Chapter 334: War

“Why did we all lose in the first round, and Shiosui, you became a Chunin while Midori didn’t?” Inuzuka Midori noticed Nara Shiosui’s chunin vest during special training.

“There are a bit of reasons from all aspects,” Nara Shiosui thought for a moment and said tactfully.

He couldn’t exactly say, ‘Inuzuka Midori, your strength isn’t outstanding, and you didn’t show any combat intelligence, did you?’

In fact, Nara Shiosui felt that he became a Chunin with a bit of luck.

This Chunin Exams was much more difficult than before. Candidates like Obito and Kisame, who fell in the Four Finals, would have easily dominated a regular Chunin Exams.

If Nara Shiosui had encountered any of the Four Finals contestants, he felt he might not have been able to become a Chunin.

Because in front of them, Nara Shiosui’s strength was too weak. With such a vast difference in strength, even strong combat intelligence would be useless; he’d be instantly defeated with a single kick or a single blade. After all, in the Chunin Exams, he couldn’t set up traps beforehand.

“Midori will definitely become a Chunin in a few months. The special training has made Midori stronger.” Inuzuka Midori looked at her other teammate, Aburame Nao, hoping he would work hard with her to prepare for the next Chunin Exams.

The Chunin Exams are held twice a year. Of course, the next Chunin Exams wouldn’t be co-hosted by two Villages, nor would officials or wealthy merchants be invited.

Aburame Nao’s expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded calmly.

Inuzuka Midori grinned. Aburame Nao wasn’t good at expressing emotions, so a nod meant he agreed.

Not only Nara Shiosui, but Asuma, wearing a chunin vest, also stood out among the Genin and Ninja Academy students.

Since the special training was only for Genin and Ninja Academy students, Nara Shiosui and Asuma were the only two Chunin.

As the only two Chunin, and with Asuma’s decent performance in the Chunin Exams, some more outgoing students would approach Asuma for advice.

“Big Brother Asuma, you’re really amazing! You actually learned two Nature Release Ninjutsu. Among all those candidates, besides the first place Kakashi Hatake, it was only you, right?” Kotetsu Hagane said with a look of admiration.

Before, he only had Ebisu as a good Big Brother, but now he decided to increase the number of good Big Brothers.

“Two Nature Release abilities are useless; I still lost to Obito’s Fire Release,” Asuma’s expression was a bit downcast.

Losing that Combination Ninjutsu to Obito’s Fire Release did make him a bit uncomfortable. Two Ninjutsu couldn’t beat Obito’s single-attribute Ninjutsu.

“Big Brother Asuma, don’t panic. If you continue to improve and use Combination Ninjutsu with three or four Nature Release abilities, can he really block them with just one Nature Release?” Izumo Kamizuki immediately analyzed.

Asuma had to admit that Izumo Kamizuki made sense, but how to master so many Nature Release abilities was a problem. Simultaneously training multiple Nature Transformation was not easy.

“Actually, it’s not necessary. We have a Ninjutsu here that defeated the strongest taijutsu Ninja in Konoha. If Big Brother Asuma learns it, I can’t say you’ll definitely win against Obito, but your chances of winning will increase significantly,” Izumo Kamizuki thought of a good idea.

“Oh, a Ninjutsu that defeated Konoha’s strongest taijutsu Ninja? What type of Ninjutsu?” Asuma immediately became interested.

Putting aside everything else, the title of defeating Konoha’s strongest taijutsu user was very impressive.

“It’s…” Izumo Kamizuki was about to say something when he realized that the break time was over, and it was time to resume training.

“Everyone, continue training,” Muzuki’s voice reached all the students.

“We’ll tell Big Brother Asuma the details tomorrow,” Izumo Kamizuki stood up and said.

This was already the last training session of the afternoon; soon, it would be time to go home and eat.

“Big Brother Asuma, this Ninjutsu will definitely surprise you!” Kotetsu Hagane said with a confident smile, then walked back to the C group’s training area with Izumo Kamizuki.

“Then I’ll look forward to it,” Asuma replied with a smile.

In truth, he didn’t really expect Kotetsu Hagane and the others to know any particularly powerful Ninjutsu. It wasn’t that he looked down on them, but truly powerful Ninjutsu were very difficult to learn and had certain requirements for the learner. Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were still too young.

For example, when Asuma was in Fourth Grade, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to teach him Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet and Vortex, Asuma couldn’t learn them due to insufficient Chakra and an inadequate level of Nature Transformation.

However, since they were his little fans and spoke so nicely, Asuma was happy to cooperate with them.

Asuma then began training his Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation. Currently, he still primarily focused on Wind Release, only switching to Fire Release when he encountered difficulties with Wind Release.

