dtnovels Chapter 260 Scorpion: Are you alright?
Chapter 260 Scorpion: Are you alright?
Meanwhile, what is Sasori, whom Chiyo is worried about, doing at this time?
"Click, click..."
Sasori was intently focused on his workbench, holding extremely fine chakra threads in his hand, making final adjustments to a brand-new humanoid puppet.
"Squeak—"
The heavy door was pushed open.
Nishikawa Tetsu swaggered in, carrying two cups of iced coffee.
"Hey, Scorpion, still working overtime? Here, have a cup of coffee to perk you up."
Without even raising his head, Scorpion continued his steady, swift movements, coldly uttering a few words: "Don't contaminate my lab with this inferior beverage."
"Also, if you're here to expedite the process, the new exoskeleton blueprints are still being calculated for load-bearing limits, so I can only give them to you tomorrow."
"No, no, no, let's not talk about work today."
Nishikawa Tetsu placed the coffee on the corner of the table, pulled up a chair and sat down next to Sasori, wearing the kind of smile that Sasori knew was up to no good the moment he saw it.
"I'm here to bring you warmth and benefits."
"Benefits?" Scorpion finally stopped what he was doing, his lifeless eyes glancing suspiciously at Nishikawa Tetsu. "Like? For me to go and twist Hatake Sakumo's head off right now?"
"Ahem, that has to be done according to the rules. Who can you blame if you can't beat Senior White Fang?"
Nishikawa Tetsu cleared his throat tactically, then leaned forward, lowered his voice, and spoke with a seductive tone:
"Scorpion, wouldn't you like to go out for a stroll? To go out into the world, and proudly display your ultimate puppetry art in front of tens of thousands of people?"
Scorpion frowned slightly: "What do you mean?"
"Three months from now, Konoha will hold the first joint Chunin Exams of the Five Great Ninja Villages."
Nishikawa Tetsuya revealed his true intentions with a smile, dropping a bombshell.
"I checked your file. It seems you didn't have time to participate in the Chunin Exams when you were in Sunagakure, right? That means your legal status in the ninja world is still that of a Genin."
"So..." Nishikawa Tetsu snapped his fingers, "On behalf of the village, I sincerely invite you to participate in this Chunin Exams as a member of the Konoha team!"
"..."
A deathly silence fell over the laboratory.
A full five seconds passed.
"Snap!"
He snapped the specially made chakra thread in Sasori's hand.
He slowly turned his head and looked at Nishikawa Tetsuya with the eyes of someone looking at a lunatic. His usually handsome and indifferent face now showed the expression of someone looking at an idiot.
"Let me? Go and take the Chunin Exams in Konoha's place?"
Scorpion asked back, enunciating each word clearly.
"Are you out of your mind, or am I the one with the problem?!"
"Me, the man who turned the Third Kazekage into a puppet, and you want me to compete against a bunch of kids who're barely ten years old and can't even control their chakra?! And you want me to wear a Konoha headband?!"
When Scorpion said this, it seemed he didn't consider that he was actually just a kid around ten years old.
He pointed to the door and yelled, "Get out! Get out of here right now, don't waste my precious time!"
"Don't get excited, Scorpion."
Facing the enraged Scorpion, Nishikawa Tetsu did not flinch but instead smiled even more broadly as he leisurely took a sip of coffee.
"I know this is too easy for you, but I'm doing this for your own good."
"For my own good?" Scorpion laughed angrily.
"Think about it."
Nishikawa Tetsu stood up and paced around the laboratory.
"For this Chunin Exam, all five great ninja villages will send representatives. As for Sunagakure, I heard that your own grandmother, Granny Chiyo, will be leading the team."
Scorpion's body stiffened abruptly, and the anger in his eyes was instantly replaced by a complex emotion.
Nishikawa Tetsu noticed this detail and continued to embellish it:
"Elder Chiyo is so old, yet she traveled all the way to Konoha just to see you."
"Just imagine, if she saw you not only doing well in Konoha, but also representing Konoha in battle, and using your ultimate puppetry techniques that surpass Sunagakure to utterly defeat the new generation of Sunagakure..."
