The End

Bloody! Tragic! Terrifying! These were the only thoughts in Kanna's mind at this moment.

Before him, a young boy with his face wrapped in white bandages held a long blade, his eyes seemingly filled with eternal, unmelting ice. He moved through the crowd like a wolf among sheep, unleashing a massacre.

Friends, brothers, sisters—it mattered not. Whoever was present at the examination site today was to be slaughtered without exception!

He did not flinch even as blood splattered across his face; he remained unmoved even as the desperate cries of his companions echoed in his ears. If an opponent fell, he would drive his blade into the corpse once more to ensure they weren't feigning death, and even those who fled in different directions were hunted down one by one and cut to the ground.

In this lawless place, even the proctors had no authority to stop Zabuza's slaughter. Kirigakure was finally paying the price for the cruel order it had maintained for decades.

Student after student was struck in vital spots and collapsed, some who had not died instantly letting out agonizing wails that made Kanna's scalp tingle.

What to do? What could he possibly do?

Run? Kanna had seen with his own eyes that those who tried to flee first were the ones Zabuza hunted down with priority. It was just like a lion hunting buffalo; anyone who dared to stray from the group was finished off.

Playing dead would only result in a blade through the chest.

As for fighting, one only had to look at the corpses surrounding Zabuza and the blood staining his body to realize that was the worst possible choice, a final act of desperation.

As for Kanna's own opponent, the delicate girl who had drawn her weapon, she had gone silent; she, too, had been paralyzed by Zabuza's ferocious aura and superior skill.

In their daily lives, many of these people had never even killed a chicken. To force them to kill, especially to kill their own friends and family, was already pushing them to their limits. No one expected that today would bring someone even more ruthless, and judging by this momentum, he wouldn't stop until everyone was dead.

"Too weak!" Zabuza, in the midst of his slaughter, suddenly spoke. He slowly pushed aside the body impaled on his blade, shook his sword, and a curved arc of blood droplets sprayed out.

"What, is there not a single one of you who can land a hit on me?" Zabuza sneered, his body still trembling with excitement. "Or are you all just playing ninja games, so weak that you can't even touch the hem of my clothes? Hmm?"

Zabuza was telling the truth. In the few dozen seconds Kanna had observed, it wasn't for lack of trying that others had paused the exam to organize a group assault. But children of this age, unless they were as precocious and gifted as Zabuza, knew at most the Three Basic Techniques and how to throw a kunai. They were far, far inferior to Zabuza; the two were simply not on the same level. Zabuza moved through the fray with such agility and unpredictability that not a single person could strike him! Such taijutsu was rare even among Chunin. One had to know that the low-level ninja of Kirigakure were always considered the best in the ninja world, yet even with so many of them combined, they were being routed by Zabuza.

Tap, tap, tap. Rapid footsteps reached his ears. Kanna turned to look and saw his opponent—the girl—running for her life. At this point, aside from a few cowards too terrified by the carnage to move, everyone else had fled in the chaos.

Yet Kanna did not move. It wasn't that he didn't want to escape; in truth, even though his mental age was far more mature than this body, he wasn't overly afraid despite the corpses littering the ground, though he felt disgusted and chilled. Unfortunately, he had sensed his difference from the others the moment he arrived: he did not yet know how to utilize the ninja's energy—chakra.

Without the ability to use chakra, relying solely on physical strength to run, it was impossible to leap four or five meters like those who had escaped. There was no hope of fleeing. Nor was he qualified to clash with Zabuza—Kanna had spotted a kunai on the ground that had been cleanly sliced in two. Even if Zabuza held a fine blade, it showed just how much power was behind their combat.

Furthermore, Kanna felt his muscles stiffening, a sensation that any movement would lead to a cramp. This was truly adding insult to injury. Kanna could almost smell the thick scent of death lingering around him.

Was he going to die? Was he going to die so soon?

Kanna's breathing grew heavy. With a grim face, he unbuttoned his pouch and, with an amateurish motion, pulled out two kunai. Holding one in each hand like a pair of forks, he aimed them at Zabuza.

"You disgusting maggot!"

Beside Kanna, a girl who had been wounded in the thigh by her opponent at the start of the exam and was curled on the ground, unable to move, suddenly cursed. There was no fear on her face, only a sharp, ringing voice: "Butcher! Executioner! Do you have no humanity at all? If you keep this up, you will only—"

A blur of motion flashed by. From the corner of his eye, Kanna saw a thin blade pierce through the back of the girl's neck, cutting off her final words.

"Please!"

The fat boy who had been paralyzed with terror since the start of the exam was still there. He was in an even worse state, trembling all over. After accidentally locking eyes with Zabuza, he was so frightened that he wet himself; forget running, he couldn't even speak.

Zabuza frowned slightly, then delivered a single horizontal slash. Without even glancing at the fallen boy, he walked toward Kanna, who was the last one standing, still holding a defensive posture.

In these final moments, Kanna thought of many things. For instance, his opponent—the girl who could be considered his childhood sweetheart—might suddenly appear and risk her life to save him. Kanna believed that if this were Hinata and Naruto, Hinata would surely find the courage to save Naruto. He also wondered, what was this? Perhaps it was just a nightmare? Would he wake up and see his familiar bed?

Also, if he faced death with this stoic attitude, would Zabuza praise him? Something like "You're not bad" or "You're quite good." Or perhaps, in his final moments, would he break his limits and awaken some bloodline limit inherent to this body? One had to know that there were many bloodline possessors in Kirigakure during this era.

Would someone gather the fleeing remnants and return with a large force to surround Zabuza? Would a proctor notice something was wrong and forcibly terminate the exam?

A few seconds passed in the blink of an eye. Kanna thought of many, many things, but no miracle occurred. Zabuza didn't even look at him twice. With a casual flick and a thrust, Kanna felt a jarring force hit his hands, instantly knocking the kunai from his grip. The next moment, a cold, gleaming blade reflected in Kanna's pupils, piercing his left chest.

"So painful..." Kanna was a bit stunned. In truth, his consciousness couldn't keep up with Zabuza's speed. He only felt his hand go numb, saw a flash of silver light, and then his chest was pierced.

"Is it over? This is really..."

With a touch of sorrow and a touch of unwillingness, Kanna's vision went dark. He lost consciousness.

Puchi. Zabuza pulled out his long blade. His face remained unmoved. He didn't linger, chose a direction, and continued the hunt.

(PS: Protagonist dead, big lottery, story over. Thanks for reading. Do you believe it?)