Naruto: The Shadow Lord of the Nara Clan

However, his serious expression did not indicate deep fear.

Although he was under the illusion spell, he ultimately won within the illusionary world.

Of course, Shikakage knew very well that Itachi had not used his full strength. He did not use the Mangekyou Sharingan or genjutsu, but only used fire jutsu and taijutsu.

But did he ever give it his all?

Twenty shadow soldiers, hidden in the shadows, were always waiting for his orders.

However, despite his words, Lu Ying felt that it was still unrealistic for him to take down Itachi at the moment.

His sparring with Itachi made him realize that his fighting methods were still too monotonous.

Putting everything else aside, at the very least, one should have the physical skills to compete on the table.

Thinking about this, Lu Ying felt that she should devise a suitable physical technique.

Based on his memories from his previous life, the Eight Gates Formation and the Leaf Village Dragon God were excellent choices.

As for the fact that he seemed to have little resistance to illusions, Lu Ying was not worried at all.

Because he could sense that the Absolute Adaptability was at work.

In simple terms, it means that every time an illusion is used on him, his [Illusion Resistance] will increase by 1.

Once the numerical values ​​are stacked up, even Infinite Tsukuyomi will just be pretty moonlight to him.

With her wandering thoughts cleared, Lu Ying began to ponder the task of the Dark Division assessment.

There's still a week left in the Chunin Exams. Although he doesn't think anyone can threaten him in the exams, the stronger the better.

"Take this time to improve your ninjutsu proficiency."

"Also, upgrade the Shadow Soldiers."

……

Time flies.

A week later, the Chunin Exams, jointly organized by Konoha and Sunagakure, were held as scheduled.

Because the war had only ended a few years prior, this Chunin Exams were exceptionally lively.

The entire village was in an uproar, as if it were a reaction to the oppressive atmosphere of previous years.

However, beneath this seemingly prosperous surface lies a great deal of filth and darkness.

Sarutobi Hiko stood on the rooftop of the Hokage Building, overlooking the entire Konoha Village, which was filled with a festive atmosphere, but there was no joy on her face.

The general public may not be aware of the current state of the ninja world, but how could he not be?

For this Chunin Exam, he invited the four major villages of the ninja world as well as many smaller ninja villages, but only Sunagakure and a few ninja villages that had suffered less damage in the war were present.

It's important to know that during Hashirama Senju's tenure in Konoha, the four major villages actively participated in the Chunin Exams, and being slow to participate was considered a disrespect to Konoha.

Looking at it now, Konoha is no longer as glorious as it once was.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed helplessly, putting all these irrelevant thoughts aside, and began to face the current situation squarely.

Three years ago, the Hidden Cloud Village attacked the Hidden Leaf Village in an attempt to steal the Hyuga bloodline, but they were discovered and their pretense of civility was shattered.

Hiruzen Sarutobi used a policy of appeasement to ease the situation, which obviously made Kumogakure look down on Konoha even more, and now no one is coming to participate in the Chunin Exams.

No fewer than 10,000 people died in the Third Shinobi World War, and now they are hiding in a corner, licking their wounds and guarding against an attack from the Cloud Village.

It's understandable that they didn't send Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The relationship between Kirigakure and Konoha has gradually deteriorated in recent years, and even when they wanted to send ninjas to participate in the Chunin Exams, Hiruzen Sarutobi disagreed.

The fact that it was Sunagakure surprised him.

The commission from the Land of Wind was handed over to Konoha, and now Sunagakure can only survive by eating sand.

Under these circumstances, they actually agreed to Konoha's request and jointly held the Chunin Exams, willingly becoming supporting characters.

This gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a completely new understanding of the Fourth Kazekage.

He's either an extremely patient and ruthless leader, or a politically clueless fool.

Thinking of the other small ninja villages besides the five great villages, Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.

Although it's a pity that we couldn't gather all five villages, we shouldn't underestimate them.

"This Chunin Exam must demonstrate Konoha's strength and deter any forces lurking in the shadows!"

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's head began to throb again.

— I hope Danzo will act with discretion.

But soon, his mind cleared up again.

—According to Itachi's description, Shikakage is even more outstanding than I imagined. I wonder how he will perform in this Chunin Exams…

He was really looking forward to Lu Ying giving him a big surprise.

What is Shikakage doing right now, whom Hiruzen Sarutobi can't forget?

He was staring intently at the system panel, took a deep breath, and then opened today's random box.

His luck has been terrible for a long time.

A few days ago, he received a temporary lucky buff that only lasted for three seconds.

He decided to start it on the day of the Chunin Exams, just to get a little good luck.

As a purple light flashed, Lu Ying's eyes widened in surprise.

"Finally, something useful!"

"That feels so good!"

He quickly opened the system inventory and focused his gaze on a weapon that was glowing with a purple light.

[Item: Kassadin's Venomous Fang]

[Type: Weapon • Kunai]

[Attribute: Attack Power +20]

【Effect ①: Bleeding (Damage equal to 1% of current health per second for 30 seconds)】

【Effect 2: Weakness (5% chance to reduce enemy's attributes by 20%)

Lu Ying couldn't wait to summon [Kassaka's Venomous Fang]. He played with the dark green kunai, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes.

20 points of attack power is equivalent to leveling up several times, or the total daily quest attribute reward for seven days!

The two additional effects are extremely useful: percentage-based forced health loss and weakness allow him to easily gain the upper hand in battle!

If he remembered correctly, [Kasaka's Fang] should be a short blade.

Perhaps to suit his ninja identity, he changed his short blade into a kunai.

I must say, this change is excellent.

He likes to play with kunai.

More importantly, this is a system item.

Relying on his ability to enter and exit the system's warehouse at any time, he can make the most of this weapon.

Satisfied, Lu Ying put the [Kasaka Fang] into the system warehouse and went to Lu Jiu's study.

Lu Jiu seemed to have known he would come, so before Lu Ying could ask, he took out a thick stack of banknotes.

"Here, it's already prepared for you."

Lu Jiu rolled her eyes at him and pushed the banknotes over.

This represents nearly a third of the profits of the Deer Management Bureau and the Nara Research Institute during this period.

Lu Ying accepted the stacks of banknotes without hesitation, and said with a grin:

"May you be happy and prosperous!"

"Alright, alright, get ready for the exam."

Lu Jiu patted Lu Ying on the shoulder and said seriously:

"The Hokage values ​​this exam highly. Given the status of our Nara clan, as long as you don't make any mistakes, our plans..."

Lu Ying knew exactly what he was talking about, and he revealed a confident smile:

Don't worry.