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

Chapter 189 Monsters among Genin

Tayuya, with her red hair, is dressed in Orochi-style clothing, but wears a Konoha headband.

Standing on a rooftop overlooking the road, she looked down at the Hidden Mist team's performance and couldn't help but sneer, "These are the Hidden Mist ninjas? They look pretty ordinary."

The chubby Jirobo frowned and advised, "Tayuya, don't say that—"

Tayuya immediately turned around and yelled, "Shut up! You fatso, you're not the captain, you have no right to tell me what to do!"

With his four arms behind his back, Kidomaru sneered, "Tayuya, you talk as if you'd listen to me, the captain."

The three of them immediately started arguing and became the most eye-catching people on the street.

The small group consisting of Tos Anvil, Sack Stirrup, and Harp Hammer stood aside, and no one dared to stop their antics.

Because they were elites who had been cursed by Orochimaru, their strength was already above the other three. Once the cursed seal was activated, they could rival special Jonin for a short period of time.

The difference in strength was so great that Tos and his two companions, being such weaklings, could only watch helplessly, praying that a ninja who could control these three would arrive soon.

Perhaps it was Tosu's prayer that worked, because another ninja squad dressed in Orochi-style attire appeared.

The leader, Kimimaro, was particularly striking in appearance, with white hair, green eyes, red eyeshadow on his eyelids, and two brows with the mark of a noble lord, highlighting a strange aura that combined nobility, composure, and madness.

Seeing the noisy trio, he whispered a rebuke: "Shut up, or I'll kill you."

Kimimaro's voice wasn't loud, but Jirobo, Tayuya, and Kidomaru immediately stopped all their movements, standing frozen in place like mice seeing a tabby cat.

The blue-haired Crimson Lotus looked at the Hidden Mist team and said in surprise, "The long sword, Sewing Needle, one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Hidden Mist. Their genin actually possesses such a high-level ninja tool. It seems that the guy with the mouth full of sharp teeth is no ordinary genin."

Tosu Kinu quickly added, "The Jonin leading the Kirigakure team is the Demon, Momochi Zabuza. He carries the Kubikiribōchō, one of the Seven Ninja Swords of Kirigakure."

Kimimaro suddenly spoke up, saying, "That beautiful genin is the captain of the Kirigakure squad. He gives me a dangerous feeling."

""

His words drew everyone's attention to Bai, but even Honglian couldn't see anything dangerous about him.

Only Jugo nodded: "Yeah, he gives me a strange feeling, like a vast snowfield, the thick snow layer is very soft, but also very deadly."

Kimimaro suddenly realized, "I know, he is an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai ninja of the Snow Clan."

"The Snow Clan—"

The gazes of Kimimaro and his group alerted Haku. He turned his head and saw the most eye-catching Kimimaro. The quick-witted Haku immediately connected the dots with the relevant intelligence.

His mouth was slightly open, and he muttered to himself, "The Kaguya clan, Kaguya Kimimaro."

Hozuki Suigetsu noticed it too: "Tsk, the madmen of the Kaguya clan are still alive."

Zabuza Momochi sighed, "The Hozuki clan, the Yuki clan, and the Kaguya clan—the three great ninja villages of Kirigakure have actually reunited in Konoha, and Kaguya has even become a Konoha ninja. It's truly—"

Just as Orochimaru's team and the Kirigakure team were locked in combat, a dozen Iwagakure ninjas marched over in neat formation.

The Iwagakure ninja are known for their discipline and teamwork, and their neat formations are a hallmark of their style. However, two outliers have emerged from this otherwise rigid group of Iwagakure ninja today.

Especially the blond genin who walked ahead of all the Iwagakure ninjas, apart from the Iwagakure headband casually hanging around his neck, had no other features that conformed to the characteristics of an Iwagakure ninja.

The golden-haired Deidara opened his mouth: "You Hidden Mist ninja in front, get out of my way! A good dog doesn't block the road!"

Hozuki Suigetsu was dumbfounded: "This guy's mouth is even fouler than mine!"

Zabuza sneered, "You brat, you actually know you have a foul mouth? But that blond guy over there is really arrogant. I really want to cut him down."

Deidara cackled, "The Hidden Mist ninjas have quite the guts, don't they? Want to experience the art of Grandpa Deidara?"

At this moment, following the aura he sensed, he noticed Kimimaro on the roof and immediately mocked, "How strange, the genin representing Konoha is actually from the Kaguya clan of Kirigakure."

