Naruto: Konoha Spring of the Uchiha Prodigies

"Lord Sasuke, why don't you just tell us what you need us to do?" The captain of the Kirigakure squad said with a fawning smile.

For these Kirigakure genin, if it was Sasuke's order, then disobeying Takagi Seiman's order wouldn't be a big deal. Every ninja in Southern Kirigakure knew who was in charge of their village.

“Very good.” Sasuke nodded. “Then, the three of you can come with us tomorrow.”

"We will follow your instructions," the three Hidden Mist Villagers said.

Compared to Sasuke's side, Kurotsuchi's operation to find the tools of the Land of Rain was not so smooth. First of all, compared to the ninjas of the Southern Mist Village who would kneel down at the sight of Sharingan, the ninjas of the Land of Rain were much more principled. Kurotsuchi's team had to put in a lot of effort to subdue them.

Furthermore, after Heitu proposed cooperation, the other party did not fully trust him. It took Heitu a lot of effort and even a short knife they had found before he barely gained their trust.

……

Sasuke, with the Hidden Mist team he had found, reunited with Shikamaru and the others who had gone to the meeting point to make battle arrangements before nightfall.

"How's it going? Is everything arranged? How many people are there?" Sasuke asked.

"Seven squads rushed over after receiving the message. The strongest of them is the squad led by Sarutobi Konosuke, who was in the same class as Neji. The other squads are also quite strong. They have no objections to your plan. They will ambush at the edge of the safe zone tomorrow after it refreshes, waiting for your signal. I have also arranged the specific battle plan. After receiving the signal, they will launch an attack from two directions into the safe zone."

"I understand." Sasuke nodded, then looked at the others. "Let's all get some rest today. There's a tough battle waiting for us tomorrow. This battle could very well be a preview of the wars we might encounter in the future, so we need to gather as much intelligence as possible while securing victory."

"Understood." The rest of the group nodded in unison.

……

Chapter 209 Internal Strife in Yunyin

As the night passed, the information about the shrinking safe zone was sent to the wristbands of the candidates who were still alive in the venue early the next morning.

At this time, the teams that Konoha and Iwagakure had agreed to cooperate also arrived at the previously agreed location.

"So, if everything goes smoothly, we'll be the ones advancing to the third round of the Chunin Exams, right?" Sasuke asked with a smile after glancing at the people Kurotsuchi had brought.

“That’s right, if everything goes smoothly.” Kurotsuchi nodded and said with a smile.

Just as the group patiently waited for the safe zone to refresh again, the remaining seven Cloud Hidden Squads in the examination room gathered together at the edge of the current safe zone.

“According to the current intelligence, Konoha and Iwagakure’s strongest teams have reached an agreement.” Omoi chewed the lollipop in his mouth, then took out the stick and drew a simple map on the ground. “They want to exclude Kumogakure from the third round, so the second safe zone next time probably won’t be so easy for us to enter.”

"So, what are you planning to do?" At this moment, the captain of the Cloud Village squad, which consisted entirely of white people, asked.

“We must cooperate to break their blockade,” Omoi said after taking a deep breath.

“We have no objection to cooperation, but who should command the subsequent battles?” the white genin asked.

“The Omoi squad is the strongest among us, so naturally he should be in command,” said a dark-skinned Cloud Village genin.

Upon hearing this, the three white squads of Cloud Village genin who were gathered together immediately showed strange expressions. The white captain who had spoken earlier directly refused, saying, "If that's the case, our squad should break out on its own."

“That’s right. If you’re in command, who knows if you’ll sabotage us during the battle?” At this moment, the captain of another white squad spoke up.

"What kind of time is this! Are you still thinking about this kind of thing? This concerns the honor of our Hidden Cloud Village! Do you want the other ninja villages to laugh at us?" A black man behind Omoi said angrily.

“Hmph, don’t try to use that as a pretext to blackmail us,” the white captain said. “You black people only give us the most dangerous missions, then watch us die and reap the rewards. Don’t our white lives matter?”

“I really don’t have that idea. If you think you can, we can follow your orders!” Omoi said through gritted teeth.

