Pausing in front of a huge building perched atop a sand dune, those who had seen it for the first time began to look at this huge structure, which was out of step with the desert environment.

From the outside, it looks like an incredibly large box of cubes.

But in terms of scale, it's much grander than the fortress buildings in the Demon Desert...

The exterior walls are made of an opaque stone, painted in a snow-white color, with perfect connections between the stones, and there are no so-called gaps. The height of the wall, even a ninja can't jump on it at once, in the eyes of the candidates in Konoha, the white high wall in front of them is compared to the height of the wall in their Konoha Village,

It's not too much,

This white building, regardless of the wind and sand blowing in the desert, does not move a bit, and stands majestically.

After Kazuhime communicates with the person in charge of Rito, in front of the main entrance of the white building, a tall white stone door begins to move smoothly upward, opening a wide entranceway.

When everyone walked into the entrance passage, they were surprised to find that the entrance passage was about seven or eight meters long.

Approximately equal to the thickness of the wall.

A wall of this thickness, even if it is bombarded with a powerful ninjutsu with great destructive power, it is difficult to break through from the front for a while.

Walking out of the passageway, a team of oni ninjas came up to greet him.

The leader is a nearly thirty-year-old Ghost Country Shinobi, one of the people in charge here.

Behind him followed twenty ninjas in heavy armor,

The whole body is covered with heavy silver-white armor, and every part is tightly seamed, and it is perfectly undertaken.

There is not a trace of superfluity and waste.

Wearing a silver-white metal helmet that looks like a gas mask, their facial expressions are not visible.

These heavily armed ghost country ninjas have nothing in their hands, only a heavy firearm that can carry out long-range attacks behind their backs, and standing there in unison, it gives people a sense of cold and solemn oppression.

On top of that, the atmosphere inside the building is very serious.

Above the tall spire, there are not only scout ninjas, but also a large number of searchlights, patrolling back and forth in the territory, not sparing any corner.

Under such careful and rigorous surveillance, even a fly flying in can immediately know clearly,

Not to mention a big living person.

After handing over the task to the person in charge here, Kazuhime turned around and said, "Next, please follow in my footsteps, and don't walk around this place randomly." This is the military district, if something happens. I'm not responsible. “

explained the rules here in advance, and Yiji didn't care if these people heard clearly, and directly raised her feet and moved forward.

The people behind quickly followed, and they didn't fall behind, and soon under the leadership of Yiji, they came to the dormitory area of this military region, and before they arrived, Yiji had already communicated with the person in charge of this military region and negotiated in advance. Therefore, when I entered the dormitory, I easily dealt with the accommodation problem of the 30 candidates.

"For the rest of the time, you are free to allocate it yourself, as long as you arrive at the north gate at five o'clock tomorrow morning to assemble.

In addition, dinner will be delivered to your dormitory on time at seven o'clock, of course, the most important thing is that, your range of activities can only be in the dormitory area, beyond this area, if there is any problem, I will not be responsible here. ”

Ichihime reminded the candidates again, and then left this place with the upper shinobi of the Oni Country, leaving the remaining time for the candidates to divide by themselves,

Why, it's like going to jail. ”

Naruto muttered dissatisfiedly.

"Hey, Naruto, you're not going to do something at night, are you?"

When Shikamaru heard Naruto's words, he was shocked in his heart, with Naruto's character of not being afraid of heaven and earth, if he was not restrained, there would really be a problem.

If this is Konoha , no matter what, there are people above to cover Naruto.

But this is the territory of the Oni Country, and you can't use the rules of Konoha to do it

"Because the more things that are not touched, the more valuable they are to explore."

Naruto put his hands behind his back, and with an indifferent attitude, Shikamaru broke out in a cold sweat.

"Don't mess around, that Yang Qun wears armor, and at first glance he is a very difficult guy to mess with. You don't want to be disqualified from the third exam, do you? ”

Seeing that Naruto still ignored him, Shikamaru had no choice but to remind Naruto of the matter of qualification for the third exam,

Sure enough, Naruto who heard this. Reluctantly dispelled the idea of exploring here.

"Well, let's disband it here. In the third exam, we will compete again. “

Asuka spoke, and left the group with the ninja of the Oni Country,

"We're going to rest, too."

Toth Anvil of Otogakure Village glanced in the direction of the Oni no Kuni team's departure, then glanced at Sasuke casually, and turned to leave with two of his teammates.

After the team of Sound Hidden Village left, the Shinobi of Fog Hidden Village and Sand Hidden Village also left here, and they didn't have much idea of communicating with each other.

"Let's go back too, I've been tired for days."

