Total Annihilation

Compared to Karin, Sakura Haruno wasn't faring much better. Without Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, the gap in Sakura's strength was glaringly obvious. In the perilous Forest of Death, it was almost impossible to find anyone weaker than her.

With two injured teammates in tow, Sakura hadn't made it far before finding a huge hollow in a tree and settling them inside. After setting a few simple traps outside, she used the tree hollow to put up a Barrier Ninjutsu she'd only recently learned. She didn't fully understand it yet, but could just barely use it. The barrier would conceal her and keep the enemy from discovering the three of them.

"I hope you two wake up soon. It's too much for me to handle this alone." Sakura couldn't help feeling miserable. The words that strange man had said during the preliminary exam came back to her: In the end, I really did become a burden.

The moment the barrier Sakura had set up took effect, Mizuki, resting at home far away, knew about it.

"Products with proprietary intellectual property are so convenient. You can just put in a back door."

The Barrier Ninjutsu Sakura was using was one Mizuki had casually left behind. He hadn't expected much from it. Understanding it in just a few days was no easy feat, even in the specially simplified version he'd made. To put it plainly, Sealing Jutsu was a field of study that only a handful of clever people researched, unless one was a powerful ninja who learned through years of accumulated experience. He hadn't expected Sakura to use it so quickly. She truly was a genius who had made it into the Konoha 12 through sheer talent, and even though Tsunade later taught her, she wouldn't have taken Sakura on as a student without exceptional intelligence and ability.

The barrier he'd given Sakura had been developed from chakra-sealing techniques. It was generally used in large-scale barriers, where it could absorb as much free-floating chakra from the air as possible to sustain itself. It was simply a technique for reducing a barrier's energy consumption. Mizuki had repeatedly refined and simplified it, then added a little genjutsu and concealment, turning it into a simple, easy-to-learn hidden barrier. It also emitted a faint encrypted pulse that only Mizuki could recognize. Whenever a similar barrier was activated, it would resonate with Mizuki and the chakra-gathering barrier he'd originally set up, as long as it wasn't too far away. He'd sense it immediately.

"What started as a minor contingency might bring an unexpected reward. I can go over and collect the fruit once the second exam is over."

Mizuki was still congratulating himself on his foresight, unaware that his little scheme had caused an even bigger upheaval.

Because Sakura had used a hidden barrier, the Sound Ninja Trio had been unable to find Sasuke. Under pressure to fulfill Orochimaru's order to kill Sasuke, they had no choice but to ask other Konoha Ninja for information. The unlucky ones they approached were the Ino-Shika-Cho squad.

Shikamaru Nara, who hated trouble, stared grimly at the enemy and quickly considered his options. His team was at a disadvantage, and they knew very little about their opponents. All they knew was that the leader used sound-wave attacks and had easily injured Kabuto Yakushi, who had participated in four Chunin Ninja Exams.

"We have no intention of making enemies of Konoha, but you'll have to tell us where Sasuke Uchiha is," Dosu said first.

Hearing that they'd been approached because of Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru could only chalk it up to bad luck. "If we knew, we'd have used that to get out of here. Sorry, but we don't know either."

"Yeah, that's right. We're looking for them too, so we can take their scroll," Choji Akimichi said, munching on a snack and telling the truth.

"So you're not going to cooperate." The short-tempered Zaku Abumi had already lost patience. "I told you we shouldn't waste time talking. We should knock them down and interrogate them afterward."

There was no point in talking further. The two teams didn't trust each other. Dosu Kin moved to attack, but before he could act, he realized he couldn't move.

"Choji, now!" Shikamaru struck first, trapping one of them with the Shadow Imitation Technique.

But before Shikamaru could react, Zaku raised both hands without hesitation. His Cutting Air Wave blasted the three of them away with a powerful shock wave.

"Damn, they're way too violent." Shikamaru felt a headache coming on. Choji was their main source of firepower, and he needed Shikamaru and Ino to support him. The battle's course depended on Shikamaru, the only one with a head for tactics.

"Ino, take control of the one firing air waves. His attacks are too powerful. Choji and I will deal with the one using sound attacks first."

As soon as he finished speaking, two steel needles shot toward Shikamaru, forcing him to abandon his plans and dodge.

"Did you forget about me? I'm not happy about being underestimated like this." Kin, who'd been overlooked the whole time, showed off her skills.

"That's why women are such a pain," Shikamaru said helplessly. Kin's attacks were incredibly hard to spot, and guarding against hidden attacks from an unknown direction took the most effort.

"Ino, control the kunoichi first. We can't launch an attack while she's there." Shikamaru had to change Ino's target. "Choji, I'll hold off their leader. You take out the other one. No, Ino, watch out!" Shikamaru was in the middle of planning when he suddenly saw Dosu charge straight at Ino.

"I don't know what your ability is, but they're placing a lot of hope in you, so you must have a troublesome secret technique. I'll take you out first." He drove his right fist into Ino Yamanaka, sending her flying. The vibrations from his sound attack damaged her internal organs. Ino spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed helplessly to the ground.

Before the other two could react, Kin's genjutsu took effect. Shikamaru and Choji were dazed for a moment, and then Zaku's Cutting Air Wave struck them at full speed, knocking them down and leaving them completely unable to fight.

"Are we wiped out? The gap in strength is too great. No matter how good the strategy, it can't make up for it? Damn." Only then did Shikamaru understand the helplessness of being a clever cook without ingredients. A sharp mind was useless when faced with brute force. The other side wouldn't even talk; they'd just knock you flat. Once that happened, it was too late to say anything.

Just as the Ino-Shika-Cho trio faced total annihilation, a sinister chakra suddenly surged from nearby. They could even feel the coldness and cruelty within it.

"Dosu, these losers would rather die than talk. Looks like they really don't know anything. Should we kill them, or look somewhere else?" Kin looked toward the source of the sinister chakra.

"We should kill them first. Let's see if they have the Heaven Scroll we need." The short-tempered Zaku was about to attack.

"Forget it, Zaku," Dosu Kin stopped him. "Our mission is to kill Sasuke Uchiha. The Chunin Ninja Exams are irrelevant. If we kill too many people, it'll be harder to get away from Konoha."

"Tch. You're lucky." The Sound Ninja Trio turned and headed toward the place where they'd just sensed the chakra.