Chapter 283: You Call THIS a Ninja?
Dana spent a few leisurely days in the village. Perhaps out of guilt, he frequently had heart-to-heart talks with Kayo and Maki. Although there was no substantial progress, everyone saw the change in his attitude.
Especially Satomi, who often wore a foxy smile.
During this period, Dana returned to the capital once to handle some follow-up work on trade with Kirigakure, then returned to the village because another event was unfolding.
Just as the situation in the ninja world was tense, major powers were mobilizing troops, and any discerning person could see a storm was brewing, Sunagakure suddenly announced that they would host the Second Joint Chunin Exams.
This move almost made Onoki flash his old back.
It was roughly equivalent to two groups of people staring each other down, a massive brawl about to erupt, when suddenly a teammate pulled out a grill and started roasting lamb skewers—and they were the cheap, fake lamb skewers sold for three bucks a dozen.
Fortunately, Onoki didn't need to ask. Naturally, the Joint Chunin Exams invited every ninja village. The Five Great Villages, including Iwagakure, plus newly rising villages like Amegakure and a host of smaller ones, all received invitations from Suna.
It wasn't clear what price Suna paid or what reason they used, but all the major villages agreed, even the furious Onoki.
Whatever calculations Iwa and Konoha had were unclear, but the Cloud, as the mastermind behind the scenes, naturally participated.
Since it was a tactic to delay the war, they wished Suna would make it as grand as possible—dragging it out for half a year would be best.
Privately, they instructed Kitanouji to increase sponsorship and make the spectacle bigger. After all, the advertising benefits were real, and the Kitanouji Guild (the public face) would indeed benefit significantly. Inside and out, the Cloud wouldn't lose.
The Mist Village, always eager to participate in any major ninja world event for exposure, naturally accepted with pleasure.
The Rain Village, after reporting to their "Big Brother" Cloud and getting the green light, also expressed their intention to participate.
Thus, it was basically confirmed: this was a genuine grand event for the ninja world.
However, regarding the participants, since it had only been two years and the villages exerted too much effort in the first one, the quality of contestants was destined to drop significantly.
For example, high achievers like "Crimson Fortress" (Hiroto), "Yellow Flash" (Minato), and "Steam Boy" (Han) naturally wouldn't feel right competing again. The outstanding talents from the last exam had likely all been promoted to Chunin by now.
Except for Suna, who had always held back a hand...
To make it as grand as possible, Kitanouji mobilized the power of his guild, inviting numerous business partners from across the ninja world to watch. The momentum and scale truly surpassed the first exams.
After discussion, the Cloud decided that the previous champion, "Crimson Fortress" Hiroto Uzumaki, would serve as the team leader, replacing Dana's previous role. Dana himself would attend as the joint representative of the Cloud Village and the Land of Lightning.
As for the contestants, the Cloud simply selected a few good seedlings of appropriate age without overly calculating. Winning the championship again would likely depend on luck, but securing a few top rankings shouldn't be a problem given the overall quality.
Old acquaintance Tetsuo Okine was among them. Two years ago, he was the youngest Cloud contestant. Now, participating in the second exam was appropriate. His strength had grown considerably in two years, so he could protect the others.
It was said that on the Rain side, Hanzo the Salamander also brought out a few hidden gems from his collection, preparing to fight for a name in this exam, as anyone could see it would be easier to achieve good results this time.
The Great Desert.
On the endless expanse of sand, several teams wrapped tightly in cloaks marched forward with their heads down. To fight against the fierce wind, their bodies leaned at a 70-degree angle to the ground, trudging with great difficulty.
"I thought the environment in the Land of Rain last time was bad enough. I didn't expect to be so naive."
The speaker was Mahiru, and this team was the Iwagakure contestants.
Although Iwa's natural environment wasn't great either, in this aspect, he found ample confidence to despise Suna and Rain.
This team had traveled thousands of miles. Although they were well-prepared, they were unlucky enough to encounter a massive sandstorm. In such extreme weather, even ninja had a hard time. The Iwa team got disoriented and circled in the desert for three extra days before escaping, nearly exhausting their supplies.
If they had been delayed any longer, this team might have died halfway.
"Why did Suna build their village in a place like this?"
"Maybe they thought it was easy to defend and hard to attack?"
"Who would attack Suna? To steal sand?"
Finally, after crossing a dune, the group saw figures in the distance. They stopped holding back and accelerated.
Getting closer, they saw it was indeed Suna personnel, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
This was the reception point Suna set up for the teams. perhaps knowing the desert was hard to traverse and the climate harsh, they placed the reception point in the desert rather than at the village gates, appearing more welcoming.
The Konoha team had also arrived. Mahiru spotted several familiar figures among them.
For example, the runner-up of the last exam, Konoha's Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.
But since Minato had become a team leader while Mahiru was still a contestant, he felt too embarrassed to say hello.
Although his participation at this age was entirely because Onoki personally named him—demoting him from Chunin back to Genin to anchor the team—it still didn't look good on the surface.
The Suna people were quite enthusiastic, attending to both teams and providing water and food. "I thought your villages took a wrong turn. Today is the deadline; many teams are already in the village."
The Iwa team leader blushed, too embarrassed to admit they got stuck in a sandstorm for days. However, he wondered why the Konoha team also arrived just today.
"Let's head out quickly then."
The Suna receptionist said, "Please wait a moment. The Cloud team hasn't arrived yet."
Everyone paused.
The Cloud... don't tell me...
Just as they were thinking this, several shooting stars flew across the sky, exceptionally conspicuous in the clear desert sky.
The meteors fell directly above everyone's heads. White jade-like delivery pods landed one by one, carrying powerful air currents as they plunged deep into the sand.
Sand and stones flew everywhere, stinging the faces of those around.
Many young ninja who had never seen this before couldn't close their jaws, their understanding of the ninja world refreshed.
We are all ninja, why is the Cloud's style so different? We wore out three pairs of shoes walking out of the desert...
After landing, the pods disappeared one by one, leaving behind over a dozen Cloud ninja. The leader was the previous champion, known as "Crimson Fortress," Hiroto Uzumaki.
Great. Another peer who became a team leader. Mahiru lowered his head even further.
Thinking back, they had even fought. In the second stage inside the canyon, Hiroto unleashed a massive Water Release jutsu, and Mahiru was one of the many fleeing.
Speaking of which, that was the opponent's full-power jutsu, and Mahiru escaped unscathed. He could arguably claim they "exchanged a move without a clear victor."
The Suna receptionist had clearly received news beforehand and wasn't surprised. After registering them, he said, "Then let us depart. The village is still half a day's journey away."
Hiroto shook his head. "Wait a moment. One more person hasn't landed."
Without making everyone wait long, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, another shooting star flew from the horizon. But this time, it didn't seem to be a delivery pod. The rainbow light dissipated overhead, and a figure slowly descended, floating cross-legged in the air like a Buddha.
"Sorry for the wait, everyone. Let's go."
Because body transmission parameters differed from pod transmission, Yotsuki Dana arrived a few steps later.
His massive frame of over two meters, even while sitting cross-legged, exuded an oppressive pressure. Combined with the eerie posture of floating in the air, the young ninjas' worldview was refreshed once again.
Many jaws nearly hit the ground.
For example, a silver-haired boy who looked even younger than Sasori did in the last exam.
Kakashi Hatake's mouth under his mask hung open.
Is this the level of enemy Father faces?
You call this guy, who descends from the sky, is over two meters tall, and floats in the air... a NINJA?!!
In the same squad, Might Guy and Obito Uchiha also gulped.
Obito's goggles were blown askew...
The three teammates stood in a row, their expressions highly synchronized.