Chapter 120: Chunin Exam?!!

Obito's words left Kisame utterly stunned!

"Madara, you're actually going through with this?!"

At that thought, Kisame couldn't help shuddering. This time, Uchiha Madara had truly led him into trouble. He never realized Madara and Senshi were already at a point of irreconcilable enmity.

Otherwise, when Madara first asked about every detail concerning Senshi, Kisame would never have answered.

Now Kisame fully grasps that Senshi wouldn't attack random strangers over small matters. But Uchiha Madara is an entirely different case!

No matter how forgiving Senshi might be, he would never show mercy toward someone trying to kill him, right?

And though Madara certainly can't kill Senshi, that itself is where the problem lies. Once Madara's attempt on Senshi fails, Madara is sure to face Senshi's retaliation!

Meanwhile, Kisame, who provided Madara with so much intel on Senshi, could easily be seen as Madara's accomplice and be taken down as well!

At that thought, Kisame was on the verge of tears.

O heavens above, why treat me so unfairly?

He had just broken free from that old life of fear and dread. But fate wouldn't let him go—he'd barely escaped one trap when he immediately fell into another.

This time, he's certain it's no paranoid fantasy. If Senshi finds out he helped Madara go after him, Senshi definitely won't let him off!

Kisame took a deep breath, forced a troubled look, and asked Obito, "Lord Madara, the reason you're gathering all this information on Senshi…is to deal with him?"

Obito replied, "What else?"

Of course he was collecting intel on Senshi to take him down. Why else would he ask? Ever since Obito fled back to the Mountain Graveyard, not a single day passed without thoughts of settling things with Senshi, Orochimaru, and Nagato.

He'd been jolted awake by nightmares countless times. After Senshi knocked him out, that bastard Orochimaru had done who-knows-what to his body. Only after a long recovery back at the Mountain Graveyard did Obito gradually return to normal.

Such a deep grudge could only be answered by killing Senshi, killing Orochimaru, and then killing that maniac Nagato. Had Nagato joined him early on to strike first against Senshi, none of these endless troubles would have occurred.

Kisame could sense Obito's overwhelming hatred toward Senshi, so intense it felt bottomless. Kisame himself was trembling. Obito was dead serious about getting revenge as fast as possible, which left Kisame distraught—he had just escaped living in Senshi's shadow of fear, and now he was being dragged back in.

After thinking it through, Kisame looked at Obito and asked, "Lord Madara, really…is there no room for negotiation?"

Obito couldn't figure out why Kisame had suddenly become so long-winded, but he still needed intel from Kisame regarding Senshi, so he held back his impatience and answered, "Either he exists, or I do. It's one or the other."

Those few words made his stance crystal clear. Had he known Senshi's precise level of power, he would have gone to settle things long ago.

Hearing this, Kisame understood Madara's attitude completely. Under such circumstances, the best choice would be turning himself in to Senshi right away. After all, ignorance can sometimes be forgiven. He would never have gotten involved if he'd known the situation sooner.

But he couldn't do that. Samehada was just his partner, whereas "Lord Madara" was his benefactor.

Back when he was still a Kiri ninja, he and his teammates had once been surrounded by Konoha ninja like Morino Ibiki. In order to protect important intel from falling into enemy hands, he'd even killed all his own comrades—among them a female companion, Miru, who had shown him kindness—because as long as they lived, there was a chance they would be interrogated.

Yet afterward, he discovered that while he had been willing to murder his teammates to guard village secrets, his superior, Fuguki Suikazan, was busy selling out Kiri's intel! Enraged, he killed Fuguki Suikazan, seized the Great Blade Samehada, and became a rogue ninja, wanted by his former village.

He spent a long time wandering, confused and despairing about the world, with no idea what to believe or where to go. During that period, he encountered Madara, who revealed his "Infinite Tsukuyomi" plan to reshape their deceptive, suffering world. Kisame truly believed Madara's plan could usher in eternal peace, and he was prepared to devote himself to it.

It was Madara who, at Kisame's lowest point, lit the way and gave him renewed hope and a new purpose. Kisame prided himself on gratitude and the courage to face most perils—a true man, not a coward who runs from death.

With that in mind, Kisame steeled himself, looking more resolute than ever. He said with great seriousness, "Lord Madara! Today, I never saw you. We never spoke. And I won't go reporting you to Senshi. Farewell!"

That was all he could do!

With those words, Kisame whirled around decisively and left.

Obito: (O_O)???

What on earth was going on with Kisame? Ever since learning Obito planned to attack Senshi, Kisame had been acting bizarrely. Was Senshi really that terrifying?

