Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

Are they trying to see how the major ninja villages have developed over the past few years before starting another war?!

Onoki held the intelligence report in his hand, his expression grave and complex.

This is a very difficult matter to handle, mainly because the timing is so sensitive.

Going or not going is a difficult situation. If they don't go, it will inevitably lead to speculation. Most importantly, isn't Sunagakure afraid that the other members of the Five Great Nations will continue to take action?

Putting everything else aside, if the five great ninja villages sent strong individuals to lead the way, the combined strength of the four villages would be enough to give Sunagakure a run for its money.

"Given the current situation in the village, the third generation leader still needs to be in charge."

"No, our results in the Third Shinobi World War were too poor. If we don't go, what will the other ninja villages think of us?"

"In my opinion, the Third Hokage doesn't need to go, but the ninjas we send out must be strong enough to prove our worth in the exam!"

"What if there are any losses? Don't you know the situation in our village?!"

"The Sand Village guys suffered just as many injuries as we did in the Third Shinobi World War. How could they have recovered to this extent in just a few years? In my opinion, there must be something wrong with this!"

"That makes sense, but if we don't go, won't outsiders see everything?!"

Onoki remained silent, while the advisors and elders were already arguing fiercely.

"All right!"

After a long silence, Onoki slowly spoke up: "What the elders said is correct. There must be something wrong with Sunagakure, but this is an open conspiracy."

"Previously, they imitated the Blood Mist policy of the previous Kirigakure and implemented the Blood Sand policy. We don't know how effective it was, but at this point in time, since they dare to hold the Chunin Exams, other ninja villages will more or less send people there to pretend to participate, but in reality, to gather intelligence."

"From both a moral and logical standpoint, we cannot fall behind others."

"Let Deidara and Kurotsuchi go there, with Huangtu leading the team, to find out exactly what Sunagakure wants to do."

"Yes!"

……

Inside the Hidden Cloud Village.

"Spiritual Power Simulation - Lightning Release: Black Spot!"

In a training ground with a waterfall, a white Darui suddenly opened its tightly closed eyes, and the spiritual power it had learned and transformed through the Shadow Isles burst forth.

The character 'Thunder' was tattooed on his left shoulder, and it was shining brightly at this moment, as if some extremely terrifying energy was brewing within him.

The next moment, a strange black lightning leopard suddenly leaped out of his hand, roaring like thunder, and pounced fiercely towards the distant waterfall.

In an instant, its pitch-black lightning suddenly spread outwards, and under the surging lightning, even the entire waterfall was cut in half!

"This is!!"

Beside the waterfall, Hi, with blond hair similar to that of the golden-haired Minato Namikaze, stared wide-eyed at the panting Darui, her mind filled with the image of the ferocious black lightning leopard formed from the jet-black lightning.

"There's no mistake, that's the Third Hokage's Lightning Release, it's Black Lightning, Darui, you did it!"

Is it because of spiritual power?

Samui, with short, light-yellow hair and arms wrapped around a majestic mountain peak, exclaimed in surprise, his eyes sparkling, clearly also shocked by the black lightning he had just witnessed.

“That’s right, it’s because of spiritual power.” Darui took two deep breaths to calm the fatigue after casting the spell, and clenched his fist. “After converting all the chakra in my body into spiritual power, many techniques that I couldn’t control well before are now as easy as my own. Even the Third Hokage’s Lightning Release can be mastered by me.”

"Besides these, it also seems to enhance my own bloodline power..."

"hiss……"

These words shocked both Xi and Samui.

Is the enhancement of spiritual power really this great?!

They knew that the improvement in techniques was significant, because everyone chosen by the Fourth Hokage to become the successor of the Shadow Isles had their strength greatly enhanced. However, they did not expect that even bloodline limits could be greatly amplified.

The power of spiritual energy is actually this strong?

"YOYO~ It seems Darui has completed an incredible training, just like the spicy fried noodles I just ate, Baka yarou, kou nong yarou~"

Accompanied by authentic rap, a figure suddenly appeared in front of the three.

Killer Bee half-covered his mouth, making a strange and exaggerated gesture, and at the same time noticed the broken waterfall, pausing slightly.

"Lord Kirabi!"

"Better than adults!"

Upon seeing the newcomer, the three greeted him respectfully. They held this man, one of the top experts of Kumogakure and known as 'B', in the highest esteem and respect.

"It mainly relies on spiritual power; I haven't actually put much effort into cultivation." Darui stretched lazily. "This spiritual power is really good. I can talk to the Fourth Hokage about opening up cultivation to everyone, even if it's more advanced than yours."

