Chapter 198: 191. First Test of Chunnin Exam
Inside the academy hall,
"Damn… when would this exam start? I am craving for some blood."
One of the participants from Otogakure stares at the rest of the genins and licks his lips.
Bump…
Another shinobi bumps into him and pushes him aside.
"Oye! You have a death wish or something?"
The angry Otogakure participant clutches the shoulder of the shinobi and questions him.
"Apologize this very instant… or this won't fare well for you."
The genin turns around to reveal his onyx eyes and ash-grey hairs, and he wears black-rimmed circular glasses. He wears a Konoha headband on his forehead.
"I am sorry."
He hurriedly apologizes to the Sound Shinobi.
"Huh! I don't think that's an honest apology. Leaf Village or not, I won't let it slide this easily."
The sound Shinobi grabs the collar of the spectacled guy.
"Grovel and apologize and I might spare you."
The Sound Shinobi has a fierce expression on his face.
Gulp…
A short tufty blue hair and dark eyes boy with a Kiri headband gulps his saliva and approaches the Sound Shinobi.
"Ano… I think you should let him go. He just slightly bumped into you. It's not that big of a deal."
"Huh… who are you?"
The Sound Shinobi turns towards the newcomer.
"It is a matter between us both. Who are you to interfere between us?"
"I am Chojuro from Kiri. Please spare him."
Chojuro weakly demands the Sound Shinobi.
"Cheh… your pathetic expression made me lose my mood. What a killjoy!"
The Sound Shinobi throws away the spectacle guy and walks away.
"Are you ok?"
Chojuro extends a helping hand towards the spectacled guy.
"Cough… cough… I am fine. Cough…"
The spectacled guy coughs and grabs Chojuro's hand. He adjusts his spectacles and introduces himself.
"I am Kabuto Yakushi. One of the genin of Konoha, as you can see from my headband. It is nice to meet you."
Kabuto shakes hands with Chojuro.
"I suppose this is your first time participating in a chunnin exam."
Kabuto questions Chojuro.
"Ah! Yes… yes… apparently the village decided to conduct a joint chunnin exam with Konohagakure." Chojuro replies meekly.
"Man! You need to step up your game. With this attitude, you will get disqualified quite early."
Kabuto pats Chojuro's shoulders.
"Oh… Kabuto-san… you know about the chunnin exam." Chojuro asks Kabuto.
"Yes… I know quite a lot, actually."
Kabuto adjusts his spectacles.
"Oh… then is this your second time in the chunnin exam?"
Chojuro curiously questions him.
"No… it is my fifth time."
Sigh…
Kabuto sighs as he reveals the embarrassing number.
"Huh!?"
Surprise appears on Chojuro's face as he inspects Kabuto.
"There doesn't seem to be any problem with you."
Kabuto ignores Chojuro's gaze as he continues.
"This exam is only held twice a year, so it is my third year. Let me give you a few hints about the purpose of this chunnin exam."
Whoosh… whoosh…
Kabuto takes out multiple cards from his pocket and lays them in front of Chojuro.
"These are…"
"They are Ninja info cards."
Swish…
Kabuto inserts some chakra in the card to demonstrate to Chojuro.
"First, the purpose of this chunnin exam is to deepen the friendly relationship with the other countries.
Next is to heighten the level of shinobi of each country by testing them in different land and circumstances."
Kabuto collects his cards as he explains.
"So… that's all?"
Chojuro asks him in confusion.
"Well… that's what they told to each other."
Kabuto shrugs his shoulder as he closes near Chojuro and whispers in his ear.
"The real purpose of this chunnin exam is to confirm the level of ninja in each nation and determine the scale of power balance. They do so to check and restrain each other's powers; if not, the strong nations will invade the weak nations and plunder all their resources. Well, that's my guess.
But Konoha is in a pretty strong position right now. Konoha has many powerful shinobi protecting it. So, they hold the weight; part of the reason the chunnin exam is held in Konoha."
Kabuto replies to Chojuro.
