The points of light that diffuse from the sky are delicate snowflakes that are constantly falling.

Compared with the beginning of the month, the temperature has risen, but the snowflakes falling on people's faces will still make people feel a clear coolness.

There are not many people on the streets, but many shops still open early, and shopkeepers and waiters start clearing snow in front of the door, sweeping the road surface to prevent small children who often pass by in front of the door from accidentally falling.

It was a peaceful and peaceful scene.

A pair of cloudy but very powerful eyes saw these new atmospheres in the village from the window of the office, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a kind smile.

The old man stood by the window, dressed in the Hokage's robes, and his spirit was much more energetic than before.

Although his face still has the tiredness left over from work, his eyes reveal a light called hope.

Seeing such a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere in the village, Hitoshi, who is the Hokage, also feels that all this is so hard-won at the moment.

Three years ago, the international situation was extremely tense, the Fire Country was mired in the war of the Land of Rain, and the Land of Oni and the Land of Thunder were pressing forward step by step, causing the Land of Fire and Konoha to back down on the talks of the Land of Rain to avoid the outbreak of the Great Ninja War.

If the Great Ninja War breaks out at that time, Konoha will not get the opportunity for peaceful development in these three years of recuperation, and the current peace will no longer exist and be destroyed by the war.

And now Konoha has been given a three-year opportunity for peaceful development, and with the strong support of the Daimyo, the military power has expanded again, and there are more than 10,000 ninjas who can participate in the war at any time. The number of shinobi will also increase a lot compared to three years ago. Now even in the face of the difficulties of the country of ghosts, Konoha has the confidence to respond to the other party strongly.

This is not only the Hokage's own credit, but also the countless ninjas who have worked hard and made progress together for the development of the village, allowing Hinashi to see the bright future of the village's revitalization.

This also made Hichiki feel that it was a wise choice to give up a momentary honor at the meeting in the Land of Rain three years ago.

If the Fire Nation and Konoha continue to cling to their past glory, then these three years will not be spent peacefully.

Not to mention the persecution of the country of ghosts, the country of thunder will not give up.

And giving up the act of glory, the country of ghosts is difficult to support alone, it is difficult to unite with other countries to force the country of fire, and the country of thunder is not as deliberately targeting Konoha as in the past, although the estrangement is there, but no one will be bored to mention the past that makes both parties feel embarrassed.

Coupled with the alliance with the Wind Country, the Ghost Country no longer acts excessively in dealing with international sensitive matters, but is much more low-key.

But Hizai knew that the country of ghosts had only temporarily died down and began to recuperate.

Especially after purchasing a batch of new weapons developed by the Oni Country last year, the Oni Country has increased in the heart of the Japanese slash.

Although Konoha has gradually begun to emulate the country of ghosts, focusing on the development of the military industry, and focusing on combining with the abilities of ninjas to form a scientific ninja system in the new era, even if it is imitation, it also requires strong capital.

Konoha is highly developed in biological and medical sciences, which does not mean that it is possible to develop a good military-industrial system.

Not only is there a lack of matching equipment and equipment, but also a lack of corresponding industrial talents.

Even though the daimyo also expressed his support in this regard and approved a large amount of development funds, the lack of relevant equipment and talents made it difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, and these difficulties could not be solved smoothly by throwing money at them.

But the problem of the shortcomings of the industrial system must be addressed.

It is necessary to completely get rid of the disadvantages of relying on the industrial weapons of the country of ghosts.

Once dependency is formed, it means that Konoha and the Fire Country will forever be subordinated to the Oni Country.

Not only the country of ghosts, but also the country of thunder has begun to improve its own industrial system, although the industrialization is far inferior to the country of ghosts, but it can already develop weapons on its own, and the situation is better than that of the country of fire.

In the final analysis, it is the lack of industrial talents that causes the Fire Country and Konoha to lag far behind the Oni Country in this regard.

How to cultivate and expand these talents has become a problem that must be solved.

In addition to this, there is also the arrangement of the five generations of Hokage.

