Chapter 127: Deal with the Hokage and the Kazekage...

Musen and his two teammates did not know Gaara.

However, in the Forest of Death, they had already fought against many other ninja.

From those battles, they concluded that the ninja participating in this Chunin Exam were far weaker than Karin and the others they had previously sparred with.

They had made it all the way here without encountering a single worthy opponent.

Seeing Gaara's arrogance, Musen decided not to hold back.

He spoke directly to Lanyu and Lanwu: "Take their scroll!"

Lanyu and Lanwu nodded and moved into action alongside Musen.

When Gaara saw the three of them actually dare to face him in battle, a killing intent surged within him!

Swish!

Under his control, three huge sand claws suddenly came crashing down on Musen's trio.

"Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!"

Lanwu quickly formed hand seals, creating a massive ice dome to shield Musen, Lanyu, and herself.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The three giant sand claws slammed onto the ice dome, shattering it into pieces. Musen and the others remained unharmed.

Without any hesitation, the three advanced toward Gaara's team.

Upon seeing Lanwu use Ice Release, Temari frowned. "An Ice Release user with a Kekkei Genkai!"

Just as she finished speaking, she witnessed a scene that made her scalp tingle:

Musen and Lanyu both quickly formed hand seals and unleashed their jutsu.

"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"

"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"

Musen's right arm instantly transformed into numerous wooden tendrils, surging forward to violently constrict Gaara.

Meanwhile, a torrent of lightning-like water erupted from Lanyu's palm, fully engulfing Gaara.

Realizing these three possessed Kekkei Genkai, Gaara no longer tried to fight head-on.

Especially now that Shukaku, ever since being struck by Karin's Kamui Shuriken, had developed a psychological trauma and was reluctant to come out.

Gaara ended up running away again with Temari and Kankuro!

After losing them, he was inwardly distraught.

"So much for being the ultimate weapon… Why am I staying awake all night if not for this? I am the One-Tail Jinchuriki of the Sand, yet I've suffered three losses in a row!"

Temari and Kankuro also felt defeated. Before coming to the exam, they believed they would rampage unopposed.

But now…

They had run into three waves of powerful enemies during the Chunin Exam—ninja with special techniques, monstrously strong, impossible to defeat no matter how they tried!

Little did Gaara's team know, their luck had simply been terrible. They had run into the three most fearsome teams in this entire exam!

With Gaara's team so unlucky, others naturally had relatively better luck.

As time passed, more than ten teams had already collected both Heaven and Earth Scrolls and started racing across the Forest of Death.

Gaara's luck eventually stopped being so wretched, too. After all, they had already "weathered every storm" of this exam.

Soon, they also managed to gather complete Heaven and Earth Scrolls.

From the very start of the Forest of Death, Kabuto had been troubled, and he still was.

His three-man squad had also obtained a full set of scrolls by now.

But Naruto and Sasuke continued to be a handful.

They were saying that because they were usually busy doing missions, they didn't have time to spar against powerful ninja.

Now that elites from the Five Great Shinobi Villages and various medium and small villages had gathered, they wanted to seize this rare opportunity for real combat.

So after giving Kabuto their Heaven and Earth Scrolls for safekeeping, Naruto and Sasuke each went off to find other ninja to battle.

Not far behind Naruto, Kabuto followed, fists clenched.

He dearly wished he could knock both Naruto and Sasuke unconscious and haul them to the exit.

But fortunately, Naruto and Sasuke were both extremely strong, so there was basically no danger of them losing.

Trailing behind Naruto, Kabuto had watched as Naruto, single-handed, swept through several three-man teams.

Elsewhere, Sasuke came face to face with Musen, Lanyu, and Lanwu.

Earlier, two Amegakure three-man squads had surrounded a Konoha three-man team, trying to steal their scrolls.

Upon seeing this, Sasuke decisively stepped in to help, thrashing the two Ame squads.

Musen and his group, spotting the Ane ninja being robbed of their scrolls, also decided to intervene.

That ultimately led to Sasuke clashing with Musen's trio.

But when Sasuke saw that they were wearing red-cloud uniforms, he hesitated, reluctant to fight.

He figured the trio must have some special connection to his teacher, Senshi-sensei, because not only did they wear the signature red-cloud attire, they also had the trademark red hair of the Uzumaki clan—making them Senshi's clansmen.

Though Sasuke didn't want to fight them, Musen seemed very interested in Sasuke.

"Hey there, Konoha guy, you're pretty strong, beating two Amegakure squads on your own. But let me see what you've really got!"

As Musen spoke, he attacked Sasuke without waiting for a response.

Since Musen had struck first, Sasuke could no longer hold back.

Buzz!

His Sharingan spun with three tomoe, and Lightning-Release chakra erupted all around him.

Sensing Sasuke's formidable power—enough to take down two squads by himself—Lanwu and Lanyu leaped into battle.

