Chunin Exams Objective

"Lord Zabuza, I..."

Haku was crying again, standing before Zabuza with his head bowed low.

The business in the Land of Waves had come to a complete end.

They had now arrived by ship at a northern port in the Land of Earth.

Zabuza let out a cold snort: "Do not forget your place, Haku."

"You are nothing more than a tool."

Haku's shoulders began to tremble slightly.

Zabuza turned away, unable to bear the sight, a lump forming in his throat: "You saw what happened in the Land of Waves. Whether in terms of strength or character, Blood Gold is better than me. If you follow him, you can have a future in Iwagakure."

"Lord Zabuza." Haku collapsed to the ground: "You know that I do not care about the future."

Zabuza forced himself to be cruel, demanding: "Haku, have you not noticed how useless you are?!"

"Get to Iwagakure and improve your strength. Come find me only when you are qualified!"

Saying it this way would make it easier for Haku to accept.

It would leave him with a glimmer of hope.

Once he became accustomed to Iwagakure, made new friends, and found a new reliance.

He would soon forget Zabuza.

Zabuza felt as if his heart were being sliced by knives, and he said to Jingxin: "Take care of him."

Jingxin nodded: "I will. I wish you a good start in the Land of Snow."

That was right; following Jingxin's recommendation, Zabuza had ultimately decided to take his two hundred and ninety million ryo and retire in the Land of Snow.

In Zabuza's view, nothing of consequence would ever happen in that desolate, godforsaken Land of Snow.

The Kirigakure Anbu would certainly never track him to such a wretched place.

Half an hour later, Zabuza boarded the large ship heading out to sea.

Haku knelt on the ground, staring blankly as Zabuza drifted further and further away.

"Let's go." Jingxin patted Haku on the shoulder: "If you improve your strength in Iwagakure, you will be better able to help Zabuza."

Haku looked up abruptly, his tear-streaked, delicate face filled with surprise: "Blood Gold... Lord, you... you are allowing me to go find Lord Zabuza again?"

"Of course." Jingxin had already removed his mask, smiling: "It isn't far from here to the Land of Snow. Once you can stand on your own, visiting... or even staying for a few days is perfectly fine."

Haku was not a bad person.

He knew how to be grateful.

Iwagakure would provide everything for Haku.

Haku's heart would always remain with Zabuza, but he would absolutely never become a rogue ninja.

For Iwagakure, that was enough.

Furthermore, Jingxin was essentially getting this for free.

As for the ten million ryo he owed Zabuza?

That was easy.

He could just pay it back when Zabuza turned two hundred, after he had finished spending those two hundred and ninety million.

Jingxin brought Haku back to Iwagakure.

The gate guards saluted and let them pass, and the two walked toward the Tsuchikage Building.

Tsuchikage Office.

"You've returned."

"I've returned."

Ōnoki looked at Haku: "An Ice Release ninja?"

"His name is Haku," Jingxin said.

Haku stepped forward and bowed: "Lord Tsuchikage."

Ōnoki scrutinized Haku: "The Ice Release Kekkei Genkai is quite good. From now on, this place is your home."

Haku's body trembled slightly.

A home... was it?

"I will arrange the paperwork," Ōnoki said: "From today on, you are an Iwagakure ninja. Your housing, ninja tools, basic training, and living expenses will all be provided."

"Thank you, Lord Tsuchikage."

Ōnoki called for a clerical ninja to take Haku away.

Only two people remained in the office.

Ōnoki picked up a document and handed it to Jingxin: "An invitation from Konoha for the Chunin Exams."

"Hmph! They still suspect you are here, but they lack evidence, so they invited us to get involved just to keep us under observation."

Jingxin glanced over the document.

Ōnoki asked: "What do you think?"

"Participate."

"Reason? Relations between Iwagakure and Konoha are poor, and as for you... although your strength is formidable now, you are still in a growth phase. The later you are exposed, the better. Going now is meaningless."

Jingxin revealed: "Do you remember when I last left the village? I went to gather intelligence. Something will happen during this Konoha Chunin Exams."

Ōnoki asked in surprise: "Something will happen? What do you mean?"

"The Konoha Crush," Jingxin said. "Sunagakure and Otogakure are joining forces to attack Konoha."

The office fell silent for a moment.

Ōnoki said cautiously: "If that is true... Iwagakure should steer clear."

"But the benefits are too great."

"Oh? Tell me more~"

As one of the two most famous old foxes in the Ninja World, it was impossible for Ōnoki not to see the opportunity here. He was testing Jingxin; his suggestion to avoid it was primarily to provide Jingxin with sufficient time to grow.

"If we attend, Konoha will surely seek aid when they are in distress. We can take that opportunity to demand military funds. Furthermore, there is the matter of reparations from Sunagakure; after their attack fails, Iwagakure can act as an intermediary to secure a portion of the compensation."

"In addition... I have a personal target: Shimura Danzō. He will die during the Konoha Crush."

He did not want to make contact with powerhouses like Itachi Uchiha or Obito Uchiha too early.

But that did not mean Danzō deserved to be treated with excessive caution by Jingxin.

Ōnoki knew about the history between the Uchiha and Konoha, and one of the primary culprits was indeed Danzō.

"Hmm..." Ōnoki pondered carefully: "What you say is correct, but eliminating Danzō carries risks. I will not stop you, but you must handle it yourself."

Ōnoki did not doubt the accuracy of Jingxin's intelligence, but the matter was simply too outrageous.

Had Sunagakure lost its mind, actually joining forces with Otogakure to try and take down Konoha?

Had the gold in the desert run dry, and was that brat Rasa going crazy from poverty?

Even if they replaced their entire Chunin Exams team with elites.

Even if it were a pincer attack from inside and out.

But that was Konoha.

Even if you added Iwagakure to the mix, the success rate wouldn't be high, would it?

"This time... you will also participate in the Chunin Exams as a genin," Ōnoki made his decision. "Since we are going to stir things up, let's make it big."

"Konoha invited Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and many surrounding small ninja villages to participate in the Chunin Exams for no other reason than to flex their muscles."

"Since Konoha has gone to the trouble of setting the stage, we shouldn't be polite."

Jingxin did not expect Ōnoki's attitude to shift so quickly: "I am participating too?"

Ōnoki laughed: "Have you forgotten? You are Anbu, a ninja of Iwagakure, yet you have never participated in the Chunin Exams."

"Who says Anbu and instructors cannot be genin?"

Jingxin smiled as well: "Very well."

"Then we have four main goals," Ōnoki presented his insights: "Judging by Sunagakure's plan, they should strike during the final round of the exams, as that is when the largest number of spectators will be gathered, creating the greatest chaos."

Ōnoki's analysis was spot on. Jingxin nodded; he was truly an experienced, veteran Kage-level ninja.

Ōnoki continued: "First: Konoha wants to flex their muscles, so we will steal their thunder! Sunagakure will make a scene, and the news will spread far and wide. This will help boost Iwagakure's reputation. I refuse to believe there is any genin out there who can defeat you."

"Second: Take the opportunity to extract 'military funds' from Konoha. It is time they shared some of their powerful ninjutsu."

"Third: The reparations from Sunagakure. That backwater place might not have much, but even a mosquito's leg is meat."

"Fourth: Kill Shimura Danzō to avenge Kintsuchi!"