13 Chunin Exam (1/2)

Naruto had disappeared and his unexpected disappearance had managed to create some waves in the village. Jiraiya had stepped up to be the Fifth Hokage and things were starting to settle down and village internal conflict slowed down as well.

While Jiraiya was a pervert, he was without a doubt a great shinobi and he was a man who controlled the largest spy network outside the village. Jiraiya, unlike his teacher, was a crafty character. He was one of the strongest shinobi of his generation both in abilities as well as intelligence.

Jiraiya slowly halted Danzo's influence in the village and didn't back down while confronting other villages. 'Appear weak when strong and appear strong when weak' This was the tactic he chose to implement as the military might of Konoha was affected by a lot.

Knowing Yugao had looked after Naruto for 3 years Jiraiya released her despite the elders showing the dissatisfaction but it was something he needed to do. Jiraiya felt guilt when confronting her as he had neglected his Godson despite promising his student Minato but Yugao had left the Anbu just so she could look after Naruto.

Naruto's disappearance was partly Yugao's fault but the village didn't have any right to punish her. If they wanted to view Naruto as a weapon belonging to the village then they should have treated him fairly and given him enough training and made him the weapon he was supposed to be.

But everyone shrunk back when it was time to look after him. They saw Naruto as a time bomb and yet refused to act towards him because he was the son of the great Fourth Hokage.So they just left him to rot on the side despite the sacrifices made by his father for the village.

Anyways Yugao was released but she couldn't go back to her life as the guilt was killing her inside. For Yugao, it was she who caused Naruto to disappear and there was a chance Naruto might never return.

Yugao quit her Jounin duties and started to take care of Naruto's home waiting for his arrival. But days turned to months and months into years and yet there was no sign of Naruto.

4 years passed away in a blink and some people even forgot the existence of Naruto.

Today the Konoha village was especially rowdy as it was the final day for Chunin Exams. Konoha hosted the Chunin exams inviting Genins from various village to test their abilities.

And the main attraction today was the fight between Sasuke Uchiha and Garra of the sand. Many rich merchants and politicians from different elemental nations had come to enjoy the fight and gamble while they were there.

Despite the lively environment, the internal situation was pretty grim. Jiraiya was putting up a good smile while giving out a speech to the crowd he hadn't been able to let his guard down because of his old friend Orochimaru.

Through his sources, Jiraiya had found he had come for the Uchiha kid and he was planning on taking the kid in a very high profile manner. With Kazekage and his forces inside the village, he was at a disadvantage not knowing where Orochimaru was going to strike from.

It was even more troublesome knowing Gaara was a Jinchuriki of one-tails and it was very dangerous if he went berserk at times like this. But in these troubled times, it was good to find out there were talented Shinobi among the smaller generation such as Shikamaru, Neji, and Rock Lee.

The crowd was yelling on high spirit as Gaara and Sasuke trading blows with each other. Since Naruto was not there his place in team 7 was replaced by another kid with a lower score in the academy to balance the team.

But unlike Naruto, the kid was not a Jinchuriki with plot armor to save him from Orochimaru and died in the forest of death. It was a huge blow for Sasuke and Sakura seeing their teammate die just like that. Especially for Sasuke who was reminded how his clan was massacred by his brother while he was left out because he was too weak for his brother to even bother killing him.