Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic

Chapter 39 Mitarashi Anko

"Otherwise what?"

Iruka pointed around, "These were all created by Qingwu using Wood Release."

Qingwu chuckled to himself.

With Iruka as a witness, he didn't need to explain much more.

"This doesn't count!"

Red Bean rolled her eyes and said cheekily, "I wasn't on guard just now, let's do it again."

Qingwu remained noncommittal: "Whatever."

Iruka hurriedly backed away.

Hongdou struck a pose again, "Qingwu, this time I'm serious."

Qingwu gestured for him to enter.

"hateful!"

Red Bean was a little flustered. Her teacher was Orochimaru, how could she possibly lose to someone her own age?

"Yin-zi-wei-zi-yin!"

She quickly formed hand seals, and several giant pythons flew out from Hongdou's sleeves, biting at Qingwu.

"Watch out!" Iruka exclaimed in alarm.

He had never seen such a ninjutsu before, and the speed of the technique was extremely fast.

However, while he was worrying about Qingwu, Qingwu laughed and said, "You want to see Wood Release? I'll grant your wish!"

boom!

A withered tree guardian, several meters tall, appeared before Qingwu, its numerous roots completely engulfing Hongdou's giant python.

"This, this..."

Red Bean was stunned again.

At close range, the massive, withered tree guardian exudes an intense sense of oppression.

Under Qingwu's control, the dense roots formed a huge "wooden spear" that stopped in front of Hongdou.

"..." Hongdou was somewhat incredulous and also felt a bit shocked.

I... seem to have absolutely no ability to resist.

Sparring... Sparring my ass!

"Hmph!" Red Bean turned her head away unhappily. "I'm not fighting anymore."

Qingwu smiled and ignored her.

He asked Iruka about the latest news.

He remained in his territory and rarely visited the village; his intelligence came from Iruka, who made daily round trips.

Iruka enthusiastically reviewed the most popular candidates for this year's Chunin Exams.

In the past few days, ninja squads from several villages have entered Konoha.

As a test taker, Iruka gathered a lot of information.

"Small ninja villages like Takigakure, Kusagakure, and Yugakure were the first to arrive, and people from Iwagakure and Sunagakure also came. Strangely, no one from Kirigakure came to take the exam this year."

Qingwu's mind raced. Wuyin... it's probably been completely destroyed by the vengeful Uchiha Obito by now.

"And another thing, Qingwu, you would never guess that Yunyin also sent someone to participate in the exam."

"Huh? Aren't we currently at war with the Hidden Cloud Village?"

"You're making a fuss over nothing," Red Bean finally found a chance to interject, "It's precisely because it's wartime that Cloud Village came."

Qingwu looked at her amusedly, "You know about these things?"

"Tch!" said Anko. "Nominally it's the Chunin Exams, but in reality... it's a stage for countries to flex their muscles, gather intelligence, and test each other's strengths."

Qingwu nodded. Beneath the glamorous surface of the Chunin Exams, this has always been the case.

"Our battle with the Cloud Village isn't on a large scale right now; it's not a life-or-death situation," Red Bean continued.

"Sending the younger generation here will not only showcase the strength of the new generation of Kumogakure, but also allow us to openly gather intelligence on Konoha, and test Konoha's attitude..."

"It kills three birds with one stone. Moreover, if a Kumogakure genin 'accidentally' dies or is seriously injured during the Konoha Exams, Kumogakure will have an excuse to escalate the conflict."

"Political games are disgusting!"

Ha, Qingwu was amused. "So you really do know about politics."

Iruka frowned deeply, realizing how complex the exam was after hearing what Red Bean said.

This is a matter of perspective.

Anko comes from a ninja family and has seen a lot of the world by following Orochimaru, so she understands some things after a little thought.

"Don't overthink it." Qingwu patted Iruka on the shoulder:

"For us, this is a test, a chance to demonstrate our capabilities and pass the assessment. As for the intricacies... that's for those in higher positions to worry about."

"Well said!" Red Bean praised, "Forget about Cloud Village and Iwagakure, we'll fight them one by one, two by two, and show them the power of Konoha!"

Qingwu chuckled to himself. This was the Hongdou he knew. It seemed that her analysis just now was just something she'd heard somewhere and was just for show.

The three chatted for a while before heading out of the territory.

The second round of the Konoha Chunin Exams usually takes place in the Forest of Death.

The fact that Qingwu lived here made it convenient for them to familiarize themselves with the terrain in advance.

The so-called special training involves constantly "scouting" the terrain of the Death Forest, which has a diameter of 10 kilometers, to gain a thorough understanding of its topography.

……

Two days later.

The Chunin Exams have officially begun.

Qingwu, as the team leader, led Hongdou and Iruka to the school gate.

They haven't come back since graduation.

The first round of the Chunin Exams, written tests, will be held here.

The school was crowded, and the noise almost lifted the roof off.

Genin from various ninja villages gathered in twos and threes, some honing their skills at the last minute, others observing potential opponents.

Qingwu's gaze swept across the crowd, instantly locking onto several noteworthy targets.

Besides familiar faces from the village: Gekko Hayate, Kamitsu Izumo, Gangko Tetsu, and others.

There were also several ninjas from other ninja villages who were familiar to Qingwu.

I just can't remember who it is for the moment.

We may only know after we fight them.

Qingwu's gaze lingered on several Rain Ninja, Waterfall Ninja, and Sand Ninja for a while.

Just then, Iruka nudged him, "Qingwu, look over there."

Qingwu looked in the direction Iruka was looking, and his pupils contracted slightly.

"What's that kid doing here?!"

The person he saw... had been his prisoner.

That's right, they were the two remaining of the six Cloud Ninja who attacked the territory that night.

Afterwards, Qingwu learned from Kakashi that the younger one was called "hope" and the bald captain was called "Dun".

Qingwu hadn't heard of the latter, but he knew about 'hope'.

He was a member of the future Fourth Raikage's guard, no wonder he felt that young Hii was familiar back then.

Moreover, it wasn't just these two people; Qingwu, the remaining member of the three-person team from Yunyin, was also someone they knew.

Darui!

He was also a member of the guard of the future Fourth Raikage, and later became the Fifth Raikage.

"These dark-skinned people..." Qingwu murmured, resting her chin on her hand. "Hiss~~~"

"Do you know them?" Iruka asked curiously.

"I know them," Qingwu nodded. "I'm just wondering how they got out."

He was handed over to the Third Hokage as a prisoner, so how could he appear openly in the examination hall?

"And what's the last one?"

Qingwu recalled that he had handed over prisoners twice and received considerable profits from both.

Bald Head and hope were the second ones to be handed over, so what about the Cloud Ninja who was handed over the first time?

Was he killed or returned to Kumogakure?

Moreover, judging from the last encounter, that bald guy named "Dull" is more than just a Chunin, right? Why is he even here to take the exam?

I really don't understand.

Qingwu briefly explained the situation to his teammates Iruka and Hongdou.

Red Bean scoffed, "Tsk, isn't that simple? It's just a political game!"

Iruka asked in confusion, "But they were killed and captured because they were trying to invade."

Anko put her hands behind her head and said, "Under the pretext of taking the exam, some high-ranking official from Kumogakure must have come and reached some kind of agreement with the Hokage."