Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 208: None of them are good people
Soon, the squads of the Seven Stars Society, who had once dominated Konoha Ninja Academy, all received messages from Sasuke's communication snake and dropped what they were doing to head towards the location Sasuke had indicated.

Considering that the meeting point was in the center of the map, and that the group might encounter trouble on their journey, Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto decided to split up and go to meet their companion.

Shikamaru and Hinata's team didn't encounter any trouble. However, Sakura's team seemed a bit too easy to bully. On their way to the rendezvous point, they encountered three teams in a row. Apart from one team from Kirigakure who turned and ran away as soon as they saw Lee's outfit, the other two teams from the Land of Rain and the Land of Lightning targeted the three of them. Fighting them wasted a lot of their time.

However, once Naruto arrived to meet them, the two teams became nothing more than deliverymen.

The following afternoon, the four genin teams from Konoha reunited, while Kurotsuchi also gathered the other two teams from Iwagakure.

A total of seven genin squads gathered at a resource point in the center.

"This is all the life-sustaining resources we have here." Heitu placed two scrolls in front of everyone.

"All the supplies we collected in Konoha are here." Sasuke then placed the food supplies, such as soldier rations, that Shikamaru and the others had brought on the table.

"So, we'll allocate it according to need?" Black Earth said.

“Of course.” Sasuke nodded. Actually, the four teams from Konoha had suffered a slight disadvantage in the distribution of these life-sustaining supplies, since Sakura’s team had brought a large number of ration pills. However, since the two sides were still cooperating, there was not much point in arguing about these things.

However, this only covered living supplies. As for combat supplies such as weapons, both sides tacitly agreed not to distribute them equally, but to keep them for themselves.

“Our seven teams can cover a defensive area of ​​about one square kilometer. If we look at the current rate of shrinking of the safe zone, it will shrink again around tomorrow morning,” Sasuke said. “Therefore, we must ensure that as soon as that safe zone appears, we can completely occupy it and keep everyone else out.”

“You don’t need to worry about our strength,” Heitu laughed. “What do you plan to do about the remaining two spots?”

“You guys go find a decent team from Amegakure, and we’ll find a team from Kirigakure. Is that alright?” Sasuke said.

“Okay, then meet here in three hours.” Kurotsuchi nodded, then turned and left with the three squads from Iwagakure.

"Let's go too." After Kurotsuchi left, Sasuke turned to look at the others behind him.

"Are you sure they'll really abide by the alliance?" Shikamaru reminded him at this moment. "Iwagakure has never been a village that follows the rules. They don't have a habit of keeping their promises."

“I’m not sure, but regardless of whether they plan to follow the agreement or not, I have no intention of letting them take up three spots,” Sasuke sneered.

"Huh? Isn't that a bit much?" Naruto's eyes widened when he heard Sasuke's words. Weren't they all getting along well when they were dividing up the food supplies? How come they're already scheming against each other as soon as they're separated?

“What’s wrong with that?” Sasuke laughed. “For Konoha, the fewer people from other villages who advance, the better.”

"You must have left messages along the way when you came," Sasuke asked.

"Yes, these are all messages left according to Konoha's latest encryption scheme. Judging by the time, someone should have seen them already," Sakura said at this moment.

"Huh? Did you guys do anything else on your way here?" Naruto asked Sakura in disbelief. He had been traveling with the three of them on the way here, but he hadn't noticed anything Sakura had done.

"You idiot, you were probably thinking about what kind of ramen to eat after the exam while you were on your way. It's no wonder you noticed Sakura's actions." Karin couldn't help but facepalm. Although her clan leader was definitely a formidable fighter, in terms of ninja skills, graduating from the Ninja Academy was truly a stroke of luck.

"So what are we going to do now?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Let's split up. The three of us will go find a lucky team from Kirigakure. Shikamaru, you guys go contact other Konoha teams that might receive the signal, and then have them ambush west of the second shrinking safe zone on the second day, and wait for my signal. As for the specific battle plan, that's up to you."

"Yes." Shikamaru nodded, then left with the other two squads.

……

"You two, you left messages when you came over, right?" After the three teams led by Kurotsuchi walked away, she turned to look at the other two elite teams from Iwagakure who had come to join them.

“As you instructed, we have all left messages. However, Miss Kurotsuchi, isn’t what we’re doing a bit inappropriate? This could be considered betraying our allies.” A Genin from Iwagakure said.

"You really believe what that Uchiha guy said?" Kurotsuchi asked, glancing sideways at the person who had spoken earlier.

"Well, the Uchiha clan's reputation can still be trusted, right?" the man said after considering for a moment.

Most Iwagakure genin's impression of the Uchiha clan is still based on their fighting prowess and arrogance. After all, this is the reputation that the Uchiha clan has left in the ninja world for generations. In their eyes, the Uchiha clan should be strong people who disdain to use petty tricks.

"Heh, the Uchiha's credibility?" Kurotsuchi said with a sneer. "Believe it or not, that guy has already figured out how to get us all out of the game tomorrow."

Genin Iwagakure:...

"Those three people from before should be the Fifth Hokage's personal disciples' team. Apart from the one with the blond hair who looks stupid, the other two don't look like good people. In addition, the old man had specifically told me to be careful of the Fifth Hokage's personal disciples, as they might be just as despicable and shameless as their teacher."

……

Inside the VIP room, upon hearing Kurotsuchi's assessment of Uchiha Touko, most of the VIPs fell silent. Only A laughed out loud without restraint: "Hahahaha, Onoki, your granddaughter seems to have a great misunderstanding about our Hokage."

"Hehe, it's all my fault. I've spoiled my granddaughter too much. She offended the Hokage. I'm truly sorry." At this moment, Onoki demonstrated his humility and decisively shut Uchiha Touko up.