"Oh… no wonder you know this much. This is your fifth time after all."
Haah…
Kabuto breathes deeply as he hangs his head in depression.
"Don't remind me, alright."
"Well… that wasn't my intention."
Chojuro scratches his head.
"Anyway, forget that… do you want to ask me something?"
Kabuto asks Chojuro.
"Ah… yes… I want to know how many villages are participating in this exam."
"The villages participating this time are Konoha, Kiri, Suna, Kusa, Taki, and Sound. This year many talented genins from other villages have come to participate in the exam." Kabuto explains the details to Chojuro.
"What about the Sound Village? This is my first time hearing about it." Chojuro scratches his head.
"Otogakure is a small hidden village from the Land of Sound and was found recently. I don't have much information about them."
Kabuto shakes his head.
Huh…
The Sound Shinobi turns towards Kabuto as he overhears the conversation.
"So, you Konoha bastard think that we of the Sound Village are small fries and pushovers." The Sound Shinobi angrily snarls at Kabuto.
Whoosh…
He flickers in front of Kabuto and punches him.
Swoosh…
Kabuto jumps back and avoids the attack.
"I dodged it."
Shoom… Crack…
A shockwave travels through the air as Kabuto's glasses crack.
"I thought I dodged it. Guffaw…"
Kabuto vomits out a little amount of blood as keels on his knees.
"Kabuto-san…"
Chojuro jumps in front of Kabuto and draws his blade as he faces the Sound Shinobi.
--------------
Outside the Academy hall,
Izuna is walking alongside a tall, imposing man.
The man is very tall with a rugged head and his face is covered with two diagonals scars running from his forehead to his chin. He is dressed in a long black trench coat with a flak jacket and chain-mail armor beneath the jacket.
The man has a stoic expression as he walks alongside Izuna.
"Man Ibiki… with that ever-present stoic expression you look like a terminator rather than an instructor."
Izuna jokes with Ibiki.
"Here… you should smile like this."
Izuna stretches his lips with his hands to form a smile.
"Hmph… I had my fair share of pain and hardship. I had forgotten what a smile is. These scars carved on my face are proof of the immense torture I endured in the past. Now it has been forever imprinted on my face."
Ibiki calmly walks towards the academy hall.
'When I first met with him, he reminded me of terminator.'
Izuna shakes his head and follows Ibiki.
"Needless to say, you would be the proctor for this round of examination. I especially requested the Hokage-sama to deploy you for the position."
Izuna informs him.
"I am a member of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Squad. Why would you ask me to babysit a bunch of genins during this exam?"
Ibiki questions Izuna.
"Well…"
Izuna scratches his head as he replies.
"I just want to scare a few rude kids, and who would be better than the Terminator himself?"
Hmm…
Ibiki ignores Izuna and enters inside the Academy hall.
"Well, looks like he can't take a joke."
Izuna awkwardly scratches his head and flickers away.
"I will let him play with those genins."
---------------
Inside the Academy hall,
Clang… clang…
Chojuro is engaged in a fight with the Sound Ninja as he deflects his attacks with his sword.
"A swordsman. Huh!"
The Sound Ninja chuckles as he throws multiple kunais at Chojuro.
"Honestly, I thought the shinobi of large nations would be worth a challenge. But from the looks of it, they are a bunch of pussies. Slick…"
Huh!
The rest of the genins angrily stares at the Sound Ninja.
The Sound Ninja disappears and reappears behind Chojuro as he tries to stab him.
'This is bad. I have to use the ability of the sword.'
Chojuro infuses some chakra in his blade as it starts to glow with blue light.
Poof…
A large puff of smoke appears in the center of the academy hall.
Whoosh…
The smoke clears out to reveal Ibiki.
"Silence! Degenerates!"
Ibiki yells at the genins as he stares at them like a predatory hawk.
Gulp…
Chojuro gulps his saliva and stops his attack. The Sound Ninja also stops in his tracks as Ibiki's gaze is focused on him.
'Man… this guy is really scary.'
