The nobles sat in the uppermost seats of the audience, while the villagers and ninjas crowded into the seats on the left and right.
It could be said that the class system was strict.
Kiyoshi encountered nothing but small fry along the way, defeating them with a few simple moves.
Some even recognized Kiyoshi and chose to surrender directly.
"Is that a ninja from the Uchiha clan?"
Kiyoshi's dazzling performance naturally attracted the attention of the Land of Fire's Daimyo.
This time, the Daimyo had traveled a long distance to attend the ceremony.
Because even he was disturbed by the recent turbulent situation and eagerly wanted to know the new power of Konoha.
If the Land of Fire were to be defeated, his interests would also suffer.
Those enemy countries would definitely greedily divide up the Land of Fire's resources.
"Yes, that is Uchiha Kiyoshi ."
Sarutobi Hiruzen did not smoke on such a grand occasion today, and nodded.
The Daimyo said, "He's performing well. I hope the other examinees can do the same."
"They won't let the Daimyo down." Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.
Most ninjas do not engage in production, only genin do odd jobs.
Once they reach the rank of chunin or higher, they are almost exclusively involved in dangerous missions such as assassination, guarding, and infiltration.
A ninja's financial resources comes from the rewards from completing missions.
However, such income is unstable, and developing the village's economy requires funding from the Daimyo.
And with ninjas, the Daimyo can develop the country with more peace of mind.
It can be said that the two are in a cooperative relationship.
In other words, the Daimyo is their biggest client.
"Uchiha Kiyoshi ..."
Mei stood in the audience and gnashed her teeth as she looked at Kiyoshi.
Ever since Mangetsu had died, she had been working hard, all to avenge her companion.
Mei cherished the companions who were born in the bloody Kirigakure.
Because of the situation there, everyone schemed against each other and framed each other.
There were many cold ninjas like Hoshigaki Kisame, who smiled insincerely.
Mei didn't like them at all.
She had long been determined to change all of this.
This was why she was willing to take the initiative to come to Konoha for the Chunin Exams.
It was to show her talent and prove herself in front of everyone, so that she would have a better resume after returning to her country.
She wanted to become the Fifth Mizukage and change all of this.
The current Third Mizukage is already old and frail.
The next Mizukage will likely be the village's genius, Yagura.
So what Mei wants to fight for is the next Mizukage, the Fifth Mizukage.
But as soon as she left the village and arrived in Konoha, a cherished companion died right at the start.
All of this was ruined by that hateful Kiyoshi.
The more Mei thought about it, the angrier she became, wishing she could knock Kiyoshi to the ground right now and make him pay the price for what he had done.
"Mei, be careful and control your emotions. This is not our village."
Kirigakure's Jonin instructor, Biwa Juzo, said.
"Yes, Juzo-sama."
Mei nodded, suppressing the emotions in her heart.
This man is one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and she has to respect him.
"I'm really looking forward to fighting him."
Katsura felt his bones boiling.
Only a strong person like Kiyoshi is worthy of him using Dead Bone Pulse.
"Next, Konohagakure Uchiha Kiyoshi VS Kirigakure Terumi Mei!"
Because there were more ninjas selected this time than in previous years, a ring system was adopted.
The victorious ninjas would get a certain amount of time to rest, recover their chakra, and then face the next one.
"Terumi Mei, huh."
In the middle of the field, Kiyoshi ate a Military Ration pill to restore his chakra.
He thought his opponent would be Katsura or those from Iwagakure.
But Mei won't affect anything.
Seeing such a soft and charming woman, Kiyoshi decided to help her become stronger.
After all, in the Five Kage VS Madara, Mei's performance could only be described as indescribable, and she kept saying discouraging things.
And the best way to help someone become stronger is to establish an object of hatred.
Coincidentally, Kiyoshi can also get an increase in his pupil power from Mei's reaction.
It can be considered a win-win situation.
"What are you laughing at?"
Mei, who had jumped directly from the waiting platform near the audience seats, slightly frowned.
Kiyoshi's smile made her instinctively feel a sense of foreboding.
"It's nothing."
Kiyoshi shook his head.
"Uchiha Kiyoshi, do you want to continue resting for a while?"
The proctor looked at Kiyoshi and asked.
"It's okay, let's start directly."
Kiyoshi rejected his suggestion.
This ring system used for the reform is indeed not good for those who stand in the ring at the start.
That little time is not enough to recover to full strength.
Kiyoshi knows this, and the high-ranking officials and nobles above also probably know.
This Chunin Exam, to put it nicely, is a microcosm of countries fighting for their own country.
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen himself had said, a ninja's talent can only be stimulated in a desperate battle, and they must fight with their lives on the line.
The last question of the first written test round was also to test fearlessness of death and courage to accept dangerous missions.
To put it bluntly, aren't ninjas just being used as tools and consumables?
"Hmph, I won't show mercy."
Even Mei's sneering expression had a charming look.
Kiyoshi quietly looked at Mei.
This woman, who exudes an overwhelming charm, was wearing a tight-fitting combat uniform that outlined her figure very well.
"Start!"
The proctor issued the order.
Mei formed the hand seals for Water Release.
"Water Release..."
Her cheeks bulged, looking full.
"Hiding in Mist Technique."
Mei spat out a large cloud of mist, covering the entire field.
"Hehe, Kiyoshi , now let's see how you die."
Mei couldn't help but smile as she thought about avenging her companions.
No one will investigate if someone dies in this exam.
From the beginning of the second exam, everyone had signed a paper, and Konoha cannot put pressure on Kirigakure for this.
Because Konoha had agreed to this rule in the first place, and it is very common for deaths to occur between ninjas.
"Is that so? I'm looking forward to it." Kiyoshi replied with a smile.
Although he couldn't see Mei's face, Kiyoshi could feel that Mei was smiling.
Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique is just a mere D-rank ninjutsu.
But it can do things that even many S-rank ninjutsu cannot do, which is to block the line of sight of the Rinnegan.
Kiyoshi's current Sharingan was naturally also obscured by this mist.
Only the Byakugan can easily ignore this mist and directly lock onto the caster.
This is also why Kirigakure had later tried so hard to snatch the Byakugan.
After the Kirigakure Jonin Ao stole a Byakugan from the Hyuga clan's main family, he carried a sealing tag with him 24 hours a day.