The Unsealed Seal!

"Earth Style: Earth Wood Technique!"

As the enemy performed the technique, two enormous half-circle boulders rose from the ground on either side of Jiuming, closing in on him. With the terrain shifting beneath him, Jiuming couldn't keep his footing and lost his chance to escape immediately.

Faced with the attack, Jiuming quickly reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out a shuriken, gripping it tightly.

"Thunder Sword!"

Jiuming didn't make any hand seals. He simply imbued the shuriken with his Chakra and, without bothering to aim carefully, flung it straight at the boulder on his right.

"Boom!!!"

"What happened?"

A deafening crash rang out, and a thick cloud of dust rose from the spot where Jiuming had been standing. The attacker's view was completely obscured.

"Die, you bastard!"

Jiuming's childish voice rang out from within the smoke. Two Shadow Clones suddenly burst through the dust and charged toward the enemy. As Jiuming's words fell, they reached the enemy and detonated the Explosive Tags on their bodies.

"Boom!!"

The explosion of the Shadow Clones stirred up another cloud of dust, completely swallowing the enemy.

"Tch... still alive, huh!"

As the dust around Jiuming slowly cleared, his clothes were caked in grime, and dust had settled into his wounds. The pain made him grimace. But he had no time to worry about his injuries now. He could sense that the Shadow Clone's self-destruction hadn't killed the enemy.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap!"

"Good battle instincts, and that technique had plenty of power. You even managed to punch a hole through such thick rock."

As it turned out, at the last possible moment, Jiuming had imbued his shuriken with highly penetrating Lightning Release Chakra and forced a small hole through the rising stone wall. He'd squeezed through it.

Jiuming stared grimly at the blond youth who emerged as the dust thinned. The newcomer's attire made his identity even clearer. From the way he was dressed, Jiuming could tell he was probably a ninja from Rock Shadow Village.

"This is really bad..."

As the dust dispersed, Jiuming got a clear look at the newcomer. The blond youth wore a calm expression, a confident smile curling his lips as he applauded. Though he was praising Jiuming, he still exerted no small amount of pressure. What's more, after enduring Jiuming's Shadow Clone explosion, the youth had only a little dust on his clothes.

Not a scratch on him.

"Who are you, anyway?"

Although Jiuming knew the man probably wouldn't tell him anything, he couldn't help asking. At the same time, he reached into the ninja tool pouch behind him and silently counted how many weapons and Explosive Tags he had left.

I didn't bring enough Explosive Tags. I've only got three left?

I didn't bring many shuriken or Kunai, either. I'll have to use them sparingly.

Damn it. How could something like this happen during a Ninja Academy exam? Are Konoha's ninjas all useless?

Uzumaki Kuming finished counting his remaining ninja tools and couldn't help feeling frustrated. But no matter how frustrated he was, he still had to find a way out of the crisis before him.

"Actually, I don't mind telling you. You can call me Lord Earth. I'm here to kill you."

Jiuming had expected the man to keep his identity to himself. He hadn't expected him to take his time and strike up a conversation instead.

Why isn't he in a hurry to kill me? We're so close to Konoha. The village must have gotten word by now. Why isn't he worried?

Jiuming didn't respond. Something was off, and he was on full alert. He focused Mind's Eye of the Kagura to its limits, and at last noticed something unusual underground, not far from his feet. A few tiny, almost imperceptible creatures—like insects—were slowly moving toward him.

If Jiuming hadn't focused his senses, he might really have tried chatting with the man to stall for time and wait for reinforcements. His opponent had clearly anticipated that possibility and laid a trap.

What a sneaky bastard!

Jiuming raised an eyebrow. He didn't let on that he'd noticed anything, but his leg muscles had already tensed, ready to spring away at a moment's notice.

"Hmm?"

Though Jiuming's movements were subtle, the blond youth still noticed something was wrong.

"Art is an Explosion!"

"Hah!"

Before the tiny insects he'd sent out could reach Jiuming's feet, the blond youth formed hand seals and detonated them. The familiar catchphrase left Jiuming stunned.

"Boom!!" Jiuming had barely moved when an explosion erupted from the ground. The spot where he'd been standing had become a large crater.

"Holy shit!"

"This guy is..."

There was no time to think. Jiuming leaped up and landed on a tree branch. Before he could catch his breath, he heard wings beating. Uzumaki Jiuming looked closely and saw three small white birds flying straight at him.

"Clay Bombs!"

"Damn it!"

When Jiuming saw the birds, he flung a Kunai at them, an Explosive Tag trailing behind it. Then he immediately leaped from the branch and landed on the ground.

"Boom!" An explosion rang out overhead. The Explosive Tag Jiuming had thrown successfully set off the blond youth's Clay Bombs.

"Heh."

Jiuming had just landed when a mocking voice sounded beside his ear. The blond youth's knee slammed into his abdomen.

"Ugh!" The kick folded Jiuming in half like a shrimp and sent him flying. He spat up water, and the force of the blow left him unable to get back up for a moment.

"Hehehehe. You're already remarkably strong for a kid, but a kid is still a kid. How could you possibly beat an adult?"

Just as Jiuming recovered enough to try to stand, a foot pressed down on his chest. The enormous pressure made him cough up a little blood.

"Cough!"

Although he was pinned down, there was no despair in Jiuming's gaze.

Is there no other way? Are all my efforts over the past two years about to go to waste?

By now, Jiuming didn't have much Chakra left. Because of the Yin Seal, the amount he could draw on had never been very large—only about one Ka or so.

He'd used Shadow Clones several times since the fight began. Then, escaping the enemy's Earth Wood Technique had cost him a huge amount of Chakra. He hadn't had much to begin with, and after all that, he was nearly running on empty.

In this desperate situation, the only solution Jiuming could think of was to release the Yin Seal. But if he opened it before it had fully stored enough Chakra, he would have to rebuild the seal afterward and accumulate Chakra all over again. It would be a major setback.

Jiuming really didn't want to undo the Yin Seal early unless he had no other choice.

"Kid, say your final farewell to this world."

"It's your honor to give your life for art!"

"Plop!" A lump of clay fell from the blond youth's sleeve and landed on Jiuming's chest. It spread, sticking Jiuming's entire body to the ground. The blond youth lifted his foot from Jiuming's chest and slowly backed away. Jiuming's eyes were closed, and to the blond youth, it looked as if he'd given up resisting completely.

"Yin Seal, Release!" Deep blue Chakra began to swirl around Jiuming, thin streaks of lightning seeping into the Clay Bomb.

"Farewell, kid!"

"Hah!!"

Once the blond youth had backed far enough away, he formed a hand seal with one hand and shouted, detonating the Clay Bomb attached to Jiuming.

"What's going on?"

The expected explosion never came. The blond youth's face filled with shock.