I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

Chapter 448: Assessment

"It’s fine. Then, the alliance between Amegakure and Kusagakure is officially established," Pain said calmly.

He had already caught the intentions hidden in the Kusagakure leader’s words, he was no longer the ignorant boy he once was.

After Yahiko’s death, he inherited Akatsuki and Yahiko’s will, which led Nagasawa to understand many things and actively study them.

Though he disdained acting like a typical politician, timid, vague, and indecisive, like the Kusagakure leader, that didn’t mean he didn’t understand them. On the contrary, he understood perfectly how those people thought.

But so what? Nagasawa didn’t care whether Kusagakure joined in later. And as for whether they would join at all? Nagasawa wasn’t worried.

Let’s not forget Zetsu’s information-gathering ability, so long as Zetsu was willing, he could effortlessly acquire intel from anywhere except for Konoha.

From the information on the Kusagakure leader, Nagasawa easily analyzed his personality: a man full of ambition, one who thrived on chaos, yet extremely cautious, perhaps cowardly.

But when a real opportunity came, that man would bring Kusagakure into the war. He had the ambition to replace the Five Great Nations.

So Nagasawa wasn’t worried about them not joining. And whether he could give Kusagakure that "opportunity"? He wasn’t worried about that either. If he didn’t even have that confidence, he wouldn’t be here now.

"Well then..." The Kusagakure leader wanted to say something nice but suddenly realized he didn’t even know the name of this young leader from Amegakure. So he asked directly.

"Pain," Nagasawa replied, expressionless.

"So young and talented! I’m sure under Lord Pain’s leadership, Amegakure will soon rise again and ultimately defeat the oppression of the Great Shinobi Villages," the Kusagakure leader said with a smile.

Though it seemed odd for a man in his thirties to call someone younger "lord," he didn’t feel any shame in doing so.

This was a man who had taken down Hanzo the Demi-God, and now aimed to trigger a Shinobi World War to challenge the system of the Five Great Villages. If he succeeded, his name would be carved into history as a legend.

If a few kind words could bring the two sides closer, the Kusagakure leader was more than willing to keep talking.

The ninja world was cruel, if problems could be solved with words, that would be the best outcome.

Pain didn’t respond. He simply nodded lightly, then walked out of the meeting room.

As it should be. Amegakure, the Land of Rain, and even the entire shinobi world would ultimately be shaped by Pain, or rather, Yahiko’s, ideals, to become a world of peace.

’Such an arrogant young man... But that’s for the best.’ The Kusagakure leader wasn’t annoyed by Pain’s coldness. He smiled and followed after him.

He was thinking long-term. Even if the war didn’t go well, he was already planning for what would come after. If they truly won, would Kusagakure one day turn against Amegakure?

If that day came, it was much easier to deal with a proud youth than a scheming fox with a smile.

After the alliance was confirmed, both parties quickly departed.

Upon returning to Amegakure, Nagasawa began arranging things for when he would leave the village.

He let Konan go first, while he remained. One reason was for her safety; the other was to draw Kusagakure in, an extra ally for the future.

If Nagasawa had followed his original plan, none of this would’ve been necessary.

The original plan was simple: use top-tier power and Zetsu’s intel to rapidly invade villages and seize the Jinchūriki by force.

That plan didn’t require an army, only the Akatsuki members would act, and Amegakure itself wouldn’t even appear. So dragging a small village like Kusagakure into it would’ve been pointless.

But in Nagasawa’s new plan, he wanted to defeat the Great Shinobi Villages *as* a small village. It wasn’t about stealing a single Jinchūriki, it was about open warfare and complete victory over the major powers.

And that kind of war couldn’t be won with just elite power, unless that power was at his own absurd level, which obviously wasn’t realistic.

Nagasawa knew very well, he had the Rinnegan, the Sage of Six Paths’ eyes, and had enhanced himself with Gedo Mazo, that’s the only reason he had such overwhelming strength. Normal people couldn’t do the same.

