Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 281 War breaks out
The next morning, the sky was clear and blue.

The streets of Konoha were much less crowded than usual.

Even some shops closed their doors; these were the lucky ones who managed to snag tickets.

Those who could attend the match in person could only gather around with envy and discuss how many genin from Konoha would be promoted this time.

For them, opportunities to watch ninja battles are not very frequent.

The Chunin Exams would be an excellent opportunity.

Li Xia put on the special cloak of the Dark Guard, but still wore the mask on his face.

Leaning against the wall of the spectator stand, he surveyed the huge venue.

The battlefield this time is very large, although it is far smaller than the stadiums in the modern world that can hold tens of thousands of people.

However, the entire venue is about half the size of a football field, and it is surrounded by high walls forming a circle.

The site mimics a normal outdoor environment, with low shrubs, muddy ground, and sparse weeds.

We strive to restore the most basic terrain in the wild.

People were slowly pouring in from various passages, gradually filling the empty space like a coloring game.

The best viewing spots have been fenced off; those are the positions for the daimyo and officials.

As for the Hokage and Kazekage, their seats were opposite the Daimyo, but at a much higher position. Although the view was better, it wasn't actually the best spectator position.

Aowu was also taking pictures of the arena and the ninjas entering from the surrounding area with a camera.

The focus was on filming the 12 main characters, such as Shikamaru, Ino, and Hinata, who even waved to the camera.

Why are you filming this?

Li Xia asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Boss, I just realized it too. It's a derivative world! A playground for low-level apostles."

Once you miss it, it's gone!

Aowu excitedly put down the camera and directed Hinata, Ino, Tenten, and other female ninjas to make movements and expressions.

Although they didn't know what Aowu was doing, the female ninjas still cooperated with the dragon's commands with laughter.

"If it's not there, it's not there. Isn't the original world more wonderful?"

Li Xia was becoming increasingly strange.

He chuckled loudly, patted the camera, and said smugly:
"Boss, what if I'm arguing with someone on Tieba, and they just pull out a video I filmed on location?"
I'll annihilate that little Karami over there!
"Just tell me, who can beat me in lane!"

Li Xia: ???
No, just for online arguments?

Somewhat amused and exasperated, he shook his head and decided to let it be.

Anyway, those real-world rules are useless to him, and even if Awoo jumps out and talks about the halls of power and all that.

I doubt anyone would believe that; people would just say things like "the cosplayer is great" or "the AI ​​is amazing."

About an hour later, the previously sparsely populated examination room was now completely full.

Besides the residents of Konoha, there were also busybodies from nearby small countries, delegations from various countries, and dignitaries.

All in all, there were more than 20,000 people. The noise from these 20,000 people combined into a low hum.

This grand scene excited the young ninjas who were about to take the exam.

Once the Daimyo and the Hokage and Kazekage were seated, the sound in the entire venue suddenly increased several times.

The audience erupted in enthusiastic cheers. Amidst the thunderous applause, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha, stood up, walked to the microphone, and decisively announced the start of the Chunin Exams.

Genma Shiranui, a special Jonin who always wore a headscarf and had a senbon stick in his mouth, stepped forward.

He shouted loudly, "Race One!"

The giant screen displayed the images and names of Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga.

"Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji Hyuga!"

Aowu stretched out his neck, pointing the tripod camera in his hand at the battlefield below.

They clicked their tongues in amazement: "This fight was quite exciting. Neji's strength has improved very quickly. Naruto Uzumaki truly lives up to his role as the protagonist."

They managed to hold on even like that.

"That's normal. What's holding Neji back is his mentality and the Hyuga clan's flashy but impractical techniques. Their taijutsu is all show and no substance, but it's not very useful in practice."

Naruto Uzumaki grows stronger when facing stronger opponents; the Nine-Tails within him ensures that he maintains a significant presence most of the time.

The battle started much like in the original story, with Neji overwhelmingly beating Naruto.

Neji, in particular, who learned the true Eight Trigrams Palm, dealt much more damage than before, and every strike was a critical hit.

But unfortunately, he encountered Naruto Uzumaki, and despite being teetering on the brink of collapse and covered in wounds, he refused to fall.

