
Strangely enough, the Third Hokage allowed all these foreign ninjas to roam freely in Konoha. Zixu couldn't quite figure out what the old man was thinking. Was this some kind of political move, or was he just too confident in Konoha’s strength?
To pass the time, Zixu wandered around the vilge, both to clear his mind and to see if he could pick up any useful information from the outsiders. However, he quickly noticed a pattern—most foreign shinobi were being closely shadowed by Konoha ninja. The official expnation would probably be “escort duty,” but in reality, it was obvious surveilnce.
That said, only the weaker participants were subjected to such treatment. The truly strong ninja from other vilges strolled through Konoha’s streets without a single Konoha shinobi daring to tail them. The contrast in how they were treated made one thing painfully clear—strength dictated respect.
As Zixu continued his walk, a particur scent suddenly drifted into his nose.
“Hmm? That smell… Snakes?” His expression soured as he sniffed the air again. It was faint but unmistakable.
Following the scent, he found himself outside a small dango shop. Pushing open the door, his eyes immediately nded on a silver-haired young man with gsses, casually eating his skewered sweets. The scent was strongest around him, though it wasn’t coming directly from him. Instead, it seemed like he had been in close contact with the real source.
Zixu, keeping his composure, took a seat near the young man and ordered a serving of dango for himself. Throughout the entire process, he acted as if he were just another ordinary diner.
As he slowly ate his way through several ptes of dango, his suspicions solidified.
“It’s not him… But he’s been near the one responsible,” Zixu thought to himself.
There were very few people who carried such a distinct snake-like scent. The number of shinobi with that kind of chakra signature was incredibly limited, and only one name truly stood out.
Zixu quietly left the shop, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention. However, as he continued moving through the vilge, he started noticing that the same scent lingered on multiple shinobi—especially those from the Hidden Sound Vilge.
The realization made his expression darken.
"Orochimaru… What the hell are you pnning?"
A strong sense of unease settled in his chest. Orochimaru’s presence could only mean trouble, but ultimately… did it really have anything to do with him? As long as the rogue Sannin wasn’t pnning any rge-scale massacres, Zixu wasn’t particurly concerned.
At that very moment, outside the walls of Konoha, a shadowy figure stood in the dense forest, holding a small snake in his hand.
With a slow, deliberate motion, the figure stroked the snake’s smooth scales. In response, the creature wriggled slightly before morphing into a small, ornate scroll.
The man unrolled the scroll and carefully read its contents before destroying it. He mumbled under his breath, his tone cold and foreboding.
“The time has come… You will pay the price for this.”
The nights in Konoha had always been pleasant. The soft glow of the moonlight bathed the vilge, its gentle radiance creating an atmosphere of calm and leisure. It was the kind of night that made people naturally drowsy, lulling them into a peaceful slumber.
However, not everyone was affected by its tranquility.
A lone figure stood beneath the moonlit sky, his posture rigid and unmoving. His red hair was unmistakable, and the kanji for "love" was carved into his forehead, its crimson hue resembling fresh blood. Thick, dark circles shadowed his eyes, giving him a sleepless, almost haunted look.
Unlike the peaceful night around him, the air surrounding him was anything but calm. Grains of sand swirled chaotically, sshing through the air with murderous intent. Any creature that dared to venture too close was mercilessly shredded to pieces.
“Gaara…”
A blonde-haired girl, a massive fan strapped to her back, watched him cautiously from a distance. Beside her stood a boy with tribal markings on his face, carrying a wooden puppet on his back.
“Just leave him be,” the boy muttered, shaking his head as he pced a hand on his sister’s arm, stopping her from intervening.
Deep within a hidden cave beneath Konoha, a pale-skinned man with silver hair adjusted his gsses as he zily stretched. He was the same man Zixu had encountered at the dango shop earlier.
“The Chunin Exams… Lord Orochimaru, the moment you’ve been waiting for is finally here.”
He lowered the report in his hands, his tired expression betraying a hint of intrigue.
“Uzumaki Zixu… He doesn’t seem as strong as Lord Orochimaru cimed. He’s just a Genin, after all.”
But this assumption—this arrogance—would soon be shattered by his own hands.
---
“Damn it…!”
Uchiha Sasuke gritted his teeth as he fell to the ground once more, his body aching from repeated failures. The events of the day had been a severe blow to his pride. He, a so-called genius of the Uchiha Cn, had lost to two nobodies.
It was humiliating.
Determined to make up for his disgrace, Sasuke trained relentlessly in his backyard, pushing himself to exhaustion. His Sharingan flickered to life as he repyed every movement of his opponents—Rock Lee and Zixu—analyzing their techniques, memorizing their every motion.
Lee’s taijutsu was straightforward. It was difficult, yes, but at least it followed principles Sasuke could grasp. He understood the mechanics behind it. With enough time and physical conditioning, he could replicate those techniques himself.
Zixu, however, was an entirely different matter.
His movements were deceptively simple, broken down into only two steps.
Step one—position himself between his enemies.
Step two—block their attacks effortlessly.
That was it. No wasted motion, no unnecessary strikes. Just absolute efficiency.
And that, more than anything, unsettled Sasuke.
---
Within the grand halls of the Hyuga Cn estate, Hyuga Hiashi sat in quiet contemption. A small snake coiled in his palm, its beady eyes staring up at him as if awaiting a response.
His fingers tensed. He hesitated for a long moment before finally releasing a deep sigh.
“The Uchiha Cn’s downfall is a warning… We must remain vigint.”
With those words, he let go of the snake, watching as it slithered away into the darkness, its form disappearing into the night.
---
Far away, in the distant Sand Vilge, a lone figure stood at the edge of a cliff. A bamboo hat obscured most of his face, and a flowing white cloak billowed in the desert wind. Despite the shadows concealing him, the faint curl of his lips was unmistakable.
A sinister smile stretched across his face.
His unnaturally long tongue flicked out, tasting the air like a serpent as he gazed toward Konoha.
The game was about to begin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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