From undercover in Konoha, to I am the Hokage!

Chapter 225 Prelude to the Assessment (5k)

"That's it, anyway."

"Eh--!?"

After the Konoha high-level officials reached a resolution on the 'World Chunin Examination', the next thing to do was naturally to convey this news to the prospective Chunins below.

The entire 42nd batch of Ninja School graduates received this news.

However, there were only a dozen of the best Genin of this session sitting in front of Sawara Kiri.

It was just different from the ecstasy I had expected.

When Kakashi and the others heard the news, they were not as excited as Naruto and the others in the original story. Instead, they all wailed.

"Damn it! I recently finished both "Advanced Mathematics" and "The Essentials of Konoha History"!"

"Why didn't you send me the news earlier? The medical exams are about to start!"

"That's it!"

The students in the audience were all fearless and brave enough to shout loudly even when facing the legendary figure Sawara Kiri.

Even now, when Konoha's education reform has been going on for seven years, most of these Genin-level children are from the ninja clan or wealthy families, and are no longer surprised by the various high-ranking figures of Konoha.

Sahara Kiri on the stage clapped his hands in understanding and explained:

"I know that everyone has been working hard to prepare for the Ninja High School exams recently. We just received the news about the joint Chunin exams."

"In order to compensate everyone for their hard work during this period, the Jonin Class has decided to give extra points to the teams that performed well in this Chunin Exam, and to conduct optional trials for everyone. After passing the score line, there will also be the benefits of freely choosing a major and point-to-point guidance services."

"So, everyone must perform well in this joint chunin examination."

When they heard about the bonus measures, the attitudes of the young ninjas below suddenly changed 180 degrees.

"Great--!"

This is the current situation in Konoha.

After the rank reform, in which even the Jonin was divided into five stages, the ranks of Chunin and Genin had long been worthless in Konoha.

For the young Genin who have more than 15% of Konoha's central financial resources allocated to them every year, even if they are of commoner origin, as long as they are smart and willing to work hard, it is mostly just a matter of time for them to become Jonin after graduating from Ninja High School.

This change did not come out of thin air, but was achieved by people like Sawara Kiri who used violence and economic means to break the knowledge and experience blockades of various ninja clans, and instilled these valuable contents into these little guys at almost free of charge. As a result, in just seven years, Konoha has raised the proportion of jonin in the total number of Konoha ninjas to nearly one-seventh.

Any student who can graduate from the Ninja High School basically automatically obtains the title of "Chunin".

To the extent that, even if we put aside the extreme case of Sawara Kiri, the average ability level of Konoha's ninjas is much higher than that of other villages.

For the former Konoha, this was quite incredible.

You know, every jonin in Sarutobi Hiruzen's era was a treasure of the village. Not only did they have the temporary right to dispatch Anbu, they were also qualified to cast their precious vote at the Hokage appointment and dismissal meeting.

How could it be so 'worthless' as it is now?
This can be regarded as one of the initial reform results of Sawara Kiri.

However, unlike other friends around him, Hatake Kakashi, who has grown more comprehensively compared to the original world line, tasted some subtle meanings through Sawara Kiri's serious attitude and the special time point of this "Joint Chunin Examination", and his brows couldn't help but frowned.

He thought about it, then raised his hand and asked:
"Mr. Wu."

"Will we be targeted by several other villages during the exam?"

When hearing this special question, a trace of surprise flashed across Sawara Kiri's face, but when he noticed that the person asking the question was Kakashi, he couldn't help feeling relieved.

However, his answer made the expressions of the little ninjas become serious.

“It’s not ‘will I?’, it’s ‘will I?’”

Sawara Kiri didn't pay attention to the changes in the expressions of the young ninjas and continued, "Since the organizer of this assessment is the Iwagakure Village, we don't know the content of the assessment for the time being."

"The news I can tell you is that the results of this assessment will likely affect some of the topics of the Four Shadow Conference after the assessment."

"This also includes content related to 'war'."

Hearing this, the little ninjas' expressions became more serious and their faces tensed.

Although Hashirama Senju said a lot of nice words back then, until the fourth generation of Hokage came, these young ninjas still had the obligation of "reserve soldiers".

Even in the most basic ninja school curriculum, a large amount of course content related to military and war was included, including intelligence, which was what Shikamaru Nara was most proficient in in later generations.

Although these little ninjas in front of Sawara Kiri are still children in terms of age, they already have all the qualities of a qualified ninja. As early as the time when the Hidden Mist Village suffered a devastating blow, many of them already had some premonition of the coming of the Third Ninja World War.

Now, after hearing what Sawara Kiri said, I naturally realized this.

"If a war breaks out next, it will be between the other three nations and Konoha."

'The intensity of the war will also reach an unprecedented level.'

Sawara Kiri looked at the serious expressions of these little ninjas and didn't say much on this topic.

After talking about some things to note about the Chunin Examination, we simply dispersed.

"Is it really that serious? You actually made that kind of expression."

Seeing Kakashi beside him with a tense expression, Obito beside him held the back of his head and looked nonchalant: "If they want to fight, then let them fight!"

