Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

881. Yet another blond guy.

When Onoki came out with his disciples and a group of Iwa ninja boys, Deidara's blond hair instantly reminded people of the scandal between the Fourth Hokage and Shiki during the Third Shinobi World War.

In the ninja world, blond hair is already rare, just like the red hair of the Uzumaki clan and the white hair of the Hatake clan. Moreover, such bright blond hair is even rarer. In the history of the ninja world, there are only two people with such bright and outstanding blond hair: one is the Golden Lion of Sunagakure and the Fourth Hokage, "Yellow Flash," who has already passed away. The Yellow Flash and the Golden Lion have a similarity of up to 90%, and even though Konoha has issued an official statement, it is still hard not to speculate.

This time, Onoki's disciple was another blond-haired boy. Anyone who could be accepted as a disciple by Onoki must be a genius. Both were blond-haired and geniuses. Even though this blond-haired boy didn't look like Shiki, it still couldn't help but arouse endless imagination. Everyone turned their attention to the somewhat slovenly, unkempt blond-haired middle-aged man at the other end of the audience.

There aren't that many coincidences in the world. Besides, Shiki has been trying to seduce Tsunade for so many years without success. Being single for so long, it's understandable that he might make a mistake now and then...

"That bastard....(▼ヘ▼#)"

Onoki took in everything. He saw the surrounding audience glance at Deidara and then turn to that bastard Shiki, whispering among themselves. Although he was old, his hearing hadn't deteriorated, so he could hear the surrounding conversation. Onoki felt utterly disgusted!

He was clearly his disciple, so how did he become that bastard's son?

Now he finally understands how Hiruzen Sarutobi felt back then.

He's clearly the village's top genius, but just because he happens to look like someone, he's somehow linked to the Golden Lion...

"Sigh... another blond guy."

The two members of the Hatake clan, the father and son, who had both experienced this before, exchanged a glance and sighed helplessly.

They were very familiar with Shiki, especially Sakumo Hatake, who had known Shiki for decades and trusted him quite a bit. Although he was a bit despicable and shameless, he was still trustworthy in some ways. For example, when many people suspected that Minato was connected with Shiki, only he believed that Shiki and Minato were innocent.

But now that another blond guy has appeared, he can't help but wonder if his old friend has done too many bad things; such a lack of integrity makes everyone suspicious of him...

"(⊙_⊙)??? Old man, what are they doing? Why are they staring at that slovenly old man?"

Deidara, who was usually arrogant and was standing next to Onoki, was a little nervous at such a grand occasion for the first time. However, when he saw everyone's eyes on him, they all looked strangely at a disheveled old man on the other side, wondering what these people were up to.

He was still young, and the conversations around him were cryptic and difficult to understand, so he could only ask Onoki, who was about the same height as him.

"...Maybe he thinks that guy has blond hair like you. Don't worry about it. Just do your best during the exam. Be careful of that Uchiha brat. Be extra careful when you run into him."

Onoki took a deep breath, trying his best to avoid looking at the annoying blond-haired boy. Faced with his disciple's innocent gaze, he really didn't want to spread his disciple's messy ideas, so he changed the subject and admonished the disciple.

Although he had confidence in this disciple, after all, the Uchiha clan hadn't produced a decent figure in so many years. The fact that Uchiha Shisui finally appeared a couple of years ago was already a miracle. How could there possibly be another one? Even if Madara's father's grave were on fire, it would be impossible!

However, he had fought with Hiruzen Sarutobi for decades, and based on his understanding of Hiruzen Sarutobi, he knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely come to humiliate him. He could see through the other members of the Konoha team at a glance; they were all a bunch of scoundrels and didn't need to be bothered. This little bastard from the Uchiha clan was their main force. If this little bastard didn't have some skills, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have let him come.

Even though he thought the chances of another genius emerging from the Uchiha clan after Shisui with the "Shinto Shunsui" were low, he still had to be wary of him. He had already made arrangements so that his disciple wouldn't run into this Uchiha brat in the one-on-one duels. In addition, he deliberately arranged for this Uchiha brat to run into more of the Cloud Village's James, so that he could see just how good this Uchiha brat really was.

The physical talents of those James from Kumogakure are undeniable. Most battles between Chunin and Genin are primarily taijutsu-based, which allows them to fully utilize their muscular strengths and also provides an opportunity to thoroughly investigate the background of this Uchiha brat.

