Konoha, Just Like Kizaru

Early the next morning, all the contestants gathered in the castle at the center of the Iron Kingdom. 

The square was huge, with walls and floors made of solid granite, designed to withstand cold winds and enemy attacks. 

Surrounding the square were hundreds of heavily armed warriors, showing that the Iron Kingdom had spared no effort in ensuring the security of the competition.

This strict approach is one of the reasons the Iron Kingdom maintains its neutral status. 

The leaders of each ninja village, all Jōnin, watched from the auditorium around the square. 

At the center stood the most prominent leader of the Iron Kingdom, Admiral Mifune. 

This was the man whom Hanzō of the Salamander once defeated. Though he lost, Hanzō still gave him a high evaluation.

Simu looked at Mifune with eager eyes, while Kushina felt a bit uneasy. She thought, Is this guy really staring at him like that?

"What are you staring at Admiral Mifune for?" Kushina asked.

Simu replied enviously, "Do you think the title of Admiral is cool?"

"Admiral?" Kushina frowned.

Kushina couldn't understand what was going on with Simu. In this world, only the Iron Kingdom has the position of Admiral.

Simu rubbed his hands and said, "I wonder if the old man, the Third Hokage, could give me title Admiral Kizaru." 

He looked at Kushina. "Aren't you going to be Hokage? If you become Hokage, can you make me an Admiral?"

Kushina rolled her eyes, unable to respond.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku spoke coldly.

"Hokage isn't something to be joked about like you do"

Simu glanced at him, thinking he was just old-fashioned. 

"The Third Hokage still spies on the bathhouse with a crystal ball every day..." 

Simu said, and Kushina quickly covered his mouth with her hand. It was fine to talk about that in Konoha, but not abroad!

Uchiha Fugaku frowned. While he didn't like the Third Hokage, he didn't want such things about Konoha being spread outside.

Simu quickly coughed, trying to change the subject.

"Anyway, I don't want to be Hokage. It's too much work. I'm always busy, working overtime every day. It's so annoying," Simu said.

Uchiha Fugaku didn't want to continue the conversation. 

Why was this guy suddenly so fixated that he became Hokage? 

It was as if he thought he could just become whatever he wanted... 

Where did his confidence come from?

Mifune, the Admiral, seemed to have noticed the commotion.

Mifune glanced toward Konoha. 

Jiraiya in the audience covered his face in embarrassment, while Tsunade let out a small sigh. 

"Don't call me next time if Simu is around"

At this, Kumo Shinobi Jōnin Doe sneered

"Konoha can't even manage a group of juniors properly. There's no discipline, let alone any real combat effectiveness."

Instead of getting upset, Jiraiya and Tsunade both smiled at the Kumo Shinobi.

Anxiety is for the weak. 

The strong don't care about what the weak say.

The Jōnin from other ninja villages had already heard about what happened at the gate yesterday. 

Now, they looked at Doe with meaningful glances.

It seemed to say, You can criticize Konoha's people for lacking quality, but what about Kumo Shinobi, who were beaten and pressed by Konoha?

Doi was so angry that he couldn't speak.

Seeing that it was almost time, Admiral Mifune began to announce: 

"The first Test of this joint exam is to cross the Snowstorm Mountain Range. Each participating team will be placed at a different location in the mountains."

"At the start, you will receive one scroll—either Yin or Yang. Your goal is to obtain the other scroll within one day and then reach the Samurai Lighthouse in the center of the Snowstorm Mountains to pass the Test."

"Attention, this is a friendly exchange between the ninja villages. No killing is allowed," Mifune announced. 

"If you break this rule, you will be surrounded by samurai from the Iron Kingdom."

"If there are no questions, let's begin."

The samurai placed blindfolds on the contestants and led them into the snow-covered mountains.

The rules this time were similar to Konoha's Chūnin exam. 

However, in the original peaceful era, there was an additional written test. Now, it was all about direct combat.

It seemed that, to avoid bloody disputes, the Iron Kingdom had restricted the possibility of death in this Test. 

Simu felt a bit disappointed.

Otherwise, he could have eliminated the entire younger generation of Kumo Shinobi as revenge for their earlier attempt to kidnap Kushina.

Simu wasn't a petty person, but if anyone dared to attract the attention of those around him, they would face severe consequences.

Soon, the samurai released Simu. 

The cold wind and snow surrounded him, and Simu, along with Kushina and Minato, found themselves in a strange place.

.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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