Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

Due to the body's self-preservation mechanism, ninjas usually faint before using up their last bit of chakra.

However, if a few individuals with strong wills insist on using this chakra... death will be their only fate.

“Even so…” Mei Terumi used the last of her chakra to stand up again.

But just as she was about to run away, the guards appeared in front of her.

This is a masked man carrying a large knife.

The moment the man appeared, Mei Terumi's pupils contracted.

Because she recognized the person in front of her—Momochi Zabuza! This man, known as the "Demon," had no emotions.

"This is the end." The young Zabuza Momochi gripped his guillotine tightly with both hands.

From the moment Zabuza Momochi appeared, Mei Terumi knew she was no match for him.

Her situation is just too bad right now.

Even so, she had to keep fighting... Mei Terumi picked up a piece of broken steel from the ground and held it in her hand.

Her body had reached its limit, and so had her spirit, but her resolve was still holding her up... Kirigakure, I can't fall here! If I fall here, then all the blood of my ancestors will have been shed in vain!

...No one knows about the changes within the mist.

Meanwhile, in Konoha, the research ninja Hiruko, also began her final sprint.

As Hiruko had anticipated, under the near-frantic urging of the Daimyo of the Land of Water, the Mizukage Yagura finally agreed to participate in the war.

As for why the daimyo of the Land of Water was willing to break the previous agreement and force Yagura to come, it was of course thanks to the lords of those small countries who had been bribed by Hiruko.

Although the king of the Sea Kingdom was a little unhappy, he still helped.

After all, when a person dies, they are gone, but money is real.

Even if we were to turn against each other, this shouldn't be the time.

During this period, the daimyo of the Land of Water really had enough of all sorts of sarcastic remarks from the internet age.

Admittedly, for a ruler, especially a ruler of a great power, the ability to manipulate others is an essential skill for a daimyo, but...

"Huh? You guys lost again? No way, no way, no way? You Kirigakure don't even have a single person who can fight?"

"...What does it mean to lose?"

"It's just that the Mizukage is busy and doesn't have time to deal with these juniors! As long as the Mizukage launches an attack, everything will be fine!" "Ah, right, right, if I were Kirigakure, I would definitely fight like that."

After all, as long as I pretend to be dead and refuse to leave the game, no one can ever beat me.

The rulers of small countries wouldn't be foolish enough to say such things themselves, but as rulers, they could still bring certain unspeakable words directly to the ears of the ruler of the Water Kingdom.

Thanks to the propaganda campaign launched by the scientific ninja Hiruko, all viewers gradually came to regard the ninja village as their own country.

The powerful figures themselves are very concerned about their reputation; who could tolerate such humiliation?

—Although many things weren't said explicitly, the implication was that the national football team was being insulted to the level of a county team. Who could tolerate that? The daimyo of the Land of Water, who felt he had lost face in front of the other four daimyo, simply couldn't stand it.

So he disregarded everything and sent Yagura with his team.

Just as Hiruko had expected, Obito readily gave up when presented with such a good opportunity to cause trouble.

The only thing that surprised Hiruko was the choice of who would follow Yagura.

The people Yagura brought this time were not experts from his own faction, but experts from other factions.

Because this participation in the battle was so politically correct, even experts from other factions couldn't refuse.

For a time, a strange situation arose where the Mizukage faction was defending the village—shouldn't they have brought all their own people to bolster their strength? What was Obito trying to do? Was he trying to create a big scandal while the conservatives were away? Hiruko, the research ninja, couldn't figure it out.

But... whatever.

After all, the weaker the Hidden Mist becomes, the easier his negotiations with Mei Terumi will be.

...Mei Terumi always harbored a secret within herself, and was even willing to sacrifice her own personal happiness for it.

This is indeed not a good thing to do, but if Konoha wants to gain the greatest benefit, some methods are indeed needed.

This world is always so cruel; to be gentle is a right reserved for the strong... that is far too much of a luxury.

Having not slept for almost a week, Hiru drank plain water and looked at the various intelligence reports in his hands with great enthusiasm.

As a research ninja, he deeply understands the importance of information. This intelligence was collected by him through various means and carefully analyzed and organized.

At this moment, he did not use any ninjutsu or external drugs, but his mental state was frighteningly good—Hiruko knew that he had entered the final stage of exhaustion.

When people are tired, they are always like this: at first they are very tired and just want to lie down and sleep.

However, after getting through this difficult period, people will become energetic again, and may even find it hard to fall asleep.

This situation is definitely not a good thing.

Thanks to the endless, tedious battles, Hiruko, the research ninja, was all too familiar with this situation.

Hiruko, a renowned scientific research ninja of Konoha, has extensive experience in such unrestricted warfare.

Based on his unique understanding gained from scientific research, he knew very well that he would definitely faint on the tenth day under continuous high-intensity combat and mental stress.

This is a self-protective mechanism that his body developed after long-term extreme consumption. Even though he is skilled in illusion magic, he cannot maintain his condition by using illusion magic.

"However, I don't need to hold on until that stage... The battle with Yagura and Obito will begin this afternoon... Success or failure will depend on this battle," Hiruko muttered to herself.

