Chapter 60:
Time flies!
As everyone focused on their training, half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the Chunin Exams were about to begin!
In Konoha, the Chunin Exam wasn't anything new. The villagers and ninjas had become quite used to it, since it happened twice a year like clockwork. Most of them had grown tired of watching the semi-annual selection process. Only those ninjas who didn't have any missions or were simply bored would bother to watch.
Of course, the daily tasks for many ninjas were mundane and tedious, so this event was a bit of excitement. During the Chunin Exams, they could enjoy the added thrill of gambling on the outcome. The gambling aspect injected some fun into an otherwise ordinary part of village life.
"Oh? There are so many people this time," Jiraiya said, surprised as they arrived at the waiting room for the Chunin selection.
The classroom was massive, yet it was still packed with a large crowd. It was far more crowded than Jiraiya had expected. There had to be several hundred people there, a stark contrast to the one or two hundred participants he remembered hearing about in the original story.
Orochimaru wasn't surprised in the least. He had already predicted this outcome. The gap between the real world and his memories was something he had come to terms with.
After all, think of the Fourth Great Ninja War, where the Allied Shinobi Forces numbered around 80,000. Given the distribution among the five major nations, Konoha being the most powerful had contributed at least 20,000 ninjas. Even after suffering heavy casualties from previous wars, they still managed to field such a large force.
With that in mind, Orochimaru estimated that Konoha, in its current state, likely had a total ninja population of around 30,000.