People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

However, after some time, the pillar of light from Aster did not weaken in the slightest.

On the contrary, Shino suffered from a dull ache in his chakra meridians due to overdrawing his chakra, and the thickness of his insect wall had become extremely thin.

Shino struggled against the pillar of light, attempting to manipulate the parasitic insects to devour some of the chakra within the pillar to reproduce themselves.

However, there was not a trace of chakra in the pillar of light.

"How is this possible? Why is there no chakra?!" Even with sunglasses on, Shino's shocked expression was still evident.

Shion's ability was too effective against the Parasites, leaving Shino with no choice but to admit defeat.

I abstain!

To prevent a scene like what happened between Xiang and Tenten, Gekko Hayate, the chief examiner, hurriedly stopped Shion.

The winner was announced as Shion from Kagerou Village.

Chapter 299 Jiraiya Returns to the Village

The Chunin Exams preliminary rounds have ended.

Three players from Kagero Village, one from Iwagakure Village, and five from Konoha Village advanced to the official tournament.

Because Shion had developed a strong psychological trauma related to parasites, she believed that everyone in Konoha used disgusting ninjutsu.

Therefore, Ziyuan decided not to participate in the upcoming finals.

Because the number of participants was even, the finals still adopted a one-on-one format.

In an effort to save face, Konoha adopted a fair lottery system to determine who would face off against each other.

Each genin who is pre-selected draws a number from a box to determine who will fight.

The final order of the participants was quickly determined.

Iwagakure's Ishiga faces Nara's Shikamaru.

Sasuke versus Neji Hyuga, the genius of Konoha.

Choji Akimichi versus Ino Yamanaka.

Xiang versus Rock Lee.

Hiruzen Sarutobi reappeared on the field as the grand finale.

"Because of some minor incidents, some unexpected things happened during the exam. Konoha apologizes to everyone."

"To allow everyone to showcase their full potential and deliver a powerful performance for the audience, the official competition will be scheduled to begin a month from now, giving everyone ample time to prepare."

"This time is for you to prepare by knowing yourself and your enemy, analyzing the intelligence you obtained about the enemy in the qualifiers, and increasing your chances of winning."

"To ensure fairness and impartiality, everyone can use this month to improve themselves."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished his announcement, everyone dispersed to prepare for the finals a month later.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Under the alternating guidance of Yosuke and Sasuke, Kaori's combat skills and timing have greatly improved.

Inside the Hokage Building office.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was extremely excited.

"Jiraiya, you're finally back!"

Standing in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi was Jiraiya, who looked extremely tired.

"I came here this time because I have information that I must personally report to the Hokage."

Hearing this unfamiliar address, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked dejected: "Jiraiya, you still haven't forgiven me?"

Jiraiya's expression was complicated, but he still hardened his heart and said, "It's not a matter of forgiveness or not; what I'm loyal to is Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply: "Jiraiya, if it's information that requires your personal reporting, it must be very important to Konoha."

Jiraiya nodded seriously: "That's right, this information is too shocking. When I first heard about it, I thought it was impossible. But as we searched for more evidence and ruled out all the possibilities, even if we couldn't believe it, we had to admit the truth."

"What is it?"

"Madara Uchiha is confirmed to be alive!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened, and he frowned, saying, "How is this possible? Could it be that the masked man who claimed to be Madara Uchiha during the Nine-Tails' attack was really him?!"

"No! That masked man is fake. He is not Uchiha Madara. However, the real Uchiha Madara is next to that masked man. Come to think of it, he is one of Uchiha Madara's subordinates."

Hiruzen Sarutobi still found it too unbelievable: "Is it really true?!"

"It's true! When I was collecting materials in the Land of Birds, I sensed two powerful forces fighting. I secretly followed them to investigate and discovered that Madara Uchiha was fighting Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwagakure."

The Mangekyou Sharingan, the Uchiha clan crest, the flaming fan, and the resemblance to the statue at the Valley of the End—all these characteristics point to him as Uchiha Madara.

The information was so shocking that Hiruzen Sarutobi kept smoking to calm himself down.

Jiraiya continued, "I heard that Konoha is holding the joint Chunin Exams. I'm worried about Konoha, so I came here in person to report this information."

Hiruzen Sarutobi guessed, "You mean, Madara Uchiha will attack Konoha?"

"It's just speculation. Judging from Madara Uchiha's actions, he should be collecting the Tailed Beasts right now, but Konoha no longer has any Jinchuriki, so I'm not sure if he will attack Konoha."

Just thinking about Naruto makes Hiruzen Sarutobi feel a pang of heartache.

As the symbol of a great ninja village, it has no Jinchūriki, and the Jinchūriki is seeking revenge against Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt incredibly bitter.

