Escape From Konoha

In the office, Hiruzen was frowning, as if he was worried about something.

Opposite him is Danzo Shimura, the leader of the root group, a comrade who has fought side by side since childhood.

Even now because of political differences, Hiruzen was willing to trust Danzo as his close friend in many cases.

No matter what the other party's purpose is, good or bad, the other party's loyalty to Konoha will not be weaker than his own.

As long as he remains absolutely loyal to Konoha and is willing to devote himself, the wrong things Danzo has done can be offset by the merits and demerits.

In Konoha, where the radical faction is now growing stronger, Danzo's existence has also become important.

"You came to me specifically to talk to me about something?"

Because we are busy with root affairs, we haven't gotten together for more than half a year.

The root manpower still needs to be cultivated and expanded, but due to the suppression of the ANBU, it can only slowly expand its strength.

But he believed that Hiruzen would not talk about this kind of thing. In terms of balancing policy, Danzo also considered himself invincible.

"According to Kakashi's surveillance, there seems to be some chaos within the Uchiha."

"Really? That's the style of that clan, but if we just ignore it, it is inevitable that they will have some disadvantages to the village."

"For example?"

"coup."

Danzo said two words as if they were precious words.

"Too serious."

Sun Zhan shook his head.

"I just represent my opinion. If you don't agree, I just hope you won't regret it then."

Danzo smiled coldly.

If it were before, he might not think so.

But now in the ninja world, there are lessons learned from the past.

That is Gotachibana Yagura, the fourth generation Mizukage of Kirigakure Village. He is the only Five Kage in history to act in a violent coup and successfully come to power.

And according to the intelligence, Goju Yagura's Mizukage position is very secure.

A violent coup requires a prerequisite, which is to have strong force and carry out beheading operations.

And Uchiha has exactly this kind of power.

With such a successful case, why wouldn't the Uchiha radicals be excited?

Just dealing with high-level officials... Even Danzo had to admit that Uchiha had such an opportunity.

Uchiha Fugaku also performed very well in the Third Ninja War, even as good as the Sannin.

However, due to some political factors, it did not receive a lot of publicity from high-level officials.

Now there was another Shunshen Shisui... Danzo couldn't help but feel awe of that young man's power.

Young people are terrible.

Uchiha Shisui is definitely another Uchiha Ruri.

"In any case, they are all members of Konoha. As long as they don't go to that point, they won't meet each other. Moreover, I have reached an agreement with Fu Yue. After this Zhongnin exam, his son Itachi was incorporated into the ANBU and eased the relationship with the Uchiha."

Hiruzen didn't want to waste time like this.

For such a long time, the Anbu had gained nothing. Even Shisui could not find out the inner ghost that Uchiha Ruri had buried in the Uchiha clan.

In this case, there is only one other way to monitor Uchiha.

"Did Uchiha Fugaku agree?"

"Yes, he agreed."

"I'm afraid they came with the intention of monitoring the ANBU and our movements."

A sharp look flashed in Danzo's eyes.

"I have seen that child. He is a child who can think about the overall situation with Hokage thinking. He will become a person on our side."

Sun Zhan said with certainty.

"Ten years ago, you had the same evaluation of Chiba Shiraishi."

Danzo gave Hiruzen a strange look.

"..."

The corners of Hiruzen's mouth twitched slightly.

Danzo's words reminded him of an unpleasant memory.

"Itachi is different from Chiba Shiraishi. He will never become an evil rebellious ninja like Chiba Shiraishi. He is Konoha's Uchiha Itachi."

"I hope so."

Danzo thought about cooperation with that 'Madara', and could only feel sorry for Hiruzen once again.

However, Hiruzen will definitely forgive him in the end, just like before.

This old friend is really old.

"Have Xiaochun and the others agreed?"

Danzo asked again.

"No, both of them are adamantly opposed. So I need your side of the story."

After hearing what Hiruzen said, Danzo nodded.

Those two people usually looked harmless, but in targeting Uchiha, they were also carrying out the legacy of their teacher, the Second Hokage.

Anbu, such an important department, should not allow people from the Uchiha clan to enter.

Uchiha has already mastered such an important department of the garrison. If they continue to increase their power in the village, it will not only expand the ambition of the Uchiha clan, but also make other families dissatisfied.

