It's over.

This is the true inner thoughts of all those present.

But then everyone didn't feel the slightest relief, because it was only a qualifier before the official tournament.

Through this qualifier, everyone also has a general understanding of the rest of the players who have been promoted.

When it comes to the official round, it won't be as easy as the qualifiers.

In the qualifiers, the finalists who defeated their respective opponents were Yamazaki Hisashi, Kaguya-kun Maro, Chiba Asa, Hibiki Kirieda, Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Asuka, Oil Girl Shino, Temari, Shira, Hinata, Iairo, Naruto, Li Rock, and Uzumaki Kari.

The other fourteen people, as the losers of the qualifiers, naturally ended in elimination, and could not qualify for the third middle ninja exam.

Among the people who were promoted, the country of ghosts and Konoha each accounted for five people, and the fog and sand also accounted for two each.

Onijima Shinobi nodded slightly when he saw that all the promoted lower ninjas, as well as their guidance upper ninjas, all walked down from the lookout and gathered on the platform.

Although as the examiner of the third examination, he must be fair and impartial, and there must be no favoritism.

But seeing that there are a total of five shinobi in the country of ghosts, I can't help but feel happy.

However, Onijima Shinobu also knows that among these fourteen people, how many of them can become middle ninjas, then it is unknown for the time being.

There is no problem on the side of the Oni no Kuni, and the evaluation criteria for the rest of the villages are different in peacetime, and it is impossible to adopt the wartime merit system, and the evaluation of the middle ninja will be much more complicated than in wartime, and there are more factors to consider.

Rather, it is precisely because of peacetime that the requirements for ninjas should be stricter, rather than relaxed.

On the other side, Shiraishi also led people down from the audience seats, came to the stage, and joined the onijima ninja, facing a group of promoted lower ninjas and upper ninjas.

After a short period of thought, Shiraishi slowly spoke, "I would like to congratulate you on passing this qualifier and getting your ticket to the third exam. ”

The shinobi candidates who made the cut had different thoughts, and the expressions on their faces were also smiling or cold, but none of them felt nervous.

"Don't talk about superfluous nonsense, how will you arrange the opponent for the third exam next?"

Naruto was the first to ask, and it was also the question that everyone was most concerned about.

"It's really hard to breathe, but it's in good spirits. Since you can't wait to ask, let's make a long story short, the battle combinations for the third exam will be decided by drawing lots later. ”

Shiraishi smiled slightly, smiling at the impatience of Naruto and the others.

"Lottery?"

"That's right. After all, it is impossible to start the lottery at the beginning of the third exam, in which case, it will take up a lot of time. Therefore, at the end of the qualifiers, fourteen finalists will be selected to determine the battle combinations for the third exam by drawing lots. If there are no objections, let's get started. ”

As he spoke, Shiraishi gestured to a Oni no Kuni ninja behind him.

The other party is the same as the Shinobi on Onijima, and he is also the upper shinobi of the Oni Country, and he is holding a head-sized box in his arms, which is a lottery box that has been prepared for a long time.

Everyone looked at each other, but none objected.

Naruto was the first to step forward and take out a bamboo skewer from the draw box.

I saw a number '3' written on the bamboo stick.

"I'm number three."

Naruto scratched his head and said.

The rest of the people stepped forward to draw lots in turn, and in the process of drawing lots, Ning Ci wanted to observe with his white eyes, but found that his white eyes could not penetrate the lottery box, and when he saw the numbers on the bamboo sticks inside, he couldn't help frowning.

Thinking of what Ayane said during the lunch break, when she came to look for herself, she couldn't help but snort softly.

In less than a minute, fourteen people had already drawn lots, and by the way, they showed the numbers they had drawn.

After that, it was counted by a special person, and after about five minutes, the battle sheet for the third exam was printed out, and it was held in the hands of Shinobu Onijima, and it was unfolded in front of Naruto and other candidates, so that they could see who their opponents were in the third exam.