With the zipper open, the external aid was in place, and the minor injury was directly healed by the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Even with Naruto's abundant chakra, his offensive methods are still quite limited.

Aside from creating a large number of shadow clones, there aren't many other effective attack methods.

After knocking down the overpowered Naruto Uzumaki once again.

Neji was panting heavily, and even with his resilience, he couldn't help but feel a chill.

Despite being far stronger than his opponent, who only possessed a lot of chakra, he was still exhausted from the fight.

I doubt I'll ever get up again.

Just as I was about to leave, for some reason, the image of Li Xia smiling and serving tea under the shade of a tree suddenly appeared in my mind.

"Neji, do you think that the stronger person is guaranteed to win?"

He was startled.

Roll your eyes, open!

Hearing a slight rustling sound from the ground beneath his feet, Neji, who was already on high alert, reacted instantly.

He leaped backward, his eyes meeting those of Naruto Uzumaki, who burst out of the mud, his face filled with astonishment.

Almost instinctively, the Eight Trigrams Palm struck Naruto Uzumaki hard in the abdomen.

Even in that split second, Neji unleashed a palm strike that he rarely used.

"Bah!"

Naruto suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and flew far away.

There was an uproar!

Aowu raised his head blankly: "This isn't right! It's not like the script."

Li Xia was unaware that it was precisely his words yesterday that led to today's outcome.

He was rubbing his chin, watching the scene with great interest. Now, how should this end?

Surprisingly, Naruto Uzumaki emerged victorious in the end.

This kid is cheating again. With the Nine-Tails' chakra restoring him, he got up as if nothing had happened.

In the end, he created hundreds of clones, which completely exhausted Neji.

Awoo:
"Let's go, it's time to get ready."

Li Xia patted Aowu's head, then turned to look at Naruto Uzumaki, who was raising his hands to accept the villagers' cheers.

They entered the corridor.

"Da da da"

Footsteps echoed in the corridor. In the small room, three Jonin from the Hyuga clan raised their heads and stared outside.

"grown ups?"

Hinata Takashi stood up, his gaze towards Li Xia revealing a mixture of worry and excitement.

Hyuga Himon and Hyuga Iroha, who were standing beside him, also had solemn expressions.

They only just learned of their mission from Hiashi Hyuga.

From a personal perspective, they naturally hope for stability in the village.

But if something really happens, that's another story.

Li Xia nodded: "Get ready!" The three took a deep breath: "Yes!"

He changed into lightweight armor without any markings and put on colored goggles to cover his eyes.

He casually cut some of his hair with a kunai, and finally pulled up the mask to cover the lower half of his face.

Finally, he put on a long robe.

Li Xia looked at the three figures in front of him, and his heart began to race.

My usually calm mind was now slightly disturbed.

war!

"go!"

A faint mist and a soft pink glow permeated the venue.

Wherever he went, the audience looked as if they had been up for three days and three nights, their eyes gradually becoming dazed, and then they slumped into their seats and fell asleep.

"Illusion?"

Kakashi looked at the suddenly silent audience and his expression turned serious.

Of the 20,000 spectators present, only a very small fraction were able to detect the illusion and counter it in time.

Even so, these sober people still didn't know what had happened, and stood in their seats looking around with puzzled expressions.

Only the Jonin and the Anbu were able to keenly sense the impending storm.

"Protect Daimyo!"

Two squads from the secret service immediately rushed out, landing around the daimyo with just a few leaps, warily surveying their surroundings.

The remaining Anbu members charged directly towards the Hokage's location.

【announcement!】

[Second Main Quest: The Fourth Shinobi World War, a Pre-Rehearsal, Begins!]

The announcement from the Temple of Light floated before the eyes of every apostle.

Everyone's breathing became heavy.

Finally started!

So--

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A violent explosion occurred in the stands, and thick smoke billowed up instantly. Scattered limbs and blood rained down in all directions.

On the panel in front of him, the points were refreshing like flowing water, although most of them were the most basic genin.

But the exhilarating feeling of scrolling through the screen brought a look of ecstatic joy to one of the apostles' faces.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

A masked ninja appeared silently behind him, and a gleaming short sword pierced through his chest without hesitation.

