Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

[Chapter 338 A Childish Conspiracy and the Jonin's Test]

Konoha Village.

A hotel called 'Chitose-ya'.

"Squeak!"

Hearing the door open, the young man who was bent over writing at the table looked up and saw a man with reddish-brown temples walk in. He asked, "Benten, how is it? What did that old man Dunbei say? When is Tsuchigumo Hotaru going back to Katsuragi Mountain?"

"Boss, Dunbei refused my request."

"He refused? What? Did he see through your identity?"

No, that's not it.

"why?"

The young man with short purple hair and dark eyes frowned.

"Dunbei said that Hotaru-san's master does not allow her to return to Katsuragi Mountain now. He said that even if Hotaru, who is only a genin, returned to Katsuragi Mountain, it would be meaningless. He said that she would be allowed to return to Katsuragi Mountain only when Hotaru becomes a jonin."

As he spoke, the man named Benten kept swallowing, trying to control his fear.

after all,

Hotaru Tsuchigumo's master was none other than the Sixth Hokage!

He didn't want to think about the consequences of what they were doing being exposed. He was afraid that if he thought too much, he wouldn't have the courage to go out anymore, and then Boss Bailang would personally deal with him.

Damn it!

In this situation

To his surprise, the Sixth Hokage refused to release her. Did he really consider that blonde girl his disciple? He had originally thought that the Sixth Hokage would take Tsuchigumo Hotaru as his disciple for the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden technique. However, after En no Gyoja was killed by Kazuma and the forbidden technique, Rage Ten, was taken away, he thought that Tsuchigumo Hotaru was no longer useful as a disciple and would probably be nothing more than a worthless nobody in Konoha.

But now it seems,

His assumptions seem to have gone slightly astray.

The young man stood up and paced back and forth in the room.

"Boss, how about we think of another way..." Benten tried to suggest another plan.

Unfortunately—

The young man could not accept this outcome.

"What other way is there? The secret method of how to collect the forbidden technique, 'Wrath of Heaven,' is only known to the Yizhi Xingzhe lineage. Although that old man Yizhi Xingzhe is dead, with his abilities, he must have left behind something. We have already searched Katsuragi Mountain and found nothing. That thing must be on Tsuchigumo Hotaru."

"But this is Konoha, boss. If we make a move here, I'm afraid..."

"Then let's wait until Hotaru Tsuchigumo leaves Konoha."

Ideally, they should wait until Hotaru Tsuchigumo returns to Mount Katsuragi before making their move. However, since that's not feasible, they might as well settle for second best. Making a move within Konoha would be easily discovered. The young man isn't arrogant enough to think he can single-handedly contend with Konoha. But once he obtains the forbidden technique, Rage of Heaven, things might change. Dominating the ninja world isn't out of the question!

Cough,

Putting aside his ambition for the moment, the young man pondered carefully, "According to the intelligence I've gathered, Hotaru Tsuchigumo will soon leave the Ninja Academy and become a full-fledged ninja. And according to Konoha's rules, genin are mostly on missions; they don't get to sit in offices."

"As long as we wait for Hotaru Tsuchigumo to leave Konoha, we can seize the opportunity to make our move, get what we need, and leave. Even Konoha won't be able to do anything to us. Once we retrieve the forbidden technique from that scoundrel Kazuma, what will Konoha be?"

Benten scratched his head.

This issue,

Is it really that simple?

However... as long as we don't take action in Konoha, there shouldn't be any problems, right?

In the corner of the room,

Neither of them noticed a small, jet-black mouse crouching motionless in the shadows. Only the listening devices they carried were functioning properly, transmitting every word of the conversation in the room to a hidden room not far from Chitose-ya.

The masked secret agents didn't rush out to capture the conspirators on the ground.

Instead, he recorded what he overheard on paper, and the completed document was quickly placed on Zongxian's desk.

"They figured out their identities? So these people aren't the real Tsuchigumo?" Zongxian flipped through the documents from beginning to end and laughed. "Interesting! Impersonating the Tsuchigumo clan to scam people, these guys have some nerve!"

After talking with Ying

Zongxian then ordered his secret service to investigate.

They wondered if the Tsuchigumo clan had encountered some difficulties recently, and that was why they were asking the Hokage for help in this roundabout way. As a result, the Anbu followed the clues and found the man named Benten and his companions, only to discover that their movements were somewhat suspicious.

then,

And that's how Zongxian came to have the report he was presented with.

"Do you need me to go there?"

On the sofa in the reception area, Zhishui put down the teacup in his hand.

"No need."

Zongxian quickly rejected Shisui's suggestion, "A bunch of petty thieves, there's no need for you, the head of the Dark Guard, to personally handle this. This matter... is not urgent. Have your subordinates keep an eye on those guys and investigate their identities first. Send someone to Katsuragi Mountain. Even if they are not the real envoys of the Tsuchigumo clan, they should still have some connection with the Tsuchigumo clan."

"Are you planning to use them as trials for your disciples?"

"It depends."

Zongxian gave a vague answer.

"We'll see how it goes."

He repeated it.

