The Real Killing Move!

"We didn't expect to run into you on the first try!"

The voice from atop the tree made Team 3 and Baki's squad stop fighting at the same time.

It was Iwagakure's Gang Tu Squad!

They seemed to have been drawn here by the commotion.

An ordinary fight naturally would not have caused such a disturbance.

But not only had Ninjutsu been used here, there had also been Exploding Tags. The commotion was far from small.

Most outrageous of all was the ultimate move Taiyi had used just before ending his summoning, one nearly comparable to an S-Rank Forbidden Technique.

Sunset!

Its spectacle and power had both been pushed to the limit. As long as they were not blind, they would come running.

Thus, the three teams faced off against one another.

No one dared to withdraw lightly now.

Because the moment one team pulled away, it might be focused down by the other two.

Everyone understood that leaving first was the best choice in such a situation.

But with cameras all around them, they could not easily say it aloud.

"I think we should deal with the hunters first, shouldn't we?"

Tang Ping had no choice but to speak up.

Though he always tried to keep a low profile, if he did not step forward now, he might lose his life.

He had been forced into it!

That was the only way to describe his current predicament.

Baki fell into thought, likely considering the proposal.

However, Gang Tu, who had already successfully obtained the token and was riding high, was unwilling to accept it. He directly refused.

"They're nothing but a pack of rats. We should first let the ninja world know who the true geniuses are!"

This opportunity to face Baki and Kakashi was simply too rare for him.

If he missed it, who knew whether he would get another chance.

The third round of the exam would be individual battles, so there was a good chance they would not face each other.

If they missed this chance, even if he ultimately won, it would be less convincing.

Iwagakure desperately needed "geniuses."

It had to be said that Gang Tu was not acting foolishly. On the contrary, he was being extremely sensible.

Of course he knew the danger, but he was willing to take the risk for his village.

Earth Release: Gun Forest!

After rejecting the proposal, Gang Tu immediately launched a Ninjutsu attack.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Stone spears suddenly shot out from underground. If the two squads had not reacted quickly enough, they might have been skewered like kebabs.

The battle began!

Faced with such blatant provocation, Kakashi and Baki naturally could not endure it.

They could only fight back.

Yet there were still hunters mixed among the examinees nearby, and they would definitely rush over soon.

This was a complete mess.

The others might not have felt it, but Tang Ping truly did. If he had any other option, he would have grabbed a bucket and run long ago.

"You..."

At that moment, two genin suddenly charged into the battlefield.

They rushed straight toward the place where the geniuses most heavily favored by the Three Great Ninja Villages were fighting.

"Be careful!"

Tang Ping vaguely sensed that something was wrong and shouted a warning.

It was far too strange.

If they really were genin hunters, they would definitely hide in the shadows and wait for a chance to ambush them. Charging in head-on like this was practically suicide.

They could not possibly be that stupid, so there had to be a problem.

Hearing the warning, Kakashi began watching the two carefully and avoided them during the fight.

"Don't get in the way!"

Gang Tu, however, took the initiative to attack.

He held the upper hand in the fight, proving that he was stronger than Kakashi and Baki. He was in an excellent mood and genuinely found the interruption annoying.

But the moment they exchanged blows, he realized something was wrong.

Bang, bang!

The Transformation Techniques of the two youths from small ninja villages were undone, revealing their true appearances.

They were two adult ninja. One wore a Konoha Headband, while the other wore a Sunagakure headband.

Central Tower, Death Forest.

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned extremely grim as he watched the two adult ninja on the surveillance screen.

This was undoubtedly a major failure on Konoha's part.

If they had been hunters concealed among the examinees, it would not have counted as negligence, since the Three Great Ninja Villages had tacitly allowed them in.

But these two adult ninja had definitely not entered mixed in with the examinees.

Naturally, that was Konoha's responsibility.

However, with two Kage seated beside him, he could not afford to lose his composure. He could only leave the matter to others.

"Anbu, immediately capture those intruders!"

Mitokado Homura, seated nearby, immediately gave the order to the Anbu.

The Advisor Elders also had command authority over the Anbu.

And Konoha was not the only one acting.

The other two Great Ninja Villages also secretly issued the same order.

Yet the three Kage all maintained calm expressions, as though everything were under control.

In reality, they were panicking inside. Those genin in the examination grounds were the future of their villages.

If not for the nobles and wealthy merchants present, they would have acted personally without hesitation.

One Anbu after another, along with the examiners, rushed madly from every direction toward the battlefield.

Meanwhile!

"Run!"

The instant Gang Tu saw the two adult ninja, he sensed that something was wrong and loudly warned his teammates.

However.

Rather than fleeing after hearing him, his two teammates charged toward him instead.

They both understood clearly that Gang Tu was the village's future.

Iwagakure could do without them, but it could not do without him.

Gang Tu performed several flips to open up some distance. The instant he landed, he had already formed the hand seals, then slapped the ground.

Earth Release: Earth Wall!

With a low shout, he unleashed Earth Flow Wall, a C-Rank Ninjutsu beneath the B-Rank Ninjutsu.

Rumble!

Amid the surging of the earth.

A stone wall several meters high and dozens of meters long rapidly rose, separating the two sides.

If the enemy went around it through the air or from either side, it would give them an opportunity to counterattack or escape.

Unfortunately.

The two jonin who had approached them using Transformation Techniques had no intention of giving Gang Tu that chance.

Lightning Release: False Darkness!

The ninja wearing the Konoha Headband rapidly formed hand seals and unleashed this B-Rank Lightning Release.

B-Rank and C-Rank!

They appeared to differ by only one rank, but their power was worlds apart.

Moreover, lightning restrained earth. Earth Release was inherently disadvantaged against Lightning Release.

Crackle!

Amid the sound of surging electricity, several finger-thick lightning whips sliced apart the earthen wall before them.

As easily as cutting through vegetables.

B-Rank Ninjutsu already involved techniques such as nature transformation, something chunin and genin could not easily master.

Naturally, that also meant a corresponding leap in Ninjutsu power.

Did they understand now just how terrifying it was that the future Uchiha Sasuke could use A-Rank Ninjutsu during the Chunin Exams?

His talent was truly powerful.

But in the ninja world, what mattered were bloodlines and cheats.

Naruto not only possessed the Uzumaki Bloodline, but also had the Nine-Tails, the strongest cheat of all. It was no wonder Uchiha Sasuke was suppressed at every turn, forced into such misery that he could only grab a bucket and run off to join Orochimaru.

After the Ninjutsu ended, cries rang out from behind the earthen wall.

"Captain!"

The unconscious Gang Tu was being shielded by his two teammates. A deep, charred wound was visible across his chest, clearly left by the Lightning Release just now.

Take note.

A ninja's body, reinforced by Chakra, possessed extremely high resistance to Ninjutsu and blunt-force attacks.

That was why Gang Tu had survived.

Had it been an ordinary person, they would have been cut in two by the Lightning Release rather than merely injured.

Jonin!

Their combat strength was not something genin or chunin could compare to.

"Retreat!"

Tang Ping had naturally seen what had happened to Gang Tu and immediately fled with his two teammates.

Baki's squad made the same choice.

After the two adult jonin froze for a moment, they looked at the barely alive Gang Tu, then split up and gave chase in opposite directions.

They wanted them all!

It seemed they intended to eliminate every genius from the Three Great Ninja Villages.

And that was not all.

The surveillance images in the tower abruptly vanished as well.

Several places in the Death Forest had been dug into deep pits, with severed cables left behind. That was why the surveillance feeds had disappeared.

It was clear that the enemy had come fully prepared for this operation.

The true hunt had begun.