I'm doing Jujutsu Kaisen in the ninja world.

"No way, I mean this is just too lucky."

"You're leaving Konoha today? Where are you going?"

"I haven't decided yet. What's wrong? Are you trying to trick me into going back to the Land of Water with you again? Give up. Kirigakure doesn't hold any appeal for me right now."

Am I not attractive either?

"Pfft... Please don't have such a serious face next time you're joking, it'll scare the kids."

"Okay, I'll try."

As he left, Shinji called out to his sons upstairs, "Sons, Dad's going out for a bit. I'll bring you oranges when I get back."

boom!

No sooner had he finished speaking than a crimson moon shattered the second-floor window and plunged into the ground beneath Shinji's feet—it was none other than Hidan's Bloodstained Three-Moon Scythe.

This was undoubtedly a warning from Hidan.

Shinji didn't pay any attention, shrugged, and left.

Then, as soon as the rope tightened, the bloody crescent scythe stuck in the ground was pulled back to the second floor with a whoosh.

Then I heard arguing coming from inside.

"Whoa! Are you trying to kill me, Hidan-senpai? Don't throw things around like that next time, what if you hit the flowers and plants?"

"Shut up! If you say another word, I'll rip your intestines out and use them in hot pot!"

"Ew~~~ So Hidan-senpai likes such strong flavors, huh? How annoying~"

"My mother..."

. . . . . .

"The way you greet each other... is quite unique," Hozuki Mangetsu chuckled.

"envious?"

"No, absolutely not! I swear to the Sage of Six Paths!" Hozuki Mangetsu said solemnly.

"Actually, this is a good option."

"No, let's forget it, thank you."

It's confirmed now, Hozuki Mangetsu has an idol image to maintain, remember to pass it on.

Soon, Mei Terumi and the others returned to the residence arranged for her by the Hokage.

A detached house, a huge villa, awesome!

Let me see how many of them are here to teach me basic literacy.

"Now you can talk about it, right? Why did the dignified Mizukage abandon his hometown and suddenly come to Konoha? Don't bother with jokes like 'I came here just to see me,' it's too tiring to explain."

Shinji didn't stand on ceremony. After sitting down, he saw a fruit platter and immediately picked up a watermelon and started eating it.

Mei Terumi was speechless. This guy always seemed to respect her as the Mizukage in words, but in reality, he didn't take her seriously at all. It was so infuriating!

However, since Qing's death, she has no one left to be close to.

Now Hozuki Mangetsu is her right-hand man. In addition, she has selected two other people to be trained in a focused manner: one is Ringo Ameyuri, and the other is Chojuro.

However, the only person who makes her feel relaxed and at ease in their interactions is this jerk in front of her, which is really frustrating.

"You've been in Konoha for so long, haven't you heard that the Hokage is going to lead a joint Chunin Exam?"

"What? The Chunin Exams?"

Shinji, who was munching on a watermelon, suddenly froze.

Although the timeframe does seem to be around this time, something doesn't seem right...

He remembered that during the joint Chunin Exams organized by Konoha, only the Kazekage brought people to support the event, and even then, they came with a conspiracy to dismantle Konoha.

None of the other major ninja villages gave him this face.

Now, judging from what Mei Terumi is saying, she actually made a special trip to Konoha for such a trivial 'trivial matter'?

Surely not...

It hasn't been long since Kirigakure was attacked by cursed spirits. At this critical moment, is it really a good idea for the Mizukage to leave the village with his people?

Unless there is some reason that forced Mei Terumi to come here.

"Tell me in detail what exactly happened."

Shinji became interested and stopped eating the watermelon, throwing it onto the table.

Mei Terumi didn't intend to hide anything from him, or rather, she wanted to hear his opinion.

It's actually quite simple. Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to use the joint Chunin Exams as a pretext to unite allies and fight against those cursed spirits that were growing too fast.

After the successive attacks on Kirigakure and Konoha, almost everyone could see that the Cursed Spirits were gradually showing signs of uniting together.

However, if all the cursed spirits were to unite together, but they were still fighting individually, they would likely be defeated one by one!

[Chapter 220. The Fourth Kazekage is an Ambitious Man (Bonus Chapter 7/10 for Alliance Leader Nangong Bingz!)]

It must be said that Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old man, had a very long-term vision and saw the weaknesses and drawbacks of the human side.

But the problem is that he was being too optimistic.

I always thought that after explaining the pros and cons, everyone would be able to put aside their past grievances and unite to fight against the cursed spirit.

When they tried to contact the major ninja villages, the Raikage and Tsuchikage refused outright!

These two were even watching the show with amusement, completely unaware that they might be the next victims after Kirigakure and Konoha.

Or rather, they all had confidence in themselves and their respective ninja villages, and were not afraid of the cursed spirits attacking them at all. If they dared to come, all the better, they would just kill them all and save themselves from running around aimlessly.

Therefore, Kumogakure and Iwagakure explicitly stated that they would not send anyone to participate in this so-called joint Chunin Exams, and they did not approve of it at all.

