"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
Two youthful arms suddenly burst out of the ground, yanking a Konoha chūnin straight into the earth. A miserable scream rang out at once.
"Ah—!"
"Bin!"
The other chūnin released the injured genin Xiao, who was clutching his stomach. Seeing his teammate dragged underground, he immediately locked his gaze onto the girl about to surface from the earth and rushed forward, determined to show her just how formidable a Konoha chūnin could be!
"Eight Gates…"
"Second Gate—Gate of Rest, open!"
From a concealed spot in the forest, Might Dai burst forth. After opening the Eight Gates, an astonishing aura erupted from him as he accelerated, reaching the chūnin in an instant—before the latter could attack Nono.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
The chūnin wasn't incompetent. He leaned back and easily dodged Dai's upward sweep, his eyes hardening.
"Don't underestimate me!"
With Dai still in recovery lag, the chūnin had more than enough time to channel chakra to strengthen his body and throw a punch at Dai.
However, Dai grit his teeth.
"Third Gate—Gate of Life, open!"
The thick-browed youth exploded with terrifying blue chakra, his speed increasing yet again.
Dai's figure flickered before the chūnin's eyes. Before he could react, Dai was already crouched low, stepping forward in a horse stance, appearing directly beneath the chūnin's front, his right hand brimming with frightening power.
"Sorry. This might hurt a little."
His fist turned into an open palm. Wrapped in blue chakra, the slap struck squarely into the chūnin's abdomen.
Bang!
The chūnin's entire body was sent flying, carving a long trail through the dust.
Might Dai: "..."
"Oh no! I think I still messed up the strength!!"
"I didn't kill him, did I?"
Emerging from the ground, Yakushi Nono had a kunai pressed to the neck of the chūnin she'd trapped with Earth Release—Kitada Bin. She turned her head toward the direction where the other chūnin had been blasted away.
"Sensei already told you to practice controlling your strength more, so you wouldn't kill someone when using the Eight Gates during the Chūnin Exams."
"Well, look at that~~"
"Sensei's prophecy came true."
After releasing the Eight Gates, Might Dai's entire body went weak. He immediately plopped down on the grass- and leaf-strewn ground, his face filled with despair.
"I'm done… I killed a village ninja…"
"Who the hell died? Don't look down on people!"
A voice came from ahead. The chūnin staggered to his feet, enduring the pain in his abdomen.
He couldn't help lifting his shirt to take a look.
A clear palm print—like the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms—was stamped right onto his toned abs.
"Holy crap! You're a genin too?!"
When the chūnin raised his head and got a good look at Dai's face, realization hit him hard.
"Holy crap…"
"Aren't you that eternal genin—Might-whatever?!"
Might Dai laughed awkwardly, finally letting out a sigh of relief. Forcing himself to stand despite his exhaustion, he gave a thumbs-up and pointed at himself.
"That's me! Konoha's taijutsu beast—Might Dai!"
"From the looks of it, you really are a beast specialized in taijutsu. What's that technique called?"
At this moment, Kitada Bin—still stuck with only his head above ground thanks to Yakushi Nono's Earth Release—spoke up.
"The Eight Gates."
"It's a forbidden nin-taijutsu I developed myself. It's not fully perfected yet."
Kitada Bin was mildly shocked. Not even finished, and you already dare use it? And the power isn't weak at all.
Looking at Dai—who was still a genin despite being in his twenties—Bin felt a newfound respect. He then lowered his gaze to the kunai still pressed against his neck and said to the blonde girl holding it:
"All right. We won't attack you anymore."
"With your strength, chūnin is probably just the beginning. You'll have a chance to become jōnin in the future."
"Hehe, you're exaggerating."
Nono put away her kunai, scratching her head with a cheerful grin.
After reinforcing himself with chakra, Kitada Bin pushed himself out of the ground, climbing free.
"Originally, the Chūnin Exams aren't about defeating chūnin. Your task is to find the corresponding scroll."
