Overly Reckless?

Kisame Hoshigaki appeared more than ten meters away from Feng Ye.

His right arm had been severed at the shoulder. He was clutching the wound with his left hand, cold sweat covering his forehead as he endured the pain, having long since lost his initial composure.

Too young.

Looking at Kisame Hoshigaki, Feng Ye sighed inwardly.

Although Kisame Hoshigaki at this point in time also possessed outstanding Chakra, without Samehada, that advantage was far less exaggerated. Moreover, his combat experience was far inferior to that of the Kisame Hoshigaki who would later kill Suikazan Fuguki and join the Akatsuki Organization.

The ninjutsu Kisame Hoshigaki had used earlier, including the Water Clone meant to lure him in and the subsequent Water Prison Technique, would likely have caught someone else.

But Feng Ye had considered all of that from the very beginning.

Information asymmetry.

If both sides had possessed equal knowledge of one another, perhaps Kisame Hoshigaki at this stage could have traded blows with him. But with unequal intelligence, it became a one-sided crushing defeat.

"Hmm?!"

Just as Feng Ye was about to continue his attack and finish Kisame Hoshigaki off, his gaze flickered, and he turned to look in a certain direction.

Three figures were rapidly approaching from that direction.

"More people are coming..."

Feng Ye glanced at Kisame Hoshigaki, formed a hand seal with one hand, and vanished with a puff.

The ones rushing over were three genin from Kumogakure.

The three Kumogakure genin had not deliberately hunted down other genin teams like Kisame Hoshigaki and his group, but they had still defeated two teams.

If it had been a team from another village, after obtaining enough scrolls and nearing the finish line, they would most likely have chosen to clear the exam first. But Kumogakure's ninja had always been hot-tempered. Upon noticing the commotion here, all three had nearly unanimously decided to head toward it.

They would have to fight in the third round anyway. They might as well eliminate a few people in the second round first. There was nothing wrong with that.

"It's Water Release ninjutsu... It should be someone from Hidden Mist Village."

"I didn't expect to run into Hidden Mist Village ninja. Perfect, we can take them out here while we're at it."

A faint arc of lightning flickered around Kamui's dark right arm. As he spoke, he rubbed his fist and bared his teeth in a slight grin.

When it came to Hidden Mist Village ninja, the Cloud Ninja feared them the least. On one hand, Lightning Release countered Water Release. On the other, Kumogakure's style was almost entirely brutal and direct, whereas Hidden Mist Village mostly produced assassins. Their fighting styles countered each other as well.

However.

Just as the three drew near the battlefield, one of them suddenly changed expression, sensing something. He shouted, "Watch out!"

Kamui's expression changed. A layer of lightning arcs instantly wrapped around his body as he shifted sideways to the right, barely evading a blade that slashed up from the earth below.

Whoosh!!

Having missed, Feng Ye took two steps back and looked at Kamui.

"As expected of a Kumogakure ninja. Your speed and reactions really are fast..."

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

The other two Cloud Ninja instantly surrounded Feng Ye, while Kamui stared coldly at him and sneered. "I thought you were a Hidden Mist Village ninja. Didn't expect you to be from Konoha."

The instant his words fell, Kamui formed a hand seal and pressed a hand to the ground. A streak of lightning immediately spread across the earth toward Feng Ye.

Whoosh!

Feng Ye leaped backward to evade.

The two Kumogakure genin attacked from the left and right. Trapped between them, Feng Ye displayed an uncanny speed, forcibly slipping through the gap between their attacks and breaking free.

"I didn't expect a Konoha genin to possess such speed... But with that alone, I'm afraid you won't be able to escape."

Kamui's eyes were icy as he charged at Feng Ye.

The other two also revealed sharp looks, closing in from the left and right once again to join forces and take Feng Ye down.

Inside the Central Observation Tower.

Watching the scene on the screen, Shinku Yuhi frowned slightly and could not help saying:

"This is too forced."

Feng Ye had already done enough by taking out two members of the Mist Shinobi team and severely injuring Kisame Hoshigaki. There was no need for him to attack the Kumogakure team as well.

Feng Ye's displayed speed was clearly a little slower than when he had fought the Mist Shinobi earlier. His condition had likely declined, and he was no longer at his peak.

One of the Kumogakure ninja clearly possessed speed no worse than Feng Ye's, while the other two could barely keep up as well.

Under such circumstances, let alone defeating the Kumogakure ninja, even escaping would be difficult.

"..."

The other Konoha examiners also looked somewhat tense.

Kisame Hoshigaki's arm had been severed. Though Feng Ye had not killed him, his scroll had been destroyed, so he was considered eliminated. If Feng Ye stumbled here, there would be no need to hold the third round of the Chunin Exams at all—the three from Kumogakure could advance directly.

"He shouldn't have been so reckless."

"As long as he entered the third round normally, in a one-on-one match, he probably wouldn't lose to any of the Cloud Ninja."

Shinku Yuhi spoke in a deep voice as he watched the screen.

Beside him, Hiruzen Sarutobi also frowned slightly.

He had just praised Feng Ye's judgment of the situation, saying he did not resemble a naïve nine-year-old. Yet Feng Ye had immediately changed after killing two Mist Shinobi and severely injuring Kisame Hoshigaki. He seemed to have become overly confident, abandoning the safest choice.

No matter how maturely he could think, he was still only nine. After achieving a few victories, he had gotten carried away... Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head inwardly.

"...At this distance, he should have a chance to rush to the finish line."

Inoichi Yamanaka stared at the scene on the screen and made his judgment after some thought.

As long as he could reach the finish line, it would not be much of a problem. The third round after clearing the exam would be one-on-one matches. In an individual duel, Feng Ye would have a high chance of winning regardless of whom he faced.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly as well.

Feng Ye still had a chance to make up for this mistake. Besides, the strength he had displayed in defeating the Mist Shinobi team was already astonishing enough. He could be considered to have completed his task.

However, at that moment, a completely different opinion rang out.

"No."

"It probably won't be as simple as rushing to the finish line, Teacher Sarutobi."

Orochimaru stood with his arms folded over his chest. Light flickered in his snake-like eyes as he watched the screen. "I think you may have underestimated that child."

Although they were separated by a surveillance screen rather than watching the battle in person, Orochimaru still felt that after fighting the Hidden Mist Village ninja, Feng Ye could not possibly have gone looking for trouble with the Kumogakure ninja so rashly and without confidence.

Especially since, even while being attacked from all sides by three Kumogakure ninja, Feng Ye had not shown the slightest trace of panic!

In his view.

It looked more like... he was observing his opponents.

Happy New Year, everyone! Remember to wear your masks during the holidays~