A Wave of Sand Ninja

Wu Di let out a soft snort.

He really didn't know what to say.

If it weren't for the fact that Jiraiya still had something to do, he would have exploded on the spot!

"I'll hold onto your Plot Editor for you for now..."

Hearing this, Jiraiya immediately wilted, his face falling into a dejected expression.

This Plot Editor was the best thing he had encountered since birth; without it, his life would be devoid of fun.

Wu Di coughed lightly at the sight.

"I have something I need you to do for me. If you succeed, I'll not only return the Plot Editor to you, but I'll also give you a scratch-off ticket worth ten thousand ryo. What do you say?"

Jiraiya's ears twitched. On the surface, he seemed indifferent, but in reality, he was overjoyed.

He nodded and said, "Alright, for the sake of the scratch-off ticket, tell me what it is."

"Outside Konohagakure, there's a large group of Sand Ninja gathered. Go and... "

Before Wu Di could finish, Jiraiya slammed his hand on the table indignantly, his eyes wide with anger.

"Sand Ninja daring to loiter outside Konoha? I'll take care of them!" With that, he stood up and majestically strode out the door.

Wu Di sighed softly. "Even though this Jiraiya seems lecherous and unrestrained, he's quite serious when it comes to the village!"

But Wu Di had no idea how wrong his thoughts were.

Jiraiya had just left the hospital and quickly changed his attitude.

His old face flushed slightly. "A large group of Sand Ninja, how large can they really be... Just wait for me!"

On the tournament grounds, the match continued.

Ever since Shikamaru decided to evade Temari, he hadn't closed the distance between them at all.

Temari's Wind Style attacks lost much of their power at a distance.

Shikamaru dodged and weaved, managing to avoid getting seriously injured.

In the stands, many spectators were already yawning.

Recalling the Chunin Exams of previous years, once the examiner started, it was like a whirlwind of intense battles.

This year? One was desperately fanning himself, and the other just kept dodging.

What was going on? Did they like each other? Were the lovebirds flirting in the middle of the arena?

Many spectators couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, can you hurry up with the match? You're making me sleepy!"

"Yeah, if this keeps up, we're going to demand refunds!"

Hearing the shouts from the surroundings, Shikamaru shrugged helplessly.

He could feel that the Mechanical Rat had already cleared all the nearby areas. It would only be another minute or two before it emerged from under Temari's feet.

Meanwhile, Temari, unaware of the approaching danger, stuck her fan into the ground and shouted.

"Can you be a man and get a little closer to duel me honorably?"

Shikamaru gave a wry smile.

They say women are troublesome, and women truly are troublesome.

She was the one telling him to get closer, and she was also the one who wanted to keep her distance. What was he supposed to do to be right?

The situation became awkward.

In the stands, Danzo covered his face and chuckled.

"This Nara kid is just too cowardly. He really should have learned from my past self; I was so mighty and imposing!"

Not far from him sat a man with a pineapple-like hairstyle and a goatee.

His name was Nara Shikaku, Shikamaru's father.

At this moment, he said in a lukewarm tone.

"Let's not. What if this kid learns bad habits from you and castrates himself in the future? Our Nara family would be without an heir."

"If you ask me, Konohagakure only needs one diva, and we don't need any more."

Danzo's face turned extremely grim. He took out lipstick from his pocket and applied it to his lips.

"You call me an old lady? I'll send you to the afterlife later!"

Just as he was applying it, the Third Hokage intervened.

"There are still ninjas from other villages here. You should all restrain yourselves!"

Shikaku turned away, falling silent.

Danzo pouted and whined.

"Third Hokage, he said that about me, and you can just stand by and watch? We were classmates back in the day!"

The Third Hokage's old face twitched twice.

To be honest, he really didn't want to acknowledge this classmate!

"Third Hokage... can't you do something about him!"

Danzo shook his shoulders from side to side, his words full of grievance.

The Third Hokage let out a muffled cough and exhaled slowly.

He rapidly formed hand seals.

"Five Elements: Great Breakthrough Technique!"

Instantly, the arena exploded, and Danzo was blasted away by five different elemental chakra natures.

"Third Hokage, you're hitting me too? I'm heartbroken!"

"I'll be back!"

Danzo's voice faded into the distance.

The Third Hokage awkwardly scratched his head. "That was just an accident, my hand slipped, it slipped!"

Everyone present looked at him with disdain.

His hand slipped?

Who would believe that!

That Five Elements technique just now was far more brutal than when he fought Asuma.

If it weren't for their respective positions, they would have really wanted to ask the Third Hokage directly.

Are you trying to silence him!

Below the stands, the match continued.

Shikamaru's Mechanical Rats had already dug through all the tunnels.

Now, his shadow could reach anywhere on the entire arena.

He decided to unleash his finishing move.

"Heh, looking at you, you're not going to dodge, are you planning to surrender?" Temari said with a contemptuous laugh.

However, before she could laugh for three seconds, a hole suddenly opened beneath Shikamaru's feet.

A Mechanical Rat burrowed out.

Shikamaru snorted, "Whether you surrender or not will be revealed later!"

Temari snapped back to attention and looked down, noticing a small hole had appeared beneath her feet at some point.

She wanted to escape quickly but realized there was nowhere left to stand on the arena!

"Damn it!" After a low grumble, she still fell.

The moment her toes touched the ground, a dark shadow locked onto her.

Then, under everyone's gaze, she discarded her fan.

She drew a kunai from her ninja pouch and held it under her chin.

"Are you surrendering?" Shikamaru asked with a soft chuckle.

He held nothing in his hands, so he wasn't afraid of continuing to press the issue.

Temari sighed heavily. "I... surrender!"

She was extremely unwilling. She had the upper hand at the beginning, so how could the situation have changed so drastically in the blink of an eye?

At this moment, Shiranui Genma walked to the center of the arena and announced loudly, "In this match, Nara Shikamaru is the winner!"

The young Konoha ninja watching erupted in cheers, as if they had won themselves.

"Next match, Aburame Shino versus Kankuro!"

As the announcement fell, both landed in the center of the arena.

Kankuro placed his puppet on the ground and was about to dismantle it when he heard Shino shout.

"Slugs, I choose you!"

"Bang!" A bright green slug instantly appeared under Shino's feet.

Soon, it split into two, then four...

Kankuro shivered, recalling the miserable state Zaku was in during the preliminary matches, and swallowed hard.