Chapter 205: Konohamaru Targeted

Chapter 205: Konohamaru Targeted

"Hmph, when did it become your place to speak here?" A said, glancing disdainfully at Takagi Shōban.

"I was just stating a fact. Is the Raikage so tyrannical that he won't even let people speak?" Takagi Shōban retorted.

Takagi Shōban actually knew very well that compared to other Kage who had risen through legitimate means, his title as the Fifth Mizukage was full of hot air. If he were in front of the Tsuchikage or even the Kazekage, he wouldn't be so presumptuous.

However, their South Kirigakure was currently in a state of almost completely broken relations with the Cloud Village, which openly supported North Kirigakure. So, he felt no need to give A too much face. Anyway, in this territory of Konoha, his "Hokage father" would surely protect him.

Sure enough, how could A's explosive temper tolerate a clown like Takagi Shōban prancing around in front of him? His steel-like muscles tensed instantly, intending to teach Takagi Shōban a lesson.

However, before he could make a move, Uchiha Douhuan spoke unhurriedly from the side, "Heh heh, Raikage and Mizukage, could you perhaps do me a favor and not cause a dispute here? After all, in a few days, the Daimyō from various countries who are coming to observe the battles will all be present. If the two of you make too much of a scene, it probably won't look good for anyone's reputation."

A narrowed his eyes at Uchiha Douhuan, snorted coldly, then sat back down in his seat, picked up a piece of fried chicken, and began eating it by himself.

Soon, the time for the first wave of the shrinking circle arrived, and the dispersed teams gradually began to clash.

Most of them maintained restraint at this time. When encountering other teams, they consciously left themselves a way out. Of course, in this process, a few teams performed particularly impressively.

For example, Shikamaru's squad.

At the edge of the survival zone in the eastern part of the map, Shikamaru, under a large tree, used his Shadow Paralysis Jutsu to completely control three members of a Mist ninja squad that was just about to enter the circle. Ino assisted from the side using mental interference techniques, while Choji firmly guarded the backs of the two who were unable to move while performing their clan's secret jutsu.

This Mist ninja squad was forcefully controlled just a step away from the safe zone for nearly a minute until the summoning jutsu on their wristbands triggered. After they burst into a pile of supplies, Shikamaru and Ino retracted their respective jutsu, and then the three quickly gathered the supplies.

"These guys have quite a rich haul, eh?" Ino couldn't help but remark after taking inventory of the supplies. "We only casually searched a few places while rushing along. The supplies we gathered wouldn't even be enough for Choji alone tonight. But with these, we don't have to worry for tonight."

"Under these rules, unless you have absolute strength like Sasuke's squad, time is the most important thing," Shikamaru explained to his two teammates. "When all teams are generally heading in the same direction, staying outside the circle for even one second longer increases the chance of being ambushed by one percent."

"Heh heh, the members of this squad are ninjas from Konoha's famous Ino-Shika-Cho clans, aren't they?" Takagi Shōban said. "Although all three of them are just genin, their trap placement and timing of attack are impeccable. Such ninja discipline is far superior even to our Mist Village's veteran Chunin. This is the depth of Konoha's foundation."

Although the squad that had just been controlled outside the circle by Shikamaru's trio and eliminated in an extremely frustrating manner was from their Mist Village, Takagi Shōban didn't mind at all. Instead, he loudly praised Shikamaru.

However, this wasn't surprising. Takagi Shōban hadn't held much expectation for his own village's genin when he came to Konoha this time. This batch of Mist genin did have a few good prospects, but Takagi Shōban had directly kept them in the village and not allowed them to participate in this Chunin Exam.

After all, Takagi Shōban was also worried: what if their Mist genin performed too well, and Konoha reduced its aid to them? Without his adoptive father Fugaku, he was no match for Terumi Mei.

A's mouth twitched slightly. Although he had already overestimated the thickness of Takagi Shōban's skin, Takagi Shōban always found new ways to refresh his understanding.