"Since you, Hokage, have no objections, as the root leader, I naturally have no problem. As long as it is beneficial to the village, I will definitely support it."

"I feel relieved to hear you say that. After all, a place like the roots is not suitable for Itachi to grow."

Two years ago, Danzo proposed to let Itachi take the chunin exam alone and train him to be a sharp sword like Konoha's White Fang and Yellow Flash.

However, Hiruzen refused to do this.

At the same time, it also made Hiruzen understand that Danzo had also noticed Itachi's existence and hoped to draw Itachi into the root.

He said this to let Danzo know one thing. Itachi was a ninja belonging to the ANBU, not the root.

The root is always just a branch of the dark part.

"For this kind of question, wouldn't it be better for Itachi to choose? That child has darkness."

Danzo said with a frown.

“The light of fire will illuminate the darkness in his heart.”

Hiruzen said firmly.

Because he still has a trump card in his hand-that is Shisui Uchiha.

But Shisui's Anbu's identity is top secret, the whole Konoha, only he, Hokage, knows now.

He is considered the 71st non-staff member of ANBU.

And he is also Itachi's best friend, and he will definitely guide Itachi on the right path.

Danzo didn't say anything, got up and left.

◎

"Participating in the Chunin exam alone? What is Konoha doing?"

This year's Konoha Chuunin Exams were particularly lively.

Because not only Konoha genin participated, but genin from other countries also participated.

It can be regarded as a joint chuunin exam for all countries.

But the home field is on Konoha's side.

The reason why the ninja villages from other countries agreed was because they wanted to test the younger generation of ninjas in Konoha. Of course, they also wanted to show off their muscles to other countries.

However, in this, Konoha also revealed a piece of information, that is, this year there will be a Konoha ninja who will participate in the Chunin Exam alone.

And this Konoha ninja who participated in the Chunin Exam alone was the Uchiha Itachi that Kazuhime was paying attention to.

Uchiha clan, another genius after Shunshen Shisui.

It's just that at this moment, compared to Uchiha Itachi's own fame, people are focusing on Uchiha Itachi's participation in the Chunin Exam as a single player.

This is an unusual existence among the previous Chunin Exams.

Ninjas do not fight alone. In many cases, the role of a team is far more important than a single person.

Whether you are a genin, a chuunin, or a stronger jounin, you must know how to work as a team.

Especially Konoha, which is dominated by the will of fire, pays more attention to team awareness.

It is true that there are speedy ninjas like Namikaze Minato who are not suitable for cooperating with teammates, but it is also because of the particularity of time and space jumping ninjutsu that the legend of yellow flash was created.

But Uchiha Itachi, no matter how you look at it, is not the same type of ninja as Namikaze Minato.

Based on this consideration, Kazuhime felt that this might be something planned by Konoha's higher-ups.

Only in this way can it be explained that Itachi Uchiha participated in the Chunin Exam alone.

This exam can be said to be quite disadvantageous for Uchiha Itachi.

"Probably because I failed the second exam."

The accompanying miko said so.

This time, there were also elite genin from the other five major countries participating in the Konoha Chuunin Exam. They were all in groups of three.

The first test is a written test. It is said that Uchiha Itachi's theoretical score was perfect when he was in the ninja school, so the written test is not difficult for him.

But the second exam is a head-on challenge that requires strength.

It would be difficult for Uchiha Itachi to stand out in this exam no matter how he acted alone.

"Since Konoha's Uchiha hails him as a rare genius in twenty years, we cannot use common sense to infer it. In short, I am quite interested in his next test results."

Ichiji said this.

Common sense is a word used to restrain mortals, but genius cannot be restrained by common sense.

Especially for a genius like Uchiha Itachi, there might be some unexpected surprises.

◎

"In less than six hours... the speed at which I passed the second exam can be said to be the fastest in history."

The masked ANBU reported to the Hokage and the root leader Danzo who were sitting there.

After hearing this result, the two old men with high positions in Konoha couldn't help but be surprised.

The candidate the ANBU was talking about was naturally Uchiha Itachi who participated in the Chunin Exam alone.

In the first written test, he achieved nearly perfect scores. In the second test, he successfully reached the central tower of the Death Forest in less than six hours, ranking first.

Hiruzen took a deep breath, perhaps thinking of something.

