Pakura

On the morning of the third day after parting ways with the six genin, Uchiha Yusuke and Hayama stood outside the Sunagakure East Gate, awaiting the arrival of their charges.

Over the past few days, Yusuke's Phantom Crow Clone had been observing the six genin from the sky, while also catching glimpses of genin from various other ninja villages.

The strength of the genin from each village varied wildly; Yusuke spotted many who were trapped in the desert, unable to find their bearings, or others who had collapsed from exhaustion.

These genin were eventually rescued by their respective jonin instructors, but they had effectively lost their eligibility to continue in the Chunin Exams.

Compared to some of the smaller villages, the situation for the six Konoha genin was much better. Although Kurama Naki and Gekko Hayate struggled with their stamina, slowing down the team's overall pace, they were still able to reach Sunagakure within the three-day window.

Kurama Naki was not the type skilled in taijutsu, while Gekko Hayate suffered from an underlying illness; though it did not affect his explosive power or speed, his endurance was significantly lacking compared to other ninja of the same level.

In this stage, the most outstanding performers in the entire team were Anko and Mizuki.

The Rin no Sho contained a note on Anko stating, "Anko's stamina is greater than that of most men." Seeing Anko's active performance in the desert through his Phantom Crow Clone, Yusuke sighed to himself that the assessment was not unfounded.

Compared to the other genin, Mizuki's performance was somewhat unexpected to Yusuke. It seemed that the scorching heat of the desert and the fatigue of the long trek had no impact on him at all.

In the original story, Mizuki was a discarded pawn of Orochimaru, but judging by his current performance, it is highly likely that Orochimaru has further enhanced his abilities and left him in Konoha as a sleeper agent.

Through his observations over the past few days, Yusuke also noticed that Mizuki was intentionally trying to get close to Itachi, though he didn't pay much mind to it.

For one, judging by Itachi's demeanor, he was already wary of Mizuki; for another, even Orochimaru had suffered several heavy losses at Itachi's hands in the original story, let alone a mere Mizuki.

Yusuke and Hayama did not have to wait long before the six Konoha genin arrived at the Sunagakure East Gate to rendezvous with them.

Aside from Gekko Hayate, who perpetually looked sickly, Yusuke and Hayama were pleased to see that the other five were in good spirits and full of energy, prompting the two jonin to nod in satisfaction.

This indicated that the group's distribution of stamina and time management had been quite reasonable; they were able to reach their destination on schedule without pushing themselves to the point of collapse.

Once all the participants for the Chunin Exams had gathered, Sunagakure staff led the genin who had passed the first round to a plaza to assemble.

The jonin instructors from each village, along with various ninja invited to observe, took their seats on the viewing stands surrounding the plaza.

As the highest leader of the host village, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, appeared to deliver an impassioned speech, encouraging the genin to strive for excellence, move forward with courage, and display their full strength during the exams.

The Fourth Kazekage was the most adept at generating wealth among the five Kage; he could use his Magnet Release bloodline limit to pan for gold dust in the desert and sell it to other nations.

The funding provided by the Land of Wind's Daimyo to Sunagakure was quite limited, and it was precisely due to the Fourth Kazekage's ability that the village could maintain its current scale.

In fact, the abilities of many ninja in the ninja world were not limited to combat; they could be applied to other fields as well.

For example, Yamato's Wood Release could easily construct a high-quality wooden house in an instant. Not to mention the First Hokage of the past—with just a clap of his hands, he could finish the infrastructure for an entire resort in mere minutes.

In Yusuke's view, if these types of ninja focused on economic development, they would be far more efficient than ordinary people.

In addition to the Fourth Kazekage, Yusuke also spotted several famous figures from Sunagakure: Pakura, Baki, Yura, and Yashamaru.

At this point, Yura should have already been afflicted by Sasori's "Sennō Sōsa," placing him entirely under Sasori's command.

The "Sennō Sōsa" technique did not strictly belong to the realm of genjutsu. Although it also manipulated the target by disrupting the chakra in their brain, the medium of control was physical sand.

Yusuke was highly skilled in genjutsu, but he lacked the ability to dispel this particular technique. In the original story, the fact that Orochimaru could remove it for Kabuto likely meant he performed cranial surgery to extract the sand from within.

Among them, the person who drew the most of Yusuke's attention was the "Scorch Release" user, Pakura. It was not just because her strength far surpassed that of the others, but more importantly, in Yusuke's estimation, she was someone with whom he might have an opportunity to cooperate in the future.

This heroic ninja of the Sand would soon die due to a conspiracy orchestrated by the high-ranking officials of her own village, her life traded for peace between the Hidden Mist and the Hidden Sand.

Regarding this decision by the Sand's high command, Yusuke believed that an internal power struggle was undoubtedly hidden beneath the surface.

Otherwise, in a world where individual martial prowess could sway the outcome of wars, a master of a bloodline limit like Pakura, who possessed such a powerful deterrent, would not be discarded so easily.

Coming to Sunagakure this time provides the perfect opportunity to make contact with her, Yusuke thought to himself.

Pakura was a kunoichi with a very strong personality. In the original story, after she was brought back via Edo Tensei and realized she had been betrayed by the Sand's leadership, she immediately decided to take revenge with ruthless efficiency.

