Chapter 114

And the so-called "Council of Elders" were the elderly ninjas in the village who had completely retired and did not ask about world affairs.

Most of them were partners who had fought side by side with the First Mizukage and had extraordinary prestige in the Hidden Mist.

Precisely because they did not hold any power, the "Council of Elders" had always been fair in their dealings.

Incidentally, the completely insane Mizunuki Supreme Elder was a member of the Council of Elders.

Soon, Maeda Tian Yuanshi figured out the joints.

Concerning Mizunuki, Maeda Tian Yuanshi would naturally let the Mizunuki Supreme Elder avoid suspicion.

But afterward, it must have been someone from the Council of Elders who leaked the inside information to Mizunuki, causing the Mizunuki clan to know a little bit about the content of the assessment in advance.

Fortunately, Maeda Tian Yuanshi did not reveal the key content of the assessment, so what Mizunuki Eiro did not expect was that the entire assessment process would be displayed in front of everyone in the form of a "live broadcast."

As a result, Mizunuki Eiro's behavior directly became a point deduction item.

In the end, it was Maeda Tian Yuanshi who calmed the dispute.

Justice is in the hearts of the people; everything needs no more words.

At the same time, some Jonin also noticed that the Mizunuki Ryosuke squad, which had disappeared for a long time, had actually appeared on the water curtain again at this moment.

And this time, they had actually skipped the first two levels directly and appeared in the Cat Country!

"What is going on with this again?"

Instantly, another wave of voices questioning Ryosuke's squad for cheating arose from the crowd.

Kuroshima Morita and the others, who did not know the inside story, were also somewhat unable to understand for a while, and thus were unclear about where to start defending.

Even Maeda Tian Yuanshi frowned.

Before long, it seemed that Maeda Tian Yuanshi received intelligence from the cat clan, and his brows gradually relaxed.

"According to the intelligence."

"There is no problem with Ryosuke's squad skipping the levels!"

Maeda Tian Yuanshi explained to everyone, and at the same time concisely explained that Ryosuke's squad had completed a top-secret event inside the rock cave, and therefore received the courtesy of the cat clan.

The crowd of Jonin then observed the state of Ryosuke's squad one after another.

Seeing that Takeda Yoichi had been found, and Terumi Mei seemed to be seriously injured, they all recognized Maeda Tian Yuanshi's explanation.

After all, the injuries on Terumi Mei's body could not be faked; it could be seen that Ryosuke and the others should have experienced a fierce battle.

However, some Jonin still harbored doubts, but with Maeda Tian Yuanshi's endorsement, these Jonin could only temporarily suppress the doubts in their hearts.

Subsequently, the assessment continued.

But the performance of the three squads had already given different evaluations in the hearts of every Jonin.

Cat Country.

After reporting the situation of the Mist Zone to the Cat King.

Boss Cat came over again and informed Ryosuke about the third level of the assessment.

The third level of the assessment would be conducted by several squads simultaneously.

Therefore, during the period when other teams had not arrived, Ryosuke's squad had to wait for other teams that had completed the first two levels of the assessment.

Because of this, Ryosuke's squad obtained a precious opportunity to rest.

In a flash, three days passed.

Due to the ninja's constitution, coupled with Ryosuke's meticulous care at all times, Terumi Mei's injuries healed very quickly.

During this period.

Unexpectedly, Mizunuki Eiro's team actually completed the assessment before the extremely strong Hozuki squad.

It turned out that not only the labyrinth of the first level, but even during the mountain climbing process of the second level.

Mizunuki Eiro's team seemed to know some kind of information in advance; they chose an extremely secret passage and actually did not encounter any severe difficulties before arriving at the mountainside where the Cat Country was located.

Logically speaking, Mizunuki Eiro did not meet the conditions for entering the Cat Country.

But I don't know what means he used, but he actually passed the second level assessment of the Cat Country.

Conversely, Hozuki Mangetsu, who climbed the mountain through normal channels on the other side, could simply be said to have experienced thousands of hardships.

During the process of climbing the mountain, the Hozuki squad encountered countless strange assessments.

For example: within a specified time, they must defeat a ninja cat blocking the way.

