Chapter 100: The Battle for the God of Ninjas Begins (Long Chapter)

The brutal massacre inside the banquet hall did not attract the slightest attention from the ninjas.

Nobles and ninjas seemed to naturally possess a deep chasm between them; other than financial dealings, they had almost no interaction.

"So lively!"

Uzumaki Naruto's jaw dropped as he watched the streets crowded with ninjas from other villages.

Even his favorite ramen shop had a long line, and Uncle Teuchi was smiling so hard the creases were almost covering his eyes.

Kakashi also sighed, "A joint exam of the five nations—even I have never encountered one."

His gaze swept over the gloomy-faced Sasuke, and he sighed inwardly.

Ever since that night in the Death Forest, Sasuke had been like someone wrapped in hatred, with all his emotions retracted.

Although he used to talk about revenge, he still retained his affection for everyone in Team 7, but now he seemed to have completely abandoned everything.

Itachi Uchiha?

Kakashi frowned.

Judging from Sasuke's attitude and the few words revealed by Shimura Danzou, it seemed that the Uchiha clan's extermination was not only related to Itachi Uchiha but also involved the village.

If that were really the case, how should he choose between his beloved village and his disciple?

Just at this moment,

Inside the hot spring inn nearby, a ninja wearing a forehead protector with the character for "oil" and sporting messy white hair was beaten out.

Behind him followed security guards holding clubs, attempting to teach this pervert who was peeping at women bathing a lesson.

"I am an artist; I was merely gathering material, I have no ill intentions."

The white-haired ninja took out a book to explain, but he took two solid hits from the clubs and hurriedly covered his backside to flee.

Civilians, of course, could not catch up to a ninja, so they could only drop two harsh threats before turning to leave.

"Lord Jiraiya."

When Jiraiya returned, feigning innocence, Kakashi called out respectfully.

Uzumaki Naruto had a strange expression on his face and asked, "Kakashi-sensei, do you know this perverted old man?"

"Perverted old man?"

Before Kakashi could speak, Jiraiya's expression changed drastically, and he gritted his teeth, "You brat, don't go giving people random nicknames; I am the Toad Sage!"

Having said that, he suddenly summoned a toad, his wooden clogs stepping firmly on the toad's head as he struck a strange pose.

Idiot.

Uzumaki Naruto did not speak, but the emotion was revealed in his narrowed eyes.

Kakashi asked, "Lord Jiraiya, returning to the village at this time, are you worried that something might happen to the village?"

Jiraiya nodded and said, "That's right. The old man is worried that someone will take advantage of the Chunin Exams to act against Konoha, so he called me back."

With a joint exam of nearly ten thousand ninjas, if there were no security measures, Konoha would truly be foolish.

Although he had not been in Konoha for many years, he was still a Konoha ninja, and he still needed to obey the orders issued by the Hokage; otherwise, he would truly become a rogue ninja.

"Indeed, with Lord Jiraiya here, ninjas from other villages will be wary of your strength."

This was not Kakashi flattering him;

The world-renowned Jiraiya, one of the dignified Legendary Sannin of Konoha, truly possessed such a reputation.

"Are they your disciples?"

Jiraiya's gaze fell upon Uzumaki Naruto; although he looked a bit clumsy, his clothes were a bit ugly, and his hair was messy—no match for his own brilliant disciple who died young—he did indeed vaguely have the shadow of Minato.

Kakashi nodded and said, "Sasuke Uchiha, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki... Naruto, is it? Where are you all going?"

Jiraiya responded in a daze; the familiar surname and name confirmed to him that the person before him was the son of Namikaze Minato.

At the same time, he was also the village's Nine-Tails jinchuriki.

Looking at Uzumaki Naruto's sunny and cheerful appearance, he nodded slightly; it seemed the old man treated Minato's orphan quite well.

Unlike the jinchuriki of most ninja villages, who were isolated and ostracized from a young age...