"This kind of achievement is comparable to Minato back then."

But the difference is that at that time, Minato completed the Chunin Exam as a team of three, while Itachi completed it alone.

From this point of view, it cannot be said that Itachi has completely surpassed Minato, but Itachi's achievements are shocking enough and worthy of pride.

"The third exam is next. It shouldn't be a problem for Itachi."

Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, he was unsure about letting Itachi participate in the Chunin Exam alone.

However, seeing Itachi's results at the moment, I feel confident in Itachi's participation in the third exam.

In this joint chuunin exam, absolutely no genin can defeat Itachi.

It was even said that there were no genin who could stand on the same level as Itachi.

This achievement is impossible for even a formal chuunin to achieve.

Itachi's strength has surpassed that of most chuunin.

Only ten years old.

"Relieved, huh?"

Danzo asked.

Hiruzen nodded without hiding anything.

"You should really be proud of this achievement. It would be better if he was not from the Uchiha clan."

Danzo said this intentionally or unintentionally.

Hiruzen fell silent.

Yes, it would be better if he was not a ninja from the Uchiha clan.

Uchiha is, after all, a thorn that is difficult to pull out.

Among the younger generation of the Naruto faction, only Kakashi can provoke the leader.

The other young ninjas were still a little behind.

And what about Uchiha?

The war made their Sharingan even stronger, and geniuses emerged in large numbers.

No matter which era, there is no gap, and there is never a shortage of powerful ninjas supporting the family.

Because of this, he wanted Itachi to join Anbu and work for the Hokage faction.

But Danzo also made it clear that no matter how talented Itachi was, he was still a member of the Uchiha clan and had the Uchiha fighting factor.

"Itachi is not that kind of boy."

"If you can't control this blade, it doesn't matter if you leave it to me to tame it."

You simply cannot master such a dark blade! These are the true words in Danzo's heart.

Naruto, who was used to standing in the sun, did not understand the true darkness of ninjas.

To Danzo, Itachi was just a ninja that was a mixture of darkness.

Even ANBU couldn't be Itachi's destination.

The roots are where the ferret should really go.

"This kind of thing is impossible to negotiate. The current strength of the root is enough for you to use."

Sun Zhan shook his head.

Regardless of whether he can control such a blade, leaving it to Danzo to use is the most dangerous thing.

"Still so confident. Forget it, I'll go back and rest first. You don't need to call me for the third exam. There is no need to pay attention to the blade that doesn't belong to me."

Danzo snorted and walked out of the room.

Hiruzen knew that Danzo was unwilling, but it didn't matter. He was the Hokage of Konoha and the one who really made the decision.

Danzo retreated despite the difficulty, which also saved him a lot of effort.

◎

The huge round wall is like a prison. The sky cover is removed, and the sky and white clouds can be seen.

On the upper part of the tall wall, there is a huge seat where spectators can watch ninja battles.

Officials, businessmen from various countries, as well as residents and ninjas of Konoha gathered here to watch the third test of the Chunin Examination.

Yi Ji was also arranged here, and it was a VIP seat.

As the princess of the Demon Country, Konoha will naturally try its best to satisfy Kazuhime's every need.

And this doesn't require Ichiji to take the initiative to speak, Konoha will take the initiative to arrange everything.

Sitting here and watching the ninja duel below is quite a novel experience for Kazuki.

Around her, there are also children like her, but more are adults, officials from various countries and big businessmen, all of whom are celebrities.

It can be said that those sitting in this area are either rich or noble.

Sitting next to Ichiki were the two miko maidens accompanying me, who were responsible for protecting Ichiki.

At the edge of the corridor, there was also a Jonin from the Kingdom of Ghosts standing there, paying attention to everything around him.

Although Konoha's Anbe has also opened up the line of defense, but there are so many rich and noble classes here, if an accident happens suddenly, it will be difficult for Konoha's Anbe's staff to defend well.

Therefore, business and political celebrities like Kazuki who bring their own bodyguards also bring their own ninja bodyguards to protect their own safety.

The first test of the Chunin Exam is a written test.

The second test was held in the Konoha Death Forest. It was an indiscriminate battle and required to reach the central tower within the specified range.

The third test is a one-on-one duel. The ninja who wins the duel is qualified to become a chuunin.