Nishikawa Tetsu leaned close to Sasori's ear and whispered in a devilish tone:
"Granny Chiyo would be so happy and gratified to see you doing your part for Konoha, wouldn't she?"
"Furthermore, I heard that Sunagakure has sent all of the village's best puppeteers this time, and they consider you a disgrace to the village. Don't you want to personally teach them what true art is?"
Scorpion fell silent.
His fist slowly clenched.
The idea of letting that old woman Chiyo see his art with her own eyes, and letting her witness the decay of Sunagakure, was indeed an irresistible temptation for him.
"besides……"
"One of the examiners for this Chunin Exams is Sakumo Hatake."
"If you can win the championship right under his nose, in the most perfect form, wouldn't that be the best psychological blow to him?"
"..."
Scorpion closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes again, a ripple stirred in those still, lifeless eyes.
"I'll participate."
Scorpion slowly uttered three words, then stared intently at Nishikawa Tetsu.
"However, I'm going to bring my latest puppet into battle. If anyone dares to stop me..."
"No problem! Bring whatever you want, just don't blow up the exam room!"
Nishikawa Tetsu's expression instantly changed, and he patted Sasori on the shoulder with a grin: "Happy to work with you! Remember to fill out the registration form tomorrow, and I'll get you through the fast track!"
Watching Nishikawa Tetsu's departing figure, Scorpion suddenly felt as if he had been completely outmaneuvered by this fox.
He knew that the fox probably just wanted to use him to spite Grandma Chiyo, but he didn't care.
White teeth...
Is it the Chunin Exams in Konoha?
Then let me show you what art is.
……
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked at the compiled replies from various countries in his hand, his expression showing a mixture of surprise and relief.
"Has everyone seen the conditions for Cloud Village?"
The Third Hokage passed A's provocative letter to the two advisors and Minato Namikaze, the leader of the Jonin class.
"The Fourth Raikage demanded that if they were to participate, Konoha must offer a substantial reward commensurate with the 'Lightning Release Chakra Mode,' otherwise there would be no point in discussing it."
"Hmph, as expected, they're asking for an exorbitant price." Koharu Utatane sneered. "They're certain that our Konoha's new generation won't win the championship, and they're trying to extort money from us."
"So, what does the Hokage mean?" Minato asked.
"Since they want to play big, then Konoha will play along."
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that he was getting younger and younger lately, and he would never have agreed to this in the past.
"Reply to Kumogakure: Konoha agrees to their conditions."
"The prize for the champion of this Chunin Exams is a rubbing of a forbidden technique from the Scroll of Seals."
"The second and third place winners will each receive a custom-made weapon from the Science Research Institute, with all material costs covered by Konoha!"
Upon hearing this, a collective gasp filled the conference room.
"Hiruzen! A forbidden technique scroll? This is too risky!" Mitokado Homura exclaimed anxiously, "What if a genin from Kumogakure or Iwagakure takes first place..."
"There's no 'what if'."
The Third Hokage interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over Minato.
"I believe in the budding leaves of Konoha, and this is also a goal for young people to strive for. Not only in other villages, but also in our village, it can greatly inspire the fighting spirit of the young guys."
Minato smiled and nodded, his eyes full of confidence in his disciple.
"However, what surprised me the most was this."
The third generation picked up the last, thinnest reply, their brows furrowing deeply.
"The Hidden Mist Village has actually agreed to participate."
"Hidden Mist?!"
Both Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu showed expressions of shock.
"They lost the Three-Tails, and they're conducting a blood mist purge internally. How dare they send people to Konoha at a time like this?"
"Something unusual must be going on."
Minato's expression also turned serious.
"The Hidden Mist Village sending people at this time is definitely not for the title of Chunin. Their target is most likely..."
"Lin".
The third generation uttered a single word.
"Tell Fugaku that the police department and the Anbu should raise their alert level during this period. Especially the Kirigakure delegation, keep a 24-hour watch on them."
"This Chunin Exams is definitely not going to be peaceful."