Chapter 721: The Five Kage's Decision
Chapter 721: The Five Kage's Decision
"Yu Sheng Mu Yue is not suitable to be the challenger against Son Ryouka. He will only deplete his chakra," Enma stated bluntly as he opened the discussion.
Enma's concern wasn't about Mu Yue's ability to challenge Son Ryouka; it was about the potential harm to their allies.
By the end of the challenge, Son Ryouka's chakra would be depleted, but so would Mu Yue's.
Other ninja villages might mistakenly injure Mu Yue, whose combat strength would be greatly diminished.
Enma had always been wary of the worst intentions of his fellow ninjas.
To minimize losses and gain benefits, the Mist Hidden Village could betray the three major ninja villages and turn against Konoha.
To preserve their interests, the Stone, Cloud, and Sand Hidden Villages could set aside past grudges and form an alliance.
Ninja villages had always prioritized their interests, and there was nothing they wouldn't do for the right price.
For all the ninja villages outside of Konoha, what was the best outcome of the Martial Arts Tournament? Was it to successfully kill Son Ryouka? No, it was for Son Ryouka and Mu Yue to both pass away!
These two were too extraordinary for the current ninja world, and no village wanted such powerful ninjas outside of their own.
"Third Hokage, you're underestimating the youth," Daimoku interjected. "The strength of the Fourth Hokage is evident to all. Although young, his strength may not be that far off from Son Ryouka."
Based on Mu Yue's performance in the last battle of the Third Great Ninja War, there was still some distance between him and Son Ryouka.
However, two years had passed, and Mu Yue had undoubtedly improved. Enma wanted Mu Yue to participate, so he had to praise him a bit; after all, talking didn't cost anything.
"The Fourth Hokage's strength is indeed formidable. In the current ninja world, he is probably second only to Son Ryouka."
The Third Mizukage smiled and nodded, not expressing his opinion but joining in on praising Mu Yue's strength.
Ra Sha wanted to speak but held back.
If someone else praised Mu Yue, it might be seen as a polite gesture, but if he did, it would mean admitting defeat.
After all, Ra Sha had once been severely injured by Mu Yue's punch on the battlefield.
The Third Raikage also remained silent, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, quietly observing the group.
As the center of attention, Mu Yue also refrained from commenting.
Some things were indeed not suitable for him to say.
Enma's expression remained unchanged as he continued, "It's precisely because of Mu Yue's strength that he cannot be the challenger."
"Son Ryouka possesses powerful defensive ninjutsu and taijutsu that far surpasses ordinary people. If there isn't a strong ninja like Mu Yue, who masters the Hiraishin technique and has powerful offensive capabilities, there's a high chance that Son Ryouka will escape."
Apart from worrying about allies taking advantage of the situation, Enma genuinely had this concern.
If Son Ryouka escaped, the consequences were unimaginable.
No ninja village could withstand the havoc wreaked by a God of Ninjas, not even Konoha.
If Son Ryouka insisted on targeting Konoha ninjas, unless they stopped taking on missions, every time a ninja left the village, they would be filled with anxiety.
"The Third Hokage's reasoning is sound," the Third Mizukage nodded in agreement.
Although it was clear that Enma was trying to preserve Konoha's strength, his logic was indeed flawless.
Daimoku thought for a moment before speaking, "Then who should be the challenger? I'll be straightforward. I've fought Son Ryouka, and it was a quick and devastating defeat."
"I'm willing to be the challenger, but if I face Son Ryouka, I'll likely be defeated within minutes, unable to deplete his stamina and chakra significantly."
Daimoku candidly admitted his inadequacy.
Among the high-ranking officials of the five great ninja villages, Son Ryouka was already recognized as a god-level ninja. It was better to admit defeat than to lose face.
Daimoku's words didn't come as a surprise to the other Kage.
After all, the intelligence from the Stone Hidden Village had practically revealed to the others that Daimoku had fought Son Ryouka.
"As you all know, I also fought Son Ryouka once, and it was a brutal defeat. I fear I am also unable to take on the role of the challenger," Enma shook his head and said.
With Daimoku leading the way, Enma also revealed his own defeat.
It wasn't out of fear, but Enma genuinely believed he couldn't do it.
"Son Ryouka can easily defeat Hanzou with just his Fire Style, and my Water Style isn't much stronger than Hanzou's. I'm not capable of taking on such a significant challenge," the Third Mizukage sighed.
This was the truth; among the Kage present, the only one he could confidently defeat was Ra Sha.
Even Enma acknowledged that he wasn't qualified to be the challenger, so why was he getting involved?
Everyone's gaze shifted to Ra Sha and the Third Raikage, who had yet to speak.
"My experience is limited, and I lack the strength," Ra Sha quickly said.
