Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 180 The Examination Lineup of the Major Ninja Villages (Part 1)

The Fourth Raikage is not one to stick to the old ways.

Since Samui is suitable to be the third member, what does her status as a mere Chunin matter? Just change it.

Anyway, Samui is not very old. Although she is a bit scary because of her fierceness, there is no rule that says a girl cannot develop amazingly.

The key point is that Samui's promotion was arranged internally by the Hidden Cloud Village, and the mission she carried out was also a village mission. It was never made public, so changing it at all wouldn't attract any attention.

Thus, the Fourth Raikage finalized the selection: the lazy Darui, along with Shi and Samui, would form the most competitive ninja team.

The Hidden Cloud Village is developing very well and has many excellent genin, but the Fourth Raikage has lost interest in it.

The other genin teams can sign up themselves, and then Tsuchida will be responsible for the review, so as not to waste the Raikage's time.

Since the Fifth Hokage established his formidable reputation, his hands-off management style has become widely known.

As a result, the four Kazekage and the fourth Raikage followed suit, delegating ordinary tasks to their subordinates and focusing on more important matters themselves.

The Hidden Mist Village did not imitate this because they have not yet selected a Fifth Mizukage.

Iwagakure didn't imitate it either, not because Onoki couldn't let go, but because there were too many simpletons among the Iwagakure ninja, making it impossible for Onoki to let go.

After handling a few more important matters, the Fourth Raikage handed over the remaining tasks to Tsuchida and his administrative team, and then left the Raikage's office with Darui.

Kumogakure does want to acquire more bloodline limits, but the Fourth Raikage is well aware that the village's focus is not on bloodline limits for the time being.

The key to Kumogakure is powerful ninja tools capable of killing the Fifth Hokage!

It was the Fourth Raikage who was able to hold off the Fifth Hokage!

Darui is the Fifth Raikage candidate who can inherit the position after the death of the Fourth Raikage!

Although the Fifth Hokage's approach to things changed, the Fourth Raikage, whose ambition remained unchanged, believed that Kumogakure needed violence as a safety net and a way to kill the Fifth Hokage, even at a great cost.

Only if the Fourth Raikage could threaten Konoha Village and the Fifth Hokage with violence could he negotiate with the Fifth Hokage with peace of mind.

The Fourth Raikage never kept his promises when facing small, defenseless ninja villages.

Even if he promised peace one second, the next second he would rush into the enemy's ninja village without blinking an eye and steal what he wanted if he found a treasure he wanted.

The Fourth Raikage was that kind of person, so he couldn't trust Konoha Village or the Fifth Hokage's credibility.

He only trusts himself.

When news of the joint Chunin Exams reached the Fourth Kazekage, he was panning for gold deep in the desert.

Upon hearing the report from the Sand Village ninja, he showed no excitement, calmly retorting, "Is it another case where refusal is not permitted?"

Maki, a Sand Village ninja and Rasa's disciple, lowered his head sadly upon hearing this: "Yes, teacher."

Rasa paused for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "Go tell Fusa and the others to select some genin from the village and see who they can send over."

"Going to Konoha Village—is that suicide?"

No matter which village it is, the Chunin Exams are extremely risky.

Chunin are the backbone of a village and its leaders when carrying out missions. In a sense, the number and quality of Chunin represent the strength of a ninja village.

Therefore, if a genin wants to be promoted to chunin, unless they have clear battle records to prove it, they must win in the brutal elimination process and prove that they are a chunin who meets the requirements in terms of strength, personality, and knowledge.

Therefore, people die during the Chunin Exams, and many people die.

Sending them to Konoha to take the exam would naturally mean they wouldn't receive protection from the Konoha ninjas, and they would easily be targeted by Konoha ninjas, Iwagakure ninjas, Kumogakure ninjas, and Kirigakure ninjas, making their risks even higher.

Unfortunately, Sunagakure has been short of money for the past ten years or so, making it unable to train excellent genin.

Even with repeated reductions in scale and the implementation of elite education, not many outstanding genin have emerged, or rather, they haven't had a chance to emerge yet.

The Fourth Kazekage sighed, "If only we could wait another two years. Sana, Saya, Viper, Sen, and Yome are all promising talents, but right now they're just talents."

Maki angrily pounded the sand, then, suppressing his tears, left without looking back.

