[NTU] [ARC-04-CHUNIN-EXAMS] Chapter : 58 (Patreon)

"Hien, it seems you'll have to delay your revenge for a while longer."

Shimura Hien's face darkened at Sarutobi Renji's words. Undeterred by his companion's expression, Renji continued, "With your current strength, you won't be able to take on Uchiha Toshiro for a few more years without hard and efficient training."

"Unless..."

Renji lowered his voice and motioned for Hien to lean in, indicating he had something confidential to share.

"Unless what?" Hien squinted at Renji, curious despite himself, and leaned closer.

Seeing his companion take the bait, Renji couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. Despite Hien's usual stern demeanor, he had finally caught his interest.

In their small group, Hien had always been somewhat defiant of him being the leader, relying on his strength to challenge Renji's authority. Even after being bested by Toshiro, Hien hadn't accepted defeat and continued plotting his revenge.

However, facing Toshiro again, Hien came up short. Renji saw this as an opportunity to solidify his influence. Though he was only thirteen, Renji was ambitious and had already formed a small circle of loyal followers.

Now was the perfect time to bring in Hien, who had many underlings himself, into the fold. His plan was simple: deceive Hien with false hopes of revenge against Toshiro. As for the aftermath, that was a problem for later. For now, manipulating Hien is the priority.

Toshiro, oblivious to the scheming in the stands, focused on his opponent. Slowly, he raised his sword, pointing it directly at Kakashi. As his chakra surged, a faint orange light began to emanate from the blade. Under Toshiro's control, the orange light intensified into a blazing flame, radiating heat that even Kakashi could feel.

This advanced chakra technique, part of the Uchiha-ryu kenjutsu, involved channeling fire attribute chakra to enhance his slashes with intense heat and explosive power—a seamless blend of chakra and swordsmanship. Though other elements like wind, lightning, earth, and water could be used, Uchiha typically favored fire, wind, and lightning.

Seeing Toshiro's fire blade, Kakashi didn't hesitate. He channeled his chakra into his short sword, causing lightning to crackle along the blade. This technique, taught by his father, significantly boosted the thrust and swing of his attacks. Though Kakashi had practiced it extensively, he had never used it in actual combat. Today, however, was his chance to unleash its full potential without holding back.

"Hatake-ryu White Fang!"

"Uchiha-ryu Fire blade!"

As they finished charging their attacks, orange-red flames and blue-white electricity surged around their weapons, crackling with power. Kakashi poured nearly all his chakra into this move, while Toshiro did the same with his fire blade. The resulting clash sent a blinding mix of blue-white and orange-red light across the arena, stunning every Shinobi present.

The air exploded with a deafening boom, followed by a cloud of rising smoke.

"That's insane, isn't it?"

The spectators were stunned by the spectacle. The ground was torn apart, and rubble fell from the impact zone. The Genin watching the battle in awe, couldn't believe the sheer power on display. This wasn't just a sword fight; it was like a full-scale ninjutsu clash.

As the dust began to settle, a figure rolled out of the smoke—Kakashi Hatake.

"Did Kakashi win?"

Before anyone could voice their doubts, Kakashi, who had rolled to a stop, forced himself into a half-kneeling defensive stance. However, before he could fully recover, a gleaming sword was already at his neck.

"The difference in physical strength gave me the edge in recovering from our clash," Toshiro explained, his voice calm and clear. "That was the key to my victory this time."

With that, Toshiro withdrew his knife and sheathed it, offering a hand to Kakashi. Kakashi, momentarily stunned, followed suit and sheathed his own sword before taking Toshiro's hand and allowing him to help him stand.

"Winner: Uchiha Toshiro. Both sides, perform the seal of reconciliation!"

Seeing that both combatants were relatively unharmed, Minato breathed a sigh of relief. This was the best outcome he could have hoped for. He had been on edge, ready to intervene if things got out of hand.

Fortunately, his fears were unfounded. Though Kakashi looked pale and exhausted, he only needed some rest to recover fully. Toshiro, on the other hand, seemed to have some energy left, as demonstrated by his ability to help Kakashi up. All in all, it was a hard-fought battle with a respectful conclusion.

While Toshiro and Kakashi were locked in fierce battle, far to the west of Konoha Village, in the heart of the desert, a massive ring of mountains enclosed an oasis. This harsh environment was home to the Sunagakure of the Land of Wind.

In a peculiar gourd-shaped building within the village, a group of elderly men and women were gathered for a grim meeting. Most of the participants, aside from a few younger individuals, looked visibly troubled.

"Recently, spies in the village have become more rampant. If we don't control it, they'll soon be walking all over us!" declared an old man with gray hair, his voice tinged with frustration.

Silence fell over the room until someone finally spoke up, breaking the uneasy stillness. "Is there any news from the Third Kazekage?"

The question only deepened the somber mood. "I've already mobilized all available Anbu and Ninjas," another person replied. "But..."

"Still no news?" Another elder interrupted.

"No trace of the Third Kazekage... It's as if he vanished into thin air."

"Could this be a conspiracy from another village, secretly assassinating the Third Kazekage?" someone speculated.

"Impossible! He’s the strongest Kazekage till now! How could he be assassinated without anyone knowing?" countered another voice, leading to a heated debate.

The room gradually calmed as an older woman with medium-length hair spoke up. "There is no point in arguing here. We need to come up with some practical suggestions." This woman was Chiyo, the legendary puppeteer capable of skillfully controlling ten puppets at a time, and the strongest individual after the Third Kazekage in Sunagakure. Beside her sat her younger brother, Ebizo, an expert in internal affairs and co-leader of the elite puppet troops. Together, they held a pivotal position in the village.

The attendees turned their attention to Chiyo, eager for solutions. At that moment, a middle-aged man with a scarred, sullen face saw his opportunity and spoke up. "The recent movements of our village to search for the Kazekage have attracted the attention of surrounding nations. They think we are scoping them out for a war. If this drags on, the situation will become impossible to conceal, and we will have war on our hands!!"

"We can't contain this anymore. It's better to act now, before the news fully leaks, and divert our domestic tensions," someone suggested, breaking the silence in the conference room.

The room fell into a heavy silence. Although the village had been actively preparing for another war and had regained much of its strength over the years, this was the first time the topic of war had been openly discussed.

Seeing the participants' reluctance, the one who proposed this smiled contemptuously but remained undeterred.

"Elder Minsha, war is a serious matter and requires careful consideration," Chiyo's brother, Ebizo, intervened, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Do you have a better solution? Instead of waiting for other villages to get wind of our situation and annihilate us, we should strike first while they are still unprepared!" Elder Minsha countered. "Since the end of the last war, the daimyo has been dissatisfied with our defeat. Over the years, our strength has weakened due to heavy war reparations. Rather than growing weaker, we should act while we still have some strength left."

"This..." Ebizo was at a loss for words in the face of Elder Minsha's passionate argument. He understood the village's problems all too well from his involvement in its internal affairs over the years.

Ultimately, the root issue was a lack of resources. The Land of the Wind was desperately scarce in resources. The vast desert offered only a few oases amidst the yellow sand and scorching wind. The region's inhabitants had to be content with poisonous snakes, lizards, and scorpions.

The aftermath of the last war had left a significant burden in the form of taxes on the people, exacerbating various conflicts within the country. Tensions between the ninja village and the daimyo, ninjas and ordinary citizens, and competition over scarce water resources in the oases were growing increasingly irreconcilable.

'Maybe it's time for a change...' Ebizo thought, realizing that drastic measures might be necessary.