Mu Yue could easily defeat him, and Son Ryouka was even stronger. Wouldn't it be pointless for him to challenge Son Ryouka?
All eyes turned to the Third Raikage.
At that moment, everyone suddenly realized that the Third Raikage was indeed the best choice besides Mu Yue.
The Third Raikage, who possessed both the strongest offense and defense, also had impressive attack capabilities and renowned endurance. Ordinary ninjutsu couldn't affect him.
Moreover, the Third Raikage, skilled in Lightning Style ninjutsu, was known for his exceptional stamina. His sustained combat ability was top-notch among ninjas.
Sensing everyone's gaze, the Third Raikage's face darkened, and he coldly hummed, "You're all passing the buck and unwilling to take risks. Why should our Cloud Village bear this burden?"
For his subordinates, he could face challenges head-on, unafraid of any number of powerful enemies.
But this was a joint operation of the five villages; why should he take on such a difficult task?
The atmosphere in the conference room became a bit awkward.
The Third Raikage's words were a bit harsh but realistic.
Challenging Son Ryouka was indeed not an appealing task.
Firstly, given Son Ryouka's strength, the challenger was guaranteed to lose, which would damage their reputation.
If the two had never fought before, in the eyes of most Cloud Village ninjas, the Third Raikage was still the invincible Raikage.
Losing in a one-on-one battle, no excuse could change the fact of defeat.
"How about this," Daimoku suggested after some thought. "Besides the Third Hokage replacing the Fourth Hokage in the tournament, all other Kage will participate. But when facing the Raikage, we'll pretend to be defeated to let the Raikage advance."
The Third Raikage wasn't unwilling to fight; he just felt it was unfair to the Cloud Village. So, they would ensure that the Third Raikage wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
Before losing to Son Ryouka, the Third Raikage would defeat the other Kage in the tournament.
"I see no problem with that," Enma said.
Considering the benefits Konoha could gain from this operation, he felt that losing some face was acceptable, especially since he wasn't the current Hokage.
"I agree," the Third Mizukage also had no objections.
Ra Sha quickly nodded. Losing face wasn't pleasant, but if the Shinshu wasn't eliminated, the Sand Village would face difficulties in the future.
The Third Raikage thought to himself, "I can defeat you even without your disguise."
After careful consideration, he felt that Daimoku's suggestion was indeed good and could strengthen the Cloud Village's might.
Thus, the assassination plan against Son Ryouka was officially decided.
Aside from the Leaf Village, which was not led by the current Kage, all the other major ninja villages were personally led by their current Kage, accompanied by a large number of elite ninjas.
Setting aside the conspiracy of hidden injuries, if one were to only consider the number of strong participants, the Shinshu Martial Arts Tournament would surpass any previous battle in terms of the number of powerful ninjas present, making it a rare gathering of the ninja world's elite.
...
As time passed, Shinshu continued to release new information about the Martial Arts Tournament.
For example, the ranking rewards for the tournament.
This time, the rewards for the top four in the tournament were even better than the previous Youth Martial Arts Tournament. On top of the original top four rewards, there were additional bonuses.
The first-place reward, aside from the opportunity to challenge Son Ryouka, was no longer just the Fire Dragon Dance Jutsu; it also included the Wind Style: Vacuum Hurricane Jutsu of the same level, and the winner would additionally receive four of the latest advanced jutsu scrolls produced by Shinshu.
The second-place reward was the opportunity to request three customized jutsu from Son Ryouka, along with three of the latest advanced jutsu scrolls from Shinshu.
The third-place reward was a month of learning with Son Ryouka, but the content of the teachings was not fixed and would be entirely up to Son Ryouka's decision. The winner would receive two jutsu scrolls.
The fourth-place reward was a set of top-tier prosthetic limbs from Shinshu, with free surgery included, and one jutsu scroll.
Furthermore, this time, not only the top four but also other rankings would receive rewards. Even those who were eliminated in the first round of the elimination tournament would still receive a latest standard jutsu scroll.
The higher the ranking, the more advanced the prosthetic limbs and jutsu scrolls received would be.
When news of the rewards spread throughout the ninja world, it quickly sparked heated discussions.
The reason was simple: the value of these rewards was incredibly high.
Even the fourth-place finisher, the lowest among the top four, would receive a top-tier chakra blade and a set of top-tier prosthetic limbs.
Selling these rewards could potentially cover the cost of numerous S-rank missions.
Of course, most people had a realistic understanding of their capabilities. After all, the previous tournament with age restrictions had already been fiercely competitive, so without age restrictions this time, it was certain that the competition would be even more intense.
Most people aimed to participate in the tournament and strive for the elimination round ranking rewards.
In the previous Youth Martial Arts Tournament, some ninjas from smaller villages had made it to the elimination rounds, and they believed that achieving a ranking in the elimination rounds was still within their reach.
