Raidō Namiashi had seen many geniuses—and he himself had once been one.
Otherwise, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, wouldn't have chosen him as a bodyguard and taught him the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But Yami was the first he'd seen with such a personality.
Even Kakashi back then wasn't this arrogant.
For a moment, Raidō even questioned whether he was right to allow Yami to leave for supplies.
So he called over a Chūnin and instructed him to report to the Hokage's office.
Hokage Building.
The same old people sat in silence.
After receiving the report, Mitokado Homura and Hiruzen fell quiet again.
"Is he really Danzō's grandson?" Homura rubbed his throbbing temples. "How could an old dog like Danzō, who's always so inflexible, have such a wild grandson?"
Hiruzen suddenly thought of Yami's mother—Shimura Saki.
The Senju clan seemed to carry some unreliable traits.
The First Hokage, for example. Hiruzen still remembered his childhood days with him vividly.
Outside of battle, his personality was completely unpredictable.
Then there was his teacher, Senju Tobirama—sarcastic and sharp-tongued.
And Tobirama's grandniece Tsunade… well, that explained everything.
Hiruzen sighed. "Since it's not written in the rules, it's allowed. Yami hasn't violated anything."
"But there mustn't be such loopholes in the next Chūnin Exam."
"Yes, we'll revise the rules immediately."
The Chūnin who came to report bowed his head.
"You're dismissed."
Hiruzen waved him off. "Tell Raidō Namiashi to increase the number of personnel patrolling the Forest of Death. Report any unusual activity to me immediately."
Danzō's painstaking plan to push all Genin through the first round would soon be revealed in the Forest of Death.
If they waited until the one-on-one elimination round at the tower, it might be too late.
He had to monitor the situation in real time.
Elsewhere.
Yami went straight to Ichiraku Ramen.
"Uncle Teuchi, I'll take ten bowls of barbecued pork ramen, ten bowls of seafood ramen, and ten bowls of deluxe double-ingredient ramen—all with bowls included. How much is that?"
"Oh, Yami-kun. Why are you ordering so much ramen at once and with bowls?"
Teuchi was stunned by the order. Nearby, a silver-haired man's eyelid twitched as he slowly turned his head, the signature dead-fish eyes landing on Yami.
"Aren't you supposed to be taking the exam?" Kakashi asked.
"Gotta eat first. I'll starve in three days otherwise."
Yami sat down next to Kakashi and explained to Teuchi, "Don't worry, boss. I'll be eating these for the next three days. Nothing wrong with that."
"So Yami is already taking the Chūnin Exam at that age, huh?"
Teuchi smiled. "Kakashi wasn't as smart as you back then. After his exam, he sat right here and ate five bowls in a row. He was so full he had to be helped home by a classmate—a very gentle girl."
"Alright then, I'll prep your order as quickly as I can."
"Thanks, boss!"
Yami turned to Kakashi with a smirk. He didn't expect to learn such an embarrassing story.
But with the mask, he couldn't tell if Kakashi was blushing.
"Rin..."
Kakashi was reminded of the past by Teuchi's words. After a moment of silence, he put down some money and stood up to leave.
"Kid, good luck with the exam."
Half an hour later, Teuchi had finished the order, each bowl packed with extra meat—almost more meat than noodles.
"This one's on the house."
Teuchi chuckled. "You need to eat well if you want to pass the exam."
Yami nodded, paid the bill, and pulled out three storage scrolls to seal the ramen.
"Thanks, Uncle."
No wonder people say that if Naruto didn't turn evil, it was thanks to Iruka and Teuchi.
This man was truly kind-hearted.
He treated everyone warmly and never asked for anything in return.
Even a corpse would feel warm.
Back at the entrance to the Forest of Death, the gates had already closed. Only one iron gate remained, guarded by Raidō Namiashi.
"You're finally back. If you hadn't returned, I'd have thought you forfeited."
"Half an hour isn't that bad," Yami replied, waving as he passed. Without stopping, he rushed into the Forest of Death.
The trees in this world were already massive, usually over 30 meters tall with trunks 5 meters wide.
But in the Forest of Death, the trees were monstrous. Few were under 50 meters. Trees over 100 meters tall were everywhere, and some trunks were over 10 meters wide. Even high-level ninjutsu had trouble destroying them.
"Brat! We've been waiting for you—now die!"
Yami had barely stepped inside when he was ambushed.
A team of Iwa Genin had camouflaged themselves against the ground. As soon as Yami triggered a trap, they hurled shuriken from above.
At the same time, all three lunged down from different angles, attacking midair with kunai.
They chose the one moment when Yami couldn't maneuver—while airborne.
Yami didn't even blink. The Kusanagi Sword was already out and swept in a quick arc.
