Shadow
A little over half a month later, Hokage Office.
"An Anbu corpse was discovered in Kikyo Castle..."
Mitokado Homura looked at the intelligence scroll, his expression a bit serious.
"Orochimaru's doing again, isn't it?" Utatane Koharu frowned and asked, "He hates the village and is trying to attack Lin Ke and the Uchiha descendants..."
"He even shouted about destroying the village in front of Anko."
"Could other allied nations be involved?" A Jonin sitting at the desk asked seriously.
Mitokado Homura said, "We dispatched Anbu to scout the borders shortly after the Chunin Exams began, and no abnormalities have been found yet."
"If Orochimaru is colluding with allied nations, shouldn't we immediately suspend the Chunin Exams?" Someone quickly suggested.
"No." The Third Hokage finally spoke, "Now is precisely when all the allied nations are gathered for the Chunin Exams. Rashly suspecting the allied nations might be exactly what the enemy wants..."
"We've already dispatched Anbu to allied nations to gather intelligence," Utatane Koharu added. "Until then, please be careful."
"Well, that's all for this matter for now. Dismissed," the Third Hokage made the final decision.
The Jonin left one by one, and Utatane Koharu asked again, "Regarding the protection of Lin Ke and Uchiha Sasuke..."
The Third Hokage took off his hat, revealing his gray hair and aged face, and said, "I've already dispatched Tenzō to protect them in secret. Even Orochimaru, he should be able to hold him off for a while."
Saying that, he smiled, "Also, don't underestimate Lin Ke..."
"He's much stronger than you imagine."
"I hope so." Utatane Koharu didn't say anything more.
Mitokado Homura, however, remained frowning, muttering, "I have a bad feeling."
As the official matches of the Chunin Exams drew nearer, everything felt like the calm before the storm. Orochimaru, who had openly revealed his identity on the first day, had been suspiciously quiet, making it impossible not to overthink.
The death of the Anbu was like a superficial pimple, but who knew how many muscles beneath the skin were already riddled with holes?
"Trust everyone." The Third Hokage stood up, took a deep breath, and felt his aging body, saying, "Even if we reach a critical moment..."
...
Land of Wind, Sand Ninja Village, Kazekage Office.
"We've already figured out all the defenses near Konoha's border..."
Maki sat cross-legged on a cushion, presenting a scroll, "According to the plan with Orochimaru and the Sound Ninja Village, Gaara has successfully advanced to the official matches."
The Fourth Kazekage looked at the scroll in his hand, saying, "Good work, Maki." He opened the scroll, all expressions hidden beneath his hat and mask, his eyes very calm.
"..."
Maki remained silent, quietly awaiting instructions.
"If this plan fails," the Fourth Kazekage said, his tone still very relaxed.
A hint of heaviness appeared on Maki's face. This was what he had been worried about all along. The Sand Ninja Village had been weak for too long, and the general consensus was that if they continued to drag on, they might not even have a chance to resist. Faced with insufficient funding and a scarcity of missions, they could only continuously reduce the number of ninjas. This was why even the Land of Rain dared to compete with them for the Gold Mine...
Although he agreed with fighting with all their might, the Konoha Crush Plan was too risky. Even the Jinchuriki and the Kage had to risk their lives. Once it failed...
Especially since Orochimaru had been injured so badly by a Konoha brat, it made him even more uneasy.
The Fourth Kazekage held the scroll, reading the defense map on it, without even raising his head, saying, "The difference in military strength between us and Konoha is very obvious... Even with Orochimaru and the Sound Ninja Village, the chances of success are not high."
"Maki, we don't have a guaranteed victory, and Gaara..." He paused, closed the scroll, and said, "If this plan fails, I will die in Konoha, and then you will immediately surrender to Konoha Village."
As he spoke, he looked outside. The weather today was exceptionally good, with clear skies and a gentle breeze.
In the Land of Wind, which was mostly desert, such weather was rare. He retracted his gaze and said, "Even if they can defeat us, Konoha Village will definitely not be in good shape..."
"At that time, I, as the Kage, will bear everything. The rest, I can only entrust to you."
"Yes." Maki knelt on the ground, lowering his head to hide the sadness in his eyes.
This was the ninja, a tool of war. Even the Kage had to be ready to sacrifice himself for the village at any time.
[Gaara...]
The Fourth Kazekage sighed slightly.
...
Konoha Village, Seventh Training Ground.
"Dong!"
Yuan Wei flew backward, rolling several times on the ground before Lin Ke stopped him. He supported his slightly swollen left eye, looking at Uchiha Sasuke, who had just sent Kasumi flying.
"This guy... his growth rate is too fast."
From barely being able to entangle with him by relying on the Sharingan at the beginning, to being only slightly inferior to him in physical fitness, to now completely defeating him with Taijutsu in a crushing manner, this...
Only a little over a month has passed.
"Thump!" Kasumi flew over, unable to continue.
Lin Ke gave Yuan Wei a simple treatment for his superficial injuries, then used the Mystical Palm Technique, and went to act as a nanny to heal Kasumi, who was lying next to him.
"Huff~" Uchiha Sasuke walked over, his breathing only slightly rapid. Since opening the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, his growth rate had increased another level.
Due to the Sharingan cheat, he didn't need to consider whether his reactions could keep up at all, as long as he worked hard to improve his physical fitness.
In the manga, it took a month for his body speed to catch up with Rock Lee. In reality, with Lin Ke's interference, his growth would only be faster.
Originally, he was good at working hard with all his might. Now that he could get rewards as long as he worked hard, and the flaw of physical fatigue had been eliminated, in just over half a month, even without opening the Sharingan, he could easily defeat Yuan Wei and Kasumi, who were at the Chunin level, with Taijutsu.
"Yo!" Hatake Kakashi suddenly appeared, "Didn't mean to interrupt everyone's training."
Lin Ke looked up, "What's the matter?"
"The Third Hokage wants to see you." Hatake Kakashi first stated the business, and then said, "I also want to borrow Sasuke for a bit."
The word 'borrow' sounds strange.
Uchiha Sasuke also looked over. Even though it had only been a little over half a month since they last met, he seemed a little estranged from his instructor.
After all, knowing more, he instinctively became suspicious of those who were hiding things from him.
"I understand." Lin Ke stood up and said, "Then, that's it for today, dismissed."
With that, he left using the Body Flicker Technique.
"So, Sasuke, are you interested in talking with me alone?" Hatake Kakashi asked in a relaxed tone.
-----------
This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
To read the full translation, as well as more than 130+ full translations or to request new translations, check out: https:// randomtranslator.com/
You can also join the Random Translator Community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------