Naruto: Starting with the Two Kamui

"My silly son..." Minato sighed as he looked at Naruto, who was covered in sweat on the crystal ball, but his azure eyes were filled with supreme pride!

He is proud of Naruto.

Kimimaro, I am just as proud of you...

Before him, Lin Yu stood up and disappeared into the divine vortex.

He picked up Kimimaro, and a few seconds later, he was back in the Hidden Shadow Village, behind Orochimaru.

"Yu-kun, it's rare that you've come. Has the Chunin Exams in Konoha ended?" Orochimaru shook the test tube.

"It's almost over, it's nearing its end..." Lin Yu said.

"I've made progress on the experiment you entrusted to me before, and I'll have a breakthrough soon..." Orochimaru put down the test tube, turned around, and smiled.

"Let's put that aside for now and treat this child first." Lin Yu placed Kimimaro on Orochimaru's operating table.

"Hmm?" Orochimaru looked at the red dot on Kimimaro's forehead and said, "Is that the boy with the blood of the Kaguya clan? I've heard about their clan's hereditary disease before; it's an incurable illness..."

In fact, Lin Yu had known about Kimimaro's health problems for a long time, but when the latter fell ill, Orochimaru was out searching for the cells of the First Hokage. Lin Yu had no choice but to have Shizune use medication to control Kimimaro's condition.

Orochimaru said, "However, things are different now. Yu-kun, you possess the power of Plague Release. Plague Release is the source of plagues. As long as we thoroughly study the pathogens of Plague Release, theoretically, we can overcome all intractable diseases..."

"Then this child should be able to be saved, right?" Lin Yu's expression was slightly relieved.

Orochimaru said, "Researching the pathogen of the Plague Release technique will take some time. This child's condition flared up prematurely due to his injuries, so we must take emergency measures. For this, the power of the Cursed Seal is indispensable..."

"A cursed seal?"

"Yes, the curse mark itself is a deadly virus. Once infected, the chance of survival is less than one in ten. Implanting the curse mark into this critically ill child can actually have the effect of fighting poison with poison and overcoming disease with disease."

"I see. As for the cursed seal, you can bestow it upon him directly."

Orochimaru replied, "My cursed seal is made by storing the enzymes extracted from Jugo's body in the fangs of a snake, and injecting them when needed. For Kimimaro's condition, this level of cursed seal is no longer useful. But you, Yu-kun, absorbed all of Jugo's cursed seal power. If you were to apply it, it would be a completely different story!"

"If we had known earlier, why would we have waited until now!"

Boom! Lin Yu entered the Dragon Cave Immortal Mode.

Unlike the nine silver celestial serpents, the tenth jet-black celestial serpent was the vessel for Jugo's cursed celestial power. The serpent bared its fangs and bit into Kimimaro's chest...

Infuse with the power of the cursed seal!

dong dong!

Kimimaro's heart, which had been on the verge of stopping, began to beat again...

"Orochimaru, the rest is up to you..."

Whoosh! Lin Yu disappeared into the vortex of spacetime.

In the Forest of Death, high in the tower, Xiaoxue stared intently at the clock; there was only one minute left.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata clenched her small hands tightly, her expression as if she herself had been eliminated.

At the 30-second mark, Genma Shiranui picked up the list, preparing to cross out Naruto Uzumaki's name.

"Wait!" Hyuga Neji shouted, his Byakugan fixed intently on the sky. "Get out of the way! Something's falling!!!"

Whoosh! Everyone retreated towards the wall.

boom!!!

The ceiling collapsed! Boom! The giant toad of Mount Myōboku vanished into the white smoke…

From within the white mist… a figure plummeted straight down, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. With difficulty, he retrieved the Heaven and Earth Scroll from his ninja tool pouch:

"Squad 7, Naruto Uzumaki...present!"

After saying this, he fell asleep due to exhaustion.

Ding ding ding! The bell, signaling the end of the second round of the Chunin Exams, rang.

Genma Shiranui stepped forward, chewing on a senbon needle, and checked the Heaven and Earth Scroll. After confirming that everything was correct, he gave Naruto a special look: "Hmph, what an unexpected guy."

Immediately, he announced loudly: "Naruto Uzumaki, you have advanced to the third round of the Chunin Exams! The Fourth Hokage will be here soon and will use the Flying Thunder God Technique to send you all back to the village to rest. Tomorrow at noon, the third round of the Chunin Exams will be held as scheduled in the Konoha Indoor Fighting Arena!"

Chapter 274 The Third Plot of the Hidden Clouds! (4/5)

The conclusion of the second exam has also brought a huge uproar to Konoha!

First, of the 72 candidates who took the exam, only 20 made it safely to the tower!

Apart from Kiba Inuzuka, the two bird ninjas were defeated on the first day, discovered by the staff, and removed from the venue.

The seriously injured Kimimaro was brought back by Naruto, while Akatsuchi and Chojuro were found by the staff and taken away from the venue.

