Chapter 299. Sudden Change
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"Boss! Your meal has been delivered. Is there anything else you need?"
"Huh? Duy, what are you doing here?"
"Didn't you send me to the Konoha Express Center a while back to give the team some training?" Might Duy, dressed in the signature tight green suit reserved only for the God of Delivery, scratched his head a bit awkwardly, then gave a thumbs-up.
"Everyone trained really hard! And since there wasn't anything urgent afterward, I was planning to return to the village. But then..." he said cheerfully, "Kumogakure needed extra manpower for the big competition and invited me to come train their delivery team, so I thought about it—and decided to come! Oh, and I already submitted the request to headquarters."
"???"
Yuto was momentarily stunned and turned to look at Suzune.
And then—
Suzune nodded and said, "I asked you at the time. You thought this event in Kumogakure might be related to the Yuto Group, so you agreed."
"Now I remember."
Sending professionals for training, huh~
Yuto nodded in realization. Back then, not only the delivery department but several other departments had sent people over.
Looking back at Might Duy, he said with some emotion, "Thank you for your hard work! How's it going over here?"
Honestly—
Duy-san was the epitome of hard work!
Wherever help was needed, that's where he went!
"Not hard at all! Everyone's full of enthusiasm!" Duy gave another thumbs-up, his pearly white teeth gleaming as he grinned. "And I've gotten to see so many interesting things." As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and sighed deeply.
"A while ago, while delivering a package near the border of the Land of Earth, I came across a family of over a hundred living cramped in a damp underground cave. I couldn't believe people in the Ninja World were still suffering like that—worse than how Guy and I had it back in the day. I was so shocked at first. I need to work even harder!" He bent forward seriously. "Thank you, boss!"
"…"
Underground cave?
Could it be...
Yuto couldn't shake a strange feeling.
But he didn't think too much of it.
Seeing that Might Duy was here brought a lot of peace of mind.
It's safe!
With a setup like this… who'd be dumb enough to start a war here?
That would be suicide!
Unless… it was Sage of Six Paths Madara descending~
"Since that's the case, later we can all—"
Before he could finish—
Suddenly—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of loud explosions erupted from a distant mountain ridge, followed by thick clouds of dust.
The audience, who had been cheering excitedly for the race, all froze.
And then—
"Look! I think they're in danger!"
Someone shouted.
Everyone immediately looked toward the big screen—and sure enough… the camera feeds that had been tracking the race were now filled with nothing but dust. No people, no cars. Only the faint sounds of crashes… and screams.
What happened?!
Could it be something planned by Kumogakure?
Everyone's gaze instantly shifted toward the high platform where the bare-chested Fourth Raikage stood.
However—
"Enemy attack!"
Something clearly unexpected had occurred.
The Fourth Raikage let out a thunderous roar!
Immediately, Kumogakure ninjas swarmed the area!
Now—
Everyone realized something was wrong.
Suddenly—
"Earth Release: Iron Fist Prison!"
Massive iron walls rose around the spectator stands, encasing them in a circular barrier.
Everyone's faces changed instantly.
Mikoto rushed to shield Sasuke, pulling Itachi close; Fugaku stood up; Minato guarded Naruto in front of him, watching the screen with concern; Duy stood firmly, face tense; Suzune pulled Honoka close; Kana stood up, serious; Hanzo of the Salamander formed hand seals; Yuto was...
He was frozen in shock, staring at the sudden appearance of the iron walls!
Someone's really foolish enough to pull this off?!
Who?!
Just as confusion spread—
"Everyone, don't move!"
A deep voice rang out.
Everyone looked up in shock—at an old man with a giant nose floating mid-air.
"Th-th-the Third Tsuchikage?!"
This was an attack orchestrated by Iwagakure?!
But—
Why?!
Even the Fourth Raikage stared hard at the figure. "Third Tsuchikage!"
"I'm sorry! Iwagakure has no choice." Onoki looked at the Fourth Raikage with guilt. "If things continue like this, Iwagakure will be dragged down. So, we must curb your development!"
