[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-starting-off-with-horse-and-sword-in-konoha":3,"chapter-starting-off-with-horse-and-sword-in-konoha-starting-off-with-horse-and-sword-in-konoha-chapter-129":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Starting Off with Horse and Sword in Konoha",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2349180,4591,"Chapter 129: The Difficult Examination!","starting-off-with-horse-and-sword-in-konoha-chapter-129",129,"\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui’s ten teams each had their own initial mission: obtain a Heaven-and-Earth Scroll from their target; only by combining two scrolls could they acquire the next clue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality, only when all ten teams’ gathered information was combined could they obtain the final mission’s intelligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui’s first target was Fujinaka Genma’s Shadow Clone; defeating or capturing it would yield the scroll it carried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each Shadow Clone carried only one scroll, meaning five Heaven Scrolls and five Earth Scrolls existed in total.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But simultaneously, each member of Uchiha Shisui’s team also carried their own piece of intelligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant their actual mission had two objectives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was the overt assessment mission; the other was protecting the intelligence they themselves carried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, the ten teams’ locations for obtaining Heaven-and-Earth Scrolls were all different, each with three sites—only one of which held the real scroll.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the rules did not forbid the ten teams from cooperating from the outset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet initially, all ten teams operated separately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fourth Hokage, making Genma their opponent might be too harsh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the Death Forest, Mitokado Enji frowned upon learning the candidates faced Fujinaka Genma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not doubt the elite status of Root ninja, but he found Fujinaka Genma utterly monstrous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Relax—it’s only a Shadow Clone. Genma will exercise restraint.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minato Namikaze smiled in explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mitokado Enji shook his head: “I only fear no one will pass this training.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled: “This assessment’s primary goal isn’t strength—it’s psychology and mindset.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mitokado Enji and Tōnami Koshun exchanged a glance, then nodded and ceased questioning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hiruzen Sarutobi knew of Fujinaka Genma’s reforms within Root—he disapproved, yet could do nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both Minato Namikaze and Fujinaka Genma were newly appointed and had virtually no roots in Konoha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet together, they thrived, leaving both elders with the sense that the era had changed, that they themselves had grown old and should retire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially with the establishment of the Strategy Division, their influence steadily eroded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though unwilling, they felt mostly powerless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minato Namikaze and the others waited in silence, while within the Death Forest, battle had quietly begun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui, Kakashi, and a member of the Akimichi clan formed one team; they quickly reached Location A and saw a wooden hut beneath a large tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kakashi and Akimichi Taki both turned to Uchiha Shisui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui said nothing, but his three-tomoe Sharingan activated silently; he shook his head and whispered: “No chakra signature.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll use a clone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kakashi formed hand seals and summoned a clone, which leapt nimbly through the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant, a roar like thunder shattered the hut—Kakashi’s clone was obliterated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black bear burst forth, but its roar cut off abruptly as it collapsed with a thud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui struck—his Sharingan instantly felled the bear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No scroll!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akimichi Taki swiftly searched the rubble but found no trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Next location.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui ordered; the three resumed their march.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, they reached Location B: a hollow tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trio remained cautious, observing from afar; after confirming no obvious traps, Kakashi again sent his clone to probe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The path was clear; Kakashi’s clone entered the hollow safely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, the clone emerged holding a scroll and returned swiftly to the trio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But immediately, Kakashi’s face paled—he realized he could not dispel the clone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Small—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The warning had not left his lips when—BOOM!—Akimichi Taki, his bulky frame, was kicked into the air by the fake Kakashi clone, slamming into a tree trunk in a perfect cross shape and collapsing unconscious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The attack was too swift—and Kakashi, even as he tried to dispel the clone, had detected nothing amiss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Uchiha Shisui, with his three-tomoe Sharingan active, had failed to recognize the clone as false.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he kicked Akimichi Taki away, Fujinaka Genma seized Kakashi’s throat, pressed down—and BOOM!—Kakashi’s lower half sank into the earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Kakashi reacted instantly; as Fujinaka Genma struck, lightning chakra already encircled his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had intended to use defense as offense—but the defense was purely defensive; Fujinaka Genma showed no fear of the lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Uchiha Shisui fully reacted, swiftly attacking to force Fujinaka Genma back; Kakashi seized the chance to rise from the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lightning chakra had cushioned the full impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui drew his blade; Kakashi drew his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They exchanged a glance—Kakashi charged first, engaging Fujinaka Genma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui raised one hand, his body accelerating into blurs, leaving afterimages that multiplied into clones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was his signature technique!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Fujinaka Genma snatched Kakashi’s blade, kicked him away, and was immediately surrounded by eight Uchiha Shisui clones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One minute later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fujinaka Genma’s body exploded into smoke; Uchiha Shisui’s legs buckled and he knelt on one knee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All his clones had been destroyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fujinaka Genma had not used his Mangekyo Sharingan, nor his Kamui Eye—indeed, he had not even attempted to discern Uchiha Shisui’s true body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kakashi, are Itachi alright?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After catching his breath, Uchiha Shisui turned to Kakashi, who leaned against a boulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boulder behind Kakashi was riddled with cracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cough… cough…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kakashi spat blood: “I’m… fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That kick had been brutal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui nodded: “I’ll check on Taki.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rose and rushed over—after inspecting him, Uchiha Shisui exhaled in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akimichi Taki was better off than Kakashi—only unconscious, no serious injury, likely due to his thick hide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reviving Akimichi Taki and tending to Kakashi’s wounds, Uchiha Shisui summoned a Shadow Clone and re-entered the hollow—where he found Kakashi’s sealed clone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as he dealt with the clone and emerged, Akimichi Taki informed him: the scroll was blank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then the real scroll must be at Location C.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui spoke grimly, glancing at Kakashi: “Can Itachi still move?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kakashi gritted his teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uchiha Shisui nodded: “We must be more careful now—the enemy is extremely strong, and possesses a transformation technique even the Sharingan cannot penetrate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What he did not say was that he had already guessed the identity of the clone he had just defeated.\u003C\u002Fp>",988,"2026-06-21T02:29:34.312Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8bdc1ec7b9be755d65e20272c5a8461b1c6f5ce0172b70162242f381dc14e5cc","starting-off-with-horse-and-sword-in-konoha-chapter-130","starting-off-with-horse-and-sword-in-konoha-chapter-128",157,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-off-with-horse-and-sword-in-konoha-cover.jpg"]