Escape From Konoha

Wave after wave of waves rolled towards the shore tirelessly, hitting the rocks and rocks, splashing white foam, and then disappeared without a trace.

Sasuke stood on the edge of the cliff, quietly looking at the sea view in front of him. The midday sun was not strong, but it made the originally cool sea breeze mixed with a little warmth, making Sasuke's body warm.

The bangs hanging down on both sides of his face danced in the wind, covering his black and white eyes from time to time.

On the undulating distant sea, Sasuke could vaguely see a marvelous bridge spanning the sea to the horizon.

That was the cross-sea bridge that Team 7 used to protect together with the Lightning Regiment in the Kingdom of Waves.

From the moment this bridge was built, it meant that navigation between the Kingdom of Waves and the Kingdom of Fire was no longer a problem.

Whether it is cultural exchanges or business exchanges, it has become very convenient for the people of the two countries.

Looking at the bridge, Sasuke lost his mind for a moment and didn't know what he was thinking.

I don't know how much time passed, but it wasn't until the sound of footsteps came from behind that Sasuke retracted his gaze to look at the sea view. From the corner of his eye, he could see several figures walking behind him.

The leader was none other than Chino, the leader of the Lightning Regiment.

A 'girl' with a baby face.

The remaining few people, judging from the extraordinary aura exuding from them, should not be peripheral and support members of the Thunder Light Group, but core members. They stood ten meters away and designated this place as a restricted area, prohibiting anyone from straying into it.

"Little Sasuke, it seems that your injuries have fully recovered."

Qianno's voice always sounded pretentious.

Maybe it has something to do with her short stature.

I always feel that speaking in a coquettish voice does not meet the standards of an adult and cannot intimidate the members under his command.

After all, she is a real adult.

"I've troubled you all these days, and it's almost time for me to leave here."

Sasuke returned his gaze to the cross-sea bridge over the sea and stared at it closely.

Soon, he will pass through this bridge and reach Konoha as quickly as possible to complete the last step in his revenge plan.

"It's very sad."

Qianno fiddled with her blown hair and spoke in a low voice.

Perhaps because Qianno's tone was wrong, Sasuke subconsciously turned his gaze to her.

She looked even more melancholy than before.

"Although little Sasuke has been suppressing it these days to avoid being noticed by outsiders, I can feel the feeling of being helpless."

Qianno's lavender eyes became deep and dark.

"Speaking of which, little Sasuke and I have similar fates. The difference is that the Blood Pond clan from which I came was already exterminated before I could understand. So, little Sasuke's mood is probably that of mine. I can understand a little bit.”

"A pool of blood?"

Sasuke groaned slightly.

He had heard that this family had conflicts with his Uchiha clan during the Warring States Period.

A woman from the Blood Pond clan who was once a relative of the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Thunder was once the concubine of the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Thunder. However, she eventually died because of the murder of the Daimyo's wife of the Kingdom of Thunder, and was ultimately implicated in the entire Blood Pond clan. The Chi family.

At that time, it was the Uchiha clan who was hired by the chief wife of the Lord of Thunder to deal with the Blood Pond clan.

Later, the whole clan was exiled, and after that, the records about the Blood Pond clan were cut off.

When news about this clan appeared again, it was that this family was attacked by unknown people and the entire clan was wiped out.

Judging from the information from Orochimaru, this clan has been extinct for at least twenty years.

In other words, Chino is likely to be the last holder of the Blood Pond Blood Succession Limit.

"The power of blood inheritance can easily be coveted by outsiders. I was originally in the black market and was used as a slave to move among various big businessmen. I fought with different ninjas in the arena. I was eventually captured by the Kingdom of Demons. The Chamber of Commerce valued it, bought it secretly, and was absorbed into the military."

"I never imagined you would have such a tortuous life."

Sasuke sighed.

Even though it was a few words in an understatement, Sasuke could understand the danger.

Black marketeers are not good people.

In their hands, Qianno must have suffered all kinds of hardships to survive the difficult environment.

"Well, these are all things in the past, and I don't really want to talk about these bad things. Compared with the things on my side, the relationship between the Uchiha clan you belong to and Konoha seems to be more complicated."

Let's not talk about the intelligence system of the Kingdom of Ghosts. As the Kingdom of Waves adjacent to the Kingdom of Fire, the Thunder Light Group has worked here for many years and knows far more than outsiders.

Some things can even be guessed at, and the truth can be slowly pieced together from fragmentary information.

Although Konoha's external rhetoric is that the elimination of the Uchiha clan was the personal act of Uchiha Itachi.

But anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is impossible.

Even though the Uchiha clan suffered trauma during the Third Ninja War and their strength was reduced, they are still a powerful clan in the ninja world with many masters in the clan.

In addition, it is still located in Konoha Village. If you want to deal with a huge family silently, there must be help besides Itachi Uchiha.

As for who this helper is, there is a high probability that he is an internal member of Konoha, and he is in a high position, so he can cooperate internally and externally to achieve the impossible thing of annihilating the clan that night.

Sasuke was slightly silent. His reaction had already acquiesced in the correctness of Qianno's words.

After obtaining Itachi's memory and using Itachi's perspective as the person involved, he understood everything clearly before and after the annihilation of the Konoha Uchiha clan, without any mistakes.

"So, don't die. Also, be careful, I don't want to hear the news that you died in Konoha one day, little Sasuke."

Qianno smiled slightly, turned around and led the ninjas from the Thunder Group away from the cliff.

Sasuke, who stayed behind, watched Qianno and others leave.

It wasn't until they couldn't see their backs that they turned back and glanced in one direction.

——Konoha.

"It's almost time to set off..."

◎

On the eve of the Joint Chunin Examination.

The last regular meeting is taking place.

It was already dark outside, and the person presiding over the meeting was an experienced Jounin of Konoha.

Shikamaru, one of the examiners, and Temari from Sunagakure all met here to participate in the meeting.

Tomorrow is the start time of the first joint chunin exam. According to statistics, the number of participants in this joint chunin exam has reached 220.

Although the number of people has decreased compared to four years ago, it will still be very lively when so many genin gather together.

"But...are you Konoha serious about letting that guy Naruto take the Chunin Exam?"

After the meeting, Temari did not leave first. Instead, she scanned a very familiar name on the candidate list and a familiar face in the photo behind the name, and her mouth suddenly twitched.

Shikamaru put his hands behind his head, leaned back on the seat and smiled: "It's nothing to be surprised about. After all, Naruto is a genuine genin. Isn't he?"

"Please give our village a stack for such genin."

Temari couldn't help but complain.

Although she knew what Shikamaru said was true, she still felt that it was a bit outrageous to allow Naruto to participate in such a game of tests.

Is Konoha planning to wipe out all the remaining candidates?

If the other party is serious, they can definitely do this in the second exam.

By then, a third exam will probably not be necessary.

It would be too much of a bully for a genin who could defeat the Red Sand Scorpion to take such an exam.

For a ninja of his strength, fighting in the Chunin Exams is no different from playing house.

"Don't worry, what you're worried about won't happen."

Shikamaru knew what Temari was worried about.

"Yeah?"

Temari didn't believe it.

"In fact, we have communicated with Naruto in advance and asked him to focus on the first exam. The second and third exams are not within the scope of the review. In other words, as long as he is in the first exam In the written examination, he passed both the grades and the process, and even if he abstains from the subsequent examination, it will not affect him from becoming a chuunin."

Shikamaru explained.

Chuunin is a test of the overall quality of a ninja, and it is not just a simple assessment of a ninja's strength.

Therefore, this time Konoha Charter Naruto does not need to take the second and third exams seriously, he only needs to conquer the first exam.

Because if Naruto were to take the second and third exams seriously, uncontrollable accidents would likely occur, and the promotion paths for other genin would be blocked.

"That's it."

Temari quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

In this case, it is a relief.

For this joint chuunin exam, Sunagakure sent many elites among the genin, just to show the current strength of Sunagakure Village. She didn't want these genin to be excluded before they even showed off.

"Okay, the meeting is over and it's time for us to leave. Tomorrow, we have to get up early and deal with so many candidates at once. It's hard to get some rest."

Shikamaru stretched and stood up from his seat.

"Hmph, I don't have to worry at all. But you look decadent. I'm worried that it will be transmitted to the candidates taking the exam tomorrow. As a chuunin, I should at least set an example."

Temari smiled teasingly.

"Uh... let's talk about this kind of thing later. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

Shikamaru dropped this sentence in a hurry and ran away in confusion.

Sure enough, he is still not good at dealing with women.

"He's really a troublesome guy."

Not knowing what she thought of, Temari looked at Shikamaru's back, curled her lips, and the smile on her face became even wider.

…

After leaving the meeting room, Shikamaru did not go home directly, but wandered around Konoha's shopping street.

Perhaps it was because during the Chuunin Exams, many people from other countries were present, and this originally prosperous commercial street became more atmospheric, as if some important celebration was being held.