"Heh, that's easy for you to say. When have you noble blacks ever been willing to take orders from us whites?" the white ninja said with a dry laugh.

"Hehe, the ninjas of Kumogakure are really interesting. How can they still fight amongst themselves under these circumstances?" Onoki couldn't help but laugh as he watched the two groups of people wearing the same headbands arguing loudly in the surveillance footage.

Uchiha Touko watched this scene with great interest. It seemed that the White Zetsu's actions in the Land of Lightning over the past two years had achieved far more results than he had expected. After all, according to his estimation, the conflict between the Black and White factions in Kumogakure would at most remain in a state of fighting without breaking down. However, he did not expect that their genin would actually tear off their mask in such a setting as the Chunin Exams.

"Damn it, these guys, even at a time like this, they're still thinking about these pointless tricks!" Ai gritted his teeth at this moment.

Ever since that rapper named Chris Light corrupted Killer Bee, the black-white divide in the Land of Lightning has been like a runaway horse. The underground rap scene in the Land of Lightning has been constantly producing content that antagonizes races, and it has been repeatedly banned but not stopped. White people have also begun to gather to fight against this trend, and this evil wind has even reached their Cloud Village.

The white ninjas in the village also began to spontaneously band together and even shouted the slogan that they needed a white Raikage. If it weren't for the fact that A's strength was still the undisputed number one in their Hidden Cloud Village, they would probably have already started plotting a coup.

However, A didn't have a good solution for this situation. It was different from the situation with the Uchiha clan in Konoha. No matter how strong the Uchiha clan was, they couldn't possibly have half the power of Konoha. But in Kumogakure, the number of white ninjas made up half of all the ninjas. They couldn't just kill them all, could they?

Therefore, over the years, A has had to relinquish some power to the white ninja representatives in the village in order to barely maintain the superficial harmony of Kumogakure. But unexpectedly, these white genin dared to play this trick in the Chunin Exams.

The group that Omoi had painstakingly assembled quickly broke up on bad terms. After the new safe zone was refreshed, the black and white members of the Cloud Village went in two distinct directions.

……

"Although there are some discrepancies, the latest safe zone is still roughly within our previous estimates." After receiving the new safe zone information, Shikamaru glanced at the map projected on his bracelet and said, "Except for traps numbered 9, 13, 14, and 21, all the other traps will work."

“Alright, let’s go,” Sasuke nodded. “Be careful to conserve your energy during the battle. If you encounter a tough opponent, it’s okay to send one or two small teams into the circle.”

"I'm all set for a big fight, so it's not good to be saying such discouraging things now, right, Akamaru?" Kiba Inuzuka said, rubbing his hands together, eager to get started.

"Woof!" Akamaru, perched atop Kiba Inuzuka's head, barked in agreement.

"Then let's have a youthful competition and see who can defeat the most enemies!" Xiao Li said energetically.

"That has to be me!" Naruto said with a smile, rubbing his fist.

"Karin, you'll work with the reconnaissance team. Once you spot the enemy, inform us immediately using Ino's secret technique. Shino, Kiba, Sakura, and Lee, the four of you, along with Choji and me, will each guard one of the six key passes," Shikamaru said, taking over command of the battle. "Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji, the three of you will escort our ambush troops to their designated locations first, and then serve as a support team, ready to provide assistance at any time."

"Lord Sasuke, what about us?" At this moment, three Kirigakure genin who had been following the group for almost a night asked timidly, raising their hands.

"The three of you will stay in the area where Trap Number 4 is located. If you encounter an opponent you feel you can't handle, I'll allow you to retreat immediately," Sasuke said after glancing at the three of them.

"understand!"

……

Chapter 210 The Melee Begins

As the second circle shift began today, the safe zone slowly moved, and the remaining teams in the arena began to gather together.

"They're here." Hinata, who was in charge of reconnaissance, immediately spotted the nine ninjas rushing towards them with her Byakugan. "They're all wearing Kumogakure headbands."

