บท 181: Chapter 181: The Akatsuki Attack
The Konoha team of three quietly discussed the abilities and overall strength of the ninjas from the other villages.
Although Konoha and Cloud Village were tied for first place in terms of points, after some discussion, Sasuke and the others believed that Sand Village had a stronger overall team than Cloud Village.
Since this was an exam, they naturally wanted to go for the "softest target."
The easiest to deal with were the teams from Stone Village and Mist Village.
"I think we should go after Stone Village first," Sasuke suggested.
"And why is that?" Rock Lee asked.
"It's simple. Compared to Mist Village, Stone Village uses Earth Release, which is weak against my Lightning Release, while Water Release from Mist Village counters my Fire Release," Sasuke explained.
"Sasuke's reasoning makes sense. I agree!" Hinata nodded.
While Stone Village might have stronger overall abilities than Mist Village, everyone knew Sasuke's Lightning Release was extremely powerful.
"So, what's the plan?" Rock Lee asked, feeling Sasuke's argument was valid.
"Lee, you'll stay behind and guard the flag while Hinata and I head out."
"From our position, Hinata can stand between us and Stone Village's flag, and her Byakugan will be able to monitor both sides!"
"If there's any danger to our flag, Hinata can return to help immediately."
"At the same time, Hinata can move around and provide us with updates on the situation!"
When it came to long-distance scouting, the Byakugan was undoubtedly the best in the shinobi world, Sasuke pointed out.
The battle plan was quickly set, and with Hinata activating her Byakugan, she and Sasuke set off.
Rock Lee stayed behind, quietly guarding Konoha's flag.
As they made their way forward, although Konoha Village was positioned at the center of the map and surrounded by the other four villages, Sasuke, Hinata, and even Lee had shown their strength during the second exam, making it clear they wouldn't be an easy target.
Moreover, the Byakugan of Konoha made other teams wary.
If the Konoha team just stayed put, waiting for someone to approach, they'd likely spot their enemies long before being seen, and by then, it would be too late—the enemy would walk right into a trap!
As a result, no team saw Konoha as an easy target.
"Sasuke, something's happening!" Hinata suddenly spoke as they walked.
"What is it?" They both stopped, and Sasuke asked.
"It looks like the ninjas from Sand Village—Gaara specifically—are heading toward Stone Village," Hinata reported.
"Only one person going out? Makes sense, Gaara's strong enough. Let's not reveal ourselves yet. Let's follow and see what happens," Sasuke said with a nod.
Maintaining her Byakugan, Hinata kept her distance, and the two of them trailed Gaara toward Stone Village.
As they got closer to Stone Village, Hinata also spotted the situation there.
"The three ninjas from Stone Village haven't moved. They're all staying in place, and it seems like they're preparing a barrier formation," Hinata informed Sasuke.
"If all three of them are staying to defend, it won't be easy to take them down," Sasuke remarked.
"Should we wait until Sand and Stone start fighting before we make a move?"
"Normally, no one would try to take on three opponents alone, right? Gaara might retreat if he sees all three of them there," Sasuke speculated.
"That's true, but considering Gaara's violent nature, he might just try something crazy," Hinata responded.
"I think we're closer to Cloud and Sand now, so turning toward Sand shouldn't be an issue."
"You're right. With the two of us, taking down the remaining Sand ninjas won't be a problem."
"At this point, things seem fine on Lee's end—no one's attacking yet."
After a brief discussion about the situation at Stone Village, Sasuke and Hinata decided to change course and go after Sand Village instead.
Gaara was the strongest member of the Sand team, and since he had left, Sasuke and Hinata were confident they could handle Kankuro and Temari.
Once they made up their minds, they quietly shifted their direction toward Sand Village.
On the large screen outside the exam arena, multiple small windows displayed different parts of the battlefield, allowing the audience to clearly see what was happening inside.
Watching the screen, Uchiha Akira couldn't help but think that this exam felt a lot like watching an S-tier e-sports competition.
Seeing the contestants moving along various paths and monitoring the entire map was like watching an e-sports tournament, and the spectators were buzzing with excitement. For example, many were puzzled by the fact that all three Stone Village ninjas were staying on defense.
This strategy seemed like a guaranteed way to lose.
Another topic of discussion was Gaara from Sand Village moving alone. Just how confident was he in his power?
Of course, the situation in Konoha attracted the most attention.