As strong as Musen was, he might not be able to handle Sasuke alone.

"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"

"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"

"Ice Release: Myriad Flowers of Ice!"

Sasuke: (O_O)???

Once the three attacked together, Sasuke was taken aback.

Musen had just challenged him to show his full strength, but as soon as the fight started, it became three-against-one. How was that fair? At least let him bring "that dobe" (Naruto) over to help!

Although Sasuke was powerful, four hands are better than two, and even a fierce tiger cannot hold off a pack of wolves.

One-on-one, any of these three might not be able to handle Sasuke alone.

But having to fight three Kekkei Genkai users at once? That was way too much.

Moreover, Musen's ability was none other than Wood Release—famed as the First Hokage's specialty!

Sasuke could meet Musen's Wood Release head-on with his lightning-charged fists, but Lanyu's Storm Release and Lanwu's Ice Release made the fight extremely difficult.

Under their combined assault, even escaping was tough.

Just as Sasuke was in trouble, a swirl of transparent ripples appeared in front of him, and Karin's figure emerged.

Relieved, Sasuke realized he was saved—he now had backup.

Even one reliable ally would be enough to turn the tables against Musen's trio!

Neither Sasuke nor Karin knew that due to Senshi's interference, the entire timeline had changed drastically.

In the original scenario, it should have been Karin who was chased across the forest by a bear, only for Sasuke to rescue her.

This time, however, it was Sasuke who got surrounded by Musen's group and fell into a disadvantage, leading to Karin's timely appearance.

Seeing Karin, Sasuke quickly said, "Karin, can we team up?"

Meanwhile, Musen's trio greeted her politely: "Karin-sama, you're here?"

If there were no outsiders around, they would have just called her Karin, but clearly Sasuke was an outsider.

After both sides greeted each other, Karin motioned for them to lower their voices and said quietly, "Stop fighting! We're all on the same side! But this is classified information, so don't let others know!"

Sasuke: (O_O)???

Musen's trio: (O_O)???

Hearing Karin's words, the four of them froze in place. They had spent so much time brawling, only to find out they were on the same side all along.

If only Lord (Teacher) Senshi had set up some kind of code phrase, we could have avoided all this!

After Karin arrived, Sasuke left the area to regroup with Naruto and Kabuto.

In fairness, Musen's trio also withdrew, leaving the Konoha team and Ame ninja behind to contest the scrolls themselves.

Following Sasuke's skirmish with Musen's team, the Forest of Death trial gradually drew to a close.

…

Before long, the second stage of the Chunin Exams—The Forest of Death Trial—ended.

Of the 65 squads who entered, only 24 remained, meaning 72 ninja in total successfully passed.

After the trial, Konoha gave these 72 ninja a day of rest.

Then, one day later, the preliminaries for the third stage of the Chunin Exams would officially begin.

The preliminaries were in a one-on-one format, with 72 fighters split into pairs.

The winner of each matchup—36 in total—would advance to the finals two weeks later.

Since it was a single-elimination format regardless of pairing, luck suddenly mattered a great deal.

If anyone were unlucky enough to face Karin and others like her, their best option might be to surrender immediately and try again next time.

Likewise, meeting someone whose techniques directly counter yours could make victory very difficult.

As soon as the Forest of Death trial ended, the leaders of the Five Great Shinobi Nations and other factions began discussing everyone's performance in the forest.

All sorts of intel regarding the participating ninja soon reached the upper echelons of these villages and factions.

Many learned just how fearsome the kunoichi called Uzumaki Karin truly was.

Beyond that, they also discovered that Karin's two teammates were similarly formidable.

From the latest reports, those two were named Raimon Yukika and Raimon Hayate, from Amegakure's Ninja Academy.

Based on statements from ninja who had fought them, both were definitely among the top ten strongest of the nearly two hundred participants in this exam.

So, when the Forest of Death trial ended, some people celebrated while others could only sigh.

Senshi, however, was very pleased with how Karin's team of six had performed.

All six of them had done admirably well in the forest, so he took them out for a yakiniku feast.

Meanwhile, Konoha's and Sunagakure's high officials were rather worried, each holding high-level meetings to figure out what to do.

Senshi and his group, in contrast, were relaxing over grilled meat.

Karin was actually displeased that Senshi wanted to treat them to yakiniku.

After all, in her eyes, the food she cooked was the most delicious of all, so why did Senshi keep going out to eat?

She raised her head and suggested, "Senshi, how about we skip the barbecue place and go have a cookout in the woods? I've learned a lot of new recipes!"

Senshi declined on the spot. "No way! Konoha's barbecue places have a unique style, and since we've got time, we have to try them!"