Uzumaki Naruto reached out his thumb, poked the forehead protector on his head, and boasted, "Of course we are going to participate in the Chunin Exams! I say, perverted old man, can't you tell? We are ninjas!"

Jiraiya's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "Kakashi, you actually let them go participate in the Chunin Exams? Isn't that too rash?"

When he received the Hokage's message, he was gathering material at a hot spring village in the Land of Hot Water.

On his way back, he naturally heard about the five-nation joint exam; this was different from the usual Chunin Exams. It was more about the ninja villages showing off their muscles than an exam, and the danger and difficulty were extremely high.

Calculating by time, Naruto had probably only just graduated from the Ninja Academy, right?

Uzumaki Naruto said indignantly, "Perverted old man, don't look down on people, okay? Our strength is very strong!"

"Stupid Naruto, he is Lord Jiraiya!"

Haruno Sakura tugged at his sleeve; if it weren't for the crowd on the street and the need to maintain a lady-like image, she would have punched him already.

The Ninja Academy taught about ninjas who made outstanding contributions to the village.

Among them was an article that recorded in detail the battle between the Legendary Sannin and Amegakure, and the event of protecting Konoha.

Stupid Naruto slept all day and was at the bottom of his class; he actually didn't even recognize the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya.

"Who is Jiraiya?"

"Just like Lady Tsunade, he is a hero who protects Konoha from being attacked by other villages."

Listening to the two of them talk, the corners of Jiraiya's mouth twitched.

How was this different from what he had imagined? He looked so stupid, he hadn't inherited Minato's intelligence, and his personality was more like Kushina's?

"I say, you stupid brat."

Jiraiya suddenly said, "The Chunin Exams are not a competition you can just participate in casually; people will bleed and die. It would be better to withdraw early."

"Perverted old man, who are you calling a stupid brat? Do you believe I'll beat you to the ground?"

"Then come on."

Jiraiya's mouth curled up; his original intention was to test Naruto Uzumaki's strength, as being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, if his strength were too weak to participate in the Chunin Exams, accidents would very likely occur.

Kakashi rubbed his head and reminded him: "Lord Jiraiya, Naruto he..."

"My mind is made up."

Jiraiya said with a serious expression.

Boom!

A cloud of dust billowed, and the ground was plowed into a deep groove.

Jiraiya braced himself in a disheveled state, pulled himself out of the wall at the end of the street, and waved his hand to signal the alerted Anbu to leave.

Seeing the familiar face, the Anbu immediately recognized Jiraiya and hurriedly left to report to the Hokage.

"The force is almost catching up to Tsunade's Painful Sky Foot; did she teach you that?"

If he hadn't sensed something amiss at the last moment and hurriedly gathered chakra to protect his body, that move just now would have nearly broken his ribs.

"Granny Tsunade is very busy; she's opening cans every day and has no time to pay attention to me at all."

Naruto said truthfully.

He was holding a giant shield condensed from pure gold in his hand, which was now slowly dissipating.

Just now, he had used 【Justice Shield Bash】 to send Jiraiya flying.

"Pervy Sage, I didn't expect that even though you love peeping in bathhouses, you are unexpectedly a good person."

The passive ability of a Shield Warrior can amplify attack power against the Dark Attribute, which includes chakra containing negative emotions.

On the Pervy Sage, the passive skill did not activate.

Jiraiya's face flushed red; he had just said a bunch of things very nonchalantly, only to be knocked into a wall the moment he turned his head.

Even for someone with as strong a mental fortitude as himself, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

At the same time, he was secretly shocked: what kind of power did Naruto possess?

He hadn't sensed any Nine-Tails chakra leaking out just now; it couldn't possibly be something Naruto cultivated himself, could it?

"I'm not talking to you anymore, the first exam is about to start, goodbye Pervy Sage!"

Naruto Uzumaki left behind a bewildered Jiraiya,

Waved his hand, and gradually walked away with Sasuke and Sakura.

Seeing this, Kakashi understood and asked: "Lord Jiraiya, have you not heard about the Samsara Game yet?"

