Naruto and his team quickly headed towards the Land of Tea to proceed with their mission.
Soon, Naruto and his party arrived at their destination.
"It's finally here," Jirō said.
"Hey! Elder Jirō looks very energetic," Naruto said with a smile. Jirō had previously shared a meal with Tsunade when he was searching for her earlier.
"The greetings are over, Fifth Hokage. Just ask him for the specific details of the mission," Sasuke interjected.
"Yeah," Jirō nodded. "I believe you're all familiar with the worship ceremony of the Tororensha."
Everyone nodded.
"There have been conflicts between our Wasabi family and another mustard knight group in the town," Jirō continued.
"In an attempt to compete for control of the town, we caused a lot of bloodshed and even affected innocent civilians. However, after the Daimyō intervened, it was decided that whoever wins the worship ceremony will take control of the town."
Jirō explained further, "Four years ago, the Akuko family hired ninjas to participate in the competition, leading to an overwhelming victory. This time, they hired ninjas again, and so we entrusted Konoha to participate. However, they were attacked by the enemy's ninjas."
Jirō kneeled down with a serious expression, "Please, please help us. We can't afford to lose to the Akuko family again!"
"So, who exactly are we protecting?" Sasuke asked.
Jirō clapped his hands.
The door opened, and a young man knelt behind it: "Master Jirō!"
"This is Morino Itaten, the contestant for this competition," Jirō introduced.
"Master Jirō! In fact, you don't need to hire these ninjas! I'll definitely help you win the championship!" Itaten said excitedly.
Jirō waved his hand. "This time, the ninja hired by the other side is quite formidable, so it's not the time for us to get angry."
Itaten bowed his head, falling silent.
Later that evening, Sakura and Sasuke were shopping on the streets of the Land of Tea when they suddenly saw a few hooligans bullying a shopkeeper in a restaurant.
"Bastard, who do you think you're messing with?" one of the gangsters shouted.
"It's an honor that I'm not paying you. How dare you ask the Jiezi family for money?" another gangster taunted.
"I think you haven't figured out the situation yet," one of the gangsters snapped his fingers and punched the shopkeeper.
Crack! Sasuke reached out, catching the gangster's fist, and coldly said, "If you don't want to die, get out!"
"Bastard! Who do you think you are? You want to die?" the gangster yelled.
Five seconds later...
"That's enough for today. I'll let you go, little brat. You know how powerful you are. Don't resist next time, little ghost!" Two of the gangsters with bruised noses and swollen faces lifted their fallen leader and said, gritting their teeth.
Sasuke twisted his neck, making a cracking sound.
The little bastards muttered, "Remember this!" before they fled, throwing money at the shopkeeper.
"Thank you, young man!" The middle-aged shopkeeper said gratefully.
"It's really satisfying," the shop owners nearby applauded. "This time, Elder Jirō of the Wasabi family will definitely win."
"Sasuke, it seems like Jirō and the others are still very popular," Sakura commented.
Sasuke nodded.
Later, Itaten said, "Master Jirō, why did you hire Konoha ninjas to protect me?"
"Stop being difficult, Itaten. I know you don't like ninjas," Jirō said, pausing. "Itaten, I trust you more than anyone else. The rest is up to you. Please, this time, fight for this town."
"Understood!" Itaten said with determination.
The next morning, everyone gathered at the worship site. Countless residents eagerly awaited the competition.
"Master Aoi, how should we arrange this?" Three figures resembling gangsters asked a young man with green hair.
"I'm going with Fusuke now. You three go and find the other contestants," Aoi directed the hired ninjas from the Akuko family.
"Yes!" they responded and vanished instantly.
A salute was fired, and the two contestants set off. However, Itaten deviated from the original route halfway and started circling the sea.
"Nani?" Sakura asked, puzzled. "What's he doing?"
"Never mind him," Naruto replied, following Itaten. "We just need to make sure he isn't harmed by other ninjas."
Itaten ran along the sea, eventually entering a forest.
Meanwhile, the mustard contestants had already set sail, heading toward the first competition location!
At this time, the three gangsters followed behind Naruto and the others, muttering, "Are they the three? I heard the three ninjas from our village's Chūnin Exams were killed by them. It was just an exam, but their methods were ruthless!"
"This time, we'll get revenge for our comrades in the village!"
Suddenly, the Transformation Technique was activated, and only three Rain Ninjas appeared on the treetops.
Itaten ran quickly on the mountain path, unaware that he was under the influence of an illusion.
"Naruto!" Sasuke called out.
"Yeah!" Naruto nodded. "You go!"
Sasuke disappeared up the tree in an instant.
The next moment, Sasuke appeared in front of a bush. "Come out!"
Numerous figures slowly emerged from the ground, moving toward Sasuke like zombies.
Sasuke threw a kunai, piercing one of the figures, but the Rain Shinobi's movements didn't stop after the kunai hit.
"Illusion?" Sasuke muttered. "Sharingan! Activate!"
A kunai suddenly shot toward the phantom. Sasuke dodged and focused on the kunai's trajectory. "Found you!"
Sasuke vanished instantly and appeared in front of a patch of grass. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Damn! How is that possible?" the Rain Shinobi exclaimed in shock. The illusion he was so proud of had no effect!
"Hmph. It's a small technique. You dare play illusions in front of the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan!" Sasuke said scornfully.
"Hmph, so what? You're just one person!" The three Rain Shinobi quickly stood and performed hand seals simultaneously. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
They unleashed a massive wave of water toward the ground, rushing at Sasuke.
"Lightning Style: Chidori!" Sasuke leapt into a tree and thrust the Chidori into the water.
The three Rain Shinobi twitched, twitching like they were electrocuted, before collapsing with smoke billowing from their bodies.
Sasuke clicked his tongue, then got up and chased after Naruto.
---
On the other side, Naruto and Sakura followed Itaten to the coast. Sasuke quickly joined them.
Sasuke nodded at Naruto.
"You ninjas didn't question why I stayed away from the competition route?" Itaten asked, confused.
"We just received the task to protect you from harm during the competition. Whether or not we participate in the competition doesn't matter. We'll finish the mission after the game," Naruto said indifferently.
"Hmph! Chief Jirō shouldn't have invited ninjas like you!" Itaten complained angrily.
The group then boarded the small boat at the coast.
"There's a monsoon in the sea at this time. At the start of the race, I judged by the clouds that if I followed the original route, I'd have to go against the wind," Itaten explained proudly.
"However, there's a current leading directly to the first stop in the fishing village. It'll take only one hour."
"You'll reach the other side of the sea," Itaten concluded.
"Got it!" Naruto suddenly realized.
"But what does that have to do with me?" Naruto shrugged.
"I really hate ninjas!" Itaten muttered angrily.
Sure enough, the boat swiftly moved with the current toward the other side.
Suddenly, several kunai were shot from the side, heading toward Naruto.
Naruto waved his hand, deflecting the kunai.
Everyone turned to look, seeing a large ship approaching slowly...
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