And the final list of battles is as follows-

I Airo (Sand Hide) vs White (Fog Hide)

Naruto Uzumaki (Konoha) vs Shino Oil Girl (Konoha)

Sasuke Uchiha (Konoha) vs Karyu Uzumaki (Oni)

Li Luo (Konoha) vs Hibiki Fog Branch (Oni)

Uchiha Asuka (Oni) vs Temari (Sunagakure)

Hisashi Yamazaki (Oni) vs Kaguya-kunmaro (Kirigakure)

Aya Chiba (Oni) vs Ninji Hinata (Konoha)

Seeing this battle table, Ning Ci secretly said in his heart.

Although the battle arrangements of the rest of the people have been operated in the dark, his arrangements are obviously specially explained by which Hinata Ayane.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be so coincidental, and his opponent would be Aya Chiba, a ninja who also has white eyes.

But in this way, it is also in line with his wishes, he will make that arrogant woman pay the price of despising him and completely tear apart his so-called 'despair'!

And the color on the other side also frowned, and he faintly felt that something was wrong in his heart.

Since the lunch break, Konoha's Hinata Ninji has been showing strong hostility towards him, and the third exam happened to be a duel with Hinata, who was strongly hostile to him...... If there is no one in the dark box operation, Cai doesn't believe it at all.

There is a problem.

But what is the problem, the color can't say.

Compared to Cai's doubts and puzzles, Asuka has a headache.

Facing off against the Wind Escape Ninja is something he is more depressed about.

To be honest, although he can use Fire Escape, he is far less good at it than Lei Escape.

Because of his fire escape technique, he is mostly used to feint in battle, and Lei Dun combined with the electromagnetic acceleration attack of the shuriken is his main means of attack.

It's a pity, because it is a magnetic field created by Lei Dun, then, as long as it is based on the thunder attribute Chakra, it will be restrained by Feng Dun, even if it converts some properties, it will not be able to escape this law.

What's more, Temari's wind escape is very powerful.

Ordinary fire escape, I'm afraid there is no way to counter it.

Do you need to exercise the fire escape to counter the wind escape in these days? Asuka began to think about this question.

If the standard is to pursue the maximum winning rate, it is the best way to exercise Fire Escape to restrain Wind Escape before the official match.

However, is this time before the official game enough to take your fire to the next level?

Asuka is a little skeptical of his ninja talent.

His ninja talent is actually not good, it can only be said that it is decent, in the team, although he serves as the main force, but it is based on Xiang Li's perceptual ninjutsu, and the assistance of Cai's white eyes, so that he can be qualified for the position of long-range attacker.

Once he loses these 'eyes', his offensive ability will drop significantly. In that case, the main force will turn into a lottery.

Especially when encountering a Wind Escape Ninja who is more restrained by his thunder escape, his lightning escape ability cannot be fully displayed.

This is not a good thing for him, who is proficient in Lei Dun Ninjutsu.

Compared to Asuka's headache and depression, Temari's mood is much lighter.

What she was most worried about was that she ran into the mysterious shrine maiden Hibiki Mist Branch in the country of Oni, although the bird was also troublesome, but it was definitely much easier to deal with than the witch. And judging from the previous battle, she could see that Asuka focused on the cultivation of Lei Dun, which happened to be restrained by her Feng Dun.

However, Temari was not arrogant enough to have the idea that he could easily win.

Although I have never seen Asuka use Fire Escape, as a Uchiha clan, it is already common knowledge that I can use Fire Escape. With this in mind, Temari felt the need to be careful of Asuka's hidden fire escape technique.

The invisible attack is the most dangerous.

"Naruto......"

Shino looked at the name of the person he was going to fight and fell into a brief silence.

To be honest, based on Naruto's previous performance, I don't know anything about the rest of the information except for knowing that Naruto will use the shadow clone technique.

He didn't think that Naruto would still be the Naruto with a bad head in the ninja school, and his strength was not the same as in the past.

was originally a guy like the tail of a crane, but in just a few months, he caught up, and his strength also improved by leaps and bounds, which made Shino inevitably feel a little uncomfortable.

