Escape From Konoha

A train roared past, puffing out white smoke.

Yiji was sitting by the window of the single car, with a black briefcase on the table in front of her, her dark eyes looking at the lush forest scenery outside the window.

This section of track is built along the forest, allowing passengers to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the forest.

Among the lush foliage are many fresh pink and white flowers.

The weather in March is no longer cold, and everything is starting to recover again.

In fact, Ichiji felt more magical about the train she was riding than the scenery outside the window.

For ninjas, the ninja world is neither big nor small.

Many areas are undeveloped artificial areas and are inhabited by all kinds of ferocious beasts and poisonous insects. Ordinary people want to cross mountains and ridges to get from one country to another. Putting aside the safety issues, just the time required for walking , is enough to put people off.

By her standards, it would take two days to reach the Land of Fire by running at full speed from the Kingdom of Ghosts.

Most ninjas take three days.

And the speed at which she sprinted with all her strength was much faster than the train she was riding on.

For ordinary people, traveling to foreign countries will be very inconvenient.

The birth of the train may change this situation.

Since two years ago, the number of carriages in the Kingdom of Ghosts has become extremely small, and has basically reached the point of being invisible.

With the introduction of government policies, trains have also become a new means of transportation to replace horse-drawn carriages in the minds of domestic people.

This is not only favored by the domestic people, but also has a very strong inducement ability for businessmen from abroad.

This can be considered a good thing for the future development of the ninja world.

The more developed the industry is, the more manpower becomes in some aspects very inefficient and cheap.

One person's skill in operating a machine can be equal to the manual skills of a dozen or even dozens of people in the past.

When it comes to high-end industry, it is an area beyond the reach of manual capabilities and can only be guided by machines.

The only pity is that the use of trains has not spread to other countries, and has only been popularized in the Kingdom of Ghosts.

Leaving such a convenient environment and entering a country with low industrial capacity, Yiji was able to deeply understand how inconvenient her past life was.

With the rise of industrial capabilities, sooner or later, countries will completely open their doors to trade in a new era.

However, the future is full of uncertainty about this kind of thing, at least the traditional nobles are still hesitant.

Because mastering knowledge is a very dangerous term in this era of not being open-minded.

Especially to spread knowledge to the lower classes.

This will have an extremely negative impact on the upper-level governance.

So far, the rule of the nobles has relied on various monopolies to ensure their hereditary status and not be affected by the lower classes.

Once a part of the monopoly is cracked, it means that their own interests will be absorbed by the lower levels.

Of course, not all nobles hold this ancient traditional thought and firmly believe that they are the rulers of 'one line for all generations'.

It's just that these nobles account for too small a proportion among the upper echelons of the whole, and they are not enough to shake the general trend.

We also need to add some fire to completely cut off the illusions in some people's minds.

And this fire can only be a raging fire called 'war'!

This time is three years, four years, or maybe five years.

In short, peace will not last long.

Although she is not a high-ranking member of the military, Kazuki can occasionally sense through some changes that the accumulation of the Demon Country is close to saturation.

Before that, we must build a ‘bridge’ directly to the Land of Fire!

The train headed all the way to the western coastal area, crossing forests, mountains and rivers where the ice and snow had melted. Around afternoon, it arrived at the station in the coastal city of the Country of Ghosts and stopped.

"Miss, we have arrived at the station. The cruise ship heading to the Country of Waves at the port is also ready and ready to depart at any time."

The door of the single car was opened, and Kado, wearing sunglasses, walked in and said respectfully to Yiji.

"Thank you for your hard work, let's go."

Yiji held the black briefcase in her hand, her long black hair fluttering lightly, and her pretty face was full of indifference.

◎

"The Country of Waves..."

Since the Wave Country Agricultural and Industrial Group succeeded in overthrowing the local nobles three years ago, the Fire Country Daming Mansion and Konoha Ninja Village have not relaxed for this organization for a moment.

Although Konoha advocates the principle of non-interference, the ninjas from the Kingdom of Demons stationed directly so close to the Kingdom of Fire will still make Hiruzen feel troubled.

Now the only dispute between the Fire Country and the Ghost Country is the control of the Wave Country.

Fortunately, because the Kingdom of Oni acted too domineeringly in the Kingdom of Waves, after using the Agricultural and Industrial Corps to overthrow the local nobles of the Kingdom of Waves, it immediately wanted to steal the achievements of the Agricultural and Industrial Group's movement, monopolize the fruits of victory, and achieve indirect control of the Kingdom of Waves. the goal of.

It's a pity that the top management of the agricultural and industrial group had the foresight to recruit the Lei Guang group from the underground black market one step ahead.

