I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

Seven days passed quickly, and the final stage of the Chunin Exams officially began.

Normally, there would be a one-month interval between the Forest of Death and the third stage. This time, it was reduced to a week because the Forest of Death stage, which previously was not available to outsiders, was now free to everyone, including the nobles and wealthy merchants. Inviting them took a month, but this time, they were already present, eliminating the need for a month-long break for the participants.

Additionally, it wouldn’t be practical to have the nobles and wealthy merchants hanging around doing nothing in Konoha for a whole month.

With sixty-six participants, there would be a total of thirty-three matches. Fortunately, the battles between Shinobi tended to be swift, allowing for quick outcomes. Otherwise, it might be challenging to finish even the first round on the first day.

The venue for the Chunin Exams remained the same, an arena built by Konoha long ago, with concentric circles forming the spectator stands. Nagasawa, despite being the main examiner, sat with the Kage and observed the matches. He assigned Kakashi as the referee instead.

The drawing lots had been done in the Forest of Death stage, numbering the participants from one to sixty-six. Each number would fight the number after. To ensure an even number of advancing candidates, two unlucky losers would have to battle again, determining the final even-numbered qualifiers.

This was the third stage, and it didn’t matter where you were from. Qualifying or not depended solely on your performance in battle.

In the first match that Nagasawa didn’t recognize, an Iwagakure Genin faced a Sunagakure Genin, so he paid little attention.

Among the sixty-six participants, twenty-seven of them were from Konoha, eighteen from Sunagakure, nine from Iwagakure, and twelve from Kumogakure. The smaller villages had already been eliminated in the Forest of Death stage.

It wasn’t until the third match that Nagasawa saw a Konoha Genin in action. It was a match between a Konoha Genin and a Sunagakure Genin, and the Konoha participant happened to be a member of Nagasawa’s Special Combat Division.

”The third match, participant number five, Iruka Umino, versus...” Kakashi calmly announced the names of the contestants.

”Iruka...” Nagasawa stroked his chin, recalling the middle-aged Chunin instructor who had a significant impact on Naruto.

In the plot, Iruka’s parents sacrificed themselves during the Nine-Tails attack, resulting in him being an orphan. Despite this tragedy, Iruka did not harbor hatred towards Naruto, the child who was considered the Nine-Tails’ host. Instead, he chose to educate and guide Naruto. Thanks to Nagasawa, the Nine-Tails attack had less of an impact on Konoha, and Iruka’s parents were still alive.

As a result, Iruka had the opportunity to train under his parents’ guidance, making him a more outstanding individual compared to in the plot. He even became a member of Nagasawa’s Special Combat Division with Kosuke as his mentor.

Iruka’s opponent was a puppeteer from Sunagakure. With agile movements and swift swordplay, Iruka seized an opportunity within seven minutes, rushing forward to destroy the puppet protecting the puppeteer. He then held his sword against the puppeteer’s neck.

”Participant number five, Iruka Umino, wins,” Kakashi announced the result.

With the victor declared, the audience cheered. Nagasawa noticed a middle-aged couple showing unusual excitement and shouting loudly. They bore a resemblance to Iruka and were presumably his parents.

From Nagasawa’s perspective, Iruka’s Water Breathing technique wasn’t particularly strong, but it wasn’t weak either. At this rate, becoming a Jonin should not be a problem for him. Nagasawa wondered if Iruka would still choose to become a teacher at the Academy.

However, there was no rush. Both Naruto and Iruka currently had happy families with parents who loved them.

Nagasawa only started paying a bit more attention when the eighth match approached, which involved Kabuto. Kabuto was participant number sixteen, and his opponent was a well-built Shinobi from Kumogakure.

Perhaps due to the attention Kabuto garnered in the Forest of Death stage, where he displayed remarkable skills, the audience’s interest in this seemingly underage participant was exceptional. Even his opponent looked serious, realizing that he couldn’t underestimate Kabuto.