Everyone had a happy smile on their face and was doing their own thing seriously. Shikamaru, who was exhausted, couldn't help but be infected by such a smile, and the stress that had accumulated on his body suddenly dissipated.

This is everything he wants to protect.

Never allow anyone to destroy it.

Sasuke... Shikamaru murmured this familiar yet unfamiliar name in his heart.

Just as he was about to walk forward, an out of place figure interspersed among the crowd, turned around and disappeared.

When Shikamaru saw this scene, his heart trembled slightly.

Then he sighed, and instead of scratching his head like usual, he tried to stay calm, put his hands in his pockets, and followed the instructions given by the figure.

The destination is a long-established meatball shop.

Because the store is relatively shabby, the business is not very good. In a commercial street with such a large flow of people, there are no more than ten customers present.

I came to a secluded corner of the store and sat down, just enough to be isolated from the other customers.

But when Shikamaru glanced at these guests, he realized something was wrong.

While they were eating meatballs, they used the corner of their eyes to monitor the entire store without missing a single corner.

Moreover, their location just happened to surround that secluded seat intentionally or unintentionally.

Obviously, the identity of these guests was questionable.

Be really careful. Shikamaru said in his mind, and sat down on the opposite seat in a secluded corner.

"My name is Leopard, and I am Saoi's boss."

He has black hair, a slightly slender face, an upper-middle appearance, and is very young, about twenty years old.

The moment Shikamaru sat down, the young man opposite him introduced himself.

Shikamaru nodded, indicating that he understood.

Seeing that Shikamaru didn't speak first, the young man who called himself "Leopard" didn't pay attention. He just ate the meatballs and asked himself:

"Before explaining the mission, I would like to ask first, when do you think Uchiha Sasuke will choose to attack Konoha?"

It was more like testing Shikamaru's ability than asking.

"Tomorrow, there will be problems with the security of the patrol unit in the past few days. It is obviously intentional and not an accidental incident. If it were me, I would also use the Chuunin Exam as an opportunity to launch a surprise attack."

Shikamaru said calmly.

He wasn't 100% sure, he just put himself in his shoes and gave the most likely answer.

Sasuke is a very patient person, but when it comes to things he has to complete, his patience may not be enough.

Especially after gaining great power and being able to take revenge, his heart will no longer be as calm as before, but will be surging and he can't wait for a moment longer.

"As Danzo-sama said, you have a very good mind and are very good at analysis. There is no need to estimate, Uchiha Sasuke will definitely come to attack tomorrow. I think you also know what is going on in the Kingdom of Forest, the Uchiha stronghold there A battle broke out... The black flames that appeared in the field were caused by Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan Eye Technique, called Amaterasu. Where the sight was focused, an eternal flame burned, burning the enemy to death... ...In the ninja world, only Uchiha Itachi has this ability."

Leopard gives this extremely crucial information.

As Uchiha Itachi's superior agency, Genbu is very familiar with most of his abilities.

Especially the pair of pupil technique, which is one of the root's top secrets.

"I see, have their brothers already met?"

Shikamaru's voice deepened.

"Ah, and it seems that the brothers are not getting along very happily. Of course, the most terrifying thing is not this. The most terrifying thing is that after defeating Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha may have awakened a new power. We currently know nothing about this new power."

Leopard said so solemnly.

The Sharingan is an eye that reflects the soul. The awakened pupil technique will also awaken different pupil techniques according to the holder's mental journey.

The power of each eye technique is terrifying and cannot be resisted by ordinary people.

"It sounds like it's going to be a very tough battle."

Shikamaru looked at the meatball in front of him and didn't move it.

"The power of the Sharingan is so troublesome. In short, all success or failure depends on tomorrow. Another point is that we have to guard against the ghost country, so the power given to you will not be too much, otherwise There is no way to guard against the ninjas of the Demon Country. If nothing can be done, it doesn't matter if you just retreat."

Leopard had already spoken on the premise of Shikamaru's failure.

No matter how outstanding the resourcefulness is, in the face of the absolute difference in strength, these clevernesses are just small cleverness and have minimal impact on the outcome.

Even if Shikamaru's strength is not weaker than that of a Jonin, his opponent is likely to have the Mangekyō Sharingan. Even adding a Jonin is really risky.

With that said, Leopard took out a document from his arms and placed it in front of Shikamaru.

"This is the operative assigned to you by Lord Danzo. Their identity information, including their abilities and characteristics, are all written on it. So, I wish you good luck and goodbye."

