Chapter 10: New Mission: Ally with the Hidden Leaf and Participate in the Trial Tournament
"Hiruzen Sarutobi has gone too far. He just sent people to assassinate Ziyun, and now he's pulling this alliance scheme. Does he really think the Hidden Cloud has no one?"
Hidden Cloud Village, Raikage Office.
After reading the alliance agreement delivered by the Hidden Leaf envoy, the Third Raikage flew into a rage. His chakra burst out uncontrollably, blasting a crater into the floor.
This alliance was proposed by the Hidden Leaf. The Hidden Leaf was willing to provide the Hidden Cloud with a portion of supplies and money.
That alone would not have made the Third Raikage this furious. He would have accepted with a smile.
The Hidden Cloud could receive the Hidden Leaf's supplies and form an alliance, but there was a prerequisite: the Hidden Cloud had to demonstrate its strength to the Hidden Leaf.
In other words, like a future chunin selection exam, they wanted the Hidden Cloud to send promising shinobi to compete, so the Hidden Leaf could decide whether the Hidden Cloud was worth allying with.
Between the lines, the agreement strongly hinted that the Hidden Cloud should send its most famous genius, Yotsuki Ziyun.
Meaning the Hidden Leaf's so-called alliance was completely aimed at Ziyun.
They failed to assassinate Ziyun, and now they were not even pretending anymore. They were doing it openly. Hiruzen Sarutobi was relying on the Hidden Leaf's overwhelming power and treating the Hidden Cloud as if it didn't matter.
"Lord Raikage, please calm down. Hiruzen Sarutobi is testing us. We can just refuse," Dodai quickly said, trying to soothe him.
If the envoy saw this, it would give the Hidden Leaf ammunition to talk.
The Hidden Leaf's strength was too great right now. On the surface alone, they had at least Hiruzen Sarutobi, Uzumaki Mito, and Danzo Shimura.
And they had even more hidden power. Sakumo Hatake. The Senju clan had not yet disappeared. The Uchiha clan. Secret-technique clans like Ino–Shika–Cho were thriving as never before. They also had allies in the Land of Whirlpools, the Uzumaki clan, plus the young trio who would later be called the Sannin.
The Hidden Leaf had more geniuses than the other four great villages combined.
By contrast, the Hidden Cloud had far fewer talents.
In the original story, Darui and Samui had not been born yet. Killer B was only around three years old and had just learned to mold chakra.
They had not even found a suitable host for the Two-Tails, because Yugito Nii had not been born yet either.
Among the younger generation, the only two geniuses were the Third Raikage's son Yotsuki A, and Ziyun.
Their lack of manpower was also why the Hidden Cloud did not participate in the Second Shinobi World War.
"Uncle Raikage, I think agreeing to the Hidden Leaf isn't a problem. They're sending so many supplies and that much money. We shouldn't refuse free money," Ziyun said, arriving at the Raikage Office.
In fact, no one had informed Ziyun about the alliance. But the system had just issued a new mission, which effectively alerted him.
A-Rank Mission: Form an alliance with the Hidden Leaf and participate in the trial tournament
Mission Details: Form an alliance with the Hidden Leaf and participate in the trial tournament
Rewards: 30000 mission points, Uzumaki Hakim Body, Zoan-type Devil Fruit Dog-Dog Fruit Mythical Model Nine-Tailed Fox, Fire Release Great Fireball Technique, Fire Release Dragon Flame Technique, Constitution +5
Time Limit: 3 days
Failure: No penalty
The reward was extremely tempting.
Especially the Uzumaki Hakim Body. According to the system, the Uzumaki Hakim Body was the physique of a top-tier Uzumaki, the kind of Hakim Body that Uzumaki Mito possessed.
It was far stronger than ordinary Uzumaki clan constitution. It should be second only to Hashirama Senju's Perfect Hakim Body.
But the gap between the two was still huge.
After gaining 30000 points from defeating Orochimaru last time, Ziyun exchanged the points for Uzumaki clan constitution, and his body improved drastically.
His training progress became much faster than before. His Rumble-Rumble Fruit proficiency reached 75%, and his Observation Haki reached 69%, because even training over ten hours a day no longer made him feel exhausted.
He successfully combined the two. Now his Observation could detect within a two-kilometer radius, not much worse than the Byakugan.
Most importantly, his physique now allowed him to fight for hours without fatigue. If Orochimaru appeared again, as long as Orochimaru did not use genjutsu or sealing techniques, Ziyun was confident he could kill him.
That was only the effect of Uzumaki constitution. If he obtained the Uzumaki Hakim Body, Ziyun believed his endurance would surge again.
And on top of that, a Mythical Zoan Nine-Tailed Fox form and 30000 mission points.
The temptation was too great.
"Ziyun… they're targeting you," Yotsuki A glared at him. The kid was too naive.
"That's right, Ziyun. No matter how much the Hidden Leaf offers, I won't push you to the edge of a cliff. Dodai, go tell the Hidden Leaf shinobi that the Hidden Cloud has no interest in allying with them!" the Third Raikage said bitterly.
The Hidden Cloud had produced a genius like this after so many years. No amount of conditions would make him put Ziyun in danger.
Ziyun felt warmth in his heart, but he had to find a way to persuade the Third Raikage to ally with the Hidden Leaf and attend that trial tournament.
Otherwise, the rewards would vanish, and the time limit was only three days.
"Don't worry, Uncle Raikage. I have the Thunder God technique. The Hidden Leaf can't do anything to me."
"I'm urgently lacking a large amount of supplies to improve [Iron Body], [Finger Pistol], and [Shave]. If I succeed, I might be able to make them suitable for Hidden Cloud shinobi to learn."
Ziyun quickly thought of a reason the Third Raikage could not refuse.
"Really? Ziyun, are those three techniques about to be completed?" The Third Raikage stood up from his chair, his eyes full of excitement.
Dodai and Yotsuki A froze, then grew excited as well.
If Hidden Cloud shinobi could all learn those three techniques, then the Hidden Cloud would no longer need to watch the Hidden Leaf's face.
"Yes, it's true. I only need to do the final adjustments, but those adjustments require a huge amount of supplies and money," Ziyun said quickly, seeing hope.
In reality, he only needed the 30000 points reward from this mission and exchange through the system.