Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Chapter 299 The Competition in Which Everyone Participated

In Konoha, the shadow of the Hokage Rock stretched out in the morning light.

The vibrant Konoha village, with its ninjas all participating, had their nerves ignited after last night's preliminary rounds.

This is a virtual life-or-death battle where there is no need to worry about your life. Although the moment of death feels so painful, the feeling will fade after it ends and will not be so unforgettable.

In that virtual ninja tournament, everyone wore masks, and apart from the ninjutsu, techniques, and fighting habits they used, no one could recognize each other.

They all used code names, as if they had changed their faces, and fought each other, competing for points, seizing opportunities, and vying for rankings.

Nowadays, not only in Konoha, but in all the major ninja villages, the most discussed topics are how many points you scored yesterday, whether you encountered any tough opponents, and so on.

In a secluded spot at the ninja academy, Sasuke sat there, looking like a cool little god, reminiscing about yesterday's battle.

He played three matches yesterday, two against ninjas from the Grass Village and one against ninjas from the Rain Village, which gave him a lot of insights into combat.

In terms of strength, or rather, the ninjutsu, taijutsu, and ninja tool skills he had mastered, he believed he was superior to his opponent.

But the battle was not as simple as he had imagined. Without the experience of blood and fire, and of taking lives with his own hands...

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He always held back a bit when he made a move, just like a friendly sparring match, not daring to go too far.

However, his opponents had no such concerns, and they even used a strategy of trading injury for life, which made him fight with restraint and unable to unleash his true strength.

He was even nearly killed several times, injured, and felt pain before he finally let go and won.

Before each battle, he could not observe what methods his opponent would use, but in each battle, many people's bodies were replicas of their own.

Therefore, those who have been trained in posture, as well as the position of their wrists and ninja tool pouches, can discern some answers.

He was aware of the hatred he carried: the man with the vortex mask had killed his mother right before his eyes.

Thinking of this, Sasuke clenched his fists, his eyes filled with hatred.

But his reliance, Itachi, left him, and after that night, only the news of his defection echoed in his mind.

Why?

Why abandon him?

Why can't we leave with him?

Sasuke's heart was roaring, filled with confusion and helplessness.

Is it because of ability?

Is it because he is too weak?

So he wanted to become stronger, stronger than anyone else, to find his brother who abandoned him, and to find the masked man who killed his mother.

And then there's the culprit who destroyed the entire Uchiha clan—the one who created the virtual reality helmet.

Although he was unwilling, he found himself needing to use the other person's things to become stronger.

But he also fully understood that in Konoha, at the Ninja Academy, he simply couldn't quickly become stronger, nor could he quickly achieve his goals.

So he fights, scores points, improves his rank, and obtains rankings and rewards. He uses what his opponents give him to climb to the top step by step.

"Hey, you arrogant brat, what are you thinking, looking like you're about to kill someone with that murderous expression?"

"Could it be because they lost to someone in the ninja tournament last night?"

With a slightly cheeky tone, Naruto put his hands behind his head, acting nonchalant, and tried to get closer to Sasuke in his own unique way of showing concern.

"roll!"

Sasuke spoke coldly, glancing at him.

"Tch, we really lost!"

"Let me see, why are your eyes so red? Are you about to cry?"

Thunder's language system, currently installed on Naruto's mouth, is capable of poisoning people.

Yes, he was somewhat worried about Sasuke, but he was mostly there to mock him.

After all, it's his beloved Sakura who actually likes this arrogant guy; it's just too awful.

"Oh well, isn't it normal to lose?" Naruto waved his hand dismissively and pointed to himself.

"I also lost miserably last night. I was either swept away by wind-style attacks or crushed to death by rocks."

"Those guys are awful. They take advantage of my lack of ninjutsu. I'll get my revenge sooner or later."

Naruto waved his fist and said unwillingly, then looked at Sasuke with a smug expression.

"So, losing isn't a big deal at all, it's a minor issue!"

He tried to comfort Sasuke with his own experiences, but instead received Sasuke's fiery eyes in return.

"I! Did! Not! Lose!"

He spoke very seriously, word by word. Sasuke really didn't want to pay attention to this guy. How could he not read the room at all?

