Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 275 The Wind Rises
Just as the Bronze Star team was discussing how to pin the blame on Konoha...

The other apostles who chose the Hidden Mist also embarked on this path without prior agreement.

Based on the apostles' almost unanimous mentality—if you can eat meat, don't drink soup.

They began using various methods to try and pinpoint the perpetrators of the village massacre to Konoha.

Soon, all sorts of 'evidence' were laid out in front of Elder Yuan Shi, the de facto ruler of Kirigakure.

The old man looked out the window at the misty sky and fell into deep confusion.

He thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. What reason could Konoha have to massacre a village that sold fish?

Could it be that it's affecting the fishermen of Konoha? But surely that doesn't warrant massacring the entire village?
It was so thorough. Master Yuan had read the report; even earthworms were gone. It was truly barren.

The most crucial question is: Does Konoha have fishermen?

After pondering for a while, Master Yuan picked up the two reports again.

Compared to other reports, these two reports are quite interesting. They were submitted by the Chunin Squad and the Special Jonin Squad, and are therefore more credible.

"There seems to be unusual activity in the three ninja villages of Iwasago, Kumo, and Iwasago, and their gathering direction is Konoha?"

Having experienced two Shinobi World Wars, Master Genji instinctively sensed the impending storm.

A meaningful smile appeared on his wrinkled face:
"Interesting. Mei Terumi!"

A female ninja with emerald green eyes, long, wavy reddish-brown hair, and pink lips emerged from the shadows.

The light inside the room first shone on her body, and then illuminated her pretty face.

Two glimpses of white skin, peeking out from the blue strapless dress, seemed to gleam under the lights, accompanied by trembling steps.

"Master Yuanshi."

"Go investigate the other three villages and see if there are any unusual movements as reported in the intelligence."

If there is.

A cold glint flashed in Yuan Shi's cloudy eyes as he grinned, revealing his toothless, withered mouth.

"Then the murderer could also be included."
No, it must be Konoha!

"Yo, Kakashi!"

Li Xia raised his hand and greeted Kakashi, who was leaning against the wall.

Then he pulled a small booklet from his pocket and said in a low voice:

"I heard you have a collector's edition of the 'Intimate Paradise'?"

Kakashi's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he clutched his pocket.

He received this book, "Intimate Paradise," as a birthday gift when he turned 18.

It was also his favorite, a treasure that he absolutely could not show to anyone else.

"no!"

"Don't be so stingy."

Li Xia glanced at the genin below who were preparing for battle, but there was nothing worth noting.

Then, in a mysterious tone, he said to Kakashi:

“I have a behind-the-scenes version here, with many drafts that the teachers rejected at the time. I’ll exchange this with you to look at them.”

Behind-the-scenes footage? A discarded draft?
Kakashi couldn't help but lean closer and whispered:
"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you? An exchange?"

Kakashi thought about it, and just like in the side story, he ultimately succumbed to the temptation of Icha Icha Paradise.

"Change it! But only here. After the exam, we'll change it back!"

To be fair, Jiraiya wasn't very good at writing serious novels.

But he's really good at writing borderline stories; I wonder how many sources he's gathered.

In short, it is beautiful without being vulgar, evoking romantic thoughts and inspiring contemplation.

"What are you looking at?"

A rough voice rang in their ears, and Li Xia and Kakashi looked up at the same time.

They noticed that Kai, sporting a watermelon-shaped haircut, had somehow appeared and approached them.

His two thick, almost excessively thick eyebrows twitched up and down, and his expression was full of curiosity.

Kai is Neji's tutor, and because of Neji, they have met quite a few times and are fairly familiar with each other.

"It's nothing, it's just a territory you've never entered before."

Li Xia looked down on the naive boy in front of her with righteous indignation, while Kakashi next to her almost burst out laughing.

And she secretly remembered this, deciding to use it when arguing with Kai in the future.

"I'm done reading."

After scanning the entire book directly with the Scott Combat Power Tester, Li Xia returned the book to Kakashi.

They then turned their attention to the battle below. The previous squabbling between weaklings was really boring, except that Naruto's loud fart that sprayed teeth in his face was quite effective.

The list on the big screen scrolled rapidly before stopping.

Neji Hyuga VS Hinata Hyuga
Kurenai and Kai's expressions turned serious.

Many people in Konoha are not very familiar with the Hyuga's so-called main family and branch family.

But the two teachers in charge of the class were aware of it.

