Chapter 465 Departure

"rule?"

In response to some questions from the candidates below, Markey nodded and continued:

"That's right, like the first two exams, the third exam is also a knockout match. The difference is that the third exam is not a group-based knockout match, but an individual-to-individual knockout match."

"Does this mean that even people in the same group may be hostile?"

Shikamaru was the first to react.

"Yes, because it is an individual competition, even people in the same group will become opponents. But the only thing is that in the third exam, killing opponents is not allowed."

Maki said with a solemn expression.

Maki's words made all the candidates feel awe-inspiring.

It is not allowed to kill candidates, which is completely different from the rules of the second exam.

Although the scope and rules of the second exam are divided, the rule is that the means are irrelevant. As long as you can pass the exam, any means will be considered reasonable.

However, in the third exam, which was the finale, such a rule was abandoned, which puzzled most candidates.

Maki did not make things difficult for these immature candidates, but said: "That's because the third exam is different from the first two exams. It is an individual-to-individual open competition. That is to say, your battle will be watched by audiences other than ninjas."

The audience other than ninjas are ordinary people, big businessmen from various countries, officials, ninja leaders and so on.

The composition of the audience is very mixed. Although ninja battles are often accompanied by blood, if people die in the open competition, it will inevitably cause adverse social reactions.

"However, after a real fight, this kind of thing will be difficult to control, right?"

Temari asked dissatisfied.

Her gaze lightly glanced at Gaara next to her.

Gaara's strikes have never been light or heavy. If killing people is not allowed, then Gaara will find it difficult to grasp the strength.

"When the examinee's life is in danger, there will be a chief examiner who will act as a ninja to stop it."

"Then what's the point of such a battle? Isn't it difficult to determine the outcome?"

Kankuro snorted coldly.

Markey glanced at him and said: "Don't worry about this kind of thing. Once the chief examiner has to stop it, it means that the candidate is already a loser."

Markey's explanation made the candidates slightly relieved. If so, it is indeed a solution.

If the examiner comes up to stop the moment his life is in danger, it is easy to disrupt the candidates' fighting rhythm.

But the chief examiner came to stop it, which means that the rescued party was eliminated, and the dissatisfaction of the candidates was greatly reduced.

"As for the rest of the rules, after you go to the ghost country, there will be special personnel to explain to you. So before you arrive in the ghost country, you have to think about what kind of fighting style you want to adopt before the third exam. After all, you are not allowed to kill your opponent, but it doesn't mean that you need to be completely restrained."

If this joint Chunin exam is internally digested, then naturally there is no such rule that killing opponents is not allowed.

Because it is difficult to grasp the scale of the battle between ninjas and ninjas, a little carelessness will cause life-threatening.

But this time is different. It is an open competition for audiences other than ninjas. If people die, it will undoubtedly promote the **** and crazy side of ninjas, which is not conducive to the positive image of ninjas.

Under the premise of not killing the opponent, the key to this test is to eliminate the opponent as much as possible.

The reason why he said so early is that Markey wants the candidates to do these preparations before the official individual knockout competition, which can be regarded as a preventive shot in advance, so that they will not be **** and unable to exert their due strength.

"Okay, I'm done talking. Miss Ichihime, it's your turn to speak."

Maki saw that the candidates understood what he said, so he turned around and handed the microphone to Kazuki.

Yiji nodded, took the microphone, walked to where Ma Ji was originally, and faced all the candidates.

"Hi, I'm Kazuhime Chiba from the Kingdom of Demons. Next, I will arrange your trip to the Kingdom of Demons. Next, I have only one request for you, that you are not allowed to fight on the way. I know that you have accumulated a lot of personal grievances during the second test, but before the official start of the individual competition, all of you should restrain yourself a little. If you don't obey the command, I will beat you up first, and then disqualify you from the third test."

Che, it doesn't look like much. Is this guy really a Jonin? Kankuro stared at Ichihime, who was not much older than himself, and doubted the other party's moisture as a Jonin.

It's just because of the occasion, Kankuro can only think about it in his heart.