"Samsara Game?"

Jiraiya muttered to himself; the places he went to gather material were all civilian gathering spots, and he didn't have much contact with ninjas.

Occasionally, he heard that civilians had suddenly acquired powerful strength.

Among those reports was news of the Samsara Game.

But he hadn't taken it seriously, regarding it only as rumors among civilians; he hadn't expected to hear this familiar news from Kakashi.

"Naruto's power comes from the Samsara Game."

Kakashi reached out his hand, and a pure black war spear appeared in his hand, which he handed to Jiraiya.

Level 5 Purple Equipment, Black Rock Spear.

A weapon very suitable for a Lightning Hunter; the black rock produced in another world possesses powerful electrical conductivity and can also increase lightning damage.

As an Elite Jonin, having this piece of equipment in hand is like adding wings to a tiger.

"To think such a thing exists, the Toad Sage didn't tell me..."

After Jiraiya finished listening,

He initially thought Kakashi was joking, but realized something was wrong when he saw him staring at him with a serious expression.

"The ninja world has actually undergone such a drastic change, yet fate has not sensed it in the slightest."

Jiraiya's expression was solemn as he whispered: "It seems I need to meet this game merchant. Kakashi, is he in Konoha?"

"That's right."

Kakashi hesitated: "The other party does not like being monitored, so even the Anbu do not know his whereabouts. You will need to find him yourself; remember, you must never provoke him."

The game merchant possesses the power to destroy the world, yet is unexpectedly kind; unless one angers him like Shimura Danzou, there is generally no danger.

Watching the figures of Team 7 gradually walk away,

Kakashi's gaze on Sakura was somewhat regretful; she had failed to pass the trial and could only wait for luck to arrive so she could be selected by the Game Tower to join the game.

He had previously advised Sakura to give up on the Chunin Exams, but he had been rejected by her.

Sasuke's emotional state was very poor; he could only hope that Naruto would be able to protect Sakura well and not let Team 7 suffer any casualties.

"Obito, Rin..."

Like a dazed scarecrow, Kakashi stood alone in place for a long time before swaying as he continued to stroll through the street.

The Samsara Game has various resurrection abilities; although the price is expensive, it is not without hope.

He would save the lives of his two dearest friends himself.

A different exam location than the original,

Because it had to accommodate nearly ten thousand people, it was an open-air venue; a magnificent duel arena showcased the wealth of Konoha.

The outermost layer of the duel arena was a high wall several tens of meters tall.

The top was a series of tiered spectator stands with an open view, allowing one to see the situation inside the arena very clearly.

Fang Yi sat in a corner of the stands, accompanied by the chattering White-haired Loli.

"Master, I thought you would destroy Konoha; I didn't expect you to be so tolerant?"

A Fu waved her hand,

A bowl of steaming ramen appeared on her lap, and she buried almost her entire face into the bowl, devouring the large serving of ramen like a whirlwind.

"Tolerance?"

Fang Yi curled his lips, looked at the increasing number of participating ninja, and laughed: "Although, in the spirit of fair trade, I explained the preciousness of the traded item, the Hokage still did not realize the importance of this Duel arena."

That transaction,

he had spent 50,000 Reward Points of his own to buy this Duel arena, which was built by the ninja of Konoha and used as a venue for exams.

It was just like purchasing the Sound Ninja Village from Orochimaru.

The difference was,

this Duel arena, which gathered all the attention of the ninja world and would see countless ninja appear, contained an essence far exceeding that of the Sound Ninja Village.

A Fu asked curiously: "I am also very curious, the old man was actually willing to sell the Duel arena to Master so cheaply. If he didn't sell it, the Reward Points we would need to reach into the ninja world without waking the consciousness of the ninja world would be an astronomical price!"

"No need to be curious."

Fang Yi chuckled: "There is an old saying that a son doesn't feel the pain of selling his grandfather's fields. Even if I explained it clearly, the Hokage cannot control the essence, so to him, it is just a puff of air."

