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***
Swish, swish, swish!
After Itachi Uchiha set off, ninja teams from various villages followed suit, rushing toward the outskirts of Kirigakure in different directions.
When the last ninja team departed, Mei Terumi turned to Shikaku Nara and the others beside her.
"Then it will depend on their own abilities. For the time being, we can only wait and see."
Itachi, leading Shinichi Hattori and Daisuke Kido, headed southeast of Kirigakure.
He glanced slightly to the side, looking in a direction behind him.
"Someone's following us?" Shinichi asked.
Although he hadn't noticed any signs of pursuit, he trusted Itachi's instincts.
"Yes," Itachi nodded.
Trailing them were Kirigakure Anbu, who had been monitoring them since they left the building where they had stayed for the past three days.
"Now, our first priority is to lose the one tailing us," Shinichi said.
The Kirigakure Anbu were clearly there to monitor their movements, likely to prevent them from causing trouble within Kirigakure.
If these Anbu continued to follow, their plans would be disrupted.
This was clearly part of the test.
"Leave it to me," Itachi said calmly. While Shinichi and Daisuke were skilled, escaping the Anbu's pursuit would be challenging for them.
However, he didn't act immediately, choosing to wait until they were outside Kirigakure.
The three advanced quickly, soon reaching the village's edge.
"Bang!"
A sudden explosion erupted a short distance outside the village.
Just north of the village lay a small lake.
"Splash!"
The explosions sent water splattering across the lake, like a steady stream of raindrops.
"If you dare follow me, give it a try, hmm."
Deidara said, glancing at the still-rippling surface behind him before hurling another explosive clay creation.
"Art is an explosion!"
"Bang!"
His explosion completely blocked the pursuit of the Kirigakure Anbu.
While the Anbu dodged the blast, Deidara and his two teammates vanished above the lake.
Inside Kirigakure, Itachi, hearing the commotion, knew without a doubt that this was Deidara's doing.
It wasn't just the explosion, but the fact that only Deidara would dare cause such a disturbance so close to Kirigakure.
As Deidara's blast shook off the Kirigakure Anbu, the first few teams to leave the village unleashed their own attacks.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!"
"Sizzle!"
The massive stream of water collided with dense lightning, sweeping across like a giant lightning serpent.
With a swish!
Behind the Kirigakure Anbu targeted by the lightning serpent, a yellow-haired youth wearing a Kumogakure forehead protector swung his longsword, slashing with fierce force.
Flames streamed from the blade.
"Cloud-Style Flame Beheading!"
The yellow-haired youth's speed startled even the Kirigakure Anbu.
Attacked from both sides, the Anbu couldn't fully defend himself.
Finally, the Anbu was struck by the Water Release ninjutsu infused with Lightning Release.
The lightning coursed through his body, instantly paralyzing him and temporarily immobilizing him.
"Let's go," Atsui from Kumogakure sheathed his sword and addressed his two teammates, who had performed the joint ninjutsu in front of him.
Outside Kirigakure, in another direction.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Izumi Uchiha confronted the trailing Kirigakure Anbu head-on, continuously emitting small bursts of flames that enveloped swirling shuriken, raining down on her opponent.
As she completed her ninjutsu, she swooped in from the opposite direction, utilizing her speed to its fullest.
With the skill of the Kirigakure Anbu, dealing with her alone wouldn't have been difficult.
However, as Izumi pressed forward, two opponents swooped in from either side.
Ken Ishida and Mitsumi Inoue both formed hand seals.
"Demonic Illusion: Cherry Blossom Wave!"
They executed the same hand seals, and upon completion, they lowered their palms toward the Anbu.
"Oh no, it's a genjutsu!"
The Kirigakure Anbu realized the two were using genjutsu, but under Izumi's relentless suppression, he couldn't escape in time.
In the end, he was trapped in the genjutsu and couldn't move.
"Success!"
Ken and Mitsumi's faces lit up with surprise.
Their genjutsu had successfully subdued a Kirigakure Anbu.
This was largely due to Izumi pinning the enemy down, leaving him no chance to evade the genjutsu.
"Teacher Shinku would be very pleased to see your progress," Izumi chuckled.
Ken and Mitsumi had spent the past six months studying genjutsu with Shinku Yuhi.
Their combined genjutsu had no trouble subduing an Anbu.
"Let's get out of here," Izumi urged.
A few hundred meters away, in the dense forests facing the main gate of Kirigakure, clouds and mist swirled.
"Puff!"
A streak of blood streaked through the air, and a figure slammed heavily into a tree.
"Don't follow us anymore, or I'll kill you next time!"
Mangetsu Hozuki's youthful face was stained with blood.
A wound several inches long oozed blood from his arm, but he paid it no mind.
A cold gleam clung to his dark grey eyes, suffused with murderous intent.
His two teammates beside him wore indifferent expressions.
During this period, Kirigakure practiced the law of the jungle, where the strong preyed on the weak.
Thus, even when facing an Anbu from their own village, Mangetsu and his teammates showed no mercy.
In Kirigakure, such acts of subordinates overpowering superiors were not against any rules.
Being defeated by one's own subordinates only proved one's incompetence.
With a swish!
Itachi, Daisuke, and Shinichi leaped high, landing on the high wall of Kirigakure before immediately jumping back down.
Behind them, the Kirigakure Anbu followed closely.
"Ahhh!"
Just as the Anbu leaped onto the wall, a flock of crows suddenly rushed over, catching him off guard.
Harassed by the crows, he was about to strike back, but his movements froze.
In his eyes, the crows quickly linked together, transforming into the figure of a black-haired young man.
However, he could no longer tell whether he was in reality or a genjutsu.
Whoosh!
A crow darted into the misty environment and soon landed on Itachi's shoulder.