Ignoring the candidates with different thoughts below, Yiji continued:

"Now I'll give you half an hour to pack your things. After half an hour, all the staff will gather in front of the main entrance of the central control tower."

After Yiji finished speaking, she handed the microphone to Ma Ji, and then left the venue without looking back, which also meant the end of this short meeting.

Maki shook his head helplessly. Originally, he wanted to show off his prestige as the examiner of the second exam, but after what Yiji said, there was not much time left for him to make a speech.

"That's how it is. Congratulations on your success in the third exam. Now we are disbanded and we will gather at the main entrance in half an hour."

After Markey finished speaking, the candidates looked at each other in blank dismay, and then they all walked out of the hall, returned to their lounges, and began to pack their things.

When Asuka and the others walked to the rest area where Oni Nation was located, they saw Ichihime standing alone in the center of the corridor, with a cold expression on his face. Seeing Ichihime in this state, Asuka and the others felt great pressure.

But they finally resisted the pressure and walked up to Ichiki, waiting for a lecture.

"Let's talk first."

Yiji saw that there were candidates from other countries behind Asuka and the others, who were about to pass by here, and knew that this place was not suitable for talking, so she opened the next room and walked in first.

Asuka and the six Oni no Kuni ninja who passed the second exam also followed into the room and closed the door tightly.

I saw Yiji sitting on a chair with her hands crossed over her chest and her legs crossed. Although she didn't show much dissatisfaction on her face, the cold aura emanating from her made people know that she was in a very unhappy mood.

"Tell me, why only six of you passed the test?"

"Probably because of bad luck."

Thinking of what happened in the second exam, Asuka couldn't help feeling depressed for a while.

The six or seven scrolls that their group won in a row were all identical Sky Scrolls. It was not until the eighth scroll that they successfully obtained the Earth Scroll. As a result, two days had passed since the exam, and there was not much time left for their group to act.

"The three teams that failed were said to have been besieged by Konoha ninjas... Two of them were seriously injured and are being rescued in the infirmary. The remaining seven have injuries of varying degrees."

Cai replied.

"Konoha?"

"Yes, there are sixteen Konoha groups participating in the second exam. Some of these groups obviously came with some special missions, and they don't care about winning or losing."

As for what the special task is, those present don't need to think about it.

The conflict between Konoha and Oni no Kokuni has not been a day or two, and this kind of conflict is particularly acute in international diplomacy.

"Relying on the strength of the number of people?"

Yiji sneered.

Because the Kingdom of Ghosts has always followed the elite route, it pays great attention to the quality of ninjas, not the quantity.

So after several months of selection, 15 people were finally determined to participate in the joint Chunin exam.

Compared to Konoha's one-time investment of 27 ninja teams, the five team members in the Kingdom of Demons are indeed at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.

"Besides, it seems that the sand hidden ninja is also secretly assisting."

Asuka said a lot.

One of them, he encountered a joint attack from a team of Konoha Shinobi and Sand Gakure Shinobi.

Fortunately, their team was so strong that they swallowed two teams in one go, but the rest of the Ghost Kingdom team didn't have this ability.

Once encountering the siege of two or more groups, even if the strength is good, in the case of being outnumbered, it may not be able to gain an advantage in the battle.

"It's no wonder that Maki of Sand Yin dared to show off in front of me. Is this the idea? It turns out that Konoha and Sand Yin started thinking about wearing a pair of pants before the exam."

Yiji nodded thoughtfully.

Although I know that this is the plan of Konoha and Sand Yin, strictly speaking, this cannot be said to be a violation of the examination rules.

The so-called exam is free action under the rules.

As long as it does not exceed the limits of the rules themselves, all actions are allowed by the rules, such as strategic alliances.

"It seems that the alliance between Konoha and Sand Yin is closer than expected. They can even share the resources of the Chunin Exam."

Should it be said that the shadows of the two ninja villages have reached a deeper strategic cooperation, or is the kingdom of ghosts persecuting both parties too hard?

In Kazuhime's view, it's probably because of the latter that the alliance between Konoha and Sand Gakure has become more compact.

So much so that he wants to take advantage of this joint Chunin exam to deal a serious blow to the reputation of the kingdom of ghosts.