Ordinary Kage-level ninja could still be brought down by coordinated jōnin teams.

The major villages had overwhelming numbers and quality of shinobi, far beyond what smaller villages could match. That’s why Nagasawa thought of uniting them, to consolidate all non-major village forces against the Great Nations.

Next, Nagasawa would head to the Land of Fields to establish the crucial Hikari Village, then unite the rest of the ninja world’s minor powers to oppose the major ones.

He quickly assigned trustworthy individuals to run Amegakure in his absence.

It wasn’t a big deal. Even before, when he traveled, Konan usually stayed with him anyway. The village wouldn’t fall apart just because the two of them were gone.

Akatsuki had developed for years, not just by recruiting strong rogue ninja.

At the Special Ops Division base, the usually scattered reserve trainees had all gathered. All the instructors were present. Even Nagasawa, rarely seen, had shown up.

Today was the first formal assessment since the founding of the Special Ops Division.

This was very different from the simple genjutsu test the trainees had taken to get into the program. Today’s test was real, actual combat.

"I’ll say this one more time. If you lack confidence, you can withdraw now. Otherwise, you may be seriously injured... or even die."

Nagasawa, usually easygoing, now spoke with rare seriousness.

What was Nagasawa’s vision for the Special Ops Division? Elites. The elite among elites.

In his mind, the Special Ops Division would be Konoha’s spear. Whenever anyone or any force posed a threat to Konoha, this spear would strike.

They wouldn’t do infiltration, protection, or intel gathering missions. When the Special Ops moved, it was for battle. To kill.

Nagasawa longed for peace and hoped for a peaceful shinobi world, this was influenced by the world of his previous life.

But having a sword you don’t draw is different from not having a sword at all.

So he designed the formal assessment to be very difficult. He even bothered Orochimaru to use some old research and enhance it.

The testing ground was a mountain near Konoha.

Nagasawa had released a large number of poisonous insects and wild beasts into the mountain, along with some snake beasts, strange creatures Orochimaru had created.

These monsters didn’t use chakra, but they were extremely tough and powerful, strong enough to make even chūnin frown.

The test requirement: survive in the mountain for six days and kill at least two monsters.

If at any point the examinees were in danger or wanted to give up, they could use a signal flare to call for help, a ninja would come to rescue them.

After Nagasawa’s speech, silence fell. Clearly, no one wanted to quit.

Nagasawa nodded in approval. Whether or not they were strong yet, this group had confidence and courage.

"Seems like no one’s backing out. Then let’s move out!" With a wave of his arm, Nagasawa led the Special Ops group to the testing site.

"Goodbye squad leaders! Goodbye teachers! Goodbye seniors!"

The second batch of reserve members waved as they saw them off.

Since the second batch had only just started learning Breathing Techniques, Nagasawa of course wasn’t sending them in. That would be suicide.

It’s worth noting, there was still no instructor for Stone Breathing. But they had finally found one for Thunder Breathing.

Nagasawa had searched for a long time but never found a suitable Stone Breathing practitioner. The Thunder Breathing instructor had been recruited from the ANBU.

Nagasawa wasn’t surprised. Stone Breathing was simply too difficult, and he was too picky. It wasn’t strange that no one qualified. Might Guy had the talent, but using his time for that felt like a waste.

Fortunately, Stone Breathing was so difficult that few even wanted to learn it, so it didn’t impact the Division much.

Compared to the first batch, the second batch’s Breathing Technique choices were more balanced. Flame Breathing was still the most popular, but it wasn’t overwhelming, probably because it had the most instructors.

"I’m so excited! Once we become official members, we can start taking missions. Then we can rank up! Maybe one day I’ll become a Pillar!"

Uchiha Isamu said excitedly.

He hadn’t even made it to the Top 8 in the last Chūnin Exams, but due to circumstances and the unusually high quality of that exam, he still advanced to chūnin.