Yes, Obito had initially been defeated by Senshi when he lacked complete intel and only had one Sharingan. But now he was a far more capable Obito, who could open Susanoo with Double Kamui! Even if he still wasn't up to Senshi's level, there was no need to fear him to that extent.

Obito's voice turned icy. "Kisame, does this mean you're betraying me?"

Kisame did not answer directly. Without even pausing, he called back, "Oh, and don't contact me again. I don't want Senshi to misunderstand!"

What the heck was that supposed to mean? Obito was completely baffled—Kisame's behavior was becoming more and more incomprehensible. After those words, Kisame really did walk away without looking back!

How outrageous! He trusted Kisame, yet Kisame dropped him so easily?

Still, Obito didn't dare chase after him now for more questions or intel—Kisame wasn't traveling alone. Uchiha Itachi was by his side. From what Black Zetsu and other sources had revealed, Itachi was extremely dangerous, particularly regarding his connections to Senshi.

First, Itachi had once teamed up briefly with Senshi, suggesting the two got along well. Second, Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke, happened to be Senshi's student. The relationship between Itachi and Obito was tricky enough, and Itachi was someone Obito regarded with caution. If Itachi was now close to Senshi, that only made him more threatening.

Pursuing Kisame now could easily attract Itachi's notice, and if Itachi had a way to reach Senshi, Obito might be walking into a trap. He could be cornered before he knew it.

Staring in the direction Kisame had disappeared, Obito silently vowed another grudge against Senshi.

"Damn him! Everything going wrong is because of Senshi!"

When you're involved, you don't see things as clearly as an onlooker would. Nagato still didn't realize how the Akatsuki and the Ame's development were veering off course. Though both were indeed flourishing, it wasn't in the way Nagato had first envisioned.

Obito, by contrast, recognized the core problem: Senshi! His plans had been running smoothly at first—until Senshi joined the Akatsuki, brought in one unwelcome change after another, and sent the organization's trajectory beyond Obito's control. As the hidden manipulator, Obito had watched from the shadows and swiftly pinpointed the root cause. He even invited Nagato to deal with Senshi, but foolish Nagato wouldn't listen. Hence things escalated to this total mess.

No matter. Obito had nearly mastered a perfect Susano'o, and his Double Kamui was becoming ever more fluid. As soon as he compiled enough intel on Senshi and improved his own abilities a bit further, he planned to take Senshi down. Given how quickly he was progressing, that day shouldn't be far off.

…

Land of Fire, Black Market

After prolonged observation, Kakashi noticed Naruto and Sasuke truly were getting stronger at a shocking pace by completing large volumes of missions. Wanting to verify this so-called "mass mission" training method, he tested it himself. He, along with all other shinobi, did missions anyway—but never had they seen such explosive growth from it.

So Kakashi wondered if simply piling up enough missions could trigger a leap in strength. Unfortunately, his experiment yielded failure. Tagging along as Naruto and Sasuke frantically took mission after mission only left Kakashi more and more worn out, without any notable power gains.

Outside the black market's mission center, Kakashi observed Naruto and Sasuke happily clutching a thick stack of contracts, leaving him once again lost in thought:

"Where did things go wrong? I did everything the same—tons of missions. Why isn't my strength skyrocketing like theirs? Could it be that this training method only works for genin? Or does Jonin need an even more ridiculous number of missions to experience that kind of transformation?"

Watching Naruto and Sasuke grow stronger day by day, Kakashi simply couldn't figure it out—partly because he was missing a key piece of insight.

As dusk set in, the three—one adult and two kids—began making their way back to the Konoha. Naruto and Sasuke were still full of energy, flushed with the day's "harvest," while Kakashi, trailing behind, felt bone-tired. He recalled the pair's performance, which was already at a level close to jonin, and it only deepened his gloom:

"They displayed such skill on these missions—clearly they've made another big jump. So why am I, using the exact same approach, seeing almost nothing? Sigh…"

He let out a soft sigh, determined to keep investigating the mystery behind their phenomenal advancement. Thankfully, he would keep serving as their temporary mentor for a while yet, so he'd have more time to observe. He believed that with patience, eventually he'd uncover how it all worked!

A short distance ahead, Naruto and Sasuke were strolling along and chatting.

Casually, Naruto remarked, "Kakashi-sensei's been taking a lot of missions lately, huh? Once we can pick the tougher jobs, do you think we'll have to compete with him for those, too?"

Sasuke shook his head. "That won't happen. Based on my observations, Kakashi-sensei doesn't finish very many missions—he won't get in our way."

In other words, Kakashi's contribution barely made a dent in the vast black market mission list.

