Alone and Infinite

Page 272

It was fast, incredibly fast; first, the sand he had been holding in front of him was easily dispersed.

The shadowy figure grew larger and larger in front of him, finally stopping right in front of his nose.

Then a fierce gust of wind from the punch came whistling in, blowing his hair.

Even though it didn't actually hit him, Gaara felt a burning pain on his cheek.

"Gala!"

Temari and Kankuro then realized what was happening and rushed forward to grab Gaara.

Kankuro glanced at Li Xia with a mixture of wariness and fear before whispering:

"Gala, this is the examiner!"

Li Xia slowly withdrew his fist, confirming one thing: at this stage, Gaara's strength was at most that of a Special Jonin.

Before he reconciled with himself, he was simply using his power in a brutal way.

Absolute defense? Utterly vulnerable.

Rock Lee, freed from his weights, could outrun the sand, and he could do the same.

Furthermore, Rock Lee, who was learning the Konoha Gouken style of fighting, suffered a great loss due to the sand armor covering Gaara's body.

But against Li Xia, who has mastered the art of force, they are basically just punching bags.

The kind where they hang you up and beat you.

teacher!

Hinata wanted to jump out and say hello, but she noticed that the teacher's little dragon was waving its claws in her direction.

So they found out after all? Typical teacher!

"Alright, take the scroll and leave, or I'll eliminate you all."

After finishing the experiment, Li Xia waved his hand listlessly. Now, his mind was filled with thoughts of how to maximize his score when the real battle began.

Temari silently picked up the scroll, and without even glancing at it, stuffed it into her bosom.

He pulled Gaara, who was still staring at him, away from there.

"Heh, still not convinced?"

Aowu opened his mouth wide and yawned. Like Li Xia, his mind was full of thoughts about how awesome he would be after being resurrected.

"With his small frame, let alone summoning Shukaku, he would probably be killed in one hit."

Seeing the 1500 Hall Points credited to his account, it meant that the Hall had determined that if he hadn't come, these three people would have been doomed.

Li Xia stretched after happily earning 3,000 points.

"Get the job done!"

Inside the tower in the center of the Forest of Death, Yamanaka Inoichi, the captain of the Konoha Analysis Team and an elite Jonin, lowered the sensor on his head.

He frowned and said to his friend beside him:

"Shikaku, that Hyuga clan special Jonin you asked me to keep an eye on—"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Nara Shikaku put down the intelligence files in his hand, which were things that his friend Inoichi had secretly investigated and collected during this exam.

Upon hearing the news about 'Hyuga Natsu', Shikaku felt a jolt in his heart, thinking that his friend had discovered something.

"They're quite responsible!"

Haiyi paused deliberately, and seeing that Shikaku was indeed very concerned, he laughed and explained:

"He did a good job, saving six genin. There have been no casualties in the Chunin Exams so far, thanks to him."

"Is that so?"

Shikaku breathed a sigh of relief, muttered a few words, and picked up the intelligence report again, seemingly intending to simply ignore the matter.

On the contrary, Inoichi suddenly became interested, since the Yamanaka family, the Nara family, and the Akimichi family had been allies for generations.

The two were close friends, so there was no taboo about asking them questions.

"Shikaku, is there something wrong with this Hinata Natsu? Why are you going to all this trouble to keep an eye on him, and now I have to watch over him too?"

"Actually, no."

His resume is simple: he carried out an S-level mission in the shadows, and the mission evaluation was quite excellent.

This is only his second shift, and he seems to be doing a good job. He's a reliable and excellent ninja.

After pondering for a while, Shikaku still gave a very objective evaluation:

"Furthermore, I have inquired with people in Konoha who had contact with him, and the merchants all spoke highly of him, describing him as a kind and generous person."

I like food, I like music, and I also like "Intimate Paradise."

Haiyi listened quietly, knowing that his friend must have some special reason for paying so much attention to a ninja.

"But."

