Naruto: Starting with the Two Kamui

And then, and then... (shyly)!

At this very moment, at the Hyuga clan in Konoha.

"Is what you said true?!" Hiashi Hyuga received a shocking message.

"It's absolutely true! The young lady's name is on the list of participants from Ankugakure for this year's Chunin Exams!"

"Hinata!!" Hiashi clenched his fist.

"Father?" Five-year-old Hinata Hanabi pushed open the bedroom door with a bewildered look on her face.

Yes, Hanabi is already five years old.

Because of Hinata's passing, the Hyuga clan lacks a successor.

So only three years later, Hanabi was born, two whole years earlier than originally planned.

Seeing that Hanabi had been disturbed, Hiashi quickly composed himself and said, "Hanabi, it's alright, go back to sleep..."

"Oh..." Hanabi replied blankly, quietly closing the sliding door, but pressing her ear against the door to listen.

"How is Hinata's talent?" Hiashi sat down in a chair and talked with the Hyuga member.

"Well... as far as I know, Hinata is far inferior to the second young lady, and even less so to Hoshizuki," said the Hyuga clansman.

Hyuga Seigetsu, younger brother of Hyuga Neji.

Because Hizashi did not die for his clan, he had a second child.

Hinata Seigetsu is also five years old, and his talent is below that of Hanabi and Neji.

Hoshizuki's talent was average, which made Hiashi feel somewhat at ease. If his younger brother's two children were both geniuses, he might really have to consider relinquishing the position of head of the main family for the sake of the bloodline...

But now that he heard Hinata's talent was lacking, Hiashi's expression became noticeably tense.

"Lord Hiashi, what do you think? Should we immediately take Hinata away...?"

After clenching his fist and pondering for a long time, Hiashi said in a deep voice, "No need to rush, let's observe for a while longer. If he doesn't meet the standards for the main family's heir, perhaps... we should just go with the flow!"

Chapter 267 The Game of Clever People! (1/4)

Naruto finally woke up after being unconscious for three whole days.

The bandages were removed, and the injury had healed. The skin in the previously injured area was slightly whitish.

Several scars remained on his face, which blended well with his mustache and did not affect his appearance. What was even more surprising was that his right eye, which should have been blind, had recovered, although the pupil color had turned black, while his left eye remained his signature azure blue.

With one black and one blue eye, her heterochromatic eyes made her appear exceptionally alluring.

Sasuke was utterly bewildered: "What exactly happened? When I examined you before, your right eye was clearly damaged, the eyeball was damaged, and it was clearly beyond repair..."

Naruto murmured, "I don't know what happened, it was like I had a dream..."

Naruto didn't recount the contents of his dream, but his beloved Shadow Uncle was beside him, saying many things.

Sasuke sighed, "What a lucky guy. He was injured like that, but after a good night's sleep, he's like nothing happened..."

"Great, Naruto..." Sakura stood to the side, feeling relieved, but kept her head down, not daring to look Naruto in the eye.

She knew that it was her mistake that had put Naruto in danger.

At this moment, Sasuke said, "Naruto, during the days you were unconscious, Sakura was basically the one taking care of you..."

Sakura was deeply moved after hearing this: Sasuke-kun, so kind and gentle, he's truly the best boy in the world...

"Sakura," Naruto called out.

“Naruto, I…” Sakura mustered her courage and looked at Naruto.

“Arigato! (Thank you!)” Naruto said with a sincere and sunny smile.

That smile dispelled the gloom that had been hanging over Sakura's heart: Naruto looks so energetic, it seems he's really alright. Honestly, I worried about him for nothing!

Sakura crossed her arms and said, "No need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Sasuke-kun properly! If it weren't for Sasuke-kun, you probably wouldn't be able to continue in this exam!"

"Hey, Sakura, stop talking!" Sasuke said, annoyed.

"Well, anyway, thanks to both of you!" Naruto said with a bright smile, holding the back of his head.

Sasuke took out the Heavenly Scroll from his ninja tool bag and said seriously, "There are still three and a half days left. We only have this one Heavenly Scroll. I'm afraid most of the examinees have already gone deep into the forest. We've been staying for too long."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Naruto stood up.

Although the three of them lingered in this place for a long time, they avoided many troubles as a result. For the next few days, they traveled smoothly and quickly approached the heart of the forest.

Before we knew it, it was evening of the sixth day.

Shikamaru, Temari, and Tenten are moving forward; they have already collected all the Heaven and Earth Scrolls.

"Now we just need one more breath to reach the tower!" Tian Tian said optimistically.

“It’s not that simple…” Shikamaru said.

"How to say?"

Shikamaru said, "In such a dense and vast forest, what kind of battle strategy is most advisable? Our common goal is the tower located in the center of the forest, which means that the place where the scrolls are most likely to be concentrated on the last day is around the tower."

Tian Tian pondered, "Indeed, many people will likely be lying in ambush there, trying to steal from the groups that have gathered the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and are heading towards the tower..."

“You’re only one-third right,” Shikamaru said. “There are quite a few people who think this way, but there must be those who do the opposite. Right now, there are probably traps laid around the tower, waiting for those with this idea to walk right into them…”

"What about the remaining third?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru glanced at him and said, "In this situation, the Collectors will appear. Even if they have already seen the tower, the test is being conducted in the Forest of Death. This kind of nerve-wracking environment has shaped them."

