Chapter 23: Pear Blossom and Violet’s New Mission – The Third Stage of the Chūnin Exams Begins!
Inside Kirigakure.
The silence was terrifying.
No one had expected their Mizukage to be so utterly powerless.
In the span of a single glance, she had been captured by the enemy.
But what they didn’t know…
was that this wasn’t because Terumī Mei was weak.
It was simply because Uchiha Izumi was too strong.
Izumi’s Mangekyō had two abilities.
Her left eye could mark any ninja tool and control it freely afterward.
Her right eye possessed a “foresight” skill.
It allowed her to see what her opponent would do in the next one second.
In a way, this was the ultimate evolution of the Sharingan’s observation ability.
Just now, she had used that very power to predict Mei’s prediction.
Combined with the element of surprise, and the fact that her strength already surpassed Mei’s…
That was how she achieved a one-hit suppression.
“Uchiha…
You’re from the Uchiha clan!”
Mei was firmly restrained by Susanoo’s massive hand.
Unable to use ninjutsu, she could only shout.
“Who exactly are you?!
The Uchiha clan only has one child left!
Where did someone like you even come from?!”
“Where is the Thunder Blade – Kiba?”
Izumi ignored Mei completely and turned her head toward the other shinobi who had gathered around.
It had to be said…
Kirigakure’s current generation was truly in decline.
They couldn’t even assemble a full Seven Ninja Swordsmen anymore.
The strongest person in the entire village was just this one Mizukage.
And even she had been taken down in a single move by Izumi.
So…
The surrounding shinobi were at a complete loss for what to do.
Mei didn’t order them to keep attacking either.
Because she knew…
Even if all of them charged together, it would be pointless.
And if they enraged Izumi further…
Kirigakure might truly be finished.
Just when the surrounding shinobi didn’t know whether to advance or retreat—
A one-eyed man suddenly appeared, supporting an elderly figure as they walked over.
Izumi recognized the one-eyed man.
It was Ao, the jōnin who possessed the Byakugan.
“I am the Elder…”
The old man spoke in a trembling voice. “In this village, my position is equal to that of the Mizukage.
We will give you the Thunder Blade – Kiba.
I assume you were also the one who cured Ringo Ameyuri’s terminal illness, yes?
In that case…
Please take Ringo Ameyuri with you as well.”
The old man was very clever. He immediately lowered himself to the utmost.
He offered both the sword and the person without making any demands.
His only goal was to minimize the bloodshed.
Unfortunately…
His little plan was for nothing.
Because Izumi had no intention of killing anyone in the first place.
“Fine.”
Izumi nodded.
Then she waited quietly.
Soon, a shy little boy wearing glasses came running over, carrying the blade.
Izumi casually knocked Mei unconscious.
Then she traded the person for the sword.
“Here’s your blade~”
Izumi turned to look at Ringo Ameyuri.
Right now, she wore a gentle smile.
Her large eyes curved into soft crescent moons.
She looked incredibly beautiful and kind.
“She… really is a gentle person, huh~”
Looking at Izumi, Ringo Ameyuri couldn’t help but think to herself.
Because along the entire way here…
Izumi hadn’t killed a single person.
“Let’s go~”
With those words, Izumi strode boldly toward the village exit.
Ringo Ameyuri hurriedly followed.
The many shinobi of Kirigakure could only watch helplessly as the two walked away slowly.
Not one of them dared to say another word.
“Who exactly is she?
And what does she want with Ringo Ameyuri?”
These two questions echoed in everyone’s hearts at the same time.
But no matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn’t come up with an answer.
…
After Izumi and Karin finished their mission.
Byakuya immediately received the notification, along with 100,000 plot points as the system reward.
Looking at such a pitiful amount of plot points…
He could only sigh helplessly.
“As expected~
After all, this isn’t the Mizukage arc.
It’s the Hokage arc!”
Muttering to himself with a wry smile, Byakuya continued the lottery.
Ringo Ameyuri was coming back.
He needed to prepare a diamond card for her.
Unfortunately, no diamond card appeared.
Instead, he drew two single-use “Tathagata Divine Palm” cards.
“Looks like I really need to stir up trouble in Konoha~”
Byakuya gave new orders to the two girls.
For now, they shouldn’t return.
Once Karin’s revival skill was off cooldown, she should casually revive the former hero of Sunagakure—Pakura, who had tragically died under a rain of kunai and shuriken—and bring her back.
After finishing these tasks…
Byakuya returned to his leisurely lifestyle once more.
…
Time passed slowly.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the final round of the Chūnin Exams arrived.
A long time ago, Naruto had been pestering him nonstop, begging him to come watch the matches.
Hinata had also come to him, blushing furiously and stammering for a long while.
Though she never said it outright…
Byakuya knew.
Hinata also wanted him to come watch.
Byakuya remembered that Orochimaru still hadn’t given up.
During the Chūnin Exams, he would absolutely come out to cause chaos.
And when Konoha was under attack, the shinobi would gather the ordinary citizens in a safe location for protection.
Byakuya found that troublesome.
And he had no interest in accepting that kind of “protection.”
So…
He decided to go to the exam venue and watch the show.
“I just wonder if the Third has actually prepared any anti-snake measures…”
Early in the morning on the day of the finals, Byakuya locked the bookstore door and headed toward the exam arena.
Because the Chūnin Exams were a major event…
The village was incredibly lively that day.
On the way, Byakuya saw people from all sorts of countries.
He even saw daimyō riding in ox-drawn carriages.
“Killing a daimyō probably wouldn’t give that many plot points, right?”
Looking at those daimyō, Byakuya thought silently to himself.
With these random thoughts swirling in his head, he soon arrived at the spectator stands of the exam venue.
“Byakuya-kun!”
The moment he appeared, Sakura and Ino immediately waved at him together.
“Byakuya-kun, sit over here!”
“No, sit next to me!”
“Big Forehead, you want Byakuya-kun to sit next to you?
Are you planning to block his view with that huge forehead of yours?!”
“Ino-pig!
Sitting next to you would ruin Byakuya-kun’s mood for watching the match anyway!”
“Who’re you calling Ino-pig?!
You big-foreheaded freak!”
“I’m talking about you, ugly!”
The two girls glared at each other.
The air instantly filled with the smell of gunpowder.
Byakuya’s expression remained blank as he pulled Ino up and set her to the side.
Then he silently sat down right between the two girls.
“Byakuya-kun!”
The moment he sat, both girls immediately scooted in from left and right.
They took the chance to lean against him while still bickering nonstop.
Byakuya felt utterly speechless inside.
“Who even chose this seating arrangement…?”
He sighed inwardly, then quietly turned his gaze toward the arena below.
At this moment, eleven people were standing there.
The one missing…
was of course the protagonist, Naruto.
“The first match is Naruto versus that Sound ninja, Zaku, right? Should be no suspense~”
Just as Byakuya was thinking that—
A loud BOOM suddenly rang out.
Then Naruto came flying in through the main gate.
His body scraped along the ground, sliding all the way like a human projectile before skidding to a stop right next to the other competitors.
“…Well.
That’s very Naruto.”
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