Thinking that there was an expert guard in the Daimyo Residence, Uchiha Tonan also gave up the plan to pry for information using the white pigeon or the Byakugan. Powers such as visual jutsu were very strange and had no chakra fluctuation. But experts had perennial instinctive vigilance and could detect them.
This was perhaps because the level of the Byakugan was too low. While mulling over this, Tonan sipped his tea and leaned back on the rocking chair. He closed his eyes and rested. He seemed to be basking in the sun but in fact, he was secretly using Wind Communication to eavesdrop on nearby information.
However, there was not much he learned even after an entire day worth of snooping around. The residences in the neighborhood seemed to have been relocated. The next day, Tonan came to the courtyard early in the morning and rested on the rocking chair, continuing to monitor.
At the same time, in another courtyard, the Kumo contestant Ueda Nobutake was busy writing. Nobutake was sixteen years old this year. He was the Cloud chunin but his strength had already reached jonin level. The reason he was still a chunin was that he didn’t meet the minimum requirement of the number of missions.
The Honorary Chunin Competition was of great importance to all countries for several reasons including Naraku’s promise that the champion would be rewarded with many goods and materials. At this moment, Nobutake was frowning while writing on the scroll and muttered, “No matter how I look at it, this place feels weird. Just an ordinary guard also makes me feel a little pressure.”
Once he completed, he closed the scroll and used the Summoning Technique to summon a lizard. “Take this back to the village,” Nobutake instructed, putting the scroll into the lizard’s mouth.
Right at this moment, somewhere in the underground palace, two guardian ninjas sitting cross-legged on a huge magic array opened their eyes simultaneously.
“So daring!”
“Are you going or should I?”
“I’ll go.”
In the next instant, one of the guardian ninjas disappeared using the Body Flicker Technique. Nobutake dispelled the Summoning Technique and walked to the window to glance outside. City guards were patrolling the nearby rooftops from time to time. Nobutake frowned and inwardly thought, “It seems I’ve to go out and take a look around.”
Following his thoughts, Nobutake pushed open the door and walked out of the courtyard. Creak… Just after he opened the courtyard door, the guards stationed at the door turned to look at him. The two city guards stood in front of Nobutake as one of them said, “The Daimyo has ordered us to ensure the contestants’ safety. You are not allowed to go out before the competition. If you need anything, you can tell us.”
Nobutake replied with a smile, “Since I’ve come all the way here, I wanted to explore the Fire Capital’s scenery. If you are worried about me, you can send people to follow me.”
The city guard firmly said, “No.” Even after he had compromised to this point, an insignificant guard refused him. An angry Nobutake retorted, “I came to participate on behalf of the Land of Lightning. I’m not a prisoner. You’ve no right to imprison me.”
The city guard replied with the same firm tone again, “Please go back, don’t make it difficult for us.”
“Step aside!” Nobutake took a step forward and pushed the city guard away. “Stop him,” the city guard shouted and many guards rushed toward Nobutake.
Nobutake snorted and punched the city guard who was closest to him. After all, these guards seemed to be ordinary people. If he used chakra, they were very likely to die. Since this was the Fire Capital, Nobutake had restrained himself considerably. When the city guard saw this, he also punched back.
It was just that this city guard had used all of his power to punch, and there was a hint of senjutsu chakra in it.
Bang… After their fists collided, both of them retreated at a similar distance. Nobutake believed that his taijutsu was far superior to ordinary people but beyond his expectation, he was evenly matched with an ordinary city guard.
Seeing that more guards had arrived, Nobutake’s expression condensed. He jumped high and dazzling lightning burst out from his body. “Get out of my way! Lightning Style – Elbow Bolt.”
“Presumptuous!” Suddenly, a loud shout came from the distance and a huge water flower bloomed on the ground below Nobutake. The water flower then swallowed him in one mouthful.