Can't you see he doesn't want to talk to us? Why are you still bothering us like this? It's so annoying!

"Alright, alright, you didn't lose!" Naruto said nonchalantly. "Oh, by the way, I also ran into someone who tied me up with silk threads."

"With a flick of her little hand, that strange-looking wooden puppet just went through a series of lines, I couldn't see them clearly at all."

"I remember you used to like fiddling with those shuriken, the ones with the silk threads, didn't you?"

"Teach me how to avoid that thing, how to prevent it from getting entangled."

Sasuke was furious, but said in a calm tone, "You can't see for yourself. Once you see clearly, you'll be able to dodge it."

"If you can't see clearly, you can never escape, so don't bother me."

Seeing that Sasuke was really not in the mood, and had even stopped arguing with him, it was best not to bother him.

Naruto muttered something, then turned and walked away nonchalantly. Sakura, seeing Naruto harassing Sasuke, confronted him from a distance.

They made a fuss.

Sasuke saw all this, but simply uttered two comments: "Boring!"

Instead of getting into trouble with them, I should think about how to become stronger.

In the case of Kumogakure, the mountains of Takamatsu stand tall, and the village is built on a high peak.

Samui, carrying a stack of newly compiled battle records, walked into the Raikage Building.

Omoi, meanwhile, was leaning against the wall of the corridor, chewing bubble gum, staring intently at the ceiling with a serious expression.

"What are you thinking about?" Saim asked.

Omoi sighed, somewhat annoyed, "I was thinking, if my last shot hadn't gone astray last night, I probably could have made it into the top twenty."

"No! Even if we make it into the top twenty, we might still get up against that taijutsu monster from Konoha and be kicked out of the top twenty."

"What kind of monster is that guy? I feel like I couldn't even last a round against him."

"And then we'll disappoint the Raikage, and the villagers will say that our Kumogakure taijutsu is inferior to Konoha's—"

Samoy slammed the file down on his head: "Get to the point!"

Omoi covered his head, looking somewhat aggrieved, and said, "The point is, I figured out yesterday that guy's habit is to go left first and then right."

"Next time, I just need to jump to the right in advance to avoid it, but I made a mistake."

Saim snorted and flipped through the records: "The Iwagakure Explosion Release ninja has already reached the fifth round. If you don't work hard, I'll be the only one left in the Cloud Ninja to make it into the top ten."

After listening, Omoi stuffed the candy wrapper into his pocket and looked up at the ceiling again: "Then I'll practice for another three hours today."

I sighed inwardly. This competition is really something else; it's even more addictive than fighting on the border.

Especially since there's no penalty for losing, even though it only hurts a little, I'd choose to try again if I could.

In Iwagakure, at a stone quarry, a dusty-faced youth jumped out amidst a roaring sound.

She tossed her golden hair and grinned, revealing a look of satisfaction.

"That felt so good!"

"Now I can fully express my art, whether in reality or in the virtual world."

Deidara even imitated the sound of an explosion, chanting "bang bang bang."

"That kid from the Mist Ninja clan tried to drown me with Water Release yesterday, but I just blew up the rock wall where he was hiding."

"Sending people and rocks into the sky together was absolutely exhilarating."

As a disciple of the Third Tsuchikage, Deidara's Explosion Release technique caused great distress to the villagers.

Now, because Sunagakure is procuring slate, Onoki has sent Deidara out to bomb mines whenever he has free time, so that others can start mining slate.

The ninja tournament with the virtual helmet also shows that he can play however he wants, saving himself from complaints and avoiding trouble.

He had an even better time last night, turning the entire match into a fireworks display.

"Deidara, that's enough for today, stop blowing it up!" A Shinobi stepped forward, feeling his ears go numb.

"If you keep blasting, you'll damage the stone, and Lord Ohnoki will scold us again."

"Fine, fine, really, you guys are so annoying, and so is the old man."

Deidara impatiently said that he wasn't going to blow it up anymore.

"The Ninja Tournament is more interesting; the random terrain feels incredibly realistic."

"The feeling of it exploding, the sensation of the stone bursting open, is absolutely amazing."

"If we don't participate, we'll be missing out big time."