Neither Yanyin nor Yunyin advanced. The behind-the-scenes confrontation of this exam was more exciting than Yiji imagined.

"I have learned about the general situation. Although it is understandable, it also shows that you still slack off in your usual training. Tell those who failed that after returning, all of them will double their training. In addition, don't make any mistakes for me in the third exam."

Ichihime stood up from the chair, lowered her arms, her expression softened.

Different from the first two exams, the third exam is a real individual competition.

The so-called teamwork ability becomes useless in the third exam.

What will be really useful at that time is the strength of the ninja itself.

"yes."

Asuka and others solemnly responded.

"Then, let's part here."

Tou bid farewell to the rest of Konoha's ninja companions, and took the same group of red copper armor and Ken Meicheng into his own lounge.

After entering the lounge, the three of them immediately felt a gloomy atmosphere, filling the entire room.

In the center of the room, a figure stood there with his back to the three of them.

"Master Orochimaru."

Seeing this familiar figure, Dou knelt down on one knee without hesitation, with an undisguised respect on his face.

Chi Tongkai and Jian Meicheng, who followed behind the pocket, were stunned for a moment, then knelt down on one knee, and called "Master Oshemaru" to express their respect.

Like Dou, Red Copper Armor and Jian Meicheng are also spies of Otogakure that Orochimaru placed in Konoha, and they are charged with the important task of collecting Konoha's confidential information.

"You are back, look at you, you had a good time in the previous exam."

Oshemaru turned around, glanced at Dou with a half-smile.

"Master Orochimaru was joking, those examinees are not a group of cute children. Even if it is me, if I face the monsters inside, I am afraid there is no way to get benefits."

Dou smiled slightly, stood up from the ground, and said to Orochimaru.

"You are still so humble, Dou. With your strength, even if you are the captain of the Anbu, it is more than enough in my opinion."

Orochimaru praised Dou without hesitation.

Dou still smiled slightly, and did not comment on this, but just remembered something, and said intentionally or unintentionally: "Speaking of which, I felt the presence of you, Oshemaru-sama, in the desert of magic. It seems that Oshemaru-sama finally made that choice."

Orochimaru did not answer, but glanced at Red Copper Armor and Ken Meicheng.

Chi Tongkai and Jian Meicheng understood, and silently exited the room, leaving the space for Orochimaru and Dou.

Although they are both spies, their abilities undoubtedly surpass them by a lot.

Even their strength is at the level of genuine JNin, which is very different from those who only have the strength of Chunin.

Seeing the red copper armor and Jian Meicheng leave the room, Orochimaru sighed suddenly, and said to Dou: "Itachi is stronger than me, and I am not sure that I will win when I fight him. When a person doesn't even have a bet, the only thing he can bet on is his own life."

In Orochimaru's view, Itachi is now a person with nowhere to go.

It looks helpless, but it also reveals Itachi's extremely dangerous nature at the moment.

Such a ferret, once provoked, can do any crazy and terrible things.

Rationality and madness are only in one thought.

"It can be seen that Oshemaru-sama cherishes his life very much."

joked around.

"Hehe, the only meaningful thing in this world is to be alive. You who have experienced war should be able to empathize with you. No matter how lofty ideals and sacred missions you had in the past, at the moment of death, there is nothing left."

"Can humans... really live forever?"

"If you don't do anything, of course you can't do anything. It's like that idiot Jiraiya who spent his whole life chasing meaningless peace prophecies."

Orochimaru sneered.

"Yeah?"

Dou refused to comment on this, and Jiraiya, who is also a Sannin, did not know him, nor did he understand it deeply.

"What about you? Don't you have a heart for eternal life, Dou?"

Orochimaru looked at the pocket.

"I don't think anyone will be indifferent to eternal life, but for me, on the other side of the scale, there is a heavier weight than eternal life. I have always wanted to know who I am. I follow you, Oshemaru-sama, just to clarify this issue."

To tell the truth, I didn't hide Orochimaru's thoughts.

"Always live in the past, there will be no good end, Dou."

Orochimaru glanced at the bag with regret.