"After the transaction, he even felt he had made a killing; not only did he get 50,000 Reward Points for nothing, but he also gained my understanding—killing two birds with one stone."

Fang Yi already possessed ownership of this Duel arena, which meant he could use his own will to modify this Duel arena at will, and the Reward Points consumed would be negligible.

He came to Konoha originally to host a game event.

With the Hokage's generous contribution, he could obtain rich profits from this game event without spending a large amount of Reward Points.

If the consciousness of the ninja world woke up and discovered that the exam venue for the five nations had been sold by Hiruzen Sarutobi for 50,000 Reward Points, it would definitely be furious enough to gather all the ninja of the ninja world to surround and kill the Hokage.

For a better viewing experience,

Konoha spent a huge sum to build a giant screen, allowing the Noble Group to clearly see the duels in the arena.

At this moment,

the supreme Leaders of the five Ninja Villages, the five Shadows, arrived one after another, all sitting harmoniously in the center of the spectator stand.

"The Hokage is truly vigorous for his age."

"That is what I should be saying, Lord Onoki."

As the host, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as he welcomed the four Shadows, returning the Tsuchikage's words exactly as they were.

The Kazekage wore a veil and did not make a sound.

Terumi Mei sat lightly on a stool, her Mizukage hat placed by her hand, seemingly uninterested in participating in this war of words.

Raikage Ai, however, erupted with Lightning Release chakra all over his body and sneered: "Everyone, could it be that you want to have a battle between Shadows before the Chunin Exams?"

"Lord Raikage, saying such things in Konoha is too rude!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned; although he did not fear the four Shadows, he did not want an meaningless battle to break out.

A battle between Shadows had too great an impact.

If it broke out in Konoha, it would cause great destruction to the village.

"For a ninja, the most important things are information gathering, observation, tracking ability, and so on. The first test is about to begin, so why not see whose ninja are the strongest."

With his political mind fully engaged, Hiruzen Sarutobi easily defused the delicate atmosphere with two sentences.

The attention of the four Shadows indeed fell into the exam venue,

they all harbored their own ulterior motives, but they did not want to expose themselves now; everything was not yet prepared, and they could not deliver a fatal blow to Konoha.

Bang.

In the center of the arena, a burst of smoke dissipated.

Hundreds of ninja appeared, all wearing Konoha forehead protectors, emitting powerful chakra auras from their bodies, with even the weakest having the strength of an Elite Chunin.

The leader was an Elite Ninja with a face full of scars, a master skilled in interrogation techniques, Morino Ibiki.

"Everyone, I am the proctor for this written exam, Morino Ibiki."

The cold, emotionless voice of the interrogator echoed across the Duel arena.

This scene,

instantly made all the participating ninja go quiet.

Some ninja from small Ninja Villages showed envy and shock; there were about five hundred ninja, and the weakest were Elite Chunin. Just these proctors alone could flatten their Ninja Villages.

As expected of the deep-rooted Konoha.

Even Terumi Mei was very envious, and she said: "Konoha is truly full of talent."

Their Kirigakure had also once been glorious, but it had been ruined by the Blood Mist Village.

The Kaguya who possessed the Dead Bone Pulse were all dead, the Yuki Clan of the Ice Release were wiped out, the Ninja Blades were lost, and rogue ninja were everywhere...

Although she had set things right and possessed the power of the Samsara Game, Kirigakure was gradually recovering its vitality, but she certainly could not afford the luxury of pulling out hundreds of Chunin and Jonin to serve as proctors.

Unless Kirigakure was willing to abandon all its defenses, it might be possible.

But the old fox, the Hokage, would certainly not abandon Konoha's defenses just to save face. This meant that these proctors were wealthy ninja who could be freely mobilized while maintaining the normal operation of Konoha.

Watching the intimidated participating ninja, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said: "Kirigakure also has elites like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the Genji Unit who are no weaker than Konoha's. Lord Mizukage is too modest."

Just at this moment,

a burst of noise suddenly erupted inside the exam venue.