"It's not like we haven't fought before. Have those bastards ever won once?"

"What's more, we now have a monster like Kiri Sensei in Konoha. He even defeated the Hidden Mist Village by himself. What's so scary about that!"

"Obito! Kakashi is thinking about something important!"

Nohara Lin whispered beside him: "No matter what, going to the battlefield is very dangerous."

Unlike the young ninjas who have not experienced much life and death, Nohara Rin, as a trainee medical ninja, had already undergone three months of advanced training at the Konoha Hospital when she was in the Ninja School.

The scenes she saw in the hospital were much more shocking than what she saw in the textbooks.

Therefore, Kakashi's caution at this time is particularly understandable.

"whispering sound."

"I think he's just scared."

Obito saw Rin helping Kakashi speak, and his tone couldn't help but sound a little sour.

His white moonlight was completely stolen away by his good brother.

"Obito!"

Nohara Lin shouted in dissatisfaction.

"This exam is most likely not something that a Genin or even a Chunin level can handle."

However, the first words Kakashi said made the two people beside him startled.

Hatake Kakashi seemed to have not heard what Obito said just now. He frowned and said:

"Since they want to influence Konoha's foreign policy, the other countries will definitely try their best to show their suppression of Konoha's younger generation in the exam."

"If we infer from the three stages of the Chuunin Exams in other countries in the past, they will most likely find a way to eliminate the vast majority of Konoha's people before the second stage."

"I'm afraid our troubles are not small."

"But I just can't understand why Teacher Wu and the others are so honest even though they can clearly see this."

He weighed his words carefully.

Kakashi in this world line, because his father is still alive, received complete family education and emotional care in his childhood. Therefore, he is much more mature in terms of human relationships and social skills than the one in the original line. He can be said to have both high emotional intelligence and IQ.

On the contrary, Obito and Rin's performance is not much different from that in the original work.

"Are they going to cheat on the test?!"

When Obito heard this, his eyes widened in disbelief.

Kakashi glanced at him and said calmly, "If I were a high-ranking official in Konoha, I could secretly deprive several promising Chunin of their titles and allow these young people who are at least at the level of a third-class Jonin to participate in the Chunin exam with us."

"This way, you can become a Jounin-level ninja and crush all other Genin."

"This is much easier than cheating."

"Hey! That's too much!!"

For the first time, little Uchiha Obito experienced the dangers of adult society.

"That's why I feel strange that Mr. Wu didn't do this."

Kakashi was just thinking about it when he saw three members of Terumi Mei's team passing by them. His eyes lit up and he greeted them:
"Ming, have you guys followed..."

But before he could finish his words, he saw Mei Terumi turned her head.

Although this girl's expression was always cold on weekdays, it was the first time that Kakashi saw her look so heavy and complicated, and his voice paused.

"Sorry, I have something else to do."

Mei Terumi finished her words in a steady voice and walked out of the meeting room. Hatake Kakashi couldn't help but pause, with a puzzled look in his eyes.

Obito, who was standing next to him, immediately noticed his subtle change in expression, and immediately put on a serious face and spoke quickly:

"What are you doing? You bastard, are you going to fall in love with someone else?"

"I'm telling you, if you dare to cheat, I will never forgive you, you bastard!"

"What the hell."

Kakashi turned his head away and looked at him with a look of disgust.

the other side.

As soon as Terumi Mei and the others walked out of the meeting room, they saw Sawara Kiri leaning against the door. The expressions of the three of them all changed, as if they were a little stiff.

Sahara Kiri walked over as if she hadn't noticed anything, and greeted the leader, Terumi Mei, with her tone as gentle and kind as always:
"Ming, come with me."

"I have something for you."

The cold expression on Mei Terumi's face froze, and even her steps became a little stiff.

However, he still followed Sawara Kiri obediently without saying a word.

On the contrary, Zabuza and Mangetsu Hozuki at the back had complicated expressions, and no one knew what they were thinking.

Mei Terumi followed behind Sawara Kiri and walked up to the rooftop of the Hokage Building step by step.

Ever since the period before the Kirigakure Village incident, Sawara Kiri hadn't met them for a long time, and even blocked their contact with the village, as if he was deliberately avoiding them.

It was not until everything was settled that these "hidden men" finally received this devastating news.

Their mission wasn't finished yet, but their hometown was gone first.

They were killed by their leader.

Who can accept this?
This is especially true for a spy like Terumi Mei who comes from a prominent family, is a genius in Kirigakure, and is tasked with a secret mission.

There were several times when she thought that she might as well just die, which would be a sacrifice for her country.

But after thinking it over again and again, I still couldn't make a decision.

At this moment, the girl looked at Sawara Kiri's back, and her facial expression changed several times, sometimes entangled, sometimes puzzled, or with some hidden hatred.

However, after the two of them reached the edge of the rooftop, all these emotions eventually turned into unacceptable grievances.

"."

"Master Lian! Why on earth would you do such a thing?!"

Mei Terumi raised her head, and she even couldn't control the volume of her voice. She didn't even care about her identity as a spy - in fact, after the village was destroyed, this identity of hers was completely shattered.