It wasn't just him; even Onoki was finding it a bit hard to maintain his composure at this point. Looking at the Mizukage hat placed beside Takagi Shōban's seat, Onoki suddenly felt that being on the same level as this fellow was too embarrassing.

As the sky gradually darkened, the various squads in the arena temporarily set up camp. Everyone in the VIP room also went back to rest.

After A returned to his lodgings, it wasn't long before he left a Lightning Clone in his room. His real body, after a simple disguise, slipped out of the hotel and went to a restaurant in the northwest corner of Konoha.

After exchanging a secret signal, A was led by a waiter into a private room in the restaurant.

A waited for a short while, and soon, a slightly chubby middle-aged man walked into the room. Upon seeing A, he first bowed and said, "Lord Raikage."

"No need for formalities." A nodded and then got straight to the point, "How is the investigation going?"

"Lord Raikage, we have already been working on the matter you arranged previously. However, the results are not very optimistic," the middle-aged man said, shaking his head.

"Hmm?" The Raikage frowned.

"Lord Raikage, since Uchiha Douhuan took power, the crackdown on spies within Konoha has been much more severe than during Sarutobi Hiruzen's administration. Many of our Cloud spies have fallen into the hands of their Guard Unit. Therefore, our remaining spies also laid low for a period. We only resumed operations three months ago after receiving your instructions. However, even after sacrificing several spies cultivated by the village for many years, the intelligence we obtained is very limited."

"You have all worked hard. As for the sacrificed brothers, the village will forever remember their contributions." A nodded. This situation was actually within his expectations. After all, compared to that old fool Sarutobi Hiruzen, who became more useless with age, Uchiha Douhuan was definitely much harder to deal with. "Give me all the intelligence gathered during this time."

"Yes!" The head of the Cloud spies embedded in Konoha nodded and then began to orally report the intelligence they had painstakingly obtained.

"The Hyuga main family currently has 9 ninjas, including the clan head Hyuga Hiashi. However, the protective forces around them have always been substantial. Only the clan head's eldest daughter, Hyuga Hinata, and the current young clan leader, Hyuga Neji, do not have branch family ninjas protecting them. However, Hyuga Hinata usually moves with the Uchiha clan's elite Jonin, Shisui of the Body Flicker. It's simply impossible for us to take her down quickly. As for Hyuga Neji..."

When mentioning Neji, a wry smile appeared on the face of this Cloud spy leader. "Although this kid only graduated from the Ninja Academy a year ago, he already possesses Jonin-level strength and is extremely sensitive to any disturbance around him. Many of our brothers fell into his hands previously. If we make a move on him, it's absolutely no problem for him to hold out until Konoha's support arrives."

"If the Hyuga are not an option, what about the Uzumaki?" A asked. The sealing jutsu displayed by Karin in the VIP room today had made him very envious.

"The Uzumaki clan..." The Cloud spy leader shook his head helplessly upon hearing this. "Although the current head of the Uzumaki clan within Konoha is just a newly graduated genin, and the clan only consists of a mother and daughter, it's basically impossible to make a move on them."

"Why is that?" A asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The current head of the Uzumaki clan, Uzumaki Naruto, resides in the home of Konoha's Guard Unit Captain, Hatake Kakashi. Coupled with his Jinchuriki status, even when he was weaker, there was never a shortage of Konoha's elite protection around him. And now, this kid has also grown stronger. Although he rarely shows his strength, based on the traces left at his usual training grounds according to our spies, this fellow has at least Jonin-level strength."

"As for the other two, because there is currently no Uzumaki clan compound within Konoha Village, they currently reside in the former Senju clan compound. Moreover, they live right next door to one of the Sannin, Princess Tsunade."

Hearing this, A had no intention of pursuing the matter further. Let alone the spies from his village, even he himself wouldn't have a guaranteed victory against Princess Tsunade, much less snatching someone from under her nose.

