Chapter 308: Unexpected Appearance
"You called me for help, and then you collapsed before I did. I am not playing along anymore." Mei Terumi forced Shiranui Genma and Ebisu back, then prepared to retreat.
Kisame's squad had been completely wiped out, and one of her own teammates had fallen. On the other side, four or five Konoha ninja still had combat strength. Mei Terumi had no intention of staying behind just to be surrounded and beaten by a group of Leaf shinobi.
"If you want to leave, it is simple. Hand over the scroll," Obito shouted after thinking for a moment.
Their fight had been intense, but Obito could clearly feel that Mei Terumi had been holding back. After he was injured, she had not pressed her advantage with killing moves.
Even so, letting Mei Terumi just walk away was impossible. There was no such good thing in this world. Since she had joined the battle over the scrolls, she had to leave something behind.
Since she had chosen to fight over scrolls, even though Obito's team already had a heaven scroll, he still wanted to snatch the heaven scroll from Mei Terumi's team.
"This time, I am just unlucky." Mei Terumi decisively took out a white scroll from her ninja tool pouch and tossed it toward Obito.
Scrolls could be taken back later. Mei Terumi was very confident in her own strength, but if she was seriously injured here, it would be troublesome, and she would still end up losing the scroll. If she was destined to lose it anyway, then she would rather conserve her strength.
By throwing the scroll, Mei Terumi had admitted defeat. Might Guy, who had been rushing toward her, stopped. Rin Nohara also ceased her fight with the Hidden Mist genin and turned back toward Obito to heal him.
The genin who had been fighting Rin Nohara quickly ran back to examine his teammates' conditions. Discovering that one still had a faint breath left, he immediately began emergency treatment.
The battle was truly over, and Kakashi finally let out a long breath as the tension left his body.
He did not lie down to rest, though. Instead, he began clearing the battlefield, searching Kisame's squad and collecting their heaven and earth scrolls.
"Guy, which scroll are you still missing?" Kakashi walked over to Might Guy, two scrolls in hand, and asked.
He could not let Might Guy and his team help them for nothing. Even if Might Guy's team was missing an earth scroll, Kakashi was prepared to hand over their only earth scroll.
"We already have an earth scroll. We are still missing a heaven scroll," Might Guy replied.
Kakashi immediately handed the white scroll with the character for "heaven" written on it to Might Guy. This way, both teams had the required pair of scrolls to pass the exam, and Kakashi's side even had a spare heaven scroll.
"That is great. Now we can go straight to the central tower," Shiranui Genma said excitedly.
This exam had gone much more smoothly than he had imagined. When he signed the consent form, his nerves had been stretched tight. After all, he was just a rookie who had graduated only a few months ago, yet he had to engage in life or death battles against seniors who had graduated years earlier.
Yet in just a few hours, they had easily gathered everything needed to pass the exam. Shiranui Genma felt that clinging to a truly strong person was simply the best strategy.
"Yeah. Once we have recovered a bit, we will also head to the central tower," Kakashi nodded.
Since they already met the exam requirements, it was naturally best to reach the central tower as soon as possible.
"We really met a bunch of incredible geniuses," Nara Shiosui, who had witnessed the entire battle, could not help but exclaim.
Obito's Fire Release and Sharingan, Kakashi's speed and swordsmanship, and Might Guy's taijutsu had all shocked him. It was hard to imagine how they had trained to reach such strength at their age.
"Midori thinks so too. They are so amazing," Inuzuka Midori agreed with a nod. Her evaluation of Might Guy's taijutsu could be summed up in only two words: absolutely terrifying.
Everyone thought the battle was over and relaxed, chatting about the fight they had just experienced.
Obito enjoyed Rin Nohara's healing while enthusiastically talking about Mei Terumi's strength, that formidable opponent.
"She must be an absolute genius from the Hidden Mist Village. I have never seen anyone use one ninjutsu and then transform it into another. I have never even heard of that before," Obito declared with confidence.
This way, even though he had lost, the loss felt more acceptable. He had not been in peak condition, his ninjutsu had been countered, and his opponent was an elite genius. Under those conditions, losing was perfectly reasonable.
"Mm, you really gave it everything this time, Obito," Rin Nohara said with a gentle smile and a nod.
Obito's contribution in this battle was immense. At the very start, he had held off Kisame and Kurosawa alone, buying Kakashi enough time to defeat Zabuza. Later, he had pinned down the powerful Mei Terumi. Even if it looked like he had not finished off anyone himself, his role had been crucial.
"Even though I lost to her this time, I will definitely win next time," Obito said, already looking ahead.
From Kakashi, he knew that while the first two stages of the Chunin Exams might change, the third stage would still be similar to the practical exam at the Ninja Academy, a one on one elimination tournament decided by drawing lots.
Obito wanted to meet Mei Terumi again in the third exam, and this time fight her with his full strength.
"I believe you can do it, Obito," Rin Nohara encouraged him.
"Haha…" Obito chuckled, about to praise Rin Nohara, when a sudden blur entered the edge of his vision. His pupils shrank sharply. "Rin, look out!"