"So it seems the Hidden Cloud Village has also joined forces?" Shikamaru's voice rang in everyone's ears through the Yamanaka clan's secret technique. "But why are there only nine people? Does the Hidden Cloud Village only have three teams left?"

"Never mind that for now. Kiba and I will lure them towards Trap 8. You guys be ready to provide support." Shino said, raising his hands and sending a swarm of insects flying out of his sleeves.

"Understood, Sakura. Go to the nearby trap number 6 and prepare to detonate the explosive tag. Choji, go to the west cave and wait for orders—remember to put away the potato chip bag."

"Understood." The two voices came through the channel.

"Naruto, you're closest to them. Once they're in the trap, the main battle will be yours. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata will assist you. Try to take them down within three minutes," Shikamaru said, sketching on the map.

"Three minutes is enough for me to take them all out," Naruto said, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"Don't underestimate them. This could very well be just an advance team from the Cloud Village. We must take care of this Cloud Village team as quickly as possible."

"Understood," Naruto said.

As the three teams of white ninja from Kumogakure rapidly advanced into the safe zone, a swarm of insects, darkening the sky, surged forth from the surrounding dense forest. The sunlight, already somewhat blocked by the forest, was completely obscured by the insects.

"Get out of the way!" Each of the three Cloud Village squads formed hand seals, attempting to use lightning release to drive away the terrifying swarm of insects.

"Lightning Release? Then let's try out the effects of the half-finished Lightning-Eating Insects that the clan cultivated using the Hokage's Lightning Release chakra."

For insects, the high temperature of Fire Release or the explosion of Lightning Release should be fear etched into their DNA. However, the swarm of insects released by Shino became as excited as if they had seen food when they saw the Lightning Release ninjutsu released by the Cloud Village genin. They pounced on it and devoured the Lightning Release ninjutsu as soon as it took shape.

"This... how is this possible?" The Cloud Village genin, whose ninjutsu had been absorbed, looked on in disbelief. The current situation was clearly beyond his comprehension.

"It seems the problem isn't with the family's training methods, but rather that the Hokage and Kakashi's Lightning Release chakra is too unique," Shino muttered to himself after sensing the message transmitted back by the insect.

As one of the core families of Uchiha Toko's interest group, the Aburame family was aware of some of Uchiha Toko's long-term plans. Knowing that a war would be fought in the future, they had already begun research on insects using Lightning Release and Earth Release chakra against Kumogakure and Iwagakure.

The cultivation of insects targeting Earth Release chakra is progressing very smoothly. When a member of the Aburame clan's insect master has sufficient supplies, the Rock-Eating Insects he releases are able to directly destroy a combined Earth Release technique released by a ten-person Iwagakure Allied Ninja Team. This is the result of a secret test on the battlefield of the Takigakure conflict.

However, things didn't go so smoothly with Lightning Release. Compared to Earth Release, Konoha had far fewer Lightning Release ninjas. Apart from the current top two figures in Konoha, there weren't even double-digit numbers of Jonin skilled in Lightning Release. Therefore, the experimental materials used by the Aburame clan to cultivate Lightning Insects were always provided by Uchiha Tokō and Kakashi.

The results of the experiment were self-evident. Uchiha Tokō's Lightning Release chakra had long been intertwined with natural energy. Even if the insects raised by the Aburame clan could withstand the power of Lightning Release chakra, they would be corroded by natural energy. As for Kakashi's chakra, after learning Uchiha Tokō's training methods, the lightning he created with his Lightning Release chakra had begun to resemble the lightning properties of nature. The Lightning-Eating Insects raised by the Aburame clan could consume the chakra within them, but they could not withstand the physical properties of this lightning.

However, when facing the ninjas of Kumogakure, the insects cultivated by the Aburame clan, which cost a huge amount of research funds every year, finally showed their true strength.

"Damn it, use swordsmanship!" Surrounded by the swarm of insects, the Cloud Village genin gritted his teeth and drew his sword. He swung it so hard that water couldn't get through, and only then did he barely manage to carve a path through the overwhelming swarm of insects. However, before they could get very far, a white whirlwind came crashing down on them.

"Fang fang!"