"You lazy brat, hmph, the boss can handle these things. You guys have brand new tasks, you bastard, go-on-ya-ru~"

Kirabi hummed softly, rapping as he did so. At the end of his rap, he did a 365-degree spin and threw a scroll, which Samui caught perfectly.

The fair-skinned, large-breasted woman opened the scroll, and with just one glance, a look of astonishment appeared in her beautiful eyes.

"Chunin exam?"

"Yay! It's the Chunin Exams!" Killer Bee rapped, "Show off our muscles, let those guys see the true strength of Kumogakure, and seize the Chunin promotion qualification, you three!"

The three exchanged a glance, their lips twitching slightly.

Chunin? To put it bluntly, even Jonin in the village might not be a match for them, given their strength. How could they send them to participate in the Chunin Exams?

However, they also understood the leaders' thoughts. Since the Third Shinobi World War, Kumogakure's performance has been consistently good, but it has never achieved a true victory, even in the final war against Konoha.

Moreover, with Mizuki Yoru's coordination, they are unlikely to engage in any wars with Konoha and other forces in the future. Therefore, this Chunin Exam is clearly an excellent opportunity for them to regain face!

"This is really troublesome..." Darui muttered to himself.

He was the strongest of the three, and even inherited the Black Lightning Release of the Third Raikage, which even the Fourth Raikage had not mastered. However, he was the most carefree in temperament.

He would lie down casually and watch the white clouds drift by in the sky, something he used to love doing most.

The chakra spiritualization he had recently used up a lot of his energy and spirit. He had finally been able to rest for a while, but then the Chunin Exams came along.

"Don't worry, it's more like an adult."

Seeing their companions' listless and helpless expressions, Xi and Samui weren't surprised. Xi solemnly accepted the mission scroll: "We will definitely complete the mission and show the ninja world the power of Kumogakure!"

"Great!"

……

"Chunin exam?"

Inside the Mizukage's desk in Kirigakure.

Minazuki looked at the invitation that had just been delivered with great interest, feeling both curious and surprised.

He knew that Sunagakure was Obito's base of operations, a fact he had already known clearly by monitoring bacteria since the end of the Third Shinobi World War.

Before his power reaches its peak and before he spreads his spiritual power throughout the ninja world, Yoru doesn't mind playing these kinds of little games with Obito. Firstly, it's a way to relieve boredom, and secondly, it's to let those two guys in the Pure Land of the Underworld see that he doesn't have that kind of ambition yet.

Originally, it was thought that after the war between Konoha and Kumogakure ended, the ninja world would peacefully transition to the war between the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra, but now it seems that Obito is getting impatient.

"By taking the initiative to invite me over, is this a foolproof plan to keep me permanently in Sunagakure?"

Ye toyed with the invitation in her hand, a hint of interest gleaming in her eyes.

They went so far as to expose the Sand Village, which they had controlled for years, just to invite me over... Ooi kid, you're really getting me all fired up!

"Are you planning to go to Sunagakure yourself?" Mei Terumi, the female secretary who was helping Yoru organize the documents, looked at Yoru with some curiosity.

"Sunagakure and Kirigakure are infrastructure allies. They invited me, so how could I refuse?" Yoru shrugged. "Besides, I'm so tired from staying in the village, so I'll just treat it as a vacation and relax."

As she spoke, Ye stretched.

Upon hearing this, Mei Terumi's lips twitched slightly.

Although she and Mizuki Akira do most of the work in the Mizukage's office, there are other people doing the other things in the village! Kirigakure is full of talented people now, and you're just like a hands-off manager. At most, you'll develop Quincy Blood Armor. What's the big deal?

"Where's the candidate?"

"Just those three little guys." Yoru casually flipped open a scroll beside him, which contained the three members of the team led by Kisame: Zabuza, Anko, and Awaka.

"I'm not talking about the people going to take the exam, I'm talking about those accompanying you!" Mei Terumi scoffed. "You're the Kage of a village, you always need a guard when you travel. Tell me, who are you planning to take with you!"

Looking at Mei Terumi clinging to him, Yoru was both amused and exasperated. He said helplessly, "Saki will probably say something like, 'Fine, fine, I'll take you.' But since we're going to Sunagakure, let's bring Yekura along too."

Chapter 219 Arrival at Sunagakure

The Mizukage's trip was quite grand, especially since it was a formal invitation from another hidden village.

Just as Yoru said, if he were to bring Mei Terumi along, that girl Akira Mizuki would definitely be a little upset. As a result, many people in the village were quite interested in this Chunin Exam.