"Stop, I order you as a proctor to let him go!"

Morino Ibiki's gaze was unkind,

he was still reading the exam rules, yet he had not expected someone to be so ignorant of life and death as to attack a candidate nearby.

The Suna youth, carrying a gourd, with short red hair and heavy dark circles under his eyes, extended his left arm, controlling sand to tightly wrap around the throat of a Konoha candidate, lifting him high into the air.

"He showed me a look of fear, Mother likes it very much..."

Gaara was trembling all over,

ignoring Morino Ibiki's warning, he curled his five fingers, and the sand binding the Konoha candidate tightened.

The examinee's cheeks flushed red, unable to breathe.

Bang.

Morino Ibiki threw a Kunai, intending to break the sand, but he did not expect the Kunai to be deflected directly by the sand.

"If you don't stop, I will revoke your exam eligibility."

He did not expect that he would fail in his move,

although he did not use his full strength, the force of the Kunai he just threw was definitely not an attack that an ordinary Genin could block.

As expected,

because of the Samsara Game, the joint exam had undergone unpredictable changes, and the participating examinees were all very strong.

"Gaara, stop it quickly."

Carrying a Puppet wrapped in bandages on his back, Kankuro hurriedly spoke out to stop him.

The exam had not yet begun,

and if Gaara were allowed to continue making such a scene, their father's plan would be ruined.

"Kankuro, do you want to die?"

Gaara turned his head, his eyes filled with killing intent staring fixedly at Kankuro.

"I am your older brother; you cannot speak to me like that. Put him down quickly."

Kankuro looked helpless,

and he lightly flicked his fingers, a pure black chakra thread shooting out, cutting through the sand like a Sharp Blade.

The Konoha examinee fell to the ground, coughing violently, scrambling backward on his hands and knees.

Scattered by his feet were Ninja Info Cards, still retaining faint chakra energy; he had just seen that Gaara looked like someone not to be trifled with, so he wanted to use the Ninja Info Card to find the other party's data, not expecting to be attacked by the other party because of it.

"A player?"

Sensing the special energy attached to the chakra, Morino Ibiki's face darkened, and he said, "Keep your brother under control."

"Understood, Proctor."

Kankuro had a massive headache regarding this brother of his,

who in the past, he feared for his bloodthirst and cruelty, as well as the monster imprisoned within his body.

But now, having obtained powerful strength from the Samsara Game, he was already able to easily suppress Gaara; unless the Shukaku imprisoned within his body was released, Gaara was simply no match for him.

Now, he wanted to guide his brother back to the right path, not wanting Gaara to continue wallowing in bloodthirst and slaughter.

On the viewing platform,

Clang!

A smoke bomb dropped to the ground.

Onoki's expression remained as usual; he picked up the smoke bomb and tucked it into his robe, saying, "Everyone knows I am the Tsuchikage, so it is very reasonable for me to carry smoke bombs with me."

It was definitely not meant to be used as a signal.

He glared fiercely at the Kazekage, feeling that it was the other party's doing on purpose, causing him to think someone had made the first move and nearly throwing the smoke bomb out.

"No matter, no matter!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was all smiles, looking just like a kind old man, harmless to both humans and animals.

He thought to himself,

all the Barrier Squads had already been deployed in advance, the ninjas were all stationed at defensive points, and the villagers had all been evacuated when the exam began; no matter who dared to cause trouble in Konoha, he would ensure they had no way back.

Konoha would always be the most powerful Ninja Village!

……

Examinees entered one after another,

and as if some condition had been met, a cold, mechanical voice rang out.

【Notification: The number of players within the Chunin Exams venue has reached 100. Do you wish to open the game examination hall?】

Game Content: Chunin God Contest

Game Rewards: 1. Real Scroll *100, 2. Resurrection Coin *2, 3. Soul Scroll (Purple) *22, 4. Family Token *1, 5. Wood Release (Lv. 20), 6. Fountain of Life (extends lifespan by 50 years), 7. Intermediate Ghoul Bloodline……

Entry Fee: 500 Reward Points (If Reward Points are insufficient, automatic deduction of: chakra volume, Ninjutsu, Kekkei Genkai, Taijutsu, lifespan)

Game Rules: Regardless of whether they are players, all examinees are eligible to participate in the 【Ninja God Contest】.

