Chapter 790: The Night Before the Tournament
Eleven days passed quickly.
Now it was the night before the first day of the inaugural World’s Greatest Ninja Championship.
The Hokage’s office remained brightly lit.
Even much of Konoha Village was still bustling with traffic and lively noise.
In the past few days, over a thousand ninja, along with nearly a hundred thousand tourists and merchants from various countries, had gathered in Konoha from all corners of the ninja world.
This was only natural.
Even a regular Chunin Exam could draw massive crowds.
Let alone this grand ninja championship, held for the entire world.
Truly extraordinary.
Although the three other major villages had been destroyed, the combined number of ninja from all the small countries and minor villages was not to be underestimated.
This ninja championship differed from any ordinary ninja exam. Besides the majority of spectators who merely wanted to enjoy the spectacle, most ninja came with various purposes.
Some sought fame, others hoped to join Konoha Village, some were tempted by the tournament’s prize, others wanted to test Konoha’s strength, and there were even remnants from the three fallen villages who aimed to sabotage the tournament... and so on.
The total number was naturally staggering.
Besides the ninja, daimyō and nobles from various countries felt vague anxiety and concern, fearing that the unchecked Konoha might suddenly become a transcendent force dominating all the nobility.
It could be said that the entire ninja world was both curious and worried about what Konoha—already a dominant power—would do next.
This sudden World’s Greatest Ninja Championship was the perfect opportunity to gather intelligence.
Thus, countries across the land frantically sent various spies disguised as spectators and participants into Konoha, all in an attempt to uncover Senju Tobirama’s true intentions.
Especially the current daimyō of the Land of Fire, who had rushed to Konoha five days ago.
He was personally welcomed by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and taken into the Hokage Residence.
After that, he was never seen again...
This terrified the noble representatives from other minor countries, making them too afraid to even approach the Second Hokage.
Fortunately, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stepped forward and received most of the representatives from various nations and villages, slightly calming everyone’s nerves.
With the influx of a massive number of participants and spectators—so many they even exceeded Konoha’s total population—the entire village had been operating at maximum capacity to accommodate the guests.
Various food stalls and signature ramen shops made huge profits; even with chakra-enhanced stamina, they nearly collapsed from counting money.
Konoha successfully drained wealth from the purses of rich nobles from abroad.
Initially, many Konoha villagers had opposed the Second Hokage’s unilateral decision to host this ninja championship.
But now, no one protested anymore. With the entire village filled with joy from this "great feast," they even wanted to express their loyalty to Hokage Tobirama!
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*KNOCK-KNOCK!*
"Come in."
"Hokage-sama?" Kagami opened the door and entered the Hokage’s office.
"Kagami? You came? I told you not to call me that—just use my name."
The young Third Hokage, Hiruzen, stopped writing and greeted Kagami with delight.
"Alright, next time for sure." Kagami gave a faint smile and promised sincerely.
"Again with ’next time’... you never change..."
"Where is Sensei?"
"I don’t know where he went either..."
Sarutobi shook his head. He had no idea where Tobirama had gone.
"Understood."
"What brings you here?"
"I came to report today’s arrests of troublemakers. Among them, eight were remnants from the three destroyed villages, attempting to cause chaos in the village and sabotage the tournament."
Kagami handed the report in his hand to Hiruzen.
In the past few days, the number of people entering Konoha had sharply increased, and amidst this chaotic crowd, naturally, many enemy ninja had tried to cause trouble.
Kagami’s duty was to handle these troublemakers.
Currently, Kagami led the Anbu forces—the position with nearly the greatest authority in Konoha after Hiruzen, and it was real power.
Even Tobirama had granted Kagami the highest authority to mobilize troops, allowing Kagami to lead almost all of Konoha’s ninja in operations.
The Hyūga clan was responsible for aerial surveillance, the Senju for suppression and capture, the Uchiha for interrogation and cleansing, supported by the Sarutobi, Shimura, Ino-Shika-Chō clans, and other ninja clans, as well as full backing from the Uchiha Military Police Force. As a result, the troublemakers in recent days could achieve little.
Often, before they could even start causing trouble, they had already been captured and subdued.
As a result, Kagami, now at the peak of his popularity, had become the most admired representative of the new generation of ninja throughout the village—almost more famous than the Third Hokage himself.
