"Is that the Hidden Leaf Village up ahead?"
"So lively!"
Gazing at the bustling gates of the Hidden Leaf Village, where carts and horses streamed endlessly, two young shinobi froze in place, letting out sighs of awe.
At that moment, their group was already heading toward the Hidden Leaf's gates. Their leader, Terumi Mei, turned to the pair and said, "Chojuro, Suigetsu, hurry up and follow!"
"Yes!"
With a quick response, the two young shinobi named Chojuro and Suigetsu hurriedly caught up with the group.
Undoubtedly.
This team was dispatched by the Mist Village after receiving news of the reappearance of Wood Release in the Hidden Leaf, sent specifically to investigate the truth behind it.
The team included not only their leader, Terumi Mei, and talented Mist shinobi like Chojuro and Suigetsu but also several volunteers.
These volunteers were sent by the Mist Village to undergo the First Hokage's cell transplant surgery in the Hidden Leaf!
The Hidden Leaf didn't want the reappearance of Wood Release to spark conflicts with the other four great shinobi villages. After all, the five great villages' true enemy was the Akatsuki, an organization coveting the tailed beasts.
At the same time, the Hidden Leaf was well aware that even if they tightly guarded the secret, other villages would stop at nothing to steal Wood Release from them.
Since Tsunade had already confirmed that Yakumo's surgery was a miraculous success, nearly impossible to replicate, it was better to openly share the procedure. The odds of success were minuscule anyway.
This way, they could avoid the hassle of constantly guarding against other villages' covert schemes!
After entering the Hidden Leaf Village, the Mist shinobi traveling with Terumi Mei were immediately captivated by the village's vibrant and bustling atmosphere.
In terms of scale, the Mist Village was no less impressive than the Hidden Leaf.
But when it came to commercial activity, the Mist Village lagged far behind. After all, before the Fourth Mizukage took power, the Mist had enforced a brutal policy of shinobi killing each other for over a decade, earning it the grim nickname "Village of the Bloody Mist" from other villages.
In the original timeline, the Fourth Mizukage, intent on reform, was soon controlled by Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, perpetuating the "Bloody Mist" policy. It wasn't until the Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei, took over that it was finally abolished.
While visiting a dango shop, the conversations of the patrons caught the attention of the Mist group.
"The four prodigies of the shinobi academy are pretty evenly matched, but that young lady from the Kurama clan's main branch is on another level. This time, there's probably no suspense."
"Don't forget, this time it's two Uchiha prodigies teaming up with a Hyuga prodigy. Three against two—it's not like they don't have a chance."
"Yeah, last time, the Kurama clan's young lady lost to Uchiha Shinji. Uchiha Shinji is the true top prodigy of the academy!"
"Uchiha Shinji? Hah, he hasn't even awakened his Sharingan. How's he supposed to compete with the Kurama girl's Wood Release? With his mouth?"
"He won last time, didn't he?"
"That was a fluke. Just watch—trying to counter Wood Release with ordinary ninjutsu is a pipe dream!"
Listening to the patrons' chatter, Chojuro and Suigetsu, who were munching on dango, reacted differently.
Suigetsu took a swig from his water bottle and said, "Sounds like there's a good show coming up!"
"The Uchiha, Hyuga, and Kurama are all major clans of the Hidden Leaf. From what they're saying, they must be talking about the new generation of prodigies from these clans." Smiling shyly, Chojuro added, "Hearing them talk like that, I kinda want to see these Hidden Leaf prodigies for myself!"
Nearby, Terumi Mei's eyes flickered.
Her mission in coming to the Hidden Leaf was to uncover the full details of this Wood Release reappearance for the Mist Village.
Now, hearing that the Hidden Leaf's shinobi academy was holding a team combat test soon, and that the Kurama clan's young lady who wielded Wood Release would participate, she sensed an opportunity to probe the truth of Wood Release.
In the Hidden Leaf's temporary guest lodge for the Sand Village.
Kankuro, his face painted with camouflage, walked in from outside and said to Temari and Gaara, the latter sporting dark circles under his eyes, "I've got the scoop. The Hidden Leaf shinobi academy's team combat test is happening in a few days, and the one who's mastered Wood Release will be there!"
Gaara's expression remained blank.
Temari cautiously glanced at Gaara before saying, "I heard this year's Hidden Leaf academy has produced quite a few prodigies."
Kankuro smirked. "Prodigies? They're just overhyped, that's all!"
Temari replied, "Whether they're overhyped or not, we'll find out once they fight."
"Hmph!"
Gaara let out a soft grunt.
At that sound, Temari and Kankuro's hearts skipped a beat.
Kankuro hurriedly said, "What Hidden Leaf prodigies? Compared to Gaara, they're all nothing!"
"Exactly!"
Temari nodded.
This wasn't just flattery on her part—she genuinely believed that none of the so-called Hidden Leaf prodigies could hold a candle to Gaara!
Undoubtedly.
Like the Mist Village, the Sand Village had also sent a team to the Hidden Leaf.
What surprised many, however, was that the Sand Village had included their One-Tail Jinchuriki in the group.
The Sand Village had its reasons for this.
Gaara, the One-Tail Jinchuriki, was unstable, prone to rampaging in the village from time to time, causing significant loss of life and property.
As a result, despite being the son of the Kazekage, Gaara's life in the Sand Village was far from pleasant, despised and feared by nearly everyone.
This included his own father, the Fourth Kazekage!
Not long ago, the Fourth Kazekage made up his mind and ordered Yashamaru, the shinobi tasked with caring for Gaara—his uncle—to assassinate him.
The reasoning was simple: in the Fourth Kazekage's eyes, an unstable Jinchuriki not only failed to intimidate other villages but also posed a threat to his own.
He wanted to test Gaara's stability, to see if Gaara would lose control and rampage again when faced with an assassination attempt by someone close to him.
If Gaara lost control, the Kazekage would personally eliminate him. Dealing with a defective Jinchuriki himself was better than letting Gaara and the One-Tail fall into the Akatsuki's hands.
As expected, Gaara lost control again when faced with his uncle's betrayal.
But when the time came to deliver the killing blow, the Fourth Kazekage hesitated. Just then, news of Wood Release reappearing in the Hidden Leaf arrived, so he included Gaara in the team sent to the Hidden Leaf.
His reasoning was straightforward.
With Jinchuriki being prime targets for the Akatsuki, Gaara, as a "failed" Jinchuriki, not only threatened the Sand Village's safety but also risked drawing the attention of the powerful Akatsuki.
Rather than keep Gaara in the village, it was better to send him to the Hidden Leaf. Given the current alliance of the five great shinobi villages against the Akatsuki, the Hidden Leaf wouldn't dare—nor would they easily—harm Gaara, the Kazekage's son and One-Tail Jinchuriki.
Moreover, the Hidden Leaf would be forced to protect Gaara with all their might to prevent the One-Tail from falling into the Akatsuki's hands.