Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

Therefore, he was in a very good mood during this period.

Although he was puzzled as to why Feng Hua Zaoxue had lingered in the capital of the Fire Kingdom for so long without going to pick up her daughter or mentioning returning home, he was still puzzled.

After all, he had already visited all five bigwigs of the Land of Fire—the Five Commissioners… Perhaps he felt that the country was still not safe?

The emperor did not delve into this detail.

However, after seeing the letter from Konoha...

"This letter is so abrupt and makes no sense... It's not like it's a holiday or celebration..."

Although the daimyo of the Land of Fire loves glory and pride, he hates trouble, especially large-scale events like this one that are completely unexpected.

Seeing the daimyo's displeasure, some eunuchs who had always been at odds with Konoha seized the opportunity to speak up: "Your Highness, this is a great opportunity to demonstrate Konoha's strength! It is also the glory of our Land of Fire!"

The daimyo of the Land of Fire grew increasingly grim.

Just then, the elder stepped forward and rebuked, "The Leaf Village has been going too far lately! They keep making trouble, showing no respect whatsoever for a ninja village!"

"Konoha is to the Land of Fire what fish are in a pond. A pond can exist without fish and shrimp, but fish and shrimp cannot exist without a pond!"

"If we impose an economic blockade on Konoha, Konoha will collapse very soon!"

Although Lao Zhong had retired, due to his seniority and status, he could still freely enter and leave the Forbidden City and was even more trusted by the daimyo.

After the old man spoke, Kazama Sayasu quickly chimed in, "Konoha has really gone too far lately, becoming increasingly arrogant! Even if my brother is wrong, he's still my brother."

“Even if he has to be executed, it should be my decision. They… have gone too far! They don’t give him any dignity at all!” The daimyo’s expression softened slightly.

"Everyone!"

"No need for that...no need for that...Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, is, in my opinion, a fine young woman. I've met her before..."

"Upon careful consideration, I recall that many years ago there was an imperial trial to select the strongest warrior."

Now that times have changed... the five major powers are now living in peace and prosperity, so why not restart this activity?

Fallen leaves carry messages on the wind.

As various pieces of information circulated in the world, they naturally reached the ears of the Akatsuki organization.

Naturally, Nagato summoned everyone again to discuss the matter.

"Ignore them, let them fight it out." But unlike before, Nagato made his stance clear at the very beginning of the meeting—the Akatsuki would not get involved.

Sasori of the Red Sand, Kakuzu, and Orochimaru all had no objection to this.

Only substitute member Feng Hua Nu Tao was extremely dissatisfied.

"Chief...why?"

"The fact that Konoha has caused such a big disturbance this time is the best opportunity for us!"

"And the man I mentioned to you before, named Hiruko, can also be used by us..."

Ever since being defeated by Konoha, Fuuka Nutō has been thinking about revenge.

Aside from constantly thinking about how to strengthen his chakra armor, he was also recruiting members for the Akatsuki organization.

Not long ago, he met a man named Hiruko.

This was an extremely dangerous man. As soon as Feng Hua Nu Tao got close to him, her nerves tightened, and she instinctively wanted to run away.

But his hatred for his brother helped him overcome his fear.

In the ensuing conversation, he learned that Hiruko was originally a Konoha ninja, and that he had been exiled along with the Sannin... He also harbored deep hatred for Konoha.

Now that he finally had a chance, Hiruko naturally wanted revenge.

According to him, he could eventually become an immortal, perfect ninja by absorbing the bloodlines of others.

All it takes is to devour five... But now... once the tournament begins, countless ninjas will surely come.

He didn't even need to spend time and effort to find them... Feng Hua Nutao was skeptical about the claim that consuming five bloodline limits would make one invincible, but to him, anyone who was an enemy of Konoha was his friend.

He wants to destroy Konoha, and so does Hiruko. Aren't they on the same side?

He had already persuaded Beiluhu.

But unexpectedly, when they arrived at Nagato's place...

"Leader, the barrier team from Konoha is too powerful. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity..."

"No, you don't understand Konoha, nor do you understand the Fifth Hokage. I can say with certainty that Konoha has now been transformed into a deadly place by her."

"Anyone who isn't afraid of death can go."

"...Huh? Do you have any other information?"

"No, I only saw her true form after she broke free of the illusion; she was a complete madwoman!"

"Break free from genjutsu? Who can use genjutsu on the Fifth Hokage?"

"Herself." Having said that, no matter how much Feng Hua Nu Tao pressed her for details, Nagato refused to say anything more.

