Escape From Konoha

it's over.

This is the true thought of everyone present.

But no one will feel the slightest relief next, because this is just a qualifying match before the official match.

Through this qualifier, everyone also has a general understanding of the other advanced players.

When it comes to the official competition, it won't be as easy and satisfying as the qualifiers.

In the qualifying round, those who defeated their respective opponents were Yamazaki Ku, Kaguya Kimimaro, Chiba Sai, Hibiki Eda, Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Asuka, Aburame Shino, Temari, Shiro, and Hyuga Neji , Gaara, Naruto, Rock Lee, and Uzumaki Kaoru are fourteen genin.

The other fourteen people, as losers in the preliminaries, naturally ended up being eliminated and were unable to qualify for the third Chunin Exam.

Among those who were promoted, Oni no Kuni and Konoha each accounted for five, and Kirigakure and Sunagakure also accounted for two each.

Onigashima Ninja nodded slightly when he saw all the promoted genin and their guiding jounin coming down from the observation deck and gathering on the stage.

Although as the examiner of the third exam, he must be fair and impartial and cannot engage in any favoritism.

But seeing that there are a total of five ninjas who have advanced in the kingdom of ghosts, I still can't help but feel happy.

However, Shinobi Onijima also knows that among these fourteen people, how many of them can become Chunin is temporarily unknown.

There is no problem here in the Kingdom of Demons. However, the criteria for evaluating chunin in other villages are different in peacetime. The wartime merit system cannot be used. The evaluation of chunin will be much more complicated than in wartime. Factors to be considered Also more.

Rather, it is precisely because of peacetime that the requirements for ninjas should be stricter, rather than relaxed.

On the other side, Shiraishi also walked down from the audience seats and came to the stage, where he joined the Onigashima Ninja and faced a group of advanced genin and mentoring jounin.

After a brief thought, Shiraishi slowly said: "I would like to congratulate you for passing this preliminary round and getting the tickets to participate in the third exam."

The advanced ninja candidates had different thoughts, and their faces were smiling or indifferent, but none of them felt nervous.

"Stop talking about the extra nonsense, how will you arrange your opponent for the third test?"

Naruto was the first to ask the question, and it was also the question everyone was most concerned about.

"I'm really out of breath, but I'm in good spirits. Since you can't wait to ask, let's make a long story short. The combination of the third test will be decided by drawing lots later."

Shiraishi smiled slightly, and let go of the impatience of Naruto and the others.

"Draw lots?"

"That's right. After all, it is impossible to start drawing lots at the beginning of the third exam. In that case, it will take up a lot of competition time. Therefore, while the preliminaries are over, fourteen qualified candidates will be selected to draw lots. To determine the battle combination for the third test. If there is no objection, let's start."

Saying that, Shiraishi gestured to a ninja from the Oni Nation behind him.

The other party, like Onijima Shinobi, is also a Jōnin from the Oni Land. He holds a head-sized box in his arms, which is a lottery box that has been prepared long ago.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one objected.

Naruto was the first to draw, and took out a bamboo stick from the lottery box.

I saw a number '3' written on the bamboo stick.

"I'm number 3."

Naruto scratched his head and said something.

The rest of the people stepped forward to draw lots. During the drawing process, Neji wanted to use his Byakugan to observe, but found that his Byakugan could not penetrate the lottery box. When he saw the numbers on the bamboo sticks inside, he couldn't help but frown.

Thinking of what Ayane said when she came to look for her during the lunch break, she couldn't help snorting.

In less than a minute, the fourteen people had already drawn lots, and showed the numbers they had drawn by the way.

After that, the statistics were compiled by specialized personnel. About five minutes later, the battle table for the third test was printed out. It was taken by Shinobu Onijima and unfolded in front of Naruto and other candidates so that they could see their third test. Who is the opponent in the exam?

