Chapter 142: The Great Escape
Konan's team arrived at the location marked on the map, but they found nothing. After searching the area, the only suspicious thing they could find was a protruding rock on the cliff face, which seemed to have some faint markings on it.
The markings looked natural, and if it hadn't been for the map, they would have completely ignored them.
But the rock was protruding from the cliff, and there seemed to be no way to get to it.
"Killer Bee, Yahiko," Konan said, "give me a boost."
"Got it!"
The three of them worked together, and Konan leaped into the air. She unfolded her paper wings and, after a brief glide, landed on the edge of the protruding rock.
She attached her chakra to her feet and, using the tree-walking technique, walked parallel to the ground, examining the rock.
There were indeed some special markings on it, but she was no expert in rocks. After a moment of hesitation, she pressed the map she was holding against the markings.
She then infused the map with her chakra. It slowly became damp, and the paper turned from a creamy white to a translucent color. It combined with the markings on the rock to form a new pattern.
"Well? Find anything?" Yahiko shouted from below.
"It seems to have formed a new pattern," she said, "but I still can't make it out."
"Try the other map," he suggested. "Or put them on top of each other."
She took out the second map and, after infusing it with her chakra, placed it on the rock as well. After some trial and error, she found that the two of them did indeed form a new pattern.
"I've got it! Let me see... this looks like another map."
She understood. The points marked on each map were the key to the puzzle. Only by combining a map of the current area with another map on the rock could the true escape point be revealed. And different combinations of maps would likely reveal different escape points. A clever design.
She carefully studied the new map. It was not as detailed as the previous ones, so she had to be more careful in determining the direction.
As she was thinking, she heard a faint rumbling sound.
"What was that?"
She listened carefully, but she couldn't make it out. The sound was very far away.
"It's probably just a fight somewhere else," she thought. "The priority now is to solve the map."
She turned her attention back to the rock.
But the rumbling sound did not stop. In fact, it grew closer.
"What's going on?"
She couldn't help but look to her right, down the canyon.
A bend in the canyon blocked her view.
One second...
Two seconds...
Three seconds...
Ten seconds passed.
The rumbling was now right on top of them.
And then, from her high vantage point, she finally saw what was making the noise.
It was a giant wave, dozens of meters high, hurtling towards them.
"Konan, what's wrong?" Killer Bee asked from below.
Her pupils contracted. She immediately leaped from the rock and went into a glide. "Run!" she screamed. "Tsunami!"
Killer Bee was already moving, but his brain hadn't quite caught up. "What tsunami?!" he shouted as he ran. "Are you under a genjutsu?! How can there be a tsunami in a canyon?!"
But a moment later, he, too, saw what was behind them. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "What the hell is that?!"
A giant wave, dozens of meters high. It was more than just a flood. Only "tsunami" could describe it.
The entire canyon was almost filled.
And so, Konan flew, and Yahiko and Killer Bee ran.
And a几十-meter-high "tsunami" was pushing them from behind.
In another part of the canyon, the Stone ninja, Han, was proudly studying a map on a large boulder.
"See? I told you there was something wrong with the markings on this rock."
"This round seems to be an advantage for us Stone ninja," Mahiru said with a happy smile. "We're all familiar with rocks. After all, Lord Tsuchikage is always going on about the 'Will of Stone'."
"I remember one time," the square-jawed Oiwa added, "he came to the Ninja Academy and made us spend a whole day looking for a rock that best represented the 'Will of Stone.' I just picked one up from the side of the road and rested all day. Hahaha."
The three of them were laughing and joking. The first round had gone very smoothly for them. They had not only discovered the secret of the rocks early on, but they had also defeated a Konoha team and had learned the secret of the maps. They had now solved the puzzle.
"Let's see... it's to the west. This should be the escape point. Let's go. One escape point can only be used by two teams."
Just as they were about to set out, a massive rumbling sound shook the earth.
Their first thought was: an earthquake?
That didn't seem right. An earthquake was not a major threat to a ninja. They continued to head west.
And then, at a bend in the canyon, they saw the giant wave hurtling towards them.
And Konan, flying, and two others, running.
And in the distance, at the foot of the wave, a large group of people were running for their lives.
The three of them turned and ran.
"What is going on?!"
By a stream, Pakura's team and Tsuki's team were in a standoff.
Pakura and Sasori were on high alert, while the medical-nin, Yashamaru, had found a place to hide, ready to provide support.
The Mist team, on the other hand, seemed completely relaxed.
"It seems our two teams' maps show the same location," Pakura said.
"The map doesn't matter," Tsuki said. "The only thing that matters is the fight."
Bone spikes shot from her hands, and her expression turned crazed.
Ringo rolled her eyes but readied herself for battle. Fuguki also drew his greatsword.
A ball of Scorch Release chakra formed in Pakura's hand, but she did not release it. Sasori also summoned his two puppets, which hovered in front of him.
A battle was about to break out.
Just then, Pakura noticed that the water level in the stream seemed to be rising.
A faint rumbling sound. All six of them turned to look.
Suddenly, a figure with paper wings glided towards them. It was not very high, and both teams were on high alert.
But the figure just flew past them without a second glance.
As they were wondering what was going on, several more figures ran past, a mix of Cloud, Stone, and even Konoha ninja. Some were running on two legs, some on all fours, like animals, and some were using the Body Flicker Technique. They were all running for their lives.
Tsuki's and Pakura's teams were caught up in the panic and instinctively wanted to run too, though they had no idea what they were running from.
By the time they saw the giant wave, they were already regretting their hesitation.
"What is that thing?!"
The people in the observation deck had not expected this either. Even Hanzo, the host, was stunned.
Though the canyon was winding, in general, the west was high and the east was low. Hiroto's jutsu was already massive, and he had raised himself another hundred meters into the air. The huge amount of water and the height difference had created a "tsunami" of incredible kinetic energy. The current was so strong that the other ninja didn't even have a chance to tread water. They were just swept along like a flock of sheep, waiting for the wave to lose its momentum.
And Hiroto and the others, who had the two rock clues and a sufficient number of maps, had solved the puzzle and now had control of two escape points, which meant four teams could pass.
The Cloud now had only five teams left.
Sure enough, after the "tsunami," before the other teams had even recovered, Yusuke's and Tetsuo's teams, with Kayo's sensory ability, had found all the other Cloud teams in the canyon. Kayo had already memorized their chakra signatures. And Hiroto was guarding the two escape points on the western side.
But one of their teams had been defeated before the "tsunami," so in the end, there were only four left.
The four teams returned to the eastern side and, using the two uncontested escape points, all of them escaped.
And then, with the knowledge that there was a monster of terrifying power among the contestants, the other teams no longer had the heart to wander around. They picked up the pace and avoided any further trouble.
From the start to sunset, in eight hours, a total of 14 of the 42 teams had advanced to the next round, most of them from the great villages.
The Cloud had four of them.
Stone: two teams
Konoha: two teams
Sand: two teams
Mist: one team
Rain: one team
Grass: one team
Waterfall: one team
The biggest highlight of the first round was, of course, the "tsunami" created by Hiroto. The Cloud ninja were ecstatic, while the other villages were left with a bitter taste in their mouths.
First there was Yotsuki Dana, and now, a tier below him, there was this Uzumaki Hiroto. The high-ranking leaders of the other villages were not pleased. They had thought that without Yotsuki Dana, the younger generation would be on a level playing field. But there was another monster.
Though his other skills had not yet been displayed, just from this one jutsu, it was clear that in time, he could become the next Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Dana noticed that even the Thunder Daimyo's expression was a bit... strange.