Before leaving, Ziyun didn't forget to deliver Kushina another heavy blow.
After seeing the stunned look on Kushina's little face, Ziyun left, satisfied.
Tomorrow... he really was looking forward to it.
Chapter 21: Tearing Away Konoha's Fig Leaf [Flowers and Votes, Please!]
That night, in the Hokage's office.
"Lord Hokage, it's done. Uchiha Mikoto is dead... Kushina Uzumaki wasn't disturbed."
Disguised as an Anbu operative, Ziyun entered the Hokage's office and reported back to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was still working in his office this late. He really was dedicated.
"Well done. That counts as completing an S-rank mission. You've rendered Konoha a great service!"
"Yeyue Ziyun, one year from today... will be the anniversary of your death."
Sensing nothing amiss, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes gleamed.
Once Hidden Cloud Village, this great threat, was eliminated, Konoha could sit comfortably atop the Shinobi World for decades!
Seeing the look in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, Ziyun smiled slightly beneath his mask.
An S-rank mission. Hiruzen Sarutobi really thought highly of him.
He wondered what expression Hiruzen Sarutobi would make when he saw Mikoto still alive tomorrow. It was bound to be a sight.
"Lord Hokage, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
Hiruzen Sarutobi waved a hand, and Ziyun left.
The next morning, the venue for Konoha Village's trial tournament was packed early.
The venue for this tournament was the Konoha stadium used for the Chunin Exams in the original story.
With Observation Haki activated, Ziyun could already sense Mikoto's familiar Chakra.
Kushina was with Mikoto.
But as Ziyun had instructed, both had disguised themselves so no one would recognize them.
In fact, no one would suspect Uchiha Mikoto was still alive. The Konoha High Command would never have dreamed that Ziyun could take on anyone's appearance without being seen through.
Of course, it wasn't impossible to see through him. If Ziyun had to use Ninjutsu, he would certainly be exposed at once.
Just as in the original story, the Third Raikage and Hiruzen Sarutobi sat together in the best viewing spot.
Beside Hiruzen Sarutobi were the Anbu Captains, led by Hatake Sakumo.
Beside the Third Raikage, however, stood only a lonely Dodai, making the scene look a little shabby.
"At this tournament, Konoha has to show they're above Hidden Cloud Village in every way."
Seeing the stark contrast between the guards beside the Third Raikage and Hiruzen Sarutobi, Ziyun was deeply displeased.
After all, the Third Hokage was in Konoha Village, yet he still had a bunch of Anbu guarding him.
Was some assassin going to jump out of nowhere in Konoha Village and kill you? It was nothing more than a show of Konoha's strength to pressure the Third Raikage.
Today... he would tear away Konoha's fig leaf.
Soon, the list of participants in the trial tournament appeared on the big screen.
Hidden Cloud Village's representative was Yeyue Ziyun.
Konoha's were Jiraiya, Uchiha Fugaku, and Senju Kazami.
"How shameless. Three against one?"
Seeing the three names on the big screen, Mikoto and Kushina, seated among the crowd, grew indignant.
All three were also relatively well-known geniuses in Konoha Village.
Jiraiya went without saying. He was the Third Hokage's personal disciple. Though he was a little less talented, that was only compared to Orochimaru.
Jiraiya was already at Jonin level.
Uchiha Fugaku was likewise a genius ninja of the Uchiha Clan. Rumor had it he had already awakened the Mitsudomoe Sharingan.
Ziyun hadn't seen Senju Kazami in the original story, but presumably he was a genius too.
Most of the people of Konoha, however, didn't consider it shameless. Instead, they felt proud.
That was because the Konoha High Command had long promoted this trial tournament as a gathering of geniuses.
Konoha Village had plenty of geniuses, so naturally it could field more participants.
Hidden Cloud Village had only one genius because it was too weak. What did that have to do with Konoha?
The Third Raikage's face darkened in the stands. He had clearly underestimated just how thick-skinned Hiruzen Sarutobi was.
Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi had specifically chosen this lineup.
One specialized in Ninjutsu, another in Genjutsu, and the last, Senju Kazami, specialized in Sealing Jutsu.
The main purpose of this trial tournament was to determine Yeyue Ziyun's weaknesses.
Once he had done that, Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to make an issue of Uchiha Mikoto's death and kill Yeyue Ziyun right here!
Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Ziyun could ignore Ninjutsu, but he had still sent Jiraiya out to demonstrate Konoha's strength.
The match soon began, and the first to enter was the white-haired Jiraiya.
Jiraiya looked at Ziyun without showing much sign of underestimating him.
He knew that his genius classmate Orochimaru had lost to Yeyue Ziyun.
So he planned to go all out from the start.
"Fire Style: Great Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya immediately used the most powerful Ninjutsu he currently had.
"Your teacher really is ruthless, Jiraiya. Didn't he tell you I can ignore all Ninjutsu?"
As the flame bullet sped toward him, Ziyun didn't even dodge. It passed straight through his body.
"See that? A ninja like you, who only knows Ninjutsu-sending you out here was nothing more than sending you to your death."
Ziyun smiled as he spoke and raised a finger, seemingly casually. A bolt of lightning poured from its tip.
Jiraiya barely managed to dodge before the lightning exploded with a bang.
Rocks flew and dust filled the stadium, drawing cries of surprise from the crowd.
Was this Hidden Cloud Village's number one genius?
A casual point of his finger produced a B-rank Ninjutsu, without even forming Hand Seals. By comparison, the genius Jiraiya looked a little low.
When the smoke cleared, Jiraiya had two or three scrapes on his body and looked rather battered.
"Nonsense! Teacher Sarutobi isn't like that!"
Jiraiya angrily rebuked Ziyun and unleashed another wide-range Ninjutsu.
Ziyun, by contrast, didn't flinch, letting the Ninjutsu pass through his body undergoing Elemental Transformation.
"That's... that's such a cool Ninjutsu!"
"Yeah, that lightning-like body looks so awesome!"
"As expected of Hidden Cloud Village's number one genius!"
In just two exchanges, the spectators had all swung to Ziyun's side.
It couldn't be helped. His Elemental Transformation ability was ridiculously cool, completely unlike ninja battles, where they skulked and probed for ages.
It showed many people from Konoha Village a whole new world.
"Heh, in that case, spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair thinking about what kind of person Hiruzen Sarutobi really is."
Ziyun smiled slightly, then turned into a bolt of lightning and flashed behind Jiraiya.
The Third Raikage and Dodai's assholes immediately clenched in the stands.
They had seen this move before.
"Finger Pistol secret technique: Thousand Years of Death!!"
This time, Ziyun held nothing back. He concentrated all his strength in his fingers and drove them hard at Jiraiya's asshole.
With a squelch, Ziyun felt his fingers sink all the way in.
Then he slowly pulled them out.
"Aah!!!"
With a scream of agony, Jiraiya shot into the sky.
The piercing pain twisted his face out of shape.
It was as though a rain of blood had begun to fall... drops of blood drifted down from the sky.
"Hey, hey, are you all right, Jiraiya...?"
"That... that hurts!"
"He won't die, will he...? That's terrifying!"