Wiped Out!

"His reaction speed is fast too..."

Kamui's consecutive attacks had all been parried or evaded by Feng Ye. He snorted coldly, brushing one hand across the blade of his longsword. Crackling lightning spread across the edge.

"Then taste this!"

"Ninja Art: Cloud Style Slash!"

As his words fell, Kamui suddenly lunged forward. The sword in his hand slashed out, drawing a lightning arc through the air as it struck at Feng Ye. Shrouded by that lightning arc, the slash was clearly far faster than before!

The suddenly accelerated slash came down toward Feng Ye's head. It looked as though he would not have time to use the White Fang ninja blade to block it and would be split in two.

But—

At that instant, a faint gleam flashed through Feng Ye's eyes.

It was as though an illusory clock had ticked forward by one mark.

Clang!!

His already swift arm drew back with ghostly speed, even faster than before. With a clang, the White Fang ninja blade blocked Kamui's slash.

"This..."

Kamui's pupils contracted, and a look of shock appeared on his face.

After using Cloud Style Slash, his attack speed was nearly a third faster than normal. Even if Feng Ye could react, he should not have had time to block it!

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

After blocking Kamui's attack, Feng Ye's figure became a black afterimage, flashing backward twice in succession and escaping the encirclement of the three men.

Free of their encirclement, Feng Ye gripped the White Fang ninja blade and looked toward the three from Kumogakure, murmuring inwardly:

It isn't the Lightning Release Secret Technique used by the Fourth Raikage. It should be another, weaker version. If only I had the Byakugan or Sharingan—I could completely see through its secrets.

Kumogakure's Lightning Release Secret Technique was something he had always wanted. So when he discovered that Kamui possessed such a technique, he chose to observe while fighting. Unfortunately, without the Byakugan or Sharingan, which could see through the way Chakra was used, it was still far too difficult to fully decipher it.

After watching for so long, he had only managed to analyze a tiny bit of experience from it.

Forget it.

There's no point in continuing.

Feng Ye shook his head inwardly. After exhaling softly, he looked again at Kamui and the other two, a faint gleam flashing through his eyes.

The Chakra within his body suddenly began to surge, flowing upward through his meridians.

"Eight Inner Gates, First Gate—Gate of Opening... open!"

Buzz!!

The first gate of the Eight Inner Gates, located in his brain, was broken through by Chakra in an instant. Though there was no visible change on the surface, Feng Ye could feel as though his body had become much lighter. Every muscle and every bone could exert one hundred percent of its strength.

Opening the first gate of the Eight Inner Gates had taken only an instant.

Kamui and the other two had been startled by Feng Ye's speed in his Triple Speed state, but they did not hesitate for long. In the next moment, they charged in fiercely once more, all three using their strongest techniques.

Whoosh!

Feng Ye's figure flickered.

After opening the first gate of the Eight Inner Gates and exerting his full speed, Kamui and the others could barely even see an afterimage this time. They only saw Feng Ye vanish in an instant. When he reappeared, he had already crossed paths with one of them.

"...What?!"

That man's pupils shrank violently as he froze in place.

Horror filled his eyes. He tried to turn his head to look at Feng Ye behind him, but a burst of agonizing pain struck him. A line of blood spread from his right shoulder all the way to his left waist.

Thud!

Blood sprayed everywhere as a corpse fell to the ground.

Kamui's eyes widened at the sight, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

"Impossible... that speed..."

What was that?!

He would probably have to raise the Lightning Release Secret Technique he cultivated to its second stage to achieve Feng Ye's speed. Yet reaching the second stage of that secret technique already meant attaining the level of a Jonin!

Whoosh!!

Amid Kamui's terror, Feng Ye's figure flashed past once again.

The other Hidden Cloud Village genin wore a look of fear and swung his kunai repeatedly. But his frantic movements could not form a flawless defensive perimeter. In an instant, Feng Ye still swept past him.

Only two almost overlapping chimes of clashing steel could be heard.

Thud!

Amid the spraying blood, the second Cloud Ninja fell.

As he watched his last companion also get cut down in an instant by Feng Ye's terrifying speed, shock and fear filled Kamui's eyes.

Impossible!

This was not the speed or ability of a genin!

This guy was a Konoha Jonin in disguise, wasn't he? How could he possibly be a genin?!

"Ninja Art: Cloud Style Slash!!"

Seeing Feng Ye look at him, Kamui gritted his teeth and shouted. Another layer of lightning arcs enveloped the blade of his longsword.

But Feng Ye, standing opposite him, also formed a hand seal with one hand. His fingers passed over the edge of the White Fang ninja blade, and arcs of lightning intertwined and spread across its blade.

"Lightning Release... Lightning Slash!"

Whoosh!!

Their figures crossed in an instant.

Kamui stiffened where he stood. The lightning arcs on his sword vanished, and the blade broke in the middle. Half the tip fell into the distance with a chime.

He turned his head with difficulty to look at Feng Ye, disbelief still in his eyes. "You..."

Kamui's throat moved twice, as though he wanted to say something else. But in the end, he spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. Blood sprayed everywhere as he fell with a thud onto the barren ground.

Inside the monitoring room at the center of Death Rock Cave.

Silence filled the room.

The Kumogakure Jonin who had previously worn a faint, proud smile now had a completely frozen expression, disbelief written across his face.

"How could this be..."

On the other side.

Konoha's Jonin, including Shinku Yuhi and Inoichi Yamanaka, along with the many Chunin proctors, were also almost completely silent. Their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.

Because it was a surveillance projection, the details of the scene could not be seen clearly. But one thing was certain: Feng Ye had used some method that made him even faster than he had been when fighting the Mist Shinobi before!

With that nearly terrifying speed, he had reversed the disadvantage in an instant, consecutively killing two Cloud Ninja, then using Hatake Swordsmanship combined with Lightning Release to kill the last one as well!

"As expected..."

Orochimaru gazed deeply at the image on the screen and slowly said, "But that kind of speed cannot be displayed in a normal state. I don't recall White Fang having such a technique either. Did he use some kind of Forbidden Jutsu?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi drew a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. "I'm not sure, but that child did say that his motor nerves were different from ordinary people..."

Different from ordinary people?!

Even through the screen, they could not accurately judge exactly how fast Feng Ye was. But ordinary Jonin would likely find it difficult to reach that kind of speed!

No wonder Feng Ye had been able to kill an elite scout from the Hidden Mist Village. No wonder even the exceptionally gifted Kakashi had never been able to defeat his older brother, Feng Ye!

"Different from ordinary people..."

Orochimaru revealed a strange smile as he repeated Hiruzen Sarutobi's words. After a brief pause, he said, "An abnormality also represents—talent. Looking at it this way, that child may possess talent surpassing White Fang's."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slowly.

Feng Ye had not only inherited Hatake Sakumo's bloodline, but also possessed an innate talent for speed. If he could continue growing, he truly had the potential to surpass Hatake Sakumo!