"The Hidden Mist Village is truly finished."

With just three sentences, the anger of Zabuza Momochi, Suigetsu Hozuki, and Hai was stirred up, and even Haku felt very uncomfortable.

Deidara truly lives up to his reputation as a provocation expert, a ninja world teddy bear who can defy heaven, earth, and even the air.

The Hidden Mist ninja and the Hidden Stone ninja were on the verge of exchanging blows, which terrified the crowd in the street, who immediately scattered and fled.

However, those who fled were all merchants, nobles, and tourists from other places. The villagers of Konoha simply retreated to a safe distance and then stopped to watch.

They excitedly discussed which ninja was stronger, and even took out various snacks and fruits to share, showing no fear of ninjas from other villages.

This is the source of confidence that Xia Zuo has given to the villagers of the largest ninja village over the past two years by dominating the ninja world and achieving incredible victories.

This confidence was even acknowledged by the ninjas themselves. Even bad-tempered guys like Hozuki Suigetsu, Momochi Zabuza, and Deidara didn't think being surrounded by Konoha villagers was a problem.

Just as Kirigakure and Iwagakure were facing off, another group of ninjas approached along the road.

They parted the crowd and entered the center of the standoff. The lazy ninja in the lead sneered, "The Iwagakure ninjas are still as spineless as ever, always resorting to ganging up on the weak."

Darui, a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village, was mocking the Hidden Stone Village's attack on the Third Raikage. This single sentence stirred up the pain of the Hidden Stone Village ninja and the hatred of the Hidden Cloud Village ninja.

In an instant, the main force in the standoff shifted to the old rivals, Kumogakure and Iwagakure, led by Darui and Deidara. The ninjas unleashed their full power, attempting to overwhelm each other.

Their attention was completely drawn to each other, leaving the four ninjas from Kirigakure standing aside.

Haku breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed Momochi Zabuza, pulled Suigetsu who was frozen like a dog, and led the obedient Hai away from the confrontational atmosphere.

As Deidara and Darui unleashed their full power, the Konoha villagers, who had been watching the spectacle, could no longer hold on and quickly retreated, revealing the painted-face Kankuro and the blonde Temari.

The siblings looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Kankuro asked hesitantly, "Sister, where did Gaara go?"

Temari answered timidly, "I don't know, why are you asking him?"

Kankuro swallowed hard: "That blond Iwagakure ninja is so strong, he's like a monster."

"The white-haired Cloud Village ninja who confronted him was also a monster; they didn't act like genin at all."

"I think we Sand Village ninjas need some monsters to back us up; the two of us aren't enough."

Temari took a deep breath: "Damn it, Gaara is our little brother, he's not a monster."

"But you're right, only Gaara among us is qualified to stand among them."

Behind the siblings were seven or eight Sand Village genin, all pale-faced and even unsteady on their feet, a truly shameful sight.

The confrontation between the two, who were essentially Jonin, was quite striking and quickly attracted the attention of the Konoha ninjas.

However, the Konoha Jonin who arrived did not show up.

Regardless of whether Deidara and Darui are actually Jonin, they are both holding the title of Genin. If the Jonin of Konoha make a move but cannot take down the two Genin instantly, Konoha will lose face big time.

Yamashiro Aoba refrained from cursing, "Iwagakure and Kumogakure are really insidious. They arranged for Jonin to participate in the Chunin Exams."

His friend, Raido Namiashi, laughed and said, "You can't say that. They're all 15 or 6-year-old young men. It's normal for them to be called genin."

"Besides, are our Konoha genin really inferior to them?"

Yamashiro Aoba was taken aback, then remembered those monstrous genin and couldn't help but say, "You're right, our Konoha genin are even stronger."

He pushed up his sunglasses and said with a wry smile, "It's not that Iwagakure and Kumogakure are cheating, it's that we special Jonin are outdated and can't keep up with the times."

The Konoha Jonin did not show up, but their presence still influenced Deidara and Darui.

They sensed powerful auras all around them, and they didn't know how many people were watching them, so the two of them lost the will to fight.

Darui and Deidara were too young; when they represented the village's reputation, they didn't understand that face wasn't important.

The two could only grit their teeth and continue their standoff, unsure how to end it.

At this point, their respective Jonin leaders should step forward, replace the two of them in the standoff, and then skillfully find a way to back down.

