When Ebisu saw Guy and Shizune charging toward them, he felt a surge of gratitude, but still yelled out a warning: "Guy! Shizune! Don't come here, run away!"
"I am here to save you! Introducing the Blue Beast of Konoha, Might Guy!" Guy landed with a dramatic, mid-air spin, flashing his pearly white teeth.
The five squads that had been running for their lives froze in shock, feeling an almost itchy, awkward embarrassment. Even the Sand Scorpions chasing them abruptly halted, their huge eyes wide with confusion, as if wondering: If I eat this guy, will I turn into an idiot?
"That green chakra… he can open the Gate of Life already?" Setsuna watched from a distance, surprised but not entirely shocked by Guy's progress.
The first three of the Eight Gates are considered the "safe zone." Guy was able to reach the Third Gate so quickly by capitalizing on his previous years of accumulated training. Now, to open the Fourth Gate, he would need to start building up new reserves.
Setsuna was in a similar position; his earlier training allowed him to quickly master the first five Gates, but starting from the Sixth Gate, even he couldn't take any shortcuts.
After the strange pause, the Sand Scorpions roared in fury, as if they had encountered a target with a built-in "Taunt." They abandoned the other examinees and charged straight at Guy.
"Perfect! Take this! Konoha Whirlwind Dragon!" Guy happily welcomed them, spinning into a massive tornado that engulfed the scorpions.
Scorpions were continuously tossed out of the vortex, twitching a few times before falling still.
"Darn it, that idiot Guy didn't leave any for me!" Shizune grumbled under her breath before turning to the petrified examinees. "Are you guys okay? Are you hurt?"
Ebisu was physically fine, but his mental state was severely shaken. "You've got to be kidding me. That was Guy?"
When they first entered the Academy, Guy was widely seen as the biggest dead last. Even though he miraculously graduated in just two years, everyone still assumed it was a fluke.
But what was this scene? Those terrifying giant Sand Scorpions were taken down by Guy, alone.
Mizuki was boiling with jealousy. Why wasn't it me who showed off that impressive power?
If they were this shocked, the ninja from the other villages were even more speechless.
"He's incredible! Is that what a strong Konoha ninja looks like?" The girl from the Star Village (Hoshigakure) was stunned. Her village's Jōnin praised her as a once-in-a-century genius, yet the Leaf boy, who looked much younger than her, single-handedly defeated those monstrous beasts.
"That was amazing! Is he the strongest Genin in your Leaf Village?" The Stone Ninja, Iwagetsu, nudged Ebisu with his elbow.
Despite being from rival villages, their shared experience of running for their lives had formed a kind of bond. Plus, having witnessed Guy's power, they held no hope of passing the Chūnin Exams, so they had no qualms about having a peaceful chat.
"He might be?" Ebisu wasn't sure. He didn't interact with Guy much, but based on that performance, even Asuma probably wouldn't be able to defeat Guy, right?
The last scorpion was flung out, and Guy landed with another heroic pose. "Everyone, come help me carry these scorpions! These giant bugs are super delicious!"
The group hesitated. Can you really eat these monsters?
Just then, the Star Village girl suddenly exclaimed, "Everyone, be careful! The danger isn't over! The scorpions our team encountered were deliberately herded towards us. That group of people are definitely not examinees in this test."
"Wait, you mean your scorpions were herded, too? I thought the Sand Village was trying to kill us!"
"No way, we were chased by scorpions, too!"
Hearing the warning from the Star Village girl, whose name was Natsumi, everyone instantly grew alert.
Just then, a massive net suddenly erupted from the sand, trapping Guy tightly.
"Darn it! Who's there?" Guy struggled violently, but the net was incredibly strong and elastic. The more he fought, the tighter it squeezed.
Seven ninjas, dressed in black stealth suits, jumped out from under the sand. The leader laughed. "Stop struggling. This is a special reinforced net designed specifically for you Taijutsu specialists. The client insisted we bring it. I thought they were overreacting, but it turns out there really is a troublesome Genin here."
"Who are you people? Why are you interfering with the Chūnin Exams?" Shizune assumed a defensive posture, though she wasn't panicked. With Setsuna-senpai nearby, these black-clad figures were clearly seeking their own demise.
One of the black-clad ninjas said, "No harm in telling you. We're just on a bounty hunt. We need to kill one specific person during this Chūnin Exam. Of course, disrupting the exam is also part of the client's request, so consider this the appetizer before the main course."
Another ninja shook his head. "We were hoping to see if you had a way to contact each other to lure out the target…"
The leader of the black-clad group cut him off. "Stop wasting time! Kill them quickly. Finding Setsuna Chiaki is the real priority."
Hearing the conversation, Shizune's expression became bizarre. These black-clad people are here for Setsuna-nii-san? Do they have a death wish?
Suddenly, Shizune's eyes went wide, and her breathing became rapid. The examinees behind her eyes rolled back, and they collapsed onto the sand.
Seeing their pathetic reaction, one of the black-clad ninjas frowned. "These Genin nowadays are getting worse and worse. They're so scared just by hearing us talk about killing them that they don't even have the courage to fight back."
"Let's finish them off fast. I heard that the legendary assassin, the old veteran who once tried to kill the First Hokage, also took this job. We have to speed things up."
Suddenly, they heard a terrifying hissing sound behind them. They spun around and were horrified to see dozens of Sand Scorpions stampeding toward them. Besides the scorpions, the swarm included giant ants over a dozen meters long and monstrous worms with sharp, jagged mandibles.
"Dammit, what is going on with this desert?! Why are there so many monsters?!" The leader's face turned pale. With his team's coordination, dealing with a few scorpions was fine, but a swarm of this scale meant they wouldn't even be safe hiding underground.
"Did one of you spill pheromones?"
"No, boss, the bugs look like they're fleeing!"
"Fleeing?" The leader focused his eyes. Only then did he notice that behind the cloud of dust kicked up by the insects was a giant head, as big as a mountain ridge, towering in the night sky and blocking out the moonlight.
The giant snake, Titan, looked savage and cruel. With one strike, it swallowed more than a dozen of the huge insects.
"It's a snake! A ridiculously huge snake! How can a monster like that exist?" The leader's legs turned to jelly, and he lost all will to escape.
The examinees were in no better shape.
"I quit! I don't want to take the test! I want to go home!"
"Haha, it's a hallucination! It must be a hallucination!"
The mountain-sized head peered over, and Setsuna looked down from above.
"Weren't you looking for me?"
Setsuna had just discovered an ancient ruin beneath their barbecue site, where many large insect monsters had built their nests.
He punched through the floor of the underground palace, driving all the bugs out, which made for a perfect feast for Titan.
Actually, before returning to the Naruto world, he made sure Titan had a good meal. The larger the snake, the longer it can go without eating once fully sated. Given Titan's size, it could go a year without a meal.
But since this opportunity presented itself, he wouldn't let Titan go hungry.
As for the black-clad assassins, considering how Master Jirō once taught him not to waste any life that is killed, and to turn it into a delicious meal, Setsuna didn't want to write a "Madman's Diary." It was better to just let Titan eat them all.