The ecstasy on his face suddenly turned into astonishment.

idiot!

The apostles hidden inside the arena looked at the apostle who had just laughed out loud and was then killed with different expressions.

Are other people just not smart enough? Couldn't they have thought of planting a bomb in the stadium?

In the Naruto world, explosive tags are comparable to dynamite, and the Anbu has a detailed procedure for handling explosions.

A time bomb is difficult to place; it will definitely be neutralized. The only option is to carry it into the venue by body.

If you expose it, you're very likely to get caught red-handed.

Li Xia leaped into the flagpole of the stadium and slowly raised his head amidst many puzzled gazes.

"Oh!"

A signal flare, as dazzling as fireworks, shot into the sky from the signal gun in his hand, trailing a blinding plume of smoke.

It exploded into a dazzling display of firework, its vibrant flames illuminating everyone's eyes.

This signal was sent to both the apostles and the hidden spies within the city.

A slight smile appeared on Li Xia's face as he looked at the crowd below.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the revelry begin!"

Inside the music store, Kai suddenly raised his head, rushed out of the store, and stared intently at the signal flare soaring into the sky.

This was the signal he had been dreaming of!

After confirming the color and shape of the signal flare several times, Kai, suppressing his pounding heart, picked up the transmitter—a communication tool with a short range.

"Signal confirmed, commence operation!"

"Psychic art!"

Eight scrolls, crisscrossed, formed a large magic array.

Several Sand Ninja simultaneously pressed their summoning techniques onto the scroll, and a cloud of smoke billowed into the sky.

Three giant snakes with red ropes tied around their necks suddenly appeared, raising their heads and letting out a huge hiss.

The Sand Village Jonin in charge of the matter wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he watched the colossal serpent, hundreds of meters long and blotting out the sky, slither towards Konoha Village.

Wherever it went, the soil churned up, and large trees were crushed like toothpicks. Even its normal crawling left deep furrows in the ground.

A smile couldn't help but appear on his face. This enormous monster, coupled with Gaara, the ultimate weapon of Sunagakure.

Konoha will be completely destroyed this time!
"Gudu Gudu"

In the river that runs through Konoha, a faint ripple appeared on the surface of the water, as if it were boiling.

A semi-transparent human figure formed by the water flow slowly rose from the water's surface.

He watched with great interest the billowing smoke from the examination site and the three giant snake summoning beasts rushing straight towards Konoha.

"I didn't expect what those Chunin said to be true; it's actually somewhat useful."

The figure mumbled a few words, then shattered into sparkling water droplets that splashed into the water and disappeared.

"It's time for Kirigakure to make a move!"

Huang Tu, who was waiting at the border, put away the letter in his hand, and a smile appeared on his chubby face.

Just as her father had predicted, the commotion Akatsuki made in the Land of Earth was to attract the attention of Iwagakure.

To prevent Iwagakure from having time to get involved in certain things.

Looking at the other four great nations, the Sand Kingdom is too poor to warrant such a large-scale operation.

The Land of Water is not only poor but also arrogant. Poor and arrogant, it is isolated overseas and has been on the mainland for many years. No one would be foolish enough to attack the Land of Water.

The Land of Lightning is too remote, and the current Raikage is extremely powerful. Although he has a fiery temper, he has capable subordinates. A few years ago, he used a little trick to kill the dissenting elder in Konoha.

It also saved the life of the Hyuga clan's 'headmaster'.

The village is currently a united front, and it's even less likely to be the Land of Thunder.

After ruling out all the impossibilities, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, made a decisive judgment.

Then it must be Konoha from the Land of Fire!

Despite its apparent strength, the Hokage was actually facing a generational gap, with the Third Hokage already old and aging, spending his days thinking about pushing his son into the position.

Only Konoha is wealthy enough to afford such a grand display.

Therefore, they decisively dispatched an advance force to secretly assemble at the border.

Now, news has finally arrived from Konoha's spies, confirming all of Father's suspicions.

Something has changed in Konoha!

Huang Tu waved his hand, his voice carrying a hint of heroic ambition.

"Destination—Konoha Village! 3 hours, forced march!"

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