*Chapter 122: Itachi and Sasuke, Bro-con Worries*

Acid Rain was the name Uchiha Itachi was currently using to hide his identity.

The names in the Hidden Rain Village were peculiar—almost everyone’s name included the word "rain."

Pakura was called Drizzle.

As for Aizen, his name was even more ridiculous—he was called "Avoiding Rain."

Itachi glanced indifferently at Aizen without saying much. He simply stared quietly at Sasuke, thinking to himself, Sasuke, why are you still so weak? Is your hatred for me not strong enough yet?

At that moment, Might Guy’s summoning turtle suddenly appeared, stopping Rock Lee from using the Front Lotus technique on Sasuke.

Then Might Guy made a dramatic entrance in his usual flamboyant way.

First, he punched Rock Lee for misusing the Front Lotus technique, then hugged him, praising youthfulness.

The two grown men began hugging each other and sobbing uncontrollably.

Everyone watching was speechless, and black lines seemed to appear on their foreheads in disbelief.

After Might Guy and Rock Lee left, Pakura couldn’t hold it in anymore. She twitched her lips into a smile, saying, "You Konoha ninjas sure are... unique!"

"Don’t underestimate Might Guy. He’s the only person in the current ninja world who has fully mastered the forbidden Eight Gates technique," Aizen said, stifling a laugh. "But yeah, his image is pretty ridiculous."

"The Eight Gates?" Pakura was shocked. "Isn’t that the forbidden technique that once defeated the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"

"Yes, and that was just its effect when used by a lower-ranking ninja. If Might Guy, an elite Jonin, used it, there’s probably no one in the entire ninja world who could defeat him head-on."

Aizen explained and added, "But we don’t need to worry unless Konoha is in a true life-and-death situation. He won’t use it because doing so would mean his death."

"Still, it’s no small thing. Even opening seven gates is enough to defeat more than half the members of our organization."

Pakura marveled, "That guy is really terrifying."

As they continued chatting, Naruto noticed them from afar and shouted, "Hey, it’s the bandage guy and his group!"

"Those guys have been watching the whole time, huh? And they don’t seem to take me or Rock Lee seriously at all. Damn it!" Naruto grumbled.

Sasuke also noticed the three and clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in frustration.

As for Sakura, recognizing that these people weren’t to be messed with, she quickly locked Naruto in a headlock and apologized to Aizen’s group, "Sorry, my teammate has some brain issues."

Aizen gave Sakura a disdainful look and was about to leave when Sasuke arrogantly called out, "Hey, you bandaged guy, what’s your name?"

In response, Aizen mischievously answered, "I’m the stepfather of Avoiding Rain."

"Stepfather of Avoiding Rain?" Sasuke mumbled, frowning. No matter how he thought about it, something felt off, but he couldn’t figure out what.

So, he gave up thinking.

Just as he was about to introduce himself arrogantly, like he did when facing Gaara, Aizen’s voice echoed again, "You must be that last Uchiha survivor, Uchiha ‘Second Pillar.’"

"Idiot! My name is Uchiha Sasuke!" Sasuke shouted angrily, recalling how Aizen used to call him “Second Pillar,” which had irritated him to no end. At one point, so many people didn’t even know his real name because of Aizen.

Sasuke hated it.

Aizen continued teasing him, "Call yourself whatever you like, Uchiha Second Pillar. But you really are weak. You’ve unlocked your Sharingan, and yet you can’t even beat a kid with no special abilities or talent for ninjutsu... I guess the Sharingan isn’t all that great after all."

"Bastard!" Sasuke exploded in rage, ready to attack, but Aizen suddenly appeared beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Aizen had moved with the speed of an average Chunin, but that was enough to startle Sasuke.

He’s even faster than Rock Lee! Damn it, when did he move next to me? Sasuke thought in shock.

"I look forward to facing you in the Chunin Exams. Let’s go," Aizen said, patting Sasuke’s shoulder and calling out to Itachi and Pakura as he headed toward the registration area.

Pakura quickly followed.

Itachi gave Sasuke a deep look before following behind them.

All that remained was a stunned Sasuke, a confused Naruto, and a terrified Sakura.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, and in a rare moment of emotional intelligence, he tried to comfort him with awkward words, "Well, the Uchiha clan doesn’t seem that great after all."

"Shut up! Next time, I’ll beat them!" Sasuke’s shoulders trembled as he spoke, his head half-lowered, partially hidden in shadow.

"Yeah, but you lost pretty badly this time," Naruto remarked, casting a smug look at Sasuke.

"Tch," Sasuke clicked his tongue, his eyes trembling with anger.

Seeing that it was enough, Naruto’s expression turned serious as he said, "Did you see that bushy-brow’s hands earlier?"

Sasuke paused, "You mean...?"

Naruto nodded. "Those are training scars, which means bushy-brow trains harder than you do. And that bandaged guy too. Just like bushy-brow doesn’t want anyone to see his hands, that guy probably doesn’t want anyone to see his body under the bandages. He’s likely training even harder."

"It’s as simple as that."

Hearing Naruto’s words, Sasuke understood the implied message. His fighting spirit reignited, and he smiled, "Interesting... It looks like the Chunin Exams are going to be more fun than I thought."

Meanwhile, Aizen, Itachi, and Pakura arrived at the exam hall, where Kakashi was waiting for Team 7 at the entrance.

The three passed by Kakashi without a word, pushing open the doors to enter.

Kakashi was surprised, a cold sweat forming on his forehead. He thought, What was that just now? Why do those three from the Hidden Rain give me such a sense of dread?

At that moment, Team 7 arrived, with Naruto calling out loudly, "Kakashi-sensei!"

Inside the exam hall, Itachi, who had already sat down, glanced toward the entrance and asked Aizen softly, "Why are you doing all this unnecessary stuff?"

"This is something you’ve wanted to do, isn’t it? You can’t reveal yourself, but you still want to give your foolish little brother a lesson. As his stepfather from the Rain Village, I’m doing all this for the two of you brothers," Aizen replied with a shrug, speaking in a way that had a double meaning. His eyes discreetly scanned the group of Genin around them.