Chapter 49 - Hidden Rain Ninjas, Paper Jutsu

Outside of Hidden Hot Springs Village, a group of five safely arrived.

Hidden Hot Springs Village appeared no different from other villages and towns on the outskirts. The hot springs steamed gently in the air, and the fragrance of flowers mixed with the sounds of birds chirping. The scenery was magnificent, and the architectural style was consistent throughout.

This beautiful country truly made it easy to forget the chaos of the outside world.

Kyōen gazed around.

In the village, there were many ninjas coming and going. Apart from the ninjas of Hidden Hot Springs Village, there were also ninjas from Hidden Mist Village and Hidden Cloud Village.

Most of them had arrived early.

As of now, only the group from Konoha had arrived.

“This is Hidden Hot Springs Village?”

Kurenai gripped the book in her hands, her eyes full of curiosity.

A village that forgot the war.

A peaceful village.

Her beautiful eyes scanned the surroundings, observing the situation on the streets, then furrowed her brow slightly.

The streets were crowded, but noise and conflicts were frequent.

Once they reached their temporary lodging:

“I heard Hidden Hot Springs Village is a peaceful village, but since we arrived, it feels like they’re not welcoming us,” Kurenai murmured.

“They probably feel like our arrival disrupts the peace of their village,” Minato sighed.

For the ninjas of Hidden Hot Springs, people from other ninja villages were generally seen as rowdy and combative. They couldn’t fully coexist peacefully.

The sudden influx of ninjas…

It wasn’t surprising that there was some minor chaos in Hidden Hot Springs Village.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since we’re here, we need to follow the local customs and avoid causing any conflicts,” Minato advised.

“Understood!” everyone agreed in unison.

“Ah! Kyōen, let’s have an exciting duel!”

“Let’s settle it with rock-paper-scissors. This is a battle of reflexes and sharp eyes,” Kyōen said, extending his hand calmly.

Might Guy’s eyes lit up, fully agreeing.

“Right! Here we go…”

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

“…”

Looking at the two of them rapidly changing gestures, Kurenai sighed helplessly and turned her gaze back to the book in her hands.

These two were really bored!

However, it had been several days now.

Jiraiya-sensei had told them not to go outside, and Kyōen had kept the same attitude, so they had no idea what was happening outside.

“I’m back.”

“Huh?”

Kurenai was startled and looked up, seeing Kyōen jump down from the rooftop and land beside her.

She paused for a moment, then looked into the courtyard—

Ah, it was a Shadow Clone!

“You went somewhere?” she asked.

“Minato-senpai was heading to Hidden Stone Village, so I escorted him.”

Kyōen landed beside them.

They’d been in Hidden Hot Springs Village for several days now, and Minato had received orders to head to Hidden Stone Village to discuss the recent attack.

As expected, things had escalated!

Because...

Not only was Konoha attacked, but a team from Hidden Cloud Village, who had come to Hidden Hot Springs Village, was also attacked. The assailants had struck and run, and it was still difficult to figure out who was responsible.

With Konoha being attacked as a "precedent," Jiraiya had been spreading the word.

When Hidden Cloud Village was attacked, Hidden Mist Village’s representatives quickly stated that they had nothing to do with it.

However...

Tōdai was clearly skeptical—

The relationship between Hidden Mist Village and Hidden Cloud Village was far from good.

Due to the mountainous terrain of the Land of Lightning, the environment was much harsher, and they valued maritime resources far more than the Land of Fire did.

The friction between them and the Land of Water, over sea trade and maritime resources, was far greater than with the Land of Fire.

As subordinate ninja villages, there were naturally gaps between the two villages.

So...

Now, the Hidden Mist ninjas who had come to Hidden Hot Springs Village had all reined in their murderous intent and were behaving obediently, just like the ninjas of Hidden Hot Springs.