Deidara's plan was to use those scoundrels from Sunagakure so his disciple could thoroughly humiliate Shiki's men in front of him and vent his anger...

Onoki felt a surge of bitterness at the thought of the Sand Village's bunch of scoundrels. Ever since Chiyo's grandson, the super puppeteer Sasori of the Red Sand, it seemed like Shiki's foul mouth had brought him retribution. In the last ten years or so, Sand Village hadn't produced anything worthwhile. He invited Sand Village precisely to use Deidara as an opportunity to thoroughly humiliate them. Of course, it would be even better if Shiki came; he hadn't even expected Shiki to come in person.

After all, that bastard Shiki is a proud man. Now that Sunagakure hasn't produced any geniuses, he figured that even if Sunagakure wanted to save face, they would send someone else, and Shiki would definitely not come. But he never expected that that bastard Shiki would actually come in person.

This also gave him a chance. When he went out in the morning, he taught Deidara to fight anyone he encountered from Sunagakure!

Beat them hard!

If he/she dies, it's on me!

Thinking about this, Onoki felt less nauseous...

"Don't worry, old man, how could that guy possibly be a match for me?"

The blond-haired guy resumed his usual arrogant demeanor and said to Onoki in a nonchalant manner, "Having learned a forbidden technique that no one in Iwagakure has mastered for decades, I am very confident!"

After Onoki led the Cloud Ninja team onto the stage, the Fourth Raikage's entrance with a group of James figures instantly ignited the atmosphere. It must be said that in terms of visual impact, the sheer presence of the Cloud Ninja's group of James figures was unmatched; their sheer presence and imposing aura instantly electrified the entire arena. Seeing those muscular physiques, their arms thicker than an average person's thighs, some even appearing shirtless because their clothes were too small to contain their developed muscles, and their perfectly defined ten-pack abs, made the ladies in the audience go wild...

Pshaw! Having big muscles is useless; what matters most is core strength...

The male figures around the noblewoman suppressed their shock and choked on their sour words.

882. A blatant cover-up

Once everyone had arrived, Onoki wasted no time and immediately announced the start of the first exam.

"Wow! Onoki is shameless enough!"

As the saying goes, experts see the details, while laymen just watch the show. This kind of one-on-one fight at the level of chunin and genin is just a bunch of novices fighting each other for those jonin and above. Moreover, there are really not many genius teenagers in each village at this time. Even in Konoha, apart from Uchiha Itachi, there are a bunch of extras. It makes people drowsy. However, it's a different story for the noble lords who bought tickets to enter.

Although the ninja world is dangerous, they've spent decades living a life of luxury in their own territories. As long as they're not Kakuzu's target, surviving until the end of their lives isn't a problem. Their guards are usually just a bunch of lazy ninjas who've never seen ninja battles, especially those between chunin and genin. These battles are mostly taijutsu-based, with punches landing hard and slapping each other. The various 780-degree aerial spins and other impressive maneuvers get their blood pumping, and they even wish they could take off their yellow jackets and have a real-life PK with the people around them...

After fighting off sleepiness, Shinto watched the first ten rounds and realized that Onoki was getting more and more shameless as he got older. Under normal circumstances, it is normal for the host to do some underhanded tricks and blow the whistle unfairly. After all, anyone would do that. As long as it doesn't have too much of an impact, anyone would do it. If it were Sunagakure, they would also do some underhanded tricks.

However, Onoki's actions this time were far too blatant. In the previous dozen or so rounds of the draw, whenever someone from Konoha, Kumogakure, or Sunagakure participated, their opponent was always one of the other two villages. But when someone from Iwagakure participated, their opponents were either Kusagakure or Oni-gakure—nobody even came up with a match. They didn't even encounter anyone from Takigakure. Such obvious underhanded tactics didn't bother Shinto. He was just there to watch the show anyway, and the strongest of the kids he brought was only a regular Chunin. Let them compete if they want.

He didn't notice anything wrong with the other party's expression and remained as calm as ever. Actually, that made sense. The main force of Konoha was Uchiha Itachi, and the others were just there to make up the numbers. As long as Uchiha Itachi could hold his own in the second match and complete the big face task given by Sarutobi Hiruzen, or steal Patrick's thunder, the mission would be accomplished. The outcome of the other players was irrelevant to them. Moreover, even if they couldn't be promoted to Chunin now, they could be promoted after returning to the village.