Although his spirit and spirit have been very good recently, Ri Slash knows that his physical ability has begun to decline seriously, far less than at his peak.

Just as Hizai was thinking about these questions, there was a knock on the door, which brought Hizai back from his thoughts.

A middle-aged man wearing a ninja forehead guard walked in.

It is a staff member of the Konoha Information and Communications Department.

Hizaki asked the staff member of the Ministry of Communications, "Did something happen?" ”

The middle-aged man held a scroll in his hand and said, "Hokage-sama, this is a letter sent from the Land of Demons, please take a look." ”

After saying that, he put it on his desk and turned to leave.

Hizai sat back at his desk and picked up the scroll left behind by the staff of the Ministry of Communications, his eyes filled with doubt.

But the doubt didn't last long, spreading out the scroll and scanning the contents.

When he finished reading, he immediately fell into deep thought.

It is written on the scroll that the Oni no Kuni intends to unite with the rest of the countries to hold this year's Zhongnin Exam together. To put it simply, it is to let the ninjas of many countries take the joint middle ninja exam, and show each other the strength of the new generation of each country. Because it is not only the ninjas who own the ninja village that are invited, but also the daimyos, high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen of many countries will appear as spectators.

The ninja power of the new generation means the future of the military power of each country.

If any of the new generation of ninja village achieves good results on this stage, it will also be an excellent opportunity for ninja village and the country to promote national strength.

Ninja villages, which rely on mission rewards to maintain their development, need this kind of stage to promote their ninja strength.

Moreover, this is also a great time to test the strength of the ninjas in the land of ghosts.

After thinking about the meaning behind this, he put his finger on the table and tapped it gently, thinking carefully.

I didn't think about it for too long, and I made a decision in my heart.

◎

In the woods, where the snow had not yet melted, a neutral voice sounded:

"Fire Escape: Hao Fireball Technique!"

Searing fireballs erupted from their mouths and sped along the snow-covered ground.

The passing snow melted in the flames, and the fireballs swooped down on the enemy.

Looking at the scorching fireball coming towards him, Kakashi didn't panic, but moved his feet naturally, easily avoiding the fireball attack.

However, when he shifted his steps, a fist shadow hit him in a blind corner that he couldn't see.

Kakashi stretched out his arm, spread his five fingers, and easily clenched the fist that the opponent had hit.

Seemingly aware that with this method, it was impossible to cause Kakashi any trouble, and Sasuke began to break free of Kakashi's palm with force, and his body retreated backwards, ready to adjust the offensive line.

As a result, as he retreated, Kakashi's figure suddenly disappeared from his eyes.

Sasuke's heart tightened, and as before, he didn't see the trajectory of movement. But soon there was a soft sound from behind him, which Kakashi sent for Sasuke to hear.

Sasuke snorted coldly, turned around and swung his fist, and the dense thunder light converged on his arm, and the speed was amazing.

Sasuke, who has mastered the changes in the nature of the two chakra attributes, not only can use the fire escape ninjutsu, although the time to master the changes in the nature of the thunder attribute is not very long, but it can still be done in actual combat.

The power of Lei Dun lies in his thrust and speed.

After attaching the chakra of the thunder attribute, the physical ability will also get a certain increase.

Seeing that Sasuke was able to use the second attribute change of the escape technique, Kakashi's face was also slightly surprised.

For Shangnin, it is not difficult to master the changes in the nature of chakra with two different attributes, but it can be said to be a basic skill.

But for students who didn't graduate from ninja school, it's even more difficult.

Even many middle ninjas have a hard time mastering the changes in the nature of the two chakra attributes.

However, even so, it is still too tender.

If he hadn't deliberately slowed down his shots, he could have ended the fight in an instant.

His current purpose is just to feed Sasuke with moves, increase Sasuke's combat experience, and make his abilities more than just theoretical.

Actual combat is the most important part that ninjas need to master.

