The battle stadium in the Konohagakure is occasionally used from time to time by the Genin, Chūnin, and Jōnin. However, it is limited to Chūnin and the Genins, and as for Jōnin, to showcase their full capabilities, they are tested by more special means.

The stadium was slightly oval and had seats that held a little more than a hundred people, which were all full on this day. The Hokage and Kazekage had their very own placement, above all, looking down at the struggling Genins.

Except for the Kages, there were specialized seats for the wealthy executives and the Daimyō of the various small and large nations. They had a fanciful roof to shield from the sun, a row of helpers to serve them, and extra ANBU security to show the difference between the treatments.

“I heard that an Uchiha will be participating in this tournament, dad.” A boy of seven or eight stood up from his seat and looked towards the lower row to search for Sasuke.

“Yeah, let’s enjoy ourselves.” A slight plumper man wearing luxurious clothing sat on a comfortable looking chair and looked at the child with a doting smile on his face.

“His name is Sasuke, the last living Uchiha loyal to Konoha. It is said that he has unlocked his Sharingan and will be fighting with the Gaara of the Sand.” A thin but well-dressed man stood beside the chair and explained.

The plumper man waved his hand and asked, “What about Kirigakure? I heard they sent some Genins for the exam.”

Taking out a pamphlet from his coat pocket, the thin man answered, “They did send some… but none of them passed the second round of elimination.”

“If I could meet with those from the ‘Land of Water’ and get an exclusive contract…”

“We will all get the chance very soon.” Another Richie added bringing a curious atmosphere.

“Hoo, you know about it too, huh?” another guy joined and looked at Richie with a big smile. “Send some people here and there and you will know everything.”

“The civil war has ended a couple of weeks ago. And from what I heard that the new Mizukage is really a nice one.” One businessman sitting at the center said then looked at them with a glass of wine in his hand. “Having a man on the inside is really helpful.”

“…”

“These people have a lot to say.” The Chūnin assigned near that area elbowed his partner and complained.

“That has nothing to do with us.” The other Chūnin was a bit stiff with the rules.

Tak, tak.

Hearing the noise, one Chūnin went inside the box whereas the other guarded the door vigilantly.

The Chūnin looked left and right but found nothing then he used a simple scouting technique to verify. “I am sure I heard something.”

The Chūnin who went inside patted the other Chūnin’s shoulder then returned to his original position. “It was just some minerals ore those merchants were playing with.”

The other Chūnin squinted his eyes and swept the hallway once before letting out a breath of relief.

“With all this happening, you are a bit too sensitive.”

“Tch.” Clicking his tongue, he turned around and gave the hallway a last look.

Unknown to the civilian merchants and the shinobi at the door, no one noticed the Genjutsu clad Raito hiding at the box.

“A 32 and 28, huh?” Raito let out a breath of relief and scanned the people in the room. Bookmarking them at the info book, Raito disappeared from the spot.

Raito switched his clothes and wore the patternless mask given by the DRAGON and walked upstairs. But even before he could cross halfway, an ANBU appeared and looked at him for a few seconds as in thought then raised his hand, activating chakra, and touched the mask lightly before withdrawing.

“There are two boxes with seventeen Daimyō and their partners except for the six. Each one has several bodyguards; shinobi and mercenary.” After the ANBU briefly explained, he looked at Raito and added, “Number eight, you are only allowed for a quick sweep and nothing more. You are not allowed to communicate with anyone or make a comment. Also, you are not allowed to go to the higher floor.”

With that said, the ANBU disappeared, resuming his duties.

With his ‘[Chakra Sense]’, Raito quickly found that there were about six ANBU near the box and two at the two ends of the corridor.

Walking inside the box for the Daimyōs, Raito quickly grabbed everyone’s attention. These people created some mental pressure but Raito didn’t care much about them right now.

There were Daimyō of Fire and Wind country in one box with luxurious decorations and a row of helpers. The bodyguards stood either at the doors, corners, or beside their employer. When they heard the steps, half of them immediately looked towards Raito whereas the other half continued what they were doing. To this reaction, Raito gave them a deep bow for a couple of seconds then walked around for a bit.

‘I hate barriers.’ Raito stepped out and looked at his notification tab then quickly checked out the other box.