Shikaku's face was somewhat gloomy, and his hands unconsciously tightened, crumpling the paper intelligence in his hands.

"I've been feeling really unwell lately. I keep feeling like something big is going to happen, and it's getting stronger and stronger."

Inoichi's expression also turned serious. Shikaku was Konoha's strategist and was hailed as the most intelligent person in Konoha.

He sensed something was wrong, most likely because his brilliant mind was reminding him of something, and he had overlooked something.

But the subconscious mind is aware of it.

"But the village is currently peaceful. I have checked intelligence from other countries, and they are all quite peaceful as well."

There was at least no large-scale mobilization of resources.

There were only two things in the village that were different from usual.

Shikaku extended his finger:

1. This suddenly appearing Hyuga clan special Jonin

2. Chunin Exams!

Haiyi suddenly realized: "No wonder you value him and the Chunin Exams so much, now I understand!"

He reached out and picked up the sensory helmet, then put it on his head.

"In that case, let me see what's causing my friend such unease!"

Shikaku looked at the energetic Inoichi and couldn't help but chuckle.

He put down the intelligence report in his hand, looked at the sky outside the window, and strangely, his anxiety calmed down.

"It's best if nothing goes wrong."

Something really did go wrong.

A confident smile appeared on Shikaku's face.

As long as the other four major powers don't attack Konoha

Then he was confident that he could work with his friends to eliminate it!

"Attack Konoha! We must attack!"

A man slammed his fist on the table in a fit of emotion, while his companion waved warily and moved closer to the window.

The persistent fog lingered outside.

His companion, relieved, then angrily rebuked him:

"Keep your voice down!"

The apostle, who had been reprimanded, hurriedly nodded and leaned forward, saying in a distressed tone:

"Captain, I'm just in a hurry. We've already besieged Konoha, and the other four countries have already done it. Aren't the rewards incredibly generous?"

This apostle is named Zhen, a member of the third-tier squad, Bronze Star.

Under their captain's planning, the Bronze Star Squad had a good start in the first round of main missions, and their status as Chunin from Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village) placed them in the top ten.

But the second round of main quests left them dumbfounded.

Attacking Konoha? A great war encompassing the four nations of wind, fire, lightning, and earth has somehow fallen into the hands of the land of water?

Even the Temple of Light explicitly stated that they could go to the battlefield and participate in the war on their own.

But if that's the case, wouldn't all the advantages that the Land of Water has painstakingly accumulated be lost?

Twenty-odd days is neither a long nor a short time; it's enough for them to influence a certain number of NPC forces.

Zhen stared at the captain who remained silent, his emotions growing more and more agitated. The reward pool contained a skill he had long coveted.

If we can't get it, who knows how much effort we'll have to put in to acquire it.

"Captain, let's attack Konoha directly! We can't stay in this damned Land of Water for even a day longer."

Look at the tasks they've given us.

He cried out in anguish, “Find the murderer who wiped out the village? Bah! Where the hell am I supposed to find the murderer who wiped out the village?”

"This garbage-filled water country only wiped out a small village, so why are they searching the whole world like mad dogs for a murderer who hasn't even left a trace?"

"Shut up!"

A few embers flickered on the captain's fingertips, and the dark red cigarette butt lit up briefly before dimming again.

The wisps of smoke rise straight upwards, but when they reach a certain height, they take on a peculiar spiral shape.

"call"

The captain exhaled a puff of smoke, his face appearing and disappearing in the white smoke.

"We definitely have to go to this chaotic battle in Konoha, but we can't give up our advantage from the first round."

We have already established a good relationship with the Chunin class of Kirigakure.

Giving up this advantage will only yield a small victory in Konoha's offensive; there's little chance of taking the lion's share!

All the team members stood up and turned their gazes to their captain.

A fierce aura burst forth with the captain's words.

"So, my idea is that Kirigakure isn't looking for that damn murderer, is it?"

Now that damn murderer has been found, no matter who did it.