The final decided battle list is as follows——

Gaara (Sunagakure) VS Shiro (Kirigakure)

Uzumaki Naruto (Konoha) VS Yume Shino (Konoha)

Uchiha Sasuke (Konoha) VS Uzumaki Karin (ghost)

Rock Lee (Konoha) VS Hibikigiri (Ghost)

Uchiha Asuka (Ghost) VS Temari (Sunagakure)

Hisashi Yamazaki (Ghost) VS Kaguya Kimimaro (Kirigakure)

Aya Chiba (Ghost) VS Hyuga Neji (Konoha)

Seeing this battle table, Ning Ci thought inwardly that it was true.

Although the other people's arrangements for the battle have been operated in the dark, but his arrangement is obviously explained by Hinata Ayane on purpose.

Otherwise, it would not be such a coincidence that his opponent would be Chiba Aya, a ninja who also has white eyes.

But in this way, it is also in line with his wishes. He will let that arrogant woman pay the price of belittling him, and completely tear his so-called 'despair' into pieces!

On the other side, Cai also frowned, feeling faintly that something was wrong.

Since the lunch break, Hyuga Neji of Konoha has been showing strong hostility towards him, and the third exam happened to be against Hyuga Neji, who was very hostile to him... If there is no one operating behind the scenes, it will be better. Don't believe it.

has a problem.

But Cai couldn't tell what was wrong.

Compared to Cai's confusion and confusion, Asuka had a headache.

Fighting against the Wind Release Ninja was something he felt more depressed about.

To be honest, although he can use fire escape, he is far less good at thunder escape.

Because his fire escape technique is mostly used for feint attacks in battles, his thunder escape technique combined with the electromagnetic acceleration attack of his shuriken is his main attack method.

Unfortunately, because it is a magnetic field created by Lei Dun, as long as it is based on the thunder attribute chakra, it will be restrained by Feng Dun. Even if some properties are changed, it cannot escape this law.

What's more, Temari's wind escape is very powerful.

Ordinary fire escape, I'm afraid there is no way to counter it.

Do you need to practice your fire escape to counter wind escape in the past few days? Asuka began to think about this problem.

If the standard is to pursue the maximum winning rate, then before the official competition, training Fire Release to restrain Wind Release is the best way.

However, is this little time before the official competition enough to take his fire escape to the next level?

Asuka was a little doubtful of his ninja talent.

His ninja talent is not actually good, it can only be said to be average. Although he serves as the main force in the team, it is based on Xiang Rin's sensory ninjutsu and Aya's Byakugan assistance that he can be a long-range attacker. Location.

Once he loses these 'eyes', his offensive ability will be greatly reduced. In that case, the main force will become Cai.

Especially when encountering a wind escape ninja who is relatively restrained in his thunder escape, his thunder escape ability cannot be used at full strength.

This is not a good thing for him who is proficient in Thunder Release Ninjutsu.

Compared to Asuka's headache and depression, Temari's mood was much more relaxed.

What she was most worried about was meeting the mysterious miko Hibikieda from the Kingdom of Ghosts. Although Asuka was also troublesome, she would definitely be much easier to deal with than that miko. And from the previous battles, she could tell that Asuka focused on the training of Thunder Escape, which was exactly restrained by her Wind Escape.

However, Temari was not arrogant enough to think that she could win easily.

Although Asuka has never been seen using Fire Release, as a member of the Uchiha clan, it is common knowledge that he can use Fire Release. With this in mind, Temari felt that she needed to be careful about Asuka's hidden fire escape technique.

Invisible attacks are the most dangerous.

"Naruto..."

Shino looked at the name of the person he was about to fight and fell into a brief silence.

To be honest, based on Naruto's previous performance, apart from knowing that Naruto can use the Shadow Clone Technique, I don't know any other information.

He would not think that Naruto would still be the same Naruto who had a hard time with his brain during the ninja school, and his strength was not the same as in the past.

He was originally a guy who was like the tail of a crane, but in just a few months he caught up and his strength improved by leaps and bounds, which made Shino inevitably feel a little uncomfortable.