The battle may be harder than imagined. Shino said in his heart.

The rest of the people also had different thoughts when they saw the opponent they were going to fight in the third exam. Start thinking about tactics and strategies based on previous battles, and increase your win rate in the official match.

"I have a question."

At this time, Sasuke raised his palm.

"Please."

Shiraishi put his hands in the pockets of his white coat and swept his gaze to Sasuke.

"In the third final, is the format the same as the qualifiers?"

Sasuke asked.

Shiraishi shook his head and said, "No, the format of the official tournament is different from the qualifiers, and the official tournament takes the form of a tournament to conduct a duel. This is just the roster for the first round of matchups. In teams of two, the winner of one group wins and the winner of the other group will compete in the next round. In the end, the players who participated in the official competition will be scored based on the ranking method. ”

Shiraishi's explanation convinced everyone.

They came here not only to carry the honor of the village, but also to fight for themselves.

Being able to fight a variety of enemies can make you more experienced against enemies, and it also satisfies your inner excess desire to fight.

"So, in this way, isn't there only one winner in the end? Is it only the winner who can become a shinobi? ”

Sasuke asked, frowning.

"No, tournaments are used to rate your abilities more accurately. And the selection will be made by me, as well as the upper ninjas from the rest of the Great Ninja Village. As long as you can show a good performance in the game, you can get the evaluation of the middle ninja. ”

Shiraishi continued to explain.

"In other words, does everyone have the qualifications to become a shinobi?"

I love Luo coldly.

"Theoretically, so. However, there are also completely opposite theories. That is, all of you are not eligible for the title of Nakashinobi, and you will be wiped out with a failing grade from us. Of course, the more victories you have, the more occasions you have to show your abilities to increase your chances of becoming a shinobi. So, you just have to win all the way. ”

Shiraishi said.

"That's outrageous, isn't it?"

Temari was a little unhappy with the format.

Even if you win, you may not be able to become a middle ninja, how can there be such an unreasonable scoring standard.

"That's true. Although the situation of ninja institutions varies from country to country, they are basically responsible for the defense of each country. When it comes to the rating of ninjas, it is natural to be cautious. This is the unspoken rule that the country of ghosts, as well as the other big ninja villages, acquiesce. Got it, little girl from Shayin Village? If you don't understand, you can ask your family elder in person after the exam, and I think he will give you a more detailed answer. ”

Shiraishi looked at Temari and chuckled.

Temari rolled her eyes, she just didn't hear Shiraishi's words.

Despite their dissatisfaction, they can only accept such unreasonable rules.

In other words, as long as you keep winning, you have a better chance of becoming a middle ninja. It's a very simple and easy-to-understand rule. And I'm in the same division as Sasuke, so if you win two games, you'll be able to play Sasuke. ”

According to the division, the first four groups are a partition, and the last three groups are a partition.

When Naruto saw this, he couldn't wait to say to Sasuke.

"You win the game first."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto helplessly.

The other party's words obviously ignored the rest of the people.

Iara, in particular, glared at Naruto coldly, revealing a terrifying murderous aura.

Naruto said this, obviously not taking him seriously.

Even Shino frowned a little displeased: "Naruto, although I admit that you have become stronger, in my opinion......"

"Now that we've divided into groups, we should be fine next. I wonder if the ramen here is good or not? ”

As if he hadn't heard what Shino was saying, Naruto began to think about what flavor of ramen he would have to eat later.

Shino pushed his glasses and stood aside silently.

Sure enough, he was just an inconspicuous person.

"It's basically gone, and the new rules for the competition will be notified to you in advance tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. You should have a good rest these days. Of course, it can also be used to warm up, as long as you are not carrying illegal props, you can prepare in advance in case you need it. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do then. ”

Shiraishi nodded and continued, "Okay, now you can disband. If you want to play later, you can go to the outside staff and ask for a tourist map of Aster City. It's kind of advice, although it's important to relax, don't relax too much and cause an accident in the third exam. ”

Led by Kazuhime, everyone left the venue in turn and walked towards the outside of the hall.