The problem is that the Jonin leading the teams from Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure had all gone to the Hokage Building beforehand to register information and coordinate accommodations, and were not in this team.

The only Jonin present was Zabuza Momochi from Kirigakure, a battle maniac who thrived on chaos.

Let alone stepping in to stop the standoff, if Bai hadn't been holding him back, this bastard would have brandished his decapitation sword and charged in to completely escalate the situation.

After more than a decade of turmoil, Kirigakure is now in a very weak state. We must do everything we can to bring down the other three families.

Even just a little bit would be fine.

The Konoha Jonin, sensing the increasingly intense clash of their auras, gradually frowned, but soon relaxed.

On the rooftop on the other side of the road, a black-haired, red-eyed boy suddenly appeared. The single tomoe in his eye spun rapidly, and his sharp pupil power pierced between Deidara and Darui like a spear, severing their confrontation.

The two took the opportunity to step back and looked at the ninja who had intervened.

Darui recognized Sasuke at a glance. He smiled slightly and said, "So you're the famous S-rank rogue ninja, Itachi Uchiha's younger brother. Not bad."

Deidara's reaction was much more intense. His eyes widened abruptly, and he pointed at Sasuke, yelling, "You're that bastard Itachi Uchiha's brother? Damn it, just seeing you makes me angry!"

Upon hearing Deidara's words, Sasuke Uchiha's killing intent erupted instantly, and he immediately asked, "Have you seen that traitor? Where is he?"

Deidara was taken aback by Sasuke's murderous aura. Instead of answering Sasuke's question, he asked, "Why are you asking this? Do you want to kill him?"

Sasuke clenched his fists, his teeth clenched: "Of course we have to kill him! Where is that damned traitor?"

Deidara waved his hand dismissively: "Heh heh, a piece of trash like you thinks you can kill Uchiha Itachi?"

"Forget it, you can't even beat me. And me—ha, I'm no match for him at all."

Deidara's disdain enraged Sasuke, his eyes practically spitting fire as he asked, each word deliberate and forceful, "I'll ask you one last time, where is he?"

Deidara sneered: "You and Itachi Uchiha really are family, neither of you can understand human speech."

"9

"I may not be able to beat Uchiha Itachi, but beating you up would be a piece of cake."

"If you really can't understand human language, then I'll use clay to bring you to your senses."

Suddenly, Sasuke Uchiha had a stack of shuriken in his hand, and he raised his hand to throw them out using the Uchiha-style throwing technique.

Deidara instantly pulled out a lump of white clay from his ninja tool pouch, swallowed it with the mouth in his palm, and prepared for battle.

Just as Sasuke was about to unleash his power, his hand was grabbed.

Immediately, Naruto's face blocked Sasuke's view, and his sunny smile dispelled Sasuke's anger.

Naruto said with a smile, "Junior Brother Sha, you can't just throw your shuriken around like that."

"My teacher, the Fifth Hokage, said that Konoha ninjas cannot start a battle in the village without orders."

Sasuke Uchiha scoffed and turned his head away, ignoring Naruto, but his hand obediently returned the shuriken to his ninja tool pouch.

Sasuke stopped, but Deidara did not.

He spat out the chewed clay with his right hand, and it transformed into little clay birds in his palm.

Deidara chuckled somewhat nervously, "Now that the emotions have built up to this point, how can I stop?"

"Why don't we show everyone my art?"

Just as he grabbed Sasuke's hand and placed it on Deidara's right hand, the leaping arcs of electricity tore apart the clay birds, dispelling the Explosion Release chakra within them and restoring the clay to ordinary clay, only slightly charred in color.

Naruto's face was still the same, but when he looked at Deidara, there was no smile or warmth in his eyes, only a cold, icy demeanor.

He warned in a serious tone, "The Fifth Hokage forbade the Konoha ninjas from initiating battles, but he did not say that counterattacks were forbidden."

"Deidara of Iwagakure, if you attack Konoha ninjas during the exam time and outside the exam hall, you and all the Iwagakure ninjas behind you will die."

"And I guarantee you'll be the first one to die."

Deidara froze for a few seconds, his expression turning extremely ferocious, then suddenly filled with worry. After repeating this several times, he finally relaxed.

Deidara raised his hands, stepped back to Kurotsuchi's side, and said, "Alright, this is Konoha Village, and the Konoha ninjas are in charge here."

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