The famous Lightning Regiment, as long as the reward is sufficient, is not afraid of the soldiers of the Kingdom of Demons, and has destroyed the secret operations of the Kingdom of Demons in the Kingdom of Waves several times.

This also made Hiruzen look at the Thunder Light Group with admiration.

There are very few bounty hunters with integrity in the underground black market, and there are even fewer bounty hunters with extremely high integrity and strength who are not afraid of powerful ninjas.

The Thunderbolt Group is one of these bounty hunter groups.

Especially in the past few years, they have been constantly fighting against the Kingdom of Ghosts, and due to their reputation in the underground black market, the Thunder Light Group has been able to compete with the Xuan Yuanzhong.

Even for Konoha's actions in the Land of Waves, one has to look at the face of the Raikoudan.

Fortunately, when it comes to the issue of the Kingdom of Waves, the Thunderbolt Corps is employed by the Agricultural and Industrial Corps and is on the same front as Konoha. Otherwise, the Agricultural and Industrial Corps would have been swallowed up by the Kingdom of Demons.

Sitting in the office, Hiruzen picked up the information document about the Thunder Group's intelligence and fell into deep thought.

Thunder group.

The leader's name is Qianno.

She is a young woman who appears to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, but her real age is ominous.

The ninjutsu is to summon a powerful red dragon, which is suspected to be some unknown blood inheritance limit.

There are not many members under his command, but each one possesses special secret skills and blood inheritance limits. It can be said that they are one of the most terrifying teams of bounty hunters in the underground black market.

The level of danger is not inferior to that of the Xuanzu who once defeated the Sannin Jiraiya.

Looking at the huge red dragon captured in the photo, it is the ninjutsu model summoned by the leader of the Thunder Group.

Hiruzen looked at the huge red dragon and felt that this technique was familiar to him as he had heard it somewhere.

However, he couldn't remember where he had heard of this ninjutsu, so Hiruzen gave up thinking deeply and confirmed the type of blood successor of the leader of the Lightning Regiment. He could just leave this kind of thing to the intelligence department for analysis. .

But even with the strong intervention of the Thunder Light Group, the situation of the Agricultural and Industrial Group in the Country of Waves is not optimistic.

The reason why the Kingdom of Ghosts is powerful is not because their ninjas are scattered soldiers, but because they form groups.

What's more, as far as Hiruzen knew, the leader of the ninja who settled in the Demon Country, Chiba Kazuhime, had never really made a move so far.

The opponent is the daughter of Chiba Shiraishi and Uchiha Ruri. He once defeated his second son Sarutobi Asuma with just a few moves. His strength is unfathomable.

Hiruzen's eyes showed a solemn look.

How to deal with the ninjas of the Kingdom of Ghosts who are rooted in the Kingdom of Waves has become a problem faced by the Agricultural and Industrial Corps and the Kingdom of Fire at the same time.

And if we want to completely eradicate this hidden danger, if we don't repel Chiba Kazuhime, then this matter will be out of the question.

The other party is probably a ninja on the same level as Kakashi.

"Hokage-sama."

A figure suddenly landed in front of Hiruzen's desk.

Wearing an animal mask, he carries a sheathed short knife on his back.

It was Kakashi.

He held a document in his hand and placed it in front of Hiruzen.

Seeing Kakashi coming over, Hiruzen nodded, without picking up the information document, but asked: "What are the results of the investigation?"

Kakashi prepared a sentence for a while and replied: "As expected by the Hokage, according to the ANBU's investigation these days, there are indeed some problems with the identity of the other party. I didn't expect that a chuunin could hide so well in the village. It’s only now being noticed.”

"If he hadn't always deliberately approached the 'target', I wouldn't have suspected him."

Hiruzen opened the information file and there was a photo prominently placed on it.

The photo shows an adult man with a gentle temperament, a gentle smile, and very approachable.

The name is Mizuki.

He is a teacher at Konoha Ninja School.

Although he is not much different from Kakashi in age, but limited by his talent, he can only stop at Chunin, and then pass the assessment and enter the ninja school for coaching.

Before entering the ninja school to teach, the opponent's resume also had some bad records.

During a mission, one of his companions was injured and unable to move. In order to complete the mission as quickly as possible, Mizuki chose to brutally kill his companion to prevent his companion from dragging down the team and causing the mission to fail.

Then this incident was investigated and severely criticized by the upper management.

In view of the good attitude later, the upper management decided to give the other party another chance.

After entering the ninja school to teach, the other party also taught many outstanding students.

In view of this, the surveillance of Mizuki was cancelled.

But unexpectedly, shortly after the monitoring was withdrawn, Mizuki became active again.

This time his target became bigger, closer to Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, with unknown intentions.