"Lord Tsuchikage, there's no need for that. Children speak without thinking, and I'm not a petty person," Uchiha Touko said after a couple of dry laughs.

"Hey, Hokage, didn't you hear what this girl said? Her evaluation of you was actually said by that old geezer Onoki; she just repeated it." A clearly didn't want to miss such a good opportunity and continued to fan the flames.

"Lord Raikage seems to have a lot of free time. Instead of worrying about the genin teams of our Land of Fire and Land of Earth, I think you should think about what to do with the genin of your Land of Lightning. If none of your genin make it to the final round of the Chunin Exams, it will be a great embarrassment for your Daimyo to have come all the way to Konoha."

"Hahaha, you don't need to worry about that," Ai laughed. "Faced with an alliance like yours, each with their own ulterior motives, we, the Cloud Hidden, will naturally crush all your schemes and tricks with thunder."

"Then let's wait and see." Uchiha Touko said with a light laugh. He also understood that what A was talking about was not only the Chunin Exams, but also a veiled reference to the current alliance between Konoha and Iwagakure. However, Uchiha Touko, who was already prepared to break the agreement, would not care about this matter.

Inside the examination hall, after escaping from Sasuke's clutches, Omoi's team began gathering the remaining Cloud Village members, intending to concentrate their efforts to get revenge.

As evening approached, Sasuke and his two companions finally found a Hidden Mist team in the examination hall who had managed to survive by scouting the area and surviving until now.

Sasuke originally thought that the Hidden Mist team might not obediently act as his tools, so he planned to show off his strength first and then have a proper talk with them.

However, after Sasuke revealed his three-tomoe Sharingan, the three Hidden Mist Villagers immediately collapsed to their knees.

"Is that Lord Sasuke?" Upon seeing Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan, the leader of the Hidden Mist team threw down his weapon and began taking out various consumables he had collected from his scrolls, placing them beside him. Only after doing all this did he raise both hands high.

The three men's actions completely baffled Sasuke. After standing in front of them, he frowned and asked, "Do you know me?"

“Yes, the three of us are all genin belonging to the Kirigakure border defense force and are under the direct command of Lord Fugaku. Before we came to take the exam, our jonin captain told us that if we encountered you during the exam, we must not cause any trouble for your actions, and if you need us, we will carry out your orders completely.”

"Uncle Fugaku seems to have a very high status in the Land of Water," Neji couldn't help but remark.

Sasuke:  …

His father hadn't returned to the village for several years, and they only kept in touch through letters. In those letters, Fugaku naturally wouldn't waste time on work-related matters. So, although Sasuke knew that his father held a high position in Kirigakure, he only had a clear understanding of exactly how high it was at this moment.

It's one thing for the Hidden Mist ninjas to directly obey his orders as the commander of the Konoha garrison, but it's a bit too far-fetched that he could make three not-so-weak genin from the Hidden Mist surrender to him simply because of his prestige. Based on Sasuke's understanding of his father, Fugaku would definitely not give such an order to these people. The actions of these three people and the jonin captain they mentioned are very likely a spontaneous act done to please their father.

Although Sasuke was somewhat displeased at receiving unexpected protection from his father and not being given the opportunity to prove his strength, he was no longer the stubborn person he once was. Now that the other party was willing to cooperate, Sasuke sheathed his sword, glanced at the three of them, and asked, "Do you three want to advance to the next round of the exam?"

After hearing Sasuke's words, the three looked at each other and then shook their heads in unison.

“If you want to…” Sasuke started to say but then noticed the other person’s reaction and felt a little embarrassed. Fortunately, one of them spoke up at this moment: “Um, Lord Sasuke, our Mizukage ordered us to keep a low profile as much as possible during the Chunin Exams.”

"What if I wanted you to advance to the third round of the exam?" Sasuke asked directly, seeing the situation.

"Lord Sasuke, why don't you just tell us what you need us to do?" The captain of the Kirigakure squad said with a fawning smile.

For these Kirigakure genin, if it was Sasuke's order, then disobeying Takagi Seiman's order wouldn't be a big deal. Every ninja in Southern Kirigakure knew who was in charge of their village.
“Very good.” Sasuke nodded. “Then, the three of you can come with us tomorrow.”

"We will follow your instructions," the three Hidden Mist Villagers said.

Compared to Sasuke's side, Kurotsuchi's operation to find the tools of the Land of Rain was not so smooth. First of all, compared to the ninjas of the Southern Mist Village who would kneel down at the sight of Sharingan, the ninjas of the Land of Rain were much more principled. Kurotsuchi's team had to put in a lot of effort to subdue them.

Furthermore, after Heitu proposed cooperation, the other party did not fully trust him. It took Heitu a lot of effort and even a short knife they had found before he barely gained their trust.

……

Sasuke, with the Hidden Mist team he had found, reunited with Shikamaru and the others who had gone to the meeting point to make battle arrangements before nightfall.

"How's it going? Is everything arranged? How many people are there?" Sasuke asked.

"Seven squads rushed over after receiving the message. The strongest of them is the squad led by Sarutobi Konosuke, who was in the same class as Neji. The other squads are also quite strong. They have no objections to your plan. They will ambush at the edge of the safe zone tomorrow after it refreshes, waiting for your signal. I have also arranged the specific battle plan. After receiving the signal, they will launch an attack from two directions into the safe zone."

"I understand." Sasuke nodded, then looked at the others. "Let's all get some rest today. There's a tough battle waiting for us tomorrow. This battle could very well be a preview of the wars we might encounter in the future, so we need to gather as much intelligence as possible while securing victory."

"Understood." The rest of the group nodded in unison.

……

(End of this chapter)