The Fourth Kazekage suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Izumi Uchiha, losing all face. However, he became more open-minded because of this and dared to follow the example of the Fifth Hokage, abandoning the village to train, pan for gold, or do things that required extreme secrecy.

During that great battle, Rasa also clearly saw the extent to which the ninja of Sunagakure had been dwindling.

No matter how disgraceful he is, he is still the strongest ninja in Sunagakure, and there is absolutely no Kage-level ninja who can replace him.

His gold panning, in particular, is now the village's biggest source of income, and everyone has no choice but to make do.

We can't let the old and frail Chiyo become the Fifth Kazekage, can we?

The Fourth Kazekage's position is actually quite secure.

After Maki brought the Kazekage's decision back to the village, Fusa and the other Jonin began selecting outstanding Sunagakure Genin.

But soon, the Jonin in charge of these Sunagakure were all dumbfounded.

The vast Sand Village, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, could only select two excellent Genin, and both of them were children of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.

When the Fourth Kazekage saw the report, he was so headache-inducing that he felt like dying. So, he made a decision in a nonchalant and reckless manner.

Back in Sunagakure, the Fourth Kazekage said to the Jonin, "It's Temari and Kankuro now. Add Gaara to make a ninja team."

Jonin Fukusa stared in disbelief: "Isn't it inappropriate to send a Jinchuriki to Konoha like this?"

The Fourth Kazekage smiled and said, "It's alright. After being beaten up by the Hokage last time, Shukaku has become very well-behaved."

"Moreover, we must show the other villages our strength and prove that Sunagakure has not collapsed. If our genin perform poorly, things will be even more difficult in the future."

"Therefore, we won't select any other genin; we'll just send this small team."

"No matter how weak they are, our Sand Village is one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. We can't send those weaklings who are not up to par and make a fool of ourselves."

The Fourth Kazekage sacrificed all his children for the sake of Sunagakure. What can the Jonin of Sunagakure say?

They bowed their heads together, bowed deeply, and sincerely shouted, "We obey your command, Fourth Kazekage!"

""

After receiving information about the joint Chunin Exams, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, immediately dispatched a large number of personnel, including his son, Kyoto.

The Iwagakure ninja have only one mission: to capture Deidara, the traitorous disciple who has defected, throughout the entire ninja world.

Onoki didn't expect this brat to learn another bloodline limit, but Iwagakure needed him to hold the fort.

As the most stable of the five great ninja villages, Iwagakure has always developed steadily, with a sufficient number of genin to choose from, including many outstanding children.

However, there wasn't a single outstanding genin among the Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) ninjas.

In the past two years, the Fifth Hokage has swept across the ninja world, and Iwagakure naturally focused on gathering intelligence. As a result, Onoki learned about the new generation of ninjas in Konoha.

Neji Hyuga, Tenten, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki are the most dazzling rising stars of Konoha in the last two years; they are simply dazzling to behold.

-

Ōnoki racked his brains but couldn't think of any genin from Iwagakure who could compare to them.

What frustrated him most was that even Chunin were not confident of defeating these four Konoha Genin.

For example, Uchiha Sasuke awakened the single-tomoe Sharingan at the age of 12 and became a disciple of Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin. He was personally taught by the Fifth Hokage and it is very likely that he fused with a second bloodline limit.

But this monstrous genin was completely suppressed by Naruto Uzumaki and was always at a disadvantage.

Naruto's information was well protected. Apart from knowing that he was the Fifth Hokage's disciple, Onoki didn't know what ninjutsu Naruto was good at or how he was able to suppress Sasuke Uchiha.

Hyuga Neji was born into the Hyuga clan, so it was inevitable that he would awaken the Byakugan and be skilled in Gentle Fist. Previously, not many people paid much attention to him.

Because the greatest genius of the Hyuga clan was trampled underfoot and suppressed for a full four years by a commoner girl ninja whose parents were not ninjas.

Who would worry about a "genius" who can't even beat an ordinary girl?

However, during the ninja missions of the past year, Hyuga Neji displayed astonishing strength. He was able to overwhelm some veteran Chunin and even briefly hold his own against Jonin!

Such a monster isn't even the top student in the grade!

What kind of monster is Tiantian, the girl who lords it over monsters but is ignored by everyone?