Despite trailing a short distance behind, Kakashi overheard them easily and felt a stab of dismay. He was giving it his all, and yet to them, he'd barely done anything?

Each of the trio had their own thoughts as they neared Konoha's main gate. The moment they arrived, an Anbu operative in a cat-like mask appeared before Kakashi. In a flat, emotionless voice, the masked shinobi said:

"Kakashi. Lord Hokage requests your presence in his office immediately upon your return."

Kakashi was startled. He hadn't expected the Hokage to be this anxious, even posting an Anbu at the gate. The operative must have been waiting for some time.

"I understand," Kakashi replied. "I'll head there right away."

The Anbu nodded and vanished. Kakashi went straight to see Hiruzen Sarutobi at the Hokage's office.

Inside the office, Sarutobi smoked his pipe in silence. Of late, the old man had no peace of mind; since the Forest of Death incident, so many things had gone wrong. If that brilliant young man were still alive, Sarutobi wouldn't be bearing all these burdens alone. But that was neither here nor there—he had to handle it himself.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in," Sarutobi called. The door opened, and Kakashi stepped inside.

Seeing him, Sarutobi wasted no time: "Kakashi, you've been supervising Naruto and Sasuke's training and watching their progress. What's the latest?"

Kakashi answered earnestly, "Lord Hokage, Naruto and Sasuke are growing at an astonishing rate. Hard as it may be to believe, they're already nearing jonin-level strength."

Sarutobi was overjoyed—this was wonderful news indeed. He praised Kakashi:

"Well done, Kakashi. Putting you in charge of Naruto and Sasuke has clearly been the right choice."

Kakashi felt rather awkward. "Lord Hokage, I've barely done anything."

It was true: though he'd wanted to guide them in ninjutsu, Naruto and Sasuke had been busy taking mission after mission on the black market and rarely came to him for instruction. Their improvement basically happened in the field.

But in Sarutobi's ears, Kakashi just sounded modest. Delighted by the report that the boys were nearly at jonin level, he went on:

"Kakashi, the Ame, Kiri, Kumo, and Kusa are all expanding rapidly. Meanwhile, our Konoha is lagging behind, and our influence in the shinobi world has been slipping.

"Many employers who used to rely on us have switched to posting missions in the Kiri or Cloud. The Land of Fire's daimyo and other top officials are unhappy. So, to regain Konoha's visibility, we're co-hosting a Chunin Exam with Suna in two weeks. During the exam, we'll demonstrate Konoha's strength."

Kakashi was surprised because it wasn't the usual period to hold the Chunin Exam. He asked, "Lord Hokage, is that confirmed?"

Sarutobi nodded. "We've already handled the major arrangements. We were just waiting on details about Naruto and Sasuke's status. Now that we know they're nearly jonin caliber, we can inform the Suna and invite the other smaller villages to the exam in two weeks."

Nothing else remained for Kakashi to question, so he simply accepted the new reality. "Lord Hokage, is there anything else you need me to do?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "Not for now. Just keep an eye on Naruto and Sasuke—protect them and continue guiding their training."

With that, Kakashi was dismissed.

…

Meanwhile, Regarding the Chunin Exam…

The exam would be jointly hosted by the Konoha and the Suna, with invitations extended to the Ame, Kusa, Taki, and other mid- and small-scale shinobi villages.

In the Ame's leader's office, Konan summoned Senshi and Karin with a paper crane. Once they arrived, Konan relayed the message:

"Senshi, Konoha will be co-hosting a Chunin Exam with the Suna in half a month."

"A Chunin Exam?" Senshi blurted, briefly astonished.

Konan continued, "Konoha's invitation list includes Ame, Kusa, and Taki. We're all expected to participate."

Then Pain spoke: "Since both the Konoha and Suna—plus several smaller villages—are taking part, our Ame can't sit this out. Normally, gaining intel on the Konoha or Suna can be difficult, but this exam provides an opening for us to assess their latest developments."

"That's why, after some discussion, Konan and I decided you'll be the one to lead our team for the Chunin Exam in Konoha. Just select the participating shinobi from our academy."

Hearing that, Senshi perked up. He rubbed his hands as if seeing a golden opportunity, addressing Pain with a grin. But before he could start discussing fees and mission rewards in detail, Pain cut him off, clarifying that the Ame simply needed a presence in the exam for intel-gathering—no need to cause a big stir or compete for top rankings.

And so, Pain concluded concisely: "We'll pay you one hundred million ryō to lead our squad, attend the Chunin Exam, and investigate the Land of Fire's situation while you're there."

~~~

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