The genin from each country selected from the first two exams are all the elite genin.

Generally speaking, it is actually very difficult to win a one-on-one duel.

None of the genin who survived until the third exam were mediocre.

Many genin are likely to have chuunin level strength.

However, Itachi wanted to win.

And it is an overwhelming and absolute victory.

He wanted to let the business and political figures from various countries who were sitting on the high platform watching the game know the strength of Konoha and the power of the Uchiha clan.

In this way, he is once again one step closer to his desire to protect Konoha, protect everything he cherishes, and eliminate all wars in the ninja world.

Therefore, after the referee Jonin shouted 'start', Itachi opened his scarlet Sharingan and raised his fingers from his waist just in time.

Then... the battle was over.

The Ninja who was opposite him had dull eyes, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying, his originally dull expression immediately showed a broken look, screamed in horror on the spot, and fell unconscious on the ground.

"...What's going on? Where's Fire Release?"

"Why did that guy faint suddenly?"

The audience on the high platform seemed very surprised by this.

It’s just that Jonin, who was serving as a referee in the arena, seemed to understand something suddenly, walked to the middle of the arena, looked at the other country’s jonin who was lying there twitching from fear, and then announced: "The winner, Uchiha Itachi. "

Itachi calmly left the venue.

The audience on the high platform were also surprised by this.

The battle ended so quickly that it was beyond everyone's imagination.

"The power of Sharingan? It's so powerful..."

The accompanying miko was also surprised.

None of the genin who survived until the third exam were mediocre.

However, under such difficult circumstances, Itachi managed to kill instantly and end the battle with overwhelming strength, which was really unexpected.

"No, he did not use the Sharingan, because from the moment Itachi opened the Sharingan, the genin on the opposite side deliberately avoided the Sharingan."

Ichigo narrowed her eyes.

As long as you don't look into the Sharingan's eyes, the Sharingan's genjutsu won't work.

"Eh? Then why..."

"There was something wrong with the finger he raised his head. It made the other party mistakenly think that he was going to use the Sharingan illusion, so that the other party deliberately avoided the Sharingan, thereby lowering his wariness against the Sharingan illusion. Then Uchiha Itachi pretended to form a seal. The gesture attracts the other person's attention...His illusion is probably activated by that finger."

"Use your fingers to activate illusions? So powerful?"

"Well, that's great."

If he didn't know the details of Itachi, he would definitely be killed by Hatsumi.

Yi Ji is very sure of this.

It is very similar to her mother Ruri's tactile illusion. They do not use the Sharingan to activate the illusion, deploying traps in unexpected places to eliminate enemies.

What's even more frightening is that the opponent has to pay attention to Itachi's movements.

It is very difficult to fight without the Sharingan, so paying attention to Itachi's hands and feet to judge the movements has become the key to breaking the game.

Therefore, this is a trap designed by Weasel.

Even if you know that this is a trap, you can't avoid it unless you use the same powerful illusion-breaking skills to compete with it.

Using this method to cover up the shortcomings of the Sharingan genjutsu shows that the opponent is not just powerful in the Sharingan.

Ichiji paid attention to Itachi's every move.

That flawless figure seemed to have been tempered for thousands of times, and his physical skills were probably far beyond those of his peers.

The flexibility of his fingers when he raised his hand to fake the seal proved that he was also very proficient in ninjutsu.

It can be said that he is a ninja who has no flaws in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and illusion.

After watching the game, Yiji stood up from her seat.

"Lord Ichiji?"

"After watching such a wonderful battle, there is nothing new in the next game. Let's go."

"yes."

The two shrine maidens and several surrounding Jōnin from the Kingdom of Demons also left together.

◎

Walking to the inner corridor leading to the lounge, Itachi could feel himself in a surprisingly good mood.

He is also full of gratitude to the village senior officials who allowed him to participate in the Chunin Exam.

I am grateful that they can provide such a stage to me.

In this way, the other national ninjas who have seen their own power will probably be in awe of Konoha's power.

Genin represents the future of the village. At the age of ten, he instantly defeated the powerful genin who participated in the Chunin Exam. This is undoubtedly an achievement worth being proud of.

Those who are not optimistic about his solo participation in the Chunin Exam will also have a different view of his strength.

