Chapter 36: Intimidation and PY Deals!
In the Forest of Death, the usual tranquility had been shattered.
Figures darted through the trees with lightning speed.
For ordinary people, navigating such a forest would be impossible, but these figures moved through it effortlessly.
These were ninjas! No matter how many ordinary people there were, they posed no threat to ninjas who could move freely, unaffected by their surroundings.
That's why this world is called the Ninja World, and ninjas are the main characters of this world.
A boy wearing a brownish-yellow tight-fitting outfit and a Rock Ninja forehead protector, with a physique as robust as an adult, landed on the ground and shouted loudly to those behind him:
"If you're here to cause trouble, then don't hide like rats."
As the 'strongest genius' among the candidates, Gang Tu naturally couldn't fail to notice those who were secretly tailing him.
However, in response to his shout, no one stepped forward. Instead, they answered in another way.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Kunai flew towards him.
Even the flesh of a Kage-level ninja couldn't withstand a kunai.
On the battlefield, the number of ninjas who died by kunai far exceeded those who died by ninjutsu.
But this kind of frontal kunai throw could be easily dodged by even an average Genin, let alone Gang Tu.
Despite his strong build, he was incredibly agile.
Like a bear that could dance.
It just goes to show that with chakra, anything is possible.
After dodging the attack, Gang Tu's simple, square face instantly turned murderous as he quickly formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Fissure Palm!"
He slammed his hands heavily onto the ground.
Boom!
Starting from his palms, the ground ahead shattered like glass.
The earth was pulverized, the forest leveled! The area where the kunai had been thrown became a wasteland amidst the earth's roar, with traces of blood mixed in.
The jutsu was only C-rank.
But in Gang Tu's hands, it was no weaker than a B-rank jutsu.
Truly worthy of being the top genius in this Chunin Exam.
With one strike, the surroundings fell silent.
No one wanted to step forward and face him head-on.
But that's normal.
They were ninjas, not samurai; without an opportunity, they wouldn't attack forcefully but would instead lurk in the shadows, waiting for a chance.
"Such a nuisance!"
Seeing no one taking the opportunity to attack, Gang Tu wasn't pleased but rather annoyed.
He would rather fight these guys head-on than have them watching him from the shadows.
"Captain, why don't we collect the scrolls first?"
A teammate reminded the angry Gang Tu that they were here for the exam, not to fight.
"Let's go!"
Glancing around, Gang Tu reluctantly turned and left.
If it weren't for the task at hand, he wouldn't have let these guys off so easily.
Less than two kilometers from this battlefield.
"Wind Release: Kamaitachi!"
A fierce wind, like an invisible blade, shredded everything in front of it.
Maki, wearing a Sand Ninja forehead protector, stopped his jutsu.
"Captain, your Wind Release has improved again."
A young member of the squad looked at him with admiration.
"Yoroi, no matter how much you flatter the captain, it won't change your earlier mistake!"
A girl carrying a large bundle of white cloth looked disdainfully at Yoroi.
The two began to bicker.
Finally, Maki, the captain, couldn't stand it and interrupted them.
"Quickly clean up the battlefield. We'll collect the scrolls while searching for the Leaf squads. Don't forget our mission this time!"
With that, he began to move.
Cleaning up the battlefield wasn't about protecting the Forest of Death; the Sand Ninjas wouldn't care about that.
It was to avoid leaving behind any information and to recover their ninja tools.
Thrown kunai, senbon, and shuriken needed to be retrieved.
If you used them and didn't recover them, you'd have to be from a 'wealthy family.'
But that definitely didn't include these Sand Ninjas, who were practically driven to poverty.
Chapter 36: Intimidation and PY Transactions!
A strong counterattack! Whether it was Gang Tu or Maki, their choice when facing threats was the same.
Instead of avoiding, they went all out to eliminate their pursuers.
They didn't even give them a chance to use a signal flare.
At the same time, they were aware that the Forest of Death was filled with cameras, broadcasting their battles to the spectators.
But the more this was the case, the more they needed to act this way.
Because in the ninja world, killing isn't wrong; being weak is.
The candidates this time were all under fifteen.
The youngest, Kakashi, was only seven!
At such a young age, they were forced to kill each other.
No wonder figures like Madara, Obito, and Nagato felt this world was 'twisted' and tried to correct it.
They did identify the problem, but their methods of solving it were equally twisted.
The geniuses ranked at the top of the intelligence manual were targets for all major ninja villages.
Even Gang Tu and Maki were hunted, so Kakashi, ranked third, was no exception.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
Uchiha Takashi unleashed a Flame Bullet, blasting a patch of grass ahead.
However, it didn't achieve any results.
Although the Flame Bullet was faster than the Great Fireball Technique, compared to other jutsus, it wasn't much. With preparation, it could be easily dodged.
But that was Uchiha Takashi's intention.
Swoosh! A white figure flashed by, and the last female ninja who dodged the Flame Bullet was stabbed through the heart with a short sword.
Kakashi had made his move.
He was the 'ace' of Team Three.
At least, that's how it appeared in the intelligence manual.
"Tsk tsk, good thing it's not a 'demon ninja,' or it wouldn't have ended with just a stab!"
Uchiha Takashi joked as he looked at the corpse.
He had grown accustomed to blood and death, but he still occasionally used phrases from before he crossed over to remind himself not to let his worldview be twisted by the ninja world.
Seeing Kakashi coldly sheathe his sword and walk over, Uchiha Takashi praised him.
"As expected of our Team Three's combat specialist. You've taken care of all the pursuers. From now on, all battles are in your hands!"
He definitely didn't mean to shirk responsibility and slack off.
For someone as pitiful, helpless, and weak as him, relying on a strong teammate was only natural, right?
As for whether his conscience would hurt from letting a seven-year-old Kakashi do the killing...
Sorry, it wouldn't.
Uchiha Takashi had a conscience, but not much of it.
He enjoyed the benefits of relying on others too much to worry about conscience.
Kakashi, though unable to see Uchiha Takashi's inner thoughts, stared at him coldly with his dead-fish eyes.
What a joke!
Who was the combat specialist of Team Three? Didn't he have any self-awareness?
Even though Kakashi knew he was growing fast, he understood that Uchiha Takashi's growth was far beyond his own.
Even now, he couldn't be sure how strong Uchiha Takashi really was.
Yet, despite this, Uchiha Takashi never took action, always pushing him to the forefront.
Even if he didn't care about these things, it still left him somewhat dissatisfied.
"Alright, I was wrong. How about I make it up to you with this?"
Uchiha Takashi naturally sensed the dissatisfaction in Kakashi's eyes, so he 'considerately' took out a bottle of healing potion and handed it to him.
Kakashi probably had some too, but who would complain about having more good stuff?
The air was silent for a moment.
Smack! Kakashi took the potion, sealing this PY transaction.
He didn't mind standing in the open to draw fire for Uchiha Takashi, allowing him to continue slacking off.
"I've recovered all the ninja tools, but where exactly is the token?"
After cleaning up the battlefield, Yamakawa Koji voiced his doubts.
Now that they had dealt with the fastest pursuing team and temporarily intimidated the pursuers, it was time to search for the token.
"I think it shouldn't be too hard to find. The challenge is how to obtain it and safely bring it to the tower."
Uchiha Takashi shared his analysis.
If it were hidden too well, the second test would be about scouting ability rather than ninja skills, which was impossible.
Before the two could respond, they realized it wasn't necessary.
(End of Chapter)
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