Naruto Uzumaki, Madara Uchiha, and the neighboring Sand Village, which is like a pack of wolves.

Why does Konoha have so many enemies?

Not only are there many enemies, but their strength has not kept up at all.

At that time, the four major ninja villages launched an attack on Konoha at the same time, and Konoha had already lost many ninjas.

They finally wanted to hold a joint Chunin Exam to revive Konoha's economy.

However, judging from the situation, the Konoha genin are no match for Uchiha Sasuke and Kaori.

In this way, the real beneficiary of this joint Chunin Exams was actually Iwagakure.

Because now the entire ninja world believes that Kagero Village and Iwagakure Village are in cahoots.

If Konoha's genin are utterly defeated by Sasuke and Kaori in the finals, the daimyo from various countries who have come to witness the event may be disappointed in Konoha and instead assign the mission orders to Iwagakure.

If we don't find a solution, this will only benefit Iwagakure.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sincerely said to Jiraiya, "Jiraiya, the situation in Konoha is very bad right now. I hope you can stay and help me."

Looking at his mentor, Jiraiya finally couldn't bear it: "How do you want me to help you?"

"In this Chunin Exam, we absolutely cannot allow Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Kaori of Kagero Village to win by overwhelming force. At the very least, we must ensure that Hyuga Neji and Rock Lee, who are fighting against them, are evenly matched and can hold out for a while."

Jiraiya guessed Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts: "You mean you want me to give Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee special training?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

Jiraiya asked, "How much difference is there in strength between the two sides?"

"Uchiha Sasuke definitely has the strength of a Jonin, and he possesses the three-tomoe Sharingan and swordsmanship with speed like lightning. He fought Kakashi in the Forest of Death, and may even have the strength of an elite Jonin."

Kaori Uzumaki's strength is roughly equivalent to that of a Special Jonin, but she lacks combat experience. She also possesses agile swordsmanship and knows the Uzumaki clan's sealing technique, the Adamantine Sealing Technique.

"Neji Hyuga has the strength of an elite Chunin, and Rock Lee, when he opens the Eight Gates, also has the strength of an elite Chunin, or even a special Jonin."

Jiraiya's eyes widened at Hiruzen Sarutobi's description: "Just how high is the bar for genin these days? The lowest level is at least an elite chunin, and Uchiha Sasuke is an elite jonin, yet he's still a genin?"

"Jiraiya, I know that only three weeks left is tight, but at least we must prevent them from losing too badly. We need to save face for Konoha."

Jiraiya looked conflicted, but finally agreed.

"I'll give it a try."

Chapter 300 Guiding Sasuke

Jiraiya's promise to give special training to Hyuga Neji and Rock Lee eased Hiruzen Sarutobi's anxiety somewhat.

Although Jiraiya is always carefree and irresponsible, he is quite reliable when it comes to serious matters.

The master and apprentice were finally able to sit down and have a proper chat, and Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to tell Jiraiya his thoughts that he had been keeping up with lately.

"Jiraiya, have you ever met Tsunade?"

Jiraiya shook his head and said, "I met Tsunade when I was collecting folk songs in the Land of Rivers, but I haven't heard from her since we parted ways."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said solemnly, "Jiraiya, I want to choose between you and Tsunade to succeed as the Fifth Hokage."

When Jiraiya heard Hiruzen Sarutobi bring up the matter again, his expression turned grim.

“I know you and Tsunade hate Danzo very much. I’ve thought about it too. Our era is over. Danzo and I have indeed done too many things that have brought shame to Konoha. So I plan to abolish Root and its advisors while I’m still able to do it, and reorganize the power of the Hokage so that when you or Tsunade succeed to the position, there will be no obstacles.”

Upon hearing that Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to abolish Root, Jiraiya's expression softened slightly.

"Old man, will Danzo agree? And those two advisors won't just stand by and watch their power be taken away, will they?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, "Right now, it's really hard for me to do this on my own, so I need your help and Tsunade's help. Konoha needs a revolution to bring new life to the withered branches and leaves. Are you willing to help me, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya still deeply loved Konoha, and solemnly said, "I do, old man."

Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Jiraiya on the shoulder: "It's great to have your support."

"Old man, I am a ronin and am not suitable to be Hokage, so bring Tsunade back now. I believe she will understand you once she knows."

"But I don't know where Tsunade is."

"I heard that a gambling tournament is about to be held in Tanabata Street, not far from Konoha. Given Tsunade's gambling addiction, she definitely won't miss this opportunity."

Hiruzen Sarutobi also felt that Tsunade, given her personality, would probably go: "Then I'll send people to search for her immediately!"

Jiraiya stopped him, saying, "No need, I'll go myself and give Hyuga Neji and Rock Lee special training while I'm at it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded: "That's fine then. When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow, let the two little ones get ready, and then I have to meet someone else."

...