Chapter 294: The Great Sand Escape
When Dana returned to the restaurant, it was already closing time. He reappeared in his seat with a poof, startling the owner, who thought his barbecue grill had exploded.
Dana glanced around the familiar scene; it felt like he had just left and come back.
"Sir, you actually came back!" The owner rubbed his hands awkwardly.
Dana asked curiously, "Did my companions leave? Did they finish eating?"
"They finished eating, and most of them left."
"'Most' of them?"
Then Dana saw the Crimson Fortress wearing an apron, washing dishes.
"What's the situation?! You guys didn't pay?"
Hiroto glared at Dana resentfully. "We all pooled our money together and paid most of it."
"Then why are you washing dishes here?"
"We were still short 3,000 ryo. One plate covers 50."
Dana: "..."
It took quite a bit of effort to soothe the pain in Hiroto's heart. Dana reimbursed him for both meals and entrusted him to return the money advanced by the contestants.
"So where did you disappear to suddenly?"
Dana whistled, feeling a bit guilty. "Well... I went to Ryuchi Cave. Had some mundane business."
"Ryuchi Cave? One of your summoning contracts? What kind of mundane business?"
Their shadows stretched long on the streets of Sunagakure.
Deep in the Night.
In a secret research base in Sunagakure, several researchers were dissecting a pale white corpse.
A researcher wiped his sweat and covered the body with a white cloth.
"Finally done. This is truly a miraculous creature."
His colleague nodded. "Yes, unfortunately, our sample size is too small; otherwise, we could have obtained more intel. I heard this creature hides underground and can't even be detected by the village barrier."
"Let's go. Time to write the report. We need to inform the Kazekage-sama as soon as possible."
The two left the lab, rubbing their lower backs as they walked out.
From an angle no one could see, a small white pustule flashed on the back of both their necks before merging into their flesh.
The third exam approached rapidly. Contestants were training urgently, hoping to secure a good ranking or even the championship in the final round.
Sunagakure provided several training grounds, each filled with contestants from various villages sweating it out.
For Dana, the impending end of the Second Joint Chunin Exams meant the possible conspiracy was drawing closer.
On the surface, Dana wandered around daily, occasionally giving pointers to the young ninjas, but he never relaxed his vigilance.
While using his "Pulse" Vision to monitor the movements of the Kages, Dana repeatedly had the Special Strategy Division confirm if there were any unusual movements at the borders. The feedback was always calm.
"So this move is targeting me..."
Onoki and Sakumo Hatake were definitely involved. The Third Kazekage might turn hostile after the competition. Plus Minato Namikaze and Suna's own forces...
Minato without Flying Thunder God was just a novice in front of Dana, but a Minato who had mastered it demanded some respect.
Honestly, even Dana felt pressure from this lineup.
On his side, only he and Hiroto were reliable combatants... not very safe, especially considering they had to protect the young ones.
"Sunagakure will definitely care about the impact. The most likely scenario is that they'll make their move when we return after the exams... I need to prepare early."
Dana thought about it. Even if there was a conspiracy, the Cloud couldn't run back with their tails between their legs because of something that hadn't happened yet. But there was no need to be arrogant either. Even a broken ship has three pounds of nails; initiating a conflict so close to Suna meant the opponent could mobilize significant forces.
Plus, with so many top-tier combatants, it would be hard to guarantee the contestants wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.
Using the golden slug, Dana communicated across the ninja world with his Old Man. They decided to prepare an elite squad of about 50 people. The moment the third round ended, they would be transported via Heavenly Transfer to the outskirts of Suna to provide support and cover the retreat of the contestant team.
As for why not earlier? Because the commotion of the Heavenly Transfer Technique was impossible to hide.
Two days later, everyone finally welcomed the third round of assessments—the finale of this Joint Chunin Exam.
In the familiar arena, in the familiar seats, Dana watched the Third Kazekage giving an impassioned speech full of nonsense.
Perhaps because such opportunities were rare, the Third Kazekage utilized every speech opportunity in the three rounds to the fullest, eager to promote the talented and spirited Sunagakure to guests from all over the ninja world.
Look, he had already gone from the high moral standing of the First Kazekage to the grand strategies of the Second Kazekage.
He forced everyone to listen to a history lesson about Sunagakure.
After finishing, essentially combing through Suna's history from its founding, the Third Kazekage felt his blood boiling. He wanted to summarize a "Will of Wind" or "Will of Sand" on the spot. Unfortunately, having read too few books, his brain didn't turn fast enough, so he regretfully announced the start of the third exam.
"Now announcing the content of the third round of the Second Joint Chunin Exams! This assessment is: The Great Sand Escape!"
The 26 contestants below were confused.
A giant map dropped down from the high platform.
"The assessment area is in the giant basin to the north. All contestants must enter the assessment circle. Inside the circle, you may move, fight, and hide freely. Simultaneously, an encirclement formed by 500 Suna examiners will gradually shrink the range as time progresses."
"Being defeated or captured by an examiner means elimination! Being defeated by another contestant means elimination! Leaving the encirclement means elimination!"
"The exam ends when only one person 'survives,' and rankings will be recorded. Everyone, please depart!"
Behind him, Yotsuki Dana's spirit lifted.
"Hehe, the design of this round is actually quite interesting."
Facing examiners with absolute numerical superiority, the contestants would constantly have their space compressed. The shrinking space would further intensify conflicts between contestants.
It was a very interesting design, reminding Dana of "Battle Royale" games from his past life.
Of course, battles between ninja would be much more complex.
He just wondered if this 500-man Suna examiner force was related to their conspiracy...
Some contestants rubbed their fists eagerly, some formulated plans, and some hadn't figured out the rules yet.
"Kakashi, what does he mean? What circle? What is it?"
"Encirclement circle. Basically, we can't leave this range, and Suna ninja will compress our space, shrinking the circle."
"Encircle what?"
Kakashi ignored Obito and turned directly to Might Guy.
"This is troublesome, Guy. Neither of us is a sensory ninja... we'll be at a huge disadvantage."
Then he looked at Obito and said:
"...Besides, you've already been eliminated. What does this have to do with you?! Don't interrupt me and Guy planning tactics."
"I'm just caring about you guys! What encirclement circle?"