Rock Lee had been beaten by Dosu until he could barely move, and Sakura had even cut off her own long hair to save him.
"What do we do?! We can't beat them at all..."
Sakura had reached the depths of despair. She had even begun to doubt whether she was cut out to be a ninja.
"Jimo... where are you..."
Tears mixed with blood trickled down Sakura's cheeks.
Bam!
A dark figure dropped from the sky and slammed into the ground. As the dust cleared, Dosu lay embedded in the earth, his life hanging in the balance.
"You... What did you do to my comrades?!"
A killing intent so intense it seemed almost tangible enveloped the area.
Jimo's eyes were bloodshot. His aura surged around him, making his clothes snap in the wind.
"Who did it..."
Jimo looked at the wounds on Sakura's body.
"I asked... who did it..."
The Ino-Shika-Cho Team, watching from the shadows and waiting for a chance to act, felt chills run down their backs.
"That person... is Jimo?"
"What a terrifying guy..."
Shikamaru and Choji rarely looked so serious.
"Air Cutter!"
Zaku recovered from the paralysis and unleashed Air Cutter from both hands, hitting Jimo head-on.
"That's all you've got... You're just a bug capable of kicking up dust..." Jimo suddenly appeared behind Zaku. As Zaku turned around, Jimo reached out and grabbed him by the throat.
"The wounds on Sakura... You did this, didn't you?" Jimo tightened his grip slightly.
"Don't worry, you won't die. I'll make you pay back every bit of pain you inflicted on my comrade!"
Crack! Jimo dislocated Zaku's jaw.
"This exam is supposed to continue until one side gives up or... dies, right? Don't look at me like that... I'll enjoy seeing the terror in your eyes!"
Then Jimo channeled his Ki into his hand and dislocated Zaku's major joints one by one, twisting them around.
With his jaw dislocated, Zaku could only mumble incoherently, his body wobbling like a boneless creature.
"Is... is that really Jimo...? He seems so different..."
Seeing Jimo act in the exact opposite way from the cheerful person she knew, Sakura couldn't help trembling.
Jimo's technique for dislocating joints was extremely professional. There wasn't a single external wound.
After he finished torturing him, Jimo tossed Zaku onto the ground like a dead dog, as if he were throwing out trash. It was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.
Nearby, Kin had long since been too terrified to move.
"I usually... don't hit women... especially pretty women..." Jimo gave Kin a very "gentle" smile.
But to Kin, that smile was more terrifying than the demons of hell.
"Enough..."
Anko suddenly appeared beside Jimo and restrained his arm.
"She already threw the scroll to Sakura..."
Only then did Jimo regain his senses.
"Take your teammates and get out!"
The air turned cold as Jimo spoke.
Dosu and Kin carried Zaku away, staggering as they went to look for other targets.
Jimo went to Sasuke. The first stage of the Cursed Seal had activated, and black flame-like markings covered half of Sasuke's face.
Jimo took out two Senzu Beans, feeding one to Sasuke and the other to Naruto.
As for Sakura, he would have to wait until the others left. If word got out about something like Senzu Beans, some of the village's shady characters would surely get restless.
"Jimo... are you okay?" Sakura sensed that something was wrong with him. His killing intent had lessened considerably, but that unsettling feeling remained.
"I'm fine... Take these. If any of our Konoha comrades outside need them, give them some... I need to go calm down."
Jimo dumped all the scrolls he had taken into Sakura's arms, keeping a pair for Team 7 as a safety net.
He wandered around the forest for a long time and happened upon Hinata and the others, just as Gaara had found them.
Fine sand swirled around the three of them, carrying a bloody stench.
"Tch... tough luck for you, I guess..."
Jimo gathered Ki in one hand and fired a Shockwave straight into Gaara's face.
Some time later...
"We're saved..." Kiba Inuzuka gasped as he sat on the ground.
Nearby, Hinata and Shino also felt somewhat relieved.
"Turns out the best way to let off steam when you're in a bad mood is to get into a fight!" Jimo was back to his cheerful self.
"Help yourselves! The fish I grilled tastes pretty good." Jimo took a bite of a grilled fish and handed two more to Kankuro, who was covered in bruises, and Temari, who hadn't been hurt much.
"Th... thank you."
Kankuro looked at Gaara, unconscious behind him, and was filled with shock.
That kid had really knocked Gaara out with a move called "Baby's Sleep Quality Fist."
He felt that this was probably the first time since Gaara had become a Jinchuriki that he and Temari had felt so at ease.
"You're really... scary," Kiba Inuzuka said. "I saw that redhead take out three Rain Ninja in an instant..."
"If Jimo hadn't arrived in time..." Hinata stammered, then fell silent.
"We really have to thank you Konoha ninjas this time... In that situation just now, the two of us might have gotten caught up in it too."
Jimo wandered around for a long time before reaching the Central Tower and rejoining Naruto and the others. Along the way, he had randomly taken out a few ninjas who had simply rubbed him the wrong way.
But he hadn't expected Kabuto Yakushi to still run into Sasuke.
There were 22 people left in the arena. Next would probably be one-on-one matches. Jimo looked around at everyone, eager to get started. Everyone, including the disguised Orochimaru, sensed a hint of danger.
But after Gekko Hayate finished explaining the rules, Kabuto Yakushi withdrew from the competition. That left 21 people in the arena.
"Ahem... I have an announcement!"
The Third Hokage cleared his throat. "In light of Jimo's outstanding performance and the strength he demonstrated on previous missions, and on Kakashi's recommendation, I'm promoting him directly to Chunin! He won't need to take part in the remaining exams!"
"Thank goodness... If he were competing, what would be the point of the rest of us even trying? We might as well go home and sleep," Kiba Inuzuka said with a sigh of relief. He remembered how Jimo had knocked Gaara out with a single punch.
"Thank goodness... I won't have to fight Jimo..." Rock Lee patted his chest and sighed in relief.
"Rock Lee, isn't that a bit much? Is he really that strong? Could he actually be stronger than Neji?" Tenten asked.
"I'm afraid that's exactly the case... Everyone who was there witnessed it. Those Sound Ninja had no chance against him! The momentum and power Jimo displayed when he attacked completely overwhelmed them!" Rock Lee said, still shaken. The terrifying, nearly suffocating scene kept flashing through his mind, along with the intense killing intent radiating from Jimo.
Jimo, however, remained completely indifferent. With a flash, he leaped lightly onto the platform like a phantom and easily received the Battle Suit symbolizing his new rank as a Chunin.
His movements were so fluid and effortless that everyone couldn't help but marvel.
"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke! Do your best! Once this round is over, let's go out for a meal together!"
Before you continue