Leopard made a gesture, and his figure disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The customers in the shop also disappeared into smoke, leaving Shikamaru alone sitting quietly in the meatball shop.

…

"Captain, is it really okay to leave things to a brat like that?"

The following members of the Roots and Leopard, who had already put on the mask, were flying in the deserted alley.

Leopard, who was leading the team from the front, said calmly: "It would be best if we can succeed in this kind of thing. If it doesn't work, we will take action to deal with Uchiha Sasuke. Konoha here is not decided by people from the Kingdom of Ghosts." If nothing else, tomorrow Danzo-sama will have an extra pair of spare Mangekyō Sharingan in his hands."

There was confidence in his tone.

It’s also trust in Danzo.

The other members nodded and came down.

At this moment, Leopard suddenly let out a soft cry of 'ah'.

"Uh, what's wrong, Captain?"

Hearing the unexplained cry of the leopard, the members of the root group felt nervous, thinking that something had happened.

"No, that..." Leopard covered his masked face with one hand and said awkwardly, "I seemed to have forgotten to pay just now."

"..."

The root members who followed looked at each other and were speechless.

Leopard sighed helplessly.

"Forget it, let's return the meal money to him after tomorrow's matter is settled."

◎

July 10th, the day of the Joint Chunin Examination.

7am.

In a Konoha apartment, Anko woke up from a nightmare.

Perhaps the content of the dream was too scary, causing her to sit up directly from the bed, her face and body dripping with sweat, as if she had done an intense exercise and wet her pajamas.

As one of Konoha's special jounin, Li shouldn't be frightened to this extent by a nightmare, but recalling the things in the dream, Anko couldn't help but shudder.

"Really, even though that bastard Orochimaru is dead, I still can't get rid of his influence. Is it because of the curse seal?"

Anko subconsciously touched the curse mark on the back of her neck and smiled bitterly.

A month ago, she heard the news of Orochimaru's death. On the one hand, she felt sad for the death of her former teacher. On the other hand, she was also very happy that she was finally free from Orochimaru's control and no longer had to worry about the curse seal.

Perhaps because of Orochimaru's death, the curse mark on her body has been very stable recently, without any signs of violence.

Apart from having some dreams about Orochimaru, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.

This may be because I 'missed' the other person too much in the past.

Every time, she could dream that she was standing in the boundless darkness, and the tumors surging from the ground seemed to be slowly squeezing towards her from the belly of some kind of carnivorous creature.

And every time he turned around, he could see Orochimaru suddenly standing behind him, smiling at him with an unknown meaning.

The content of dreams ends here every time.

"Maybe I should go to the hospital to get some calming medicine..."

Anko shook her head.

It's not okay to go on like this. You must get rid of this kind of dream as soon as possible and recover your energy and energy. Otherwise, you won't even be able to complete the task well.

She lifted the quilt, stepped out of bed, and was about to take off her wet pajamas when something suddenly put it on her shoulders, making her startled.

"who!?"

She is Konoha's special jounin, and her strength far exceeds that of chuunin. Even a jounin cannot approach behind her silently.

When she turned around to look, her body froze.

Bright red eyes reflected in her eyes.

For a moment, sleepiness came over me. Without any resistance, my body was weak and I fell down by the window and fell asleep.

The person who hypnotized him was wearing a black hooded windbreaker, a mask with black patterns as the main theme on his face, and a pair of bright red eyes were exposed.

Sharingan.

He looked at Hong Dou who had been hypnotized by his illusion and fell asleep, and directly reached out to grab Hong Dou's neck.

He further uncovered the pajamas there, then took out a charm from his pocket and placed it on the seal on Anko's neck.

A snake-like mental shock suddenly rushed into his brain, roaring crazily at him, full of struggle and panic.

"snort!"

In the bright red right eye, three magatama were immediately connected, forming the Mangekyō Sharingan with a more complex pattern.

The snake-shaped mental energy suddenly disappeared from his brain without a trace, not a single residue was left.

Orochimaru himself was not afraid of him in his heyday, not to mention that it was just a residual mental shock now.

Such a mental attack might be effective for ordinary ninjas, but in front of his Sharingan, such a mental attack was simply a trick.

Taking away the talisman from Anko's neck, she saw that the skin on Anko's neck was completely white, and the black lines of the curse mark disappeared.

"In this way, the curse seals that were finally scattered outside were successfully recovered."

As he spoke, he cast his gaze out the window, his bright red eyes full of depth.

"Next, let's see how far this junior can do it..."

The air twisted and the air in the room became silent, leaving only Anko sleeping peacefully.