Another example: they must collect clues during the mountain climbing process and crack a mystery given by a certain ninja cat.

Another example, a ninja cat actually directly proposed that someone in the Hozuki squad jump off the cliff...

These various assessments, the Hozuki squad actually completed them all.

Finally, when they reached the position of the mountainside, the Hozuki squad also undoubtedly passed the test.

But it took the Hozuki squad a full three days to pass the first two levels.

During this period, the performance of the Hozuki squad also conquered many Jonin of the Hidden Mist Village, who believed that Hozuki Mangetsu had merits in terms of strength, courage, and perseverance.

As for Mizunuki Eiro...

It can only be said that justice is in the hearts of the people; the Jonin are not blind.

Waiting for the Hozuki squad to arrive at the Cat Country, the third level of the assessment officially started.

Fortunately, within the three days, Terumi Mei's injuries had also recovered more than half, and there were no more major problems.

Finally, this day.

The three squads received notification from the messenger of the Cat Country, who would lead them to participate in the third level of the assessment.

Following the leading ninja cat, the three squads entered the belly of the mountain from different entrances.

Almost at the same time, the three squads arrived at the scene where the assessment was about to be conducted.

In the belly of the mountain, a huge space like a colosseum appeared before everyone's eyes.

On both sides of the colosseum, countless ninja cats had already occupied both sides, staring intently at the three squads appearing in the center of the colosseum.

Ryosuke scanned the surroundings.

A rough estimate was at least several thousand ninja cats.

Seeing such a situation, Mizunuki Ryosuke felt a jolt in his heart.

Based on the strength displayed right now, the strength of the cat clan was already no less than some medium-sized ninja villages.

It seems that the cat clan should belong to the race second only to the three great holy lands among the summoning animals in the ninja world.

Seeing this, the twelve members of the three squads had different expressions, but they all guessed in what form the next assessment would be conducted.

The captains of the three squads looked at each other.

This was also the first time Mizunuki Ryosuke, Hozuki Mangetsu, and Mizunuki Eiro had met since leaving the Hidden Mist Village.

After three days of recuperation, the members of Ryosuke's squad were all in high spirits, and it was impossible to see that they had experienced any hardships.

And the Mizunuki Eiro squad on the other side was roughly the same.

Looking at the Hozuki squad again, except for the captain Hozuki Mangetsu, the remaining three members all looked somewhat disheveled.

Especially the user of the Blunt Sword, Kabutowari, Tsurushino Jinin, one arm was already injured, and after simple bandaging, it was hung around his neck.

The three looked at each other.

Hozuki Mangetsu did not look at Mizunuki Eiro on the side at all, but only looked at Mizunuki Ryosuke with burning eyes, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.

Mizunuki Ryosuke also just gave Hozuki Mangetsu a polite smile, then made no expression, and also directly ignored Mizunuki Eiro.

Seeing this situation, although Mizunuki Eiro was indifferent on the surface, his hands were already clenched into fists, and his eyes were filled with unwilling anger.

"Just wait, you two!"

"Only I, Mizunuki Eiro, can achieve the final victory!!!"

Mizunuki Eiro said in his heart, while his face became somewhat distorted.

As this assessment progressed to this point, the three squads each had a certain understanding of the assessment.

At this moment, in terms of information, Ryosuke still occupied an absolute advantage.

In terms of overall squad strength, Hozuki Mangetsu and Mizunuki Eiro were both one step ahead of Ryosuke.

But among them, although Hozuki Mangetsu's team strength was formidable, their state and the information they held were the worst.

Now, from a god's-eye view, the three squads were actually in a strangely fair state.

Under the gaze of ten thousand cats, two ninja cats walked to the middle of the three squads, one on the left and one on the right.

One of the cats was an acquaintance of Ryosuke and the others, the cat clan elder known as the "Devil Muscle Cat," Boss Cat.

The other cat was relatively unfamiliar; if Boss Cat was the ultimate burly and robust among cats.

Then this cat was the ultimate in coordination and sharpness; this cat should be the opposite of Boss Cat.

Being able to appear with Boss Cat indicated that this ninja cat should have the same status as Boss Cat within the cat clan, that is—Cat Clan Elder.