The battle then may be more difficult than imagined. Shino said in his mind.

The others also had different thoughts when they saw the opponent they were going to fight in the third exam. Start thinking about tactics and strategies based on previous battles to increase your winning rate in the official match.

"I have a question."

At this time, Sasuke raised his palm.

"Please say."

Shiraishi put his hands in the pockets of his white coat and glanced at Sasuke.

"Is the format of the third final the same as the qualifiers?"

Sasuke asked.

Shiraishi shook his head and said: "No, the format of the formal competition is different from that of the qualifiers. The formal competition adopts a championship format to compete. This is just the list of the first round of the showdown. Two people work in groups, and the winner of the group wins. , will compete with the winners of another group in the next round. In the end, the players participating in the official competition will be scored by ranking method.”

Shiraishi's explanation convinced everyone.

They came here not only to bear the honor of the village, but also to fight for themselves.

Being able to fight all kinds of enemies can enrich one's experience in fighting enemies, and also satisfy one's excess fighting desire in one's heart.

"So, in this way, isn't there only one winner in the end? Could it be that only the winner can become a Chunin?"

Sasuke asked with a frown.

"That's not the case. The reason why the tournament is used is to more accurately score your various abilities. The judges will be jointly held by me and the jounin from the other great country's ninja villages. As long as you can If you show a good performance in the game, you can get the evaluation of Chunin."

Shiraishi continued to explain.

"In other words, is everyone eligible to become a Chunin?"

Gaara suddenly said something.

"That's the theory. However, there is also a completely opposite theory. That is, all of you are not qualified to obtain the title of Chunin. You will get a failing grade from us and be wiped out. Of course, the more victories you have, the more you win. , which means there are more occasions to show off your abilities to increase your chances of becoming a chuunin. So, you just need to win all the way."

Shiraishi said.

"Isn't this too outrageous?"

Temari was a little dissatisfied with this competition system.

Even if you win, you may not be able to become a Chunin. How can there be such an unreasonable scoring standard.

"That's true. Although the situation of ninja organizations in various countries is different, they are basically responsible for the national defense responsibilities of each country. Naturally, one must be cautious when it comes to the rating of ninjas. This is the tacit approval of the Demon Country and the ninja villages of other major countries. The unspoken rules. Do you understand, little girl from Hidden Sand Village? If you don’t understand, you can ask your elders in person after the exam, and I think he will give you a more detailed answer."

Shiraishi looked at Temari and chuckled.

Temari rolled her eyes, she just pretended she didn't hear Shiraishi's words.

Although he is dissatisfied, he can only accept such unreasonable rules.

"In other words, as long as you keep winning, you have a greater chance of becoming a chuunin. It's a very simple and easy-to-understand rule. And you and I are in the same division, and you only need to win two games to win. Sasuke, you are fighting."

According to the division, the first four groups are a partition, and the last three groups are a partition.

Seeing this, Naruto couldn't wait to say to Sasuke.

"You win the game first and then talk about it."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto helplessly.

The other party's words obviously ignored the rest of the people.

Gaara, in particular, stared at Naruto coldly, revealing a terrifying murderous look.

When Naruto said that, he obviously didn't take him seriously.

Even Shino frowned in displeasure: "Naruto, although I admit that you have become stronger, but in my opinion..."

"Since we have divided into groups, we should be fine. I wonder if the ramen here is good?"

As if he didn't hear what Shino was saying, Naruto began to think about what kind of ramen to eat later.

Shino pushed his glasses and stood aside silently.

Sure enough, he is just an inconspicuous person.

"It's basically gone. The new rules for the competition will be notified to you in advance tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Just take a good rest these days. Of course, it can also be used to warm up. As long as you are not carrying illegal props, you can Get ready for that eventuality. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys do when the time comes."