And some of the Cloud Hermits who withdrew midway.

All the other candidates... have disappeared without a trace.

It's like he vanished into thin air!

There's only one explanation: death!

Since a consent form was signed, dying during the exam is a risk that must be accepted, and there's nothing wrong with that...

The problem is that many of these dead people were people of status!

Kankuro, the eldest son of the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure!

Kurotsuchi, granddaughter of Iwagakure Tsuchikage Onoki, and adopted grandson of Deidara!

And Atsui, the younger brother of Samui, an elite Jonin from Kumogakure!

As a result, conspiracy theories began to emerge, suggesting that Konoha was behind it all, plotting to kill the elites of each village!

And the one who put forward this viewpoint was none other than the instigator of all this, the Hidden Cloud Village!

While the genin were busy resting and recovering from the fatigue of the exams, the Konoha leadership was dealing with a diplomatic crisis from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire!

Minato spent the entire day at the Daimyo's residence, not even having time to congratulate his son...

Then at noon the following day.

The third round of the Chunin Exams was held in the Konoha Indoor Fighting Arena...

This exam is different from previous 1V1 selections.

Instead, they adopted a free-for-all system!

The 20 genin who passed the second exam engaged in a chaotic battle on a giant battle platform!

Because the public opinion storm caused by the previous exam was too painful... the rules of this melee have also been changed.

Killing anyone is not allowed!

The standard for winning... is to knock your opponent out of the ring!

After 12 people were eliminated, the remaining 8 people advanced to the final round of the Chunin Exams.

In the fierce melee, 12 people—Hydrangea, Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, Karin Uzumaki, Suigetsu Hozuki, Hinata Hyuga, Tenten, Tayuya, Yuumi Jiraiya, Shikamaru Nara, and Temari—were disqualified.

It's worth mentioning that Yumu was eliminated because her foot injury from her previous battle with Gaara hadn't healed.

Tayuya was eliminated because her sound effects had too wide an impact during the melee, and she was attacked by the crowd.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was persuaded to give up halfway through the Chunin Exams by his father, Nara Shikaku, who sensed something was wrong.

Temari withdrew from the match because she was heartbroken by the death of her younger brother Kankuro!

During the chaotic battle, Hiashi Hyuga went to the scene to watch.

But when Hinata was knocked off the stage, Hiashi Hyuga only left behind the words "useless" before turning away without looking back...

Hinata was unaware that her father had secretly come to visit!

Neji discovered it... but dared not tell Hinata, because he had already sensed some unpleasant rumors circulating within the clan.

And so, in a somber and oppressive atmosphere...

—Naruto Uzumaki, Yuki Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, Gaara, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, Killer Aya, Shino Aburame!

These eight people advanced to the final round.

The competition is scheduled to take place in six days... at the open-air arena in Konoha. All Konoha ninjas who are not on missions, other ninjas who remain there, and citizens of the Land of Fire will come to watch the event.

Hinata, now with some free time, finally mustered the courage to meet her father. After obtaining Lin Yu's consent, Hinata was introduced to him by Hyuga Neji.

But Neji didn't come out for a long time after he went inside...

When he came out, Neji was bruised and battered, and knelt down in front of Hinata with remorse, explaining what had happened to him!

It turned out that her father had already visited her, but because of her talent, he was unwilling to accept her as his daughter.

Hinata was deeply hurt, but she smiled and comforted Neji, even bandaging his wounds. After returning home, she cried for a long time in Yuki's arms...

Lin Yu witnessed all of this.

At the time when the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was embroiled in a diplomatic crisis.

The third conspiracy of Kumogakure was quietly unfolding at this moment.

Eight years ago, after failing in his mission to seize the Byakugan, Minato, in the prime of his life, killed the Cloud Village leader who had provoked the trouble at the entrance of Konoha Village.

Eight years later, the Hidden Cloud Village returned with a vengeance. This time, their target was still the Byakugan, but their target was the second young lady of the Hyuga family—Hyuga Hanabi.

The Hyuga clan's security is extremely tight; any outsider who dares to trespass into this forbidden area will only face certain death.

Therefore, the Cloud Hidden Sect has never found an opportunity to make a move.

The opportunity arose because of a certain event.

Five-year-old Hanabi overheard some information from her father's conversation with her clansmen...

Her older sister, Hinata Hyuga, who was lost many years ago, is currently in this village, but her father doesn't seem to like her very much.

Hanabi desperately wanted to see her sister... so, in the dead of night, she quietly slipped out!

Darui, the elite Jonin from Kumogakure in charge of this mission, acted decisively... Hanabi was kidnapped!

Despite all their calculations, Yun Yin did not anticipate that there was someone who already knew about their actions: Lin Yu!

Just like last time, Lin Yu waited along the retreat route of Yunyin!

"Who is it!?" Darui, whose face was covered, stared at the figure with its back to him with a look of surprise and uncertainty.