Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Chapter 298: This is the only way.

"Other ninja villages have used this opportunity to advance, while Konoha has blocked their path forward. What do we have to compare ourselves to them with?"

"Besides, you witnessed firsthand how terrifying that thing in their hand was."

"If it weren't for Fugaku blocking most of the power, and the barrier protecting it, how could you and I have possibly protected Konoha?"

Danzo's expression was slightly gloomy, but he still retorted unwillingly.

"So what do you plan to do? Continue to play dumb and watch your ninjas become his soldiers?"

"If we don't stop it immediately, it will be like cutting flesh with a soft knife, being eaten away little by little by the other side."

"I don't need to play dumb." The Third Hokage, now also angered, looked up at Danzo. "I only need to win people's hearts."

"Konoha ninjas are Konoha ninjas after all. If we do well, why should we fear being poached by the other side?"

"Since he's organizing the tournament, Konoha will send someone to participate."

"He wanted to win people's hearts with rewards, but Konoha used outstanding performers to pry open his platform."

"The items are real; if our people can obtain them and strengthen Konoha, wouldn't that be enough?"

The Third Hokage already had a plan in mind; he sent Danzo here simply to give him an opportunity.

In retrospect, Danzo still disappointed him greatly; he lacked a broad perspective.

"Even though he provided bait and left the fishing line, it doesn't necessarily mean that the fish will take the bait."

"Konoha can display its name at the top to intimidate other villages."

"That way, all the ninja villages can see that Konoha is still strong and has not been weakened by that incident."

Danzo stared at him for a long time without saying a word, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"You're not like you used to be this time, but you're still just as naive."

"Naive?" The Third Hokage turned to look out the window, gazing at Konoha. "This isn't naivety, but the result of careful consideration."

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"It's a solution that takes into account the current situation and allows Konoha to benefit the most."

"Because—there is no better way to handle this." The Third Generation's expression was somewhat gloomy.

Danzo snorted coldly, not refuting the Third Hokage's words, but he also stepped forward, his cane falling to the ground with a soft thud.

"Then let me take charge of this!" His tone was more of a demand than a request.

The third generation looked at him, his brows furrowed slightly, and after pondering in silence for a long time, he finally spoke.

Because he understood that he couldn't handle the situation alone and still needed Danzo's assistance.

"Okay, but you can only serve as an intelligence assistant. As the main person in charge, Shikaku only has the right to make suggestions, not the right to give orders."

"You can discuss and handle anything related to the virtual reality headset with Lu Jiu."

The Third Hokage needs someone to supervise Danzo and keep an eye on him, so he must be restricted, otherwise big problems will arise.

Danzo snorted coldly, but did not continue to fight for more power. For him, as long as he could participate in this matter, that was enough.

Whether or not there is any so-called command authority is irrelevant; being able to act freely and participate nominally is enough.

Even if Sarutobi doesn't allow it this time, he has his own methods, but they will be much more troublesome.

"Hmph!" Danzo snorted coldly, turned and left, the door slamming against the frame with a dull thud.

After Danzo closed the door to the Hokage's office, it felt as if most of the air had been sucked away.

Shikaku remained in the same standing posture, his face showing little expression.

All I can say is that he should keep his eyes on the nose and his heart to himself; he can't afford to offend either of these two.

Only after the footsteps at the gate had faded into the distance did he manage a wry smile.

"Lord Hokage, you've really put me in a very difficult position this time."

"I know this will be tough," the Third Generation sighed softly.

"But without his support, Konoha would be missing a leg in terms of intelligence and covert operations."

"I don't have time to cultivate another Danzo, and no one can take over the entire Root and operate it perfectly in a short time."

"You can suppress this matter for now. I'll issue you another order to transfer the secret service, so at least you'll have someone available in the open."

Shikaku didn't refute it; he knew all too well that Konoha was no longer discussing how to reject Izumikawa.

Instead, they were figuring out how to regain some initiative within the other party's rules.

The Third Hokage's move, to put it bluntly, was that he neither retreated nor resisted, but he would place a bet.

The quality and spirit of Konoha's younger generation are enough to suppress the ninjas of other villages.

