"What! Root's been wiped out?" Danzo slammed his hand on the table and roared.
Root was made up of his loyal followers. It was his power base, and in a few days, Konoha would be going to war with Sunagakure. Root was supposed to lead the charge, but now...
Anger burned in Danzo's chest as he tried to figure out who had been bold enough to do this.
Sunagakure? Orochimaru? Or the Third?
He ruled out Sunagakure first. If they knew what he was up to, Root wouldn't be the only ones in trouble. They would surely take the opportunity to attack Konoha as well.
That left two suspects. Orochimaru hated Konoha, while the Third didn't want to start a war.
"I see! The Third joined forces with Orochimaru to destroy Root! That coward Hiruzen! All he knows how to do is compromise, whether in domestic or foreign affairs. He never thinks about reform. I'll never let him succeed. Konoha will never return to those weak old days."
Danzo gritted his teeth as he spoke. It wasn't surprising that he'd come to this conclusion. Orochimaru had been the Third's student, so perhaps the two had struck some kind of deal.
After all, the Third wouldn't act personally, just as the Jonin who opposed Danzo wouldn't directly defy his orders.
As for Feng Yao, he seemed to have vanished without a trace. Danzo couldn't find any information on him. That was only natural, since the description was completely wrong.
The lack of information had led Danzo to the wrong conclusion. He looked at the only two loyal followers he had left: Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fu. They usually served as his bodyguards, which was why they had escaped the slaughter.
"Hmph, it doesn't matter. Once I kill the Fourth Kazekage tomorrow, there'll be no choice but to fight this war. You won't get to decide."
As he spoke, he touched Shisui's eye. If necessary, he would use it tomorrow to control Orochimaru.
Danzo's power had been severely weakened. The village's Jonin didn't trust him at all. He had planned to use the war to win the village's confidence, but now the Third had come along and thrown a wrench in the works.
Meanwhile, after wiping out Root, Feng Yao arrived at a house far from Konoha.
Naruto and Sasuke were tied up inside.
Just as Feng Yao was about to walk over and untie them, they suddenly turned into logs.
Substitution Technique!
Sasuke, who had been hiding on the roof, launched an attack.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Sasuke spat out a huge fireball. An explosion boomed from inside the house, and the whole room collapsed in flames.
But Feng Yao stood there without a scratch.
"I didn't expect you to break free on your own. Come down. Don't make me use force."
"Like I'd listen to some creepy weirdo with bandages!" Naruto, who had been hiding nearby, couldn't sit still any longer. He rushed out and created over a thousand clones, hoping to overwhelm Feng Yao with sheer numbers. "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Feng Yao formed Hand Seals and summoned his summoning beast, the Cold-Heart Sea Lion, once again.
A large-scale Water Release Ninjutsu wiped out Naruto's Shadow Clones, and Feng Yao easily captured the two of them.
"You bastard! Let me go! Why did you kidnap us? Where's Sakura?"
Naruto struggled frantically, while Sasuke wore an expression of pure frustration.
The future Seventh Hokage and the Sasuke who would one day shake the Shinobi World could still be captured with ease before they'd grown up.
Feng Yao set them down and looked at Sasuke first. He wondered whether he should try to bring Sasuke over to his side.
But this hothead was single-mindedly focused on revenge. Even if Feng Yao told him about Itachi, Sasuke would probably rush off to find him for answers—or start shouting about taking revenge on Konoha. Sasuke wouldn't make a suitable subordinate.
As for Naruto, Feng Yao couldn't win an argument with him. Besides, Feng Yao had practically watched Naruto grow up, both in his previous life on Earth and in this life in the Naruto world. So he had never intended to hurt Naruto.
"I don't mean you any harm. I had no choice but to bring you here. Don't do anything reckless. I'll let you go once things settle down."
After explaining, Feng Yao tied them up again with tougher, more resilient rope.
Then, amid Naruto's stream of curses, he returned to Konoha Ninja Village.
The third round of the Chunin Exams was about to begin.
The circular arena was surrounded by seats packed with nobles from various countries, as well as the competitors. Danzo sat in the central position of honor.
Feng Yao and the other qualifiers stood in the middle of the arena, waiting for the matches to officially begin.
For them, this might have been just a competition, but for Danzo, Feng Yao, and Orochimaru, the arena was already a battlefield.
"Hey, relax. You need to bow to the spectators," the Chunin overseeing the exam told them.
Before long, the Fourth Kazekage arrived at the arena with two other Sunagakure shinobi.
Danzo stood up with false warmth.
"Welcome, Lord Kazekage. Please enjoy watching our Konoha shinobi compete."
The Fourth Kazekage didn't respond. Danzo's words implied that there was nothing worth watching when shinobi from other countries competed.
The Kazekage endured the open insult.
Just wait. Konoha will be destroyed today! The thought put the Kazekage at ease. At the same time, his eyes flicked toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru had disguised himself as an ordinary Konoha shinobi and was sitting among the spectators.
