Based on the chakra nature test results, the four children's natural chakra affinities were mostly as expected.

  Sasuke possesses fire and lightning. Haku has water and wind. Karin, somewhat unexpectedly, has fire and water. Naruto, as always, only has wind.

  However, for both Naruto and Karin, chakra nature was not their primary focus.

  The Uzumaki cn relied on the uniqueness of their chakra. For most Uzumaki, the five-elemental jutsu was rarely their primary tool in combat. This uniqueness came from their chakra's powerful life force, which was inherently random.

  Naruto inherited his chakra traits from his mother, granting him a natural ability to suppress tailed-beast chakra. His extraordinary vitality was one of the best within the Uzumaki cn, making him a perfect reincarnation of Asura.

  Karin's chakra was special in sensory abilities. Her powerful life force also carried strong conductivity and permeating properties.

  From a team perspective, even though both were Uzumaki, these traits dictated that Naruto and Karin's roles differed greatly.

  Sasuke was straightforward—like Naruto, he was a front-line attacker.

  Haku differed from these two but remained a damage-dealing type nonetheless.

  After expining each child's traits, he taught them about the seven chakra natures. He then expined the differences between nature transformation and shape transformation.

  The children immediately expressed their desire to learn Yin Release or Yang Release, feeling that shape transformation was far too basic.

  "Though I'd love to teach you Yin and Yang Release now, unfortunately, your current knowledge and experience aren't enough to comprehend it yet," Masashi said with a smile. "As for shape transformation…"

  He opened his palm.

  A small fme appeared in his hand, growing steadily until it threatened to expand further. Suddenly, the fme shifted in shape, condensing into the form of a kunai.

  This was the power of Kagutsuchi. From the outside, it appeared as if fire techniques were performed without seals.

  By transforming the chakra nature and then using Kagutsuchi to control it, the fire could be maniputed into various forms.

  "Wow!" The children excimed in awe, their curiosity piqued.

  Masashi casually threw the fiery kunai, embedding it into the wooden training dummy in the room. The dummy's upper body exploded into a burning mess, with splinters incinerated before they could scatter.

  "Shape transformation has many applications, and compression is one of them," Masashi expined. "Chakra transformation is a complete system. Focusing only on nature or shape transformation is incomplete. Except in special cases, the standard approach is to master both."

  Having said that, he began teaching the children how to perform chakra nature transformations.

  For most people, nature transformation was passive. Hand seals simplified the process and made ninjutsu more accessible.

  Indra's character was arrogant and dismissive of the common people, yet his invention of hand seals primarily benefited them.

  With hand seals, even those who didn't fully understand chakra transformation could follow the steps and perform ninjutsu.

  However, Masashi wanted these four children to comprehend it fully from the beginning. With proper understanding, even basic jutsu could achieve extraordinary results.

  Simplifying hand seals required individual comprehension, and the ultimate goal of simplification was to perform jutsu without seals—just like he had demonstrated.

  The fiery kunai's power exceeded that of standard explosive tags. Moreover, explosive tags cked the versatility of fire-style kunai, making the superiority clear.

  Of course, this level of mastery depended on Kagutsuchi.

  Each child held an unsharpened kunai in their hands. Their task was to channel chakra into the kunai to manifest its nature.

  He had thoughtfully chosen the chakra nature for each of them.

  Evidently, this task was far more difficult than basic chakra refinement. An entire day passed with no significant progress.

  Even these talented children felt a sense of frustration.

  Masashi comforted them, reminding them not to be too disheartened. Many people spend their entire lives unable to master even one chakra nature transformation to perfection.

  That evening, after sending the children home, he returned to the Hokage's office.

  Earlier in the day, when picking up the kids, Minato had asked him to attend a meeting afterward.

  Upon entering, the room was filled with smoke.

  All five of Konoha's elders were present.

  The air pollution? Thanks to the biggest smoker among them, Hiruzen, who chuckled as he puffed away.

  "Masashi, how are the kids' talents?" asked the doting grandfather.

  "They're excellent. Konoha has a bright future," Masashi replied in a simirly old-fashioned tone.

  "Good, good. Konohamaru will have some companions soon," Hiruzen said cheerfully.

  His grandson's talent was his pride and joy. Bragging about it daily was a must for him.

  Konohamaru, born with all five chakra natures, represented the resurgence of the Sarutobi cn's glory.

  "Indeed," Masashi said with a sly smile. "Having companions fosters healthy competition."