"Perhaps. But I can't understand this question, and eternal life doesn't mean anything to me. As you said, Master Orochimaru, I am a person who lives in the past. The future and the present are too far away, and I never think about such distant things."

Dou smiled helplessly.

"You really look like a parasite."

Orochimaru commented in this way.

Silence.

Parasites?

Thinking about it carefully, I am indeed no different from a parasite.

He can't give his life meaning, he can only let others give his personality and life value, so that he has the motivation to live.

Once the "master" is lost, the parasite itself will also usher in the end of life.

"Let me ask you and Kakashi to take care of Sasuke's affairs. Before I welcome him back, don't let him have any accidents. At that time, the meaning of your existence will also be realized."

Oshemaru patted Dou's shoulder, and said earnestly.

"Yes, I understand, Oshemaru-sama. I will take good care of Sasuke-kun."

Dou lowered his head slightly, and the white light was reflected on the lens, making it impossible to see his eyes at the moment.

Does it make sense? Can you really find this kind of thing? Dou was full of unconfidence.

Faced with this situation, how would Kakashi respond? Dou's thoughts became very confused.

Soon, the breath of Orochimaru disappeared from the room, and Dou knew that Orochimaru had left.

At this time, Red Copper Armor and Jian Meicheng walked into the room, and seeing that only Dou was in the room, they asked, "Du, where is Master Orochimaru?"

As if nothing had happened, he replied: "My lord, he has already left."

"No new directives?"

Red Copper Armor and Jian Meicheng looked expectantly at their pockets.

They are looking forward to being reused by Orochimaru, and the reverence for Orochimaru in their eyes is crazy and fierce.

Dou ignored the questions of these two people, and was about to go aside to pack his things.

"Kudou, what should we ask you? What is Master Orochimaru's order?"

Seeing Dou pack up without saying a word, Red Copper Armor and Jian Meicheng immediately became dissatisfied.

"Hurry up and pack your things, we are going to the kingdom of ghosts soon."

Said to himself.

"You bastard-"

boom!

Before the red copper armor finished speaking, he hit the wall directly, vomited a mouthful of blood, then knelt down covering his stomach, the muscles of his face twisted together, he barely raised his finger to point to the pocket, but couldn't say a word.

"Sorry, I am the captain. If you go against my wishes, you should know what will happen, right?"

Doudou casually spread his palms, looking innocent as if he didn't do it himself, and laughed in a teasing tone.

"Du, you"

Kenmei Sumiya raised her hand and pointed to her pocket, about to reprimand her.

"Why, do you want to lose your fingers? I can cut them off for free."

Doudo showed a very gentle smile on his face.

Jian Meicheng's body froze, and under the threat of Dou, she obediently put down her fingers, but the unwillingness and resentment in her eyes were about to explode from her eyes.

"You guys are really useless. If you're a threat of this level, you just avoid it. It's not that I look down on you. Guys like you will never get into the eyes of Master Orochimaru for the rest of your life. Just fulfill your duties as cannon fodder honestly. By the way, let me determine your own value."

Dou showed helplessness and a headache, and shook his head.

The red copper armor supported by Jian Meicheng was full of dissatisfaction, staring at Dou's harmless smiling face with resentful eyes.

"Master Oshemaru will realize our value sooner or later. It must be you, a villain, who speaks ill of us around Master Oshemaru, so that Master Oshemaru has been ignoring us. With a guy like you, Master Oshemaru will miss so many talents!"

Dou was speechless and glanced at the red copper armor.

How does this guy see that he has such thoughts?

If Orochimaru was so easy to fool, would he still be one of the legendary Sannin?

"Whatever you say, if you really want to prove that you are a talent, then you should perform well in the third test. At that time, Oshemaru-sama will watch the battle in the audience stand as Otogakure Murakami Shinobi."

Dou said.

Red Copper Armor and Jian Meicheng glanced at each other, both seeing the excitement and joy in each other's eyes.

"However, if you lose, you will be completely marginalized, and you may even be cleaned up as defective products. Don't blame me for not reminding you if you lose."

Dou added a sentence, but the two people who were excited completely ignored Dou's advice.

