Shock

"Tsunagashi Yasuke!!"

The Hidden Mist Village genin standing beside Kisame Hoshigaki's face changed drastically. Shock and disbelief appeared in his eyes as he cried out involuntarily.

Tsunagashi Yasuke was the sensory-type shinobi among the three. Their ability to keep hunting other squads had relied on Tsunagashi Yasuke's sensory abilities. Logically, when facing an ambush or sneak attack, he should have been the quickest to react.

But now—

Tsunagashi Yasuke had been taken out in an instant!

He had not even had time to use techniques like the Substitution Technique or Body Flicker Technique!

"Cough... cough..."

Tsunagashi Yasuke, who had been cut in two, did not die immediately, but he spat out a mouthful of blood. His upper body lay there as he looked toward Feng Ye, his expression filled with disbelief.

Since they were already close to the finish line and he had been talking with Kisame Hoshigaki and the others, he had indeed let his guard down somewhat. He had not focused all his attention on sensing his surroundings, so when Feng Ye attacked midway, he had failed to notice in advance. But that was not the crucial part.

The crucial part was... he had been too fast!

Feng Ye's movements had been so fast that he had not had time to put up any resistance at all!

That kind of speed was not something a genin should possess. Even among jonin, few would likely be any faster. Having been ambushed by a jonin while not fully focused and alert, being killed in an instant would have been an inevitable outcome.

"So it's you."

Kisame Hoshigaki stared at Feng Ye. He showed no anger or loss of composure over his companion being cut down, as though someone insignificant had merely died.

He parted his lips slightly, revealing shark-like teeth. "Looks like not all of Konoha's genin are trash."

"..."

Feng Ye glanced at Tsunagashi Yasuke, who lay on the ground in two pieces, and noticed a small pile of scrolls that had fallen from him. "I see."

Having gathered so many scrolls, they were clearly not participating in these Chunin Exams merely to pass. They were simply here to hunt and to make a show of force.

"That really is the style of the rumored Bloody Mist Village..."

Feng Ye raised the White Fang in his hand and lightly ran one hand along its edge, as if wiping the blade clean.

But in the very next instant, his entire body vanished into a puff of smoke.

Kisame Hoshigaki's expression changed. Without hesitation, he leapt backward while rapidly forming hand seals, then pressed both hands downward in midair.

"Water Release! Exploding Water Shock Wave!!"

Splash!

A towering torrent erupted in an instant, crashing down like a flood pouring backward.

Yet the rushing water did not strike Feng Ye immediately, because Feng Ye's target was not Kisame Hoshigaki, but the other Hidden Mist Village genin!

"Water Release! Spiral Water Blade!"

That Hidden Mist Village genin released his ninjutsu almost at the same instant Feng Ye vanished. He opened his mouth and spat out spiraling threads that flung outward in all directions from his body. Each thread was condensed from extremely high-pressure water, and nearby protruding rocks were sliced in two the instant they touched them.

But the moment he released that ninjutsu, Feng Ye's figure had already appeared at his right side. Facing the threads that slashed toward him in an instant, Feng Ye did not dodge. Instead, he suddenly displayed an almost eerie speed, spinning through the air and passing through the gaps in the Spiral Water Blade.

"This is bad..."

The Hidden Mist Village genin's expression changed drastically, and a flicker of terror appeared in his eyes. He had never expected Feng Ye to dare charge directly into the Spiral Water Blade's range, much less actually pass through its gaps.

Without sufficient speed and sharp enough dynamic vision, such an act was practically dancing on the edge of a blade. One misstep, and he would be split in two!

Slash!!

The Hidden Mist Village genin drew a kunai and swung it toward Feng Ye.

Clang clang clang!!

The White Fang in Feng Ye's hand flashed rapidly through the air. In an instant, it seemed to cast out seven or eight white threads. Then Feng Ye flashed past him and landed behind the Hidden Mist Village genin.