Truly—
If it were avoidable…
He didn't want to start a war at this time.
But there was no better moment. This so-called Ninja Grand Prix had brought together most of the mid-to-high-level ninja from all the villages—and trapped them on the racetrack.
And this wasn't the Chunin Exams, so the defenses were naturally weaker. No other Kage would attend this kind of event!
After all—
What Kage would be so bored as to watch a meaningless race?!
No way, right?
It's not like Kage have nothing better to do!
As long as the Four Great Ninja Villages suffer heavy losses here...
As the words fell—
The Fourth Raikage fell silent. This sort of thing wasn't uncommon.
Because the other side develops quickly, a war is started.
All the major villages had done it to some degree. It's just... he never expected Iwagakure would choose now to start a war?!
But—
"Leave this place, Iwagakure!" The Fourth Raikage's expression darkened, his tone low. "Do not interfere with this competition!"
He knew full well—
This was a competition Kumogakure had prepared for a long time. If it were ruined just like that, they'd become the laughingstock of the ninja world.
He could already picture tomorrow's headlines:
[The Ninja Grand Prix years in the making ends in failure, and Kumogakure may have become the biggest joke of the Ninja World!]
It was pure disgrace!
No one would ever dare come to Kumogakure again!
"Take your ninjas and leave now! Otherwise, this means war with Kumogakure!"
"Fourth Raikage! You're too arrogant." Hearing his words, Onoki's face also turned cold. Listening to the screams all around, he sneered, "Most of the ninjas are in the middle of the race. Here... who else besides you can stop me—"
Before he could finish—
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
"Rasengan!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Gate of Life — Open!"
"Eight Trigrams—"
Explosions erupted all around the arena.
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
And came the cries of injured Iwa ninjas.
"?!" Onoki froze, turning toward the source of the attacks... especially at one masked figure using those familiar seal-less techniques...
There really was a Kage watching this boring race?!
What for?!
"Fourth Hokage! Namikaze Minato!"
"Hehe, sorry about that!" Minato, realizing everyone was staring at him, helplessly removed his mask and looked to the sky. "Third Tsuchikage, looks like your plan failed! Maybe this is where it ends?"
And then—
"I spent over 200 million on advertising!" Beside him, Hanzo of the Salamander said impatiently to the Tsuchikage, "What's your Iwagakure trying to pull with this stunt?"
Do they even realize the loss?
It took forever to earn that kind of money!
"?!"
Only now did Onoki take in the rest of the people present.
Those crimson eyes—
Uchiha clan.
And the white-eyed ones... no!
That was the Clan Leader of the Hyuga clan!
And then there was that guy in green holding a delivery box...
Okay, skip that one.
Just some delivery guy.
His gaze locked on the man in the gas mask. "The Demi-God of the Ninja World... Hanzo of the Salamander?!"
Was the ninja world going insane?!
Why were there so many strong people at this boring race?!
Does Konoha have nothing better to do?
His mouth twitched as he recalled the race earlier—with a toad and a monkey carrying cars.
Konoha...
It was truly deserving of being the village that raised someone like Uchiha Yuto.
They really had too much time on their hands.
But now...
Since things had already begun, how could Iwagakure just back off?
And it's not like he came unprepared.
His face darkened, and he said flatly, "Orochimaru! You bastard, are you still not making a move?!"
Just as he spoke—
"Tsk tsk tsk~" A sly, feminine laugh echoed out. "Tsuchikage-sama, are you really planning to keep going? Seems... the lineup here is a bit beyond expectations."
"?!"
Everyone's expression changed as they turned to look at the soft-smiling, refined man.
Especially Minato—he snapped out of his daze, lowered his voice, and stared in disbelief. "Orochimaru..."
Before he could finish—
Orochimaru smiled at Minato. "Fourth Hokage. And... Uchiha Clan Leader, Hyuga Clan Leader—what a surprise! All of you came to watch this kind of event." He clapped his hands. "Fortunately, I am still prepared. Otherwise, this time may be bad!"
With that—
His eyes narrowed.
"Impure World Reincarnation..."
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