After participating, players can move forward continuously on the Ninja World Chessboard by rolling the Fate Dice; the first player to reach the finish line will obtain the title of 【God of Chunin】.

Opening Condition: Minimum of 500 registrations.

……

"This is... the Samsara Game?"

The black text that suddenly appeared in the center of the venue, along with the voice ringing in their ears, made everyone hold their breath.

The five Shadows sat high on the viewing platform, Elite Ninjas gathered in crowds……

In such a scene, no one could release a Genjutsu of this scale; it would be easily exposed, and there was no possibility other than the Samsara Game.

Raikage Ai stared fixedly at the task rewards column,

Family Token.

At the previous auction, he had been outmaneuvered by the bumpkins from Sunagakure and failed to obtain the Family Token he had been longing for.

He had also heard that Sarutobi Asuma had actually looted a Family Token in a Jigoku-kyuu fukuhon, so the Raikage had invested a large amount of funds to continuously hunt in dungeons, but still gained nothing.

Helpless, he could only join forces with Iwagakure to launch an attack on Konoha.

Wanting to seize funds was true, but the most critical thing was whether he could take advantage of the chaos on the battlefield to ambush and kidnap important figures from Sunagakure in exchange for a Family Token.

He did not expect that it would come without any effort; the Samsara Game had actually reached its hand into reality.

By hosting a game event, the rewards included the very token he had been longing for!

"Fountain of Life?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen gasped, suppressing his surging emotions.

It can extend one's lifespan by fifty years?

If one could extend their lifespan by fifty years, it would be like a new beginning; he would not have to be so constrained, and those tragedies that occurred out of helplessness would never have happened.

All the players were in an uproar.

Reality Scroll, Soul Scroll, Wood Release lv. 20...

Any single item rewarded inside could instantly create a Shadow-level powerhouse, and a Shadow-level one with no weaknesses at that.

Just speaking of the Purple Quality Soul Scroll, it could be exchanged for two sets of Purple Equipment in reality.

If Sasuke had possessed a full set of Purple Equipment back then, he would have had no need for Kakashi's rescue and could have chopped Danzou into mincemeat himself.

"Wood Release..."

Onoki's eyes widened, and he even unconsciously activated Ninjutsu, his entire body floating up.

Their Iwagakure had previously exchanged for Wood Release and was very clear about the powerful capabilities of Wood Release.

The Rock Ninja who mastered Wood Release, Shito, had already raised Wood Release to level 15; even with insufficient chakra, he could easily release Tree Binding Birth, creating countless oases for Iwagakure.

Intermediate Ghoul Bloodline?

The Kazekage, wearing a white veil, smiled silently and unconsciously licked his chin.

He opened his mouth and said in the voice of Rasa: "Baki, you lead Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara at all costs; you must obtain a ranking."

The game rules are written very clearly.

Those who obtain a ranking will select rewards in order of their rank.

Since it is an event of the Samsara Game, no one doubts the authenticity of the rewards; there is simply no need to doubt.

The Raikage reacted just as quickly, saying rapidly: "Samui, Yugito, and the two brats, as well as all Cloud Ninja whose strength has reached the Jonin level, all of you participate in the game for me!"

As his words fell,

one could see smoke rising around the ninjas who were originally wearing the headbands of small Ninja Villages.

The Transformation Technique was dispelled, revealing the standard-issue uniforms unique to Cloud Ninja.

There were as many as two hundred of them.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned tightly and questioned: "Lord Raikage, for the Chunin Joint Exams, you dispatched Cloud Ninja Jonin to disguise themselves as ninjas from small villages and sneak into Konoha; what is your intention?"

(End of this chapter)