Host: Ye Liangnai
Age: 12
Skills: Chunin-Level Kenjutsu: Hawk Flash, Hidden Mist Jutsu, Water Clone Jutsu, Genjutsu: Binding Illusion
Weapon: Hundred-Refined Katana
Rank: Chunin (Genin → Chunin → Special Jonin → Jonin → Elite Jonin → Kage → Super Kage → Six Paths)
Kirigakure's Mist Forest loomed, its shadows swallowing the dawn. Ye Liangnai stood among the exam candidates, his crimson eyes flickering with anticipation. His gaze locked on three figures in the crowd—Chojuro, Suigetsu Hozuki, and Ringo Ameyuri. Names that carried weight, even now, in their youth.
Familiar faces, he thought, a spark of excitement igniting. Let's see how I measure up.
As he sized them up, others were sizing him up. A scar-eyed boy sneered, his voice dripping venom. "Ye Liangnai, enjoy your last moments in the light!"
"Begin!" the proctor barked.
Over a hundred Genin surged into the forest, a chaotic tide of steel and chakra. The exam was under full surveillance, water mirrors broadcasting the slaughter to the observation hall where Kirigakure's elite watched.
Terumi Mei stood among them, her emerald eyes sharp. Chinda Takaya passed by, his smirk cold. "Pray your little brother comes out in one piece, Mei."
Her gaze was ice. "Try anything dirty, Takaya, and you'll regret it."
Their clash drew eyes. A man with red thorn tattoos around his mouth, hefting a massive cleaver, grinned. "Mei and Takaya at odds? This'll be fun." Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Beside him, Raiga Kurosuki and Fuguki Suikazan exchanged looks. "Wonder how many will crawl out alive this year," Fuguki rumbled, his voice a low quake.
Raiga's smile was all teeth. "Let's hope a few are worth keeping."
Inside the Mist Forest
The exam had barely started, and Ye Liangnai was already a target. Three ambushes in as many minutes, each attacker spitting the same tired line.
"Jackpot! I found the dead last!" a Genin cackled, lunging with a kunai.
Shlck!
Ye Liangnai's katana pierced his chest, blood spraying as the boy's eyes widened in disbelief. "No… impossible…"
He collapsed, his final whisper lost in the dirt. The third kill of the day.
Ye Liangnai wiped his blade, a wry smirk tugging at his lips. "This 'dead last' reputation's working out nicely."
The first kill had churned his stomach, but by the third, the nausea was fading, replaced by a cold clarity. This is Kirigakure. Kill or be killed.
"Let's see how many more come for my head," he muttered, his grin sharpening. Survival was the minimum—more kills meant a higher rank, better mentors, and a stronger foothold in the village. He wasn't here to scrape by; he was here to dominate.
In the observation hall, the Jonin spectators buzzed with disbelief, their eyes glued to the water mirrors.
"Three kills in minutes?!" one gasped.
"That's Ye Liangnai? The failure?"
"No way. Mei must've rigged it—swapped him for a ringer!"
The accusations flew, fueling Chinda Takaya's smug grin. "Well, well, Mei," he said, loud enough for all to hear. "Substituting a candidate? That's a death sentence."
He leaned back, gloating. I didn't even need to hire that thug to crush him.
Terumi Mei's expression didn't flicker, but the ANBU stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Terumi Mei, you're detained for suspected exam tampering until Ye Liangnai's identity is verified."
She didn't resist, her gaze fixed on the mirrors. Show them, little Ye.
Deep in the Forest
A new predator emerged from the shadows, his chakra sharp and lethal. Ban Yashuke, the scar-eyed Chunin hired by Takaya, eyed Ye Liangnai with a predatory grin. "Well, well. My target's practically gift-wrapped."
Ye Liangnai tilted his head, his smirk unfazed. "You here to die, too?"
Ban's laugh was cold. "Blame yourself, kid. You pissed off the wrong man. Your life's mine."
His hands flashed. "Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
A thick fog rolled in, swallowing Ye Liangnai. Ban's presence vanished, his chakra masked in the haze. His voice echoed, smug and omnipresent. "In my mist, I'm untouchable."
He moved like a specter, materializing behind Ye Liangnai, kunai aimed for his neck. "Gotcha."
Shlck!
The blade sank into flesh. Ye Liangnai collapsed, blood pooling beneath him.
"Mission complete," Ban sneered, dispelling the mist.
Then his eyes widened, his breath catching. Ye Liangnai stood a few feet away, unharmed, his grin mocking. "Surprised to see me?"
Ban stumbled back, panic clawing at his chest. "Impossible! I killed you!"
Ye Liangnai's katana gleamed as he stepped forward. "You killed my Water Clone."
A single drop of water glistened on Ban's kunai, betraying the truth.
Ban's heart pounded. When?! I didn't see him weave a single seal!
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
Ye Liangnai's mist surged, darker and thicker, drowning Ban's senses. Vision? Gone. Sound? Warped. Fear crept in, cold and suffocating.
Ban's voice trembled. "How…?"
A whisper, chilling and close. "If I let you see my seals, I'd be a pretty shitty shinobi, wouldn't I?"
Shlck!
Ban's chest erupted in pain, Ye Liangnai's katana piercing clean through. He gasped, blood bubbling from his lips, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Who… sent you?" Ye Liangnai asked, his voice low.
Ban's lips parted, but no words came. He crumpled, lifeless.
In the observation hall, silence fell, broken only by Takaya's sharp exhale. His hired killer, a mid-Chunin, was dead—slaughtered by the boy he'd dismissed as a joke. A week ago, he couldn't hit a target!
The Jonin murmured, their shock palpable. "That was no Genin's technique…"
"Ban Yashuke's dead? Just like that?"
Takaya's voice rose, desperate. "This proves it! That's not Ye Liangnai! It's a substitute!"
But the mirrors told a different story. Ye Liangnai was real—and he was a force.
Further Ahead
Ye Liangnai pressed forward, his katana still warm with blood. In the distance, Suigetsu Hozuki and Ringo Ameyuri tore through their opponents, their laughter a chilling symphony. Both were Chunin-level, their strength crushing their peers.
"You're too weak! Step it up!" Suigetsu taunted, his shark-like grin wide as he cut down a fleeing Genin.
Ringo's blades danced, blood spraying. "Boring! Can't anyone make this fun?"
The other Genin cursed under their breath. Monsters. Both of them.
On another front, Chojuro was cornered, his body riddled with wounds. Nine Genin surrounded him, their eyes glinting with malice.
"Time to die, freak!" one snarled.
"We don't need another prodigy in the Mist!"
Chojuro was strong, but against nine? His strength was fading, his breaths ragged. Without help, he was finished.
And Ye Liangnai was closing in.