071: Kumogakure Wants to Reform its Ninja Academy, Golden Flash Aims for Kirigakure.

Finally, Samui's four-person team, who were secretly visiting the Ninja Academy, had to use 2 million Ryo from the Kumogakure envoy's activity funds to safely leave Konoha's Ninja Academy.

When Samui, Glasses, and Ootori, with Iruka's help, found Karasu, who was still trapped in the north building classroom, he was already delirious, his eyes vacant as he recited pages 200-300 of "The Will of Fire: Konoha Ninja Chronicles." He seemed to be under a very powerful genjutsu.

As Samui and the others dragged him away, he continued to mutter, "No... I haven't finished memorizing it yet, Teacher said... ...we can't leave class until we completely memorize..."

"When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew..."

Samui and the others exchanged glances, then had Ootori forcibly take him away.

It's too terrifying, I swear I'll never come back here again. That was their collective thought.

After paying 2 million Ryo for school repairs and personal protection, they were seen off by the three-meter-tall campus guards, neatly lined-up broom soldiers, frolicking wooden puppet students, the oddly sized and strangely thinking teachers Ikka and Irika, and many other beings looming in the mist.

Waving goodbye under the farewell of Teacher Iruka, seemingly the only normal human, they trembled as they walked out of the academy gates. 

It was like going from hell to heaven.

The moment they stepped out, the oppressive and unsettling mist suddenly vanished. 

Looking back, the "monsters and demons" they had encountered along the way were gone, as if everything they had seen was an illusion.

Samui couldn't help but rub her aching chest.

Glasses counted the envoy's activity funds and confirmed that 2 million Ryo was indeed missing. 

The road home would be difficult!

Ootori knocked on his head, as if he could hear the echo of sloshing water. 

He was still dizzy!

Karasu was still reciting the Will of Fire...

"Waaah, I'll never come to Konoha again," Glasses wailed.

"Uh-huh!" everyone nodded vigorously (Karasu was forced to nod along).

Unlike other enemies, no matter how difficult they were to fight, at least they knew their opponents were human. 

What kind of bizarre creatures were in this academy?

Confusing them completely, just when they felt despair, a glimmer of hope would appear, only to be instantly shattered. 

It was as if a hidden hand was manipulating everything, making them look foolish and playing them thoroughly, without them even knowing who the real enemy was.

It was too much to bear.

At the last moment of their departure, they took one last look at the academy that had given them such unforgettable memories. 

As ninjas, their sharp eyes immediately noticed a boy with an eyepatch standing on the roof of the academy building, waving at them and saying something.

The next moment, he vanished.

"Th-That's the cute little ghost who was floating in the mist," Glasses said, her pupils constricting with mixed emotions.

"He seems to be saying that we'll meet again soon," Samui whispered.

"Ha, I'll never come to Konoha again. They can't possibly follow us to Kumogakure, can they?" Ootori said with a dark expression.

"They're back, they're back...the shadow of fire..." Karasu continued to recite the Konoha Ninja Chronicle.

This time, everyone lost their patience and surrounded him, giving him a thorough beating.

Afterwards, like startled kittens, they quickly left, rushing towards the Cloud envoy's residence. 

This time, their plan had backfired spectacularly. 

They would be severely criticized upon their return.

However, Darui, the head of the Kumo envoy, felt that Samui and the others had done a good job. 

They had clearly uncovered Konoha's ultimate secret.

The secret to Konoha's educational methods which could continuously produce geniuses and firmly occupy the position of the number one ninja village in the ninja world was…

Education induced by terror!

He originally wanted to visit the Ninja Academy himself, but was firmly held back by Samui and the others, so he had to give up. After all, Karasu was still reciting the Will of Fire, which was truly disturbing.

"If I become Raikage, I will implement this kind of education in Kumogakure to thoroughly stimulate the full potential of the students," Darui declared.

The next day, they quickly bid farewell to Konoha and returned to Kumogakure. Darui reported the incident to the current Fourth Raikage.

The Fourth Raikage, not having experienced it firsthand, decided to choose one-fifth of Kumogakure's academy students as a pilot group for this educational method. 

Thus, the number of crazy students in Kumogakure began to increase year by year.

…

Land of Hot Water;

After finally conquering a town and enjoying the rest for a few months, they were once again besieged by surrounding nations and various ninja villages.

To protect the last remaining members of the Uchiha, Fugaku had to ask the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, to temporarily abandon this stronghold. 

Currently, they served Gilgamesh as their king, only wanting to borrow his power to preserve the last vestiges of the Uchiha.

With Gilgamesh's temperament, he would never retreat, no matter how many enemies came. 

However, he hadn't yet recovered from the battle in Konoha, and his Gate of Babylon was unusable for some reason.

Moreover, after regaining his body, he had indeed enjoyed endless pleasure along the way and received meticulous care from the Uchiha clan. 

He didn't care about those insignificant soldiers, but the Uchiha clan members were inevitably unable to protect everyone fully. 

After all, ninjas excelled at assassination, and many of these Uchiha were old, weak, sick, or disabled.

After traveling in the ninja world for a while, the King of Heroes understood this world more and more.

Looking at the dusty and exhausted Fugaku, Gilgamesh, sitting on his throne while two Uchiha maidservants poured him tea and wine, nodded. 

He finally decided to leave this temporary base. 

It was useless to conquer new territory if all his servants died.

That would make him a failure as a king.

He was the King of Heroes; it was an honor for his servants to die for him. 

But needless sacrifice was unacceptable. A king who couldn't protect his subjects was unworthy of the title.

"Where do you plan to go next?" he asked.

"You are the clan head and my current most capable general. If you only want to scurry around like a rat without a destination, just to survive, then there's no need for others to act; I can eliminate you myself. 

"Because such Uchiha are not worthy of living in this world, not worthy of becoming my warriors, and certainly unable to survive in this cruel world. You should know this better than I!" Gilgamesh questioned sharply, his words fierce.

"Thank you for your guidance, King Gilgamesh" Fugaku took two steps forward and pulled out a map from his pocket, spreading it out on the table before them. 

"We can go south to the Land of Waves next. It's surrounded by the sea on all sides, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Most importantly, its defenses are exceptionally weak. We can easily take it. However, before that, we must send a group of people north to lure away our pursuers."

Gilgamesh glanced at the map, nodded slightly, then shook his head. 

"The direction is good, but the location is not. Such a small piece of land is useless for future development. Moreover, it's right next to the Land of Fire, with another great nation, the Land of Water, behind it. If the sea routes are cut off, I can easily leave, but it would be extremely difficult for you to escape."

Fugaku frowned, realizing his plan was indeed a bit too naive. 

The main problem was that the Uchiha were now like stray dogs, without any support in the entire ninja world. "Then... what does Your Majesty suggest?"

The King of Heroes glanced at the map again and snorted contemptuously: "Continue south, find the largest port in the Land of Hot Water. 

"After acquiring enough ships, cross the sea and head to the Land of Water. We'll use its numerous islands as bases to gradually erode the entire Land of Water. During this time, I will personally visit Kirigakure, which is rumored to be in turmoil. 

"If I can completely integrate this place without any worries, I will have enough confidence to sweep across the entire ninja world. The premise is that I find out who that guy is, the one who can transform into a giant of light, who steals my noble phantoms at every crucial moment."

Fugaku's pupils constricted. 

The Uchiha were once synonymous with arrogance and dominance in the entire ninja world. 

Now, it seemed, they were as insignificant as ants trying to shake a tree before the King of Heroes.

...

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