However, Orochimaru and Kakuzu quietly changed their attitudes.

"Hmm? This looks interesting. I'll go check it out then. Maybe I'll even find some new experimental subjects!"

"Hehehehehehe... Will a lot of people gather? Maybe there will be a lot of valuable stuff... Chief, would you mind if I went to take a look too?"

Nagato knew what kind of people his subordinates were, and considering that they were all seasoned veterans of the ninja world, he let them be.

"Don't do anything unnecessary, and definitely don't go into the competition venue; there's definitely something wrong there!"

"Don't blame me if you can't escape when the time comes!"

With the help of Lao Zhong and Feng Hua Zao Xue, the originally planned World's Number One Tournament was transformed into an Imperial Trial.

Not only will the daimyo of the Land of Fire be coming, but the daimyo of the other four great nations will also be coming... It's unknown how the daimyo of the Land of Fire managed to persuade them.

But let them be.

Although it's essentially all about fighting, the gimmick of the imperial duel provided by the daimyo still has some effect—it's roughly equivalent to adding the title of "Royal" before the nameplate.

Oh well, it's all good stuff.

With the matter settled, in addition to publicity through various channels, Konoha has also begun constructing a large outdoor arena.

There's no other way. Although spectacular sights can be detrimental to a country, we can't just let a bunch of unfamiliar ninjas into the heart of Konoha, can we?

Even if Beiliuhu had a big heart, he wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

Konoha has been operating continuously recently, and there is never a shortage of workers of all kinds.

Konoha, due to its long history of warfare, is not lacking in experience in undertaking large-scale engineering projects.

So after only briefly mentioning the key points, Hiruko handed the matter over to his subordinates.

He has more important things to do.

He called Akai to his office.

After all, this isn't the era when the story begins, and Guy's strength is far from reaching its peak.

However, during the previous Black Hawk operation, Akai had already demonstrated the strength of the Sixth Gate.

Needless to say, Eight Gates Guy is a one-for-one trade if you're not prepared beforehand.

Seven Gates Guy can defeat most Kage in a head-on battle.

As for the Six Gates... Hiruko felt that he could give him a little more responsibility.

"Kai, please sit down."

"Yes, Hokage's assistant!"

The boy with the watermelon rind sat down directly.

Given Akai's level of paranoia... well, I mean his intelligence level, there's no point in trying to communicate with him in a complicated way.

In his mind, there are only two options: youth and not youth.

So... after Akai sat down, Hiruko went straight to the point.

"Ah Kai, do you know the significance of this World's Number One... no, it's the Imperial Trial?"

"The Hokage's assistant is here to select the strongest ninja!"

As expected, Akai failed to grasp the significance behind this battle.

But that's alright.

"No, Akai, this is not a trial before the emperor, but a war."

"...War?" Akai tilted his head, clearly unable to understand.

"Well... you should know that ever since the five great ninja villages signed the General Peace Edict, we can no longer easily start wars among ourselves."

"But we've fought each other before, and we've accumulated endless grudges..." Hiruko said, standing up with his back to Akai.

"During that great battle, I saw the Fourth Hokage sitting in a chair, sobbing uncontrollably. At that moment, I thought to myself, if I could become a Shadow support, I would definitely win everything."

"Now that the opportunity is right in front of me, I have to consider whether this might be the only opportunity I will ever have in my life."

But I'm already a support character, I can't just leave the field..."

"Guy, out of all those Jonin, you're the one I have the most faith in—do you have the confidence to win this championship for yourself, for me, and for Konoha!" Hiruko knew that Guy definitely wouldn't understand.

But all Hiruko needs to do is make sure Akai gets the key words.

This is his only chance in his life, to become the champion for Konoha... Sure enough, when Hiruko turned around, Guy had already turned into a watermelon rind with tears streaming down his face.

"Ugh... Hokage Support-sama... I understand..."

"I will not lose... Konoha will not lose... This time, I will definitely do my best!" Although it was a bit of an exaggeration to say that, at least at this moment, Hiruko truly felt Guy's domineering spirit.

That kind of absolute ambition—to fight with all one's might, no matter how many times one is defeated, to make Konoha reach the pinnacle.

If he were a Super Saiyan, he'd probably already be changing his hair color.

It seems like we've gone a little too far with the encouragement.

But now that he'd said it, he couldn't take it back.

"I understand your domineering intentions, I understand your ambitions... Go, train hard, prepare well!"

"Yes, Hokage Assistant!" Guy replied, his blood boiling with excitement, and he walked out of the Hokage's office upside down.