Although the higher-ups at Iwagakure did not recommend that Deidara participate.

However, Onoki said that he would let anyone who could stop Deidara from messing around with his bombs participate.

The group immediately fell silent, clearly frightened by the commotion Deidara had caused.

Let's just let this guy participate in the Ninja Tournament and wreak havoc on other ninja villages!

Moreover, they are more concerned with the fighting habits of other ninja villages, as well as ninjutsu and secret techniques.

The battles on the field can be reviewed, so they collected a lot of information about other ninja villages.

Furthermore, it can compensate for the lack of combat experience among the new generation and reduce casualties.

Since Rasa implemented the Oasis Project, the entire Sand Village has come alive.

Most ninjas were busy with missions, while some treated the competition as a form of leisure, trying to revitalize their rigid minds.

Many ninjas felt like they were just workers, spending their days paving roads, pressing grass, and digging irrigation ditches.

Meanwhile, in a training ground in the Sand Village, Gaara stood there, looking at the target in front of him, his hand gently clenching.

The quicksand immediately swirled up and crushed him into pieces, eventually returning to the sand gourd behind Gaara.

He also participated in the competition. In the sealed space, under the guidance of Izumi Kawa's clone and the affection of the One-Tailed Fox, his fighting power became quite terrifying.

That last strike was just a casual move; it happened naturally on a whim.

Just like last night, he simply stood there, and the ninjas from those small ninja villages couldn't get close to him at all.

It was dealt with before it even touched his sand armor.

"The opponents arranged for the tournament are all too weak," Gaara murmured.

Temari and Kankuro, standing nearby, didn't say anything. They understood that Gaara wasn't showing off, but simply stating a fact.

"You're just too strong," Kankuro retorted.

Now that Rasa is no longer an obstacle, the three siblings have a very good relationship, so Kankuro is not afraid of his panda-eyed younger brother.

"If they're weak, why don't they run away?" Gaara asked, somewhat puzzled.

Although Gaara's presence was no longer an obstacle and the three siblings had a good relationship, the other children in the Sand Village still dared not approach him.

After all, even if you say he's safe, these parents have witnessed the terrifying power of the One-Tailed Beast when it goes berserk.

This leads to Gaara lacking some common sense, making him seem somewhat naturally cynical.

"Of course running away is useless!" Temari explained weakly, "Because it's a competition, even if you die, you won't really die."

"Winning the competition brings prizes, while losing doesn't incur any major punishments; the only real consequence is the pain of death, which might cause them to become a little mentally stunted."

"If you die too many times, you'll be forcibly kicked offline and can only continue the game after you recover your sanity."

Gaara didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and used sand to conjure up his opponent from the previous night.

"So, they weren't dead after all."

Kankuro:

Temari: "————"

"No, you think they're all dead?" Temari was speechless again, then slapped her forehead.

"That's true. You've been winning the whole time and haven't died at all, so it's normal that you don't know."

"After all, you didn't like reading those rules, so you just signed up and started fighting inside."

Facing her naturally dark-skinned younger brother, Temari felt that her future tasks were arduous and far-reaching.

Kankuro chuckled and said, "So you memorized their faces?"

"In reality, their appearance is also fake. Besides wearing masks, they can also randomly change their faces, so they never reveal their true appearance."

"Is that so?" Gaara lowered his hand, and the sand sculptures instantly crumbled into a puddle, returning to their original state.

"No wonder the Godfather told me I didn't need to hold back."

"Shukaku is also clamoring for it to come out."

Gaara pondered, "Should we let Shukaku come out for a bit?"

Unfortunately, as soon as he conceived the idea, Izumi's clone within him rejected it.

Before synchronizing with the original body's memories, although it was unaware of what the original body had done, as a spiritual clone, its thought pattern was still Izumi's own thought pattern.

Therefore, he was certain that the original body's plan was very ambitious, and unless the original body appeared to synchronize memories, he would not allow Shukaku to act recklessly.

The virtual helmet and the ninja tournament were likely created by the real person after finding the nameless woman and utilizing her Eight Thousand Spears ability and the Tsukuyomi space.

Essentially, Shukaku could appear in it, because genjutsu is effective against tailed beasts.