Deep down, Senshi thought: We still have the preliminaries and finals. If I let Karin cook and end up poisoning these five kids, what would happen then? Even the strongest ship can sink from a leak within. Shukaku couldn't bring them down, but Karin's cooking might capsize the whole crew…

While Senshi amused himself with these thoughts, he led his team to a yakiniku restaurant in the village.

As they enjoyed their meal, Rasa and Sunagakure higher-ups were on pins and needles.

Most people already knew about the major stir caused by Karin's fight with Gaara, though many didn't realize Gaara had then gone on to lose twice more, making it a three-loss streak.

If nothing was done before the preliminaries, it would end up with Konoha and Sunagakure setting the stage while Amegakure stole the show.

That was clearly unacceptable.

Rasa decided to meet Sarutobi Hiruzen that very night to discuss a plan.

On the Iwagakure side, Onoki stood by a window with his hands behind his back, while Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi silently stood at his side.

After a long while, Onoki sighed, saying, "Amegakure's development speed is truly frightening. Their ability to foster this new generation of ninja is even more astounding."

"From now on, Iwagakure must pay closer attention to them!"

Compared to Konoha, Suna, and Iwa, the upper echelons of Kumo and Kiri seemed much calmer.

Those two villages had close ties to Senshi, and they already knew Karin was formidable.

They simply hadn't expected her to be this strong—strong enough, in fact, to chase down the One-Tail Jinchuriki.

Night soon came, and on the rooftop of the Hokage Residence, two figures appeared.

One was the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The other was the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.

Both men wore grim expressions. Even though their villages boasted powerful Jinchuuriki, the situation in the exam was worrying.

Turning to the Third Hokage with a heavy look, Rasa asked, "Lord Hokage, does Konoha have any ideas about our present situation?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and asked in return, "Does Sunagakure have any plan?"

Rasa sighed. "We held a meeting, but no effective solutions emerged."

A similar look of resignation crossed Sarutobi Hiruzen's face. "It's the same on our side. Those kids from Amegakure aren't just relying on Uzumaki Karin—her teammates are hardly pushovers."

"Before the finals start, we have to find a way to address this. If we fail, Amegakure will become the biggest winner, and both Konoha and Sunagakure will be relegated to mere supporting roles."

Rasa understood perfectly well, but at the moment, Suna had no plan.

Realizing Konoha was also stuck, Rasa said, "Since neither of our villages has a solution right now, I'll return and continue discussing with the higher-ups in Sunagakure."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded lightly and watched him depart.

Once Rasa was gone, a sharp gleam flashed in the old Hokage's eyes.

"Rasa… It's not that both of us have no solutions; it's just that Sunagakure doesn't have one. Only one village can come out on top here, and that must be Konoha!"

Indeed, Konoha did have a way to handle things. They had been gathering intelligence on Senshi for quite some time, aware that his Wood-Clone was taking missions off the Black Market in the Land of Fire.

With sufficient background on Senshi, it wouldn't be difficult to arrange a "solution."

All they had to do was commission Senshi to tell his Amegakure students to "play along" when facing Konoha's ninja.

After all, achieving the rank of Chunin in the finals wasn't solely about winning; it was about one's overall performance.

If those six Amegakure elites were willing to cooperate, even in defeat Konoha's ninja wouldn't look too bad.

At least they wouldn't be routed in humiliating fashion.

But Konoha aimed higher than simply avoiding embarrassment—they wanted to shine in front of the daimyo of the Five Great Nations and the leaders of various factions.

Given how strong the Ame kids were, that wouldn't be easy, but Konoha believed it was feasible to negotiate with Senshi.

Knowing him, as long as the payment was sufficient, almost nothing was off the table.

Of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no intention of mentioning any of this to Sunagakure.

Because if there was to be a "big winner," it had to be Konoha.

After Rasa left, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not return to the Sarutobi compound but instead headed for the inn where Senshi's group was staying.

Meanwhile, Rasa hadn't truly left the area.

He was extremely anxious over the "Rain problem." If Amegakure's young ninja were all this powerful, Suna's group risked being nothing more than kindling in a wildfire.

But while Rasa was growing desperate, he noticed Sarutobi Hiruzen's apparent composure.

Though the Hokage had feigned worry, there was something off in his demeanor during their conversation that piqued Rasa's suspicion.

He had lingered at a distance, secretly watching Sarutobi Hiruzen.

When Sarutobi headed toward the inn where Senshi's group was staying, Rasa carefully trailed him from afar.

On the rooftop of that inn, Sarutobi Hiruzen had just arrived when he saw Senshi standing there, arms folded, staring at him with a faint smile.

He immediately realized Senshi had sensed him coming and gone up to wait for him.

This elicited genuine admiration from the Third Hokage: "The shinobi world is indeed full of new talents. Each generation surpasses the last."

This was no hollow compliment. In Sarutobi's eyes, Senshi at his current age already exceeded any ninja in recorded history—be it the Third's own teachers or the First Hokage or Madara Uchiha.