Unless the venue and organizers are handed over to them, there's no point in discussing it.

Both Kumogakure and Iwagakure mean the same thing. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to back down for the sake of the bigger picture, it would be useless. Just choosing between Kumogakure and Iwagakure is a huge problem. Not only would it offend the other one, but where would the face of Konoha's strongest ninja village be?

Fortunately, Sunagakure, which had almost given up hope, suddenly sent word that they were willing to cooperate with Konoha's plan, deepen their alliance, share resources, and fight against the Cursed Spirits together.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was overjoyed and then began his campaign against Kirigakure.

The solution is very simple and direct: write a letter to the Mizukage, saying that as long as he brings people this time, then our two families will be steadfast allies from now on, and that something like what happened last time (Danzo not putting in any effort) will never happen again. Moreover, after the joint Chunin Exams, we will send people to the Land of Water to help the Hidden Mist Village further eliminate the cursed spirits.

If Kirigakure encounters another emergency like a cursed spirit attack, they can immediately request assistance from Konoha, and Konoha will send reinforcements as quickly as possible.

In short, they painted a very, very big pie for Mei Terumi.

But Mei Terumi has no choice but to take advantage of this huge opportunity.

After all, Kirigakure is already severely damaged at this stage. If something like what happened last time happens again, Kirigakure will have to be removed from the list of the Five Great Ninja Villages immediately.

Therefore, the help extended by Konoha at this time is very important.

Even if it's highly likely that by the time Konoha's reinforcements reach the Land of Water, Kirigakure will already be finished, it's still a glimmer of hope, a reason to fight to the death.

So after explaining everything and bringing Yuanshi back to intimidate the villains, Mei Terumi reluctantly selected ten decent-looking genin from a group of genin and brought them to Konoha.

Moreover, as soon as she arrived in Konoha and settled her entourage, she rushed off to find someone.

After listening to Mei Terumi's account and the information she had gathered from various countries, Shinji immediately understood.

It turns out that Hiruzen Sarutobi had this kind of idea behind organizing this joint Chunin Exams.

No wonder the people from Kumogakure and Iwagakure rolled their eyes and were unwilling to come.

The arrival of these people signifies their recognition of Konoha's dominant position!

If a ninja alliance were to actually wage war against the cursed spirits, would it even be a question of who would lead them?

Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old man, is indeed shrewd. It's only been a short time, and he's already starting to plan ahead.

You should never underestimate anyone!

"Okay. I understand."

Shinji could understand Mei Terumi's choice and difficulties. If Kirigakure could still struggle a little more at this moment, she probably wouldn't have come.

But there was no other way; the bigger picture had to be prioritized.

After all, Konoha's promise this time is quite substantial and has a relatively high degree of credibility.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi doesn't want to create a mortal enemy for Konoha, he won't try to fool Kirigakure on this matter anymore.

Moreover, Konoha does indeed need more allies to deal with the potential crisis that may arise.

As the saying goes, even a broken ship has three nails to hold it together; at a critical moment, having an extra Kage-level powerhouse could be the final straw that decides the outcome.

"You understand, and then what? That's it? You're having it way too easy being a consultant."

This time it was Shinji's turn to be speechless. "So what else do you want? I'm just a figurehead consultant. You don't actually expect me to analyze anything for you, do you? No way!"

"Besides, the fact that you've brought people to Konoha now means you've already made a decision. As the relatively weaker party, there's nothing shameful about temporarily hiding behind the strong; in fact, it's a wise choice."

"Once you have bided your time and recuperated, you will have a chance to restore the reputation of Kirigakure. But that's a matter for the future. Right now, as the Mizukage, what you need to consider is how to lead everyone to survive."

Mei Terumi's expression immediately relaxed considerably, and she even smiled. "Isn't that a good point, my advisor?"

Shinji almost rolled his eyes. This woman was probably just looking for comfort.

"Since you think I've done a good job as an advisor, then I'll fulfill my duty and give you a reminder. But let me state upfront that I have no evidence whatsoever; it's just a guess. Believe it or not, it's up to you."

Upon hearing his sudden remark, Mei Terumi immediately became serious. "Go ahead and say it. I believe you."

Shinji smacked his lips twice, thinking to himself, "What's the use of you believing something I'm not even sure about myself?"

"Sunagakure's quick agreement with Konoha this time might not be a good thing. They might be plotting something in secret, waiting for the right opportunity to attack Konoha. If this really happens, you and your people will be the unpredictable X factor."

"I suspect that Sunagakure might use this opportunity to test your attitude in advance, to see if they can win you over. Of course, they might also be planning to bury you all together... In any case, you must be careful. That Fourth Kazekage is an absolute schemer. Do you think someone like him would obediently acknowledge Konoha as his leader?"

Mei Terumi was truly unsettled now.

It's just a joint Chunin Exam, why are they suddenly making such a big deal out of it?

"Are you serious? The Sand Village would really do this? Have they gone mad? Aren't they afraid of Konoha's retaliation?"

"Who knows? It's just my guess. Maybe Sunagakure has already come to terms with it, and everyone will be fine in the future."