This made Hiruzen, who spent his days handling tedious bureaucratic matters and receiving endless annoying representatives from various countries, feel a twinge of envy.
Of course, the young Hiruzen embodied positive spirit and ambition.
He, who would rather sacrifice himself to save his teammates, wouldn’t truly envy his best friend. He genuinely rejoiced seeing Kagami shine, and only felt a little envious that Kagami could assist Tobirama more efficiently.
As for craving the power of Hokage?
This young Hiruzen, capable of punching through steel plates, never even considered such things.
He even wished he could join Kagami and Torifu to capture troublemakers, just to work out his muscles.
"Thank you for your hard work. I didn’t expect there were eight of those remnants?"
Hiruzen glanced at the report, secretly surprised.
"There may be more hiding. The Uchiha ninja can’t use genjutsu to interrogate every single ninja entering the village."
"Can’t we use illusions to extract more information about other remnants from these few?"
"These people know the power of genjutsu too. They’ve scattered far apart. Even they don’t know what identities their comrades used when infiltrating."
"Truly cunning! Even though their villages are destroyed, these people still try to harm Konoha without regard for their lives!"
"Sensei once said, only fists and time can resolve hatred. Their villages were destroyed by us, so naturally, these remnants deeply hate Konoha. But it doesn’t matter—I won’t let them harm our village!"
Kagami clenched his fist, his determination to protect Konoha unshakable. He wouldn’t let these people run wild.
"True. These people won’t be able to cause major chaos."
Hiruzen smiled meaningfully. A pack of dogs whose home and nest had been destroyed—what could they possibly do?
At most, they’d cause minor disturbances before being turned into dinner.
Especially with Tobirama around.
Any problem wouldn’t be a problem!
"Hiruzen, you should rest, right? Tomorrow morning the ninja championship officially begins—aren’t you also participating? You should get more rest."
"It’s fine. After all, I’m nominally representing the Hokage. I need to confirm and stamp these reports and regulations. Not much left—I’ll finish soon. And tomorrow morning is just the preliminary round. I’ll be fine."
"Alright, take care of yourself."
Kagami knew Hiruzen was very responsible, so he didn’t push too hard.
"Oh, by the way. Here’s the list of registered participants from various countries—want to take a look?" Hiruzen pointed to three thick stacks of files on the table, asking Kagami with a smile.
As the host and organizer of the ninja championship, it would be strange not to have this privilege and information.
"Any strong opponents worth noting?"
Kagami didn’t flip through the files. He simply asked briefly.
With his current strength, if he still needed to meticulously review participant files and strategize, that would be excessive.
"Strong opponents? Let me think..."
Hiruzen paused briefly, then named a few.
"Shikake: Current general of the Land of Iron. His ninjutsu swordsmanship is superb—his strength shouldn’t be weak."
"Skip."
"Muda: Head of Hōzuki Castle from the Land of Grass. Master of his family’s secret Fire Release techniques—also very skilled."
"Next."
"Oya Hyakujin: Head of the Chinoike clan. Possesses the Ketsuryūgan dōjutsu, an expert in illusions, similar to your Uchiha ninja."
"Ketsuryūgan? Not impressive. Anyone else?"
"There’s also someone named Kakuzu. A missing-nin from Takigakure. I heard he once fought the First Hokage—his strength must be formidable."
"Fought the First Hokage? That’s definitely worth noting!"
"He’s definitely someone to watch out for. Oh, there’s one participant who might interest you."
"Who?"
"Chiyo, the current Third Kazekage of Sunagakure."
"Her? She dares to come and participate?"
"Yes. She and the Sunagakure delegation arrived this afternoon. I heard you fought her before—how was it?"
"I went with Danzō on a mission to Sunagakure before, and we exchanged a few techniques. For a Sunagakure ninja, she’s undoubtedly a genius—still young but already Jōnin-level. But she’s only ’good.’ If I hadn’t activated my Mangekyō Sharingan back then, she might’ve been a bit troublesome. But now..."
Kagami didn’t finish, but his meaning was crystal clear.
An Uchiha who had activated the Mangekyō Sharingan and one who hadn’t were two entirely different concepts—like heaven and earth.
"She’s become Kazekage now—her strength may have improved. Don’t underestimate her."