  Your grandson's generation is going to be intensely competitive—just wait. Competing alongside reincarnations of Indra and Asura will be a whole new experience.

  "Sandaime-sama, shouldn't we discuss the matter with Suna?" Fugaku interjected.

  As Konoha's premier calligraphy master, he couldn't stand Hiruzen constantly showing off his grandson.

  If any cn produced the best talent, it was undoubtedly the Uchiha cn. He firmly believed his younger son would outshine everyone in his generation.

  As for this generation, they were already overshadowed by Masashi.

  Such was the might of the Uchiha bloodline.

  "Ah, yes, yes," Hiruzen said, patting his head. "Old age makes me talkative."

  "I'll start," Minato said, taking the lead.

  "According to intel from the ANBU, ever since we repelled Kumo's attack, their retions with Suna have warmed. After Konoha went to war with Iwa, Kumo even provided Suna with supplies."

  Minato's serious tone caused the elders' expressions to darken.

  "After repelling Iwa, we didn't coordinate with Suna to expand the conflict. Now, the bond between Suna and Kumo continues to grow. They're even considering hosting the Chunin Exams together."

  "They dare!" someone smmed the table.

  It was none other than Hiruzen.

  "Konoha saved Suna from destruction. Such betrayal cannot be tolerated! However, it's likely that recent vilge affairs have left us neglecting our retionship with Suna. This could be an opportunity. We could propose a joint Chunin Exam, inviting Kiri and Iwa as well, with Suna as the host. Let everyone gather and clear up misunderstandings."

  "That's a good idea," Koharu and Homura agreed in unison, their pacifist tones gratingly simir.

  Masashi inwardly appuded their impeccable synchronization, finding it both absurd and amusing.

  "The Chunin Exams, huh…" Minato turned to Fugaku. "How many genin from the vilge can currently be nominated for the Chunin Exams?"

  "Quite a few," Fugaku replied. "Years of war have prevented the exams from being held, leading to a buildup of candidates. Some have even proven themselves on the battlefield."

  "I imagine the same holds true for the other vilges," Minato nodded. "Then let's proceed. I'm confident Konoha's genin are the strongest."

  ---

  When it came to the Land of Wind, the first impression outsiders usually had was the distant chime of camel bells and yellow sand dancing with the wind.

  That was not far from the truth; about 90% of the country was desert.

  Perhaps due to the fierce winds blowing from the Land of Earth, carrying sand as they passed through the Land of Stone and colliding with the terrain here, the sand accumuted and created a "desert with sand dunes."

  As the rgest desert area on the continent of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, the Land of Wind's deserts were intertwined with its cities, forming an unusual "desert within the city" environment.

  Suna was located deep within these deserts.

  The environment there was harsh, and the roads were treacherous and far-reaching.

  At the end of the Warring States Period, the Land of Wind, with the help of the Suna ninja forces, unified this vast and ancient nd. From then on, the Land of Wind became the homend for all desert dwellers.

  Suna's military strength was notable.

  When the vilge was first established, it already controlled the One-Tail. So, when Hashirama held the first Five Kage Summit to distribute the tailed beasts, the First Kazekage proposed trading their share of tailed beasts for nd and money.

  Naturally, the other vilges objected strongly, nearly resulting in a brawl. Although Hashirama, ever the peacemaker, prevented war from breaking out, Suna left the summit empty-handed. If anything, it gained only the disdain of the First Hokage himself—a bitter "reward."

  During the First Great Ninja War, the Second Kazekage refrained from engaging in the fierce conflicts. Instead, he focused on studying the One-Tail, eventually developing the Magnet Release and Puppet techniques that would define Suna's ninja arts.

  By the war's end, he was the only surviving Second Kage.

  Under the leadership of the Third Kazekage, Suna ranked among the top three strongest ninja vilges.

  But then, the curse began.

  During the Third Great Ninja War, Suna suffered severe losses. Though the vilge survived, its foundation was shaken. Expansion was no longer possible, but at least it could still protect itself.

  The real low point came during the original timeline's Konoha Crush pn.

  Orochimaru's fmboyant actions made it seem like the pn was entirely his idea. But in reality, it was Suna that devised the pn.

  The Snake Sannin was merely an external ally, initially hired by Suna, before joining under the guise of Akatsuki.

  After the pn's failure, the Suna ninjas were left in complete disarray—this was less a "Konoha Crush" and more of a "Suna Colpse!"