"So, currently, we have no opportunity to seize any of Konoha's Kekkei Genkai families, is that right?" A gritted his teeth, somewhat unwilling. Their last plan against the Hyuga clan was already a stroke of extreme luck for the Cloud. At that time, the Hyuga clan had lowered their guard considerably due to many years of comfortable life within the village, and they encountered a weak Hokage like Sarutobi Hiruzen, which gave them the chance to obtain the Byakugan. Yet, even that one chance was muddled through by the Hyuga clan using a branch family head as a substitute to die.

And now, under Uchiha Douhuan's management, Konoha was like an iron plate. Despite the Cloud Village losing so many spies, the intelligence they obtained was that there was simply no opportunity to strike.

As for the Uchiha clan, A didn't even ask. Defenses might be lax elsewhere in Konoha now, but it was highly unlikely for the Uchiha clan.

"Well... it wouldn't be entirely accurate to say that," this Cloud spy said after a moment's hesitation.

"Hmm?" A perked up upon hearing this.

"We currently haven't found any opportunities with Konoha's major Kekkei Genkai clans. However, there is a very high chance for us to abduct the young master of the Sarutobi clan."

"The Sarutobi clan?" A's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this. Although the Sarutobi clan didn't have any special Kekkei Genkai, their clan members possessed an extremely high affinity for chakra. They were born with significantly more chakra than ordinary people and found it easier to learn ninjutsu. This clan's bloodline had the ability to stably produce elite Jonin.

Therefore, if the Hyuga and other ninja clans offered no opportunities, snatching someone from the Sarutobi clan didn't seem like a bad idea.

"Tell me in detail about this opportunity you mentioned," A said.

"It's like this: this young master of the Sarutobi clan is the biological grandson of the former Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He is currently still attending the Ninja Academy. However, every day after school, he goes to the Land of Fire's Royal Palace to play with the current Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Then, at night, he returns to the Sarutobi clan compound located in the northeast of Konoha. During this process, this kid only has one Special Jonin-level tutor guarding him."

"Only one Special Jonin?" A's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Although Konoha's Special Jonin were not weak, compared to the protective forces around the heirs of those major ninja clans, the security around the Sarutobi clan's young master was practically a giveaway.

Therefore, upon learning this news, A's first thought was to suspect whether this was a trap set by Konoha.

"We have repeatedly confirmed that the Sarutobi clan's young master indeed only has one Special Jonin for close protection. The Sarutobi clan's level of protection for its younger members is not particularly high."

After some thought, A also figured out the reason for this situation. With Konoha having two major Kekkei Genkai clans like Hyuga and Uchiha, which were coveted by practically everyone in the ninja world, the chances of their Sarutobi clan being targeted were very low. Therefore, the security forces for the younger members within the village would naturally not be as exaggerated as the Hyuga clan's.

"It's him then. Make the arrangements. We move immediately after the Chunin Exam ends," A decided, slamming his fist on the table.

At this moment, Konohamaru, who was still in the Royal Palace arguing heatedly with Minamoto Miyuki about whether using chakra-cultivated crickets constituted cheating, had no idea that in just this short while, he had already been targeted by the Cloud Village.

...

The next day, after dawn, the leaders of the various ninja villages once again gathered in the VIP room to watch the Chunin Exam.

By now, Sasuke and Kurotsuchi had already discussed the specific details of their cooperation and had decided on the candidates for their respective villages' advancing teams. They began contacting their village comrades using their own methods.

After learning the information about the shrinking circle, Shikamaru's trio, who had just arrived at the edge of the circle and laid new traps, saw a small white snake crawl to their feet. It then spat out a miniature scroll and disappeared.

"A message from Sasuke?" Shikamaru puzzledly opened the scroll spat out by the snake. After seeing the contents, his mouth twitched, he sighed, and then said to Ino and Choji, "Stop what you're doing. Let's go. Sasuke needs our help over there."

"Eh?" Choji said in disbelief upon hearing this. "Are Sasuke and his team in trouble? But, if it's trouble that even they can't solve with their strength, we wouldn't be much help even if we went."

"It has nothing to do with strength. Sasuke plans to pull off something big in this exam," Shikamaru said.

(End of chapter)

---

♧♧♧

-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE

-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER

♧♧♧

-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!

-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais

(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)

If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you