Chapter 235: Simulating Karin, Target: Uzumaki Bloodline
Afterward, Uzuki Yūgao reported everything she had seen from her perspective to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"About that—Hayate has already submitted his report. I read it before you arrived."
"He ran into Baki, who was wandering around late at night, and wanted to use his Transparent Escape Technique to follow him and see what he was up to. As a result, the two had a conflict."
"By the time you and Makoto arrived, their conflict was already over."
Yūgao was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected Hayate to act so quickly. But on second thought, she felt ashamed. This was the speed an Anbu should have. Her own behavior of sleeping on it and only reporting to the Hokage the next day was already bordering on dereliction of duty.
Fortunately, her mission was a special one. And wasn't Hiruzen himself very happy about it?
"Then, Lord Hokage, am I allowed to know what Baki of the Sand Village was planning? His actions were against the rules, weren't they?"
"They were indeed. I will be meeting with the Kazekage today to lodge a diplomatic complaint."
Hiruzen was in a good mood; otherwise, he normally wouldn't answer this question. "However, there has always been scheming between the hidden villages. The fact that Baki didn't kill him already shows he was giving face to our alliance."
"You don't need to concern yourself with this matter any further. What you need to do now is to get used to the life of an ordinary person."
Yūgao nodded, choosing to trust the Hokage's judgment. If even he said he could handle the matter from yesterday, how could she not believe him?
"You are dismissed. I still have work to attend to."
After she left, Hiruzen picked up the Biography of the First Hokage from his desk, a smile of "being in complete control" on his lips.
He couldn't control Akiyama Makoto, but his "pillow-sharer" and his future children would be born in Konoha. In the end, wouldn't he still be a member of the village?
He might not be able to see that day, but the future Hokage would surely be grateful for his actions.
Thinking of the future, Hiruzen frowned slightly. He felt that Hayate's actions of rashly tracking Baki were indeed a bit strange.
He wrote a command and gave it to a subordinate, ordering them to have Danzō and Root investigate.
Half a day later, Danzō's handwritten reply arrived. On it were just three words: "All is normal."
Seeing this, Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief. If even Danzō said so, then it must be fine.
He then put on his hat, preparing to go and bicker with the Kazekage. This was the kind of thing he was best at these days.
On Makoto's end, after Yūgao's return, life went back to normal.
At Kurenai's and Anko's urging, she began to decorate her own room.
Afterward, she also formally met Tenten and the other girls, and apologized to them for her absurd behavior from the other day. Although they had been very angry, being apologized to by a Special Jōnin made them feel flattered, and they expressed their forgiveness.
After learning that she had also saved him and had been protecting him for a long time, their opinion of her changed.
In addition, her taijutsu and kenjutsu were excellent, and she was willing to actively spar with the girls. They quickly became familiar with each other.
He also had some free time and began to prepare for the next simulation.
Yesterday's events were proof enough: the intelligence he had gathered in the past was no longer accurate. The situation of the Chūnin Exams had likely already changed.
As for his simulation target this time, he no longer planned to strengthen anyone else, but was preparing to take Karin's bloodline first.
He had been coveting her talents for a long time. With them, he would no longer have to fear any hidden surveillance. At the same time, his physical fitness and chakra reserves would also be greatly increased. He would be able to display powerful combat strength in his base form without relying on the Yin Seal, which would also lay the foundation for learning Sage Mode in the future.
And after the simulation, he would respond to the changes in the Chūnin Exams based on what he saw, to ensure that the situation would not go off the rails and collapse.
Finally, he needed to clarify what he was going to do in this simulation.
First, naturally, was to safely get through the Chūnin Exams, ensure the end of Konoha's "old era," and at the same time, have himself and the people around him take the stage as the main force of the new era.
Second was to further explore methods of pursuing Tsunade, in order to get the "pass" to Shikkotsu Forest and the opportunity to learn its Sage Mode.
Finally, since he was simulating with Karin, he could also take this opportunity to study the sealing jutsu that the Uzumaki clan specialized in. He already had a decent level of skill in sealing jutsu, which was the experience and skill he had accumulated over many simulations. But he had not yet had the chance to master the Uzumaki's techniques, especially those that could seal Tailed Beasts, and the mysterious Reaper Death Seal. He was very curious about the "Shinigami."
He naturally had no intention of using the Reaper Death Seal, but he was quite curious about its secrets.
After sorting out his thoughts, on a deep and quiet night, he, in a rare moment alone, lay on his bed and prepared to start a new simulation.
[Simulation starting...]
[Remaining Simulation Attempts: 39]
[Simulation Target: Karin]
[Initial Relationship: You like each other.]
Thanks to the rapid increase in affection from Kurenai, Karin, and Yūgao, his simulation attempts were back up to 39.
However, he still did not intend to use too many of them, because his goal this time was clear and explicit. As for how many talents the other girls could give him, that would depend on their fate.
He did not start the simulation immediately, but first opened Karin's talent panel.
[Ninjutsu: 9, Taijutsu: 6, Genjutsu: 6, Intelligence: 8, Strength: 6, Speed: 6, Stamina: 10, Hand Seals: 8. Total: 59 points. Advanced Mind's Eye of Kagura, Advanced Physical Healing, Advanced Uzumaki Bloodline. Intermediate Earth, Water, Yang, and Yin Release Chakra Talents.]