First, the duo of Sasuke and Hinata had set out. A combination of the Sharingan and the Byakugan? People were eagerly anticipating what these two famous dojutsu working together could achieve.
What kind of teamwork could these two iconic eye techniques produce?
Then, from their paused movements, it was clear that Hinata's Byakugan had spotted Gaara from Sand Village!
"At that distance, it must be about five kilometers. Can Hinata's Byakugan see that far?" Hiashi Hyuga, watching from the audience, was particularly focused on this detail.
As the head of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi's own Byakugan could only see a little over six kilometers!
In terms of range, Hinata was likely among the top within the entire Hyuga clan. Had Uchiha Akira helped her enhance her Byakugan abilities?
Sure enough, Sasuke and Hinata stopped about five kilometers away from Stone Village, discussed their next move, and then changed course toward Sand Village.
What was more impressive was their movement—rather than heading in a straight line, they followed a curved path.
This ensured that Konoha's flag always remained within Hinata's five-kilometer range. Their approach was incredibly meticulous.
"So this is the power of the Byakugan? It's terrifying! She can see everything five kilometers away as if it were right in front of her!" someone in the audience marveled.
"The Byakugan may not be as useful in combat as the Sharingan, but in large-scale battles, its scouting ability is unmatched!"
"This is the true strength of Konoha!"
The surrounding spectators weren't fools. Watching Sasuke and Hinata's carefully planned movements, they quickly grasped the situation and expressed their admiration.
Akira nodded quietly as he watched. This was just like playing e-sports, where everyone was shrouded in fog, except Hinata was scanning half the map with her Byakugan!
The absolute advantage in visibility—anyone familiar with e-sports would understand what a huge advantage this was.
"But with the third exam reaching its peak, when will the Akatsuki make their move?" Akira wondered to himself, though he remained vigilant for their attack.
Itachi's warning had been clear—the Akatsuki would strike during the exam, collaborating with the Stone Village ninjas to target him.
But how would the Akatsuki locate him so quickly, and what kind of attack would they launch?
At this moment, all of Konoha's attention was focused on the third Jonin exam, and many eyes were on Sasuke and Hinata.
Among the thousands of spectators, members of the Akatsuki were also watching...
They were just as aware of what was happening in the exam arena.
As Sasuke and Hinata moved closer to Sand Village, Pain spoke up, deciding that the time had come to act.
At the same time, the three Stone Village ninjas completed their large-scale barrier formation.
With a series of hand signs, the ground of the entire exam arena began to tremble. Yellowish light rose rapidly, forming a bowl-shaped dome that began to seal off the entire arena!
"What are the Stone Village ninjas doing?" Everyone was stunned as they watched the three Stone ninjas' actions.
Instead of focusing on the exam, they were setting up a massive barrier to seal off the arena?
At first, people thought the formation was a trap for the other contestants, but now it seemed to serve a completely different purpose.
Boom!
At that moment, a puff of smoke appeared in the third exam arena, and Pain, with his Rinnegan glowing, materialized inside the Stone Village's barrier!
"Hahaha! Come, enjoy my art!" Deidara, perched on his clay bird, scattered clay bombs indiscriminately. A series of rapid explosions instantly caused chaos in the arena!
"White Secret Technique: One Hundred Puppet Performance!"
Sasori also unleashed his signature technique, revealing his puppet body. From his chest, countless chakra threads extended, controlling over a hundred puppets, transforming them into a puppet army!
Using this ability, Sasori had once single-handedly destroyed a small nation.
The hundred puppets spread out, wreaking havoc, while Deidara's chain of explosions added to the chaos, plunging the entire arena into disarray.
The spectators were caught in the devastation, and the casualties were piling up!
"Wasn't the Akatsuki's attack supposed to be aimed at me?" Akira was shocked as he watched Deidara and Sasori's attacks targeting the Konoha spectators instead of him.
At the same time, Pain flew into the air and headed directly toward Sasuke and Hinata with a clear goal in mind!
"Wait, is the Akatsuki's plan to use Sasuke and Hinata to force me to reveal myself?" Akira's heart tightened as he realized Pain's intentions. But even though he understood, what could he do? Could he just stand by and watch Sasuke and Hinata get killed?
Without hesitation, Akira immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and rushed forward.
Just as the yellowish barrier was about to close, he leaped inside...
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