"You are obviously the pride of the village. You have been lurking for the village for more than ten years. You are truly the strongest, and you are also a member of the Kaguya clan."

"A strong man like you."

"Why do you want to kill the people in this village?!"

By the end of her words, tears were already flashing uncontrollably in the girl's eyes.

Sawara Kiri leaned over the railing and looked into the distance. Even when faced with the harsh questioning from the girl beside him, his expression did not change at all. His voice was so gentle that it even made people feel a little unreal:
"So, in your mind, I am a 'person' made up of these components?"

"deep."

"You are a ninja with the mindset of a Mizukage."

"Then you might as well think about what kind of role I am from the perspective of the village."

"."

The faint cry in Terumi Mei's voice paused, and she subconsciously obeyed Sawara Kiri's words.

However, it would have been better if she had not thought about it from this perspective she had never encountered before. At this moment, she was just examining the layers of halo on Sawara Kiri as a 'Water Shadow', and an uncontrollable sense of creepiness arose in her heart.

Unknown, powerful, weakly controlled, far away, burdened with responsibility, holding many secrets, controlling multiple channels, and guiding village policies in the opposite direction.
One thing is connected to another, and any one of them can make it impossible for the person sitting in the Mizukage position to do anything.

Mei Terumi seemed to have suddenly realized something, and her voice became colder:

"So, you chose this path because you hated the village's attitude toward you?"

"hatred?"

Sawara Kiri chewed on the words and smiled, "I'm sorry, Kirigakure's words alone are not enough to make me feel this way."

“They don’t have that capability.”

Mei Terumi was stunned. That was Kirigakure, one of the five major ninja villages, how could they not have that ability?
However, if these words were spoken by Sawara Kiri, they would seem so natural.

The girl became more and more confused, and even her feelings of grievance and hatred were suppressed by this incomprehensible thought.

"From the beginning, I had no intention of letting Kirigakure continue to exist."

"In other words, it's not just Kirigakure, other military organizations with war potential are the same to me."

"The reason why I chose Konoha to help me accomplish this is simply because Konoha has this 'potential'."

"The potential to unify the ninja world."

Mei Terumi was deeply stimulated by his plain words. Her beautiful eyes widened into an oval shape, and her muscles were tense. She raised her voice instinctively as if she couldn't understand:

"Just for such an impossible reason?!"

"Hugyelene!"

"Although your identity is unknown to ordinary people, the ninjas on the intelligence front all look up to you as if they were looking up to a god -!!"

Sawara Kiri suddenly turned his head and looked at her.

The deep blue eyes, as bright as the starry sky, reflected the girl's hysterical expression and the tears streaming down her cheeks.

He suddenly smiled and said gently:
"This is a good opportunity. There's something you'd better remember, Ming."

"Admiration is the feeling farthest from understanding."

"."

Mei Terumi looked at him blankly, and understood the meaning behind his words.

The dream that seemed impossible to her was, in Sawara Kiri's eyes, proceeding step by step just as he had planned.

Unify the ninja world?
Is this what this man wanted to accomplish by slaughtering his own people, destroying the village he was born in, and abandoning all the identities he once had?
Is that kind of thing really possible?
"What on earth did Ming get called to do?"

After Mei Terumi was called away, Zabuza and Mangetsu Hozuki strolled on the bustling streets of Konoha, chatting casually.

Ever since the three of them came to Konoha, due to the pressure of mission and identity, many of the things they had in their hearts could only be told to these two people.

To the extent that, the representatives of the civilians and the ninja clan, who were clearly at odds with each other in the Hidden Mist Village, could actually be called "good friends" who could talk about anything.

Although this friend can be a bit foul-mouthed sometimes.

At least, Zabuza Momochi, who came from a civilian family, had lived in Konoha for a long time, so there was basically no gap between him and Mangetsu Hozuki and Mei Terumi in terms of status.

However, today, Man Yue Kizuna did not criticize him as she did in the past. Instead, she was unusually silent.

"Hello, Man Yue?"

Zabuza shouted again with some surprise.

Gui Deng Man Yue finally came to his senses and said indifferently: "I have something else to do today, you can go back first."

After he finished speaking, without waiting for Zabuza to respond, he went into the alley on his own.

Zabuza looked at him in astonishment, with a confused expression.

This big, stupid guy from a commoner family was probably the one among the three of them who felt the least about the impact of the "Kirigakure Incident".

I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Gui Deng Man Yue had no time to think about it, he had his own things to do.

He first went into the alley, then walked along the familiar streets of Konoha, then turned his whole body into water and drilled through the developed sewer network for a while, and finally appeared in a secret basement near the wall of Konoha.

Seeing that it was him, the sensing ninja behind the basement door observed him carefully for a while before letting him in.

Man Yue Gui Deng walked into the basement calmly, and what came into his sight was a tall man with half of his body tied up with bandages, holding a broadsword as wide as a door panel in his hand.

His gaze stayed on the knife for only a moment, and then he spoke calmly:

"The conditions you agreed to before should still count, right?"

Hearing his straightforward words, Biwa Juuzang grinned, revealing a mouthful of shark-like fangs:
"Of course."

(End of this chapter)