Bang.
An adult ninja in black suddenly appeared at Rin Nohara's side and kicked her hard while she was healing Obito, sending her flying.
"You bastard!"
Seeing Rin Nohara attacked right in front of him, Obito exploded in fury. He ignored his injuries and charged straight at the black clad ninja, throwing a full force punch.
"Is this all your strength?" The man casually caught Obito's fist, then swung his arm and hurled Obito away. Obito crashed into a large tree with such force that the trunk snapped cleanly in two.
The sudden reversal shocked everyone.
"Another Hidden Mist ninja. But why is he alone, and why do I have no impression of him at all?" Kakashi first identified the black clad ninja from the Mist headband on his forehead, then frowned in confusion.
Ten Hidden Mist squads were participating in this Chunin Exams. Kakashi's memory was quite good. Even if he did not remember every face clearly, he had at least some impression of each team, and he was sure he had never seen this black clad Hidden Mist ninja before.
"Could it be Transformation Technique?" Kakashi wondered. Judging by his face, this man looked to be around his thirties. There were no such older "candidates" in the exam.
Kakashi quickly dismissed that possibility. The Chunin Exams was not a covert mission. There was no need to use Transformation Technique to kill here.
If only one explanation remained, then no matter how absurd it seemed, it was probably the truth.
"Something is wrong. A non candidate has infiltrated the exam grounds," Kakashi thought grimly, his expression turning extremely serious.
"Rock Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing. Gate of Opening, open. Gate of Healing, open."
Might Guy immediately opened the Eight Gates and focused his breathing, exploding with speed as he charged at the black clad Mist ninja and engaged him in close combat.
The two clashed at extreme speed. Facing Might Guy, who had opened two gates and was using Total Concentration Breathing, the black clad Mist ninja showed no fear at all. His short blade moved with frightening precision, and in just half a minute, he had already left several thin cuts on Might Guy's clothes.
"Hey, hey, when I received the mission briefing, it definitely did not mention this part." Kurosawa's face twisted as he stared at the newly arrived Mist Village jonin.
A Mist jonin breaking into the Chunin Exams and attacking Konoha genin… Kurosawa already saw his own death written in the stars.
He was not afraid of dying, but this felt like he had been completely sold out by the higher ups of the Hidden Mist.
If he died in a fight against another Chunin Exams candidate, that would simply mean he was not strong enough. Being thrown out as a disposable sacrifice was something else entirely.
"Haha, so this is the Hidden Mist Village. Truly ridiculous," Zabuza sneered, a mocking smile on his face.
"Do you know who he is?" Kakashi, who had been about to join the fight, stopped and quickly asked Zabuza.
"His name is Akami Hideyuki, a jonin who almost became one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist." Zabuza glanced at Kakashi and shared what he knew.
Right now, Zabuza's mood was strangely calm. In a village where students killed each other in graduation exams, something like this was not surprising at all.
"I wonder if that blade you use to protect your comrades will still work this time. That guy is not someone people like us can compare to," Zabuza added, as if he were just watching a show.
In his mind, both he and Kakashi were doomed to die. The only question was whose hands they would die by.
The reason Zabuza knew Akami Hideyuki was because the man was his own instructing jonin. Akami Hideyuki's strength was remarkable even among jonin. Killing a few injured genius brats like them would be far too easy.
"A Mist Village jonin…" Kakashi frowned deeply, ignored Zabuza's words, and immediately activated his Breathing Technique, rushing in to support Might Guy against Akami Hideyuki.
By now, Might Guy had been forced to open the third gate, yet he still struggled to withstand Akami Hideyuki's fierce attacks. The flowing Water Release combined with sharp swordsmanship put him under pressure like never before.
Without question, this black clad Mist ninja was stronger than the Kumogakure jonin they had fought before.
Shiranui Genma and Ebisu tried to join the fight, but they were injured almost instantly.
"So strong…" Shiranui Genma gasped, clutching the wound on his arm, his face pale.
When he had faced Akami Hideyuki head on just now, he had felt the aura of death for the very first time. If Might Guy had not been there, he was certain that he and Ebisu would have been killed in an instant.
"This guy does not look like a candidate at all," Ebisu also realized how wrong the situation was.
Kakashi joined the battle, and Rin Nohara, after hastily healing herself, also rushed in. However, the addition of two more people only slightly eased the pressure on Might Guy. It did not truly change the flow of the battle.
In less than two minutes, everyone fighting Akami Hideyuki was covered in wounds and blood.
Kakashi and Rin Nohara had already fought several rounds before this and were in terrible condition.
"Give up resisting. That way, dying will be a little easier," Akami Hideyuki said casually, still looking relaxed and at ease. From the corner of his eye, he watched Obito, who was gasping for breath in the distance with a pained expression.
Obito had already been injured badly. Before Rin Nohara could fully heal him, he had been attacked again. Now, even walking a bit faster made his entire body scream in protest.
But Obito knew he could not fall here. His comrades were still fighting, and they were at a clear disadvantage.
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