Kakashi didn't block with his moves, but continued to leave the distance with Sasuke, flying out several shuriken from his hand, hindering Sasuke's movements, constantly squeezing Sasuke's physical strength, and keeping his body in a state of being on the verge of limit.

Doing so will help Sasuke break through his physical limits.

Seeing that his attack had missed, Sasuke was not discouraged, dodging the shuriken that Kakashi flew at him, and stood aside breathlessly.

Compared to Kakashi, who only needs to dodge and block, he not only has to think about how to attack, but he has all performed ninjutsu, illusions, and physical arts, and his physical strength is naturally consumed quickly.

But even so, with all the means at his disposal, he still couldn't touch the corners of Kakashi's clothes.

Is there such a big gap with the upper ninja? Sasuke was a little skeptical about whether he was the head student of the ninja school after all.

Obviously, in the past few years, he felt that his strength had obviously risen rapidly, but the more this was the case, the more he could appreciate Kakashi's unfathomable strength.

Although it's an uncle who likes to read H books and magazines, and is usually lazy, his strength is really not boasting.

Think about it, a character who can be the head of the dark department, even if he doesn't look very serious, his strength is definitely real.

"Looks like that's the end of it, I'm sorry you didn't touch the corner of my clothes today. It seems that the gap between you and Itachi is still very large. ”

Kakashi saw that Sasuke was exhausted and said this, not intentionally to provoke Sasuke, but to tell the truth.

"It's just touching the corner of my clothes, and I'll be able to do it soon."

Sasuke took a deep breath and looked at Kakashi calmly.

Touching the corner of his clothes, it was Kakashi's graduation project.

On the contrary, if he can't even touch the corners of the other party's clothes, he will always be an unqualified 'student' here in Kakashi.

After all, Kakashi has suppressed his strength to a very low level.

If he can't even do this, he probably won't be able to forgive himself for his incompetence at that time.

If this continues, how can we take revenge on the sinners who exterminated the clan and revitalize the future of the clan?

So, hearing the name 'Itachi' from Kakashi's mouth, Sasuke was also very calm.

Three or four years ago, once I heard this name, it was absolutely impossible for me to remain in such a calm state.

"Oh, it seems that the agitation method doesn't work very well."

Seeing the clear and bright look in Sasuke's eyes, Kakashi's eyes also showed a look of approval.

Although he couldn't let Sasuke control his emotions perfectly, at least he wouldn't fall into the distraction of revenge at every turn.

This is not good for the ninja's practice.

In this world, most ninja cultivation is step-by-step, and the growth of strength cannot be achieved overnight.

If you blindly immerse yourself in the whirlpool of hatred, not only will your personality become extreme, but it will also make people blind and lose their original calmness.

This state of affairs is very detrimental to future revenge actions.

“……”

Sasuke looked at Kakashi speechlessly.

This kind of agitation method has been used for three or four years, even if it is very effective at first, but after all these years of day and night cultivation, he has long been accustomed to Kakashi's agitation.

Unless it's Itachi himself who appears directly in front of him, it could put him in a state of loss of control.

But using the ferret to verbally provoke him was of little use to him.

Although in order to do this, he suffered hundreds of nights before he could barely break free from the nightmare of extermination.

From this point of view, he was very grateful to Kakashi, and also to the Hokage, asking Kakashi to teach him.

If it weren't for these two people, he would still be struggling in the whirlpool of hatred, wasting time.

Relying on one's own shallow cognition to explore and practice, it is just sitting in a well and watching the sky.

Hokage-sama is a kind old man. Sasuke's heart was filled with the warmth of being cared for.

However, as his strength grew, new doubts naturally arose in his heart.

A clansman like himself who has not even awakened to the Wheel Eye has been able to surpass most of the regular ninja when he has not graduated.

Then, when they grow up, there are not many clansmen who have the eyes of the three-hook jade writing wheel in the clan, but there should be a lot of them.

No matter how strong one person is, can it really destroy the entire clan with the power of one person?