"Simply put, it means that some people collect extra scrolls so that they can use them as a bargaining chip to survive when they encounter an unexpected and powerful enemy."

"Or perhaps they could provide other teams in the village with the missing scrolls, putting themselves in a favorable position in the subsequent exams, or they could use this opportunity to eliminate those who have the chance to participate in the third exam, in a way that benefits them!"

*Thud!* Shikamaru stopped on a tree trunk: "As you can imagine, those guys are very cautious and quite strong; they're the most troublesome opponents!"

"Strictly speaking... there's actually a fourth possibility: they possess absolute strength. Surviving in the wild and seizing scrolls would be a piece of cake for them. They have absolute confidence in their own power and don't care how many competitors they have, or rather, they don't even consider them a threat. If such people truly existed, they would probably already be in the tower, waiting to rot away..."

Temari inwardly agreed, because her younger brother, Gaara, was exactly the fourth type!

She said, "So, you've already come up with a solution for the first three scenarios, especially the third one, right?"

Shikamaru smiled faintly: "If we can win them over, we will. If we can't, we'll fight. If we can't win, we'll just have to give up. It's better to not become a Chunin than to lose our lives, right?"

Tenten and Temari exclaimed in surprise, "Give up? Didn't you say that we couldn't give up on this exam at all??"

But Shikamaru said, "How could that be? Even if they signed the consent form, this is still just the Chunin Exams. Konoha's style is such that they would leave the examinees no way out. After thinking it over, I can only come up with one possibility: the way out is in our scroll..."

"reel?"

"Why did the examiner emphasize that the scroll couldn't be opened? Is it really a test of our loyalty, as she said? Since it's all been laid out on the table, it can't be..." Shikamaru's lips curled into a meaningful smile: "I'm just guessing, I can't be completely sure~ I hope I'm not right, because things will get even more complicated~"

Whoosh!Whoosh!

Just then, a swarm of bitter winds swept in.

Clang clang clang! Tian Tian throws a kunai back and knocks it down.

Wind Release: Kamaitachi! Temari swung her large fan, scattering the remaining debris.

Swish!Swish!Swish!

Three figures landed on the tree opposite.

Hyuga Neji, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Choji!

"Shikamaru!?" Ino and Choji were both surprised to encounter Shikamaru.

The combination of Ino-Shika-Cho is unsolvable; if any one of them is missing, the solution is greatly diminished...

In particular, what's lacking is the 'deer' as the brain.

Therefore, compared to Neji, the genius of the Hyuga clan, the two of them were basically relegated to supporting roles.

"Hey, we're all from the same cohort, how about we team up? The road ahead might not be easy..." Sure enough, Shikamaru tried to negotiate.

"Enough with the nonsense, hand over your scrolls..." Hyuga Neji glared at the three of them with his Byakugan eyes and said without any room for negotiation.

At that moment, Ino's voice echoed in Shikamaru's mind: "I'm sorry, Shikamaru, Neji's individual abilities are just too strong. His Byakugan has no blind spots, and I don't even have a chance to use Mind Transfer. If I switch sides in the battle, I will definitely be killed. And most importantly... Choji and I don't want to do that!"

Shikamaru, who expressed his understanding and approval, could only smile helplessly and say, "Trouble, they've come so quickly..."

Chapter 268 So Wise He's Almost Demonic! (2/4)

At the top of the tree, Shikamaru closed his eyes and pressed his fingers together.

Neji frowned: "That seal, I've never seen it before..."

At this moment, Ino said sternly, "That's not a hand seal, it's just Shikamaru's habitual gesture! He makes that gesture whenever he's thinking of a countermeasure, and he's never failed once he makes that gesture!"

Neji looked down at the dense shadows of the trees and thought: Everyone says that the Nara family has a good mind, except for their shadow imitation skills. But all he's thinking about is to lure us under the trees and catch us with the shadows. Such a dense forest is indeed not good. So the best countermeasure is to strike first!

Whoosh!

Neji streaked across the sky like a white rainbow, his palm striking forward as he stood in mid-air.

Soft Fist Technique: Bagua Empty Palm!

Whoosh! A white palm wind formed from chakra struck towards Shikamaru!

"Don't underestimate me! Wind Release: Kamaitachi!" Temari suddenly raised her large fan!

Boom! The powerful gust of wind not only neutralized the empty palm strike, but also forcefully blew Neji's body back into the air!

Neji landed back on the treetop, looking at the bloodstains on his arm, and thought: This woman doesn't need to form hand seals to instantly unleash a super-powerful wind jutsu with her fan. It seems that I can't get close to her easily.

He glanced at Ino beside him out of the corner of his eye: "I will launch another attack. The moment that woman attacks with Wind Release, use your Mind Transfer Technique on her!"

Given even the slightest opening, Neji was confident he could defeat Shikamaru!

"I understand." Ino had already prepared to turn around.

Whoosh! Neji launched another attack! Temari's Wind Release was also ready, and Ino Shin turned around, aiming his hand at Temari while keeping an eye on Shikamaru's reaction.

A faint smile appeared on Shikamaru's lips.

"!?!" It was that smile that made Inoko's attack, which she was about to launch, pause for a moment!

boom!!!!