"I hope we meet again."
With those words, Kitsuchi glanced at his companions, giving them a signal, it was time to retreat.
As Yuki Seisui watched the three of them leave, he made no move to pursue.
No point in beating them up.
And killing them…
Kitsuchi was the son of Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage. Killing him would be the equivalent of declaring war outright.
That's not worth it.
"There's another three over there," Uchiha Haru whispered, leaning in close and subtly pointing to a treetop not far off.
Minato curled his lip. "That guy's got his butt sticking out."
"Can't even tell what village they're from."
"Hey! You three! You plan on staying up there?" Yuki Seisui called out, feeling a bit speechless.
Hiding in a tree… with your butt exposed?
The three shinobi exchanged glances, then scattered.
"Run!"
They were from Takigakure, the Village Hidden by Waterfalls. Their plan was to sneak in and pick off weakened survivors. But what they'd stumbled upon instead was a massacre.
Who could deal with that?!
"One each!" Seisui ordered as the three fled.
The moment they ran, Seisui vanished from where he stood, leaving only those words behind.
Doesn't matter if they failed.
You target me, prepare to die.
Seisui quickly closed the distance to one of them. One clean slash.
With the sharp edge of his longsword, he split the shinobi diagonally from shoulder to hip.
Looking down at the body, Seisui let out a slow breath.
"No brains at all. Tch… horrifying."
If these guys had any intelligence, they wouldn't have thought of targeting him.
As a participant from Konoha, the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, his involvement in the Chunin Exams was already proof enough that he had backing. Anyone bold enough to mess with him clearly wasn't thinking straight.
Soon, Uchiha Haru and Minato appeared beside him one after the other.
Minato held up three badges.
"Our task is done," he said. "Including ours, we even have one extra."
Yuki Seisui nodded. "In that case, let's find a spot to rest."
This phase of the Chunin Exams was a survival test. Not only did they need to reach the central tower alive, but they also had to survive in the Forest of Death for three full days.
Now that they had the required badges, all that was left… was survival.
==========
Not far from them, elsewhere in the forest,
"Yahama!" Might Duy* fell to his knees, shouting through tears, "How could you treat my comrade like this?!"
Yahama had been one of the few shinobi who never looked down on him, his friend.
"Comrade?" Rasa scoffed coldly, golden sand swirling around him.
Just ahead, Yahama crawled painfully on the ground, blood at his lips, one leg missing.
Using his hands, he dragged himself toward Duy.
"Comrades are the most useless thing in this world."
"Hmph." Pakura snorted off to the side, knowing full well Rasa was also directing the insult at her.
"Let's finish this," Karura said gently, trying to ease the tension between Rasa and Pakura, though her eyes were filled with pity for Yahama.
Rasa nodded at Karura's words. The iron sand swirling around him suddenly accelerated, aiming straight for Yahama's chest.
"Eight Gates Released Formation, Open!"
"Gate of Opening, Gate of Rest, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, OPEN!"
In an instant, Duy erupted into a storm of green energy. He looked like a beast awakened, the brilliance surrounding his body surging toward the sky.
Rasa's pupils shrank. The sand he had aimed at Yahama froze mid-air, and he instinctively pulled Karura behind him.
Pakura tensed as well. The overwhelming pressure from Duy made her glance sideways at Rasa.
"Damn it! What kind of monster did you provoke?!"
She had never felt such power, not even from many elite Jonin.
Seeing that Rasa had halted his attack, Duy let out a breath of relief.
Then, the pain hit.
His muscles screamed in agony, the price of unlocking such overwhelming power.
The more Gates you open, the worse the pain. Each one multiplies the suffering.
This pain was beyond what a normal person could endure.
Nearby genin could sense the pressure and instinctively backed away.
"What's that?!" Seisui looked up, stunned by the green light piercing the sky.
"That's Duy!" Minato exclaimed, voice tight with concern. "He's opened the Eight Gates!"
"Move!" Seisui ordered, taking the lead toward Duy's position.
"To protect my comrades… That's my youth!"
"This is what youth means to me!"
"Morning Peacock!"
Duy leapt into the sky, fists raining down toward Rasa and his team.
Each punch ignited flames as it tore through the air, exploding toward the enemy like a meteor shower.
As Duy unleashed his fury, their third teammate, Yamakaze, used the opening to dash forward and retrieve the wounded Yahama.
"Are you okay?!"
"My left leg's gone," Yahama said, glancing at his still-intact right leg, his voice laced with despair.
"Guess I can't be a shinobi anymore…"
"Damn it!" he sobbed. "Becoming a Chunin… That was my dream!"
"Duy is so strong…" Yamakaze whispered, looking up at Duy's burning form in the sky.
Rasa, gritting his teeth, formed a massive shield of iron sand to block Duy's barrage.
They may have been participants in the exam, but in truth, their strength rivaled that of full Jonin.
Even with Duy's incredible power, they were barely holding on.
"Pakura! Capture those two!" Rasa commanded, his shield expanding further.
Pakura nodded, leaving Rasa to deal with Duy. She charged straight at Yamakaze and Yahama.
"Damn it!" Yamakaze cursed, seeing her approach. "Our youth… won't be looked down on!"
He quickly formed a hand seal and unleashed his only ninjutsu.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A fireball launched toward Pakura. She dodged effortlessly, rolling aside and then charging like a leopard.
Seeing her rush their position, Duy dropped to the ground.
In the next instant, he appeared beside Pakura, BOOM, delivering a powerful kick to her abdomen.
Seeing Duy withdraw, Rasa finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If this had gone on any longer, all three of us would've died here…
Just then, he noticed an opening. With a flick of his fingers, he hurled a shuriken straight at the injured Yahama.
Neither Duy nor Yamakaze noticed.
But Yahama did.
He glanced once at his friends, then moved, trying to dodge.
Too slow.
The shuriken was almost at his chest, when,
CLANG!
Uchiha Haru appeared in a flash, cutting the shuriken in two.
Yuki Seisui slowly stepped out from the trees.
"Like sewer rats… this kind of sneak attack… That's the 'genius' of Sunagakure?"
He drew his blade and pointed it straight at Rasa.
"Come!"
"FIGHT!"
=============
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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