"Just you wait, Feng Yao! After today, that perfect body of yours will be mine."
Everyone had their own plans. Only the competitors had no distractions. They had just one thing on their minds: winning.
Since there were nine competitors, Feng Yao had to fight one extra match in the bracket, and all his opponents were from Sunagakure.
Danzo didn't care about the competition itself. He wanted Konoha to win and to show the nobles from every country that Konoha was the strongest ninja village.
There was no need to mention his matches against Kankuro and Temari. Kankuro forfeited to make way for the plan, and Temari was no match for Feng Yao. One Flying Thunder God strike secured him an easy victory. He had practically wiped out the entire Sunagakure squad by himself.
As the matches went on, the atmosphere grew more charged. The various factions grew increasingly tense. They knew that the moment the Chunin Exams ended would be the moment to make their move.
With Gaara absent this time, the matches proceeded smoothly to the end—the final bout.
To Feng Yao's surprise, his opponent in the final was Rock Lee.
Lee had managed to defeat Neji Hyuga in his match.
Feng Yao could tell that Lee was delighted.
"Begin!" the Chunin on the side announced, starting the final match.
But Feng Yao spoke first. "You used the Hidden Lotus to beat Neji just now. Your muscles are badly strained. You can't beat me. Even if you hadn't used the Hidden Lotus, you still wouldn't have stood a chance."
Feng Yao greatly admired this hardworking prodigy. He was already wondering if there was a way to recruit Lee.
But Lee smiled faintly, putting his left hand behind his back and extending his right in invitation.
"You're called Dosu, right? I can tell you're a genius too. Whether I can beat you or not, I have to stand here and fight you. That's my ninja way!"
Feng Yao looked at Lee intently. Could hard work really overcome talent?
No. At the beginning, Lee could easily defeat Sasuke. But later, when Sasuke had reached the pinnacle of the Shinobi World, Lee had only managed to open six gates.
Still, hard work had its rewards. It might not let someone surpass the chosen ones, but it could certainly make them better.
Feng Yao summoned the Katsuyu Sage and briefly treated Lee's strained muscles.
He did it not only to make the fight fair but also to earn a few points of goodwill.
"Thank you, Dosu. I'll give this everything I've got."
As he spoke, Lee opened the first gate, the Gate of Opening, then opened the Gate of Healing to increase his stamina. He charged toward Feng Yao at high speed.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Lee spun into a high roundhouse kick, a common Taijutsu move in the Strong Fist Style.
"Rokushiki: Iron Body."
Feng Yao intended to defeat Lee head-on with Taijutsu so Lee would accept the loss. Lee's foot struck him as if it had hit a steel plate, but Lee didn't lose heart. He retreated, then began spinning rapidly around Feng Yao.
Then he rushed in front of Feng Yao and kicked upward from below, aiming for his chin and sending him flying. It was the opening move of the Front Lotus, followed by another attack in midair.
An ordinary person couldn't dodge this move in the air. They could only take the hit.
But Feng Yao was different. He lightly tapped his feet.
"Rokushiki: Moonwalk!"
Feng Yao changed his trajectory in midair, preventing Lee from following up with the next move. Seeing that Feng Yao's Taijutsu was just as strong as his own, Lee's fighting spirit burned even brighter.
"Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Life, Gate of Pain!"
Lee's body turned red, and a visible green aura covered him from head to toe. His explosive power burst across the arena, whipping up gust after gust of wind.
"Take this!"
Lee charged. Even a simple step shattered the ground, but no matter how fast his Taijutsu was, Feng Yao could analyze his movements perfectly.
He dodged with Moonwalk while meeting Lee's attacks head-on with Iron Body. Flying rocks and clouds of dust scattered everywhere, leaving the spectators unable to keep their eyes open.
When the dust settled, Lee had still lost. The crowd erupted in astonishment. Who could have guessed that an obscure Sound Ninja would take first place?
After the referee announced the result, Feng Yao helped Lee to his feet.
"Your Taijutsu is strong, Dosu. But just watch—the lotus of Konoha will bloom again one day."
Feng Yao simply nodded at Lee's somewhat over-the-top declaration. By then, he might be able to shape an Otsutsuki with his bare hands.
It seemed that everything had come to an end with the competition.
At that moment, seeing that Konoha had failed to win, the Kazekage mocked Danzo from the high platform. "Looks like Konoha's shinobi didn't take first place after all. Hahaha!"
While he was laughing, Danzo made his move.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!"
He spat out a sharp, sickle-like burst of air, seemingly aiming to cut the Kazekage's body in half.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust!"
The Kazekage hadn't expected Danzo to attack so suddenly. He hurriedly blocked the strike. They hadn't even started their plan yet, but it didn't matter now. Their opponent had already shown his hand, so there was no need to keep pretending.
He turned toward Gaara and the others and shouted:
"Move out! Destroy Konoha!"
Before you continue