Shikamaru stretched his waist and went to his dormitory.

"Naruto... Naruto-kun, goodbye. “

Whispering this, Hinata also left with the team.

"Huh? Ok bye. “

After being stunned for a moment, Naruto also said goodbye to Hinata, and Sakura was surprised by the interaction between Naruto and Taruta, and asked curiously, "Naruto, do you have a good relationship with Hinata?" ”

In Sakura's memory, she had never seen a girl talk to Naruto like that.

Even when Class 7 was first established, Sakura was the same, but later Naruto was given a certain change.

As far as Sakura knew, there didn't seem to be much communication between Naruto and Veda during their time at ninja school.

He felt that the interaction between Naruto and Hinata was a little suspicious at the moment.

Hinata's personality is introverted.,And it's extremely shy.,I don't feel like a girl who takes the initiative to talk to someone.。

"Of course it's good, because we're friends. Sakura, why do you ask? “

Naruto asked rhetorically, puzzled.

"It's nothing, maybe I'm thinking too much."

Sakura shook her head.

Friends?

Although this is indeed a reason, even as a girl herself. Neither of them had a very good friendship with Hinata, how did Naruto do it?

So,It's just a friend relationship.,It's still a little weird in Sakura's opinion, but what's the specific weirdness.,Sakura can't think of any answer for a while.,

"Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, we're leaving too, so you guys should rest early,"

At this time, a voice came into the ears of the three Naruto,

Standing in front of the three of them with a smile on his face.

"You too, Senior Dou. I hope you will be able to pass the Natsunin exam this time. “

Sakura glanced at Dou with some sympathy.

has not passed the middle ninja exam for several years in a row, and his age looks like he is about twenty years old, which shows how bad this senior is in terms of ninja talent.

"Haha, Cheng Sakura, you have good luck."

After speaking, he suddenly coughed a few times, and his face turned pale.

"Senior Dou, what's wrong with you?"

Looking at the pocket whose face suddenly turned pale, Naruto was surprised,

"It's nothing, I was slightly injured when I was fighting with other countries in the second exam, and I guess it will be fine soon."

Dou smiled bitterly, looking very lonely.

Sakura felt that there was something wrong with Dou's words, and he looked like this, but it didn't look like a minor injury, so she looked at Dou's eyes, which were already close to pity.

If you still take the third exam in this state, Xiao feels that Dou is likely to miss out on Zhongnin this year.

"That, senior Dou, if you don't mind, I can help you take a look......"

Sakura volunteered to heal her injuries.

However, before Sakura could act, Sasuke reached out to intercept Sakura.

"Sasuke?

"Sakura-chan, don't help him heal, the third exam begins, he may also be one of the enemies,"

Sasuke said indifferently.

"Sasuke, what are you doing? Dou Senpai is just like us, both Konoha ninja - Naruto Ichito is a little unaccustomed to Sasuke's behavior, and reprimands loudly.

Before he could finish his sentence, Sasuke interrupted and said, "Didn't you listen to the information that the examiner of the second exam had revealed in advance?" Even if you are a member of the same group, you will become an enemy in the third exam, let alone the rest of the group. So, from now on, until the end of the third exam, I. You, and Sakura, are enemies,"

Sasuke's words shocked Naruto and Sakura, but the expressions on their faces still looked rather tangled.

Naruto, in particular, even though he knew that Sasuke's words were right, he still couldn't agree with it.

"There is only one way to become a shinobi, and that is to defeat all the enemies in front of you. Teamwork battles,

After the second exam, it ended with it. If Sakura and Sakura still have this naïve idea, even if you succeed in defeating your opponent, you won't be able to become a shinobi. ”

But...

Naruto was going to say something, and he interjected and said:

Woo Ren-kun, Sasuke-kun is right, from now on, I am your enemy, no longer your senior, you have to keep in mind this, my injuries will be dealt with by myself,"

With that, Dou led the two of them away, leaving Naruto and the three of them still in place.

"Sasuke, you're going too far, aren't you?"

After walking around, Naruto said dissatisfiedly

"I'm just talking according to the rules of the third exam. If you still want to become a shinobi and then have the idea of becoming a Hokage, then you can only do it. ”

Seeing that there was still dissatisfaction on Naruto's face, Sasuke sighed, looked in the direction where Dou and the others were leaving, and said something of unknown meaning:

"Besides, this guy is a bit weird, so it's better not to get too close to him."

At five o'clock in the morning the next day, it was just dawn.

In the vast desert, most of the area is still in darkness.

At the exit of the north gate of the military region, all the candidates who took the third exam, as well as their guidance Shangnin, all gathered here, and no one was left behind.