"But unfortunately, this team's scroll is an Earth Scroll—same as yours."
"Huh?!" ×3
The three of them looked toward the scroll taken from the two unconscious genin lying on the ground.
On the unopened scroll's surface, a clear, unmistakable Earth character was engraved.
...
By the river.
Two Konoha chūnin escorted a genin team back to their jōnin leader, Hirata Shinichi.
Seeing one of his chūnin clutching his stomach—looking even more miserable than the genin doing the same—Hirata couldn't help asking,
"Yūta, don't tell me you were injured by a bunch of genin."
Yūta's face flushed red.
"Sorry, Captain. We failed."
"In this exam, there's a genin team that's extremely strong. We were ambushed by them, and the scroll from this genin squad was taken."
"Hm?!"
Hirata Shinichi was slightly surprised. He immediately thought of Sarutobi Shinnosuke's team, as well as that temporary squad composed of three clan ninja.
"Was it Ino–Shika–Chō? Or that temporary clan team?"
"Neither."
"It was Team Eleven from this year's Ninja Academy graduates."
Hearing that, Hirata Shinichi's eyes lit up.
"So it was his team."
He calmly looked at the two chūnin.
"Then your loss isn't unjustified. That guy may look sloppy during exams, but in reality, he's extremely troublesome."
The two chūnin sighed softly.
"Yeah. One Uchiha, one Earth Release specialist, and one taijutsu specialist. Aside from those two teams, no one else can really handle them."
"And don't forget—their teacher is also a genin, and he's participating in the Chūnin Exams again this year. The clash between the four teams should be pretty exciting."
Hirata Shinichi cleared his throat, cutting off their discussion.
"Escort this genin team safely out of the forest."
"I still have my own mission to complete."
The two chūnin: "?"
"Captain… you're not seriously going to…"
Kitada Bin muttered quietly.
"Of course."
Hirata Shinichi said seriously,
"Even their teacher didn't escape my 'pursuit.' How could I possibly let his disciples off the hook?"
...
"Hachoo!"
A boulder twice the height of a person stood alone in this rocky region, where windblown sand and dust constantly danced through the air.
Bai Xing sneezed violently.
Rubbing his nose, he wondered if some idiot was thinking about him.
"Bai Xing, we still haven't run into any teams. Shouldn't we take a risk and head out to look around?"
Shiranui Kumo said with a serious expression.
"Yeah. Judging by the sun's position, about two hours have passed already. Just camping here isn't really working," Yūhi Liuyun added.
"You two don't understand—this is called strategy!"
Bai Xing picked up a stick and drew a circle in the dirt, representing the Simulation Forest.
"Right now, we're in the northwestern rock cluster area of the Simulation Forest."
"This place is relatively open, with great visibility. Even if there are traps, this area has the fewest."
"And look."
Between the stone outcrops, Bai Xing raised the stick. Shiranui Kumo's and Yūhi Liuyun's gazes followed closely.
The stick pointed eastward—toward a stretch of forest where the central tower was clearly visible, along with the surrounding woods. The terrain here was slightly higher than the forest floor.
From here, they could clearly see any commotion rising from within the forest—
For example, the Ino–Shika–Chō trio charging straight toward them.
Bai Xing's gaze swept over, and all the words he had piled up instantly sank back into his stomach.
"Ino–Shika–Chō."
"They should be from the same graduating class as your students, right?"
Yūhi Liuyun didn't let her guard down. Together with Shiranui Kumo, she concealed her presence and shifted position to observe their movements. The distance was still great; the Ino–Shika–Chō trio hadn't noticed Bai Xing's team yet.
"…Sigh."
Bai Xing let out a quiet sigh and nodded faintly in response to Liuyun.
He had been planning to pass the second stage this time. After all, Liuyun and Kumo both really wanted to become chūnin—he couldn't keep running into "accidents" forever.
But now it seemed—
He might have to fail the second stage again.
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