After these candidates left, Shiraishi looked at the mess around him, silently telling the intensity of the battle in the previous qualifiers.

The ring under his feet, which was originally intact, is also dilapidated at the moment.

But for ninjas with ninjutsu, it's not that hard to tinker with.

"After that, let's use a stronger stone, and repair the broken auditorium by the way."

Shiraishi pointed to the broken ring and the auditorium.

"Yes."

Shinobu Onijima nodded in response, as the chief examiner of the third exam, these are all things that fall within the scope of his work.

"In addition, go to the enchantment group and send four ninjas who are good at enchantment from there to arrange a strong and transparent enchantment around the ring to prevent the players from going out of the circle and causing unnecessary disturbances."

Because it was a qualifier and the audience was all ninjas, even if the attacker ran out of the ring, there would be no casualties.

But when it comes to the official competition, it doesn't work at all.

A large part of the audience in the official competition are ordinary people who have no combat ability, and if the moves of some candidates affect the audience at that time, it is easy to cause casualties.

In order to prevent this from happening, the most secure solution is to use the enchantment to block the ring and limit the range of movement and moves of the candidates to the ring.

Shinobu Onijima nodded again, this is indeed a very serious problem that must be taken into account.

If there are casualties due to the game at that time, it will cause a lot of public opinion pressure on the country of ghosts.

"Then I'll leave the rest of the work here to you."

"No problem, please leave it to me."

Shinobu on Onijima solemnly agreed.

As the chief examiner of the third exam, his job was not easy at all.

Seeing that the ghost island shinobi agreed, Shiraishi didn't say more, left the hall with Ruri and the others, and rushed towards the direction of the military region.

◎

"You're here, so are the qualifiers over there?"

Shortly after returning to the office, before Shiraishi could drink the tea from his cup, a woman in a shrine maiden costume walked in from outside.

She lifted the white hood from her head, revealing a gentle face with a faint smile.

Judging from his age, he is hovering around twenty-five years old.

Yakushi Nonoyu.

Since a few years ago, she officially joined the intelligence department of the Oni no Kuni military, and as a wandering shrine maiden, she was active in various parts of the ninja world, providing medical assistance to the wandering Oni no Kuni personnel, and was responsible for the transmission of information.

Occasionally, I'll deal with some tricky ninjas, but most of the work is unrelated to past espionage missions.

Later, because of a confidential mission, she was active in the territory of Tang no Kuni for a long time, secretly got in touch with Tang Yin Village, and was responsible for investigating the remnants of the Cult of the Evil God that had not been eliminated, and the task on her body was arduous.

"yes, it's only a qualifier after all, and it won't take too long. By the beginning of the third exam, the competition will be much longer. ”

Shiraishi blew on the hot water in the teacup and said to Nonoyu, who was standing in front of him.

Many of the lower ninjas who participated in the qualifiers obviously did not reach the minimum passing line of the middle ninja in terms of strength.

The purpose of holding this qualifier is not only to shorten the time of the third exam, but also to eliminate the candidates who are not qualified in strength.

"What's the situation going on over there in Yunokuni?"

Shiraishi temporarily put aside the matter of the third exam, which had already been handed over to Kamishinobi Ghost Island, and there was no need for him, the Minister of War, to deal with it personally, otherwise he would really doubt the ability of the people below.

Ye Naiyu thought for a while, and his voice was always soft: "As always, the high-level leaders of Tangyin Village have all leaned towards our side, and the domestic economic and livelihood problems have been slowly alleviated. According to the information, the arms merchant Miya Joyan opened a chain of hot spring inns in Yunokuni, but it is said that he is not in Yunokuni and does not know where he went. ”

"Miya Castle Flame? Forget it, that guy doesn't have to bother. Have the follow-up issues of the cult been dealt with? ”

"Not yet, although it has been traced according to the traces left by the other party, it is still quite difficult to find someone in the ninja world. But one thing is certain, the other party has been in contact with Xiao's people not long ago. ”

Ye Naiyu's face became solemn.

