I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

”Hahaha, Jiraiya, the toad sage of Mount Myoboku, makes his entrance!”

A loud laugh echoed from the speakers as Jiraiya proudly introduced himself while standing on top of a massive red toad.

Originally, Jiraiya was too high up to speak through the recording devices on the ground. However, Nagasawa’s plan sounded incredibly cool that he insisted to have a separate device placed by his side so that he could deliver his catchphrase when making his entrance.

”That brat never changes.” Hearing Jiraiya’s laughter, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face was written with nostalgic expression.

In his childhood, Jiraiya was always eager to show off whenever there was an opportunity. Though most of the time he failed, he always enjoyed it.

As they grew up, both Tsunade and Orochimaru had changed to some extent. Especially Orochimaru, whom worried Sarutobi.

However, Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, remained unchanged. Whenever he had the chance, he would show off, and his habit of peeping into hot springs seemed unchanged.

”I never thought Jiraiya, who always gave me trouble, would be the one who puts my mind at ease the most now.” Sarutobi sighed in his heart, contemplating the unpredictable course of life.

Setting aside the Third Hokage’s trip down memory lane, after Jiraiya’s flashy entrance, a giant creature emerged— a slug, with Tsunade standing on top of it.

Following Jiraiya and Orochimaru, the slug quickly caught up with them. The three colossal beasts stood side by side, with the Sannin exuding an imposing aura.

”So, those are the legendary Sannin. Indeed, the air around them is extraordinary. As expected of the Shinobi who once fought Hanzo of the Salamander.” A Shinobi said as he watched the three on the big screen.

The audience comprised not only of wealthy merchants but also a lot of Shinobi from various villages. After all, a Kage of a Great Shinobi Country wouldn’t just leave their village with only a bunch of Genin.

Those guards couldn’t stay with the Kage all the time, so they were ordered to watch the matches alongside other spectators.

Although villages might have differences, this world has always been about strength. If you were strong, you had a say. If you had strength, even the people from other villages would respect you.

Even Kumogakure Jonin would still address Onoki with ”Tsuchikage-sama” even though Kumogakure despised Iwagakure.

The Legendary Sannin didn’t gain their fame overnight; it was earned through so many battles. Hence, ordinary Shinobi held them in high regard, regardless of where they were from.

”It’s quite a coincidence that you all gathered this time. The Legendary Sannin are here; it’s the first time in many years, even for me.” The Third Hokage smiled.

Tsunade once left the village, Jiraiya traveled all around the world, and Orochimaru was immersed in Forbidden Technique and experiments. Seeing his disciples was an incredibly challenging task even for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Fourth Raikage remained silent, merely turning away with a stern expression, intentionally avoiding the big screen.

He couldn’t believe it was just a coincidence that all Sannin had gathered there. He suspected Konoha did this to impress the other villages.

Indeed, the Fourth Raikage believed that Konoha was flexing their strength to demonstrate their power to the other three Great Shinobi Countries.

”Luck does seem to be on our side. This trip to Konoha is truly worthwhile now that I can witness the legendary Sannin who had made their name in the past wars,” Onoki said with a smile.

Seeing the Legendary Sannin’s confidence, Onoki’s wariness towards Konoha increased.

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was a young man in his twenties with a promising future, while the Hokage Assistant, Fujiwara Nagasawa was about as strong as Legendary Shinobi like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

The Legendary Sannin was also on their prime, and even the Third Hokage, still had some fight left in him even though he was not in his prime anymore.

As Onoki pondered this, his smile turned bitter.

While Konoha seemed to have a bright future ahead, Iwagakure was facing a significant crisis. Among Iwagakure’s next generation, only his granddaughter showed some promise, while the rest were deemed unreliable.

Onoki couldn’t help but feel how vast the gap between them was. Where did he fall short compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi that Iwagakure was in such a disadvantage?

While Onoki was brooding over the unfairness of fate, the screen on the big display changed. The Legendary Sannin and their Summoned Beasts had now arrived before the participants.

As the three massive Summoned Beasts descended among the participants, they were left in awe as most of them had never seen such giant creatures. Some participants even broke into a cold sweat when they saw Manda’s greedy eyes and the possibility of it spitting out venom.

Manda was usually an arrogant creature when summoned. However, the current Orochimaru was nothing like in the manga.

Nagasawa had imposed certain restrictions on Orochimaru. Having Manda eat other people was something Nagasawa could not tolerate.

Nagasawa personally stepped in and reprimanded Manda, and since then Manda became obedient.

According to Orochimaru, Manda had not completely learned his lesson. Later, it tried to seek help from the White Snake Sage in Ryuchi Cave, hoping for support against Nagasawa.

However, the White Snake Sage told Manda to stay away from Nagasawa if he wanted to survive. Manda was scared out of his wits because of that. Although Orochimaru himself could handle the situation, with Nagasawa personally stepping in, there was no room for negotiation.

The Sannin all canceled their Summoning Technique, and the three gigantic Summoned Beasts that exuded immense pressure on the participants disappeared instantly.

”We are the examiners for the second stage, the Forest of Death Battle Royale.”

”Orochimaru,” Orochimaru smirked as he looked at the participants. His unnaturally long tongue extended out, emitting a sinister aura.

”Tsunade,” Tsunade crossed her arms, exuding a hint of pride in her gaze, displaying a domineering presence.

”Jiraiya, the toad sage, is also here!” Jiraiya, standing next to Tsunade, laughed in a strange manner.

Because Jiraiya stood alongside them, Orochimaru’s seemingly cold and menacing vibe and the overwhelming presence of Tsunade were all ruined by Jiraiya’s eccentricity.

”Are you kidding me, the Legendary... Sannin?” A shocked participant who recognized them exclaimed in disbelief.