Reminiscent of Itachi once said that if he could also open the Kaleidoscope Writing Wheel Eye, it would be four people.

Four people?

Kaleidoscope writing wheel eye?

Thinking of this, Sasuke lowered his head, and an extremely rare haze appeared in his eyes.

Perhaps, the Uchiha extermination incident is not as simple as he imagined.

In this extermination turmoil, there must still be some secrets that I accidentally missed.

Because the more he grows, the more Sasuke can feel the strength of the Uchiha clan, how strong it is.

Such a wealthy ninja clan is by no means a behemoth that Itachi can solve alone.

On the night of the Weasel Extermination, there must have been accomplices.

Itachiha's traitor is probably not just Itachi.

"What's wrong, suddenly putting on a serious face?"

Noticing that Sasuke's state seemed to be something unusual, Kakashi asked suspiciously.

"It's nothing, just thinking of something that I missed before, and I'll fix it myself."

Although he is grateful for Kakashi, Sasuke does not want to involve unrelated people in his revenge operation.

Moreover, it is not my own desire to complete revenge in the hands of others.

The affairs of the Uchiha clan need to be solved by the person who inherits this surname after all.

"Really? So, that's all for today, I still have things to attend to. As for the graduation exams in March, it should be fine, right? ”

Kakashi asked this question before leaving.

"That kind of graduation exam is like child's play."

Sasuke told the truth.

What is usually taught in ninja schools is something that can no longer be basic in the basics.

For example, the basic body technique, the basic illusion technique, and the basic three-body technique.

Therefore, no matter how the graduation exam is conducted, it cannot be separated from these.

For Sasuke, this kind of graduation exam is like playing with a child, it is not worth mentioning, and when the time comes, you can go through the formalities and pass the customs smoothly.

Compared to the graduation exam, his next goal is to master the second chakra attribute nature change as soon as possible, that is, the Thunder Escape Ninjutsu.

He has been coveting the series of arcane ninjutsu such as Chidori and Rachel that Kakashi spontaneously created.

If he eats all those mysteries, Sasuke can be sure that his strength will be improved by leaps and bounds.

His foundation had been polished strong enough, and all he lacked was the accumulation of experience and the cultivation methods of a higher stage.

That's what he's learned from Kakashi as well.

It is not advisable to become stronger quickly, which will put a lot of load on the body. Kakashi also seems to have complained about cultivating too hard when he was a child, and now he suddenly began to have back pain.

However, Sasuke believes more than the reason of overcultivation when he was a child, and Kakashi is because he has read too many pornographic books, which causes his backache now.

Masked sullen man.

"It's good if you have faith. Then you can practice alone, and I'll come back in a few days. ”

Kakashi nodded and disappeared from Sasuke's face.

Sasuke didn't care about Kakashi's departure and began to practice alone in the woods.

◎

In the conference room, there are five figures.

They are the Hokage Ape Flying Sun Slash, the leader of the Roots, Shimura Danzo, the two advisors Zhuan Koharu and Mito Menyan, and the head of the upper ninja squad Nara Shikaku.

Due to the invitation of the Oni Country to hold the joint Zhongnin Examination, they gathered together to discuss the matter.

"Joint Zhongnin Exam? What do the rest of the village think about this? ”

Koharu, who has no opinion, hopes to learn from the rest of the village.

Although the joint ninja exam has been held in the past, it was with Konoha as the main field, and this time the country of ghosts took the lead in speaking out, obviously intending to take this opportunity to expand its international influence.

So she was hesitant about it.

"I don't know yet, but I guess the rest of the villages are also discussing this matter now. In the past few years, the comprehensive power of the Oni Country has been in a stage of rapid rise, and even Konoha can't ignore this. According to my speculation, it is estimated that there are not a few villages that agree to the joint middle ninja test. ”

Hizai groaned for a moment and spoke.

It's a given.

There is no possibility of refusal in the small country ninja village, whether it is out of fear or wanting to please the country of ghosts, they have to symbolically send the shinobi to take the middle ninja exam.

And this is a trend.

