Chapter 231: The Journey
Konoha.
Orochimaru licked his lips. He had already received intelligence that Tonbo Tobitake had left the village.
"Sarutobi-Sensei, I shall let you witness how much I have grown."
As time ticked away, the final stage of the Chunin Exams was drawing near—and with it, the moment his grand plan would unfold.
In the ravines.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Naruto had been thrown off a high cliff by Jiraiya. In a moment of desperation, the chakra within his body condensed to an extreme degree.
POOF!
"Jiraiya, why did you summon me in a godforsaken place like this?" A giant toad appeared, legs splayed wide to avoid falling into the canyon floor. Naruto landed safely on its head.
"Jiraiya!" Gamabunta roared, but there was no response. Seeing that Bunta had emerged, Jiraiya had already scurried away from the cliff edge and hidden himself.
Crackle! Crackle!
Sasuke gripped his right wrist with his left hand. Electric sparks flickered and shrieked with a sound like a thousand birds chirping. He lunged forward like a bolt of lightning, thrusting his hand directly into the rock face in front of him.
Screech!
The Chidori sang, and the entire rock was pierced through.
"Not bad. But for now, you can only use this jutsu twice in a short period. Any more and your body won't be able to take it. You must analyze and choose the absolute best time to use it," Kakashi said, marveling at Sasuke's talent. It was truly terrifying.
"Ugh... how annoying! How could Tonbo-sensei just happen to run into an emergency mission right now?" Ino lay on the grass, sighing deeply.
She already missed the days when Tonbo-sensei was around. During his time, the progress she and Sakura made was visible to the naked eye. The feeling of knowledge entering her brain and then being put into practice made her feel like a genius. If their learning speed with him was a 5, practicing alone felt like a 1. The gap was massive.
Sakura lay beside her. "Yeah. I never thought I'd get strong this fast. I feel like maybe even Sasuke isn't my match anymore."
"Forehead-girl, there's no way you're a match for Sasuke. You can't even beat me," Ino said disdainfully. Imagine thinking a few days under Tonbo-sensei makes you comparable to a genius like Sasuke. How naive. In Ino's heart, no one's talent surpassed Sasuke's—not even Tonbo-sensei's.
"Dammit, Ino-pig! We're neck-and-neck! If you're so brave, stop using that secret technique and let's go again," Sakura barked. She knew she couldn't beat Sasuke and believed he was a true genius, but she hated hearing it from Ino.
Ino smirked. "Hmph. Tonbo-sensei taught me that. It's not my fault you can't learn it."
To fully master " Eye of the Creator," one needed to be a sensor-type and know the Mind Reading Technique. Sakura lacked the sensory talent, which made Ino quite smug. Let's see how you compete with me for Sasuke now. They used to be equal; now, Ino felt she had the upper hand.
"Hmph! I'm going back to practice. Sasuke will definitely be mine!" Fueled by spite, Sakura resumed her training. Not wanting to be left behind, Ino followed suit.
An alleyway in Konoha.
"What? You had a secret training method all along? No wonder I couldn't beat you! That's so unfair!" Konohamaru looked at the documents Tianyu handed him, staring at the chakra exercise methods. They were actually more advanced than his own clan's methods!
Moegi and Udon leaned in to look. "Wow, incredible."
"This is our gift to you. We'll all train together when my dad gets back from his mission. For now, try practicing on your own. If there's something you don't understand, you can ask me," Tianyu said, feeling quite superior. If you ask me for help, I'll have the high ground. Konohamaru, you'll never beat me! He felt like a tactical genius.
Konohamaru tucked the papers away. "Since you gave me this, I—the grandson of the Third Hokage—shall forgive you."
With this, I'll definitely beat Tianyu's trio later. Even if you apologized, I'm still going to win.
"Good, good. Let's go eat. Want me to treat you? I've got money," Tianyu offered generously. Lately, his and his sister's pocket money had been increasing. They were no longer the kids who had to scheme just to buy a crystal shuriken toy.
"No thanks, let's go."
In the middle of the vast ocean.
A massive wooden ship was sailing through the waves, its sails unfurled.
"Cut! Good, good! Excellent performance! Miss Yukie's acting is getting better and better!" The director looked at the footage, highly satisfied.
Tonbo and his three teammates watched from the side.
"Miss Yukie's acting is really something. As expected of a superstar famous in multiple nations," Kido remarked.
"Yeah, I've watched her Princess Gale series so many times!" Genda's eyes were practically sparkling.
Goenji added, "We should ask for an autograph when she takes a break. She really is beautiful."
As they chatted, Fujikaze Yukie's gaze inadvertently drifted toward them.
Those... thank goodness for those Konoha ninjas. That captain is so handsome! Yukie looked at Tonbo, her face flushing slightly.
A few days ago, while she was out scouting locations, she had been attacked by bandits. These Konoha ninjas had saved her. Specifically, the sight of the captain's back as he protected her had left her mesmerized. It was because Tonbo's mission was to escort the crew to the Land of Snow for filming that Yukie had found the courage to board the ship. She wanted to be near him, even if it meant risking discovery by Doto Kazahana. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone back to the Land of Snow if her life depended on it. It was her lifelong nightmare, a place of tears she never wanted to revisit.
"The Konoha ninjas are amazing," the director's assistant whispered. "They actually got Miss Yukie to stop avoiding the Land of Snow. She went from being completely unwilling to being eager."
Beside him, Sandayu, watching Yukie's brilliant performance, nodded in agreement. Hiring Konoha was definitely the right move. He only hoped they could deal with the tyrant and liberate the people of the Land of Snow.
In the shadows.
Tensho Taketori was keeping watch in secret.
"How did those Konoha guys do it? I didn't see them talk to the Princess much. Why did she look like she'd known them for years the moment she saw them?" one Royal Guard member asked curiously.
Since the mission began, everything had been smooth sailing. The Princess, who had been adamantly against the trip, seemed to fall under a spell the second she saw the Konoha squad and boarded the ship without a word. It made no sense.
Tensho pondered. "I suspect the Princess is already under the Konoha captain's Genjutsu. If he achieved that with just a single glance, his strength is likely far greater than we imagined."
"What kind of Genjutsu can do that? Has he completely mind-controlled her? Even the legendary Sharingan is only supposed to be that effective!" The guard was horrified.
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