Secret Sword—Swallow Reversal!
With a loud shout from Sasaki Kojiro, the long blade in his hand instantly split into three, and dazzling sword light filled Araki's entire field of vision.
At that moment, the utterly focused Araki once again entered the realm of [Self-Knowledge]. Yet as he stood atop Heart Lake, he discovered that the surface, smooth as a mirror just moments ago, had become wildly turbulent with the arrival of Swallow Reversal. No matter what he did, he could not find a way to avoid every ripple.
Slash!
Though he desperately dodged and blocked, he was still struck heavily by two relentless slashes.
As the world was about to fall into darkness, he vaguely heard Sasaki Kojiro murmur, "You actually dodged the first strike of Swallow Reversal. Not bad!"
Thud—
Nearly cut into three pieces, Araki crashed heavily to the ground and withdrew from the Consciousness Space.
Two days later.
The rising sun hung high overhead, while thunder rumbled in the distance.
After breakfast, Araki's group arrived on time at the venue for the opening ceremony of the Joint Chunin Exams—the Cloud-Lightning Tower.
This was considered Kumogakure's largest landmark apart from the Raikage Office.
It was a pointed tower, narrow at the top and broad at the bottom, colored blue-gray throughout. It did not seem to be made of stone, but rather something resembling metal. Its tip stood far taller than every other building in Kumogakure.
Araki had not known what this spire was for, but then the thunderclouds overhead suddenly collided.
Crackle!
A blue lightning snake burst from the clouds and plunged straight toward Kumogakure below.
The genin from other villages walking along the streets cried out in alarm. Like startled rabbits, they rushed into the surrounding buildings, terrified of being caught in the heavenly lightning strike.