‘So that’s why this crafty old fox was so fident. Konoha is showing off its talent once again,’ the two daimyo thought, looking at the result of the first round of the third stage.

  All three of Konoha’s ninja won their matches and advao the round. They secretly hoped they’d be paired against each other, but as, the matchups were already decided.

  The match would be between Darui and Kaida. The Lightning Daimyo was really te this moment, Darui was the only remaining partit from Kumogakure. He surely couldn’t lose.

  He wasn’t worried about the 30 million Ryo at all. What was that small amount? He could just raise taxes a little, and it would be collected in a month or even a week, depending on how much he raised it. What he was truly worried about was his reputation. Losing was the problem, not the money.

  That’s why when the proctor announced, “The round will start in five hours. Partits use this time to receive medical treatment a,” the Daimyo left the other two a out to meet the Raikage personally.

  ---

  “Wele, Lord Daimyo,” A said as the Daimyo sat in the VIP lounge of the Raikage building.

  “I’m not here for formalities, A. What I want is firmation. As I mentioned iter, I want someone from Kumogakure to win this petition. I bet 30 million Ryo on that, and if I lose, I’ll have to reduce the number of missions to make up for the loss,” the Daimyo said, clearly threatening the Raikage, the most hot-headed of the five Kage.

  “I—”

  “Sir, please have this gss of water,” Mabui interrupted, handing A a gss of cold water to give him time to cool down, so he wouldn’t say something out of line.

  “Sigh.”

  “Sir, Darui is participating ich. He’s the best of Kumogakure’s younger geion, so please rest assured, we will win this petition,” A said.

  “That’s what I wao hear,” the Daimyo replied. Although 30 million Ryo wasn’t much for him, the same couldn’t be said for a ninja vilge. This amount was enough to send an S-rank ninja on a dangerous, life-threatening mission. In a way, one could say it was the price for an S-rank ninja’s life. When that amount was involved iiations, even a Kage had to sider the pros and s before speaking.

  Well, that’s what the Daimyo thought, but he was wrong about ohing. There had been many Daimyo in history who died of "natural causes" after challenging powerful ninja s. Now that suts were rare, many politis had fotten this fact. Ohe Daimyo left, A stood up from the sofa.

  “How old is the Daimyo’s eldest son?” he asked.

  “He will be 12 this year, sir,” Mabui replied.

  “Send someoo befriend him. He should be vinced in the wo years that he should bee the Daimyo, now that he’s an adult. Kumogakure will fully support him for that.”

  “Yes, sir,” Mabui said. This time, she didn’t try to calm A down. It was already a blessing that he hadn’t snapped in front of the Daimyo. There would be no problem as long as someone from the Daimyo’s lineage became the Daimyo, but sihat was a future , she decided to focus on the current task.

  “Sir, even though I trust Darui, Konoha has performed remarkably well in the in Exam this time, and there’s a ce Darui might lose,” Mabui said.

  “I personally trained him for two weeks, and he was able to nd an attae in the end. Do you think anyone dodge him now? So what if those Uchiha see his attacks? Seeing and dodging are two different things. And if he loses even after that, Konoha will pay for humiliating us in our own vilge,” A said, a shadow looming over his face.

  ---

  As the partits were leaving to rest, Deidara approached the Konoha team.

  “You’re lucky your match isn’t against me. Make sure you win your match so I kill you myself.”

  “Hahaha, hey Kabuto, did you hear that? This random guy thinks he defeat Itachi. Thanks, man, I really his type of joke. I was kind of stressed,” Kaida said, chug.

  “Wait and see, fucker. I’ll show you the greatest art of all time,” Deidara said.

  “From what I tell, you really want to defeat me. Let’s make a bet then. If you win against Itachi, I’ll bow down in front of you iadium in the round, head on the ground. How about that?” Kaida said.

  “If that’s how you want to die, then so be it,” Deidara grunted before leaving.

  “ you stop making him madder? He might actually do something bad because of this,” Itachi said.

  “Don’t worry, I trust you pletely. You’ll ha for sure,” Kaida replied.

  Itachi just shook his head a moving toward the gates.

  “Are you nervous about your fight?” Kabuto asked.

  “Kind of. Darui was trained by the Raikage himself, and since he was especially traio fight against us, I’m sure he’ll have something to ter genjutsu. The fight will e down to pure skill, and he’s not bad in that part,” Kaida said, recalling Darui from his memories. Though Darui was much youhan the one in the anime, he was still strong.

  “But you lucked out, huh? Your match will be easy,” Kaida said, remembering Kabuto’s oppo.

  “Yeah, at least the one,” Kabuto sighed.

  Before Kaida could say anything, Shisui called out from a little distance away.

  “You guys talk while resting. Let’s go.”

  “Yes, brother,” Kaida said, and they followed Itachi back to their residence.

  “Man, I’m tired. That was really chakra-draining,” Kabuto said, lying on his bed.

  “Do some meditation and recover your chakra. Eat that food; it’ll help with chakra and stamina recovery,” Jiraiya said, pointing to a strongly medial-smelling dish oable.

  “Is it even food anymore?” Kaida asked.

  “Just eat it, brat. You pin about the taste after the petition is over,” Shisui said, nding a pun Kaida’s head.

  “Kaida, in your match, don’t rely osu to win,” Jiraiya said as they started eating.

  “Why, sensei?” Kaida asked.

  “Darui is Kumogakure’s st hope. If he loses without even nding a si on his oppo in his own vilge, and that news spreads, Kumogakure might start a war against Konoha, whether they’re ready or not. We don’t want that. Have a normal fight with him.”

  “So, do I have to lose?” Kaida asked nontly. He didn’t have any stakes in the exam anyway, and if winni many ninja would lose their lives, he’d be more than happy to lose.

  “No, just fight normally, without usisu for this och. If we were scared of Kumogakure, this whole situation wouldn’t have happened. We’re here to win. We just don’t want to push the Raikage too much,” Jiraiya said.

  “Okay, sensei,” Kaida said, finishing his food.

  “What about my fight, sensei?” Itachi asked.

  “Iwa isn’t as hot-headed as Kumo, so you have any type of fight you want. Finish the mat a minute or an hour, your choice,” Jiraiya said.

  Itaodded. Kabuto didn’t even ask, sihere were no high stakes for his fight anyway.

  ---

  (After five hours)

  The stadium, which had bee a little empty, was once again filled to the brim with people. Some had stayed for five hours, not wanting to lose their seats, which offered the best view of the stadium. The match was bound to be great.