"Vacuum Sword!"
Blades of sword wind shot out in all directions. The shuriken were deflected midair.
The sword wind blasted the Iwa Genin out of the air, slamming them into the ground and forming a deep crater.
Their eyes widened, their skin split, and they fell silent—dead.
[Host formed a life-and-death bond with... Reward: Standard Genin Chakra +2, Earth Attribute Chakra (Normal), Bond Points +150]
Yami smiled without even slowing his pace.
As expected, a man needs opportunity to gain wealth, just like a horse needs night grass to grow fat.
Sending everyone to the second round had been worth it.
Now, it was harvest time.
Landing, Yami touched the ground with two fingers, closed his eyes, and focused on the surrounding chakra reactions.
"Hm? What a coincidence."
He'd already run into the Rain shinobi team that had mocked him earlier and a familiar chakra signature was approaching.
That was...
Yami narrowed his eyes and vanished from the spot.
Two kilometers away.
Itachi's team had encountered the Rain shinobi.
Though Rain was just behind the five great nations in strength, their shinobi weren't weak—especially those under Hanzo's leadership.
The team they encountered was definitely qualified for Chūnin. They had likely waited until this exam to try again.
But against the genius Itachi, they were still not enough.
Even with two burdens on his team.
After a short battle, Itachi had them bound tightly in chakra threads.
"Damn it! Curse the Uchiha clan!"
"Those eyes are cheating!"
The Rain shinobi ground their teeth in fury. No matter what they tried, Itachi's Sharingan saw through it all.
Itachi, unfazed by their anger, began forming hand seals.
Having witnessed the cruelty of the shinobi world, he no longer held mercy for foreign ninjas.
"Then... die with the fate of those without Sharingan. Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Flames traveled down the thread toward the three Rain Genin. Just as they were about to be engulfed, another voice echoed from above.
"Wind Style: Web Net!"
Wind disrupted the flames, dissipating the fire midair. Yami appeared before the Rain shinobi.
Itachi's expression immediately tensed. He stepped back cautiously, putting distance between them.
"Shimura, what are you doing?"
He didn't understand. Yami had always held strong hostility toward him, ever since the Academy.
Yami grinned. "Can't you tell? I'm stealing your kill."
Itachi's teammates voiced their complaints.
"Wait—aren't you stealing your own team's scroll?"
"These were opponents Itachi subdued. That's too unreasonable!"
"You misunderstood," Yami replied, shaking his head. "I said I'm stealing the kill, not the scroll."
As he spoke, the Kusanagi Sword flashed across all three throats. Blood sprayed as heads dropped to the ground.
"All done."
Yami smiled brightly. "I get the kills. You keep the scroll. See you around."
The current Itachi didn't interest him, so Yami didn't bother fighting and vanished in a flash.
Itachi's teammates stared at the disappearing figure in shock.
"Wait... he blocked Itachi's jutsu just to kill them? He didn't even want the scroll?"
Kill!
Itachi's pupils contracted. A flash of lightning seemed to pass through his mind.
He finally understood why Yami had caused such a ruckus in the first round!
It was to get everyone into the second round and then kill them!
Was this Yami's own idea, or part of some hidden Konoha directive?
Itachi suddenly felt like he'd glimpsed a truth not meant for outsiders.
He quickly stepped forward, took the scroll from the headless bodies, and saw it was marked "Earth." He exhaled in relief.
Their team already had the "Heaven" scroll.
He turned to his teammates. "We have both scrolls. Let's head to the tower."
The other two had no objections. They were just tools for Itachi to pass the exam.
With Itachi moving faster than before, the other two had to grit their teeth to keep up. He remained distracted along the way.
It wasn't that he feared Yami would target them. He was thinking...
If Yami killed too many foreign shinobi, would the fragile peace collapse into war again?
Yami didn't know Itachi had entered another round of internal conflict. He was too busy tracking down foreign shinobi.
In this forest spanning thousands of square kilometers, finding dozens of teams wasn't as easy as it sounded.
But that also meant fewer chances of someone stealing his kills.
Even teams who lost their scrolls wouldn't withdraw. They'd simply hunt others and try to recover by stealing both scrolls.
And so, two and a half hours passed.
Yami had already killed nine Iwa shinobi, six Suna shinobi, and three more Rain shinobi.
Some teams had started realizing there was a terrifying presence in this exam.
A monster that only killed—without taking scrolls!
Even the proctors patrolling the Forest of Death had witnessed Yami's brutality. Remembering the Third Hokage's orders, they quickly relayed the news via messenger hawk.
When Raidō Namiashi received the report, his expression changed. He immediately rushed to the Hokage building.
(To be continued.)
***
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