TitoVillar
patreon
TUS Chapter 247: Diplomacy, Disputes, and Chunin Exams
🕑 Added 2024-12-21 22:51:49 +0000 UTC"What did you say?" Yamanaka Inoichi opened his eyes wide, staring in disbelief at the young people in front of him.
If someone else had made a similar comment about Funan, it might have gone unnoticed. But coming from a member of the inner circle of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, who once had direct conflicts with Funan, the situation was even more complicated.
In addition, Inoichi, like Kakashi, also thought of the current Hokage's fervent followers. Those words from his daughter could cause them serious problems.
"What do we do?" Choza asked.
Inoichi glared at his daughter, gritted his teeth and said: "Let's inform Shikaku, it turns out he's at the Hokage Residence."
"Okay!"
A secret message was quickly sent, and Shikaku's reply was not long in coming.
As expected, Shikaku found a solution. However, when Inoichi and Choza read it, they could only sigh in resignation.
Inoichi thought for a long time but couldn't think of a better way. He also understood that if they didn't act quickly, the other faction seeking to divide the Ino-Shika-Cho clans might take this opportunity to act. So he could only look at Ino and the other two helplessly.
"You three… prepare yourselves. You will be participating in the Chunin Exam."
"What?!" They exclaimed in unison.
Shikamaru frowned. "Inoichi-ojisan, I heard that this time the selection will be… rather brutal."
"It's not like it's something brutal. Konoha will likely face siege from other villages." Inoichi replied seriously. "But don't worry too much. The current Hokage is incredibly strong, so much so that the rest of the shinobi world can barely breathe under his shadow. Even if they are dissatisfied with Konoha, they won't dare to attack you openly."
"This is your chance!"
"Understood!" Shikamaru nodded and said: "Let's go, Ino, Choji."
"Where are we going?" Ino asked confused.
Shikamaru said helplessly: "Let's find the other leading jonin to train us. Also, we must talk to the other participants. Every ally counts."
Shikamaru glanced at Inoichi and Choza, and couldn't help but complain: "Since you have such a high opinion of the Hokage, why are you still so dissatisfied with him? Aren't you dragging us down with your problems?"
Inoichi and Choza exchanged resigned glances.
Not all excellent leaders were universally accepted.
Even more so now that Funan is impartial to everyone, the Ino-Shika-Cho clans no longer have the privileges they had before, and because of this the clans are now on the verge of splitting up.
"Alas!" Inoichi sighed helplessly.
...
Two days later!
Kakashi and the other leading Jonin obtained the final list of candidates for the Chunin Exam.
All of the Konoha Twelve were registered.
Kakashi looked at the list in disbelief.
The young people lined up in front of him, while Kakashi directed a questioning look at Sakura.
"Humph!" Sakura snorted and said: "Kakashi-sensei, don't look at me like that. There's no way I'll let Sasuke be in danger!" After that, she glared at Ino hatefully. 'Sasuke is mine! I can't give Ino even the slightest chance.'
Kakashi was speechless.
Each lead Jonin in charge led their own team to prepare.
Even Yashiro, seeing that his students had chosen to participate, didn't say anything else. Instead, he focused on training his team as best as possible.
...
As the chunin exams approached, the atmosphere between the shinobi villages became increasingly tense.
Everyone knew this exam would be problematic.
At best, there would be a small conflict between villages.
The tension grew day by day.
Particularly in Kumogakure, where the atmosphere had become extremely tense for months.
The reason?
Rap maestro Killer Bee had disappeared.
Before, his loud songs and cries could be heard every day. Now, the village was plunged into a strange silence that made everyone uncomfortable.
Somehow, they even started to miss his weird rap.
Mabui walked hurriedly through the Raikage building.
These months had not been easy for her.
Because they had lost the war, internal tensions had increased, and one mistake could lead to a civil war.
To top it off, the Raikage, famous for not paying attention to details, left the entire weight of the decisions on her shoulders.
But that wasn't all.
There was also the conflict they had with the nobles and the daimyo.
In addition, the Raikage had decided to strengthen relations with other villages and reorganize forces on the borders.
Mabui has been busy for the past few months, and she feels like she could suddenly die at any moment!
Too tired.
There is no rest time at all.
She even dreamed about her endless to-do list.
"Raikage-sama, this is the latest report on the distribution of forces at the border. During the Joint Chunin Exam, these will be the guidelines. After the exam, we will make further adjustments."
"Raikage-sama, since you will be attending the exam personally, besides C and Darui, I suggest you bring more people. Here is the list of candidates; please decide."
"Raikage-sama, as you know, your safety is our priority at this time."
"Raikage-sama, there are suspicious movements on the part of the daimyo. Please review this report."
"Raikage-sama, here is the list of participants for the chunin exam."