Knowing he couldn’t defeat Kabuto, the Kumogakure Genin didn’t bother gauging Kabuto’s strength and he went all out, showcasing his abilities to impress the judges and gain some advantage, albeit it was a gamble.

However, the difference between them was too significant. Kabuto didn’t reveal much as he defeated the Kumogakure Genin easily only with a bit of Water Release and the Lightning Tags he obtained from the Forest of Death.

The participants were allowed to use the Tags they obtained during the Forest of Death stage aside from the Summon Steel Tag.

As Kabuto effortlessly defeated his opponent, the whole arena erupted in cheers. Watching from the sidelines, Itachi shook his head. Kabuto’s first opponent couldn’t even bring out Kabuto’s true strength.

In the afternoon, the final match of the day was finally upon them, and Itachi walked onto the arena. Itachi’s number was sixty-six, and his opponent was a Konoha Genin who looked around fifteen. Itachi didn’t recognize him.

However, the Konoha Genin recognized Itachi, thanks to his performance in the Forest of Death stage. The fight between them wasn’t too intense, probably because they were both Konoha Genin. After four minutes, Itachi used precise shuriken throws combined with Chakra threads and finished the match with a Great Fireball Technique.

Following that, two unfortunate losers were randomly selected for a tiebreaker, concluding the battles for the first day.

The second day brought more exciting matches among the remaining thirty-two participants. Strong contenders faced off, engaging in thrilling battles. In the morning, the participants were narrowed down to sixteen, and in the afternoon, the final eight were determined.

Of the remaining eight, four were from Konoha. Among those four, three were members of Special Combat Division; Kabuto, Itachi, and Hayate Gekko. Apart from Hayate Gekko, they got to the quarterfinals pretty easily.

Luck also played a crucial role. Isamu’s strength was around the same level with Hayate Gekko, but in the third round, he encountered the Kumogakure Genin who could use the Storm Release. They engaged in a fierce battle, and in the end, Isamu was defeated.

The participants left from the other village were one Genin from Sunagakure, two from Kumogakure, and one from the Iwagakure.

The third day would feature the quarterfinals in the morning and the semifinals in the afternoon, leading up to the finals on the fifth day. To allow the participants to rest and showcase their full abilities, the finals were scheduled for the fifth day afternoon, rather than the fourth.

While the Chunin Exams was in full bloom, a group dispatched by Nagasawa arrived in the Land of Water to inform the Mizukage about the upcoming Five Kage Summit. Despite knowing the current situation in the Land of Water, Nagasawa still invited them out of courtesy due to its status as one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, dispatching a ten-member delegation as an envoy to invite the Mizukage to the summit.

This team is led by Shisui, with an experienced Jonin as the vice leader. The remaining eight members were all Chunin, with no Genin among them.

Due to Obito’s control over the Fourth Mizukage, the Land of Water was currently under blockade. However, Kirigakure obviously could not drive Konoha’s Shinobi away.

In the end, the Blood Mist was not just Obito’s revenge. While the Kage was often the strongest person in the village, others were bound to go against them when the Kage did something extremely unreasonable.

So, Obito didn’t just enforce a random policy. All of his policies were a way to benefit a group, allowing a certain faction among the high-ranking officials to gain enough benefits, so his policies gain support.

For example, opressing the Clan with Kekkei Genkai allows many Clans to obtain the Clan that didn’t to rise, and those people will support him.

Obito was using a blunt knife to tear the Kirigakure, causing internal strife. Although those people know that doing so will weaken Kirigakure, for their own interests, they feel that it was completely acceptable.

Because Kirigakure was far away in the Land of Water, they were invincble at sea, and the other Great Shinobi Countries barely had any interest in them. A slight decrease in overall strength wouldn’t affect them.

Or perhaps they even hope for this, as it allows them to occupy more positions.

So, while Kirigakure appeared chaotic, order was preserved to some extent. At least, when Shisui and his team arrived in Kirigakure, they didn’t feel like it was in internal strife, just that the atmosphere was somewhat gloomy.

”We would like to meet the Mizukage. Please help inform him,” Shisui said to the Kirigakure Shinobi who received them.