"Xiao?"

Shiraishi's fingers tapped on the tabletop, thinking.

"Are you saying that the fish that slipped through the net of the Cult has already joined the Xiao Organization?"

"Yes, reasoning from the information obtained so far, this is the most plausible result."

Ye Naiyu's words seemed to affirm this matter.

Bai Shi nodded and said: "Then don't worry about that evil god cultist for the time being, not long ago, according to the spy personnel inside Yanyin Village, Yanyin's dark department was dispatched on a large scale and left the village, not knowing what he was looking for." ”

"The Shadows?"

Ye Naiyu's eyes blinked.

"Although we haven't received accurate information yet, Onoki suddenly sent a dark department to leave the village on a large scale and search for something outside...... It is likely that the last tailed beast of Iwakure, the Four Tails, is missing. ”

If it weren't for that, Shiraishi couldn't have imagined that Onoki would suddenly make a large-scale move to go out to search for something, which was obviously inopportune.

"People who know are really looking for opportunities."

Nonoyu sighed.

"Yes, behind this incident, there is also the shadow of root activity."

Shiraishi said quietly.

The intelligence system established by the root in Yanyin Village was still run by Ye Naiyu back then.

Now the root uses this intelligence system to reach some kind of deal with the Akatsuki organization, and the content of the deal, Shiraishi does not know.

But Danzou must have gained something from the Akatsuki organization, which made Shiraishi a little concerned.

"Like Xiao, this group of people is really haunted."

Once a member of the roots, Nonoyu knows the mystery and horror of the roots.

Even she, a senior officer, couldn't know the full picture of the roots.

Perhaps the person who knows the whole picture of the roots, from beginning to end, is only Tuan Zang.

It is also the strongest fortress inside Konoha, which is more difficult to penetrate than the Hokage's shadows.

"Some of Danzo's recent actions are a bit strange, and I don't know what he's up to, but no matter what, he's not the best candidate for the 'Five Hokage' in my mind. If you want to make Konoha completely messed up, you can only find a dovish Hokage to take office. ”

A coldness flashed in Bai Shi's eyes.

"It's not easy, is it?"

Nonoyu blinked.

Although the Oni no Kuni military has planted a lot of spies inside Konoha, it is a bit of a fool's dream to influence the Hokage's campaign.

Most of Konoha's power comes from the ninja clan, and the power of the ninja clan is hereditary.

For example, the position of the leader of the Nara clan's upper ninja squad.

The extinct Uchiha clan, the garrison under their control.

Before Kakashi, the power of the Shadows had been in the hands of the Sarutobi.

The rest of the ninja clans, such as the Oil Girl clan and the Autumn Dao clan, also have their own part of the power.

This means that the selection of the Hokage has always been under the control of the ninja clan, and only if it is in their interests can the Hokage take office.

Once it clashes with the interests of most of the ninjas, the Hokage's voice cannot be conveyed and becomes a pawn and a puppet.

Therefore, it is simply unreasonable to rely on spies cultivated from the civilian class of Konoha to interfere in the Hokage's election.

"Let's talk about this kind of thing then, don't rush it for the time being. I asked you to come back this time, in addition to wanting to know about the affairs of Yunokuni, there is one more thing I want to confirm with you. ”

Shiraishi opened the drawer and rummaged through it for something.

"What's the matter?"

Nonoyu stepped forward.

"His name is Yakushidou, and according to the information provided by Kakashi, the other party is an ordinary Konoha Shinobi on the surface, but secretly he has a very close relationship with Danzou and Orochimaru...... His surname is the same as yours, and I would like to ask, do you know this person? ”

Shiraishi took out a document and spread it out, and there was a photo on the left side of the top corner of the first page.

Shiraishi placed the document in front of Nonoyu, his eyes fixed on Nonoyu's face, trying to see something from it.

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