Chapter 402: Konohamaru Graduates
After a two-month standoff, Konoha had maintained maximum restraint, precisely to avoid a two-front war.
The hidden village could exercise restraint, but the Daimyo could not be controlled.
When the Daimyo of the Land of Earth heard that the Sand Village of the Land of Wind had been crippled, he immediately demanded that his country dispatch a large army to attack the Land of Wind.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire also wanted a piece of the Land of Wind.
Even a desert country had some good things. If nothing else, the population was a real asset.
If the Land of Earth occupied the Land of Wind, they could attack the Land of Fire from both the north and the west. The same would be true if the Land of Fire occupied the Land of Wind.
With the Sand Village in its current sorry state, the Land of Earth's Daimyo saw it as a golden opportunity to attack the Land of Wind. He forcefully ordered the Rock Village to move out.
You've been taking so much of my money, just to sit on the border and eat and drink for two months? Do you think you can make the Konoha ninja die of boredom? Attack!
Just as the Cloud Village was attacking Konoha, the Rock Village saw its chance. Since the Cloud was taking the lead, they decided to follow suit.
The Third Tsuchikage was a cunning old fox. Seeing Sasuke on the battlefield, using his Chidori to devastating effect, he seemed to recall the scene of his own face being rubbed into the ground by Madara Uchiha. He made his move!
He opened with Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!
This was a Kekkei Tōta, a level even higher than a Kekkei Genkai, a powerful ninjutsu formed by combining the three nature transformations of Wind, Earth, and Fire.
He fired a blast of Dust Release straight at Sasuke.
At the critical moment, Kakashi used his Kamui to transport the Dust Release to another dimension. He had overestimated his own body's chakra and underestimated the massive consumption of using Kamui to transfer Dust Release. He fainted afterwards.
The Third Tsuchikage was overjoyed and ordered his subordinates to press the attack.
At the critical moment, it was Might Guy who bravely stood up.
He saw Kakashi lying on the ground, his face pale, and Sasuke looking frantic. He thought his best friend was dead. His anger gauge maxed out, and he directly opened the Seventh Gate, routing the Rock ninja. Kitsuchi, who had always prided himself on having the world's best defense, was kicked and severely injured. If the Third Tsuchikage hadn't been able to fly and saved his son with Dust Release at the critical moment, Kurotsuchi's father might have been a goner.
Might Guy became famous overnight. No one had expected Konoha to have such a powerhouse. Many had previously thought he was just Kakashi's sidekick, someone riding on his coattails, but no one expected him to be so strong. Might Guy's fame instantly overshadowed Ino's on the eastern front.
The Rock Village thought there was a conspiracy and retreated fifty li overnight.
Ino received this news a day later.
Obito was probably very frustrated too. He was just enjoying hot pot at home, singing songs, and then Kakashi throws a Dust Release, which is said to be able to disintegrate all matter into atoms, into his Kamui dimension.
What could he say? He had to quickly pack up everything in his "personal space"! Today Kakashi transfers one Dust Release, what if he does it again tomorrow? And the day after? He had to move everything, and fast!
Ino was very interested in those Sharingan eyes. She immediately told Izumi to find her own eye. Once she found the location, she was not to alert Obito but to notify her, so she could go and pick up the spoils.
Ino made a special trip back to the village from the front lines. The matter of Izumi and the Sharingan was an unexpected delight. Now the village was fighting on two fronts, and the whole village was extremely tense. A key combatant like her had almost no time to rest.
She had returned with a mission.
Iruka's enthusiastic enlistment had a considerable impact on the children at the Ninja Academy.
After getting permission from the Fifth Hokage, the Ninja Academy, following the precedent of previous wars, adjusted the graduation age for students. It was no longer a rigid requirement. Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi immediately submitted their applications to graduate a year early.
Hinata Hyuga also wanted to graduate, but was stopped by Hiashi Hyuga. The branch family ninja of the Hyuga clan could go, but the main family absolutely could not.
Applying for graduation at this time meant a one hundred percent chance of going to the battlefield. Both fronts were as cruel as meat grinders. What was a half-grown child like her going to do there? To die?
Both Hanabi and Hinata were stopped by him.
The Sarutobi clan didn't stop Konohamaru. The 11-year-old boy didn't have much of a concept of a great ninja war. This age might seem young, but back in the day, there were those who went to war at only 7 or 8 years old. 11 was not considered young.
The Sarutobi clan didn't stop him, but they still privately sent a messenger hawk to contact Asuma, who in turn found Ino.
Originally, these three children would have been assigned to her after graduation. Now it was just a year earlier. Ino had no objections. She would take them. She returned to Konoha to attend their graduation ceremony and the subsequent team assignment ceremony.
If Konohamaru were in a wuxia novel, he would definitely be described as "proficient in the skills of many masters."
Naruto's Shadow Clone and Rasengan, the Third Hokage's Shadow Shuriken, Asuma's Ash Pile Burning, and the Sarutobi clan's summoning beast—his list of ninjutsu skills was very luxurious.
He had just graduated, but undoubtedly, his starting point was higher than the endpoint for many ninja.
Udon was timid by nature, always with a runny nose, and was pretty much Konohamaru's sidekick.
Moegi had Senju clan blood, and her family had a type of Grass Release ninjutsu that could stimulate some of her bloodline abilities.
Originally, the Kazamatsuri family didn't dare to use their family's Grass Release ninjutsu, for fear that Danzo would capture them for research. Now, with the master-disciple duo of Tsunade and Ino at the forefront of Wood Release, with Ino regularly using her Wood Golem to beat up the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, and Tsunade also having used Wood Release on the battlefield, they had attracted enough enmity. The Kazamatsuri family now allowed their children to learn Grass Release.
It was most appropriate for Moegi to study under Ino.
The three children had their graduation exam privately indoors, while Ino waited outside.
The tall Ebisu walked over.
"Lord Konohamaru is a talented ninja, and Udon and Moegi also have great potential. Please take good care of them, I beg you!" He bowed deeply to Ino.
"Don't worry, senpai, I will take good care of them." Ino quickly helped him up.
Ebisu was a classmate of Kakashi and the others, making him a senior to Ino.
This special jonin's abilities were actually not bad. His Three Basic Jutsu, kunai throwing, ninjutsu, and genjutsu were all far above the chunin level. His fundamentals were very solid, but his lack of advanced ninjutsu was his shortcoming.
His "Strength," "Speed," and "Stamina" were also very low in Ino's eyes.
If you don't know any advanced ninjutsu, and your strength and speed are low, what can you do? Shikamaru relies on his brain, but when it's time to fight for his life, he has to get into close combat. Ninja is just that kind of fierce profession.
The Third Hokage had a keen eye, arranging for Ebisu to be a home tutor, which was making the best use of his abilities.
If there were no other choice, it would be one thing, but with a choice, neither the Sarutobi nor the Kazamatsuri families would let their children become his subordinates.
He was too far from the village's core leadership, and he himself couldn't provide Konohamaru with much support. Naturally, he was eliminated.
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