Chapter 147: Fire-Earth Non-Aggression Pact
After Uchiha Douhuan placed the two young boys down, one on each side, Onoki also landed from the air, looking at Uchiha Douhuan in astonishment. His Super Light-Weight Boulder Technique was already very fast, but Uchiha Douhuan's speed just now had completely exceeded his expectations.
"Tsuchikage, then how should this match be scored?" Uchiha Douhuan looked at Onoki with a chuckle and asked.
"Then let's call it a draw, how about that?" Onoki proposed.
"Alright, let's call it a draw then." Uchiha Douhuan nodded, then, grabbing his own disciple by the scruff of his neck, walked towards the main platform.
As the two returned to the VIP area with their respective disciples, the referee below also announced the result of this spar. The venue erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Although neither of them had even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet, the excitement level of this match was already comparable to some Chunin-level duels.
With this pre-match warm-up, the tournament matches of this Chunin Exam also became livelier.
The contestants who advanced to the main tournament appeared one after another.
However, while the contestants below were fighting spectacularly, Uchiha Douhuan and Onoki, on the contrary, weren't focusing on the matches below. Instead, they straightforwardly began to divide up the mission quota that Kusagakure Village could no longer handle due to the near-total loss of its Jounin.
This negotiation was very smooth. Konoha and Iwagakure basically divided these B-rank and above missions, which Kusagakure was unable to complete, evenly. In truth, this amount of mission quota was merely a drop in the ocean for both Konoha and Iwagakure. Therefore, both approached the negotiation with the mindset that taking a small loss was acceptable, which paradoxically led to an even distribution.
However, for Kusagakure, after these mission quotas were carved up by Konoha and Iwagakure, unless one of the ninja villages of the two great nations fell, their village could be said to have no chance of ever rising again. After all, cultivating new Jounin also required accumulating experience through missions, but now they could no longer receive any decent missions.
In dealing with a troublemaker force like Kusagakure situated on the border of their two countries, Onoki and Uchiha Douhuan tacitly chose not to give them any chance to rise again.
"The Fifth Hokage is indeed a straightforward person," Onoki chuckled heartily after they finished dividing the spoils. "Negotiating with you is much more pleasant than with that old fellow Sarutobi Hiruzen."
"Hehe, Lord Tsuchikage jests. Whether it's you or the Third Hokage, both are role models for this junior to learn from," Uchiha Douhuan changed the subject with a smile.
At this moment, the matches below had reached the semifinals. Uchiha Shingetsu, who had just awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan, had successfully made it this far and was handling his current opponent, a talented Iwagakure Genin, with ease. Victory was only a matter of time. As for Uchiha Masato with the single-tomoe Sharingan, he had fallen in the previous round due to insufficient chakra after consecutively facing strong opponents.
"It seems the champion this time will be taken by a member of your Uchiha clan," Onoki chuckled.
"Just luck. If Shingetsu hadn't managed to awaken his two-tomoe Sharingan earlier, he probably would have been eliminated long ago," Uchiha Douhuan said.
"The Hokage is just being modest," Onoki shook his head. After a moment, he spoke again, "I wonder how the Hokage views the current situation in the ninja world?"
"The situation in the ninja world?" Uchiha Douhuan smiled upon hearing this. It seemed this was Onoki's real probe.
"In my opinion, although peace is the mainstream melody in the current ninja world, beneath this peaceful surface, undercurrents are surging," Uchiha Douhuan stated.
"I wonder what the Hokage means by this?" Onoki asked.
"Although the current ninja world is temporarily peaceful, everyone is merely licking the wounds from the Third Great Ninja War. If the situation changes, the Fourth Great Ninja War will erupt at any moment. The ninja world is about to face a major upheaval unseen in decades," Uchiha Douhuan looked at Onoki and chuckled lightly.
"Hehe, the Hokage and I indeed see eye to eye like heroes," Onoki chuckled. "It seems Konoha is already prepared to respond to changes in the situation?"
"Hehe, before that day truly arrives, who would dare say they are fully prepared?" Uchiha Douhuan said. "One can only make arrangements as best as possible so that the village can reach the other shore amidst the storm. Hasn't Iwagakure been doing the same all these years?"
"The Hokage's words are reasonable," Onoki nodded. "As Kage, it is our inescapable responsibility to enable our nations and villages to navigate through storms to the other shore."
"I just wonder, in the Hokage's eyes, in this vast ninja world, who can sway the entire situation of the ninja world?" After Onoki finished speaking, he fell silent for a moment, then looked at Uchiha Douhuan and asked.
"This ninja world is so vast; to say who can sway the situation of the ninja world, I really can't say off the top of my head in such a short time," Uchiha Douhuan chuckled.
"Hanzō of Amegakure in the Land of Rain, the demigod of the ninja world, once fought three great nations alone. Though defeated, it was glorious. Can he sway the situation of the ninja world?" Onoki asked.
"His strength relies entirely on external objects. Once the salamander's poison is countered, he's nothing but dry bones in a grave," Uchiha Douhuan said.
"Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, perhaps?" Onoki continued.
