Cannonball

Zabuza was the type to resort to lethal force at the slightest provocation.

Fuyuki Sanzenryo was even more extreme; he usually maintained the image of a modest gentleman, treating others with kindness and keeping a low profile. However, the moment Zabuza blasphemed his philosophy and disparaged Yagura—the person he respected most—he immediately erupted into a state of violent, unbridled rage.

In Zabuza's eyes, Yagura teaching Fuyuki ninjutsu was merely a calculated move to win him over and cultivate a subordinate, which was why he had spoken with such sarcasm.

But to Fuyuki, Yagura's actions were born of genuine friendship and a shared path of the ninja, completely devoid of any trace of self-interest.

His current state was exactly like Kimimaro's reaction upon hearing someone insult Orochimaru; the fury in his heart could no longer be contained and burst forth in its entirety.

Perhaps Yagura simply appreciated Fuyuki, or perhaps it was to expand his network, cultivate more subordinates, or even brainwash him—but regardless, none of that had anything to do with Kanna.

Kanna stopped paying attention to the pair, silently left the range of the Hidden Mist Technique, and used her communicator to call the proctor.

"I want to know the coordinates of examinee number eight, Yetsuki," Kanna said, getting straight to the point.

"You're number thirteen, Kanna, right?" the voice of the proctor, Long, came through the earpiece. "According to our monitoring, your current score is zero. Are you sure you want to overdraw ten points to obtain the coordinates? You should know that if your score isn't high enough during the final tally, you will be disqualified immediately."

"Of course," Kanna said calmly. "It's only ten points; I can earn them back in no time."

Long replied from the other side, "Since that is the case, listen closely. Examinee number eight, Yetsuki, is at coordinates in the Yin Sector. We will send you the coordinates every half hour for the next six hours. Over."

With a beep, the conversation ended, and Kanna nodded to herself, memorizing the location.

The Yin Sector is the third sector. Hmm, Yetsuki and Asu Usagi are sisters; there's a high probability they are moving together. And there must be many examinees around two intelligence officers. I'll earn enough points in one go and finish this exam.

Elsewhere, at the foot of a mountain about two kilometers away from Kanna, a group of more than a dozen people was gathered around two young girls, discussing their next move.

"We have two maps here, recording a total of ten supply caches. There are many routes to choose from, but most of them are concentrated in these mountains."

The girl in black on the left spoke unhurriedly; she was the older of the two sisters, Yetsuki.

"However, judging by the map, the nearby supplies are in quite treacherous environments, such as near cliffs or mountain peaks. There is one at the waterfall downstream of the large river behind us, while the more distant ones are safer and can be obtained quite easily."

Among the crowd, a handsome boy smiled brightly. "It doesn't matter! Any route is fine. But we could actually use another method: just find those hunters and defeat them. That way, we won't have any worries."

"I disagree with your opinion," a boy wearing a wide robe with a serious expression countered from the side. "Setting aside how to find the hunters, since the proctors assigned them the role of hunters, we absolutely cannot underestimate them. It is very likely they possess combat power that surpasses their peers, enough to defeat three or even more examinees head-on."

The combat system of genin relies heavily on close-quarters combat, so if it really comes down to a group fight, only two or three people can actually engage the enemy at once. If the enemy can defeat three genin head-on, it means they can escape at any time and use guerrilla tactics to wear the opposing ninjas down.

"Relax, relax! Yong Kong, you're too cautious!" the handsome boy said carelessly. "It's not that exaggerated. Besides, even if he can defeat three people, with others pinning him down, he won't be able to steal our copper plates during the fight. Instead, we would gain fifteen points in one go for repelling the hunters!"

Yong Kong said sternly, "It is merely necessary vigilance. Since this is an important exam, we must give it our all. I believe we should follow the route provided by the proctors, avoiding the hunters while obtaining supplies, and finally delivering the intelligence officers to the designated location. We should only fight the hunters if we have no other choice and are cornered."

"I think Kazama is right. If we can't face the hunters even with so many people gathered, we'll fail this exam sooner or later."

"No, I agree with Yong Kong. I believe the proctors wouldn't assign our identities randomly. Since they were chosen as hunters, it means they must have exceptional qualities, so unless it's necessary, it's better not to make contact with them."

"We aren't students who just graduated from the Ninja Academy! As fellow genin, no matter how strong he is, if we all go together and use ninjutsu, we can definitely take the enemy down!"

"That makes sense, but let's still be careful, right?"

Both Kazama and Yong Kong's arguments gained support, and the two sides held their ground, neither able to convince the other.

Those who supported Kazama believed that a ninja should always press forward. They didn't deny the fact that the hunters were strong, but they didn't believe that group possessed the power to crush ninjas of the same rank. Therefore, as long as the tactics were sound, defeating or repelling them would be no problem. Some even felt that the exam was a minor matter, and that following the path of the ninja and maintaining a courageous heart was what truly mattered.

The other group supporting Yong Kong consisted of more steady-minded ninjas. They believed the proctors wouldn't be bored enough to select those hunters randomly. After all, according to the exam rules, the disadvantage of being a hunter in a minority-versus-majority situation was far greater than the advantage. Considering the principle of relative fairness, the opponents were bound to be very strong, and they should prioritize caution.

Yetsuki curled her lip and looked at her younger sister, Asu Usagi. "Usagi, what do you think?"