However, the Kirigakure Shinobi shook his head and coldly said, ”Seeing the Mizukage is not something you can decide. Just wait for his approval.”

After saying that, the Kirigakure Shinobi took Shisui to a hotel. He also requested that Shisui and his team not move around freely during their stay in Kirigakure and stay obediently in the hotel.

”Yanagi-senpai, something’s not right. Kirigakure’s attitude is so bad,” Shisui said after inspecting the room with his Sharingan.

Yanagi was the team’s vice leader, a seasoned Jonin at the age of thirty-seven with abundant experience.

Yanagi nodded slightly and frowned. ”Something is indeed amiss. Although Kirigakure had a war with us during the Third Great Shinobi War and hates us, they should at least try to put up a facade. A situation like earlier shouldn’t have happened.”

Originally, even if they weren’t immediately granted an audience with the Mizukage, they shouldn’t be that nasty, and restricting their movement was uncalled for.

They were from Konoha, the strongest village in the world, and this was the treatment they gave them.

”So, what should we do now? Follow Kirigakure’s instructions and stay here?” The accompanying Chunin seemed a bit panicked, thinking this would be a simple mission with lot of rewards, so he did not expect to encounter such a situation.

Seeing the unease among the Chunin, Shisui reassured them, ”It’s okay. It might be because of the last war; Kirigakure may harbor some resentment towards Konoha and want to intimidate us to some extent. Tsuchikage, Kazekage, and Raikage already agreed to attend the Five Kage Summit. Unless Kirigakure wants to oppose the Four Great Shinobi Countries, Mizukage will have to participate in the Five Kage Summit.”

Hearing this, the Chunin felt relieved and calmed down.

”Let’s wait for two days. We’ll see the Kirigakure’s attitude after two days and then decide our course of action,” Shisui said after some thought.

Yanagi also thought Shisui’s decision made sense and nodded in agreement.

Initially, Yanagi felt a bit displeased because Shisui, a green and inexperienced kid, was the team leader instead of him. On top of that, Shisui was from the temperamental Uchiha Clan, which made Yanagi worried that Shisui might cause trouble especially because he was young. However, Shisui’s performance dispelled his dissatisfaction, and now he appreciated Shisui. His prejudice toward the Uchiha Clan also changed slightly.

”Lastly, everyone be cautious, and if anything unusual happens, report to me,” Shisui reminded the team members.

Even though he possessesed the Mangekyo Sharingan, they were only a ten-person team. If Kirigakure was really planning to take them down, Shisui cannot guarantee the safety of everyone.

”We will,” the Chunin expressed their thanks, assuring that they would be cautious.

...

”Did they not get angry about this? That’s a pity,” after hearing Zetsu’s report, Obito felt a bit upset.

Kirigakure Shinobi’s treatment to Shisui and his team was by his order to provoke Konoha Shinobi.

However, based on Zetsu’s report, it seemed that this plan did not succeed. At least, the Konoha Shinobi seemed very calm, showing no intention of violating the rules and leaving.

However, Obito was not worried. He has several plans.

Kirigakure Shinobi were no fools. If he directly ordered the assassination of Konoha envoys, those high-ranking elders would undoubtedly think he has a serious problem.

In this regard, Obito had to thank the Anbu. Some brainwashed Anbu unconditionally followed the Mizukage’s orders, no matter how unreasonable they were.

At that time, he could disguise an Anbu as regular Kirigakure Shinobi to attack the Konoha envoy. Kill some of them and let some escape. By then, the Kirigakure wouldn’t be able to distinguish the Anbu from normal Shinobi.

At that time, with both new and old grudges, Obito did not think Konoha could still remain patient.

Obito could easily find a high-ranking Anbu to take the blame. At this point, Kirigakure high-brass would not have time to think about so much because they would be forced to go to war with Konoha.

When a Mizukage went to great lengths to start a war, it was not that difficult.

When the war broke out between Konoha and the Kirigakure, capturing a Hyuga Clan Shinobi would also become easier. It was a win-win situation.