Unlike Sunagakure, Konoha is not elite-oriented. Konoha has a large ninja population, so it's easy to become a Chunin. It's not just about taking the Chunin Exams; the Hokage can also promote you. As long as the Hokage thinks you've reached the Chunin level and completed enough missions, you can be promoted to Chunin at any time. So Konoha didn't react when they discovered Onoki's blatant little actions, since Itachi Uchiha hadn't even entered the fray yet.

On the other hand, the Fourth Raikage was quite different. When he discovered that Onoki was so blatantly betraying his own people and that his underlings were facing either Konoha ninjas or Sunagakure puppeteers, his face turned completely black. Although his underlings had won against both sides, it was all a Pyrrhic victory. They were either left with half a tube of blood or poisoned. Even if they were eventually cured, it would still affect their performance in the next exam. His only purpose in coming here was to humiliate Onoki. Before leaving, he had told his underlings to beat up any Iwa ninja brats they encountered. He would take responsibility if they died.

As a result, after more than ten rounds, his underlings didn't encounter a single Iwa ninja brat, but instead ran into Konoha and Sunagakure. He was just too lazy to use his brain because he had Azabu-headed strategist by his side before, but he wasn't brainless. He could see through Onoki's scheme.

The reason he hasn't made a fatal mistake is because their main slap in the face, Darui, hasn't appeared yet, and his emotions are still relatively stable. If Darui is also betrayed by Onoki, then he will really make a fatal mistake.

"Teacher, if this continues, we're really going to lose the whole first round..."

Mei Chuan, standing next to Shinto, also frowned. These kids weren't exactly their type. Although they weren't particularly talented, it depended on who they were compared to. If compared to the Cloud Village's James, they had to admit that the Cloud Village's fighting strength was indeed very strong at this stage. But compared to Konoha or Iwagakure, these kids were not to be underestimated, not to mention the brats from those small ninja villages. They could completely suppress them if they encountered them.

So, according to his expectations, although they were there to watch the excitement and participate, it was impossible for them to fail completely. After all, it was a matter of face for Sunagakure. He dared not say much, but at least one team would pass the Chunin Exams and be promoted to Chunin to return to the village in order to save face for them.

But with Onoki doing it this way, four of their people went up in the first dozen or so rounds, and they almost all encountered James from Kumogakure. Looking at those arms that were thicker than their waists, these kids had never seen such opponents before. They lost half the battle in terms of momentum before the fight even started, and they couldn't use their excellent skills. It's understandable that they lost. It would be better to encounter people from Konoha than to encounter these James.

But in this situation, Onoki is clearly targeting the three villages, especially Sunagakure. Konoha has the recently outstanding Uchiha Itachi, and Kumogakure has a Storm Release prodigy, so at least they can hold their own. But Sunagakure doesn't have such talent. The strongest among these kids is only Chunin level. If they lose the first match, Sunagakure will be utterly humiliated. Those smaller ninja villages have at least won one or two matches.

"...That old bastard Onoki is trying to embarrass me...I'll think of something."

Shinto stroked his chin, deep in thought. Umekawa Nai-i reminded him that he hadn't noticed this before. He had only planned to come and see how Onoki was being humiliated and hadn't thought about winning the championship. So when he learned that Onoki was pulling strings, he didn't think much of it. But if what Umekawa Nai-i said was true, if Onoki continued to play these tricks, Sunagakure would be one of the five great ninja villages. If their win rate was 0, not only would the village lose face, but he, Golden Lion, would also lose face.

Masato watched as a bunch of Iwagakure kids and a weak Grass Ninja kid fought it out on the sidelines, while Onoki sat there looking quite smug. In stark contrast, the Fourth Raikage next to him had a long, dark face the whole time.

In the topmost private room, the daimyo of several countries also had different expressions. The daimyo of the Land of Earth, like Onoki, was extremely proud and arrogant, looking down at everyone with his chest puffed out, as if he was afraid that others would not know that he was the head of the Land of Earth.

The daimyo of the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire looked as if they had eaten shit. The daimyo of the Land of Lightning was relatively calm, since the Cloud Ninja had won when they were on the field. The daimyo of the Land of Water also looked grim. Although the Hidden Mist Village did not participate this time, the relationship between the Land of Water and the Land of Earth had never been good. It was no wonder that he would look unhappy seeing such a smug daimyo from the Land of Earth.

883. Why can't someone who looks so handsome win a fight?

The remaining small country daimyo were just watching the show and didn't have much of an opinion. For them, the outcome of their village's battles was unimportant, since their strength was far weaker than the five great ninja villages. Losing was normal, and winning was a pleasant surprise.

