Rasengan's First Victim

In a clearing between two towering trees somewhere in the Death Forest, two young girls were fighting.

The sounds of bang bang, like balloons bursting, and whoosh whoosh as things tore through the air rang out continuously, sending the surrounding animals fleeing in every direction.

Closer in, Sakura was using her Sensing Technique while constantly disrupting the flow of chakra within her body to break the illusion before her.

From Sakura's perspective, several afterimages appeared around the black-haired girl ahead, all of them hurling a barrage of Senbon at Sakura alongside the original.

That black-haired girl was Kin of the Sound Ninja Trio.

Facing Kin's Senbon attacks, Sakura skillfully used the Substitution Technique, switching places with a log she had prepared beforehand.

At the same time, she kept taking smoke bombs from her Ninja Tool Pouch and throwing them at Kin.

Whenever the smoke exploded and blocked Kin's vision, Sakura would return the favor with Shuriken.

With her powerful senses and solid fundamentals, Sakura had repeatedly left wounds on Kin's body, making her look miserable and humiliated in front of her companions.

However, Sakura was not doing much better herself.

Her face was covered in bruises and swelling, along with red handprints. Traces of blood still lingered at the corner of her mouth. She had clearly been slapped.

And that was indeed what had happened.

Sakura had never imagined that such a monster would appear in the Chunin Exams.

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke Uchiha, who was second only to Ryusuke, had possessed the slightest ability to fight back against that Grass Ninja.

From that Grass Ninja, Sakura had felt a gulf as vast as heaven and earth—a being even more terrifying than Zabuza Momochi.

At that moment, Sakura had thought she was doomed.

But for some reason, the Grass Ninja had not killed her, nor had he killed Naruto or Sasuke Uchiha.

He had merely planted a black Cursed Seal on Sasuke Uchiha's neck before leaving.

When Sakura treated Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha, she found that they were in excellent physical condition. Yet they still had not awakened since last night.

Sakura could only move them into a tree hollow and disguise the entrance with Invisibility Technique.

Not long after dawn, the three Sound Ninja came knocking, specifically demanding Sasuke Uchiha's death.

Having formed bonds with Team 7 during this time, Sakura could not abandon her companions and run away. So, she bravely stepped forward.

Kin, who had grown up in Otogakure's brutal environment, had always looked down on pampered girls like Sakura and proposed teaching her a lesson personally.

Seeing that Sakura was the only conscious member of Team 7, Dosu and Zaku, confident in their own strength, were in no rush to complete Orochimaru's mission. They instead let Kin have some fun with Sakura.

At first, the two fought at close range.

As an outstanding student ranked in the top ten of her grade, Sakura had either perfect or high marks in every subject.

Especially in hand-to-hand combat, Sakura had sparred with Ryusuke, Hinata, and the others since childhood. She was not much weaker than Kin, who had fought to survive in Otogakure.

But Sakura had not expected her opponent to be a genjutsu user—and one who specialized in Auditory Illusion.

Without any intelligence advantage, Sakura had been caught off guard by Kin during their exchange.

However, Kin had not taken the chance to attack Sakura's vital areas. Instead, she had slapped her.

Realizing she could not win in close combat, Sakura decisively widened the distance between them. That was why she had kept using the Substitution Technique and smoke bombs.

However, tools were limited, and Sakura soon ran out of both Shuriken and smoke bombs.

On top of that, this was her first life-and-death battle. Sakura's combat experience was only extensive in Taijutsu sparring, so she was soon caught in Kin's illusion again and kicked flying.

Her body rolled across the ground several times. Before Sakura could rise, a foot stepped on her back, and one of her arms and her hair were grabbed.

"Has no one ever told you that your face and hair are both terribly ugly?"

Kin yanked Sakura's pink hair, using mockery to conceal the jealousy in her heart.

She envied not only Sakura's pink hair, but also her red cheongsam and that pampered air about her.

They were clearly around the same age, so why was she an orphan who had grown up in a place like Otogakure, struggling so hard just to become a genin?

While this woman had been born in Konoha, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, with such beautiful hair and clothes, and had so easily obtained the ninja Forehead Protector that Kin could only earn through slaughter.

She was obviously so weak. Why?

Though her hair and arm were both being pulled, Sakura neither screamed nor begged for mercy. She merely looked at Kin's twisted face with her emerald-green eyes, utterly fearless and even carrying a trace of disdain.

"What kind of look is that?"

Kin was instantly provoked by Sakura's gaze. She yanked Sakura's pink hair harder and shouted, "Take a good look at the situation! You're nothing but a loser. I'm the winner!"

Pain shot through Sakura's scalp as her hair was pulled. Her delicate brows furrowed, but a smile appeared on her bruised little face. "You lost. If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for not killing me from the start!"

"Did I slap you stupid? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Kin smiled viciously. "It's not too late for me to kill you now, but I won't let you die so easily. I'll rip out all your hair, then carve up your face and gouge out your eyes, so you can die in agony."

With that, Kin was about to pull Sakura's hair with all her strength.

But in the next second, her eyes widened and her pupils contracted.

The wrist holding Sakura's hair was suddenly seized by a hand, and a tall figure appeared out of thin air beside her.

That was not the important part!

The important part was that once Kin's wrist was grabbed, she could no longer move her body, as if control over it had been stripped away.

"B-Body Freeze Technique... Aah!"

Kin's ability to speak had not been taken away. As a genjutsu user, she recognized the technique restraining her at a glance.

Before she could disrupt the chakra flow in her body and break free from the restraint, her expression twisted even further and a scream burst from her mouth.

The intense pain forced her hand to release Sakura's hair and arm.

Ryusuke had drawn a Kunai and driven it forcefully into the hollow of her elbow.

Once Kin released Sakura's hair, Ryusuke twisted the wrist he was holding with all his strength.

"AAAAAH—"

With a cracking sound, Kin let out another utterly miserable scream, her eyes bloodshot.

Seeing this, Dosu and Zaku, who had been watching from afar, finally reacted.

Just as they rushed toward Ryusuke to save Kin, Ryusuke turned, gathered strength, and leaped sideways, kicking Kin directly toward them.

Before they could catch the flying Kin, Ryusuke vanished again. He caught up with her as she flew backward, pressing a rapidly spinning blue sphere of energy in his hand against her body.

In an instant, Kin's backward-flying body began to spin through the air. Her speed multiplied several times over as she hurtled toward Dosu and Zaku like a spinning boulder.

At the sight, how could Dosu and Zaku dare to catch her? They hurriedly dodged to either side.

After Kin's body flew between them, it continued for a considerable distance before slamming into a towering tree so massive that more than a dozen people would be needed to encircle it, smashing a crater into its trunk before finally stopping.