The Sound Ninja retreats to his teammates.
"I am Ibiki Morino, the proctor of the first test of the Chunnin exam."
Ibiki scrutinizes every genin with his piercing gaze as his eyes rest on the Sound Ninja.
"Any pig that tries to screw with me will be immediately disqualified. Now with this… the first test of the chunnin exam starts."
Chapter 199: 192. Contingency Plan
Whoosh…
Izuna flickers out of the academy as he moves towards the Hokage Office.
"Ibiki will take care of the first round of chunnin exam."
Shoom… shoom…
A seal appears on his hand as it glows.
"Hmm…. A report from Wrath."
Whoosh…
Izuna infuses some chakra in the seal as a scroll teleports in front of him.
He grabs the scroll and reads its content.
"Interesting."
He pockets the scroll and flickers towards the Hokage Office.
'I have changed the Flying Thunder God Technique to suit my needs. Previously, only the owner of the sealing formula could use teleportation, but now anyone can use it.
But the problem is, they can only send inanimate objects from one place to another. I have yet to figure out a way to teleport someone else.'
Sigh…
He shakes his head and enters inside the Hokage Office.
Inside the Hokage Office,
Mei and Tsunade are sipping tea as they discuss various political matters. Tsunade is giving some friendly advice to Mei.
"You shouldn't pay much heed to the old geezers of the Village council. They might have experience, but those senile geezers always like to manipulate things. Just listen to their advice and act according to your wisdom.
Luckily, in Konoha… Izuna took care of all of those old corrupt council members and replaced them with competent members. So, this way majority of the decision-making power lies with me."
Tsunade explains the details to Mei.
"I see." Mei nods her head.
"My father leads Kiri council, but there are still a few council members of other faction. We couldn't find any dirt on them during the cleanup of Noble faction so we had to spare them."
Knock… knock…
Izuna knocks on the door to get their attention.
Ahem…
Tsunade clears her throat and asks him.
"You took care of it?"
She places down her cup.
"It is just a written exam, nothing to worry about."
Izuna waves his hand and pours some tea and sits beside Mei.
"I am very suspicious of Sunagakure's lineup. We have to take caution while dealing with them."
Sip…
He sips his tea as he reveals the fact to Tsunade.
Hmm…
Tsunade frowns as she questions him.
"Why do you think so? Suna had been in a peace treaty with Konoha since the end of the Second Shinobi War. Why would they violet the pact?"
Yawn…
Izuna finishes his tea and lies down in Mei's lap.
Eh…
A blush appears on Mei's face. Izuna ignores it as he makes himself comfortable. He turns towards Tsunade and explains.
"The Third Shinobi War took a toll on Suna's economy. It has reached the point that the Fourth Kazekage Rasa has to sell his gold dust at a dirt-cheap price to raise some funds for his village. Suna is really in a dire state and would do anything to get more resources."
"That's such a shame."
Tsunade shakes her head.
"The harsh terrain of Land of Wind together with the ever-present sandstorm makes it difficult for Suna. But… how do you know about this?"
Tsunade questions him.
"Well, duh! I was the secret buyer of that gold dust. Like, come on… why I won't buy it? He is just handing over a crap ton of gold for free. Haha…"
Izuna laughs as he takes out a scroll from his pocket.
'The construction of the chakra cannon requires the chakra ore. The prototype blueprint A gave me had many faults in it. I modified the chakra cannon, and the model requires gold as a medium to stabilize the power source.
Well, it is all theoretical. I still can't make it. I am no rocket scientist. I need someone to help me with the construction of the cannon. Luckily, I had just the perfect person for this task in mind. But it would be awhile before I could recruit him.'
"This scroll has all the gold I bought from the Kazekage. Most of my funds which I scammed from Raikage went into this."
"…"
Tsunade and Mei silently stare at Izuna.
"Now I have to earn some of that money back, and this collaborative chunnin exam is an ideal opportunity to do so. I have already analyzed the abilities of all the genins, and the gambling den would bring huge amounts of money. Soon, we would rack up a shitload of cash. Haha…"
Izuna laughs maniacally as he flips the scroll.