If given a choice, Hiruko would not want to push himself to such a physical limit.

The opportunity to connect was right in front of him. This was a crucial chance for him to apply his years of scientific research results to the development of the village and realize his grand strategic vision. He had no choice but to take the risk.

He certainly knew that resting at this time was the best option.

However, Konoha's current situation is quite special... Even psychologically, the people of Konoha are not prepared to kill their king.

Although at this time, with the changes of the times and the development of the ninja village, many people began to feel that without the daimyo, their lives might be better, and they would no longer have to suffer from the daimyo's many complicated orders and exploitation.

But after so many years of tradition, they still don't dare to do it.

They didn't do that in the first generation, and they're not too keen on being the first to do it now.

This requires further ideological liberation and further economic development... Where is there so much time to give them now? Helplessly, the only option is for Beiliuhu to separate them and deploy them one by one.

Apart from Hiruko, the Konoha ninjas had no idea what their Kage was planning to do.

Some experienced mid-level ninjas realized that the jutsu Konoha had set up in the arena was problematic.

These veteran ninjas, with their rich combat experience and keen perception of ninjutsu, discovered that the techniques contained a special energy fluctuation that was completely different from the techniques usually used for defense or support.

But they quickly found a reason to convince themselves – after all, so many people would be watching the game, it was normal to be a little serious.

Surely no one would be so relaxed just because they're holding a competition in their own backyard, taking no precautions, or even having their own leader kidnapped.

The military genes of Konoha came in handy at this time. Even without understanding, the ninjas still carried out all the orders given by Hiruko.

When Hiruko activates the technique, not only high-ranking officials and nobles, but even Obito won't be able to escape.

This technique was meticulously developed by Hiruko by combining scientific research findings with ninjutsu theory. It integrates the principles of spatial sealing and energy binding. Once activated, it forms an invisible cage that firmly traps the target.

"In that case, there shouldn't be anything left out..." This was originally one of Hiruko's backup plans, not something he started thinking about on the spur of the moment.

During his research, he simulated and analyzed all possible combat scenarios. This backup plan underwent countless simulations and optimizations, and in practice, it had no major flaws.

"The key next step is to lure Obito out..." Hiruko thought to himself.

As the Mizukage, Yagura's strength goes without saying.

His strength is already solid, and he is a perfect Jinchūriki. Even if his overall strength is not as good as Killer Bee's, he would still be very troublesome in a real fight.

Unfortunately, Yagura is currently under control and cannot unleash the power of himself or the tailed beast.

Moreover, as a master of illusion, Hiruko knew many ways to break illusions.

However, dispelling the illusion from the beginning was not the best option for him.

After all, it would have been too easy for Obito to escape. He possessed Kamui, a powerful space-time ninjutsu that allowed him to instantly teleport.

To achieve the best results, he should fight Yagura for a while, preferably kill a few nobles, and make the situation worse... Hiruko kept thinking about the next battle strategy in his mind until Jiraiya knocked on the door.

"Makoto, that's about enough." Hiruko had been having a very difficult time lately, and Jiraiya hadn't been doing much better.

However, compared to the physical torture inflicted on him, the mental torture was far more severe.

Under Hiruko's guidance, he went out and, relying on his connections and strength accumulated over the years, pulled Minato's soul out of the Grim Reaper's belly.

What he was about to do was to have Minato kill his disciple... This was undoubtedly a tragedy.

As people get older, their personalities do tend to soften.

If Obito hadn't killed Minato, the entire Hidden Leaf Village would have had a better future.

Given Minato's personality, as long as Obito doesn't go astray, he could at least become an elder, and it's not entirely impossible for him to compete for the Hokage position...

“…I understand.” Hiruko stood up.

“Teacher, you can leave if you don’t want to… This operation is dangerous, as you know.”

"What nonsense are you talking about? It's better for us old guys to die than for those young people to go and die, right?" Jiraiya felt very sad, but even he couldn't forgive Obito for what he had done.

He didn't want his fellow disciples to fight each other, but if it really came down to it, he wouldn't hold back—Konoha was slowly approaching happiness, and that was their reason for fighting! No matter who stood in his way, he wouldn't be afraid!

Chapter 447

"Hmm... I'll go then, please keep a close eye on me." Jiraiya didn't say anything, but simply gave Hiruko a strong hug.

Hiruko bid farewell to Jiraiya and, surrounded by his guards, headed towards the arena.

For a ninja, the arena is practically within reach; they can get there in a single step.

However, Hiruko did not skip over directly this time, but walked out of the Hokage Building step by step and headed towards the arena.

Along the way, there were crowds of people discussing the imperial examination.

The imperial examination was already highly valued, and after the example of Akai, it has become a key to popularity in this era.

If you don't know anything about the Imperial Examination, you really won't be able to join in other people's conversations.

Now that the Hokage has joined the battle, it has naturally become the most important topic of conversation on the streets—in any case, under Shikaku's control, during the Imperial Trial, people have completely regarded Konoha and the Land of Fire as synonyms.

The success or failure of the Hokage was directly regarded by everyone as the success or failure of the Land of Fire.

Naturally, he received countless greetings and even encouragement along the way.