Iwagakure, in the Land of Earth, was a village surrounded by towering rocky mountains. It had formidable defenses, and any enemy hoping to attack it would first have to overcome the rugged terrain.
Outside Iwagakure lay a wide, circular area enclosed by rocky hills. At that moment, a Stone Ninja and a Rain Ninja were locked in a fight to the death there.
This was the final round of the joint Chunin exams between the two villages: a live battle to the death.
Ninjutsu and ninja tools of all kinds appeared one after another. The most striking was the Rain Ninja's Iron Umbrella. Umbrella-shaped ninja tools were exceedingly rare in the Ninja World; it seemed that only Amegakure had a dedicated workshop to make and order them.
The Iron Umbrella could extend a sharp blade from its tip, and the blade could be infused with Chakra to make it even sharper.
On top of that, the Iron Umbrella could spin by itself in midair, firing a dense spray of steel needles at the enemy as if it had locked onto its target.
And since the Rain Ninja wielding it was no slouch either, the duel between the two villages' ninja soon reached its conclusion.
"Your Amegakure has developed at an astonishing pace over the past few years!"
"This old man has never seen such a novel ninja tool before. If you could equip your forces with them on a large scale, our young fellows from Iwagakure wouldn't stand a chance against you..."
Seats had been set up midway up the rocky hills surrounding the arena. Ōnoki wore his Tsuchikage robes and hat as he spoke to the person beside him, his tone tinged with amusement.
The man sitting beside him wore a Rain Ninja Forehead Protector. He had orange hair