While Takeshi and the others were still arguing about the candidates for the Chūnin Exams, a squad had already arrived at the daimyō's residence.
Those openly listed on the mission reported the exact time of the Chūnin Exams after their audience with the daimyō.
Meanwhile, several shinobi who were not on the entry list quietly made their way to the residence of the newly appointed general, Imagawa Shigeaki.
"Congratulations, Shigeaki-sama, on obtaining the position of general as you wished."
Nara Hōen lowered his head, his attitude respectful.
"This is all thanks to the Hokage's support. Please tell him that I, Imagawa Shigeaki, swear in the name of the Imagawa family that I will maintain the friendship between the daimyō's court and Konohagakure."
Imagawa Shigeaki's tone was neither arrogant nor friendly.
But since his position as general had been secured thanks to Nara Shikaku's schemes, both sides at least maintained an appearance of friendship.
"General, this time I have also come with a message from Shikaku-sama."
According to etiquette, Nara Hōen should have excused himself at this point, yet he made no move to leave. Instead, he lifted his head and looked straight into Imagawa Shigeaki's eyes.
Being stared at so directly by a shinobi, even during a time of cooperation, sparked a flash of displeasure in Imagawa Shigeaki's heart.
But what came next immediately swept that displeasure away.
"You are the uncle of the current daimyō. Forget being general—what's stopping you from becoming daimyō yourself?"
At those words, the room fell into an eerie silence.
The only sound was the increasingly heavy breathing of Imagawa Shigeaki.
The position of daimyō?
For Imagawa Shigeaki, whose bloodline already carried the daimyō's heritage, it was indeed an enticing proposition.
...
Training Ground No. 158.
A green whirlwind spiraled skyward, carrying the overwhelming force of a raging dragon as it rushed toward Takeshi.
By all rights, as Hokage, Takeshi should have been in his office, busy handling matters regarding the Chūnin Exams. A training ground hardly seemed appropriate for someone of his position.
Such intensity—though just before the match, it had been said that a Hokage should not spar with his peers, not even with his lifelong friend and rival.
Faced with an attack strong enough to blow his head apart, Takeshi wisely chose to dodge.
"Heeyah!"
Though the sound he made was somewhat strained, Takeshi easily bent backward and narrowly avoided Guy's lethal strike.
The ground split open into a crater under the force of Guy's kick. Without pausing for even an instant, Guy burst through the smoke, sweeping a low kick straight toward Takeshi.
If I retreat now, Guy will definitely follow up with a chain of sweeping kicks.
Jump into the air?
No, then I'll be greeted by that hot-blooded idiot's flying kick.
Tch… guess I'll just have to take it head-on?
Takeshi's brief thought ended there. He summoned a massive shield of ice, meeting Guy's strike head-on.
The clash of flesh and ice produced not a dull thud but the sharp clang of metal on metal.
Weighted training on his legs, huh?
What terrifying weight.
The force numbed Takeshi's hands gripping the shield, but thankfully it didn't shatter under Guy's attack.
Splitting the shield in two, Takeshi reshaped the halves into ice blades, launching an assault from both sides.
Choosing Guy as his partner for taijutsu training had been a wise choice.
Guy's strength was every bit as formidable as expected.
One blade defended, the other attacked, every strike aimed with deadly precision at Guy's vitals.
A weakness.
As Guy raised his leg to kick Takeshi's right-hand blade away, the left blade—meant for defense—suddenly shifted into a lethal strike.
But Guy's expression didn't falter. At the same moment he knocked away the right-hand blade, he used the recoil to bring the weights on his legs into play.
The blade that should have cut into his shin struck squarely against the weights instead. In that instant, the question of which was sturdier—Takeshi's ice or Konoha's craftsmanship—was answered.
The ice shattered.
No opening to exploit.
Eyebrows twitching as he watched shards scatter through the air, Takeshi crossed his hands to block Guy's fist, but his body was still blown backward.
Allowing Guy the initiative was never a good thing.
Planting his feet apart, Takeshi stopped his momentum.
That flash of green would not cease until victory was decided.
Straining his eyes to follow Guy's speed, Takeshi began to question whether his pursuit of taijutsu was truly worth the effort.
If the opponent were Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, even Guy opening all Eight Gates likely wouldn't inflict serious damage.
Especially if she used her dimensional transfer to move into her gravity dimension.
At that point, Kaguya wouldn't even need to fight him directly—she could simply wait for the Dead Gate to consume him.
Ah, in truth, my setup is already quite formidable: Isobu, Sage Mode… except for the Six Paths Sage's biased gift of Six Paths power, I've already collected everything Naruto had.
Oh, right—Isobu.
Suddenly, Takeshi remembered something crucial, something that could overturn the entire balance of power.
Kurama… is still inside Kushina.
"Konoha Strong Whirlwind!"
Shamelessly, Takeshi broke his own rule and used ninjutsu in this taijutsu match.
Their spar had been set from the beginning as a contest of pure taijutsu.
A lapse of focus? Carelessness? Instinct?
Whatever excuse he might use, the fact remained: Takeshi shamelessly employed ninjutsu in a battle of fists.
Confused by the reflections within the ice mirrors, Guy momentarily lost track of Takeshi's position.
"Konoha Secret Technique · One Thousand Years of Death!"
At least in the end, Takeshi remembered it was meant to be a taijutsu match, concluding it with Sakumo's original taijutsu creation.
"My… my eternal rival, trickery is also one of your greatest strengths…"
Tears streamed from his eyes as Guy collapsed to the ground, butt raised in the air, weakly conceding Takeshi's victory.
"Sorry, Guy. This victory is yours. The moment I used ninjutsu, I lost the right to claim the win."
Waving his hand, Takeshi devoted every cell of his brain to devising a way for Naruto to gain the Nine-Tails.
"Hm? It's over already? Poor fool, to actually agree to spar with that brat."
Uchiha Hikari, sitting at the edge of the training ground and witnessing the whole fight, bit down on her popsicle stick, trailing lazily behind Takeshi while still sparing a thought of pity for Guy.
"You really don't want to check in on that Chūnin Exam?"
As Takeshi's bodyguard, Hikari at least felt obliged to remind him.
Sure, Itachi was reliable, but leaving everything in the hands of a mere boy—especially with something as complicated as the Chūnin Exams—perhaps it was still better left to the adults.
"It doesn't matter. The Chūnin Exams just happened to fall to Konoha this time. I have no intention of making any moves centered around it."
Takeshi replied casually to Hikari.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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