“What!” Nobutake knew that water conducts electricity. The moment he was swallowed by the water flower, he dispelled his ninjutsu. The water flower then turned into a ball and no matter how he struggled, or how much chakra he released, he was trapped.
The city guards at this time stepped aside to make a way. A man with black hair and white eyebrows walked through the crowd and stopped in front of the water ball. He folded his arms and said, “This is the Fire Capital. You’ve to abide by the city rules when you’re here. If you dare to secretly pass Fire Capital’s information or disturb the peace, I’ll follow His Majesty’s will and directly deal with you on the spot. If you understand, then blink. If you don’t, I’ll execute you now.”
Nobutake knew that he had kicked an iron plate this time. If it was just an ordinary Water Prison Technique, he just needed to release chakra before the water prison was fully formed to free himself. But this prison seemed a bit strange. The water inside actually contained a specific tenacity.
It was something Nobutake had never seen before. He, who was about to suffocate, blinked frantically. The black-haired, white-eyebrowed man looked at him with disdain and snapped his fingers to dispel the ninjutsu. The prison disappeared and all the water was absorbed by the ground the moment it splashed as if it did not fall on hard pavement but on a sponge.
Huhu… Nobutake knelt with his palms on the ground, panting heavily. With his eyes full of anger, he said, “You are violating the principle of diplomacy like this.”
The white-eyebrowed man lowered his eyes and coldly said, “You can go back and report this incident to your Raikage. And let me tell you straight. When you are in the room, all your actions are in our eyes. Don’t try to play tricks. Now, get lost.”
Nobutake could only suppress his anger and said, “You… alright, I’ll remember it.” He staggered to his feet and turned around as he walked toward his courtyard.
At the same time, Tonan, who was resting in his courtyard with his eyes closed, slowly opened them and touched his chin, “No… why did this fellow set out before the conflict happened? He should have gotten the news in advance, otherwise, it’s impossible to arrive so soon. What exactly is hidden in the Daimyo Residence?”
In the next moment, the three tomoe spun in Tonan’s eyes and he looked up at the sky. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes slightly and found that special thin chakras were spread all around the Fire Capital. And Tonan was very familiar with this kind of chakra technique.
“This is… Konoha’s barrier… Where did Naraku get Konoha’s top secret?”
Suddenly, two figures flashed in Tonan’s mind—Orochimaru and Danzo. “It seems I underestimated the lure of money. Things are getting more and more interesting. Isn’t it time to reveal hidden intentions tomorrow? The Honorary Chunin Competition… is it to show power? What a joke… Naraku isn’t that kind of person….”
At this time, another conspiracy was underway in the deepest part of the underground palace. This place was like an underground city with walls made of steel on the edge. The walls were covered with seal runes to isolate the aura and sounds.
The people living here were not civilians but the army that the current Daimyo had privately cultivated. Naraku with a group of guardian ninjas behind him arrived at a stand in the city. Below, many soldiers were sitting cross-legged on the central square and practicing hand seals.
Naraku squinted his eyes, “How long will it take to develop an improved chakra potion?” The guardian ninja behind him bowed and answered, “Your Majesty, since Orochimaru’s death, our progress has almost stopped.”
Naraku touched his chin and said, “The chakra potion is too precious. If the improved product is not developed, then even if we grasp most of the wealth of the entire Ninja World, we cannot make it popular. You must find a way to speed up the progress. From tomorrow onwards, you are all to secretly search for research talents.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“How many people have reached the genin level now?”
“Just over two thousand.”
Naraku rested his hands on the railing and slightly exerted strength. The iron railing was deformed instantly.
“Two thousand… Fifty thousand practiced nonstop for days. There were thirty thousand who could cultivate chakra but after so long, only two thousand people have genin-level strength. And this was after I overdrafted the Ninja World’s decades of wealth in advance to exchange for resources. It seems the gap in bloodline talents is more difficult to break than I imagined. Bring the two thousand genin in the arena tomorrow, just in case.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
