Chapter 298: The Sand Collapse Plan
By the time Naruto completed the hospital admission procedures, he found Mr. Iruka already unconscious in the hospital corridor, lying alone on the floor, looking utterly miserable no matter how you looked at it.
Thinking about how Mr. Iruka, at his age, didn't even have a girlfriend because he was helping him with remedial lessons, Naruto's face was streaked with tears. He believed he had only thought about the Chunin Exams, only thought about Sakura, and had neglected his teacher's health. He resolved to take good care of his teacher, not leaving his side for a moment!
Naruto was a big mouth. In less than half a day, the news that Mr. Iruka didn't have long to live had spread like wildfire.
What little female appeal Iruka had among the female ninjas was once again wiped clean. No one wanted to befriend someone who was about to die. Besides, you're already this sick, and you're still thinking about women? Are you okay?
Learning that their respected teacher was on the verge of death, many Genin and Chunin who had graduated from the Ninja Academy came to visit.
They mostly found an empty bed. Iruka was too ill; within a few short hours, he had been rushed into the operating room for emergency treatment twice. All sorts of equipment and medical ninjutsu had been used.
The ninjas at Konoha Hospital couldn't figure out what specific illness he had. Vaguely put, it somewhat resembled what medical texts described as "Yin evil entering the body." As for how to treat it? Unknown!
Currently, they could only provide conservative treatment…
Seeing Iruka so ill that he was on a ventilator, Hinata and Sakura cried their eyes out.
Ino also maintained a stern, rather silent expression. Although she had caused this illness, curing it? It really wasn't something that could be done in a day or two. She left Shizune with an eight-character mantra: "Rest well, drink more hot water!"
She took out her notebook and wrote down several lines of small text.
Fifty-third experiment of Yin-Yang Release: Failed!
She wanted to replicate the power of Yin-Yang Release that the Sage of Six Paths had given Naruto; its recovery ability was absolutely peerless. But unfortunately, all her attempts so far had ended in failure.
Thanks to Iruka's "desperate efforts" and Ino's "exquisite" medical skills, they finally managed to fool Naruto.
Jiraiya, in order to make Naruto "independently realize" his lineage, went to great lengths. Returning to his office, he handed over his official duties to Shikaku and started writing!
He had written four books in his lifetime.
The first was the recently bestselling "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja," which had a certain influence on Konan and Nagato. The second was "Icha Icha Paradise," which was Kakashi's eighteenth birthday gift. The third was "Icha Icha Violence," the book Kakashi was engrossed in during the bell test with Team 7.
Originally, Jiraiya's fourth book was titled "Icha Icha Tactics," but he had been too busy after becoming Hokage and had only written the beginning.
Now, busy or not, he had to write! The title was changed to "Icha Icha Father and Son." The original plot was drastically altered, with Minato Namikaze and Naruto as the protagonists. Fearing Naruto wouldn't understand, he used their real names. The story also involved characters like the Third Hokage; he had to whitewash the Third a bit, otherwise, many things would be inexplicable!
Jiraiya didn't drink, didn't peep, and worked overtime writing.
His main body wrote, and his shadow clones helped write.
He finally finished the book within a week, then immediately handed the manuscript to the publisher for printing, with only one request: get it on the shelves as soon as possible!
After dealing with Naruto's situation, he finally had time to prepare for the Sand Collapse Plan.
It was very difficult to swagger into a large hidden village.
In the original timeline, when Sasori and Deidara wanted to kidnap Gaara, even with Yūra, an absolute high-ranking village official, as an inside contact, they didn't manage to sneak in but resorted to a frontal assault.
On one hand, their strength was indeed formidable; on the other, infiltration was too difficult. Eliminating everyone who saw them was not easy.
Various barrier squads, sealing squads, and sensory squads within the ninja village conducted comprehensive detection, making it extremely difficult for outsiders to infiltrate.
Kidnapping an unresisting ordinary person might barely be feasible, but kidnapping a village's Kage or an elder was far too difficult.
Chiyo and Ebizō had relinquished their authority and no longer meddled in affairs, but they still retained the privileges of elders, and the Sand Village had equipped them with dedicated Jounin as guards.
Kidnapping someone without anyone noticing was exceedingly difficult.
Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, when he was alive, could "invade the brain and alter will without being detected." But that was when he was alive. He was dead now. Using Kotoamatsukami in a spiritual state was like a three-year-old child wielding a sledgehammer – it would harm both the user and the target. Furthermore, his ocular power couldn't be replenished; every use depleted it.
Chiyo was not defenseless; the eighty-year-old woman also understood Yin Release. Forcibly controlling her and then having her walk out of the Sand Village was highly problematic.
The Chunin Exams at this time provided an excellent opportunity.
During last year's Chunin Exams, it wasn't just Gaara and his team who came from the Sand Village. They sent over thirty Genin alone, equivalent to ten squads. Including supervising Jounin, accompanying personnel, etc., they probably had around a hundred people.
For the official matches a month later, Jiraiya, as the Fifth Hokage, would have to attend. If he brought a guard detachment, they would have a contingent of nearly two hundred people.
Create chaos during the competition, then coordinate from within and without to abduct the target.
Many of those privy to Shikaku's plan had the urge to comment: wasn't this just a carbon copy of the Konoha Crush plan?
Shikaku smiled. "Honestly, this plan is quite good. Overly complex plans are prone to errors; simple and practical plans are good plans."
"Sigh..." Seeing the plan, Jiraiya sighed inwardly.
He wasn't sighing about anything else but this Chunin Exam.
If Konoha pulled this stunt again, would the major hidden villages dare to hold Chunin Exams with such fanfare in the future? It was originally a fine traditional event, but it was being ruined by the Sand Village and Konoha...
The characters involved were pretty much the same. The Konoha Crush plan had a crucial element of a Jinchuriki wreaking havoc in the village. The Sand Collapse Plan was also preparing to set them up with one this time.
Naruto was definitely out; Jiraiya had no intention of letting Naruto participate in these matters.
On the suggestion of Ino – the "honest and trustworthy, bravely shouldering burdens, never shirking responsibility, contemporary female ninja model" – Shikaku felt this matter could be used to frame someone. The Sand Village's idea last year of using a Jinchuriki to cause trouble was entirely correct; they would just copy it!
He had the Yamanaka clan's ninjas search for traces of Rōshi, Iwagakure's Four-Tails Jinchuriki. It was said that this Jinchuriki was on bad terms with the Third Tsuchikage and had left the village many years ago, wandering around.
Whether he was wandering or not didn't matter. Konoha would capture him and, when the time came, throw him into the competition venue and have him transform into his Tailed Beast directly! Then, they would find a few ninjas to impersonate Stone Village ninjas and pin the blame on Iwagakure!
Could they completely get away with it? That was another matter, but the blame had to be shifted regardless.
As long as the two sides started fighting, Konoha would be secure.
Then, the Sand would fight the Stone, the Mist would fight the Cloud, and Konoha, in the middle, would help whichever side was weaker.
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