"I've already sent someone to inform all the Jonin squads." Shikaku paused for a moment, then continued, "Let's start by gathering information from the Anbu and some of the regular Chunin."

"If we really want to achieve a good ranking on this platform, Konoha must be at the top."

"It can be said that this competition has both disadvantages and advantages."

"This allows some conflicts to be brought into the open, reducing behind-the-scenes struggles."

The third generation nodded slightly, said nothing more, and simply looked out the window.

The streets were not crowded. Some young ninjas could be seen chatting and laughing.

Some were even wearing virtual reality headsets, and the topic of their discussion was clearly that competition.

In their eyes, participating in the tournament is probably not a betrayal of Konoha.

It's just one more source of fun and one more way to access it.

"Go ahead and get busy!"

The three generations did not look back, but only felt a deep sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing sorrow, regret, and reflection) about the changing times.

Shikamaru responded and turned to leave, knowing he wouldn't be going to bed early tonight.

He has too many responsibilities and too many things to consider.

The other party's prizes are not free; each redemption involves chakra, intelligence, time, and people.

This information was enough for him to figure out the strength of each ninja village and the situation of its personnel.

By sending the people of Konoha to eat these baits, will they be able to seize their own lives, or will they be slowly dragged into the trap and into that net?

Even he himself wasn't entirely confident, but unfortunately, there's no better method at the moment.

This is a war without gunfire; it is dangerous, but the rewards will be great.

It got dark quickly, and the lights in every household gradually came on.

How many people from such a large ninja village will actually participate?

How many people will be able to win the prize?

All of this is unknown.

The following day, the notices from the Anbu and the various Jonin squads swept across the entire Hidden Leaf Village as if propelled by the wind.

The young ninjas reacted in different ways; some were excited, some hesitated, and some asked on the spot.

"So those prizes are real?"

There was no response, only silence.

This attitude speaks volumes, fueling the young ninjas' fervor even further.

Lu Jiu was almost out of breath. He sorted out the preliminary arrangements for each group, notified them, and gathered them up.

The ninjas were grouped together according to their individual fighting styles, habits, and tactical coordination.

This virtual tournament includes individual battles and three-person team battles.

The special guidance team that Shikamaru formed was specifically to instruct these people on how to break through enemy lines and how to fight, and was also responsible for analyzing the fighting styles of ninjas from other villages.

The latter is especially important, since the younger generation nowadays rarely comes into contact with ninjas from other villages.

This time, they will face not only Konoha itself, but also ninjas from the outside world.

The other villages were making the same arrangements. Iwagakure was studying the battlefield rules on the map, while some Cloud Villagers were discussing the ranking system on the screen.

The Mist Ninja were instructing each other on how to seize the environmental advantage as soon as possible, while the Sand Ninja were discussing whether such a battle would reveal the puppet's data.

Regardless, none of the villages gave up on the competition; they were all quietly putting in their best efforts to achieve good results.

Meanwhile, Izumi, inside the Kamui dimension, simply stared silently at the data on the chakra screen.

And she was directing Yekura and Momona to accelerate the expansion of the factory on the moon, producing prizes for the tournament.

Looking at the chakra screen, he saw a name he had marked as "special attention," a name he once knew well.

Some names are still young, and some are far from being formed.

But they have all actively participated in this competition and are now on the same starting line.

He didn't look at Konoha first, but instead pulled up the data for the Land of Snow.

While releasing Momona and Yekura, he also gave them instructions to have Neji, Kimimaro, and Haku participate in the tournament.

This is a very rare real-world battlefield and a way to understand other villages.

At the same time, this competition is also to collect their combat data, and then let Wuming use the data to create hypothetical enemies.

His gaze fell upon the data from Konoha, and he discovered that Konoha had put in a tremendous effort this time, with a large number of people participating.

The Uchiha clan no longer exists in Konoha, but the Hyuga clan still exists. Many members of the branch family have gone there, but Hinata is nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Sasuke Uchiha, who remained in Konoha, joined the competition and began fighting.

Speaking of Sasuke, we can't help but mention Naruto Uzumaki, but he's doing terribly these days, just getting into fights without any strategy or method.

It can only be said that the bottom-ranked student truly lives up to his name; Konoha has been too lenient with his children.

