Let Naruto See the Cruelty of the World

Kabuto had very little information about Jingxin.

He hid among the crowd and pushed up his glasses, their lenses flashing coldly.

Jingxin was about to make his move.

Now they would find out exactly how strong he was.

This was one of Orochimaru's missions for Kabuto: collect any information he could about Jingxin.

Unfortunately, Iwagakure's security measures around Jingxin were absurd. This man named Kintsuchi had the same clearance level as the Tsuchikage. It was ridiculous.

Meanwhile, the three Genin from Kusagakure in the crowd realized something was wrong.

But just as they were about to say something, the examiner, Anko, appeared and put an end to the commotion.

"Second Chunin Ninja Exam."

"Location: Forest of Death."

"Rule one: sign a waiver accepting responsibility for your own life and death."

"Rule two: each team will receive one scroll. There are two kinds, 'Heaven' and 'Earth.' You pass if you collect both kinds and bring them to the Central Tower."

After explaining the rules, Anko put on a sinister expression. "Which means that at most, only half of you will pass~"

The waivers were soon handed out to all the Genin.

Quite a few of them went pale when they saw the words saying they were responsible for their own deaths.

But some signed their names without hesitation, excitement shining in their eyes.

After signing the waivers, they went to collect their scrolls.

Anko stood by the entrance with two stacks of scrolls in her hands.

The Genin came forward in groups of three and each received a random scroll.

When Jingxin's team stepped up, everyone looked over.

It wasn't just because the earlier commotion and the challenge from Kusagakure promised some entertainment. This team also had four people.

That was obviously unfair to the other teams, and everyone wanted to know how the examiners would handle it.

Deidara, Kurotsuchi, and Karin stood together and took a scroll from Anko.

Then Jingxin stepped forward alone and took a scroll from her.

Seeing this, the Genin turned their attention elsewhere.

So that was it. They were actually two separate teams.

The "Anbu," the "Jōnin instructor," was a team of his own.

Judging by the number of people on each team, Jingxin seemed to be at a serious disadvantage.

But now, even fewer people dared to provoke him.

He was taking the exam alone. And considering what Kabuto had said earlier, only those hotheaded fools from Kusagakure couldn't see the reality of the situation.

The three Genin from Kusagakure stood nearby, their expressions grim.

Quite a few Genin noticed the tense atmosphere and didn't enter the forest right away.

They wanted to see how the confrontation would play out.

The gaze beneath Jingxin's mask settled calmly on the three from Kusagakure. Their spines prickled with dread.

The pressure kept building.

The leader of the Kusagakure team gritted his teeth and muttered, "Go! We'll get into the forest first!"

The three didn't dare linger. They turned and rushed through the entrance, vanishing among the dense trees.

The instant they disappeared from sight,

Jingxin moved.

No hand seals. No preparatory movement.

His figure blurred and vanished from where he stood.

Body Flicker Technique.

The watching Genin saw a blur, and Jingxin was gone.

Only a handful of them managed to catch a glimpse of his path.

"What a fast Body Flicker Technique!" Sasuke's pupils contracted.

Kabuto pushed up his glasses, narrowing his eyes behind the lenses.

Inside the Forest of Death,

the three Kusagakure ninjas were running for their lives.

"Damn it! That Anbu from Iwagakure is on our tail!"

"Split up and run!"

"No! We'll die even faster if we split up!"

The leader gritted his teeth. "We'll face him together!"

All three stopped at once and turned, forming hand seals.

They knew they couldn't get away. Their only choice was to fight to the death.

"Water Release: Great Water Ball Technique!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Since they came from Kusagakure, most of the ninjutsu they had access to were widely taught techniques that weren't especially powerful.

Jingxin applied the Light-Weight Rock Technique to his body, rapidly rising into the air and easily dodging the ninjutsu. After forming hand seals, he brought his palms together.

Behind him appeared a dense swarm of scorching orbs, radiating astonishing heat and white vapor.

This was Scorch Release, created by Jingxin perfectly combining the chakra nature transformations of Wind Release and Fire Release.

Jingxin wasn't in the habit of shouting out the names of his ninjutsu when he used them.

In fact, he hadn't even named this technique yet.

The glowing orbs fell toward the ground.

The Grass Ninjas immediately scattered.

But there were more than fifty orbs, and when they hit the ground, they burst into orange-red steam that rapidly spread in every direction.

Sizzle—

The steam covered a radius of over a hundred meters, rapidly evaporating the moisture inside.

The three Kusagakure ninjas screamed. Their skin cracked and their muscles shriveled, and in the blink of an eye they became three mummified corpses.

Thud.

The corpses hit the ground with a dull thump.

When the Scorch Release dissipated, Jingxin landed and pulled a scroll from the leader's vest.

Deidara and the others caught up. Jingxin casually tossed the scroll to Kurotsuchi.

"Now you've got a matching set."

"Kurotsuchi, take the team straight to the Central Tower. I have something to take care of."

Kurotsuchi took the scroll and nodded. "Yes!"

"Deidara." Jingxin turned to him. "Don't go off on your own."

"Huh?" Deidara looked annoyed. "It's already a pain having to play house with these little kids. I haven't even shown off my art yet~ Hmm!"

But when he saw Jingxin's expression, Deidara sighed. "I understand, Sensei."

Deidara still had a rebellious streak around Jingxin, but he was also remarkably "well-behaved."

That might have had something to do with Jingxin's help, as well as his attitude toward rogue ninja.

In any case, Deidara had personally seen Jingxin fight rogue ninja several times.

He knew he didn't want to be reduced to ash by Dust Release.

He didn't want to be mummified by Scorch Release.

He didn't want to be buried in lava by Lava Release.

He didn't want to be crushed beneath a mountain.

He didn't want to be shredded by a gale...

Kurotsuchi, Deidara, and Karin headed straight for the tower.

They had a complete set of Heaven and Earth Scrolls, but almost no one dared to target them.

And anyone who did would have to get past Deidara first.

According to the original timeline, Deidara might have already caught the Akatsuki's eye by now. But since he hadn't demonstrated Kage Level fighting strength, Itachi hadn't "invited" him to join the Akatsuki.

Now, however, Deidara was stronger than his original counterpart—by a lot.

After all, under Jingxin's "careful instruction," Deidara was less a ninja and more a weapons master.

Even now, whenever Jingxin thought about the time Deidara showed him a "mortar," it still felt surreal.

Outside the iron fence surrounding the forest,

the Genin scattered and rushed into the depths, eager to get as far from Jingxin as possible.

Kabuto bent low and kept his distance from Jingxin, organizing his thoughts about the battle he had just witnessed.

Scorch Release, a Kekkei Genkai that had once belonged to Sunagakure, was tremendously powerful.

And judging by the scale of Jingxin's Scorch Release, he had reached an extremely high level of mastery. At the very least, this guy had far more chakra than Kabuto had estimated.

Naruto called out to Jingxin, "Kintsuchi! We'll wait for you at the Central Tower!"

"Shut up!" Sasuke gritted his teeth, wishing he could sew Naruto's mouth shut. "We don't even know if he's friend or foe."

Naruto grinned. "Heh~ I'm sure Kintsuchi won't attack me!"

Beneath his mask, Jingxin smiled.

Naruto was still Naruto~

Still so warm and friendly.

Still so... naive.

In that case, he'd just have to let Naruto see the cruelty of the world.

Jingxin: "Hand over your scrolls."

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura Haruno: "..."