The Hidden Mist Village genin's body froze in place. With some difficulty, he turned his head to look at Feng Ye behind him. His eyes revealed terror and disbelief, before countless bloody lines appeared across his body. Blood sprayed everywhere as he collapsed to one side.

The Spiral Water Blade had failed to stop Feng Ye. Once Feng Ye got close, the outcome was naturally obvious. If it had been a member of the Uchiha Clan with the Sharingan activated and sufficient speed, perhaps they could have blocked Feng Ye's Hatake Swordsmanship in close combat, but he clearly lacked such ability.

In the blink of an eye... two Mist Shinobi had died!

"Being so arrogant in someone else's village comes at a price. Kill others or be killed—that's your Mist Shinobi village's philosophy, isn't it? I don't see anything wrong with following it."

Feng Ye stood atop the water and looked at the last remaining Kisame Hoshigaki, speaking calmly.

Kisame Hoshigaki watched Feng Ye from afar. He was no longer as composed as before, and the corners of his slightly parted mouth looked somewhat stiff. "It seems you're Konoha's strongest genin after all. The intelligence was a little off, but it doesn't matter much..."

As his words fell, Kisame Hoshigaki suddenly formed hand seals.

"Water Release! Water Shark Bullet Technique!"

Splash!!

The water beneath Feng Ye's feet suddenly surged as several sharks formed from water pounced toward him, intending to tear him to pieces.

Whoosh!

Feng Ye leapt directly from the water's surface and descended toward Kisame Hoshigaki.

Kisame Hoshigaki's expression did not change. He raised his right hand toward Feng Ye, and surging water formed into a shark that lunged forward to bite him head-on.

Feng Ye gripped the White Fang and fiercely stabbed it into the water shark. His entire body became an afterimage along the flowing water, and the ninja blade in his hand traced a spiraling path, slicing the water shark and Kisame Hoshigaki behind it into pieces.

Splash!!

Kisame Hoshigaki's body shattered, but no blood spilled out. Instead, it turned into water that surged upward in an instant, enveloping Feng Ye completely.

"...Water Prison Technique!"

Kisame Hoshigaki's figure swam out from beneath the water. One hand pressed against the surface of the water sphere to maintain the prison as he looked at Feng Ye inside it. "Your speed is indeed troublesome, but inside my Water Prison Technique, you can't use it, can you?"

Feng Ye stood within the water prison without the slightest trace of panic. Instead, he looked calmly at Kisame Hoshigaki. "The Water Prison Technique, the signature ninjutsu of the Mist Shinobi... But since I already knew you had this move, how could I possibly fall for it so easily?"

Kisame Hoshigaki's expression changed at those words.

The next instant—

His body twisted sharply to one side, but a streak of white light still grazed past him. Blood splashed as an arm flew free from his body and fell into the water.

"Wonderful."

Inside the monitoring room at the center of Death Rock Cave, Orochimaru watched the scene on the screen. A trace of admiration appeared in his eyes as he offered his assessment.

Beside him, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the scene and could not help sighing in amazement. "I thought he only relied on that speed. I never expected him to use the Clone Technique and Substitution Technique to such an extent. Even you couldn't have done that at his age, could you...?"

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru were astonished by the talent and strength Feng Ye had displayed during that brief clash, let alone the other chunin and jonin.

People like Shinku Yuhi were practically shaken at this moment.

They had already roughly judged the strength of Kisame Hoshigaki's group through observing their battles over this period. The two Mist Shinobi both possessed elite chunin-level strength, while Kisame Hoshigaki's outstanding Chakra reserves meant he could barely be considered a Special Jonin.

Yet before Feng Ye, this three-man Hidden Mist Village team had suffered two deaths and one injury in the blink of an eye!

Whether it was the strength Feng Ye displayed or his judgment and choices in battle, there was almost nothing to criticize. He did not resemble a nine-year-old genin at all, but rather a battle-hardened elite shinobi!