Although it was well concealed, the Anbu people still noticed it.

But this time Hizan did not startle the snake, but asked Kakashi to monitor the opponent himself, wanting to see what Mizuki's purpose was when he approached Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

According to Kakashi and Anbu's investigation, Mizuki's approach to Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was instigated by someone.

Behind him, there is a dark line hidden.

"So, have you found out the identity of the person behind him? Who is the spy?"

Hiruzen asked seriously.

It's no small thing that a teacher at a ninja school has a problem.

Ninja School is Konoha's most important ninja training institution, and only those who have implemented the will of fire can enter and teach.

Once a teacher deviates from Konoha's will in some behavior, his position must be revoked and monitored and investigated. He will not be released until there are no problems.

Originally, Mizuki should also be treated like this, but in order to catch the dark line behind the other party, he can't act rashly at this moment.

"We can't see anything yet, but since the other party is close to the Jinchuuriki, it must be the person behind him and wants to use him to achieve some purpose. And according to the time, it should be soon."

Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Uzumaki Naruto is this year's freshman.

In a few days, it will be the day when the ninja school graduates.

With the opponent's extremely bad grades, it is completely impossible to pass the graduation exam of the ninja school normally.

The ten thousand year crane tail of the ninja school is not a joke.

Once the exam fails, it is the time when the opponent is most likely to invade.

If Mizuki wanted to use Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to achieve some purpose, only then was the easiest time to achieve the purpose.

Kakashi's ideas coincided with Hiruzen's.

"However, Hokage-sama, don't you plan to let Naruto graduate from the ninja school this year? Or should you wait until next year?"

"I am also considering this matter. Naruto has a special status. If he loses the protective umbrella of the Ninja School, many things will not be decided by me."

Kakashi heard the implication of Hiruzen's words.

Compared with an insignificant pawn like Mizuki, Genbu's attitude towards Jinchuriki is the problem.

"The reason why Naruto's performance in ninjutsu is not good is entirely because of the power of the nine tails."

Thinking of this matter, Hiruzen had an even more headache.

Naruto is arguably Konoha's worst Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Although the previous two Nine-Tails Jinchuriki did not become perfect Jinchuriki, they were able to rely on their own abilities to force Nine-Tails to contribute their strength to fight for themselves. When Nine Tails is rampant, it can also use a powerful sealing technique to strongly restrict Nine Tails.

Compared with the previous two Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto, as a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was influenced by the power of Nine-Tails.

Once the power of Kyuubi goes berserk and Naruto lacks control, it will turn into a huge disaster.

When the time comes, Genbu will definitely take this opportunity to gain control of the Kyuubi.

Kakashi couldn't express his opinion on this matter.

He also had little knowledge of jinchūriki training and didn't understand it deeply.

But we also know that life is not easy for every Jinchuuriki.

He was supposed to be a hero who saved the village, but because of the uncontrollable power in his body, he was hated and hostile by the people in the village.

Growing up in such a neglected environment, most jinchūriki's hearts are filled with dissatisfaction and hatred towards the world.

Compared to those jinchūriki, Naruto, who still maintained an optimistic attitude, was considered an alternative.

But other than that, it seemed like that was all.

After all, even the ANBU minister would be suspicious of the Hokage if he rashly approached the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki without the Hokage's orders.

With that said, Hiruzen took out a crystal ball from the drawer and placed it on the table.

After inputting chakra, a picture quickly appeared on the crystal ball.

It was a classroom where the teacher Umino Iruka and the students were practicing indoor transformation techniques.

For Ninja School students, transformation, substitution, and clone are the three basic ninjutsu that must be mastered.

The first one to perform on stage was Sasuke.

His transformation technique is perfect, and he looks like Iruka. Just looking at the appearance, it is impossible to tell which one is the real Iruka.

Sasuke's performance made Iruka, as a teacher, very satisfied. The girls' crazy screams also rang out in the class. It could be seen that Sasuke was very popular in the class.

Neither Hiruzen nor Kakashi was surprised by this.

After all, the child who inherited the name of Uchiha, coupled with Kakashi's training in the past few years, has already reached the level of proficiency in the Three Body Technique for him.

Even the fire escape ninjutsu is equally easy to use.

The opponent is in contact with and controls the second type of lightning escape nature-changing ninjutsu.

From the beginning, he has already surpassed his peers.

Except for children from the ninja clan, they may be able to compete with Sasuke in some aspects, but overall, Sasuke must have the advantage.

Next, the students in the class performed on stage one by one, showing off their transformation skills.

From the perspective of a ninja at Kakashi's level, this was just playing house.

At the age of four, he mastered the art of the three bodies.