Perhaps he was being paranoid, but this matter... might not be unrelated to that guy Obito Uchiha. When Hiruko launched his attack, Yakumo, Naruto, and the others were attacked. Kazuma, that elusive rat, attacked a group of teenagers.

Unfortunately, they initially doubted Yakumo and his group's abilities.

Later, reinforcements led by Uchiha Arashiyama arrived, and Kazuma ultimately failed to succeed. However, having learned from the previous experience, they had to be cautious.

Zhi Shui didn't waste any more words. Since Zong Xian already knew what was going on, he was too lazy to worry about it. After all, Zong Xian was Zong Xian's disciple, and it was Zong Xian's responsibility to take care of him. He had many other things to do! Besides... Zong Xian seemed to have gotten stronger again.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A conspiracy was brewing in the darkness, while the naive and bewildered girls were being tested in the sunlight. Being familiar with the instructor ninja did not bring them any preferential treatment. Rather, it was precisely because they were familiar with him that the girls all looked distressed, including the most composed Yakumo, who could not even muster a smile.

Looking at the beautiful, familiar face before me,

It felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on my heart, making it hard to breathe.

Not long after Iruka left the classroom, one after another, the instructor ninjas arrived and took their respective students away. Uchiha Chihaya, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Inahisa, Yuhi Kurenai, and many others made their appearances.

The three members of Team One followed Uchiha Chihaya out of the Ninja Academy, turned a corner, and arrived at a training ground not far from the Ninja Academy. Whether they had been notified in advance or it was just a coincidence that no one was there, the training ground was empty before the four of them arrived.

"I suppose we can skip the self-introduction part."

Uchiha Chihaya stood in front of the girls and said coldly, "You should know what kind of personality I have, so... let's not waste any more words. Let me see how well you've trained in the past two years. If you don't satisfy me, I will send you back to the Ninja Academy without hesitation. This is a condition that the Hokage promised me when he appointed me to instruct you."

"So, let's attack with all our might!"

"If you're not planning to attack, then I'm coming over!"

An intense killing intent was released without any attempt to conceal it.

Although it didn't contain any real killing intent, the murderous aura that was fed on by an astonishing number of dead people would frighten an ordinary genin to death. However, the girls were not ordinary genin. Having personally participated in Hiruko's attack on Konoha, they were not the kind of inexperienced newbies who had never seen anything like it.

At most, his face was a little pale.

But that didn't stop them from taking action.

"Fujihana, Hotaru."

Yakumo called out.

Although there were no specific instructions, the inseparable girls already understood what they were supposed to do.

Very simple,

It's just a battle.

Nonsense is meaningless in front of Uchiha Chihaya. This is a lesson they learned after being beaten up dozens of times in the past. If you want to be beaten less and less, then stop talking and just start fighting with your knife and fists. The longer you drag it out, the worse you will be beaten in the end.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique!"

"Words Bound by the Wind".

The cooperation between Teng Hua and Ying was almost seamless. With the wind fueling the fire, they launched a near-perfect offensive. The flames that were originally only the size of a palm were transformed into the size of a human head by the help of the gale, with nearly twenty flames covering a considerable area of ​​attack.

Such an attack is not weak.

Even ordinary ninja might not be able to withstand it.

However, their current opponent is Uchiha Chihaya, who is considered one of the top ninjas even among Jonin. Moreover... don't forget that she also has the surname Uchiha. Playing with fire jutsu in front of her is still a bit immature. She drew the famous sword [Kusanagi Sword: Vacuum Blade] from her waist and slashed down.

The airflow was stirred up by the sharp blade.

Gusts of fierce wind howled, and the raging gale blew away all the fireballs that came near it to the left and right.

"The teamwork is much better than before!"

"but--"

As Uchiha Chizuru spoke, she swung her famous sword once more, the wind blades extending from the tip sweeping towards the girls, narrowly missing them. It sliced ​​through strands of hair but didn't harm them in the slightest.

"Not enough!"

The words were spoken with resounding force.

Chihaya Uchiha looked at the girls with considerable disappointment. "With your abilities, if you had a different instructor, passing the exam to become a true genin wouldn't be a problem. But unfortunately, I won't make an exception for you. You're not compatible..."

"Don't jump to conclusions so quickly, okay, Chihaya-sensei?"

"Although I've been learning taijutsu and swordsmanship from you before, I've never shown off our family's bloodline limit in front of you, but... without even activating the Sharingan, Chihaya-sensei, aren't you underestimating the bloodline limit of the Kurama clan too much?"

Yakumo's voice reached Uchiha Chihaya's ears.

But the problem was... Kurama Yakumo's face was slightly pale, seemingly stunned by her sword strike, and he didn't utter a word.

"Illusion?"

Uchiha Chihaya was stunned.

Her eyes turned crimson in an instant, and then she noticed the sound of the wind in her ears, the temperature on her skin, and the cherry blossom scent lingering at the tip of her nose. Everything was so real. "Domination of the five senses?" she murmured. This was truly the first time she had ever seen such a realistic illusion. Her senses of hearing, smell, touch, and taste were all unable to accurately gather information at this moment.

Only in the final, faint vision can one vaguely discern that blurry reality.