"Raikage-sama, before the exam begins, we need to conduct special training for the participants. Here are the instructor candidates, all of whom are elite jonin. Please review the proposal."
A pile of reports and documents piled up in front of the Raikage.
He pushed them away with one hand and looked at Mabui with a piercing expression. "Mabui, you've been working hard lately. Are you very tired?"
"You are very kind, Raikage-sama." Mabui replied calmly. "This is part of my responsibilities. But remember, you are the Raikage. You hold the lives of the entire village in your hands. A single decision of yours can determine the fate of thousands of people."
The Raikage's eyebrows twitched. 'Another reprimand... and I can't say a word to defend myself!'
To be honest, he was worried that Mabui would get fed up and quit. If that happened, he would be lost.
Mabui, after a brief pause, continued: "Raikage-sama, leaving everything else aside, I'm more worried about Killer Bee."
The Raikage kept his expression neutral. "What about Bee?"
Only he knew where his brother was hiding. Not even Mabui or Darui knew the place.
"Without Bee in the village, everyone is restless." Mabui's expression was full of helplessness. This was something she had not expected.
In the past, everyone's attitude towards Killer Bee was disgust and fear. Now that he has really left, everyone is uneasy.
The Raikage looked surprised. "They're restless? Because of Bee?"
"That's a fact." Mabui sighed. "Perhaps you should consider some way to reassure everyone... perhaps find someone who uses the transformation jutsu to imitate you."
The Raikage showed slight hesitation. Finally, he firmly shook his head and said: “Bee’s safety is more important. As for the village, I’ll leave it to you, Mabui. I trust that you are the best for this job.”
Mabui replied in a dry tone: “…Thank you for your trust, sir.”
The two continued arguing for quite a while.
When they finished, the Raikage couldn't help but feel exhausted. He looked at Mabui with a mixture of weariness and respect.
Almost everything they had just discussed was already perfectly arranged by Mabui; he just needed to sign. She had even presented him with several options for him to choose from.
Still, the Raikage was exhausted. So how must Mabui be feeling?
“Mabui, thank you for your efforts.” The Raikage said seriously.
“It’s my responsibility.” She replied, bowing her head slightly before turning to leave the office.
The Raikage slowly approached the window, silently gazing out at the streets of Kumogakure.
“I will not lose… Not against Konoha, not against the Uchiha, not against Ame… not against Akatsuki!”
"I will never lose!"
Meanwhile, the Raikage was unaware that, upon leaving the office, Mabui's gaze became vacant for a moment. Then, she resumed her steps as if nothing had happened.
Not far from her, space began to distort slightly.
Several miles away, in a dark room, a figure emerged from the void.
Obito, with a gloomy face and an icy voice, muttered: “The Raikage is cunning. He hid the Eight-Tails, and he didn’t even tell his closest secretary.”
From the ground emerged Zetsu, his body half white and half black. “It seems that our hunt for the tailed beasts has put them on alert. That is why they have hidden the last remaining tailed beast.”
“Last one? And the One-Tail?” Obito asked coldly.
“The One-Tail is also missing." Zetsu replied. “The tailed beasts that are still at large are the Eight-Tails, the One-Tail, and the Nine-Tails, but the latter is even harder to capture.”
He was a little helpless.
At the last step, it was stuck.
Suddenly, Zetsu said: “Don’t you find it strange that villages hide their tailed beasts so well?”
“What do you mean by that? We are capturing them. It is normal for them to hide them, right?”
“The known tailed beasts in Konoha now are the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Four-Tails, and Nine-Tails. The Five-Tails and Six-Tails were sent there secretly. In the war not long ago, the Six-Tails appeared on the battlefield of Ame. Therefore, the outside world may not be sure that the Five-Tails and Six-Tails are in Konoha.”
Obito looked at Zetsu in silence.
“Don’t you find it strange? Although we are capturing the tailed beasts, we are not that aggressive. However, the Raikage hid his brother. Is it possible that they know something else?”
Obito remained thoughtful.
At this moment, most of the tailed beasts were concentrated in Konoha.
Akatsuki captured them and then apparently sold them to Konoha.
So why did a man as proud as the Raikage decide to hide his brother?
What was Kumogakure afraid of?
Or had someone warned them that Akatsuki was determined to capture the Eight-Tails, even using the Rinnegan if necessary?
Deidara?
Or...
"Uchiha Funan?"
Zetsu shrugged. “I hope it’s him. But if it’s not, we’d be in big trouble.”
Obito's brow furrowed.
Nagato?
Impossible!
How could it be!
“This is crazy…” Obito was helpless and sighed. "Forget it, leave the Eight-Tails to Nagato, let's go!"
"Where to go?"
“Let’s see someone. A person that even Funan is afraid to face.”