Asu Usagi was a beautiful girl who looked identical to Yetsuki, dressed in a white tight-fitting dress. Hearing her sister's question, she smiled and said, "Regardless, hunters who can obtain our coordinates directly will always find us; combat is inevitable. However, maintaining a cautious attitude isn't wrong either. Let's follow the normal route, find a supply cache first, and help our companions get some points."

"Fine, we'll do it your way." Yetsuki nodded and was about to announce the decision when she suddenly heard a series of beeping sounds.

"What's that sound?" Everyone looked toward the noise and saw Yetsuki take a small, round box from her waist.

The steel box was pitch black, with a small indicator light on the left side that was flashing red rapidly while emitting a beeping sound.

"A Coordinate Locator," Yetsuki murmured, looking at the box in her hand.

"What does it mean that the locator is beeping?" Kazama pushed through the crowd, leaned his head in, and said with a grin, "Could it be that this is actually a time bomb?"

This world was dominated by the path of the ninja, but other fields were not entirely ignored. For instance, in Sunagakure, explosives were often used to blast through mountains, so such beeping time bombs had appeared before.

Even explosive tags had similar types. Before detonation, as time passed, the surface of the paper would shine with a red light—a natural manifestation of accelerated chakra reaction. When the reaction reached its limit, the explosive tag would detonate, much like a time bomb. (This once appeared in a theatrical film, though it was a feather-styled explosive "tag" that would flash and beep before exploding.)

As soon as Kazama's joke left his lips, the people around him instinctively took a step back, then reacted one after another, beginning to scold him.

"What are you doing! Making jokes like that!"

"You're done for, Kazama!"

"Damn it! Why are you joking at a time like this!"

"Please, can you be serious, Kazama!"

Kazama apologized with a bitter smile, but after his outburst, the atmosphere finally eased up a little.

"Everyone, everyone listen to me. Could this be some kind of feedback mechanism?"

A girl with a rosy complexion and shy eyes spoke up. She pointed at the locator and said in a hesitant, soft voice, "For example, when the proctor searches for our location, the locator receives some kind of positioning signal and then sends one back. That would cause the beeping."

Everyone looked at each other, unable to make up their minds.

The proctor searching for Yetsuki's location? Could it be that a hunter had called them and used a tracking function?

They had just been discussing how to deal with the hunters, and now someone was already coming for them?

It couldn't be that coincidental, could it? Perhaps it was just the natural sound of the machine running?

Behind him, at the edge of the jungle a hundred meters away, a boy stepped out with a leisurely gait.

He wore a black fitted outfit, head held high and chest puffed out. He casually stepped onto a puddle the size of a palm, and the next moment, he appeared as if by teleportation on another patch of water ten meters ahead. He took another step, shifting five meters to the front-left. Repeating this, six seconds later, he arrived behind the squad led by Yetsuki and Asu Usagi; it was Kanna, who had caught up by following the coordinates.

Using the technique of Water Style: Water Body Flicker, he utilized the humid environment of Kirigakure and the omnipresent puddles in the jungle to move at high speed. Although he lacked the formal seal for the Body Flicker Technique and thus could not achieve true instantaneous movement, it only took Kanna four minutes to cover the two-kilometer distance for travel.

This speed was actually not very fast. In Kanna's past life, the passing standard for an average man running a kilometer was four and a half minutes; even a person with decent physical fitness could run two kilometers at full speed in about ten minutes. Kanna's physical body was countless times stronger than in his previous life, and coupled with the water control skills of Water Body Flicker, this speed was nothing to boast about.

What surprised Kanna slightly was that Yetsuki's group hadn't moved at all? They were still staying in their original spot?

"One, two, three... twelve in total." Kanna counted the number of people opposite him and laughed, "Very good, so many people—more than enough!"

"I remember you, you're Kanna, right?" Seeing that the situation was wrong, Yetsuki stepped forward without hesitation and shouted, "If you are a fugitive coming to join us, we refuse your entry! If you are a pursuer, then—"

The ninjas around Yetsuki tacitly assumed their stances, their eyes sharp as they waited for Kanna.

Hearing this, Kanna chuckled and waved his hand.

"No need for such trouble; I'll just finish you all off."

As he spoke, Kanna formed hand seals and stomped his foot, causing a splash to erupt. He then pinched his index and middle fingers together, catching a small droplet of water between them.

The round, rolling droplet remained intact despite being pinched by his fingers! This showed that Kanna's control over water had already reached a sophisticated level.

He rubbed the droplet, then flicked it with his index finger. The bead rolled back and forth in his hand like a glass marble, causing Yetsuki and the others to tremble in shock.

An expert! This was definitely an expert!

"That guy is a pursuer! Everyone, prepare for battle!" Yetsuki lowered his voice.

"Alright! Are you ready?" Opposite them, Kanna flicked his index finger, sending the water droplet high into the air. "I'm coming now."

As he finished speaking, Kanna flicked his finger, and the droplet was launched, shooting toward Yetsuki's direction.

Gurgle! On the ground, the puddles scattered everywhere seemed to be summoned by some force; they began to bubble, then surged upward, pouring into the droplet Kanna had flicked.

The distance of less than twenty meters was crossed in the blink of an eye, and during its flight, the droplet had absorbed dozens of pounds of water, transforming into a water sphere the size of a bucket.

This was the characteristic of Water Style: in an environment with water, any Water Style technique could be infinitely enhanced until the practitioner's chakra was exhausted or their control failed, causing the jutsu to collapse.

By using a bean-sized droplet as the core to cast the jutsu, he had created a "cannonball" weighing dozens of pounds, traveling at a speed of over thirty kilometers per hour!