章節 137: Chapter 137: The Arrangement of Konoha
Natsuro was quite satisfied with the changes after his Void State breakthrough. In addition to the obvious transformations, there were surely more subtle changes, but those needed to be felt carefully during battle.
Additionally, Natsuro had visited the library and even the Anbu archives to search for information about the strange mark he had seen, but found no records at all. This left him somewhat helpless. Since there was nothing he could do, he decided to put it aside for now, hoping to investigate further if he had the chance later.
Feeling a wonderful sensation he had never experienced before in his body, Natsuro felt that spending an entire month solely focused on breaking through to the next stage of the Void State was indeed the right decision.
Thus, time slowly passed, and the day of the third round of the Chunin Exams was finally here.
Natsuro had asked his mother to bring a Flying Thunder God kunai with her. Seeing Natsuro's serious demeanor, along with the sudden notice of an unexpected day off at the barbecue shop, Shinai understood that something significant might happen today. She assured Natsuro that she would keep the kunai on her at all times, so he didn't have to worry.
Next, Natsuro made his way to Ino's house.
At that moment, Ino had already dressed up beautifully and was standing at the door, seemingly waiting for someone, looking elegant and graceful.
Natsuro silently approached Ino from behind, wrapped his arms around her, and spoke softly in her ear, "Ino, who are you waiting for?"
"You clearly know, yet you still ask," Ino replied, her body stiffening for a moment. After feeling that familiar embrace and hearing the well-known voice, she couldn't help but respond, "What if?"
"Hehe, I'm waiting for the person I like, a Jonin named Natsuro. Have you seen him?" Ino said, a mix of resignation and amusement in her voice, following along with Natsuro's playful tone.
"Natsuro? Of course, I've seen him," Natsuroreplied, no longer teasing her. He let go of Ino and took her hand, leading her toward the examination venue for the third round of the Chunin Exams, chatting comfortably along the way.
Soon, Natsuro and Ino parted ways, and he chose a convenient spot for observation, scanning the surroundings for any signs of Anbu members.
In the end, he only spotted a few Anbu personnel, which made him sigh. As expected, the Third Hokage had dispatched nearly all the Anbu, leaving only a handful behind.
Moreover, the key issue was that the Anbu present were not necessarily all from his side, which was even more troubling.
Fortunately, Jiraiya should be watching from the shadows after his encouragement, which reassured Natsuro considerably.
"Over here." At that moment, Kiba arrived with Hinata. Upon seeing Natsuro, Kiba's eyes lit up, and he quickly sat down beside him.
Hinata's complexion, after a month of recuperation, was still somewhat pale, so Kiba accompanied her as a teammate, worried she might faint unexpectedly.
"Natsuro-kun…" Hinata looked at Natsuro and spoke.
"Hmm? Is there something on your mind?" he asked.
"Well, I listened to what Teacher Kurenai said about your suggestion. I will think it over seriously. Thank you for your concern, Natsuro-kun," Hinata said earnestly. She had indeed found her own path during her match with Neji.
However, even with her determination, it didn't conflict with Natsuro's suggestion. What he proposed was also a way for her to contribute to the team, and perhaps it was even more suitable for her.
As for matters concerning the Hyuga clan, Hinata was already prepared to be like a caged bird. She had never intended to compete with her sister, Hanabi, for the position of the main family. However, she was unsure why her father had yet to put her in that role, even though she had already been given up on.
"Well, considering I'm also your support teacher, it's normal for me to think about my students. You don't need to thank me," Natsuro said, finding it quite normal to converse with Hinata. She only struggled to speak in front of Naruto. He then added, "However, I'm only offering suggestions. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide what's suitable."
"I've thought about it. I've also asked Teacher Kurenai to find me a suitable medical instructor. If I truly have a talent for healing in the future, I will consider your advice, Natsuro-kun," Hinata said earnestly.
"Hmm, as long as it's suitable. But are you asking Kurenai to find one?" Natsuro felt that her connections might not be strong enough and suggested that it would be better to have the clan head, Hiashi Hyuga, involved.
Hinata understood Natsuro's words but looked somewhat downcast as she replied, "I don't want to trouble my father."
Hearing this, Natsuro didn't say much, merely sighing inwardly. He didn't have a deep connection with Hinata, and her family matters were not something he should interfere in.
However, if Kurenai were clever, she would find Hiashi anyway, so the outcome should be the same.
"Hey, Natsuro, I've heard you've given many of our peers advice. Why have you never given me any? Shouldn't I be suited for a combat-type ninja?" Kiba said loudly at this moment.
"You are indeed suited, but your path needs to coordinate with Akamaru, so I haven't had any good suggestions for you. As for the basics, Kurenai has taught you quite well already," Natsuro replied somewhat helplessly.