This showed that Pakura was not the type to be blindly loyal to her village, making it much easier to establish a cooperative relationship.

Just as Yusuke was observing others, he realized that he and Hayama had also become the focus of attention. After all, as jonin from the premier village of the ninja world, and as individuals with established reputations, they naturally drew many eyes.

"That's Konoha's elite jonin, Hayama, isn't it? The ninja next to him is so young—could he be a jonin too?"

"The one next to him is Konoha's 'Flame Tachi,' Uchiha Yusuke. He's the genius ninja who took down Raiga Kurosuki during the Third Shinobi World War. He must only be fifteen or sixteen years old now."

"The Uchiha Clan is truly worthy of being one of the most prominent families in the ninja world. I heard there's another young ninja with the nickname 'Body Flicker Shisui' who is also quite remarkable."

Discussions of this nature echoed around them; the Uchiha Clan combined with the label of "genius ninja" was indeed a compelling topic.

"Yusuke, you've become one of the signature ninja of Konoha. When I was your age, I had only just become a chunin," Hayama remarked with a sigh.

Yusuke shook his head helplessly. "Having a big reputation isn't necessarily a good thing."

The usually stern Hayama let out a rare laugh. "Reputation is a deterrent! The Third Hokage sending you out here is also meant to let the outside world know that even if Konoha is currently at a low point, we still have young masters like you!"

"I have high hopes for you. I believe you will surely be a pillar of Konoha in the future!"

As Yusuke and Hayama chatted idly, the proctor for the Chunin Exams began to announce the content of the second stage.

The second round was the "Heaven and Earth Scrolls" challenge, a staple of the ninja world. Each team was to carry either a "Heaven Scroll" or an "Earth Scroll" and enter the "Desert of Demons" from different entrances for a seventy-two-hour survival battle.

After seventy-two hours, only teams that had suffered no loss of combat capability and possessed at least one set of both a "Heaven Scroll" and an "Earth Scroll" would successfully advance to the third round; all other teams would be eliminated.

During the day, the Desert of Demons was extremely hot and windless, while at night, the temperature plummeted below freezing, accompanied by raging winds that frequently formed massive sandstorms.

In the Desert of Demons, the genin not only had to adapt to this extremely harsh weather and environment but also had to guard against the elusive Giant Sand Scorpions.

More importantly, to advance, every team had to seize at least one scroll they didn't have from their opponents, which meant at least half of the teams would be eliminated in this round.

According to past experience, strong teams would seize more scrolls and subsequently eliminate more opponents, with the pass rate generally hovering around 30 percent.

"Your Phantom Crow Clones are truly convenient. I'd like to see how these children are performing, but I have no way to enter the arena," Hayama said with envy as he watched Yusuke manifest two Phantom Crow Clones and send them flying toward the sky above the Desert of Demons.

Yusuke's Phantom Crow Clones were indeed highly suited for reconnaissance; not only could they fly and observe from a vantage point, but more importantly, they lacked physical form. They were immune to physical attacks and were not as fragile as ordinary clones.

Yusuke laughed. "Senior Hayama, rest assured. With the strength of these children, a test like this won't be enough to stump them."

This wasn't Yusuke being overly confident; as the leader of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the first to implement the Ninja Academy system, the quality of Konoha's ninjas was considered top-tier in the Ninja World.

The genin selected to participate in this exam were the elite among the village's lower ranks, and with a genius like Itachi among them, such an assessment was truly nothing to worry about.

After the second stage of the exam officially began, the jonin instructors from each village were free to move about. Some wandered through the open areas of Sunagakure, while others returned to their assigned Post Houses to rest.

Because ninjas were individuals with unpredictable tendencies, Sunagakure still arranged for a significant number of Anbu and other ninjas to secretly monitor the visitors from each village, preventing anyone from taking actions detrimental to Sunagakure.

Yusuke did not wander around Sunagakure, choosing instead to return to the Post House to rest, waiting until nightfall.

Under the cover of the night sky, Yusuke summoned a large number of Phantom Crow Clones. Since the clones were naturally black, they were nearly impossible to detect when hidden in the darkness. Even if someone happened to spot one or two, they would simply assume they were birds passing by.

Yusuke steered the majority of the Phantom Crow Clones toward the Nara Desert, some distance away from Sunagakure, to search for traces of the One-Tail Shukaku, while keeping a few circling above Sunagakure to look for Pakura.

It didn't take long for Yusuke's Phantom Crow Clones to spot Pakura at a bustling night market in Sunagakure.

Pakura was not wearing her usual ninja attire, but rather casual kimono robes. Beside her was a cute young girl with face paint—her closest disciple, Maki.

It had to be said that Pakura was an absolute beauty; her features were exquisite, and her long black hair was piled high, with a strand of crimson hair hanging down on each side of her forehead, adding a sense of heroic spirit to her beauty.

Today, Pakura had rarely set aside her ninjutsu training, accepting an invitation from her disciple Maki to enjoy the night market together.

As the two were laughing and chatting, Pakura couldn't help but feel that something was amiss.

There was nothing unusual about the surrounding environment, yet Pakura had a faint, strange, and disharmonious feeling, though she couldn't put her finger on the source.

Could it just be my imagination?

Pakura thought to herself.

As always, thank you all for your support!!