The Cloud Village members, who had just survived the ordeal, were caught off guard and hit by this move. The white-haired Cloud Village leader was knocked back several meters away. Although he was tough and resilient due to years of physical training, the attack did not cause much real damage. However, after he stopped, a small dog was still clinging to his butt.

"Akamaru, let go, we should go!" At this moment, Kiba Inuzuka also appeared, caught Akamaru who fell from the other's buttocks, and then ran away.

"Damn Konoha ninja!" Veins bulged on the forehead of the Cloud Village ninja. Kiba Inuzuka's attack didn't do much damage, but it was extremely humiliating. If the villagers knew that he had been bitten on the butt by a dog during a mission, would he still be able to hold his head up in the village?

"Chase after him!" The ninja who had been bitten on the buttocks shouted, ignoring the bleeding wound, and then drew his sword to catch up with Kiba Inuzuka.

"They seem angry," Kiba Inuzuka said gleefully over the channel. "Naruto, get ready!"

After saying that, Kiba Inuzuka formed a hand seal, and in an instant, his figure split into six, running off in different directions.

After the instructor of Team 8 was changed from Kurenai Yuhi to Shisui Uchiha, the strength of Team 8 became much stronger than in the original timeline. After all, the arrangement of Kurenai Yuhi, a ninja specializing in genjutsu, to lead the reconnaissance team was more out of the Third Hokage's idea of ​​paving the way for his own son. After all, everyone could see that Kurenai Yuhi couldn't teach the three of them anything.

After Shisui became their teacher, the three of them were Shisui's first group of disciples, and Shisui devoted himself to teaching them.

The first ninjutsu Shisui taught them wasn't a powerful technique, but rather an escape method.

After all, as a reconnaissance squad, bringing back the intelligence they obtained alive is far more important than inflicting casualties on the enemy.

Therefore, Shisui simplified his signature Body Flicker Technique and taught it to them. Now, Kiba Inuzuka, who used this technique, really caused great trouble for the pursuing Cloud Village.

“The amount of chakra hasn’t decreased, so it’s not a shadow clone.” The Cloud Village ninja, while keeping a close eye on Kiba Inuzuka, quickly calculated in his mind, “But which one is the real body? Why do all six of them look like the real body?”

"Captain, what should we do? Should we split up and chase them?" A Cloud Village member threw a string of shuriken at one of Kiba Inuzuka's figures, but the opponent easily dodged them, and asked.

"No? We can't split up. The enemy's situation is unclear. If we rashly split up, we might be picked off one by one." Although Kiba Inuzuka was furious and wanted to tear him and his dog to pieces right now, he still maintained his basic composure.

"The enemy has entered the trap's range," Hinata said, who had been observing the situation with her Byakugan activated.

"Sakura!" Shikamaru shouted.

"Understood!" Upon hearing Shikamaru's command, Sakura divided her chakra into portions and precisely injected them into the remote detonation technique of the explosive tags in front of her.

A series of explosions rang out around them. They hurriedly dodged, but found that no matter how they dodged, they could not escape the range of the explosive tags. They could only rely on their ninjutsu to withstand the damage.

At this moment, the chakra injected into each of Sakura's techniques was just enough to detonate the explosive tags. There were nearly a hundred long-range detonation techniques in front of Sakura. The detonation sequence of each technique was carefully designed by Shikamaru in advance. If it were anyone else, it would take at least three people to make the trap work perfectly. But Sakura managed to complete the task with her precise control and super memory.

"Sakura is amazing!" Ino couldn't help but exclaim in the channel.

"Hehe, this level of procedure is nothing compared to complex surgery," Sakura said with a dry laugh.

"Naruto, you can go and clean up the mess now. Choji, you stay where you are. If there are any survivors, you're in charge of dealing with them."

"Yes!"

"Finally, it's my turn!" Naruto, who had been waiting for a long time at the top of a big tree, finally heard Shikamaru's order for him to attack. After rubbing his wrists, he looked down at the area shrouded in smoke and dust from the explosion and shouted, "Kurama-nii-san, lend me some chakra!"