"Haha, no problem! I know Natsuro isn't omnipotent, but it seems I'm really suited for battle!" Kiba laughed heartily, not minding the matter at all.
"Hmm, the match is about to start." Natsuro looked at the nine contestants in the arena, glancing over at Ino, and a smile spread across his face.
To be honest, if he didn't know what would happen later, it would be quite nice to continue like this—practicing and accompanying his girlfriend, what a joy that would be.
The reason there were nine contestants was that the Sound Ninja Tosu seemed to be absent, along with his two companions who were also nowhere to be seen in the audience.
So, what had happened?
Natsuro only knew that during this time, Hayate Gekkō had likely fallen, but no one had informed him about anyone else. He certainly wouldn't remember the fates of these side characters; they were probably dead by now. He could only speculate.
After all, it seemed that these three Sound Ninjas were merely sacrifices, while the real Orochimaru…
Natsuro glanced at the Kazekage next to the Third Hokage, who was veiled. Even though he knew the person was Orochimaru, it was still better not to act rashly, as Orochimaru was already prepared, while Konoha was still in the midst of preparations.
Just like Konoha's countermeasures, the second stage had actually begun early at Natsuro's suggestion. However, to maintain appearances, the majority of those being evacuated were mainly defenseless women, children, and the elderly.
The lack of action before had been due to the concern of alarming the enemy, but with the opening of the third round of the exams, all eyes were now focused on this event, providing a further opportunity for relocation.
One could say that the longer the situation dragged on, the better it was for Konoha. The preparations for battle had already been made; the only thing left was the evacuation of civilians.
Thinking about this, a shadow flickered in Natsuro's eyes. Despite the urgency, all the Anbu had mobilized.
This included the forces under the advisors, which had also begun to take action. However, not all of their strength was preserved for self-protection, which was understandable.
Yet, there was still an organization within Konoha that refused to take action in the open, claiming their need to protect Konoha.
That's right; this organization was ROOT, which was supposedly for the good of Konoha, led by Danzo.
It wasn't hard to understand, as Danzo likely wanted the Third Hokage to die in this chaos. That way, he would have the opportunity to ascend to the position of Hokage.
While the original work didn't explicitly depict this, one could imagine that Danzo's actions wouldn't be small. Unfortunately for him, he didn't anticipate that the two old advisors and the Third Hokage shared remarkably similar thoughts on this matter.
That is, if there were other suitable candidates for Hokage, then Danzo shouldn't become Hokage. Just like in the original work, after the Third Hokage's death, the first thought of the two advisors was to push Jiraiya, who rarely stayed in Konoha, into the position.
Even if it wasn't Jiraiya, Tsunade, who had also been absent from Konoha for a long time, would have been another option. Danzo's priority was after these two. Only after Jiraiya and Tsunade were gone would they consider Danzo...
One had to admit that Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, the two advisors, were a bit stubborn and their thoughts were quite conservative, but they genuinely cared for Konoha. Their mindset was what limited them.
Of course, these two would generally also consider themselves, but it was human nature to look out for oneself as long as it didn't harm Konoha; this was understandable.
This contrasted sharply with Shimura Danzo, who claimed to act for Konoha's sake but whose actions severely harmed Konoha's interests in order to achieve his own goals.
If it weren't for him, Konoha's upper echelons would not be so weak. Without going far, the two top-tier powers, Shisui and Itachi, were both completely loyal to Konoha.
If they were present, would Orochimaru still dare to come? Even if he had two top-tier powers, he wouldn't be so concerning, especially since the Sharingan had a natural advantage over Orochimaru.
Moreover, without Danzo, the relationship between the Uchiha clan and Konoha might not have escalated to that point, eliminating the need for the treacherous massacre that Itachi committed.
As for the further implications? Perhaps Nagato wouldn't have ended up in the Akatsuki.
However, that's uncertain. After all, Nagato's fate had already been arranged by Uchiha Obito. Even without Danzo, others would likely still enact such plans.
At that time, due to Jiraiya's presence and the absence of Konoha's hatred, the situation facing Konoha might have been a little better. Perhaps the village wouldn't have been directly devastated by Shinra Tensei?
Natsuro mused, tapping his fingers on his temples, a hint of coldness flickering in his eyes.
The refusal of his rightful appeal had lowered his tolerance for Danzo even further. When the time came for him to take the upper hand, the first thing he would do was definitely to eradicate that bastard completely. No, perhaps it would be a good idea to hand him over to Sasuke.
As he thought this, the third round of the exam commenced amid the complaints of the surrounding villagers. The delay was naturally due to...
Everyone was stalling for time!
At this moment, only Naruto from the first match and Neji remained in the arena, while the other seven contestants had returned to their waiting positions. Among them, Ino had also found Natsuro and greeted him.
And then...
The third round of the Chunin Exam began!
Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuga Neji!
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