Being able to witness battles between strong ninjas and also obtain jutsu scrolls was undoubtedly a profitable endeavor.
Of course, there were also those aiming for higher rankings, such as Kaito.
"I narrowly lost to Chojiro last time, but now my strength has greatly improved, and I will definitely not lose to him again!" Kaito said confidently.
Chojiro's abilities were indeed mysterious, and his Mangekyo Sharingan and Hiraishin Jutsu were not to be underestimated.
Although Chojiro should have made progress during this time, it was unlikely to be as significant as Kaito's.
"This time, there are no age restrictions, so the strongest participant might not necessarily be Chojiro," Kakashi reminded him in a calm voice.
With such attractive rewards for this tournament and the current period of peace, it was certain that many strong ninjas would compete for the prizes.
"I don't care who else is participating; I will keep winning until I reach the top!" Kaito declared with determination.
With the Divine Might Hiraishin Jutsu in his possession, he could hold his own against anyone.
"That's the spirit, Kaito! That's what youth is all about!" Might Guy gave him a thumbs-up.
He was also preparing to participate in this tournament, with the same goal of achieving first place.
"If we're going to compete, we should aim for the top, right, Kakashi?"
"Just do your best," Kakashi replied with a shake of his head.
He didn't have a strong interest in the tournament; he was neither opposed to it nor particularly fond of it.
The main reason he was participating was that Kaito and the others wanted to go, and the Leaf Village had encouraged him to do so.
"Don't worry too much about the ranking; just focus on participating and showcasing your true abilities," Shizuru advised the group.
As the deputy captain of the training team, Shizuru had access to more information than the average ninja.
The situation regarding this tournament was indeed very complex, and even Shizuru had been taken aback when he received the notification.
It was quite unusual for the Five Kage to form a team and compete in a tournament together.
"Yes, as long as we give it our all, we won't have any regrets regardless of our ranking," Asuma Sarutobi agreed.
During the previous Youth Martial Arts Tournament, he had been unable to leave the village to participate due to his affiliation with the Root organization.
Now, as a proud Leaf Village Chunin, he should follow in the footsteps of his seniors and participate in the tournament.
Shizuru looked at Asuma with a hint of pity in his eyes. With Asuma's abilities, if he had participated in the previous Youth Martial Arts Tournament, he would have had a good chance of making it to the elimination rounds, as long as his luck wasn't too bad.
However, this year, it was hard to say.
After all, their opponents would be the Five Kage and the elite ninjas from the Five Great Ninja Villages.
"That's true, but we should still strive for the top ranking. After all, we came in second last time, so we can't afford to regress this time," Kaito said with a chuckle, maintaining a positive attitude.
Shizuru didn't respond. This time, it would be challenging to even make it to the top four, let alone second place, as they would have to defeat the pinnacle of the ninja world to achieve that.
As the time for the tournament drew near, the Leaf Village began assembling a team to travel to Shinshu and participate in the Martial Arts Tournament.
"Why are there so many people going this time?" Kaito muttered to himself as he looked at the unusually long team.
Although it was normal for there to be more participants without age restrictions, this number seemed excessive, almost seven or eight times more than the previous tournament.
Moreover, the former Hokage, Monkey Leap Biyakko, and the current Hokage's assistant, Fuyuki Kamizono, were also part of the team, and the current Hokage was personally leading the group.
"I guess Yu Sheng Mu Yue and the others must have received invitations to watch the tournament," Kaito quickly came up with a reasonable explanation.
Traveling to Six Paths City didn't necessarily mean they were participating in the tournament, which also explained why the team had so many ninjas; after all, the Hokage was leading the group.
"Kaito, do you have confidence in winning first place this time?" Asama asked with a smile as he walked over and patted Kaito on the shoulder.
"I think so; I feel like I have a chance," Kaito replied modestly.
He had been practicing the Yang Breathing Technique and was now quite proficient, which would help reduce the strain of using the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"That means you've improved a lot. I'd be happy just to maintain my position in the top eight," Asama sighed.
With the age restrictions lifted, their opponents would no longer be just a few years older than them; it wouldn't be surprising if they faced opponents old enough to be their fathers.
Not far away, Monkey Leap Biyakko thought to himself...
Even making it to the top eight or the elimination rounds would require both diligent training and good luck.
This tournament was so prestigious that even hanging a banner declaring it to be the 'best in the world' would not be an exaggeration. The number of powerful ninjas participating was truly astonishing.
Monkey Leap Biyakko had considered advising Asama to give up on the tournament, as it would be difficult to place highly, and it could be dangerous.
However, in the end, Monkey Leap Biyakko decided to say nothing, as he wasn't the only one with children.
(End of Chapter)
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