Especially Kai, who watched Neji coldly wrap himself up all day long.

What could he do? He could only hope to melt him with his youth and passion.

"Hinata, how about..."

Kurenai pursed her lips, her pretty face showing worry.

Unexpectedly, Hinata clenched her fist and first glanced at Naruto Uzumaki, who was loudly cheering her on.

Then he glanced at Li Xia next to Kakashi.

"No problem, teacher!"

Surprisingly, their battle wasn't as 'fiery and brutal' as Kurenai and Guy had imagined.

Neither of them even rolled their eyes, and each adopted a posture they had never seen before.

Yes, that's the starting stance of Baguazhang.

These two little ones have been practicing together frequently for over twenty days, and have sparred countless times.

Moreover, Neji gradually realized that the person he should hate was definitely not a specific individual.

For example, Hinata should hate the "caged bird" system.

To resist this system requires constant effort. If one becomes the Hokage, who would dare to implant such a control technique into the Hokage's mind?

Therefore, after realizing this, Neji had gradually begun to change.

No longer clinging to the so-called fate, they began to fight against it.

"strangeness."

Kai stroked his chin. The two looked more like they were sparring than competing, but he couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

After Hinata decisively admitted defeat, Guy quickly stopped thinking about it.

Because next up would be his beloved disciple Rock Lee facing off against Gaara.

Li Xia also shifted his gaze downwards, preparing to watch live this battle, which could be considered one of the top five most exciting battles in the entire Naruto series.

"Li You! I approve!"

Kai gave Xiao Li a thumbs up, his big white teeth gleaming under the light.

A smile gradually spread across Xiao Li's face as he sat on the head of the statue, removing the weight inscribed with 'roots' from his feet.

"It's just some extra weight; even if we take it off—"

Temari and Kankuro gave each other a dismissive smile.

"boom!"

Smoke and dust billowed high into the air, and everyone stared in disbelief at what looked like two hand grenades had been thrown.

"Kai, how much weight do these two carry?" Kai waved at Xiao Li again and shouted, "Burn, youth!"

He then smiled contentedly and said, "One foot weighs about 100 pounds."

One hundred pounds?

Li Xia clicked her tongue. This weight was definitely not low for 12-year-old Li.

That's the advantage of the extraordinary world; energy is just so useful.

Unfortunately, carrying heavy loads is of little use to me.

Weight training is primarily a method for developing muscle strength and endurance.

The apostle's body is already at the peak of current gene expression.

Just like a normal human body has five attributes, 10 is the limit for humans.

People with five points can train to improve their attributes, but apostles with twenty or thirty points in their attributes cannot.

This is because they have already reached their limit, and can only break through the upper limit by gradually optimizing their genes through adding points.

That's why every time you add points, it feels painful; when you make an extreme breakthrough, it's like having your marrow replaced.

Adding weight can also cause the body to relax abruptly, making it difficult to get used to immediately.

This is similar to how the gravity in the derivative world changes, and the Hall of Light gives the apostles time to adapt to the gravity within the space.

"By the way, Kai, if any unfavorable factors arise later, remember to stop the exam immediately."

Um? What's the meaning?
Kai thought for a moment, his eyebrows twitching:
"You mean, I should go save that kid with dark circles under his eyes and not let Li beat him to death?"

Aowu and Heitan chuckled softly.

No, what makes you think Li can win?

The sand has a very strong unloading force, and with Li's steel fist, it was a head-on collision.

The force was largely dissipated by the flowing sand, and then there was the damage reduction effect of chakra.

It would be strange if he could win. If you had just given Xiao Li a weapon, the outcome would have been completely different.

Xiao Li slowly unwrapped the bandages wrapped around his arm.

A surge of violent chakra erupted from every part of his body in an instant.

Eight Gates Dunjia!

"Boss, the Eight Gates Formation seems pretty good, huh?"

"Awoo!" said, watching Rock Lee unleash the Eight Gates and beat Gaara.
"Want to learn a move?"

"No, the side effects are too severe."

Li Xia gave a very direct assessment: he had never considered learning the Eight Gates Formation in this derivative world because of its side effects.

Compared to the explosive techniques like breathing exercises that can be used and stopped at will, the Eight Gates technique incurs considerable losses with each opening.

Although the breathing technique has begun to reach its limit, the previously powerful percentage bonus is no longer available.

However, it is quite useful, and the consumption is only a small amount of Qi.