Except for the ANBU, Raito had confirmed everyone’s identity in the stadium, confirming they were who they really seem to be.

“Jii-chan can do it. I know it.” Just as Raito was about to go, he turned to the ANBU from earlier then asked using ‘[Mind-Voice Transmission]’ and asked, “Where is DRAGON?”

The ANBU was quiet for a long time but answered in the end, “Southern Gate.”

After receiving his answer, Raito cut the connection and walked downstairs under the ANBU’s vigilance then disappeared midway to the next floor.

Appearing near the arena gates, Raito waited as everyone came one by one and stood beside him or at the opposite.

“Raito, we were waiting for you at the box.” When Naruto saw Raito standing alone near the gates to the stage and quickly walked to his side.

“Ah, I forgot.” Raito looked at Naruto blankly and said with a blank face.

“You forgot? YOU FORGOT!?” Naruto shouted then jabbed his fingers and added, “How could you forget something like that?”

“Don’t shout, you are making a scene, idiot.” Sasuke walked in and leaned back on the wall opposite Raito.

“I tried to go upstairs but they didn’t let me.” Ignoring Sasuke, Raito explained to Naruto and looked behind him.

Shikamaru walked in casually while rubbing his ears and said, “That Ino was too loud.”

Karu, who was in a Genjutsu, finally revealed himself and appeared beside Sasuke, near the arena.

Raito and Sasuke didn’t give him a glance but Naruto jumped in shock as he pointed towards Karu, “How are you here?”

Karu smiled at Naruto’s reaction and answered, “I was using Genjutsu.”

“Man, you are too shy. You need Genjutsu to-”

“He was here to spy on… Raito.” Naruto was about to lecture but was cut off by Sasuke.

“Spy on Raito?” Naruto gave him a confused look then turned towards Shikamaru.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, not willing to explain. It was too troublesome to explain it to someone like Naruto about preparation and such things.

“Such a basic thing and you don’t even know that. How are you still a ninja?” Neji’s remark made Naruto glare at him and when he was about to retort, he saw two people walking towards them.

Tap, tap, tap.

The Genins from Sunagakure, Gaara, and Temari walked slowly. Their arrival made everyone look towards them with interest, curiosity, and anger.

“Proctor is going to call. Be ready.”

Everyone looked at Raito then at Hayate who had walked to the center of the stage and said some things that were not much of value.

As the speech ended, Hayate turned towards the Genins and waved then he started calling their names.

“Hyūga Neji, Shikamaru Nara, Uzumaki Naruto, Temari, Gaara, Uchiha Sasuke and Nakaharu Karu.”

One by one, the Genins walked in with different expressions on their face. Naruto was with a smile, whereas Neji had a serious expression as he looked towards a spot from the corner of his eyes.

There sat the Hyūga elders, who were controlling the fate of the branch family.

Sasuke walked in with calmness in his face as he glanced back at Gaara from time to time. Remembering his training with Kakashi, the corners of his lips curved upwards and his hands clenched and relaxed.

‘Earth is weak against thunder.’ Then his eyes shifted from Gaara towards Raito, who was walking one step ahead of him.

“I heard from sensei that you are really strong even though you are from the new batch.”

“Sorry.” Raito looked at the top box and saw two man with Kage hat sitting side by side

[Hiruzen Sarutobi]

[? ? ? ?]

“What?” Karu frowned hearing Raito and walked a little towards Raito’s side.

“I’ll be finishing it quickly today.” Raito looked down and stood in attention in front of Hayate.

Hayate looked at them and nodded, “Since it’s everyone’s first time for everyone, I shall explain the rules.”

“There is no time limit but it doesn’t matter that you can stretch the match till evening.”

“Since it’s a public battle, there are children and women watching, so, I will stop if anyone is going to die. But it also means that you automatically lose.”

“And the match will be over when I say it’s over. If anyone continues after the announcement, it will be taken as hostility and the Jōnin instructors will intervene.”

“I hope you will obey the rules and display your skills.”

Letting the rules dissolve in their minds, Hayate gave them a good look and took a couple of steps back. “Uzumaki Naruto and Hyūga Neji, stay.”

“Everyone else, to the participant’s box.”

“Hai!”