Tsunade called all the jonin together early the next morning.
She looked at the crowd and said, "Some of you may have heard about the discovery of Gekko Hayate's body near Kikyo Castle."
As soon as she finished, the jonin were stunned.
"What, Hayate is dead?"
"How could this be?"
"That's impossible!"
"Who did it?"
"Quiet. Don't panic. Hayate, come out."
An Anbu behind Tsunade removed his mask, revealing his true face.
Seeing this, the ninjas were even more confused.
Tsunade said, "Nara advisor, please explain."
Nara Shikaku then told them everything in detail.
The ninjas suddenly understood.
"Damn Sand, I'll make sure they never return," Asuma said.
"Burning! This is youth!" Guy declared, full of spirit.
"Hokage-sama, do you have a plan?" Kakashi asked.
Tsunade nodded. "On that day, we'll move the residents to a safe place in advance. At the same time, we'll leave the surrounding Sand forces to the Uchiha clan and Anbu."
"Anbu?"
"Hokage-sama, it would be better for Anbu to stay with you," Kakashi suggested. "If Anbu are sent out, who will protect your safety?"
Tsunade waved her hand. "Don't worry about me. Jiraiya will also be there, and Kur—" She looked to another Anbu behind her. "Right, Kyuubi?"
The Nine-Tails avatar nodded. Why are you asking me?
Hearing Tsunade's reply, Kakashi had no further objections.
After assigning missions to each jonin, she added, "This time, we're not only going to severely wound Sand. We're also going to tell the other hidden villages that Konoha cannot be invaded at will."
"Yes!" The jonin felt as if they'd been injected with adrenaline.
Over the next month, the eleven who had advanced—ten remaining now—began urgent training.
"What's with you three, eating barbecue in broad daylight?" Yamanaka Ino had just finished training, passed by the barbecue shop, and spotted three "slackers": Asuma-sensei, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji.
"Ino? Want to join us?" Choji invited.
"No. Shikamaru, don't you need special training for the official selection? And Asuma-sensei, are you slacking off with them?" Ino asked.
"I'm training every day," Shikamaru replied irritably. My peaceful life is over…
Asuma explained, "Actually, Choji is in special training too, but the condition was that we buy him barbecue. So, here we are."
Just as Ino was about to say something, Menma appeared behind her. "Found you at last, Shikamaru. Play shogi with me."
Shikamaru: w(Д)w No.
"Brother Menma, I have to get back to training."
Asuma couldn't help laughing. Who was just complaining about training a second ago?
"That's a pity. When will you be done with training, Shikamaru? I'll come find you," Menma said.
Refuse, refuse!
Shikamaru hurriedly said, "Probably not until the Chunin Selection Exam is over." (After that, I'm taking a mission and leaving the village fast.)
Shikamaru countered, "Brother Menma, don't you need to train? Your first opponent is Gaara." Even the powerful Lee hadn't been able to injure him; Brother Menma, he won't be easy to deal with.
"Yes, I train every day." Clones handle the training; the main body eats, drinks, and relaxes. That's true work–life balance.
I don't believe you…
Seeing Shikamaru had no time to play, Menma left to find Itachi.
As for Naruto, he trained with Sasuke daily. Naruto even guided Sasuke to learn Kakashi's Chidori. Naruto then asked, "Brother, what about me?"
So Menma had to teach him the Big Ball Rasengan. He left a shadow clone to instruct Naruto, then went off on his own. Naruto couldn't grasp it right away—after all, it took him two years in the original story.
But things often don't go as expected.
"We were ordered to keep a close eye on Gaara—" Before Temari finished, Kankuro said, "It's fine. Even he won't act without authorization during the day. Anyway, that Shikamaru kid is your opponent. Don't you need to think about tactics?"
Compared to Temari, Kankuro had it easier. He'd originally have two matches in the first round, but since Toss had been killed by Gaara, his first-round opponent was only Aburame Shino.
"How could I lose to that guy?" Temari replied, scowling.
"Regret it yet? If you'd taken the exam a year earlier, you might've easily become a Chunin," Kankuro said.
"Enough." Temari recalled what their team leader, Baki, had told them days ago:
"This Chunin Exam—Sand sent the three of you not to pass, but to destroy Konoha under the guise of the exam."
Hearing this, Temari had asked in confusion, "Why? Didn't Konoha and Sand sign an alliance treaty?"
Baki answered, "The problem lies in that treaty. As ninja, you may not know the details. The foolish daimyo of the Land of Wind used the treaty as an excuse to force us to cut military spending and outsource missions to Konoha. It slashed the village's funding and reduced our ninja numbers drastically. The higher-ups' stupidity has become our burden. To maintain combat power, we must improve the quality of each ninja. That's why someone like Gaara was created."
"The Land of Wind is in a dangerous state, but the daimyo and his advisors don't understand it. Kazekage-sama, sensing our declining strength, allied with the Sound to capture Konoha—to restore Sand's prestige and make that foolish daimyo understand national risk management. If this continues, Sand will no longer be able to compete with Konoha."
"Right now is our only chance. Gaara's mission this time is closely tied to your performance."
If Menma had heard Maki's words, he would've laughed. Isn't this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me?
Temari was very worried for her two brothers—especially Gaara. Although Gaara was strong, this was Konoha, a village full of masters. And once war started, how many innocents would suffer? Father… is it worth it?
Can't we live in peace?
"Kankuro, you have to live," Temari said, looking at him.
Kankuro froze for a moment. "Of course. The three of us will be fine—we'll all return to the Sand Ninja Village alive."
Temari stared up at the ceiling and murmured, "I hope so."
(End of Chapter)
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