The Naruto world is quite bizarre. Many small countries, in Shinto's opinion, have absolutely no need to establish ninja villages, because they are completely unnecessary. However, they still insist on establishing a ninja village as if a country would lose face if it didn't have one.

Take the Land of Grass, located in the middle of the three great ninja villages, for example. It is surrounded on three sides by Iwagakure, Konoha, and Sunagakure, leaving it with no room to survive. Yet, the Daimyo of the Land of Grass has to go to the three great ninja villages next door to issue missions and find people to escort him when he goes out to play. He still managed to create the Grass Village and even supported it by giving it money. The ninjas of the Grass Village are happy. The ninjas of other villages are self-sufficient, but the ninjas of the Grass Village do receive a salary. As long as they graduate from the Ninja Academy and become genin, they can immediately enjoy the benefits of five social insurances and one housing fund plus a fixed monthly salary.

For many years, the five great ninja villages have been embroiled in constant grudges and battles. However, the daimyo of each village have maintained a relatively good relationship. While they may not be particularly close, they often gather together to eat, drink, and have fun. Although they may occasionally dislike each other due to their village-to-village relationship, such as vying for girls or paying the bill, overall, no one is a mortal enemy of anyone else.

This relationship has continued for many years, even during the ninja village era. For example, the daimyo of the Land of Water and the daimyo of the Land of Earth dislike each other because of the relationship between their villages. So, because of Onoki's tricks, the Iwa ninja underlings easily advanced in this exam, and the daimyo of the Land of Earth was very pleased, while the daimyo of the Land of Water was quite unhappy.

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire were furious because the Sand Village's underlings and the Konoha Village's underlings had almost never won a fight. Seeing the Daimyo of the Land of Earth's arrogant and smug attitude, if they weren't on someone else's turf, the three of them would have already staged a scene of three furious men beating the fat man to death.

"I'm going to find Daming."

Watching the story unfold in the Daimyo's private room, Shinto's eyes lit up, a flash of inspiration struck him, and a somewhat immature idea popped into his head. After telling Umekawa Neiyi about it, he headed towards the Daimyo's private room.

The daimyo of the Land of Earth has changed hands twice. The idiot daimyo who was kidnapped by Shinto has been dead for over ten years. The previous daimyo of the Land of Earth had the luck but not the fate. He died less than two years after taking office due to excessive indulgence and was impregnated by a woman. Although a daimyo doesn't need to be talented and can just live a carefree life, with Jonin as bodyguards when he goes out, he must have a solid foundation.

This kind of eating, drinking and having fun requires a lot of energy. Generally speaking, although the profession of Daimyo may not seem as dangerous as being a ninja, the career is much shorter. Daimyo are ordinary people, and how could their bodies possibly withstand living in this state for a long time? In the more than forty years since Shinto debuted, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has changed three times. So although the life of a Daimyo is carefree, it is not something that ordinary people can do.

Hello everyone! Have you all eaten?

Shinto appeared in the private rooms of these daimyo, greeting them with a grin.

"Oh! Lord Golden Lion, are you here to join in the fun too?"

The daimyo of the Land of Wind, who had been looking constipated, brightened up when he saw his legendary ninja appear and asked excitedly.

Although his title was different from that of the Fire Country's daimyo, who was a true puppet, he still held a tiny bit of power in Sunagakure, but only a tiny bit. This man was a legendary ninja from the Land of Wind, the top star of Sunagakure for decades. Although he had never met him before, it didn't stop him from greeting him like an acquaintance.

"Haha, yes, this is the first large-scale event like this in decades. We were bored staying in the village, so we brought these children out to broaden their horizons... Hmm? The daimyo don't look too well. What happened? Lord Daimyo of the Land of Fire, are you... suffering from a cold?"

After giving a casual explanation, Masato pretended to be curious and pointed to a constipated daimyo from the Land of Fire, asking a question.

"Alas! It's all because of this exam. It's only the first exam, and everyone who went before us has lost. Lord Golden Lion, with your professional perspective, let's analyze this. Our Konoha people are all handsome and vigorous, with strong physiques, much more energetic than their opponents. How could they lose?"