Nowadays, in addition to the substitution technique that is still in use, the transformation technique and the clone technique are not necessarily used once a year.

But for students, being able to master the transformation technique so well is considered a good achievement.

After all, only a handful of people are gifted.

Soon, it was time for Naruto to appear.

The blue color is similar to the eyes of his father, the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, and the color of his hair is exactly the same, except for the six beards on his face, which somewhat ruins his overall image.

Naruto came on stage amidst the ridicule of his classmates, and after shouting the words "Look at me, the transformation technique", he formed a seal with his hands and burst out chakra with an astonishing momentum.

Seemingly intending to surprise those who mocked him.

Hiruzen and Kakashi were also very curious as to whether the opponent's mastery of the Three Body Technique was still as terrible as before.

Then, a slim girl with blond hair and twin tails and healthy wheat-colored skin appeared naked in the crystal ball.

As the smoke filled the air, a bumpy figure loomed, ogling his teacher Iruka.

"..."

Kakashi's mouth opened slightly under his mask, but he hesitated to speak.

Although the transformation was not what Iruka requested, it was able to vividly display the image of a beautiful girl with blond hair and twin tails before people's eyes...

This child, in a certain respect, is also an outstanding talent with amazing talents.

"Really, Iruka still doesn't have enough concentration. He was defeated by such a boring ninjutsu."

Iruka, who looked into the crystal ball and saw the beautiful girl's body, fell to the ground with a look of exhaustion due to excessive blood loss, and his whole body was twitching. Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh, and wiped the nosebleed from his nose with a tissue.

Compared to a young man like Iruka who had little experience, as a Hokage, he was already accustomed to Naruto's genius-like behavior full of whimsical ideas.

Even if such boring ninjutsu is strengthened ten times, as Hokage, he can still withstand it with his own strong willpower.

"I don't think this is a question of whether you have enough concentration..."

Kakashi wanted to complain, but didn't know where to start.

All I can say is that I, as the head of ANBU, am still too shallow in knowledge.

This is not a unique skill that normal people can imagine.

"But, having said that, this child is really lonely. He actually wants to rely on this method to attract other people's attention."

Even through the screen, Kakashi could feel the forced smile on the other person's face, trying to attract others' attention and acknowledge his existence.

But unfortunately, it was done in the wrong way.

Sure enough, Iruka, who had recovered, cursed Naruto fiercely, and violently carried him outside to make him stand, making him reflect on his mistakes.

"This is the life of a jinchuriki. Although they are members of the village, they are often excluded. The behavior of adults will affect the behavior of children."

Hiruzen sighed.

"Then what will the Hokage-sama do next? Is Mizuki..."

"Just wait and see what happens, and don't alert the opponent before he makes a move. If you don't find out the mastermind behind the scenes, it won't make any sense to capture more chess pieces like Mizuki."

Hiruzen's eyes sharpened.

"yes."

Kakashi took the order and went down.

◎

Late March, the day before graduation from ninja school.

It’s not just students who need to carefully review tomorrow’s graduation exam content, school teachers’ work is not easy either.

There are not many sixth-grade graduates. According to the teachers' estimation, more than 95% of the students should be able to successfully graduate from the school.

After that, each graduate will be assigned to different genin teams based on their comprehensive abilities, and will be reviewed by the superiors to arrange for appropriate team leaders.

"Iruka, do you want to go to dinner together later?"

Iruka raised his head, looked at the person who came, and refused with a smile: "Sorry, Mizuki, I promised Naruto that I would treat him to a meal of Ichiraku Ramen tonight. I will hold a celebration tomorrow while the students graduate successfully. Let’s have a feast.”

The person who came had a gentle and friendly smile and a handsome face. He was a few years older than Iruka. He was Iruka's very respected senior and friend - Konoha Chunin Mizuki.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Naruto's kid's grades are indeed not very good. I think you'd better urge him to practice tonight, otherwise he might fail the graduation exam tomorrow. If it doesn't go well After graduation, Naruto will definitely be extremely disappointed."

Mizuki's handsome face also showed a worried look about Naruto's grades.

"I understand, Mizuki, thank you for caring so much about Naruto. Naruto will be very happy when he finds out."

"No, this is what I should do as a teacher. Naruto, a child who lost his parents when he was young, is discriminated against by many people in the village, but as teachers, we should treat all students equally."

Iruka felt the same way about Mizuki's words.

"Then I won't disturb you. Say hello to Naruto for me later. See you tomorrow morning."

Mizuki nodded and said goodbye to Iruka.

The moment he turned around, the gentle smile on Mizuki's face disappeared instantly. Feeling the weight of something in his arms, an extremely cold smile appeared on his face.