Chapter 139: The Secret of the Map
Konan's altitude was getting lower and lower. She didn't choose to land slowly, but instead, behind a large, dense tree, she canceled her paper wings and dropped, to prevent anyone from predicting her landing spot and setting up an ambush. She then made her way to the rendezvous point, a crooked tree on the side of a cliff that they had seen from starting point "2."
When she arrived, Killer Bee and Yahiko, who had come by land, were already waiting.
Killer Bee proudly showed her the two scrolls in his hand.
"You've already gotten two maps?" she asked, surprised. "When?"
"Everyone saw you fly away," he said, flashing a toothy grin, "so someone thought we were down to two and at a disadvantage. A team from the Hidden Waterfall came looking for trouble, and I took care of them."
Yahiko smiled from the side. He had helped too, but he wasn't the type to take credit.
"Quick, let's see them," Konan said excitedly.
The three of them unrolled the maps. They were the same wordless, landscape-painting-like maps.
"The two maps are different, and they're both just for one area."
"There's no escape point marked on this map," Killer Bee said, scratching his head. "Do we have to collect more?"
"Wait," Konan said suddenly, her familiarity with all kinds of paper kicking in. "This paper... something's not right."
"What's wrong with it?" Yahiko asked.
"This... isn't normal paper. It's strange. It feels familiar. I've definitely seen it somewhere before."
She held the map up to the light, and a spark of inspiration hit her.
"That's it! This is the material for chakra paper!"
"Really?" Killer Bee said, surprised.
"I'm sure of it," she said. "I work with paper every day. This is the same chakra paper used to test your chakra nature."
She was about to infuse it with her chakra.
"Wait," Yahiko said, stopping her. "Chakra paper changes when you infuse it with chakra. Don't be rash. What if you destroy the map?"
"Then what do we do?"
"Let me try," he said. "I can just infuse it with water-natured chakra. If it doesn't work, the map will just get wet, and we can dry it."
He took the map and carefully infused it with his water-natured chakra. The map slowly became damp.
Noticing that the patterns on it were not fading, he picked up the pace.
When the map was completely wet, it began to change.
"Oh, oh, oh! It's appearing!" Killer Bee shouted.
On the previously unmarked map, various words, labels, and contour lines had begun to appear.
"I see. How interesting. I wonder if normal water would work, or if it has to be infused with chakra."
"Normal water wouldn't work," Konan said. "Chakra paper is waterproof. You can only wet it by infusing it with chakra."
"You try this one," Yahiko said, handing the second map to Killer Bee. "Infuse it with your lightning-natured chakra. If it wrinkles, we can just smooth it out."
Killer Bee nodded and slowly infused it with his lightning chakra, but nothing happened.
"Infuse it with non-elemental chakra," Yahiko said thoughtfully.
Killer Bee did as he was told, and the map also became damp.
"I see," he said. "This is a reverse-screening chakra paper. No matter what your nature is, if you infuse it with non-elemental chakra, it will get wet. Of course, water-natured chakra works too. Look, this map has two special symbols marked on it. Let's go and check them out. We might find our next clue."
Just then, a massive explosion echoed from the distance.
Minato stared at the large crater in front of him, stunned. Due to a lack of intelligence, he had not been overly cautious of his opponent's punches. He had been about to block with his arm, but with his superhuman dynamic vision, at the moment of contact, he had seen a strange, triumphant smile on his opponent's face. He had immediately changed his strategy and had dodged instead.
Sure enough, the moment the Stone ninja's fist hit the ground, a massive explosion had occurred, leaving a small crater. He could imagine what would have happened if he had blocked it.
"He has some kind of nin-taijutsu or Kekkei Genkai," he said to his teammates behind him. "Don't let him hit you."
Tsume and Shibi nodded.
"He dodged it?" Gari said, shaking his head in disappointment.
As Minato was on high alert, he heard Tsume cry out from behind him.
"Aah!" A pair of hands had shot out from the ground and grabbed her by the ankle, pulling her into the earth, leaving only her head exposed.
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
A Stone ninja had launched a surprise attack from underground. "Even a dog with a keen sense of smell can't find you when you're underground!"
"Don't underestimate me! Kuromaru! Passing Fang!"
Kuromaru, who had been ready and waiting, leaped into the air, transformed into a whirlwind, and charged at the ground, forcing back the Stone ninja and drilling a hole to rescue the trapped Tsume.
"Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique!"
Tsume landed on all fours, a pale blue chakra coursing through her body. In this state, her body was as agile as a wild animal, and her taijutsu abilities were greatly enhanced.
Shibi also released a large number of his insects, forming a cloud.
Gari, unafraid, charged at Minato.
"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"
Minato did not try to block. He had too little information on his opponent's secret art. He needed to observe.
His two teammates were engaged in their own battles, but Gari was growing more and more surprised.
How is it that I can't even touch him?
This Konoha ninja was a tough one.
Minato was not flustered. No matter how ferocious his opponent's attacks were, he felt no pressure. He had been through much more rigorous training.
And Gari's teammates... one was surrounded by Shibi's insects and had been forced to encase himself in an earth dome to protect himself. And Tsume had already won her fight.
In her Four Legs state, she was incredibly fast, and her movements were unpredictable. And with Kuromaru's help, she had quickly defeated her opponent.
Now Gari was starting to get anxious. He had thought that his opponent, like him, was a god with two pigs. But it turned out his opponent's god was a great god, and his pigs weren't so pig-like. But his own were just pigs.
Once his teammates were dealt with, he would be in danger. His Explosion Release was powerful, but he couldn't even touch his opponent.
Sure enough, his two teammates were quickly taken down. One was paralyzed by Shibi's insects, and the other was knocked out by Tsume. Both of them now turned their attention to him.
The pressure mounted.
Minato had gradually figured out his opponent's ability. The explosions were powerful, but it seemed they required physical contact. He was now confident. He was ready to end it.
He suddenly disappeared and, at a speed several times faster than before, appeared behind him. Gari immediately spun and kicked, but knowing it would miss, he quickly used his Explosion Release on the ground.
"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"
Another massive explosion. But the Minato in front of him disappeared in a puff of smoke.
And from behind him, he heard his voice.
"RASENGAN!"
A simple clone tactic, but Minato always used it at the most unexpected moments.
Gari felt a heavy blow to his back, as if he had been hit by a speeding carriage. He was sent flying dozens of meters.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood and was completely out of the fight. "I... I surrender," he gasped.
Minato nodded. He had gotten two maps from him. It seemed they had already defeated another team.
A Rain ninja with a "test" mask appeared and applied three Healing Talismans to Gari and his teammates.
Gari looked at Minato with resentment. He hadn't expected his Chunin Exam journey to end so soon.
Then, his pupils contracted. He had noticed that Minato had a unique-looking short sword strapped to his back. It seemed to be his main weapon. But in the entire battle, he had not once drawn it, not even touched it.
The gap is that big? Dammit!