Invitation to the Chunin Ninja Exams
Fire Style: Oil Bomb!
On the border of the Land of Wind, the ninjas who fought against the Iwagakure team were now the Konoha Ninja led by Jiraiya.
Large amounts of Toad Oil were sprayed onto the Stone Ninja, and along with the Fire Style used by the Konoha Ninja, many Stone Ninja who couldn't dodge in time were instantly ignited, howling and rolling on the ground.
Some clever Stone Ninja tried to extinguish the flames on their bodies using Water Release, but the flames, fueled by Toad Oil, were clearly not so easily put out.
The formation of Iwagakure became chaotic, preventing their prized teamwork from functioning at its best.
Jiraiya charged into the enemy ranks, using his superb Taijutsu to evade attacks while unleashing various Ninjutsu to inflict maximum damage on the Stone Ninja.
With ground troops under attack, Deidara in the sky is also having a tough time.
Because of his carelessness, he was branded with the Flying Thunder God Mark by Minato. He was always on edge, whether eating or going to the toilet, fearing that Minato would kill him when he was at his most vulnerable.
"Damn it, why can't I get rid of this mark? Ugh!"
Hovering in the sky, Deidara racked his brains trying to remove the Flying Thunder God Mark from his body.
But even though his skin was almost rubbed off, the marks on his body showed no sign of disappearing.
"Oh, damn it, old man, don't blame me! I still have to perform my art; I can't die here, um!"
After being harassed by Minato a few more times, Deidara finally couldn't withstand the pressure and controlled the Clay Bird to retreat towards the edge of the battlefield.
Deidara retreated, and the Explosion Corps responsible for his safety also began to withdraw.
We have no choice but to retreat; Minato is about to wipe them all out.
Both Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze were skilled opponents against Iwagakure.
They have the best understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.
With the commander of the Stone Ninja severely wounded by Jiraiya, this large force, which had been entrenched on the border of the Land of Wind for a long time, fled the border in panic after leaving behind countless corpses.
Hearing that his own troops had hastily fled the battlefield, Ōnoki was not angry.
Upon hearing that Konoha had sent ninjas to support Sunagakure, he had already given the order to retreat.
However, he didn't expect Konoha to act so quickly. His order had barely arrived Jiraiya Minato up, almost killing his own disciple in the process.
No matter how much he hated Deidara, Ōnoki couldn't bear to watch him die.
You should know that this is a rare and promising talent in Iwagakure, even though his personality is a bit eccentric.
However, he believed that with his careful guidance, Deidara would definitely be able to get back on the right path, learn Dust Release, and eventually inherit his position.
It's a pity that we weren't able to get much benefit from Sunagakure this time.
Leaning back to stretch his aching lower back, Ōnoki glanced at the map beside him, preparing to find the next opponent to make a mistake.
No one knows a father better than his son. Seeing Ōnoki's darting eyes, Kitsuchi knew that his father was definitely up to no good.
"Dad, let's take a break for a while. The entire Shinobi World has been in turmoil lately, and Roshi still haven't found Rōshi."
Kitsuchi hesitated for a moment, but still decided to speak up and remind the other party.
"What do you know!"
Ōnoki stared wide-eyed at his simple-minded son, his eyes filled with disappointment and frustration.
"It is precisely because of the chaos that it is the best time to reap benefits. If everyone focuses on development, who can compare to that prodigy from Konoha?"
He saw things very clearly; Konoha used to have the Uchiha as an unstable factor that held it back.
But now this destabilizing factor has settled down, and Konoha, having eliminated its internal conflicts, has gradually begun to change.
In the past, they would never send ninjas to fight for the sake of other villages' interests.
This incident is enough to prove that the current Konoha is no longer the timid and cowardly Konoha of Hiruzen Sarutobi's era, but a War Weapon that stretches out its fangs under the rule of monster brats.
"In that case, the invitation to the Chunin Ninja Exams..."
Hearing Ōnoki say this, Kitsuchi figured that the other party definitely wasn't in the mood to participate in this year's Chunin Ninja Exams held in Konoha.
"Of course we have to go. Konoha is now impenetrable; we must seize this opportunity of opening up to the outside world and find a way to rebuild our intelligence network."
Ignoring his aching back, Ōnoki slammed his hand on the table.
Of course, he himself didn't quite believe in rebuilding the intelligence network, and his tone didn't sound very confident.
"Even if we can't rebuild our intelligence network, we still need to take this opportunity to gather information. More importantly, this is a legitimate chance to kill Konoha Ninja."
Ōnoki made no attempt to conceal his purpose.
Chunin Ninja Exams, it's inevitable that a few people will die; I can use this opportunity to eliminate Konoha's promising young talents.
While this won't stop Konoha's development, it will certainly give them a good thrashing.
"Hmph, let Deidara go!"
With a wave of his hand, Ōnoki decided on one of the spots.
"Deidara?"
The people of Kitsuchi were completely bewildered.
Deidara is an elite member of the Explosion Corps. Although he has not been officially promoted to Jonin, his strength is already comparable to that of Jonin.
That was the village's most dazzling genius; at only 13 years old, he blew up the center of Sunagakure.
How could someone like that participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams?
Let's see if Konoha agrees.
"What? Deidara has always carried out missions in the Explosion Corps under the name of my disciple, he's never been Jonin, so why can't he go?"
As expected of his father, when it comes to using dirty tricks, he far surpasses that young Hokage of Konoha.
Kitsuchi shook his head inwardly, lamenting his father's shamelessness.
"Uchiha Itachi handled affairs as my disciple, and Shisui was a former member of Root. Why can't they participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams?"
In the Hokage's Office in Konoha, Kazashiro refuted Obito with the same reasoning.
"You..."
Obito was dumbfounded.
Itachi is alright; he graduated so many years early and has been by your side ever since.
But Shisui is different. This kid was famous during the Third Shinobi World War. And you're telling the contestants that this guy is Genin?
"I see. So, Oyashiro En can also be considered Genin, since he only recently joined Konoha."
Kakashi analyzed the situation from the sidelines with an air of seriousness.
"Oyashiro En? Kakashi, do you intend to kill the other ninja village contestants?"
Oyashiro En's strength is among the top tier of the Chinoike Clan. Why not include Maruboshi Kosuke in the Chunin Ninja Exams fighting?