Meanwhile, Might Guy had been practicing for a while when he suddenly noticed Kyōen and Kurenai sitting and chatting. He was momentarily stunned, then realized—

“Oh! So it was a Shadow Clone!”

“A Shadow Clone doesn’t affect a duel,” Kyōen smiled and deactivated the clone.

Guy felt a bit disappointed.

Just as he was about to speak, a knocking sound came from the door.

“Three people,” Kyōen remarked, his ears sharp.

“I’ll go answer it,” he said, standing up to greet them.

Upon opening the door, Kyōen saw three slightly older Konoha Genin standing outside, one of whom looked quite familiar.

Yamashiro Aoi?

The style of dress and appearance suggested it was him.

The others appeared to be his teammates, and the last one was unfamiliar to Kyōen. They were a few years older than him and had graduated with Kakashi, meeting the requirements to participate in the exams.

“Hello, we’re the second team participating in the exams,” Yamashiro Aoi introduced himself.

For this exam, each village was being cautious about sending ninjas, and only elites were chosen to participate.

Kyōen nodded, about to speak, when he heard a strange noise.

“Huh?”

He turned his gaze toward their backs.

Kyōen’s eyes narrowed, then he said, “Everyone, come inside.”

“Thank you,” Yamashiro Aoi replied.

As they entered the courtyard, Kyōen suddenly vanished in a blur.

Across the street, in a tree, a figure quickly dashed by, running toward the rear. But the next moment, the figure froze, standing on the wall, afraid to move—

A blade was pressed to their neck.

So fast!

The ninja hadn’t even seen what happened, only a blur of shadows before the blade was already at their throat.

What a terrifying speed!

The ninja, feeling the blade against their neck, broke out in a cold sweat.

“Though my swordsmanship is average, I still advise you not to move. Your Body Flicker won’t outpace my blade.”

Kyōen said coolly.

He sized up the person, then froze when he saw their forehead protector—

The person wasn’t from Hidden Mist or Hidden Cloud as expected, but a ninja from Hidden Rain Village.

Hidden Rain Village was indeed participating in the exam this time.

But...

Why were they spying on him?

Kyōen’s thoughts raced, and he pressed the blade closer to the person’s neck.

“Who are you?”

“Kiyōsu, I’m a ninja from Hidden Rain Village.”

The person’s face turned pale.

Kyōen frowned.

Kiyōsu.

Who was this?

No clear impression...

“Why were you following my companions?”

“I mean no harm. I just heard some things about you and was curious, so I followed to take a look,” Kiyōsu explained.

Kyōen’s eyes narrowed.

Even Hidden Rain Village had heard about him?

Someone was definitely trying to make him the center of attention!

“Where did you get this information about me?”

“This…”

The person hesitated.

Just then, there was a “whoosh, whoosh” sound.

A flurry of paper flew toward Kyōen.

Hearing the sound, Kyōen immediately dodged, slashing with his blade to cut through the incoming paper. But Kiyōsu had already used the cover of the paper to escape.

Paper...

Could it be Konan?

Kyōen's eyes flicked to the direction the paper had flown.

The person had hidden their presence well, and only the sound of the paper gave their location away when they attacked.

Was it them?

Konan and the others should no longer be Genin, and their relationship with Hidden Rain Village wasn’t that deep—why would they come to the Chūnin Exams?

Or...

Maybe they weren’t here for the exams at all.

Kyōen hesitated for a moment, then sheathed his blade, not pursuing.

“Who were they?”

“They’re ninjas from Hidden Rain Village, but they don’t seem to have ill intentions. They’re just interested in us.”

Kyōen responded.

“Hidden Rain Village?”

Everyone looked puzzled.

Konoha had fought a major battle against Hidden Rain Village not long ago, and recently, Hidden Rain Village had adopted a more closed-off and peaceful policy, rarely interacting with major villages like Konoha.

Who would have thought that for this joint Chūnin Exam, they would send ninjas to Hidden Hot Springs Village?