In the area of the exit of the North Gate, a railroad track was laid on the desert, stretching to the sky with no edge in sight, and a train with twenty carriages had already stopped in front of the platform at the north gate of the military region, ready to go.

"What kind of weakness is this?"

Naruto, who had never seen a train before, was shocked and incredible by the steel worm in front of him,

Bi Jing was in Konoha Village, and he had never seen such a strange thing.

"It's a train...... Well, if you use the Fire Nation Carriage as an analogy, this is a relatively advanced means of transportation. Whether it is to transport goods or people, the functionality is far beyond the horse-drawn carriage. ”

Kakashi explained

"Transportation? But you don't see any horses pulling them?

Naruto hugged his chest with a puzzled look.

"That's because the energy source that drives the train's movement is chakra, and it doesn't need backward horses to pull it."

"Chakra?"

Naruto's mind was even more confused.

He knew that chakra was an important energy used by ninjas to perform ninjutsu, but how could chakra be needed to drive a train?

"It's really interesting, it's also a symbol of the strength of industry."

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and commented on the train in front of him.

While the rest of the countries were still using primitive carriages, it was clear that the Oni Country had updated and iterated on the means of transportation, using its powerful industrial creativity to create a means of transportation that was more convenient than horses.

This means that once the war breaks out, the country of ghosts will be able to mobilize domestic forces more quickly and effectively than the rest of the countries to seize various opportunities.

Thinking of the many Oni no Kuni ninjas in the military region wearing heavy armor, Sasuke felt like he saw a corner of the future.

The fighting style of ninjas is likely to be no longer limited to the battle between ninjutsu, physical arts and illusions, and the weapons and equipment equipped with them are likely to become a standard for evaluating the strength of ninjas.

It's just that at present, the ninja's fighting style is still more inclined to the traditional side.

Under the arrangement of Yiji, the candidates boarded the train in order, and each carriage had three single boxes, and one compartment was configured in one group.

The candidates were not dissatisfied with this arrangement, they were able to travel to the country of ghosts by convenient means of transportation, and no one wanted to walk that far on foot, and when the candidates were all arranged, the train made a whining sound and the wheels began to roll towards the north.

"That's too powerful, isn't it? Kakashi-sensei, when did Konoha build the train? “

The scenery on both sides of the outside shifted backwards, and inside Sasuke's room, the instructor of the seventh class, Shangshinobu and the members gathered.

Naruto saw that the scenery outside the window of the car was constantly moving backwards, and even though the speed of the train was getting faster and faster, they could not feel the smoothness in the car, and it was very stable, so they sat on the single bed of the carriage and made a cheerful sound.

Apparently he was very satisfied with the train as a means of transportation, and even fantasized that it would be nice if Konoha had such a convenient means of transportation.

In this way, no matter where you go, it seems that you can enjoy the scenery of the trip without any effort.

"Well, with the village's financial resources alone, it is estimated that it will be difficult to maintain such expenses."

Kakashi told the truth.

Not to mention the cost of building and setting up the tracks, the value of the train itself, and the annual maintenance cost are all astronomical.

Most of Konoha's reserve funds are now invested in the military and medical fields, and there is no extra money to improve the village's transportation problems.

However, this side involves the distribution of various interests, and it is not that the fire country well does not want to improve domestic transportation, but that the nobles have not been able to form a unity in the distribution of interests. It can only be kept on meeting, on hold, on hold, on hold again...... Cycle such a process. Moreover, in the eyes of the aristocracy, improving domestic transportation was not a very necessary thing in the first place.

"What, if I become a Hokage in the future, I must build a train in the village so that everyone can enjoy it!"

Naruto wasn't very satisfied with Kakashi's answer, so he said what was in his heart.

I look at Nari and imagine the future. Naruto with a confident lake face, Kakashi's eyes were worried for a moment, as if he had seen some familiar figure that had long since passed.

However, this kind of trance didn't last long, Kakashi came back to his senses and said, "Until then, Naruto, you become a shinobi first." If you want to become a Hokage, it's not as simple as talking. “

Even if he becomes the Hokage, it will be difficult for Kakashi to change this problem.

This policy of compromise has set the tone since the time of the first Hokage.

In a sense, Shinobi Village is also a party that belongs to the upper class.

A class that wants to break its own existence means that there are many contradictions.

Contrary to the established tradition, not everyone can and dare to do it.

"Speaking of which, Sasuke, what's going on with the curse mark on your body?"

Kakashi shifted the conversation to Sasuke.