"Imagine what would be the expression of Kazekage if he came to know that I would use the young shinobis of his village to earn more cash. I bet he will puke out a liter of blood in a mad rage. Haha… Profit… it is profit."
He chuckles as he rests on Mei's thighs.
"…"
Mei and Tsunade stare at the devilish smile of Izuna.
'This guy is a devil. Yes, he is definitely a devil.'
Both of them nod their head in agreement.
Ahem…
Tsunade clears her throat as she asks him.
"About the suspicious activity of Suna? What do you mean by that? Mind explaining it in detail."
"Of course,"
Izuna opens one of his eyes as he explains.
"My spy from Suna sent me a report about the recent activities of Suna shinobis."
He takes out Wrath's scroll and passes it to Tsunade.
"Here."
Hmm…
Tsunade frowns as she reads the scroll. Her expression turns ugly as she tightly clutches the scroll.
"The guts of Suna have inflated a lot. To think that they would plan such a scheme against Konoha."
Bang…
Tsunade smashes the scroll on the table.
"Now… now… calm down a little."
Izuna calms her down as he explains.
"It is all just a speculation at this point. We don't have any concrete proof. Sunagakure could just easily deny it and wash off their hands."
"But that doesn't mean we can give it a rest either." Tsunade calms down as she contemplates the content of the scroll.
"Seeing this number… looks like Suna is planning for a full-blown war. If they utilized it in Konoha, then at least half of the Konoha would be destroyed. We need some countermeasures for it." Tsunade rubs her forehead as a crease appears on it.
"I have already planned a countermeasure for it."
Izuna removes the map of Konoha from one of the walls and lays it on the table.
He marks a circle on the map and explains.
"This would be the venue for the final exam of the chunnin exam, and I am sure the attack would take place on that day."
Hmm…
Tsunade nods her head as Izuna continues.
"I will ask Uncle Fugaku to lead his Police Force and form a perimeter around the stadium. This way we could contain most of the fight within the stadium.
Also, deploy the members of the Aburame Clan and Akimichi clan at the outer perimeter of the village. They will hold down the attacks of the Suna ninja force stationed outside the village. You can ask Jiraiya to lead this team.
The members of the rest of the clan will guard the inner perimeter and rest of them would evacuate the civilians to a safe shelter."
Hmm…
"That makes sense." Tsunade nods her head.
"But what about the genins of other villages who are present in the stadium? If any of them die in this chaos, then other villages will hold Konoha accountable for this loss. This may very well turn all of them against Konoha." Tsunade questions him.
"I had already thought about that circumstance. Kakashi together with the rest of the jounins would protect them while Shisui and his anbu team would take care of the anbus of Suna." Izuna marks another circle on the map.
"I see… I will deploy the medical ninjas of the Konoha Hospital to take care of the injured people."
Tsunade and Izuna form a rough outline of their contingency plan.
"Summon Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Hiashi Hyuga, Uncle Sakumo, and Lord Third to discuss the plan with them. They are trustworthy and I am sure they will follow the plan." Izuna names a few persons.
"Very well…"
Tsunade signals the nearby Anbus and sends them to summon the clan leaders.
"We still have around a month to prepare."
"What would be my role in all of this?"
Mei questions them.
"Well…"
Izuna and Tsunade stares at Mei as Izuna scratches his head.
"You are a guest of Konoha and I don't want to embroil you in the matters of Konoha," Tsunade replies to her.
"But… I would soon be a member of Konoha."
Mei glares at Izuna.
Gulp…
Izuna gulps his saliva and avoids her gaze.
"No means no… I won't allow this." Tsunade denies her request.
"How about this? You can evacuate the Kiri genins to a safe shelter and then you can reunite with me to help me." Izuna appeases her.
"Hmm… that's reasonable." Mei nods to the suggestion.
Whew…
'I dodged the bullet.'
Izuna takes a deep breath.
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