There had even been Chūnin Exams where no one made the rank. So if someone like Isamu, who didn’t even reach the quarterfinals, became chūnin, that said a lot.

Besides, he’d heard many who were eliminated in the first round were promoted too.

So Isamu didn’t think he’d fail the Special Ops member test.

"What dream are you chasing? Even our teachers aren’t Pillars yet, and you think you’ll be one?"

Uchiha Naoki looked at Isamu with disbelief.

Right now, the only Pillar in the Special Ops was Nagasawa.

And no one questioned that, he was the founder, the creator of Breathing Techniques, and widely recognized as Konoha’s strongest.

Nagasawa had once wanted Gokai to be the Water Pillar, his strength was sufficient. A veteran elite jōnin.

But Gokai refused, saying he was too old and the position should go to the younger generation.

Nagasawa accepted that. Age *was* a factor.

He preferred Gokai remain an instructor and focus on teaching.

"What’s wrong with dreaming? If you’re too scared to dream, you’ve already lost to me, Naoki!" Isamu laughed loudly.

Naoki gave Isamu a helpless look, but couldn’t refute him, because if he did, Isamu would definitely bring up the Chūnin Exams.

Naoki had been eliminated in the very first round.

Even though he was later promoted, that first-round loss still stung...

"Hahaha! Isn’t that Naoki? Haven’t seen you in a few days, and you’ve already flopped again? Eliminated in the first round!"

Naoki hadn’t forgotten how loudly Isamu had laughed at him.

So he chose silence, hoping to avoid misfortune.

"This test could be deadly. Dangerous, right? But don’t worry, Yugao, I’ll protect you."

Hayate Gekkō gently held Uzuki Yugao’s hand.

"Hayate..." Yugao blushed instantly as Hayate took her hand in front of everyone.

"I’m a chūnin now. I should be able to pass the test." Yugao said, cheeks still red.

"Of course I believe in you. But the rules don’t say we *can’t* team up."

Hayate smiled.

Yugao hesitated. It wasn’t that she doubted her own strength, just that surviving for six days in a mountain full of poison bugs and monsters sounded a lot better *with* her boyfriend.

Others nearby started thinking too. It was true, Nagasawa hadn’t said group hunting was forbidden.

Working together might mean killing more monsters to pass, but it was still safer.

Hearing the quiet discussions from the reserve members behind him, Nagasawa simply smiled and said nothing.

Would he leave such a loophole? Of course not.

Nagasawa had already made preparations. The mountain had far more monsters than people. And he’d done something to the trainees.

They carried a scent that attracted monsters. The creatures would actively hunt them, not passively wait to be hunted.

The more people grouped together, the more attention they drew, attracting even more beasts.

If they wanted to use teamwork to coast through, they’d better be ready to be chased around the mountain by monsters.

"How long after the test do we depart?"

Kabuto asked Itachi about his plans.

Even Uchiha Isamu was confident about passing. As the top scorer in the Chūnin Exams, Kabuto had no reason to think he’d fail.

"One day. I’ll rest and say goodbye to my family."

Itachi replied after thinking.

"So soon?" Kabuto was surprised.

When he first heard Itachi planned to journey across the Land of Fire, he was shocked. That wasn’t something kids their age usually did.

But then again, it was Itachi, so Kabuto quickly understood. It was just how he was.

Itachi always seemed more mature than his peers. Kabuto sometimes wondered how someone like him, a noble Uchiha heir, could be so thoughtful.

Eventually, Kabuto could only conclude: *Itachi is just Itachi. That’s who he is.*

"I’ve thought about it a long time, discussed it with my family. Nagasawa-sensei gave me advice, and I’ve packed everything. There’s no point resting longer, better to leave early."

Itachi answered.

"True. You’re really looking forward to the journey, huh?"

"Mhm."

As the group chatted, they soon arrived at the testing ground. To prevent intrusions, Nagasawa had even arranged an ANBU squad to patrol the perimeter.