Even though he had seen it once before, seeing it again still made him exclaim in admiration.
The three Advanced talents needed no further explanation. Their existence, in a sense, made them superior to other bloodline talents. For example, the Mind's Eye of Kagura was the superior version of chakra sensory ability.
With these talents, he could say that his own strength had definitely reached the Kage level.
Finally, there was her panel. Although from his perspective, most of it was unremarkable, the Stamina 10 attribute was enough to shock him!
One had to know, how many simulations had it taken for him to get a Genjutsu 10? And now, the second "10" attribute was waving at him.
And after reaching an attribute of 10, the "limit break" and "special simulation function" items would be unlocked. He was also very curious: what new mode would the simulator unlock after reaching Stamina 10?
At this thought, he rubbed his hands together and locked in all four: Stamina 10, Advanced Mind's Eye of Kagura, Advanced Physical Healing, and Advanced Uzumaki Bloodline!
With that, the simulation officially began.
[For the next month, you spend every day training with the girls. In your spare time, you write a little. In the dead of night, you send out your shadow clones to confirm the intelligence and movements of the Sound and Sand Villages.]
[You quickly confirm that the Konoha Crush plot will proceed. However, this time, it seems the Sound Village has dispatched more ninja, while the Sand Village is still being led by Rasa's main force.]
Seeing this, he thought, As expected.
In the previous simulation, although he had fought, this was the first time he had made Orochimaru suffer a major loss. Now, Orochimaru was clearly on alert and was going to use more power to crush any mysterious opponents that might exist in Konoha.
For Orochimaru, he could create the conditions to fight the Third Hokage one-on-one and kill him. But outside the barrier, he had to ensure that Rasa would not be defeated. Otherwise, this Konoha Crush plot would instead become an opportunity for Konoha to show off its military might.
[After a month of training, the strength of the girls around you has improved even further. Their True Spirit Seals and talent evolutions are beginning to show their power. But you know that in this Chūnin Exam, they probably won't have much of a chance to show off.]
[The day of the Chūnin Exam arrives. You come to the arena as an ordinary spectator to watch the matches. The first match is Sasuke vs. Kabuto. Just as you are anticipating whether Kabuto will expose himself, he directly chooses to surrender.]
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Sasuke was originally the main force against Gaara, and now he was up against Kabuto. The "battle for Orochimaru's affection" between Kabuto and Sasuke was interesting, but the current "Kabuto" was a fake. It would be a miracle if they could fight.
And although the results of the following matches were varied, they also failed to arouse his interest, because they were all "civil wars."
[The second match is Hinata vs. Kiba. Hinata wins. The third is Tenten vs. Shino. Tenten wins. The third... ah, the fated battle, Ino vs. Sakura. After fighting for half an hour, neither of their secret techniques or genjutsu can do anything to the other. In the end, both of them forfeit, resulting in a draw.]
[The final match, which everyone is waiting for, begins: Gaara of the Sand vs. Uzumaki Naruto of the Leaf. Many people feel there is no suspense in this match. Only the higher-ups on both sides know that this is a battle of Jinchūriki, and its significance is extraordinary.]
[At the start of the battle, Naruto tries to use Wind Style to break Gaara's defense, but it has no effect. He then tries to use shadow clones to attack the Shield of Sand, but his attack power is far inferior to Rock Lee's, and he is no match at all.]
[Gaara begins to get impatient and prepares to counterattack. Just as you think Naruto is out of options, he uses his Summoning Jutsu and summons Gamabunta. The arrogant Naruto stands on his head and declares his victory.]
[Gamabunta, realizing he has been summoned to participate in a Chūnin Exam, is furious. He pulls Naruto down, gives him a good scolding, and then prepares to return to Mount Myōboku. In his opinion, for him to participate is pure bullying, and it is meaningless for Naruto's growth.]
[But at this moment, Gaara is provoked, enters his "half-transformed" state, and begins to attack Gamabunta. His identity as the One-Tails Jinchūriki is exposed. The Hokage tells the Kazekage to stop his son and end the Chūnin Exam.]
[Rasa verbally agrees, but turns around and begins to attack the Konoha ninja in the stands. The Konoha Crush plot begins in this way. Hiruzen gives an order, and all of Konoha's combat forces are responsible for quickly evacuating all the feudal lords, nobles, and civilians. Only he, leading a few Anbu members, tries to tie down Rasa.]
[At this time, Orochimaru, disguised as an Anbu, drags Hiruzen into the Four Violet Flames Formation. He reanimates the First and Second Hokage and begins to fight. Rasa, because Guy and the others are busy evacuating civilians, works with Gaara to defeat Gamabunta, and then goes in for the kill on Naruto.]
[At the critical moment, Jiraiya arrives. He takes on both Rasa and Gaara at the same time, and the battle situation enters a stalemate. But at this time, Orochimaru's three-headed snake smashes through Konoha's wall. The armies of the Sound and Sand invade and begin an indiscriminate slaughter.]
Seeing this, he chose to pause.
He had known the Chūnin Exams would be chaotic, but he hadn't expected it to be this direct.
This had completely devolved into a chaotic brawl. If things went wrong, the losses would be even greater than in the original story.
In this situation, should he make a move?
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