Even though Yoru said that the environment and climate in Sunagakure were harsh and that people had likely suffered there in the past, many people were still in high spirits. Even researchers like Yukiko and Yumi wanted to go and relieve their boredom.

After much persuasion, the people who would accompany him were finally decided that night.

Although Kirigakure is far from Sunagakure, the group came with the intention of sightseeing. They first took a boat trip on the sea, then entered the Land of Hot Water, and finally changed boats to carriages to enter the Land of Fire, slowly making their way towards the Land of Wind.

What should have been a week's journey turned into a month-long trip, allowing the Ye group to explore various countries and cities quite well.

Along the way, they encountered many ninjas from various villages, but most of them were from small villages and were all there for the Chunin Exams in Sunagakure.

The group of people did not deliberately reveal their identities, but acted like tourists, sightseeing and enjoying themselves along the way.

Well, this only applies to Yoruichi and his party. As for the main characters of this trip, Zabuza's party, led by Kisame Hoshigaki, will continue to train and do whatever they need to do along the way.

One month later, Ye and his party entered the Land of Wind.

The Land of Wind is covered in yellow sand and is desolate. Even though the three kingdoms have been working hard to improve their infrastructure in recent years, it is nothing compared to the yellow sand that almost covers the whole country.

However, most of the cities in the Land of Wind are located near oases, and Sunagakure stands on the largest oasis in the Land of Wind, so it is not affected by sandstorms.

When Yoru and his party arrived at Sunagakure at a leisurely pace, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was already waiting outside the village with Chiyo and other high-ranking Sunagakure officials. Numerous Sunagakure ninja, as well as some from other villages, were also present, casting curious glances at them.

Mizukiyo, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, is currently the strongest ninja in the world, an idol and a role model for almost every young ninja. Everyone wants to see just how powerful he is.

"Do you have any different thoughts now that you've returned to your hometown?"

Inside the carriage, Yoru was pinned down on her jade pillows by Mei Terumi. Looking at Yekura beside her, she smiled faintly and said, "Speaking of which, you should have been qualified to compete for the Fourth Kazekage back then, right? Did you ever imagine that it would turn out like this?"

"Shut up!"

Yekura glanced at Mizuki Yoru with embarrassment and annoyance, then tugged at her somewhat disheveled clothes.

The situation in Sunagakure was quite unique back then. She was indeed someone in Sunagakure who could rival Rasa. If the Fourth Kazekage had been chosen, she would have had a chance. However, due to some special reasons, she was not only abandoned by the village, but also became someone who was abandoned by the village.

Yekura was too lazy to say anything more about the past, nor did she want to look back.

Such is the nature of political intrigue; it's just that she's not suited to playing these games.

But meeting Minazuki Yoru also opened up a completely new path for her...

"Welcome, Fourth Mizukage!"

The carriage stopped, and before anyone could get off, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, greeted Mizuki Yoru with a broad smile. At the same time, Mizuki Yoru, wearing a Mizukage hat and the Fourth Kazekage's robe, stepped out from behind the curtain lifted by Mei Terumi.

"Is that the Fourth Mizukage?"

"My God, he's so young and handsome!"

"I can't sense any aura emanating from this guy. Is he really the strongest being in the ninja world?"

"Damn, he's so handsome, he's just like me!"

Countless eyes were fixed on Minazuki Yoru, with necks craned out.

Rasa looked at Minazuki Yo with a smile on his face, but his expression froze when he saw the expressionless Yekura behind him, but he still greeted her with a smile.

"Lord Mizukage is truly a young man of great talent. With Lord Mizukage personally guiding us in this Chunin Exams, it will surely become a momentous event that will be recorded in history!"

"Haha, Lord Fengying is joking."

With a broad smile, Yoru rested his hand on Mei Terumi's outstretched arm as he stepped down from the carriage: "To be able to single-handedly shoulder the burden of Sunagakure, Lord Kazekage is truly a hero worthy of respect!"

"Lord Mizukage is too kind. Compared to Lord Mizukage, how could I be considered a hero?"

"Where."

"Give them a break."

The two men, all smiles and engaging in blatant business flattery, entered Sunagakure. Their humble demeanor astonished countless Sunagakure ninjas and caused the Sunagakure high-ranking officials to frown and look grave.

The strongest ninja in the world, the Fourth Hokage of Kirigakure, such a young ruler, even a powerful one, has such a humble attitude. With this kind of mindset, Kirigakure in the future... will probably reach unimaginable heights under the leadership of Mizuki Yoru.

In addition, considering the current state of Kirigakure's development, while Sunagakure is still in the old Kirigakure era, the two villages are worlds apart.