Instantly Killing One Man!

As the atmosphere in the arena grew somewhat oppressive, an image that suddenly appeared on one of the screens drew everyone's attention. Even Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to look.

The screen showed Konoha's last three-man squad encountering Kisame Hoshigaki and the others as they approached the Central Observation Tower!

"You should have gathered enough scrolls already..."

Uchiha Kyuta was the center of this Genin squad. Standing at the front, he looked grimly at Kisame Hoshigaki and the others from Kirigakure as he spoke coldly.

He had already obtained the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and had no desire to fight the Hidden Mist Village's shinobi.

Kisame Hoshigaki spread his hands slightly. "We got enough scrolls a long time ago."

"Then move aside."

Uchiha Kyuta spoke in a low voice.

Kisame Hoshigaki gave a short laugh, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. "It seems you've misunderstood something... We may have enough scrolls, but I never intended to let you pass. We'll have to fight sooner or later in the third round anyway, so we might as well take all of you down here."

"Oh, and let me remind you—I've already collected six scrolls..."

Kisame Hoshigaki's words made Uchiha Kyuta's expression shift slightly.

Without hesitation, he activated his Sharingan. A single tomoe slowly revolved in each of his eyes as he gripped a kunai and watched Kisame Hoshigaki warily.

"Do it."

Kisame Hoshigaki gave the order cleanly and immediately made his move.

The three Mist Shinobi clashed fiercely with the three from Konoha. Relying on the Sharingan's power, Uchiha Kyuta barely maintained the situation for a time, but as the battle dragged on, his Chakra was steadily depleted. Kisame Hoshigaki, meanwhile, seemed to be suffering no such exhaustion!

"Looks like you're running out of Chakra. Keeping that Sharingan active must take quite a bit of Chakra..."

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned.

Then, he abruptly formed hand seals and unleashed a B-rank Ninjutsu.

Uchiha Kyuta's face changed drastically. He had not expected Kisame Hoshigaki to still have enough Chakra to use a B-rank Ninjutsu at this point. He could only dodge in haste, but in this terrain, it was difficult to evade a large-scale Water Style Ninjutsu. In the end, he was still hit.

"His Chakra reserves are rather abnormal. As expected, he has an unusual physique."

Orochimaru watched the scene on the monitor, a faint gleam flickering in his eyes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha's many shinobi all looked grim. With this squad eliminated, Konoha's three-man teams had been completely wiped out!

Only the last one-man squad remained—or rather, only one person remained: Feng Ye.

"So this is the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan..."

Kisame Hoshigaki came to Uchiha Kyuta's side, a faint gleam flashing in his eyes as he slowly crouched down.

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan was still quite valuable.

However, just as Kisame Hoshigaki was about to take Uchiha Kyuta's Sharingan, a Konoha Anbu shinobi appeared without a sound.

Though all participants in the second round of the Chunin Exams had signed death waivers, Konoha could not possibly stand by and watch someone take a Sharingan.

"Tch."

Seeing the Anbu shinobi appear, Kisame Hoshigaki knew he had no chance to take the Sharingan. He clicked his tongue, withdrew the hand reaching toward Uchiha Kyuta, and stood up again.

"The hunt should be about over. Let's go."

The other two Mist Shinobi nodded and left with Kisame Hoshigaki.

After glancing at Uchiha Kyuta lying on the ground, the Anbu shinobi looked in the direction Kisame Hoshigaki and the others had departed, his gaze darkening.

"Even a Genin from the Uchiha Clan capable of using the Sharingan was taken down. Kirigakure really sent monster Genin this time. These Chunin Exams may end up becoming a joke..."

Over in the monitoring room.

Watching the scene on the monitor, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was grim. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to the proctor beside him and asked,

"Where is Feng Ye? Has he already passed?"

"Um..."

The proctor hesitated, seemingly unsure how to put it. After several seconds, he said, "How should I put this... I suppose he has passed. He obtained enough scrolls early on and reached the outside of the tower, but he still hasn't come in."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was slightly surprised. Looking at the monitor, he said, "He hasn't come in?"

"Yes."

The proctor nodded.

Chief examiner Shinku Yuhi walked over and looked up at the screen. "Perhaps he doesn't intend to pass directly and wants to test the strength of the other shinobi. From where he is, he can come in at any time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a quiet hum.

That was indeed something Feng Ye might do. But with all the other Genin wiped out, the pressure of the third round would fall entirely on him.

At that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help shaking his head. He had already anticipated that the shinobi Kirigakure and the Hidden Cloud Village sent this time would be the best of the best, but the situation was even worse than expected. Fortunately, he had designated Feng Ye to participate in these Chunin Exams.

With Feng Ye's strength, once he entered the third round, his performance would not be poor no matter what.

At the very least, Konoha would be able to save face.

At that moment, Feng Ye was sitting atop a protruding rock wall outside the Central Observation Tower, completely motionless. His body was covered in a layer of yellow earth, and unless one looked closely, it was hard to tell that someone was sitting there.

Amid the silence, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked in one direction. A glimmer flashed through his gaze as he murmured,

"Someone's finally here..."

He had been waiting there for a long time.

Not far from the Central Observation Tower.

After taking down Konoha's final squad, Kisame Hoshigaki and the others were heading toward the endpoint of the second round of the Chunin Exams. The three advanced in a triangular formation, with Kisame Hoshigaki at the front.

As they ran, one of the two behind him sneered. "I didn't expect the Uchiha Clan that Teacher Fuguki told us to be wary of to be so unimpressive. We overestimated Konoha's shinobi."

Tsunagashi Yasuke grinned. "There were twelve teams in total, and we took out six... We also took out one team with an Uchiha shinobi, making seven teams eliminated altogether... If the Hidden Cloud Village shinobi also took out one team, only three teams should remain for the third round. If they took out two, then the third round should be a showdown between us and them."

Such results should count as a perfect completion of Fuguki's instructions.

However, just as Tsunagashi Yasuke was feeling satisfied with his own assessment, an unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"Is that so?"

The voice made Tsunagashi Yasuke's heart contract violently. In an instant, every hair on his body stood on end as a terrifying feeling flooded his mind.

He tried to react, but it was already too late.

Slash!!

In an instant.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

As though he had struck an invisible razor-sharp wire, Tsunagashi Yasuke was cut cleanly in two at the waist. His upper and lower body separated neatly.

His eyes still held a trace of terror and disbelief.

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

Kisame Hoshigaki and the other Mist Shinobi sensed the sudden change behind them. Their expressions changed drastically as they stopped at once.

When the two turned around, all they could see was Tsunagashi Yasuke's corpse—and a silver-haired youth standing there calmly, a short blade in his hand.

Hatake... Feng Ye!