  Tsunade, as the newly-appointed Fifth Hokage, extended a timely hand of support to Suna.

  Gaara, having found mutual understanding with Naruto, became the Fifth Kazekage, marking the start of a true honeymoon period between Suna and Konoha.

  In this timeline, however, Suna still retained its strength but harbored growing discontent toward Konoha.

  At least, that's how the "Mining Kage" saw it.

  "Damn it! Am I mining for Suna or for Konoha?

  Wait! Why the hell is the Kazekage—me—mining every day?!"

  Unfortunately, due to certain indirect influences, two things deeply stung his increasingly sensitive heart.

  First, Pakura had joined Konoha.

  Second, Konoha had formed an open alliance with Iwa.

  Rasa couldn't help but feel betrayed. "It's not that I'm untrustworthy, but Konoha's behavior is just pin disrespectful! They don't care about their allies' feelings. You can exploit my mining abilities in secret, but you can't openly stomp on my pride!"

  Thus, when the Fourth Raikage extended an olive branch, he accepted without hesitation.

  Of course, Kumo was far from innocent, but to him, Konoha was even worse—practically nothing at all!

  "Damn Minato. He's inhuman!"

  Still, he agreed to Konoha's request to hold a joint Chunin Exam.

  This would likely be the rgest Chunin Exam ever held since the beginning of the ninja vilge system.

  Four of the Five Great Shinobi Nations were participating, along with their allied vilges, effectively encompassing almost every ninja organization at the genin level across the ninja world.

  The only absentees were Kumo and Shimo.

  The Land of Iron, being a samurai nation, naturally would not participate. But as the only neutral vilge in the ninja world, Taki signed up upon seeing the scale of the event.

  For Taki, rankings didn't matter; the main goal was to give their younger generation some exposure.

  However, such a rge-scale joint Chunin Exam wasn't just about testing genin. The event also served as a ptform for vilges to interact.

  As a result, the leading ninja teams from each vilge drew much attention.

  Of particur interest were the team leaders from the three major ninja vilges.

  Iwa's leader: Kitsuchi, the son of the Tsuchikage.

  Kiri's leader: Mei, a rising star among their jonin.

  Konoha's leader: the White Ghost.

  When this roster was reported to Suna, Rasa nearly wrote an order banning the White Ghost from participating.

  Masashi's reputation had grown immensely.

  His most famous feat was silently copying enemy jutsu with his Sharingan, completely redefining the ninja world's understanding of its capabilities at the jonin level. Rasa couldn't shake the feeling that Konoha had sent Masashi to steal Suna's unique Magnet Release and Puppet techniques.

  And what was the point of sending a Kage-level ninja to lead a team?

  Was this an exam or a demonstration of superiority?

  After much deliberation and a meeting with the vilge elders, Rasa reluctantly approved.

  Suna still had its pride. Pride was, after all, part of a ninja vilge's strength.

  Thus, the joint Chunin Exam, hosted by Suna and co-hosted by Konoha, Iwa, and Kiri, commenced as scheduled.

  Leading Konoha's team, Masashi was accompanied by a group of genin, the newly promoted jonin Kakashi, and Pakura, who had joined Konoha.

  Also included were the recommending jonin for the participating genin.

  In Masashi's view, this generation of genin cked anyone particurly outstanding.

  The same was true across the entire ninja world. During this period, most shinobi were "normal," but ten years ter, talent would start to explode.

  Of course, by "not outstanding," he was comparing them to prodigies like Naruto and Sasuke.

  Even so, a few individuals stood out enough to leave an impression on him.

  "From Konoha to Suna will take about three days," he said, addressing the group of mixed-age members. "I won't eborate on the environment in the Land of Wind. Just remember, follow orders. You're here to take the exam, not to die. If you must die, do it in the arena."

  "Yes!"

  The genin responded loudly in unison.

  Masashi nodded.

  While this group didn't have the exceptional talents of Naruto's generation, they excelled in adaptability and discipline, qualities that Naruto's peers cked.

  Most of the current generation of genin had experienced battlefield conditions.

  However, the genin chosen for this exam were mostly recent academy graduates, with a few slightly older ones still in the "young" category.

  Konoha wouldn't send just anyone to a joint Chunin Exam. To qualify, a participant needed two things: exceptional talent and youth.

  This was also a matter of vilge pride.

  "Good. Let's move out!"