Hearing Narak's voice behind him, Kai, who was retreating, was startled.
He had no time to turn around and look closely, so his right hand instinctively swung a staff backward.
"Smack!"
As expected of Konoha's elite Jonin, Kai had accumulated an abundance of combat experience over the years. His instinctive counterattack directly knocked aside the slash Narak had brought down from midair.
But that was all it accomplished.
After the nunchaku clashed head-on with the Zanpakuto, it was cut in two.
On the other side, Kakashi saw Narak sneak-attack Kai and wanted to go to his aid. However, Narak had gone to great lengths to find an opening that separated the two. How could he give it up so easily?
"White Haze."
Murky light spread from Narak, swiftly enveloping Kai and Kakashi.
The two men's movements faltered as the light wrapped around them, and their consciousness instantly grew drowsy.
That was the effect of White Haze. White Haze belonged to neither Hado nor Kido, but was a combination of the two, and thus had no sequence number.
Its effect was to make enemies shrouded in its murky light temporarily lose consciousness and fall asleep. When used in battle, it felt to a person as though they had taken a stun grenade head-on—an intensely unpleasant sensation!
However, a technique without a sequence number like this could not hold an elite Jonin for long.
Kai and Kakashi only paused for a moment before waking up in the next instant through their powerful willpower!
But that was enough. The opportunity Narak had fought for was this brief instant.
"Bakudo Thirty—Three Birds."
Another Bakudo cast without an incantation. Three enormous beak-shaped beams of light formed before Narak and then shot out at high speed, piercing through Kai's hands and waist and nailing him firmly to the ground, leaving him unable to move!
Narak then flashed to Kai's side, laid his long blade across Kai's neck, and grinned at Kakashi. "That takes care of one! Now it's just a one-on-one fight between Kakashi-senpai and me!"
That series of moves shocked everyone watching from upstairs!
The original examination requirement had merely been for Narak to hold out against two Jonin for the time it took one incense stick to burn. Instead, Narak had been suppressing the two of them the entire time. Now he had even taken one of them out, pinning Kai to the ground so he could not move.
Good grief, I can only say, good grief! Are young people this incredible nowadays? Are they trying to prevent us old folks from living...
Hyuga Hiashi, meanwhile, wore a delighted smile as he proudly looked at the heads of the various clans. Everyone could read the meaning on his face.
"My son. This is my son!"
"Damn it, he got to show off again. No, the training plan I originally set for that brat needs to be changed. I need to increase the training volume too!"
Back at school, the young prodigies all shuddered in unison again. That sense of unease came rushing back, and this time it was even stronger than before!
Just after waking from his dizzy state, Kai blinked and stared in disbelief at his hands and waist pinned to the ground, as well as the long blade pressed against his neck.
I... already lost?? I was taken down by a youngster who had just turned ten and was taking the Jonin examination? Konoha's Blue Beast has no dignity left... Kai instantly began questioning his life!
"Sorry for the trouble, Kai-senpai!" Apparently noticing that Kai was embarrassed, Narak greeted him apologetically.
Unexpectedly, Kai, who was pinned to the ground, merely smiled before saying to Narak, "Little brother Narak, you're very impressive. Keep it up. Don't go and lose to that Kakashi fellow after beating me, or that guy will mock me for the rest of my life!"
Narak sheathed his blade and slowly stood up, then nodded at Kai. "Yes, Kai-senpai. Don't worry. I'll give it my all!"
Nearby, Kakashi looked at Narak standing up and Kai pinned to the ground, unable to help shaking his head.
"I was careless. I thought he was merely a youngster who had just reached Jonin level. I never expected his strength to have already surpassed that of most veteran Jonin. I've really overturned the cart..."
The corner of Kakashi's eye swept over the incense stick stuck in the ground. Only a tiny bit of its base remained, and it would burn out at any moment.
"In that case... Little brother Narak, let's decide the winner with one move! Next, I'll use my strongest self-created ninjutsu. If you can block it, you'll pass the examination!"
Hearing this from the ground, Kai said in surprise, "Hey, hey, Kakashi, you aren't planning to use that move, are you? Isn't that going a little too far?"
Kakashi merely shook his head calmly. "Kai, things have already come to this. You aren't still treating Narak as a newcomer, are you? In terms of strength, he's already on par with us."
Kai was rendered speechless and said nothing more.
After all, he was already pinned to the ground. That was the best proof of all!
His strongest self-created ninjutsu... Is it Lightning Blade? Narak wondered.
"In that case, I'll use my strongest attack as well. Kakashi-senpai, please be careful. This is something I created very recently, and even I don't yet know how powerful it is!"
"Oh? Another self-created ninjutsu? Then let's see whose technique is more powerful! Lightning Blade!"
Kakashi let out a low growl. His left hand gripped the wrist of his right hand, while lightning flashed in his right palm. A spherical mass of lightning took shape in the center of his palm.
Violent lightning scattered in all directions, and a piercing sound rang in everyone's ears, as though ten thousand birds were crying out at once. At the same time, Narak smelled ozone—the scent produced when the air was ionized by lightning.
"So this... is Lightning Blade?"
Watching Kakashi's ninjutsu, Narak licked the corner of his mouth, excitement surging through him. This was the feeling that came only from fighting a powerful opponent.
"Then it's my turn. Zangetsu!"
The Zanpakuto in Narak's hand transformed, becoming a massive blade with no hilt. White cloth strips were wrapped around the handle area, and its overall shape resembled an enlarged butcher's knife.
Narak's spiritual pressure surged throughout his body and gathered toward the Zanpakuto. As more and more spiritual pressure accumulated, a white glow began to radiate from the blade.
"Take this slash—Moon Crescent Sky Rush!"
The enormous butcher's... Zanpakuto swung through Narak's hands and cleaved straight down at Kakashi, who was charging over with Chidori in hand. A crescent-shaped white blade wave dozens of meters long shot directly outward. After releasing the technique, Narak's legs went weak, and he nearly fell to his knees!
"Good grief, Moon Crescent Sky Rush really burns through mana." Narak shook his head and laughed bitterly.
Kakashi, holding Lightning Blade, collided with the Moon Crescent Sky Rush Narak had unleashed.
The moment they made contact, Kakashi sensed that something was wrong. He absolutely could not block Narak's technique!
His Lightning Blade was already an extremely powerful offensive ninjutsu, but Narak's attack was filled with an overwhelming sharpness, as though it could cut through anything. If Kakashi's Lightning Blade had not been in his hand, allowing him to continuously feed it Chakra and strengthen it, it would probably have been cleaved apart long ago!
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