After that, he will enter the Anbu and become the bridge between the village and his family... Itachi feels the great responsibility on his body.

Therefore, we still need to become stronger.

No rest, no relaxation.

Itachi planned to return to Uchiha's private training ground and continue to hone himself.

"Congratulations, Uchiha Itachi."

This sound suddenly reached his ears, making Itachi slightly startled.

Only then did he notice that there was a girl about his own age leaning against the wall, paying attention to him with an inexplicable look.

Beside her, there were two young women wearing miko costumes, and several male ninjas beside her, who also gave themselves a strong oppressive force.

Jonin.

The several male ninjas accompanying this girl are all formidable jounin.

On the foreheads of these people, they wear ninja forehead protectors that are different from those of the five major countries.

There is a flower pattern engraved on the forehead protector.

Aster flower.

A ninja from the land of ghosts?

Coupled with the accompanying miko... Itachi knew the identity of this girl.

Mahiru Kazuhime.

The adopted daughter of the Maitreya Maitreya of the Demon Country, the princess of the Demon Country who is studying in Konoha, has a distinguished status.

Considering the scale of this joint chuunin exam, it is reasonable for the other party, who is the princess of the Demon Country, to come to watch this game.

"What's wrong, Your Highness Princess?"

The Kingdom of Ghosts is a very special country.

In particular, Itachi had learned about various mysterious legends about monsters and witches from textbooks.

In particular, the Demon Country has made a lot of noise internationally in recent years, especially the medical industry, which is in a state of vigorous development and has the potential to surpass Konoha.

A large part of Konoha's current medical market is occupied by pharmaceutical companies from the Kingdom of Demons. Many of Uchiha's imported medicines are also provided by this company.

"I'm just very interested in the genius of the Uchiha clan."

"Really? If nothing happens, please allow me to resign."

After Itachi finished speaking, he lifted his feet and left.

"You look very tired, is it okay?"

Ichiji asked.

However, Itachi didn't hear any concern from Kazuhime's mouth, instead, it was mostly malicious.

It was like seeing some kind of novel toy.

However, Ichiki said that he was tired, which Itachi disagreed with.

Dealing with an opponent of that level would not tire him out.

Rather, just raising a finger to fight, how tired can he be?

"It's better to get more rest. If you suddenly die of illness one day, I will be very troubled..."

Death from illness?

What an inexplicable princess. Itachi judged this.

And get more rest? How is this possible?

He has not yet become the strongest ninja in the world, and the relationship between his family and the village has not yet been settled. He will soon enter the Anbu and perform secret missions. He will also accumulate reputation and become Hokage, and then he will fight for world peace for his whole life...

I don't have any extra time to rest.

One person shoulders everything, which is the path he Uchiha Itachi will take.

He was confident that he could do this alone.

I can't rest now.

Watching Itachi leave, the miko next to Ichihime couldn't help asking:

"Ichihime-sama, do you care about Uchiha Itachi?"

"Ha, this is really funny. I just think that if I don't have a tough enough whetstone on the road to the overlord, I will lose a lot of fun. After all, the thing I'm least good at is illusion."

Yi Ji sneered.

◎

"Itachi?"

Someone is calling me?

Itachi turned his head in some doubts, walked to the door of the lounge, and suddenly found his father Fu Yue coming from another corridor, next to him.

"What's the matter? You looked distracted, and you didn't answer a few times just now. I watched your game just now, it was very exciting, and you are worthy of being my son. In this way, there is no problem for you to join Anbu ”

Fugaku said with a smile.

"yes."

Itachi nodded.

But I still couldn't let go of the weird feeling just now.

His father, Fu Yue, said that he only realized it after calling him several times, which is a bit unreasonable.

It is impossible for him to be so careless. Even if he is distracted, he believes that as long as someone calls him, he will be able to react quickly.

There was only one possibility that Itachi could think of.

Illusion...I fell under someone's illusion, which caused me to have a misleading reaction to everything around me.

It can't be over there at the competition venue.

Before going to the lounge, the only people I met were the princess from the ghost kingdom and a few followers beside the princess.

There was nothing suspicious about those accompanying actions, and neither did the Princess of the Demon Country, she just communicated with him normally.

Itachi frowned deeply. If so, how did he fall into the illusion?

"Is it...a voice...?"