In the next level, Li performed exceptionally well, defeating many opponents with his hard-earned physical skills.

As for those who are older, such as Kakashi, Hayate Gekko, and Guy, their fighting styles are much more sharp and efficient.

After giving a brief evaluation, Izumi turned his gaze away from the Konoha section and looked at the other ninja villages.

On the Cloud Ninja's side, Saim and Omoi are both making steady progress.

On the Iwagakure side, a certain kid who used Explosion Release really had a blast.

Gaara also joined the Sand Ninja, and it was practically a massacre.

As for the Mist Ninja, the genius of the Hozuki clan also performed exceptionally well.

With a wave of his hand, he dispersed all the chakra plates.

A communication module was pulled over, and the image showed Wuming busy at work.

"Nameless, have the Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails and the Seven-Tails been found?"

"Found it!"

This competition is not just about collecting data and giving the various ninja villages something to do.

He also wanted to use this tournament to find the Jinchūriki who had defected.

After all, with the prizes in hand, those who were initially dismissive and wary of virtual reality headsets were now more willing to cooperate.

Ultimately, they will succumb to the temptation and participate, revealing that some intelligence has been collected.

Soon, Wuming sent over two coordinates, which were the locations of Utakata, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.

The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fu, was located in Takigakure.

"Thank you so much, Nameless."

"It's nothing."

Izumi hung up the call and tapped his fingers lightly on the chair.

He could already feel the second fetal movement coming soon, so he wasn't in a hurry to obtain the chakra of those Jinchuriki Tailed Beasts.

The people are there, and they can't escape; it's just a matter of time.

The fact that Black Zetsu remained silent was tantamount to him making a move.

Clearly, Black Zetsu wouldn't trust him so easily; he definitely still wanted to plan something and make his own decisions.

Time is limited. If Black Zetsu doesn't show any signs of movement before the third fetal movement, then he will take action himself.

With the full power of the Tenseigan, neither Obito nor Nagato would be his match.

His actions will accelerate as he prepares to create a miniature Ten-Tails to absorb.

With complete chakra and the power of the Tenseigan, he directly stepped into the Six Paths realm.

In this way, we can try to revive the Three-Tails ahead of time and then revive Princess Kaguya.

As for the price of removing the tailed beasts, he set his sights on the Sand Village and Black Zetsu.

The old story of Sand Village should be put to rest. I can take Yekura there then.

He will deal with both Chiyo and Ebizo.

Chiyo's secret technique, the Reincarnation Technique, can compensate for the cost of removing the Tailed Beast.

The White Zetsu in Black Zetsu's hands is just the right amount of time to use this technique to revive those Jinchuriki who died in place of them.

There was one more thing he almost forgot: the Impure World Reincarnation technique and Orochimaru.

The remaining power of half of the Nine-Tails was sealed within Minato.

He pulled over a chakra screen and searched for information about Orochimaru on it.

Unfortunately, the Eight Thousand Spears system contains information from Orochimaru's long ago.

Clearly, this cunning snake was also intentionally avoiding his detection, keeping its information well hidden.

"Impure World Reincarnation————"

Izumi murmured something softly.

This ninjutsu can be called the most shameless ninjutsu in the ninja world.

The soul of the dead is summoned and placed into a temporary body for use.

It can only be said that the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, went to great lengths to deal with the Uchiha clan.

The Flying Thunder God Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, Impure World Reincarnation Technique, and Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tags—each technique is highly targeted.

The Flying Thunder God Technique counters the Sharingan's dynamic vision, making them unable to detect the action.

The Shadow Clone Technique counters their ability to observe chakra, making it impossible for them to distinguish between the original body and the clone.

The Impure World Reincarnation technique is even more shameless. We're preparing to use deceased powerful figures to deal with them, and we're ready to summon Onii-chan at any time.

The mutual multiplication detonation tag is also very simple; it is to blast open Susanoo's defensive power.

The whole scheme clearly and thoroughly dealt with the Uchiha clan.

This shows how deeply Tobirama Senju was wary of the Uchiha clan, and how ruthless his methods were indeed.

"Let's wait until the baby moves three times before we can start.

Izumi gently covered his right eye, feeling the transformative power within it constantly brewing and changing.