Konoha Crush

The death of Hiruzen Sarutobi was a regret Jingxin held from his previous life when reading the original work.

Because his sacrifice was far too worthy of the title "Hero of the Shinobi."

In the original story, Orochimaru, the First Hokage, and the Second Hokage—three Kage-level powerhouses.

Plus several Otogakure ninja with Cursed Seals and the blockheads from Sunagakure.

So many people joined forces to hold a grand funeral for him.

Orochimaru was truly too "filial."

Did Hiruzen Sarutobi deserve that?

His ending should have been to watch the village slowly decline and die in loneliness.

In truth, using such vicious words to evaluate an old man who truly dedicated his entire life to Konoha was somewhat inappropriate.

But his achievements during his tenure truly deserved such a vicious curse.

As a ninja and the shadow of a village.

Because of the weakness in his heart, he was unable to make the correct choices in many situations, and he even indulged Danzo as he eroded Konoha bit by bit.

He played a winning hand into a complete disaster.

This is by no means a slander against Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Jingxin withdrew his thoughts, put on his Anbu mask, and walked out of the room.

Ōnoki, Akatsuchi, Kitsuchi, three elite jonin, and Jingxin with his squad.

After gathering, the group set off and arrived at the arena for the final round of the Chunin Exams.

Under the reception of Asuma Sarutobi, Ōnoki led a group of Iwagakure elites to fly toward the Kage's viewing platform, where Hiruzen Sarutobi was waiting; a few minutes later, the "Kazekage" arrived.

Jingxin led his squad to the waiting area, quietly awaiting the development of the plot.

To Jingxin's left, Deidara crossed his arms, scanning his surroundings impatiently: "How boring~ I thought I'd encounter some experts, but I'm greatly disappointed."

To Jingxin's right, Karin whispered to Kurotsuchi: "Brother Jingxin seems very serious today."

"Don't overthink it." Kurotsuchi reminded Karin: "Regardless of anything else, we just need to follow orders."

Karin nodded, her red eyes quietly observing the surroundings.

The spectators walked into the open-air venue one after another.

Perhaps they were waiting for more people to gather near the venue, or perhaps they were preparing before executing their plan.

The assessment began calmly.

Kankuro faced off against Neji Hyuga.

Because Kankuro, as a puppeteer, had an advantage over taijutsu-based ninja, Neji was unable to display his true strength.

The two sides were surprisingly evenly matched.

In the spectator stands, Ino looked up at her father, then looked toward Jingxin in the distance.

She still couldn't help herself and whispered: "Dad, I have some things... I need to leave for a moment."

Inoichi Yamanaka nodded slightly, and the latter turned and left, circling toward Jingxin's position.

Inoichi's clear and sharp eyes shifted slightly, his peripheral vision locking onto Jingxin, and he narrowed them slightly.

That person...

The Hokage was already suspicious of Jingxin's true identity.

The moment Ino headed over, Inoichi was almost certain of it.

On the other side.

Kurotsuchi looked at the youthful and beautiful Ino with displeasure: "Why are you here again? Didn't we say we'd talk after the assessment?"

Ino snorted softly: "I'm not here to see you~"

As for her arrival, Jingxin didn't react much.

It didn't matter anymore.

The real business was about to begin; even if his identity were exposed now, it wouldn't matter.

At the same time, Naruto wanted to come over, but was blocked by Kakashi.

Naruto was curious about his true lineage; Karin's words had made him feel that something was wrong at the time, and after returning, the more Naruto thought about it, the less he could sleep.

Naruto was in a bad state, feeling dejected.

Seeing him like this, Kakashi comforted him: "Focus on the match for now. Trust the Hokage; he has his judgment, and there will be a result later."

Naruto could only nod.

In the arena.

Neji finally relied on his basic strength, which far exceeded that of a genin, to defeat Kankuro.

The proctor changed from Hayate Gekko to the mysterious toothpick-wielding man, Genma Shiranui, who announced: "Winner, Neji Hyuga."

"Next match, Gaara vs. Kintsuchi."

It's time!

Beneath his mask, Jingxin's eyes narrowed. As he stood up, he said to Karin, "Stay alert."

Arriving in the center of the arena, Jingxin and Gaara stood facing each other.

Genma Shiranui: "If you have nothing left to say, then let the match begin."

Gaara did not make a move, and Jingxin remained perfectly still.

The surroundings fell into a deathly silence; everyone could even hear the sound of their own heartbeats.

A faint smile curled at the corner of Gaara's mouth: "Thank you, but... I'm sorry."

This bizarre scene drew everyone's attention.

Black feathers began to coalesce in mid-air, drifting slowly downward.

Jingxin activated his Sharingan to resist the genjutsu.

Gaara, meanwhile, emptied his mind, his gaze fixed on the falling feathers.

He closed his eyes and drifted into slumber, while violent Tailed Beast chakra rapidly surged across the surface of his body.

In the surrounding spectator stands, ninjas and civilians alike began to collapse in droves.

The Konoha Crush had begun!

At the same time, massive roars erupted from all sides of Konoha.

High above the spectator stands, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately sensed that something was wrong. He lowered his Hokage hat, casting a sharp gaze toward Rasa and Ōnoki: "What is the meaning of this?"

"I'd like to know that myself." Ōnoki's tone carried a hint of mockery: "Even we in Iwagakure received intelligence, yet you remained completely unaware."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils constricted.

"Heh heh~" The cold, sinister chakra emanating from "Rasa" was no longer hidden: "I didn't expect the Iwagakure intelligence network to be this formidable."

"Fortunately... I made preparations, otherwise the plan would have truly been forced to a halt."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows locked together as he stood up to look at "Rasa": "Orochimaru?!"

Orochimaru discarded the Kazekage hat, revealing a pair of serpentine eyes.

The awakened Konoha and Iwagakure jonin were already rushing toward the scene.

But a purple barrier suddenly rose, enveloping the entire building.

Outside.

The moment Jingxin saw the feathers, he activated his Sharingan and simultaneously performed hand seals to create a Shadow Clone.

The Shadow Clone immediately set off toward the waiting area, waking up the unconscious Kurotsuchi, Karin, and the nearby Ino.

After explaining the situation, the Shadow Clone commanded: "Deidara, take them and leave. Get as far away as possible; don't get involved in this."

Deidara looked around excitedly: "Right!"

"What about me? What's happening? Jingxin..." Ino looked at Jingxin with a bewildered expression.

Jingxin said offhandedly: "You are a Konoha ninja; you should go wake up the other Konoha ninjas affected by the genjutsu."

"Ah?" Ino's breathing quickened. It was her first time facing such a situation, but she forced herself to remain calm: "Okay!"

On the side of the original Jingxin, the elite jonin Yeying appeared and said to him: "Lord Kintsuchi, Shifeng and Goriki are ready. Let us begin the plan as well."

Jingxin nodded, applied the Light-Weight Rock Technique to himself, and took flight, saying to Yeying: "Senior Yeying, please protect Deidara and the others."

Yeying did not hesitate, appearing beside the retreating Iwagakure squad in a few swift movements.

Jingxin himself flew high into the sky, analyzing everything below.

As long as the situation permitted and the plan proceeded steadily, he would be able to go settle his score with Danzo.