"The Kage of a village needing to personally engage in artisan work just to maintain the village's operation? A mere laughingstock," Uchiha Douhuan said disdainfully.
"Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure in the Land of Water, perhaps?" Onoki asked again.
"Kirigakure's policies are self-destructive and absurd. Its continued existence is merely due to the geographical advantage of being separated by the sea. Without that sea, I alone can extinguish it," Uchiha Douhuan stated.
"Then what about A, the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning?" Onoki pressed further.
"That Fourth Raikage is merely a brave but brainless brute, not worth worrying about," Uchiha Douhuan said.
"If none of these individuals are capable, who does the Hokage believe is the one who can sway the situation of the ninja world?" Onoki frowned slightly and asked.
"Hehe, those who are qualified and capable of swaying the entire ninja world's situation, aren't they all sitting right here?" Uchiha Douhuan chuckled.
At this moment, Uchiha Shingetsu below the stage was engaged in a white-hot battle with his finals opponent. Within the moderately sized competition arena, roaring flames had already engulfed the area. His finals opponent, while dodging, inadvertently made eye contact with Uchiha Shingetsu.
Uchiha Douhuan then smiled faintly, looked at Onoki, and said with a burning gaze, "In my opinion, the only ones truly qualified to sway the situation of this ninja world are you and I."
Onoki's eyes narrowed slightly, and he fell into silence.
After this round of probing, although Onoki still couldn't see through Uchiha Douhuan, he was certain of one thing: Uchiha Douhuan's ambition was far from simple.
"Hehe, the Hokage's thoughts, once again, coincide with this old man's," After a long pause, Onoki slowly spoke. "Since that's the case, how about we take this opportunity for our two great ninja villages to form an alliance and jointly respond to the upcoming changes in the situation?"
"I knew Lord Tsuchikage invited me with such fanfare to attend this Chunin Exam for a reason not so simple," Uchiha Douhuan said. "However, Lord Tsuchikage's proposal indeed aligns with what I had in mind. With our two villages cooperating closely, I believe we can achieve great things in the changing situation of the future."
"If the Hokage can think this way, then it couldn't be more appropriate," Onoki chuckled. The battle below had concluded; Uchiha Shingetsu's opponent, having fallen under genjutsu, had lost the ability to fight further. Uchiha Shingetsu, representing Konoha, had won the championship of this Joint Chunin Exam tournament.
"As for the detailed cooperation plan, let's discuss it at length during the banquet later this evening. What does the Hokage think?" Onoki asked.
"Lord Tsuchikage is the host here; I, as the guest, will naturally follow the host's arrangements," Uchiha Douhuan chuckled.
...
That evening, after the banquet celebrating the successful conclusion of this Joint Chunin Exam, Uchiha Douhuan and Onoki talked late into the night.
Soon, a treaty titled "Fire-Earth Non-Aggression Pact" was freshly drafted from their discussions.
Uchiha Douhuan and Onoki signed their names on this treaty, made in duplicate, and also affixed their respective seals representing their identities.
After all this was done, Uchiha Douhuan finally embarked on his return journey.
Before leaving, Onoki personally came to the village gate to see him off.
And Naruto and Deidara, the two blondes, also bid each other a reluctant farewell at the village gate.
"Little Bro, take good care of yourself. That method of rapidly dispelling clones in a short time, try not to use it if you can avoid it," Deidara said. "Also, take this."
Deidara took out two clay dolls from his bosom and stuffed them into Naruto's hands.
"What's this?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Portable exploding clay, created based on the inspiration you gave me that day. After infusing chakra, it will explode within 5 seconds. The explosive power is equivalent to three exploding tags detonating simultaneously, and it will also create a burst of colorful strong light, effectively interfering with the opponent's vision," Deidara explained.
"This..." Naruto stared blankly at the two clay dolls in his hands.
"Little Bro, take care of yourself. Big Bro will come find you after some time, then we can exchange new artistic ideas," Deidara then lowered his voice and said.
"Big Bro, what did you say?" Just then, the sound of ceremonial cannons bidding farewell to the Hokage exploded nearby, making it hard for Naruto to hear what Deidara was saying.
"Nothing. Just take good care of yourself," Deidara, seeing Onoki already looking in this direction, immediately changed his tune.
"You too, Big Bro!" Naruto replied.
...
After the two bid farewell, the group formally embarked on their return journey.
One day later, just as the group had exited the border of the Land of Earth, Naruto suddenly clutched his stomach and said to Uchiha Douhuan, "Teacher, my stomach hurts!"
"I told you last night not to eat hot ramen right after finishing a cold popsicle, but you wouldn't listen. Now you know the consequences," Uchiha Douhuan glanced at the kid and then spoke.
However, despite his words, Uchiha Douhuan still pulled out a stack of paper from his pocket, handed it to Naruto, and said, "Go solve it yourself somewhere far off. Remember to clean up the traces."
"Yes!" Naruto, in urgent need, couldn't care less, grabbed the stack of paper from Uchiha Douhuan's hand, and rushed out of the carriage.
"Teacher, those papers weren't..." Sasuke then looked at Uchiha Douhuan with an incredulous expression.
(End of Chapter)
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