"Rei Renka!"

Amidst the deafening explosion, smoke and dust billowed up, completely obscuring the site.

Everyone watched the scene with a mix of anticipation, shock, and worry.

As the smoke gradually dissipated, Xiao Li lay helplessly in the distance, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

After opening the five gates, a large amount of muscle was torn and organs were damaged. Being able to endure this kind of pain is already a testament to extraordinary willpower.

Gaara lay in the sand, and although he had suffered some injuries, he still retained the ability to fight.

He struggled to raise one hand, and the yellow sand surged towards Xiao Li's body like a tide.

"Kai, you're still going to make a move?"

Li Xia looked at Kai strangely, whose face was filled with extreme worry. He seemed to be covered in thorns, and it was clear that he wanted to rush out.

"No, this is Lee's battle. A ninja is someone who upholds their ninja way!"

Kai squeezed out a 'chicken soup' that he and his disciples firmly believed in, through gritted teeth.

"Back to the days!"

The wildly spinning chakra shattered the oncoming yellow sand.

Xiao Li opened his eyes wide, seemingly helpless:

Neji?

Neji helped Lee up and said coldly, "When it's time to admit defeat, admit defeat instead of being stubborn."

He said to the examiner, "I'm sorry, we admit defeat."

"In this duel, I love Luo Sheng!"

The second half of this second round of exams lasted less than half a day.

Overall, it doesn't deviate much from the plot.

Neji and Hinata have grown a lot, and no one can match Sasuke's pretentiousness. Li Xia is willing to call him the most pretentious.

Naruto's talk-no-jutsu is still sharp, yet it's hard to feel any ill will towards him.

On the way back, the kitten and Awoo kept arguing about whether the Third Hokage was a beast when it came to Naruto.

"That must be a beast."

Awoo waved its claws and spoke with absolute certainty:
"Isn't this just a hero shedding blood and tears? Think about it, the fact that Naruto has a demon fox inside him is a secret, right?"
How did this incident happen? Everyone knows the details.
Besides, did the third generation use any method to suppress comments?
No! He could absolutely do it, but he just won't.

Kuroko kept meowing, which roughly meant that Naruto's life wasn't bad and he received money every month.

After all, Kuroko comes from Monster Hunter, where monster attacks are common, so staying alive is a victory.

"Naruto deserves his money!"

Awoo said dismissively, "Putting aside everything else, what about the legacy of the Fourth Hokage and Yukikuna?"

That's an astronomical sum!

Yukikuna is the heir of the Uzumaki clan, unlike Nagato, who is a miserable old man.

Not to mention Minato Namikaze, who completed over a thousand missions and became Hokage.

The rewards for the task alone amount to tens of millions.

"Meow meow meow!" (That's all the fault of that idiot author)
"Oh? So it's just a coincidence that the heirs of the major clans in Konoha happen to be his son and daughter-in-law's disciples?"
Konohamaru is only a few years old and already has special Jonin bodyguards. Is it just a coincidence that he's destined to be the Hokage successor?

The noisy chatter between Aowu and Heitan brought a sense of energy to Li Xia, who hadn't experienced such a scene in a long time.

No matter how much the two kids bicker, it's just boredom.

He didn't care what happened to the Third Hokage or the people in the derivative world.

This is just a copy, a derivative world that can be erased and reset at any time, a toy that the hall casually created.

A playground for low-ranking apostles.

It was already approaching evening, and the lower-ranking ninjas were still receiving basic treatment or resting in the Forest of Death.

The mental stress and exhaustion from the five days of fighting are considerable, so it's unrealistic to expect them to drag their tired bodies to Konoha, dozens of kilometers away, to rest.

Similarly, the teachers in charge of the teams also stayed in the tower, as they needed to make the most of their time to discuss the third round of exams with their students.

Either comfort that broken heart and rebuild its confidence.

At this point in time, the only one leisurely making his way to Konoha is Li Xia, who is relatively free.

The evening breeze was pleasant, and the Milky Way, a dazzling spectacle, stretched across the night sky. The textures of the Hall of Light were quite well done.

Black Charcoal and Li Xia's ears twitched almost simultaneously, and their gazes froze for a moment.

Then he slightly turned his eyes and scanned his surroundings, but continued walking forward without making a sound.

Black Charcoal's serious voice came through the team channel:
"Meow!"

Li Xia also replied in the team channel:
"Hmm, there's an ambush!"

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(End of this chapter)