There is nothing to be ashamed of following the trend and acting.

"If you take this opportunity to test the strength of the new generation of ninjas in the country of ghosts, I think this joint ninja exam is a good opportunity."

Mito Menyan proposed.

He tends to participate in the joint shinobi exam.

For a long time, the country of ghosts has adopted a closed middle ninja exam, and the outside world has always only had a vague concept of the strength of the new generation in the country of ghosts.

But none of the ninja villages dared to underestimate it.

The oni country, which gathers the Uchiha, Hinata, and the Uzumaki clan, is difficult to accurately estimate even if they are the strength of its new generation.

"As the Elder said, I also think this is a good opportunity to test the potential of the Oni Nation. If you give up, it will be very difficult to find such an opportunity next time. Speaking of the new generation, I don't think we're bad in Konoha either. This year, there will be a lot of quality students who will graduate from the ninja school. ”

Lu Jiu also spoke on the side.

Then, he swept his gaze to Danzang.

Compared to Koharu, who was still hesitating, Danzo, as the leader of the roots, his decision was more weighty.

And Tuan Zang also quickly gave his own answer: "You can participate, but you don't have to rely on the country of ghosts." Send someone to consult with them. ”

"What do you mean?"

Hizai considers the intentions in Danzo's words.

"Since it's a joint Zhongnin exam, isn't it too unreasonable to arrange all the competition venues in the country of ghosts? Therefore, I suggest that the different stages of the exam be arranged in different locations, and the country of ghosts is only one of the stops, and it cannot cover all the exam venues. ”

In this way, we can not only test the strength of the new generation of the Oni Country, but also smash the Oni Country's plan to further expand its international influence.

"Will the Oni Nation agree?"

Koharu has doubts about this.

"If you don't agree, then you will join forces with Sha Yin to refuse, and you will not participate in the joint Zhongnin exam held by the Ghost Country."

Danzang is confident about this.

The relationship between Konoha and Shagakure is in a good state of alliance, and as long as he explains the reasons with Shagakure, he will definitely choose to support Konoha's decision.

Once Konoha and Sand Hide make a choice, the conservative Iwakuin will inevitably make a careful choice, and the possibility of refusal will become greater.

As for Yun Yin and Wu Yin, the attitude is not yet clear.

But there are three of the six major powers, and the country of ghosts will probably not really ignore the plan proposed by Konoha, and will definitely make a new decision after internal discussions.

Tuan Zang's proposal made the eyes of Hizai and others shine.

This is indeed a viable scenario.

Since the country of demons wants to use this to expand its international influence, as a great power ninja, they can also transform from being invited to one of the organizers and increase their prestige.

The power of the country of ghosts is not yet able to cover the sky with one hand, so it is necessary to seriously consider the suggestions put forward by the other powers.

"The joint shinobi exam held by the country of ghosts is scheduled for mid-September this year, and even the lower ninja who just graduated this year can have about half a year of growth time. If the other party agrees with our Konoha proposal, then according to the time set by the country of ghosts, let the lower shinobi in the village take the joint middle ninja exam in mid-September. If it is not true, then we will hold our own Zhongnin exam in early July this year. ”

The final word is down.

"Negotiate with the country of ghosts for the joint ninja exam, and leave it to me to deal with it."

Lu Jiu volunteered.

For Lu Jiu's enthusiasm, Hiza nodded and agreed to let Lu Jiu be responsible for handling this matter.

He believed in Shikaku's ability and would not let himself down.

Anyway, this time is different from the past, and Konoha, who has the full support of the Daimyo, has gradually increased its military strength, and can pull up tens of thousands of fighting ninjas at any time, which is the most powerful confidence of the Japanese slash.

The spy in the shadows, after Kakashi's investigation, has also undergone some purging, and everything is developing in Konoha's favor.

If the Oni Country tries to threaten and intimidate the Fire Country like it did three years ago, it will only end up shooting itself in the foot.

Thinking of this, Richo's mood is much more relieved.