After training for a while, seeing Kurenai Yuhi still practicing, sweating profusely, Asuma walked over to her and said, “Kurenai, why don’t you take a short break? Too much fatigue might affect your training efficiency.”

Asuma had seen Kurenai Yuhi training during the previous break and she hadn’t stopped until now.

Hearing Asuma’s words, Kurenai Yuhi stopped, standing in place and panting heavily. If it affected training efficiency, that would indeed be quite troublesome.

“Have you encountered any problems recently? I feel like you’re pushing yourself too hard in your training, Kurenai,” Asuma asked with concern.

Being diligent in training was a good thing, but Asuma felt that Kurenai Yuhi was being overly diligent now, so he was a bit worried.

“Because I don’t want to be left too far behind by you all,” Kurenai Yuhi looked into Asuma’s eyes and said seriously.

During the special training last year, she was suppressed by Shisui, a First Grade student. However, Shisui was truly an exception among exceptions, and Kurenai Yuhi could accept that in her heart.

The performance of Obito and the others in the Chunin Exams had shocked Kurenai Yuhi too much.

Neither Obito nor Might Guy were strangers to Kurenai Yuhi; they were both friends with decent relationships.

During the last special training, although Obito’s strength had already surpassed theirs, the gap wasn’t significant. This time was different; in this Chunin Exams, Obito and the others displayed overwhelming strength.

Kurenai Yuhi felt that she couldn’t last a single move against them. Their strength made Kurenai Yuhi wonder how they could have become so strong within a year.

Not only Obito and his group, but even Asuma’s progress made Kurenai Yuhi feel somewhat unfamiliar.

Unbeknownst to her, Asuma’s Wind Release had surpassed his Fire Release, and he could even use Wind and Fire Combination Ninjutsu.

Asuma immediately empathized when Kurenai Yuhi said this. In Kurenai Yuhi’s eyes, Obito and the others were perplexing strong, and it was much the same for Asuma.

“Kurenai, I understand you. Let’s work hard together in our training,” Asuma nodded and said.

“Of course, you also need to pay attention to moderation,” Asuma reminded after speaking.

Asuma, already a Chunin, was working so hard, and the surrounding students were inspired, with the entire Training Ground exuding an aura of dedication.

Aside from adding some teaching programs, Muzuki basically followed the model of the previous special training: an exam every two weeks to test students’ learning outcomes, followed by scoring and ranking.

Undoubtedly, Asuma was currently the strongest Ninja in the special training. Nara Shiosui, also a Chunin, was no match for him in a one-on-one fight, so Asuma firmly secured first place in Group A for the first exam.

In Group B, Gekkō Hayate became increasingly prominent as the special training progressed. However, Gekkō Hayate’s first place wasn’t very stable; it depended on his condition. In Muzuki’s opinion, the strength gap between Gekkō Hayate and the second-place student in Group B was very small.

In Group C, Anko actually performed well this time. Although she didn’t get first place, she took second, which was quite strong for a Second Grade student, defeating a number of Fourth Grade students.

Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane’s performance was also quite good for Second Grade students, but it was only mediocre among all the students. They were significantly weaker than Anko. Muzuki’s class as a whole performed better than the Third Grade students.

In the evening, Muzuki returned to his home in the Konoha Main City Area. Not long after, Minato Namikaze knocked on the door and entered Muzuki’s house.

“Sorry, I’ll have to trouble you again to look after Kushina, Muzuki,” Minato Namikaze said to Muzuki with a hint of embarrassment.

For Minato Namikaze, no matter how good their relationship was, he would still feel bad about bothering others.

“Hmm, if I’m in Konoha, I can’t do without Kushina’s cooking,” Muzuki agreed directly without asking for the reason.

Listening to Muzuki’s words, Minato Namikaze showed a gentle smile and voluntarily explained:

“Kumogakure has dispatched more Ninja to assault the border in the Land of Hot Springs, so I need to lead some Ninja to provide support.”

This wasn’t a highly classified matter, so telling Muzuki was fine. He was openly supporting the front lines, not carrying out some secret mission.

“I see. Will Obito and the others also go to the battlefield with you then?” Muzuki thought for a moment and asked.

This was no small matter. If they went to the Land of Hot Springs for a major battle, then Muzuki, far away in Konoha, wouldn’t be able to know what Obito and the others might encounter.

The unexpected events during the Chunin Exams gave Muzuki a premonition that Uchiha Madara might act earlier because Obito’s growth rate was much faster than in the original story.

Minato Namikaze shook his head and replied, “This time, I received an S-Rank war mission. This is too dangerous for Obito and the others. It just so happens that they can now take on missions themselves, so I don’t plan to bring them along.”

