Hokage: Ryo's Path

Hatake Sakumo didn’t know that thing between Naruto and Iwagakure Genin. But they were concerned for the teams who passed the first two exams.

Onoki sat in the stands, glancing at the Genin below and saw Uzumaki Naruto alive.

Frowning, he taught. ‘Did Kurotsuchi fail?’, then shook his head. ‘Kurotsuchi won’t fail unless the Kyuubi Jinchuriki wears the Sanbi Bijuu’s coat or above. It’s impossible to escape her. Seeing his age, maybe Ichibi’s coat is the limit. Maybe Kurotsuchi couldn’t find him.’

That’s what he thought, but he didn’t know why he felt uneasy. After forcing himself to calm down, Onoki said. “Hokage-sama, congratulations for the 4 Konoha teams passing the exam.”

Hatake Sakumo laughed, “You too. 3 Iwagakure teams had passed.”

Hearing this, Onoki’s expression darkened. Iwagakure sent out more Genin to take the exam than Konoha.

But only fewer teams that passed the exam. For him, Hatake Sakumo was clearly mocking him.

“Hokage-sama, it’s almost time to start the next round. It seems these Genins can’t wait.” Pakura winked at Sakumo.

Following Pakura’s gaze, he saw Naruto glaring at Iwagakure Genin. “Elder Pakura is right. Let’s start the third found!

Inform Hayate and the referee of the first exam according to the lottery we’ve arranged before.” Hatake Sakumo spoke to Anbu behind him without looking back. The Anbu Ninja froze; he hadn’t arranged this before.

Hatake Sakumo couged, “Ahem, ahem! Not yet.”

The Anbu Ninja realized Sakumo was giving him a secret instruction. He followed Hatake Sakumo’s eyes and saw Naruto’s behavior. He quickly understood and turned to leave.

In the background, the Anbu Ninja relayed Hatake Sakumo’s message, and Hayate Gekko immediately manipulated the final draw.

A total of 10 Genin teams had returned from the Forest of Death. The 30 Genins were divided into 15 duels.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Tenten’s opponents were Iwagakure Genin. While Sakura’s opponent was still Ino, Hinata had to face her older cousin Neji,

Shino’s opponent was the same in the Manga, Sasuke’s opponent was Kirigakure Genin, as for Lee, he still faced Gaara.

After the opponent was decided, the third stage exam began. The first to play was Shikamaru.

Naturally, he won relatively easily. The next few games were from the other village. Until the fifth game, Sakura and Ino.

“Wide forehead. We really are meant to be enemies!”

“Hmph! Ino pig! I’ll teach you!”

The two Ninja’s sparks made the referee and Hayate Gekko interested.

After the two girl’s confrontation, the match begins. They both were auxiliary Ninja.

One is known for her sense ability, and the other one is a medical ninja. They both had no Ninjutsu, just Taijutsu.

If it’s just an ordinary Taijutsu battle, the audience would quickly lose interest. But Ino and Sakura’s battles were certainly interesting.

First, their strength matches each other, so the battle outcome will be difficult to predict.

Second, both of them had learned for a brief time from Yamanaka Ryo, and their fighting styles are similar.

After fighting for some time, their physical strength began to deplete. They both withdrew and stood far from each other, both panting heavily.

“Wide forehead... I didn’t expect you to become this strong after graduating from Ninja Academy.”

“I’ve always been strong!” Sakura retorted.

“If we fought back at the Ninja Academy, the result would be a draw. Unfortunately, we both graduated. Forehead, are you ready?”

Ino’s words barely fell, and she immediately formed hand seals. Sakura’s consciousness began to blur, and found her body was out of her control.

She desperately resisted and tried to regain her body, but it was useless. She gazed at Ino, who was controlling her body and admitted defeat.

Neither the audience nor the referee expected this outcome.

After a while, Hayate Gekko announced Ino as the winner.

“Mind-Body Switch Jutsu to control Sakura’s body. Ino, you’re doing a good job!” Asuma smiled.

“Un! Sakura’s Spiritual Strength is not strong enough to defend against Ino’s Jutsu. If it was Sasuke, his Sharingan would easily dissolve it.” Kakashi spoke.

“Well, let’s put it that way. Kakashi, who do you think will win the next game?”

Glancing at the stage, he saw Sasuke and Kirigakure’s Genin. And spoke without the slightest hesitation. “Sasuke will win. I know his strength.” Kakashi spoke.

“It’s not certain. That young Genin looked complicated!” Kurenai, who had been silent, finally talked.

Kakashi didn’t argue back and smiled, “Let’s just wait and see!”

At this time, the young Kirigakure Genin looked at Sasuke in the arena. “Uchiha Sasuke, right? I’ve been wanting to see the power of the famous Sharingan!”

Sasuke ignored him and formed hand seals with both hands. “Great Fireball Technique!”

The Kirigakure Genin looked at the approaching Fireball with disdain. When the Fireball reached him, a strange weapon appeared on his hand and split the Fireball right in the middle.

Seeing this, Onoki was startled and then smiled. He spoke to Ao on his side. “I didn’t expect to see Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist for years! Is he the new one?”

Ao calmly replied. “Please, Tsuchikage-sama. This is a child game, I had no idea when he brought that sword from the village.”

“Really? But I think he’s very skilled in using that sword! His opponent was in trouble. But he’s from the Uchiha Clan, right? What do you think about this, Hokage?”

Hatake Sakumo laughed and said. “I believe Sasuke will win.”

“Hahaha! I hope Hokage-sama can maintain such confidence.” After speaking, Onoki’s gaze returned to the arena.

Sasuke didn’t recognize the weapon, but he knows that facing such a weapon that looks like a long needle isn’t easy. Putting away his contempt, he opened Sharingan with a solemn expression.

The Kirigakure Genin looked at Sasuke’s scarlet eyes with excitement. “Is that Sharingan? Come one, Uchiha Sasuke! Let me see if those eyes are really as powerful as the legend says!”