Sasuke subconsciously touched the curse mark on the back of his neck with his hand, as if it was starting to hurt again, and said with a frown: "I have been able to use the power in it initially, but if I use it too much, it will still cause a great burden on my mind and body." It's good to use the spell mark as the finale, but it can't be used regularly for the time being. ”

I don't know why, since this spell mark appeared on my body, my perception of natural energy has become more sharp.

Sasuke suspects that the spell mark left on him by Daimaru has a lot to do with natural energy.

"In that case, then Sasuke, you don't use this power, you're strong now anyway. That big snake pill, leaving the curse mark to you, must have ulterior motives. “

Sakura dissuaded.

"I'll think about it."

Sakura's words made sense, but Sasuke wasn't going to do it.

The spell mark is a double-edged sword, if you don't use it well, you will damage yourself, but if you use it well, you can become a powerful help for yourself.

This is undoubtedly a huge windfall for him, who is in desperate need of strength.

Most importantly, he had the confidence to control the power of the spell seal. In this way, the curse mark left by Orochimaru to him,

There is no such thing as risk.

No matter what Orochimaru is going to do to him, the ultimate beneficiary will be him.

"If you really can't control the spell mark, remember to say silver. Orochimaru has been away from Konoha for ten years, and no one knows what his purpose is when he appears at this time, so be careful. ”

Kakashi said to Sasuke,

Sasuke didn't know if he listened, so he just nodded.

"Okay, then you can rest well, I won't bother you."

Kakashi got up to say goodbye and walked out of the room.

"Ten groups, thirty people...... That's a bit of a lot. “

In the office, the information of the thirty candidates who had already obtained the third exam competition, Shiraishi's brows furrowed slightly.

According to his original intention, the number of participants in the third exam should be kept to less than twenty.

More than 10 people in this position,

Thirty participants, a bit beyond Shiraishi's expectations.

He was a little skeptical that the difficulty of the first and second exams was due to the fact that the arrangement of Konoha and Sha Yin was too simple, which led to so many fish that slipped through the net and got the qualification for the third exam.

"There are nearly three hundred people in the lower shinobi exam in total, and one-tenth of the candidates have been qualified for the last exam, strictly speaking, it's not too much."

Sitting on the sofa, Otodi

"It's better to cut a little number, thirty is too many. I think fifteen people are about just right. “

Shiraishi said.

"What, are you going to do it in two batches?"

Ayane asked.

"There is this idea. According to the plan, the Open Tournament will be held in a week's time, when merchants, officials, and ninjas from various countries will be invited to watch the battle. Until then, let's have an internal knockout tournament where we skip fifteen and leave fifteen for the final open. “

Shiraishi thought about it and made this decision,

"You are really ruthless, and you arbitrarily deprived fifteen candidates of their qualifications to participate in the open competition."

"No way, the Open was said at the beginning, it was only for one day. In one day, a total of 30 candidates,

There is definitely no way to complete the assessment in one go,"

If the Open Tournament were held for two days, Shiraishi wouldn't mind having 30 candidates on the field together. However, inviting high-ranking officials from so many countries, as well as big businessmen from all over the country, to gather in the country of ghosts for a day is already very tight, and if the duration of the Open Tournament is changed at will, it is likely to cause unnecessary controversy at that time.

So, what about the venue? Looking for one on a temporary basis?

Xu Yin continued to ask.

"No, just use the official venue of the Open Tournament. Not only that, but when the time comes to pre-select the rules used by the knockout plug,

It is also the same as the official open competition, which allows candidates to adapt to the environment and rules of the open competition in advance. ”

Shiraishi thought for a moment and said.

Different from the free battle under the rules of the second exam, the individual bubble competition system of the third exam has a bottom-line rule, which is that all candidates must abide by the premise of not killing the opponent.

Because the two exams are aimed at different groups, the rules will be modified to a certain extent.

"As for the time... The group of candidates will arrive around 3 p.m. tomorrow to give them a night's rest. The time for the qualifying knockout round is scheduled to be held at 9 o'clock in the morning the day after tomorrow. ”

Shiraishi quickly finalized the timing of the pre-selection stopper,

"In that case, I'll take someone to set up the venue first."

The continuation stood up from the couch.

"Then please."

Zishi nodded, and left this matter to Jia Yin to do.

Ta Wei continued to pick up the materials of the thirty candidates, watched them, and finally fixed his eyes on the information of one of the candidates

"Yakushi's Pocket... Pharmacists... This surname is really a bit special. “

If I remember correctly, among the intelligence units he established, there was a senior intelligence officer with the surname Pharmacist.

Yakushi Nonoyu.

。