Itachi glanced at the crow, then said calmly to his teammates.
"It's been resolved."
...
"Where are we going next?"
Daisuke Kido looked at Itachi Uchiha and Shinichi Hattori.
Over the past six months, he'd realized that within the team, he couldn't match Shinichi's intelligence, and his strength wasn't even on the same level as Itachi's.
However, his mindset was positive, and precisely because of this, he was determined to work even harder to catch up with his two companions.
Shinichi also turned to look at Itachi.
Although he had spotted the loophole in Mei Terumi's announcement of the rules, his own lack of insight, coupled with the interference from the Kirigakure ninjas, left him completely clueless.
Itachi frowned slightly and said, "Based on my observations just now, I suspect there are three teams holding scrolls corresponding to the mission information we have."
He had roughly locked onto a target with his Sharingan, but then the red scroll fell into a box prepared by the Kirigakure ninjas.
Although it immediately poured out, the order had changed.
"Narrowing down the list to this extent is quite remarkable," Shinichi nodded.
Itachi's ability to pinpoint just three teams was beyond his expectations.
"I've just sent the crows to search for the three teams, but it looks like it'll take quite some time," Itachi said.
The ninja teams that made it to the Land of Water to participate in the joint Chūnin Exams were hardly mediocre.
It wouldn't be easy for the summoning beasts, the crows, to track them down.
"Hmm," the two men beside him replied.
Shinichi paused for a moment, then said, "Strange. When we left Kirigakure, the examiners didn't announce a time limit at all."
Whatever the rules of the exam, they would have set a time limit.
It wouldn't be possible for the examinees to wander aimlessly through the Land of Water.
"So, the time limit must be recorded in the scroll." Itachi said.
Shinichi nodded and said, "Open the scroll quickly."
Itachi immediately pulled out a red scroll from his ninja tool pouch and unfolded it.
The information on the scroll wasn't extensive, and it was easy to read at a glance.
"I see," Shinichi muttered after reading it.
The scroll in their hands contained the requirements for the mission and the deadline for delivery.
Participants must complete the mission on the scroll within two weeks and return to Kirigakure to hand it in.
Failure to complete the mission within that timeframe will result in failure.
The scrolls they held contained no information about the people or locations associated with the mission.
"It seems we must first obtain the other half of the scroll and integrate the information," Itachi said.
"Then all we can do now is wait," Shinichi said.
"I suspect there are other teams around Kirigakure besides us who haven't yet received any useful mission information and haven't traveled far."
After all, even Itachi, who possessed the Sharingan in their team, couldn't accurately locate the target.
Even if the foreign competitors had other means, they wouldn't be able to act so quickly.
"Then let's simply set up sensory traps around here and wait for news."
Itachi frowned slightly.
He wasn't worried about the exam.
While the difficulty of this Kirigakure Joint Chūnin Exam was indeed extremely high, he had been in the Anbu and had experienced far more difficult situations.
What truly worried Itachi was what tactics the masked man would use to attack him.
He wanted to stay near Kirigakure first, so that if anything were to happen, Itachi would be able to retreat to the village with Shinichi and Daisuke at this distance.
Kirigakure now boasted powerful figures like Kitsuchi of Iwagakure and the Ino-Shika-Chō trio of Konoha.
Even if the masked man controlling the Fourth Mizukage wanted to turn a blind eye, it would be impossible.
This seemingly difficult Chūnin Exam actually harbored a deep and murderous intent!
Inside Kirigakure, in the Mizukage's building.
Ripples like water appeared on the floor of the Mizukage's office, and a giant pitcher plant emerged from it, revealing a black and white figure.
"Where is that guy now?"
The masked man asked, turning his gaze to Zetsu.
"Southeast of the village, a few hundred meters away," Zetsu replied.
"He didn't notice your whereabouts?"
The masked man asked.
"Probably not. It seems that he has hidden his strength and eye techniques from most of the Konoha ninjas. It is impossible for him to discover me with just the insight of the Sharingan."
White Zetsu said with some pride.
When it came to hiding and sneaking in to collect intelligence, no matter how elite the ninjas in the five major ninja villages were, they couldn't compare to it.
Because no matter how strong those people were individually, they were only the strength of one person.
But White Zetsu had a huge number of clones.
"Have you conveyed the information about the joint Chūnin Exam to those lunatics?"
The eyelids under the mask drooped slightly, with a gloomy look in them.
"Ah, my clone just told me that after those guys got the news, they immediately took action day and night. They should be here soon."
White Zetsu smiled sarcastically:
"There actually exists a race of lunatics in this world who want to challenge Kirigakure, one of the five major ninja villages, with the power of a single clan."
"When has this world ever lacked people who do meaningless things?"
"In fact, everything in this world is meaningless. The so-called reality can only bring endless darkness in the end."
"Aren't the so-called ninjas always fighting each other for some insignificant things? Even in a period of peace on the surface, they will fight in other forms."
"This is the true meaning of the Chūnin Exam."
The masked man spoke coldly, his voice full of indifference to everything in the world, as if the birth and death of all things had nothing to do with him, and the life and death of people all over the world could no longer arouse his inner waves.
"Alright," White Zetsu replied.
At this moment, Black Zetsu's somewhat deep voice rang out, "However, relying solely on the power of that clan, at such a close distance to Kirigakure, it's impossible for them to kill Itachi Uchiha."
"After all, even Pain failed."
"Yes, relying solely on that clan is definitely not enough."
The masked man finished speaking, and a look of extreme madness suddenly emerged in his eyes.
"That's why we have to make a bigger fuss."
"As long as even Kirigakure suffers heavy losses in this accident, neither Konoha nor the other three ninja villages will have any reason to suspect Kirigakure anymore!"
.....
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