Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Seeing this scene, the spectators on the platform were somewhat bewildered.

"What's going on? Did that little girl suddenly fall asleep?"

"Idiot, have you ever seen anyone suddenly fall asleep during a fight? This is obviously Genjutsu!"

"The gap between them is too big! It felt like less than a second!"

"No wonder he's called Konoha's strongest genius; facing others is basically just overwhelming dominance!"

The Raikage's eyes darkened at the sight. Even Samui had a pretty strong willpower, yet against Shimaseki Seiki's Genjutsu, she'd lost consciousness in an instant.

Though others were surprised too, they quickly shrugged it off, thinking the girl just lacked mental strength.

After all, according to intelligence reports, Seiki Shimaseki was noted merely as a Medical Ninja. Even if he knew some Genjutsu, it probably couldn't be very powerful.

The Mizukage, who had been ridiculed earlier, naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity and said exaggeratedly with a smirk, "Hoho, so this is Cloud's excellent ninja? Amazing indeed, almost lasted into the second second!"

The Raikage looked sideways while warning, "Don't get too happy yet. His next opponent will be your little girl named Mei Terumi."

Mizukage felt slightly worried inside but still refused to show fear outwardly, "Mei Terumi is a prodigy who developed her own Kekkei Genkai when she was only ten years old. Her willpower certainly surpasses certain Cloud ninjas', plus her bloodline limit has extremely strong corrosive attacks—exactly effective against medical ninjas with high recovery abilities. In short, the next victory will definitely go to Hidden Mist!"

Then the Raikage turned toward the nearby Third Hokage, "Fire Shadow, he claims that Konoha's Seiki Shimaseki will definitely lose. What do you think?"

The Third waved his hand with a smile, "Ha ha, peace brings prosperity. Let the young people handle the fighting. We old folks should just sit quietly and watch the match!"

Raikage felt suspicious—the old man's temper was actually this good?

Only Kitsuchi scoffed under his breath beside them—he'd already heard from Magze just how extraordinary this Seiki Shimaseki was.

"Hmph! The old Hokage must be laughing secretly! Sigh, when can we Iwagakure produce such an amazing prodigy?"

The following matches were nail-biting displays of equal skill, thrilling the crowd immensely.

After all, Seiki's battle ended too quickly—they had barely blinked before that girl was already lying flat on the ground.

That wasn't even fun to watch!

By the eleventh round, excitement among the spectators returned.

"Round Eleven: Kumogakure's Yugito Nii versus Konoha's Might Guy!"

Upon hearing the referee call her name, Yugito Nii stood up beside the dazed Samui and gracefully jumped down from the spectator platform.

While comforting her deeply affected friend, Selina raised her hand and shouted, "Yugito Nii, make Samui proud! Get revenge for Samui!"

At this moment, a Konoha Genin jumped onto the railing from the audience seats shouting loudly, "Go for it, Guy! Your father is proud of you! You're finally reaping what you've sowed through hard work!"

"Might Guy is already moved to tears!" Selina said with slight embarrassment, glancing toward the railing.

Yugito was stunned. Those Konoha ninjas were so sneaky. "Then beat him until he meows like a kitty... uh, I mean, kick his butt again!"

The referee jumped to a distant safe spot. "Match begins!"

Might Guy wiped his tears with the back of his hand and declared solemnly, "I've heard you're a genius on par with Seiki Shimaseki. I know I might be no match for you, but youth shall never end! Even if just once, I will burn brightly!"

Yugito looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"It means I won't hold anything back for the next rounds!" Might Guy gave her a thumbs-up, flashing his dazzling smile. [Eight Gates, open!]

"Huh? His aura suddenly changed!" Yugito's eyes widened as she noticed his transformation.

[Opening Gate, Healing Gate, Life Gate, Harm Gate...]

"Face the blazing fire of youth!" In an instant, Might Guy reached his peak speed, seemingly vanishing from everyone's sight.

In the next moment, he sent Yugito flying skyward with a powerful kick.

Then he proceeded to volley her around midair like a rag doll.

"Too fast! My body can't even react!" Yugito endured intense pain, though her mind wasn't focusing on it. "Damn it! There's actually someone this strong besides Seiki Shimaseki! No way I'll lose here!"

"Are you kidding me? Yugito being overwhelmed by that idiotic-looking guy?" Selina could hardly believe her own eyes.

"Man, Might Guy is incredible!" Asuma opened his mouth wide in shock, starting to wonder whether he himself could defeat Might Guy in this state.

Raikage turned abruptly toward Hokage from the stadium seats. "You Hidden Leaf folks sure hide your strength deep! You actually have genins at this level!"

Hokage chuckled smugly. "Oh, nothing special—he's just a regular Genin."

Looking at Hokage's overly cheerful grin, surrounding Kages glared at him, almost wishing to take off their sandals and slap him with them.

Do you even have a shred of decency?

Raikage smiled without warmth. "Hehe, no wonder Konoha, founded by the First Hokage, has such deep strength. But don't forget, our Cloud Village genins aren't easy prey either!"

Just then, circumstances on the arena started shifting dramatically.

Cornered Yugito suddenly radiated eerie blue chakra over her entire body.

At the same time, all her injuries began healing at an astonishing visible rate.

"What's happening?" Might Guy sensed something wrong along with the terrifying chakra emanating from her. "No choice, I must open the Fifth Gate..."

But at this very moment, Yugito broke free from Reverse Lotus restraint and appeared before Might Guy in a flash, slamming him away with a claw strike.

The Fifth Gate activation Might Guy was attempting got interrupted immediately.

"Sensing danger, you forcibly stopped Might Guy's action, didn't you?"

The Third Kazekage narrowed his eyes slightly. "To maintain consciousness even after unleashing the Two-Tails is truly rare!"

Beside him, the Mizukage could no longer hold back. "Are you kidding me? You actually sent Yugito into battle?"

Kitsuchi was stunned on the spot. "What kind of monsters are these genin from Cloud Village and Konoha?"

Rasa also twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth. The seemingly crude and savage Raikage appeared to be even more hypocritical than he had imagined!

The Raikage, however, laughed heartily. "I don't recall the Chunin Exams having any rule against jinchuriki participating, Hokage. What do you say?"

The Third Kazekage had already regained his composure and smiled calmly. "Of course they can. After all, the Chunin Exams are open to all genin."

The Mizukage glanced sideways in disbelief. "You've gone mad! That's a jinchuriki!"

The Third Kazekage replied with a smile. "With us Kages here, nothing serious will happen."

The Mizukage twitched his lips—was that really what he meant?

Seeing the "kind and benevolent" smile on the Third Kazekage's face, the Raikage suddenly felt a chill. "Wait, that brat isn't the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, is he?"

But he (the Raikage) quickly dismissed his own thought. He had sent Yugito because he wasn't worried about her losing control—it was Leaf Village after all. Even if there was damage, it wouldn't be his problem.

Konoha wouldn't dare go that far, right? After all, the destruction caused by the Nine-Tails was on an entirely different level from the Two-Tails'.

Thinking this, the Raikage relaxed slightly. Then, with fake politeness and a hint of sarcasm, he spoke. "Haha, Hokage-sama sure is bold! Unlike some people who are too easily scared!"

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