Shiraishi nodded and continued: "Okay, you can disband now. If you want to play in the future, you can go to the staff outside and ask for a map of Ziyuan City. This is a piece of advice, although it is important to relax. But don't relax too much and cause an accident in the third exam."

Under the leadership of Yi Ji, everyone left the venue one by one and walked towards the outside of the hall.

After these candidates left, Shiraishi looked at the messy surroundings, and silently recounted the intensity of the previous qualifier battles.

The originally intact arena under his feet was also dilapidated at this moment.

But for a ninja with ninjutsu, it is not difficult to mend.

"Let's use stronger stone in the future, and repair the broken auditorium by the way."

Shiraishi pointed to the broken ring and auditorium parts.

"yes."

Onijima Shinobu nodded in response. As the examiner of the third exam, these are all within the scope of his work.

"In addition, find people from the barrier team, and recruit four ninjas who are good at barrier techniques from there, and set up a strong and transparent barrier around the ring to prevent the players from leaving the circle and causing unnecessary commotion."

Because it was a qualifying match, and the spectators present were all ninjas, even if the contestant's attack ran out of the ring, it would not cause any casualties.

But when it comes to the official competition, it won't work at all.

A large part of the audience in the formal competition is ordinary people without fighting ability. If the moves of some candidates are affected by the moves of the candidates, it will easily cause casualties.

In order to prevent this from happening, the most secure solution is to use a barrier to seal off the arena and limit the candidates' range of activities and moves to the arena.

Onigashima Shinobu nodded again. This is indeed a very serious problem and must be taken into consideration.

If there are casualties due to the competition, it will cause great public pressure on the Kingdom of Ghosts.

"Then the rest of the work here is up to you."

"No problem, please feel free to leave it to me."

Onigashima Shinobu solemnly agreed.

As the examiner of the third exam, his job is not easy at all.

Seeing Onigashima Shinobu agreeing, Shiraishi said no more, left the clubhouse with Liuli and others, and rushed towards the direction of the military area.

◎

"You appear here, which means that the qualifying competition over there is over?"

Not long after he returned to the office, before Shiraishi could drink the tea in his cup, a woman wearing a witch costume walked in from outside.

She lifted the white hood on her head, revealing a gentle face with a calm smile.

Judging from his age, he is still around twenty-five years old.

Pharmacist Nonoyu.

Starting a few years ago, she officially joined the intelligence department of the Demon Country's military. As a wandering miko, she was active in various parts of the ninja world, providing medical assistance to the people of the Demon Country who were wandering abroad, and responsible for transmitting information.

Occasionally you'll deal with some tricky ninjas, but most of the work has nothing to do with past spy missions.

Later, due to a confidential mission, she was active in the country of Yu for a long time, secretly contacted Yuyin Village, and was responsible for investigating the remaining evil of the evil sect, which was an arduous task.

"Yeah, after all, it's just a preliminary round, so of course it won't take too long. When the third exam begins, the competition will take a lot longer."

Shiraishi blew into the hot water in the teacup and said to Noonoyu who was standing in front.

Many genin who participated in the preliminaries obviously did not reach the minimum passing line for chuunin in terms of strength.

The purpose of holding this preliminary round is not only to shorten the time of the third exam, but also to eliminate unqualified candidates.

"How is the situation over there in Tang Country?"

Shiraishi put aside the matter of the third exam for the time being. It has been handed over to Jonin Onigashima. There is no need for him, the Minister of Military Affairs, to handle it personally, otherwise he will really doubt the ability of the people below him to do things.

Nonoyu thought for a while, his voice always soft: "As usual, all the senior officials of Yuyin Village have leaned towards our side, and the domestic economic and people's livelihood problems have gradually been alleviated. According to intelligence, the arms dealer Oya Shiroen is in Yuyin. I opened a chain of hot spring hotels in the country of Yu, but it is said that I am not in the country of Yu, and I don’t know where I went.”

"Oya Chengyan? Forget it, ignore that guy. Have the follow-up issues of the Evil God Sect been dealt with?"

