Moriyue, You Deserve to Die!

Ando protested at Kazeki squeezing his neck and pumping Chakra into him, but all he got in response was an eye roll from Kazeki.

"I'm a doctor. Pumping Chakra into you like this is good for you. The method has to vary from person to person."

"Really? Then tell me, what's the point of choking someone?" Ando didn't know much about medicine, so he could only scratch his head in half-belief.

"It helps wake you up."

"You motherf—"

Moriyue found the two of them bickering rather amusing. While they were recovering their Chakra, shouts suddenly rang out from the desert some distance behind them.

"Looks like someone stepped on a trap." A wicked grin appeared on Moriyue's face. The thrill of screwing people over really was damn satisfying.

Kazeki released the hand clutching the back of Ando's neck, the hand that held his fate. She deliberately didn't mention the abnormal backflow of Chakra in Moriyue's body. Though her senses had clearly detected that Moriyue's body seemed to have changed from before, she said nothing and had no desire to say anything.

"I fing *** you! Which *** buried landmines in the ground? That's too damn cruel! I swear, I'll f your whole family!"

"Who the hell would bury landmines here with nothing better to do? I remember the first team that ran out was from Kumogakure, right? It must have been those bastards!"

"This entire stretch of desert has lightning traps buried beneath it? Just how bored were they?"

Curses rang out from behind. Some people had been running perfectly fine, only to suddenly have their bodies go numb when they triggered a lightning trap. Coming to an abrupt halt while moving at high speed was especially damaging to the body.

They had only wanted to pass the exam. Why were there so many underhanded bastards in this Chunin Exam?

Fortunately, not every examinee had been so careless. Quite a few vigilant teams had their sensory ninja keep their sensing techniques active at all times, exposing every lightning trap before their eyes. But the sheer density of the traps still forced them to slow down, making it impossible to sprint at full speed.

For a time, blue lightning flashed continuously behind them alongside the anguished cries of examinees. In that instant, they all came to the same conclusion—those bastards Moriyue and the others were just too detestable. Weren't Kumogakure ninja supposed to be nothing but reckless brutes? Since when did brutes know how to use tactics?

Moriyue's lightning tactics delayed many teams. With Moriyue setting a precedent, other teams began to have similar ideas. However, since fighting was forbidden along the route, they could only imitate this tactic against the teams behind them.

But that was fine. Since they had been soaked by the rain themselves, they were going to tear up everyone else's umbrellas too. If they had gotten shocked, then the people behind them weren't getting through easily either.

Chakra of all colors surged forth. The examinees followed suit, dodging lightning traps while setting up other traps for those behind them. After Moriyue's little stunt, what had originally been an endurance race testing the examinees' stamina and physical strength had turned directly into a competition of tricks and tools.

"My, it's really lively! The Chunin Exam really is interesting. I can't lose to ninja from the other villages, and I can't forget the village chief's request..."

"Then let me show you what Fu of Kusagakure can do!"

Seeing the lively atmosphere of the gathered examinees—who were actually trapped by lightning—Fu quickly understood everything. They were using ninjutsu to leave obstacles for those behind them, testing the people at the rear? She could do that too!

Her steps were light as her calves gently touched the desert sands, leaving only small dents in the soft ground. Without stopping, she rushed forward step by step. A lightning trap lay directly ahead of her, yet she showed no intention of avoiding it.

Five meters, three meters, one meter—Fu drew ever closer to the lightning trap. The rampaging electricity was about to touch her wheat-colored calves, and she could already feel the tingling against her skin.

"Woohoo! Takeoff~"

In an instant, her next step created no indentation in the sand at all. Several orange-red Scale Blades sprouted from her waist, resembling an insect's tail wings. They beat at an incredibly high frequency, and a violent gust erupted downward from her waist, blasting away great clouds of sand and forcing the surrounding examinees to squint.

Yet such fierce winds didn't flip up her skirt. That wasn't scientific!

"I'm flying!" Fu looked down playfully at the examinees still struggling to avoid the traps below and greeted them before soaring into the air, directly ignoring the people below who were trying to outscheme one another.

It had to be said that once someone gained the ability to fly, it was a crushing advantage against ninja without aerial capabilities. The initiative was in Fu's hands—she could attack whenever she wanted and flee whenever she wanted. It was extremely useful in actual combat.

"Let's leave everyone a little present."

With Moriyue, that heinous criminal, leading by example, Fu began to turn bad as well. She gave a mischievous giggle and spat out countless tiny orange-yellow scale powders. Their color closely resembled sand, and as they drifted on the wind, they quickly blew into the crowd.

The examinees still busy tripping each other up only felt that something seemed to have appeared in the air. Their eyes began to feel uncomfortable, and their noses itched, as if they had inhaled some kind of pollen.

"Where would pollen come from in the desert?... Damn it, why can't I see anything?"

"It's a trap! A trap with an extremely high concealment factor! Someone ambushed us!"

"Damn it, it must have been that bastard Moriyue! You deserve to die!"

Fu wore the wicked grin of someone whose prank had succeeded. The scale powder would not permanently take away their sight; it would merely blind them temporarily. Hearing the "lively" crowd behind her, she smiled in satisfaction.

"As long as everyone's having fun. Tell me, isn't it lively?"

At the very front, Moriyue suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason. They were now far ahead of everyone else. The teams behind them were probably still figuring out how to deal with the traps, and with no one laying traps for them, their path was naturally completely unobstructed.

"No one has caught up after all this time. Looks like they've 'learned' the captain's essence too." Ando looked at Moriyue admiringly. As expected of the captain—his heart was truly black. Ando couldn't compare.

"You learned quickly too. You're teachable. I'm sure you'll soon learn to think like me."

Moriyue smiled. Those ninja wanted to imitate him, and so far, their imitation did look convincing. The teams behind them had been delayed by more than half their progress. But did they have bodies as tough as Moriyue's group? After using ninjutsu, could they still maintain the same speed as before?

The ninja of Kumogakure had honed Nintaijutsu into their very bones. Even a sensory-type ninja like Kazeki had to train her body first. It could be said that Chakra depletion did not affect them all that much, but ordinary ninja were another matter entirely.