Cursed Seal Ninja

Explosions sounded nearby. Quite a few traps had already been triggered; clearly, enemies had broken in.

"Get ready. We're probably going to have a fight on our hands. I didn't expect anyone to be keeping such close tabs on us." Qingyun frowned.

The Forest of Death connected to the Konoha Forest and was vast, but Qingyun was surprised that enemies would charge right in despite knowing how dangerous it was.

"Boom!" The traps Qingyun had set were finally triggered completely. Three figures appeared and disappeared in the clouds of dust.

"Who are you?" Qingyun asked bluntly.

"Us? We're the ones taking your scrolls." The speaker wore the headband of Kusagakure.

The Chunin selection exam in Konoha wasn't limited to contestants from Konoha Village.

There were also Rain Ninja, Grass Ninja, and Waterfall Ninja, all of whom were publicly recognized allies of Konoha.

These were all small countries and villages. At the end of the Second Shinobi World War, Hanzo of the Salamander, the leader of Amegakure, bestowed the title of Konoha Sannin on the three Konoha ninja and ultimately formed an alliance with Konoha. The other small countries had allied with Konoha as well.

The three ninja before them were Grass Ninja, and they were from another country.

"So you're Konoha ninja. What a surprise. I didn't expect you to be living in such a luxurious house."

"And what's with you, kid? You look like you're not even five. What could a brat like you possibly do?" one of the Kusagakure ninja said.

"Stop wasting time talking to him. Let's just kill them," another Grass Ninja said.

Yoshihime asked, "Don't you already have a scroll? Why attack us? By rights, shouldn't you avoid fighting and conserve your strength?"

"Haha! That's just what you'd expect by rights. The three of us are terrifying monsters. We didn't enter this Chunin selection exam to become Chunin."

"We just want to fight stronger ninja."

"Are you three the opponents we're looking for?" The three Kusagakure ninja fixed their gazes on Qingyun and his companions.

"Leave the scrolls and get lost. You'll suffer less that way," Qingyun said.

"Hahaha! Did you hear that? Did you hear this brat threatening me?" The Grass Ninja burst out laughing, not taking Qingyun's words seriously at all.

"Looks like you really don't understand how formidable the three of us are." The Grass Ninja continued, "The three of us were born to kill!"

Then Qingyun noticed a sudden, dramatic change in the three Grass Ninja's auras. They had looked like ordinary ninja before, but now their chakra was rapidly increasing—nearly tenfold.

Not only that, their bodies were changing too. Each of them transformed into a monster.

"Is this... a Cursed Seal?"

Qingyun knew Orochimaru couldn't have developed the Cursed Seal yet, but these three Grass Ninja could transform into monsters.

Could they be like Jugo, born with Sage Mode? Qingyun wondered. But the three ninja before him clearly weren't giving him any room to think.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!" The three ninja erupted with tremendous speed and charged at Qingyun and the others.

Qingyun immediately used the Body Replacement Technique to dodge their attack.

But the log he'd used as a substitute had been completely destroyed.

"So strong!" Yoshihime couldn't help exclaiming.

These three ninja were unlike any they had encountered before.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The three ninja weren't only targeting Qingyun; they were going after Minato and Yoshihime too. Their first strike had missed, so they charged again in quick succession.

"Yahaha! This feels so good! We want to kill! We want to kill!" The three Grass Ninja acted like lunatics, but Qingyun knew their condition was exactly like Jugo's.

"These three have completely lost their minds!" Minato used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge at high speed.

Yoshihime used Wood Release, trying to restrain the three, but they were both fast and strong. They easily broke free, even from her Wood Release.

"In that case..." Qingyun immediately unleashed his full power. Using the Super Body Flicker Technique, he appeared in front of one of the Grass Ninja first. The Big Ball Rasengan was already formed in his hand, and he slammed it into the Grass Ninja's abdomen.

The other two charged at Qingyun at the same time, launching attacks from above that were about to crush him.

"Thunder Shock!" Qingyun's Shadow Clone used the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, blasting the two Grass Ninja away.

"What a terrifying ninjutsu!" said the Grass Ninja who had been hit by the Big Ball Rasengan. He had already returned to normal from his Cursed Seal state.

"You're the first person to break through our strength with brute force!" the Grass Ninja said. "But that move just now must've used up a lot of chakra, right? There are still two of us. Let's see how you deal with them!"

"Simple!" Qingyun didn't think they were particularly difficult to handle.

"Yoshihime!" Qingyun called. Yoshihime immediately knew what to do. They had worked together for so many years that they understood each other perfectly.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Creation!" Yoshihime used Wood Release to bind the two Grass Ninja. At the same time, Qingyun cast an illusion on them with his Sharingan.

Even if he could only keep them still for one second, that would be enough time for Qingyun to perform a ninjutsu.

"Compound Ninjutsu: Lightning Flame Soaring Dragon Explosion!"

This was a compound ninjutsu combining Wind, Fire, and Lightning Release, and it was Qingyun's most powerful compound ninjutsu. Wind strengthened Fire, and Fire strengthened Lightning!

The attack struck both Grass Ninja dead-on.

The Third Hokage had taken compound ninjutsu to the extreme. Although they couldn't change a technique's nature, combining attacks of different natures greatly increased their power.

After the Third Hokage's careful instruction, Qingyun had also mastered compound ninjutsu at the highest level. This attack left the two Grass Ninja on the verge of collapse.

"Hahahaha! What a great attack! I hope it can completely destroy our bodies!" The Grass Ninja showed no fear. Their eyes brimmed with bloodlust, and even as their bodies were slowly destroyed, they remained just as crazed.

"Looks like the Cursed Seal has affected both the bodies and minds of these three Grass Ninja."

"Since Orochimaru didn't give them the Cursed Seal, they must be like Jugo, affected by their environment and showing signs of Sage Transformation. But they never learned to control it, so they've become somewhat deranged."

"Rumble!" Qingyun showed no mercy. Even if the three Grass Ninja were alive, they would be in tremendous pain, so Qingyun helped them find release.

Qingyun retrieved the scrolls without difficulty.

"Good. We have the scrolls we need to pass. Now we just have to avoid any more fights and head straight for the Central Tower. We should be fine," Yoshihime said at once.