Chapter 122: Your Mouth Might Be Jinxed
"Great Elder-sama, we have brought shame upon you!" The three Uzumaki elite Chunin spoke in unison, causing Masahiko's mouth to twitch.
He shook his head; it seemed he really needed to check how Yiko was training them.
"Alright, it's fine. In a joint Jonin exam, everyone participating is the elite of the elite. Your strength still needs improvement. It was a bit late for me to teach you sealing techniques anyway. Go back and study hard. Once you master what I've taught you, the three of you can officially join the patrol squad and become Jonin."
"Yes! Great Elder!"
Masahiko waved his hand helplessly, sent them off, and headed toward the Konoha Stadium.
The sky was still early, and there weren't many people here yet—only a few members of the Barrier Team were setting up the seals. Masahiko looked left and right, muttering to himself: "Today we have Morning Peacock, the Iron Sand Barrier, Sage Mode Jiraiya, and Yin Seal Tsunade... I feel like the barriers set up by the Jonin might not actually be able to hold up."
"Sigh, a life of constant labor..." Masahiko sighed and began to help with the arrangements.
In less than an hour, the civilian spectators began to file in. Masahiko, having already finished the barrier work, lay down on the Daimyo's throne.
"Lord Masahiko?" Just as Masahiko felt he was about to drift off, Chiyo's voice snapped him awake.
Masahiko looked up; the spectator stands were basically full, and many civilians were pointing and whispering about him.
"Ah, you've arrived. I almost fell asleep." Masahiko looked at the three children behind Chiyo and nodded in response.
Chiyo took a seat next to Masahiko, looking hesitant. "Lord Masahiko, you sitting here..."
"It's nothing. When you're old, you can take advantage of your seniority. You'll have to wait another thirty or forty years to get this kind of treatment..." Masahiko replied, then looked behind Chiyo. "Yo, Puppet Trio, hello there."
Chiyo frowned. "Lord Masahiko, Rasa is not a puppet master. Yesterday you..."
"I saw, but he will be in the future." Masahiko chuckled secretly, offering no further explanation.
"Rasa-bro, are you planning to become a puppet master?"
"No." The future Third Kazekage looked completely bewildered.
Within the time it took to exchange those few words, Tobirama arrived at the exam grounds accompanying the Daimyo. The Daimyo awkwardly discovered that he no longer had a seat.
Tobirama was stunned for a second but said nothing. He waved his hand to call an Anbu over and told him to bring another chair.
"Great-Uncle, you're here quite early."
Masahiko smiled. "Relying solely on Konoha's Barrier Team, it really might not have been enough to handle today's exam."
Tobirama nodded. "Thank you for the trouble."
A moment later, the Anbu brought a chair and placed it next to Masahiko. The Daimyo sat down quite amiably.
Masahiko's voice rang only in Tobirama's ear: "How about it? Your Great-Uncle was right, wasn't he? The Daimyo knows his place."
Tobirama was startled, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Yesterday, after the exams, Tobirama had found Masahiko to ask for his opinion on the Daimyo's visit—whether he was still thinking of using money to control Konoha like before.
Masahiko told him the Daimyo knew what he was doing and wouldn't be that stupid. Sure enough, Masahiko tested him today by "stealing his seat," and the Daimyo didn't say anything.
Of course, it was also possible that seeing Masahiko was so old, the Daimyo found it difficult to say anything.
In the arena, the first pair of contestants had already entered: Might Duy and Hangetsu Hozuki.
Masahiko turned with a smile. "Chiyo, who do you think will win?"
Chiyo paused for a moment. "Ninjas of the Hozuki clan can liquefy. As far as I know, that ninja from your Konoha only knows Taijutsu, right? The outcome should be a foregone conclusion."
Masahiko smiled and said nothing. Indeed, the situation appeared very unfavorable for Might Duy.
However, ten minutes later, Duy figured out Hangetsu Hozuki's attack patterns. Opening the Gate of Joy, even though Hangetsu was liquefied, he was still heavily injured by the Morning Peacock and carried out by medical ninjas.
Masahiko shrugged. "Chiyo, you guessed wrong."
Chiyo wasn't discouraged; she smiled. "I didn't expect him to be able to train the Eight Inner Gates to such a level."
Masahiko was surprised. "You know of this technique?"
"I clashed with your disciple on the battlefield before."
"Is that so?" Masahiko muttered. "And you're still alive? Kento-kun must not have been serious."
Chiyo smiled, not taking offense. "Ah, fortunately, he showed mercy."
As they spoke, the two for the second match entered: Tsunade-kun and a Chunin from the Aburame clan.
"Chiyo, what about these two? Who wins and who loses?"
Chiyo hesitated. "It should be the Aburame ninja's victory..."
Masahiko looked into the arena; the battle had begun. Watching Tsunade-kun constantly form seals and release one Fire Release after another felt quite strange. In his memory, Tsunade almost always used Monstrous Strength to fight.
The situation reached a stalemate, with the ground already covered in a layer of charred insect corpses.
But heaven knew how many bugs that Aburame clansman had hidden on his body; they came out batch after batch, making Masahiko's skin crawl.
Tsunade-kun, however, wasn't fazed at all—she was exceptionally fierce. Masahiko recalled that at Tsunade-kun's first birthday feast, she had been scared to tears by a gift of insects from the Aburame family. She was likely settling an old grudge.
She defeated the Aburame ninja without even using the Yin Seal that Masahiko and Mito had left her.
"Great!" The Daimyo's shout from beside him made Masahiko flinch, and he helplessly rubbed his ear.
"Is this revenge?"
He turned back to Chiyo. "Chiyo, you've guessed wrong again."
Chiyo said nothing but glanced behind her. "Rasa will definitely win." Her tone was full of confidence.
Masahiko smiled. "Calm down. Your mouth might be jinxed today."
Although Chiyo didn't understand the term "jinxed," her heart still tightened.
"Let me introduce you. The ninja fighting your village's representative is named Jiraiya. He's a civilian ninja and was the 'dead last' in school."
Chiyo breathed a sigh of relief. "Then Rasa is certain to win."
Masahiko smiled and said nothing.
Half an hour later...
A battered and bruised Jiraiya struck a victory pose, his white teeth gleaming in the light of the arena. Beside him lay the unconscious Rasa.
"Chiyo, you guessed wrong yet again."
Chiyo's expression shifted through several emotions. "Lord Masahiko, that power your village's ninja suddenly obtained just now shouldn't belong to him, right? If I'm not mistaken, that was your chakra. This..."
Masahiko waved his hand. "You people let a Jonin participate in the exam. I only gave a Chunin a little bit of something good; what do you have to be dissatisfied about?"
"Mother..." The red-haired youth, Kei, walked over from behind.
Chiyo looked back at him, let out a sigh after a long silence, and said, "It's nothing. You two go check on Rasa. He shouldn't have sustained too many injuries."
She nodded toward Masahiko. "Forget it. Rasa did well to force Konoha to resort to external power."
Masahiko smiled. "Rasa is two years older than him. Who knows what the future holds?"
"And our victory is largely thanks to you. Every ninja you predicted would win today lost."
Chiyo froze, her expression complex.
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