As the best experimental subjects under Orochimaru, how could they not even be able to beat Genin?

The advice they give is just superfluous in their view.

Soon, half an hour of preparation time passed.

When the candidates packed up their things and came to the main gate of the control tower, Kazuki was already standing here waiting for them to arrive.

Seeing ten groups of examinees, a total of 30 candidates, all arrived, Yiji just glanced at them, without any greetings, and said directly: "Everyone is here, let's go now."

After speaking, Yiji turned her head and left, her movements were not sloppy.

The examinees didn't have the slightest opinion, and followed quickly, not letting themselves fall behind.

Ichihime's speed is kept at a level that these ninjas can keep up with, trying to take care of some ninjas who are not good at physical strength.

Among the accompanying ninjas, not only the 30 junior ninja candidates from various countries who passed the second exam, but also their mentors, the senior ninjas, were all present and headed to the kingdom of ghosts together.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Kakashi, what kind of country is the kingdom of ghosts?"

The speed of the team is maintained at a moderate level, not too fast, but not too slow, even a ninja who is not good at speed can keep up.

During the journey, Sakura asked curiously.

They have already seen the scenery of the Kingdom of Wind.

The endless desert, although very desolate, gives people a strange sense of magnificence.

This is an exotic scenery that cannot be seen in the Land of Fire.

"The country of ghosts... How should I put it, the development of civilization in this country is different from many countries on the mainland."

Facing Sakura's question, Kakashi touched his chin and began to think about how to answer this question.

"How to say?"

"In the past, the kingdom of ghosts has always been a mysterious country that mainly believes in witches. The witches have a strong humanistic atmosphere, just like our country of fire, which believes in temple culture."

"Temple culture?"

"That is the Temple of Fire. However, with the establishment of the Ninja Village era, the Temple of Fire has long since declined in this era. Only in the important festivals of the year, monks who can see the Temple of Fire are invited to Daimyofu."

The culture of monks and temples in the Land of Fire has long been replaced by ninjas.

The proportion of monks in cultural transmission is also decreasing.

It's like the samurai in the past, under the impact of the ninja market, it is getting more and more declining.

This is Kakashi's opinion.

"What about the kingdom of ghosts?"

"The shrine culture in the land of ghosts is different. Although this country currently has a large number of ninjas, it has not been impacted by foreign ninja culture so far, and has retained a very complete inheritance. Many times, you can see shrine maidens active in the jurisdiction of the land of ghosts, exorcising evil spirits. According to statistics, most of the citizens of the land of ghosts are loyal believers of shrine shrine maidens. It is not an exaggeration to call it the "national religion."

Sakura seemed to understand but half understood.

Miko culture, she knows.

This kind of culture also exists in the Kingdom of Fire, but it is not the mainstream. It is only spread in a small area and has not developed too many believers.

"More than that, due to the rapid industrial development in the country of ghosts in recent years, in addition to witches, a culture called science has also begun to prevail in the country. The current country of ghosts has gradually changed from a country that believes in witches and goddesses to a dual-cultural country that combines the mysticism and science of witches."

It seems incredible to many people that two cultures with completely opposite natures are compatible together.

From the perspective of advancing with the times, the Kingdom of Ghosts has indeed done something that many countries cannot.

On the contrary, although the ninja power in the kingdom of ghosts is very powerful, ninjas are not the mainstream in terms of cultural communication.

While chatting, time is also passing by quickly, the temperature of the air is beginning to drop, and the sunset is sinking to the other side of the horizon. Many people are immersed in such a beautiful scenery, and they can't get back to their senses for a long time.

"Master Examiner, I think we should camp here temporarily for the night, the cold air is coming."

At this time, Temari, who often lives in the desert, said with experience.

Yiji looked back at her and said, "I'm not an examiner, I'm just in charge of taking you to the Kingdom of Ghosts. Besides, you don't need to spend the night outside tonight. The destination is ahead. This is already the territory under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Ghosts."

Ichihime turned her head and pointed forward.

Everyone looked up, and in the boundless wind and sand that blocked their sight, a huge white building stood upright on the sand dunes in the distance, attracting everyone's attention.

(end of this chapter)