If it were an A-Rank Mission, Minato Namikaze might still consider bringing Obito and the others, but S-Rank was too dangerous, especially since it was a war mission.

“I’ll also have to trouble you with Obito’s training. I’m not a very qualified teacher,” Minato Namikaze said with a wry smile.

He felt that he could do too little for Obito and the others, and now he had to leave them behind to carry out a mission.

“Don’t say that. Even they acknowledge you. Why deny yourself? The Village’s missions are unavoidable,” Muzuki said gently with a comforting smile.

Minato adjusted his mood, thanked Muzuki again, and then took the food to find Kushina.

Leaving Konoha, the person he worried about most was still Kushina.

Just as Muzuki felt the war was intensifying, a few days later, he received information from Tsunade that Jiraiya had returned to the Land of Grass battlefield.

Perhaps due to learning about Kumogakure’s large-scale invasion, Iwagakure also tried to reinforce its troops to continue pressuring Konoha.

The situation on the continent was very chaotic now. Iwagakure, Konoha, and Kumogakure were at war. Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Konoha, and Iwagakure were at war. The four great nations of the continent were embroiled in a chaotic struggle. Only the Land of Water, an island nation, had not yet joined in.

Although the great Ninja Villages were waging war, they were not fighting on their home territories. They were basically fighting in nearby smaller countries. Even the Land of Wind, after recovering, had driven Kumogakure into the Land of Rivers, which forced the smaller countries to be drawn into the conflict and participate in the war.

“Will Hidden Mist attack Konoha early? Or will they remain unchanged?” Muzuki thought of the only great nation that hadn’t participated in the war.

Due to the butterfly effect, the plot had changed, and he was a bit unsure if Hidden Mist would still follow its original course of action.

Although Konoha didn’t demand too much compensation from Hidden Mist for the unexpected events during this Chunin Exams, appearing to prioritize peace and profit, Muzuki didn’t think Hidden Mist would therefore refrain from waging war against Konoha.

Hidden Mist waging war against Konoha was inevitable because Konoha had won too much before, always maintaining the strongest posture. The strongest would be feared by everyone, and now that there was an opportunity to weaken them, they naturally wouldn’t let it pass.

Although Hidden Mist was unwilling to be the first challenger, they would certainly have the courage to join in the fun once two countries were already at war.

The Chunin Exams allowed the Hidden Mist Ninja to witness the strength of Konoha’s younger generation. Muzuki believed that Hidden Mist might develop a sense of crisis because of this and attack Konoha earlier.

Uchiha Madara was also a key consideration for Muzuki. Since Uchiha Madara could control a Mist Village Jonin, he might have controlled other Hidden Mist Ninja as well, pushing Hidden Mist to participate in the war.

The more chaotic the Ninja World became, the more it benefited the elderly Uchiha Madara, making it easier for him to act. If Uchiha Madara wanted to make a move on Obito earlier, he would definitely push Hidden Mist and Konoha to war.

This was one of the reasons why Muzuki had been so low-key before. He didn’t want the plot to change too much because of him, as this would increase the difficulty of protecting his disciples.

For example, he knew that Obito would meet his demise in the Kannabi Bridge Battle. If the plot remained unchanged, he would only need to go along to easily save Obito. If the plot changed, then Uchiha Madara might not necessarily choose the Kannabi Bridge mission to make his move.

Even though Muzuki had been very careful, changes eventually occurred.

The incident in the Death Forest was definitely Uchiha Madara’s doing. Although Hidden Mist had not yet made a move, Muzuki would prepare for the worst.

However, even if Muzuki were to choose again, he would still act in much the same way, because he couldn’t possibly stop helping Obito improve his strength just because the plot might change; that would be cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.

The enemy is hidden, we are in the open. What Muzuki could do now was to enhance his own strength and that of his disciples as much as possible.

Logically, after the extremely arduous special training during the Chunin Exams, they should have rested for a period. But for the safety of his disciples, Muzuki prepared a brand new hellish training regimen for them.

“Good morning, Shisui. How did you know I became a Chunin?” On the way to train in the South Border Forest, Obito met Shisui and greeted him happily.

Shisui:… “Hehe, Muzuki-sensei, good morning.” After arriving at the South Border Forest, Obito grinned and greeted Muzuki.

Although he didn’t get first place, becoming a Chunin put Obito in a very good mood.

“Hmm, good morning,” Muzuki replied with a gentle smile.

For some reason, even though Muzuki’s smile was warm, Obito suddenly felt a bad premonition, feeling that something unpleasant was about to happen.

After several days of hard work, the outline for the next part of the story is finally complete. There will be more updates in the coming days.