The Fire Country Daimyo said with a rather sullen expression, "Our Konoha has been the victor in the three major wars over the past few decades. This has given his grandfather, his father, and myself a lot of face at these Daimyo gatherings. Moreover, Konoha is the overlord of the ninja world, so its strength is naturally the strongest. Originally, he wanted to show off in front of those Daimyo when the Chunin Alliance started this time. However, the fact that the strongest village sent its underlings lost more battles than won is worse than the record of Iwagakure, which has been beaten to a pulp by Konoha in recent years. It's really infuriating that the fat Earth Country Daimyo is showing off in front of him."

However, this wasn't what frustrated him the most. Although he had never been in a fight before, he knew that it was normal to win and lose in fights. Besides, it was just a small Chunin Exam, not a world war. Losing once or twice was nothing. What really frustrated him was that the young people of Konoha were all handsome and talented, yet they couldn't beat their opponents, and he didn't know why. This was what frustrated him.

Now that a legendary ninja has appeared, I quickly asked the experts for their opinions. Is it because the children in Konoha are not getting enough to eat or something? They can't even beat those dark-skinned, big Cloud Ninja who look like they've been doing hard labor since they were young.

"Yes, Lord Golden Lion, Konoha's are one thing, but I've heard that our Sunagakure puppeteers are extremely powerful. How come they've lost several matches in a row?"

After the daimyo of the Land of Fire finished asking, the daimyo of the Land of Wind echoed his question.

"...Hey! This is nothing yet, there's no need for you two to rush. As they say, the best things come to those at the bottom, and who knows what the outcome will be until the very end."

Hearing the ravenous words of the Fire Country's leader, Shinto barely suppressed the urge to punch them. He still couldn't understand the mindset of these effeminate men in red robes with powder on their faces. What was the connection between their good looks and their fighting ability? However, considering that he also had a somewhat immature idea, he didn't say it and could only comfort the two of them.

He was really annoyed by the daimyo of the Land of Fire. He had seen the previous generation of daimyo of the Land of Fire before. Although their values ​​were all weird, their aesthetic sense was still quite normal. But this generation of daimyo of the Land of Fire was really too damn different.

These daimyo were all people who paid attention to their appearance; it was clear that each of them had carefully dressed up that morning. While the other daimyo were relatively normal, though somewhat oddly shaped, at least they were recognizable as men, without a thick layer of powder on their faces. But this Fire Daimyo, with his appearance—if it weren't for his protruding belly and Adam's apple—just his attire and affected manner, holding a small fan and making disgustingly delicate hand gestures, made it impossible to tell he was male.

884. With a wave of his hand, he could instantly kill twenty dog ​​heads of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Huh? So Lord Golden Lion means that the final victor won't be us, Iwagakure?"

The triumphant daimyo of the Land of Earth couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He really didn't dare to speak when the Golden Lion first appeared. After all, this guy had a criminal record in their daimyo's mansion back then. Although he was young at the time, he still remembered that the Golden Lion had kidnapped his grandfather. This was the first person in history to kidnap a daimyo. He couldn't help but feel a little traumatized when he encountered such a guy.

So when the Golden Lion appeared, although he was smug, he didn't dare to say anything. In the era when his grandfather was kidnapped, communication technology was not advanced, and the news only spread in some small circles, making his grandfather unable to hold his head up in the Damei circle, but it was limited to the Damei circle.

With the rapid development of communication technology, news can spread throughout the ninja world in just one night. If he gets tied up by this guy again, his reign as daimyo will be over. Why did he fight so hard to take over after his father, the previous daimyo, died?

Isn't it all for the sake of enjoying life better? If the Land of Earth is disgraced, Onoki will definitely be the first to deal with him, and then he'll promote those newly-adult brothers to power.

However, the fact that his Iwagakure ninjas all advanced easily this time made him look good in front of the other daimyo, and he became arrogant. The facts were right in front of him. He didn't know about Onoki's tricks. Seeing that the Iwagakure ninjas were winning one after another, the daimyo's sixth sense told him that Iwagakure would definitely be the final victor. Now, hearing what Shiki said, he couldn't help but remain silent.

"Haha, that's hard to say... How about this, since you daimyo are all bored watching like this, why don't I be the bookmaker, and you daimyo can place your bets on which village you favor will be the final winner? Then we'll see who's right and whose judgment is good."

"What do you all think?"

"I suggest it with a grin," Masato suggested.

That old man Onoki's shrewd move was a slap in the face. The key point is that the kid he brought out this time was really too weak. Open warfare would definitely not win him back. It would be better to get some benefits from this Lord of the Land of Earth.

"Since Lord Golden Lion is so interested, let's play around. I'll bet two billion on our Sunagakure village."