Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 563 Defending the Throne, Just a Cat or a Dog~

This so-called Amegakure Jonin Pain was, of course, the new identity that Nagato had disguised.

The name was, of course, the work of that quirky guy, Kenkawa Tachibana.

Nagato was understandably upset to see Rasa showing such disrespect to his friend.

However, what Luo Sha said wasn't entirely wrong.

The fact that you, the Kage, have come to the Land of Rain amidst your busy schedules is not to attend any ribbon-cutting ceremony. The important thing is to quickly select the commander of the peacekeeping force.

Upon seeing this, Yahiko first subtly gave Nagato a wink, then, still smiling, addressed the five Kage present.

"Then please come to the training ground first."

Unlike the previous Chunin Exams.

Ultimately, the selection of the commander of the peacekeeping force was an internal matter for this joint force, and it had no performance or propaganda nature.

Therefore, there was naturally no special selection venue or outside attention.

Of course, it is also necessary to establish the prestige of the future commanders of this unit in advance so that they can better command this complex force later on.

Therefore, the ninjas sent by each of the six families were the only 'spectators' present.

Instead, the battleground was arbitrarily chosen to be a huge training ground allocated next to the headquarters of the peacekeeping force.

Similarly, since there is no need to consider aesthetics, the selection process is quite simple.

"Gentlemen of the peacekeeping force, there is only one selection rule this time."

"One-on-one defense!"

"From this moment forward, any member of the maintenance force belonging to one of the five great ninja villages present here, as long as they are confident in their abilities, may voluntarily stand in the center of the training ground to accept the challenge. Whoever defeats all opponents and achieves final victory will automatically become the first commander-in-chief of this force!"

Although Amegakure was allowed to join the peacekeeping force this time, she did not participate in the struggle for the power of the overall commander.

Therefore, after saying these words, Yahiko, as the host and emcee, stepped back to make room for everyone.

In fact, although Yahiko said that all members of the maintenance forces of the five great ninja villages present could compete for the position of commander-in-chief.

However, in reality, the candidates who were truly qualified to compete for the position were already determined when the selection process took place within each village.

At most, we would just prepare one or two more backup options, just in case.

So even though the rules allow for a series of battles, the five great ninja villages wouldn't actually do that for the sake of their reputation.

As the five village leaders took their seats, Tachibana Kenkawa looked at the ninjas sent by each village.

Apart from the Chunin and Genin who were destined to be just ordinary team members, each village basically only sent three to four Jonin.

Among them are Kisame Hoshigaki from Kirigakure, Troy from Kumogakure, Yotsuchi from Iwagakure, and Tachibana from Sunagakure—a puppeteer whose name is still unknown to Tachibana, who accompanied Rasa to the Five Kage Summit last time.

And Uchiha Fugaku of Konoha.

This is likely the true candidate vying for the position of commander-in-chief this time.

Yes.

Although Tachibana Kenkawa had previously told Fugaku Uchiha that there was no need to abandon the reorganization work within the Uchiha clan just to help the peacekeeping forces.

However, it's unclear how Fugaku Uchiha managed to persuade the Konoha leadership.

He was once again among the personnel selected by Konoha to join the peacekeeping force.

When Jianchuan Ju learned of this later, she did not choose to continue trying to persuade him.

As long as there are no major problems, he doesn't bother to stifle his subordinates' initiative.

However, just as Tachibana was thinking about whether to subtly signal Kisame Hoshigaki to go first and end this boring competition as soon as possible.

Among the Konoha crowd, one person stepped forward and slowly walked towards the center of the training ground.

However, this person was not Uchiha Fugaku, who was standing at the forefront of the Konoha forces.

Instead, he was a thin, middle-aged man who looked to be about forty or fifty years old, carrying an iron pot on his back.

"They actually sent this guy out? Konoha's really going all out!"

When he casually glanced around earlier, Tachibana Kenkawa hadn't noticed this person.

But when he stepped out of the crowd, the large iron pot behind him was so eye-catching that it was hard not to leave a deep impression on people.

"I am Maru Seikosuke. Although my strength is only average, I should be able to offer some basic advice to you gentlemen."

Indeed, the Konoha ninja carrying an iron pot who walked out at this moment could not possibly be the legendary "Pot Shadow" Shimura Danzo.

Instead, it was another legend, the representative of Konoha's eternal genin, Maruboshi Kosuke.

In the original work, he was clearly one of the top-tier Jonin, but because he had caused the death of his teammate when he was young, he was filled with remorse and was willing to remain a Genin for the rest of his life.

Unexpectedly, he was also persuaded by Minato Namikaze to join the peacekeeping force.

"So, being the commander of the peacekeeping force doesn't count as a promotion?"

While Tachibana Kenkawa silently complained in his heart, many people also cast questioning glances at Kosuke Maruhoshi.

In fact, more than a decade ago, Kosuke Maruboshi was ordered by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, to only accept genin-level missions.

Therefore, even most of the ninjas on Konoha's side were unaware of his true strength.

A murmur of whispers immediately filled the room.

The burly man standing at the very front of the Sunagakure group, whose name is still unknown, may have heard the Konoha ninjas repeatedly mentioning the word "genin".

With a disdainful expression, he carried the puppet on his back and strode towards Maruboshi Kosuke in the center of the training field.

"Are all the genin in Konoha this unruly? Old man, this commander's position isn't something just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can compete for!"

As he spoke, the burly man slowly unwrapped the huge puppet behind him that was wrapped in bandages.

With a loud bang, it slammed heavily onto the ground.

The not-so-solid dirt ground of the training ground was instantly smashed into a small crater by the strange puppet standing in front of him.

As the bandages binding the puppet slowly came loose, a slightly bulky black humanoid puppet was exposed to everyone without any reservation.

Logically speaking, puppeteers would usually choose to make puppets from lightweight wooden materials in order to make them more controllable.

However, this person's puppet also has a wood-like texture on its surface.

But no matter how you look at it, it has nothing to do with being lightweight.

Both the man and the puppet from Sunagakure have a solid and robust style.

This contrasted sharply with the somewhat thin and frail-looking Kosuke Maruboshi in the distance.

However, despite the man's merciless mockery and the strange, oppressive puppet, Maruhoshi Kosuke's face remained smiling, showing no sign of fear or hesitation.

"Since the rule is that everyone can run for election, then this old man is certainly qualified as well."

"As for whether it's just any Tom, Dick, or Harry, you'll have to test that yourself."

(End of this chapter)