Senshi gave a casual shrug. "You flatter me, Lord Hokage. May I ask what brings you here so late?"

Ever since arriving in Konoha, Senshi had been using Mantra to keep track of the village's top brass, so he already knew why Sarutobi had come.

But he waited for Sarutobi to speak first.

After pausing briefly, Sarutobi stated: "This Chunin Exam is crucial to Konoha's future. We hope that you, Senshi, could hold back a bit, giving Konoha's ninja a chance to showcase themselves. To that end, Konoha is prepared to pay a mission fee of one hundred million ryo."

Hearing this, Senshi instantly put on a show of righteous indignation.

He replied sternly: "Lord Hokage, do you have any idea how much effort my students poured into preparing for this exam? And you offer a hundred million ryo for them to throw matches?"

Sarutobi could only groan inwardly at such theatrics. He knew full well that Ame's participation was decided at almost the last second; there'd been no time for them to train that intensely.

But for Konoha's grand plan, he forced himself to endure, raising his offer:

"Konoha appreciates their hard work. For the sake of our friendship, we are willing to pay one hundred fifty million ryo so that both sides can maintain goodwill for all time!"

Even then, Senshi shook his head.

Putting on an even more somber face, he said, "It seems you still don't understand just how hard those six worked. Let me tell you about them."

"Karin, for instance, has gone through unimaginable struggles! Everyone sees her shining performance in these exams, but they know nothing of the sacrifices behind it."

"Before the Chunin Exam, from the moment she woke up to the moment she collapsed asleep, she trained and pushed herself relentlessly, day after day."

"As for Musen, Lanyu, and Lanwu, their journeys have been even more difficult! At first, they were homeless orphans, wandering aimlessly, struggling to survive each day. They overcame harsh living conditions to enroll at Amegakure's Ninja Academy, training step by step to reach their current level."

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, finding this difficult to deal with. Four of the six were supposedly on that level of dedication? This was going to be complicated.

Yet Senshi continued:

"Then there are Raimon Yukika and Raimon Hayate, also children of refugees. If the Ame Academy hadn't offered free admission, they would never even have dreamed of becoming ninja. From the moment they were accepted, they trained from dawn till dusk, steadily improving until they finally stood out from the crowd."

"As their teacher, how could I possibly let their efforts be wasted?"

At these words, Senshi paused, slowly raising two fingers. "Unless…"

Sarutobi Hiruzen: (O_O)???

Watching Senshi's gesture, the Hokage's thoughts whipsawed—he had been on the verge of concluding the deal was off, only to see that Senshi was actually giving him a price.

A second ago, Sarutobi had almost started empathizing with Senshi's protective devotion to his students, reminiscing on how he once taught Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade.

But then he realized: So it's just a matter of more money…

Looking at Senshi's fingers, Sarutobi ventured a guess: "Two hundred million ryo…?"

Senshi shook his head. "I meant double your previous offer."

"Three hundred million ryo?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes went wide. That was hard to swallow, considering they were just paying six Genin to cooperate in some staged performances.

But as soon as he began hesitating, Senshi once again put on a mournful face, about to drone on about the six young ninja's tragic backstories.

Sighing, Sarutobi relented: "Fine. Konoha will pay three hundred million ryo, hiring you to ensure that the Amegakure kids give our Konoha ninja a fair chance to shine in both the preliminaries and the finals!"

"Ah, wonderful," Senshi replied with a grin.

[Mission Accepted!]

[Client: Sarutobi Hiruzen]

[Goal: Have the Amegakure ninja give Konoha ninja enough opportunities to display their abilities during the exam!]

[Reward: 300 million ryo]

[Rank: S]

[Bonus: 300,000 Employment Points!]

Hearing the system's prompt in his mind, Senshi rejoiced—this was a massive payday, well worth orchestrating that big commotion in the Forest of Death.

Sarutobi Hiruzen also felt relieved now that the deal was sealed.

He and Konoha's higher-ups could finally rest easy. With Naruto and Sasuke's strength, as long as they didn't run headlong into Karin, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Now that Karin was taken care of, he could head home for a good night's sleep.

With everything settled, Sarutobi Hiruzen vanished as quietly as he had come.

Afterward, Senshi remained on the rooftop, turning to a certain direction and casually calling out: "Lord Kazekage, do you have business with me too?"

These words startled Rasa, who had believed neither Senshi nor Sarutobi were aware of his presence.

Realizing Senshi had known all along, Rasa had no choice but to drop his stealth and step forward.

Gritting his teeth, Rasa said, "Senshi, Sunagakure also offers three hundred million ryo to hire you—so that our ninja can have ample opportunity to show their skills during the Chunin Exam!"

"I see," Senshi remarked with feigned solemnity. "I guess the efforts of Suna's kids must not be overlooked either."

~~~

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