"In such a short time, even if her strength increased, it’s unlikely she made a huge leap. Of course, I’ll give my all against any opponent!"
Kagami would never be careless or underestimate an enemy.
Not just Chiyo—even against a Genin, he wouldn’t hold back!
"Hahaha, you’re still the same—truly reliable!"
"Any other special participants?"
Kagami continued asking.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled: "I know what you’re really asking. You want to know if Danzō is participating too, right?"
"Danzō?"
"Sorry, Danzō’s name isn’t on the list of Sunagakure delegates or participants."
"He really didn’t come?"
Kagami felt a little disappointed. Danzō had been "away on duty" for so long; as a friend, he missed him a bit.
But Hiruzen wasn’t sad—he was actually excited:
"Don’t be in a hurry to be sad! Although his name isn’t on the list, the large barrier covering the village detected Danzō’s chakra signature when the Sunagakure delegation entered. He definitely sneaked in—probably deliberately disguised his identity and appearance."
"He really came?"
"He definitely came!"
Hiruzen’s longing for Danzō was far stronger than Kagami’s. If he hadn’t known beforehand, how could he joke like this?
"Wow! Hiruzen, you tricked me—you’ve become mischievous too!"
"You didn’t notice it yourself—why blame me?"
Kagami lunged at Hiruzen, and the two sturdy young men started wrestling.
*KNOCK-KNOCK!*
"I’m coming in—"
A crisp female voice suddenly rang out. Biwako, carrying snacks for Hiruzen, opened the door and immediately witnessed Kagami and Hiruzen wrestling.
The air froze. All three stood frozen in place.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt!"
The young Biwako had never seen such a scene. She assumed she’d stumbled upon something intimate between Hiruzen and Kagami. Panicking, she quickly apologized and fled with a flushed face.
"Biwako, it’s not what you think!"
Hiruzen hurriedly shouted an explanation. He had just started a relationship with Biwako, and they were in a warm, romantic phase.
If he was misunderstood as having an unusual orientation, how could their future continue?
He had a huge responsibility to carry on the Sarutobi clan!
"Why are you still standing there? Hurry and chase her!"
"But these files aren’t finished yet..."
"Go! I’ll finish them for you. Trust the Sharingan’s perfect handwriting imitation."
"Alright! Kagami, I’m counting on you!"
Hiruzen was overjoyed and rushed out of the office.
Once again, the current Hiruzen was utterly sincere. He didn’t care about power at all.
In his eyes, what was his was Kagami’s, and what Kagami had was his—no need to distinguish between friends.
Watching Hiruzen rush out, Kagami shook his head and chuckled softly.
"It seems Hiruzen will get married first? I don’t see what’s so appealing about falling in love—better to just train ninjutsu."
Lost in thought, Kagami felt an even deeper longing for Danzō.
He was sure Danzō would never fall into such a silly love trap. He was a true ninja, just like him!
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The next morning, the sun had just risen.
Outside the Konoha arena, it was already packed.
Nearly two thousand ninja participants from around the world had gathered here, ready to begin the preliminary round.
Two thousand participants was far too many. If they had to fight one-on-one via random draw, it might take over a month to finish. Besides, for those below Jōnin level, winning was nearly impossible.
To save time, reduce casualties, and efficiently screen out most weaker applicants, holding a preliminary round was the most practical solution.
The preliminaries were held outside the main arena, using eight temporary testing sites.
The method was simple: applicants only needed to launch an attack and leave a mark on the metal stele at the temporary testing site.
These metal steles were transported from the moon—masterpieces crafted by the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon—and equipped with special barriers making them nearly indestructible.
Perfect for testing.
Whether ninjutsu or taijutsu—even a headbutt—as long as a mark was left on the metal stele, the applicant was considered to possess Special Jōnin-level offensive power, meeting the standard to participate.
Although the preliminary test seemed simple, it was pure and effective at preventing most cheating.
Nothing proved a ninja’s fundamental quality better than a direct, unfiltered attack.
After all, this was the World’s Greatest Ninja Championship, not something ordinary Genin could join.
Of course, this also allowed wandering ninja and hidden missing-nin to participate anonymously—that’s why the nameless preliminary round existed.
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(Recovered from illness, officially resuming updates. Sorry for the delay—please don’t hit me, ding ding ding