"Not yet. Although I have been tracking him for a while based on the traces he left behind, it is still quite difficult to find someone all over the world. But I can be sure that the other party had contact with Akatsuki people not long ago."

No Naiyu's expression became solemn.

"dawn?"

Shiraishi tapped his fingers on the table, thinking.

"Are you saying that the evil cult member who slipped through the net has joined the Akatsuki organization?"

"Yes, based on the information obtained so far, this is the most reasonable result."

Nonoyu's words seemed to confirm this.

Shiraishi nodded and said: "Then don't worry about the evil cultist for the time being. Not long ago, intelligence personnel inside Iwagakure said that Iwagakure's Anbu had dispatched on a large scale and left the village. They don't know what they are looking for outside."

"Anbu?"

Nonoyu blinked.

"Although accurate information has not yet been obtained, Onoki suddenly sent ANBU to leave the village in large numbers to search for something outside... It is very likely that the last tailed beast of Iwagakure - the four-tailed beast - is missing."

If this were not the case, Shiraishi would not have expected that Onoki would suddenly make a move to mobilize ANBU on a large scale to go out to search for something, which was obviously inappropriate.

"Akatsuki people really know how to look for opportunities."

Nonoyu sighed.

"Yes, behind this matter, there are still shadows of root activity."

Bai Shi said quietly.

The intelligence system established by Genbu in Iwagakure Village was managed by Nonoyu back then.

Now Genbu uses this intelligence system to reach some kind of deal with the Akatsuki organization, but the content of the deal is unknown to Shiraishi.

But Danzo must have gained something from the Akatsuki organization, which made Shiraishi a little concerned.

"Like Akatsuki, these people are really haunted."

As a member of the Roots, Nonoyu is well aware of the mystery and terror of the Roots.

Even she, a senior staff member, cannot know the complete picture of the roots.

Perhaps the only person who knew the whole story from beginning to end was Danzo.

It is also the strongest fortress within Konoha, more difficult to penetrate than the Hokage's ANBU.

"Some of Danzo's recent actions are a bit weird. Although I don't know what he is planning, but no matter what, he is not the best candidate for the 'Fifth Hokage' in my mind. I want to completely mess up Konoha. , we can only find a dovish Hokage to take office."

A coldness flashed in Bai Shi's eyes.

"Isn't this kind of thing easy?"

Nonoyu blinked.

Although the Demon Country's military has planted many spies inside Konoha, trying to influence the Hokage's campaign is a bit of a fantasy.

Most of the power in Konoha comes from the Ninja clan, and the power of the Ninja clan is hereditary.

For example, the position of Jonin squad leader of the Nara clan.

A security force controlled by the extinct Uchiha clan.

Before Kakashi, the power of the ANBU had always been in the hands of the Sarutobi clan.

Other ninja clans such as the Aburame clan and the Akimichi clan also have some power of their own.

This means that the selection of Hokage has always been under the control of the Ninja clan. Only when it is in their interests can Hokage take office.

Once the interests of most of the ninja clan conflict, the Hokage's voice cannot be effectively conveyed and becomes a pawn and puppet.

Therefore, it is simply overestimating one's capabilities to rely on spies trained from Konoha's civilian class to interfere in the Hokage's election.

"Let's talk about this kind of thing later. There is no rush for now. In addition to asking you to come back this time, I want to know about the country of Yu. There is one more thing I want to confirm with you."

Shiraishi opened the drawer and rummaged for something inside.

"What's up?"

Nonoyu took a step forward.

"His name is Yakushi Kabuto. According to the information provided by Kakashi, he appears to be an ordinary Konoha genin, but secretly he has very close contacts with Danzo and Orochimaru... and his last name is the same as yours. I want to ask, do you know this person?"

Shiraishi took out a document and spread it out. There was a photo on the left side of the top corner of the first page.

Shiraishi placed this information document in front of Nonoyu and stared at Nonoyu's face, trying to see something from it.