Since when did the Chunin Exams require a Shinobi of the Legendary Sannin’s calibre to be examiners, and all three of them?

The participants’ jaws were wide open, realizing that things might not be as simple as they seemed.

”Lord Jiraiya, Lord Orochimaru, Lady Tsunade...”

Konoha Shinobi greeted the Legendary Sannin.

While they didn’t understand why the Legendary Sannin were serving as examiners for the Chunin Exams, seeing the astonished expressions of Shinobi from other villages was quite satisfying.

Other Great Shinobi Countries were like a sideshow at this point as Konoha had all the spotlight.

”Quiet. Now, let me explain the rules,” Orochimaru’s hoarse and cold voice cut short all the noise.

As soon as Orochimaru spoke, the entire venue fell silent. All eyes turned to the stern-faced man, and nobody dared to make a sound.

This was how strength worked. If it were an ordinary Jonin that served as an examiner, they might not be able to command such respect from so many participants.

The number of participants in this exam was overwhelming. Even after eliminating fifteen groups in the previous round, there were still 102 groups, totaling 306 individuals in the second stage.

Among them were elite Genin nurtured by various villages, and some might not even be a Genin at all.

For instance, Samui was already a Chunin in Kumogakure, but due to her young age, she participated in the Chunin Exams under the guise of being a Genin.

Konoha couldn’t verify this information because a Shinobi’s personal information was highly confidential. They had no way of accessing the information from other villages unless those villages shared the information out of their own volition.

As long as the age of the participants wasn’t too extreme, Konoha turned a blind eye to such matters.

If someone tried to exploit this by sending Jonin to pretend to be Genin to slaughter Konoha’s Genin, what was the purpose of the Chunin Exam’s examiner?

Orochimaru first explained the unchanged rules, which included the time limit. Participants had five days to gather the Heaven and Earth scrolls and reach the central tower to pass the examination.

Upon hearing the familiar rules, some Konoha participants who had been frightened by Shisui’s Mangekyo Sharingan in the first round breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the examiners were capable, it seemed that there weren’t many changes in this stage.

However, they soon realized they spoke too soon. With the Legendary Sannin as examiners, this stage wouldn’t be as easy.

”All of the above are the usual rules for Chunin Exam. Now, I will explain the new rules,” Orochimaru’s words shattered the last bit of hope in the participants’ hearts.

”We have placed a lot of hidden Tags in the Forest of Death. These Tags possess different powers, and by skillfully utilizing them, you can achieve victory in this exam more easily.”

”There are four types of Tags that we’ve placed beforehand: the Lightning Tag, which can dish out a quite powerful Lightning strike; the Rising Earth Tag, which summons Earth Wall; the Water Prison Tag, which summons a round water prison; and the Medical Tag, which mends injuries.” Orochimaru explained the effects of each Tag.

”So many! How come I’ve never heard of them before? Have you heard about them?”

”No, the only useful Tag I know is the Explosive Tag.”

”Is it possible that Konoha has developed them recently and is using us as guinea pigs?” a conspiracy theorist speculated.

”Hey, aren’t you curious? A Medical Tag? If it works well, it’s like having a Medic-nin following you around.”

As Orochimaru finished speaking, heated discussions immediately circulated among the participants.

Especially the Medical Tag, the name alone was too tempting.

People couldn’t help but speculate about its effectiveness.

However, most were not that optimistic, thinking that the Medical effect might be questionable. Otherwise, they would have kept such a good thing for themselves instead of publicly introducing it during the Chunin Exams!

And why place it in the Forest of Death? Wasn’t it basically asking it to be taken away by the participants to their own villages, potentially unraveling its secrets?

”Rising Earth Tag? Medical Tag? Third Hokage, what are these?” The furious Tsuchikage couldn’t even be bothered with his anger at the unfair God and asked about the Medical Tag.

He didn’t care about the Tags aside from the Medical Tag. But Onoki was afraid that the Third Hokage would see through his intentions, so he asked about Rising Earth Tag as well.

Although Onoki tried to conceal his real intention, the Third Hokage immediately saw through it.

There was no denying that even Konoha felt short of Medic-nin despite having quite a lot of them, let alone other villages.

For a small village like Kusagakure, it was challenging to find a Shinobi with decent Medical skills. The doctor in their hospital barely had any medical knowledge.

The Third Hokage blew out a smoke and said lightly, ”Those are new Tags that Nagasawa developed. I don’t understand how they work either; you should ask him.”

The unpleasant smell from the Third Hokage’s cigarette made Onoki upset and turned away from the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage laughed and put away his pipe.

While Rasa and the Fourth Raikage didn’t say a word, they also couldn’t help but look at Nagasawa. They were also in dire need of Medic-nin.

”It’s just some defects that I created in my spare time. It’s not worth your time, Lord Tsuchikage. Let’s continue watching,” Nagasawa smiled and casually brushed it off.

There was nothing Onoki could do. He couldn’t just fight Nagasawa, and even if he did, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

He turned his attention at the giant screen again as he did not want to miss any details regarding those Tags.

This time, he paid close attention to the real demonstration of the Tags by Orochimaru.

On the screen, Orochimaru took out a Tag with a faint blue light, similar in size and writing to an Explosive Tag.

”This is the Lightning Tag, dishing out a lightning when activated.”

Orochimaru gestured the participants to back away as he channeled his Chakra into the Tag and quickly threw it onto the ground.

Bzzz! Bzzz!

Boom!

A frenzy of lightning erupted from the Tag, striking the ground and charred it.

”What a terrifying power.” Seeing the power of the lightning, some nearby Genin were sweating.

Onoki looked at Nagasawa suspiciously. Did you call that thing a defect that you made on your spare time? This seemed like a massive weapon that could revolutionize ninja tool as a whole.