Whenever Onoki thought of those four Konoha genin, he felt heartbroken, and his breathing became disordered, even causing his lower back to ache slightly.

Konoha has already produced a Fifth Hokage, so why are there still so many geniuses emerging? Who can be entrusted with the future of Iwagakure?

Therefore, Deidara must be brought back, even if it means breaking his legs and binding him.

But Ōnoki didn't know that his apprentice had already encountered his nemesis, Uchiha Itachi, and was being harmed by this guy using his Sharingan.

Having suffered immense humiliation, Deidara has become a psychopath, his mind twisted beyond comprehension, and he is now a mentally ill person who could commit suicide at any moment.

Deidara is beyond saving.

In Amegakure, Nagato chuckled and said, "The Fifth Hokage is becoming increasingly powerful, but this power has indeed made the ninja world a much better place."

Konan nodded in agreement: "Yes, there are no more wars between countries, and the internal chaos within countries has been swept away by ninjas from various countries. It's much safer than before."

Nagato stood up from his seat with a determined look in his eyes, standing straight and tall, steady and dignified.

-

He stated with certainty, "Both the First Hokage and the Fifth Hokage have proven that powerful and dominant beings can indeed bring about peace."

"The problem is that the First Hokage also proved that Hokage are people who die. After such powerful ninjas die, the ninja world will return to its old state of constant warfare."

"The future of the ninja world still depends on me, on me, the god who inherited the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths."

Xiao Nan frowned, her lips moved a few times, but she didn't say anything.

Although Konan was standing to Nagato's right rear, her actions still caught Nagato's eye.

Nagato knew what Konan wanted to say, and he confidently explained, "Konan, I know what you're worried about. I will die too, after all, the Sage of Six Paths himself died."

"9

"But I will leave behind a weapon that will last forever, a weapon controlled by the Akatsuki, more powerful than the Fifth Hokage. It will protect the ninja world in my place and ensure that peace continues forever."

"For a more lasting peace, we must sacrifice the current short-term peace. This is an unavoidable price to pay, but I assure you that this price is absolutely worth it."

Nagato's explanation put Konan at ease, and she finally raised her second concern: "Nagato, are you capable of defeating the Fifth Hokage right now?"

Nagato's face suddenly froze. Thinking of his crushing defeat last time, he even stopped breathing involuntarily.

It took Nagato a dozen seconds to recover, and he confidently replied, "No problem!"

"Last time, my body was in terrible condition. Not only was my chakra insufficient, but even controlling the Six Paths of Pain was very difficult."

"Now, with the help of Madara Uchiha, I have received excellent treatment. Not only has my paralyzed body recovered, but my chakra level has also increased more than tenfold."

"Konan, do you think the Fifth Hokage can become ten times stronger in the next two years?"

Konan was completely relieved to hear that Nagato's chakra had increased tenfold, and a smile appeared on her face: "Of course not, he's already so strong, how could he be ten times stronger?"

Nagato raised his hands, clenched his fists tightly, and felt the long-lost sense of power. He smiled and said, "I couldn't beat you last time, but this time it's different."

"Fifth Hokage, wait a few more years until the Gedo Mazo is fully restored, and then I will challenge you again. I will defeat you, steal the Nine-Tails from Konoha, create the strongest weapon, and bring eternal peace to the ninja world."

"At that time, Yahiko and everyone's dream will come true."

As Nagato spoke, tears streamed down her face, and she choked up, unable to continue.

When Konan heard Yahiko's name, she thought of her friend and the first generation of Akatsuki members who died in the ambush, and tears welled up in her eyes.

After so many years of hard work, we've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

After a moment of reflection, Konan composed herself and continued, "The search for Deidara by Iwagakure is too intense. Now Deidara and Sasori's group can only hide and can't do anything."

Nagato said with deep surprise, "They're so eager to capture Deidara. It seems the Joint Chunin Exams are putting a lot of pressure on the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki."

He asked, "This matter mainly concerns Deidara; what is his opinion?"

Konan said, "Deidara wants to go back temporarily, but can we trust him?"

Nagato smiled confidently: "Tell Deidara that I believe him and allow him to return to Iwagakure."

"He is still 'Blue' in our Akatsuki organization, and he keeps and collects the ring himself."

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