Kuroko sheathed his blade, glancing at the distant figures. He always followed Ibiki's orders without question.
"Alright, let's keep moving. Don't waste any more time." Ibiki scanned the group and then continued forward.
Kuroko nodded and waved to the other Demon Slayers. "Let's go! Move out!"
On command, the members of the Demon Slayer Corps packed their things and resumed their journey. This time, the trip was smooth, and they encountered no other enemies. Ibiki led the way, silent the entire time, his eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
"Sir, should we take a different route?" Kuroko asked as he drew near Ibiki. After the recent encounter, Kuroko was worried their movements had been exposed.
"No need to change course," Ibiki said in a low voice.
As for whether their route was exposed, that was a certainty. After that battle, those stray dogs would surely go back and spread the news. But for that very reason, Ibiki was certain they would have no more trouble on this trip. Those men would not have the courage to attack again. Ibiki was an expert in human nature. He was confident in this assessment.
"Hurry up." Ibiki narrowed his eyes, cautiously looking ahead.
As night fell, the sound of movement still echoed across the desert. The Demon Slayer Corps was using the cover of darkness to travel quickly.
...
Meanwhile, at the entrance to Iwagakure, the guards were watching the outside vigilantly. After receiving the invitation from the Land of Fire, people had begun arriving with exam candidates over the past few days. To prevent a repeat of the Konoha Crush, Iwagakure had specially set up a waiting area for the candidates. According to the rules, all candidates were required to reside there at night until the exam was over. During the day, however, they were relatively free.
The exam brought a lot of life to Iwagakure. When the candidates weren't preparing, they would mostly wander around the village. This influx of people brought a new liveliness to the once-quiet village. Many previously deserted shops were now full of customers.
Sunagakure, BBQ Restaurant.
Three people were sitting at a table, grilling meat. However, sounds of bickering frequently erupted from their table, drawing occasional glances from other diners.
"Hey, Choji! Leave a piece for me!" Ino slammed the table in anger. A plate of meat that had just been put on the grill had vanished in the blink of an eye.
"So delicious!" Choji said, his face a picture of satisfaction as he stuffed a large piece of grilled meat into his mouth, chewing as he spoke. "Shikamaru, why aren't you eating?"
Shikamaru was currently chewing on a piece of straw, looking thoroughly annoyed. "What a drag. It's just a Chunin Exam, but they had to send us here to scout ahead..."
Shikamaru had planned to use the Chunin Exams as an excuse to slack off. He hadn't expected to be summoned by Tsunade right before the exam for a secret mission: to scout the situation in Sunagakure.
Shikamaru glanced lazily at the street outside.
"Shikamaru, aren't you going to eat?" Choji asked, drooling as he stared at the plate of meat in front of Shikamaru.
Shikamaru was too annoyed to have an appetite. "Take it, take it."
Sizzle...
The moment Shikamaru gave his permission, Choji started eating.
"Don't worry. We saw it on our way here, right? Sunagakure has already increased its security. We can report back to Lady Hokage tonight," Ino said, seeing Shikamaru's distress and putting down her chopsticks.
Indeed, when they arrived in Sunagakure, the number of guards outside the village had more than doubled. Inside the village, among the bustling crowds, there were also Sunagakure ninja mixed in from time to time. Such security was quite reassuring.
Shikamaru looked at the bustling street outside the window, but his gaze did not relax in the slightest. "I hope so."
Seeing that Shikamaru's mood had lifted, Ino was about to pick up a piece of meat, only to find that the freshly grilled meat had once again been devoured by Choji.
"Hey—!"
Another argument broke out, and Shikamaru shook his head helplessly.
...
After their meal, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio went to an empty alley. Shikamaru wrote down the current situation in Sunagakure on a piece of paper and whistled. A bird-like creature swooped down from the sky.
"Be quick," Shikamaru instructed as he tied the message to the bird.
As if understanding, the bird flapped its wings and flew directly toward the Hokage's office in the Land of Fire.
At that moment, Tsunade was standing on the roof of the Hokage building. In front of her was a guard unit of about thirty to forty people. A closer look would reveal that this group was composed entirely of jonin. A few of them were even elite jonin. The night wind blew, making their clothes flutter.
Chirp...
A bird's cry came from high above. Tsunade extended her arm, and the bird landed on her hand. She untied the message, nodded with a smile, and then looked up at the crowd.
With a wave of her hand, she commanded, "Depart!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the jonin unit responded with a resounding cry.
Under the protection of the guard unit, forty or fifty Konoha students began to head toward Sunagakure under the cover of night.
"Keep up, keep up!" several jonin constantly reminded the students.
...
The night deepened. The number of people strolling on the streets of Sunagakure began to dwindle, replaced by the village's guard ninja. The night wind blew, making one shiver.
"I say, do you really think the Akatsuki will come?" Kankuro asked, looking around seriously.
"We still need to be extra careful. Don't forget what happened to Konoha," Temari reminded him from the side.
Thinking of Gaara, Kankuro clenched his fists tightly.
"Help!!"
In the quiet night, screams suddenly erupted from the candidates' area. Accompanied by the children's cries for help, a fire suddenly burst from one of the tents in the distant camp.
Boom...
Another explosion sounded.
"This is bad!"
"Let's go!"
Kankuro's eyes narrowed, and he rushed toward the candidates' area. On the way, screams could still be heard coming from inside.
"These are all just kids who aren't even at the chunin level. Who would attack them?" Thinking of this, a murderous glint flashed in Kankuro's eyes.
Kankuro knew very well that Kusuo must have had his reasons for setting this Chunin Exam in Sunagakure. Yet, Kankuro was angry but dared not voice it.
-------
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