Astonishing Combat Instincts

In the distance, Su Zheng sensed that it was a Water Clone and raised his eyebrows. "This really is a great chance to hone my combat skills!" With a flash, he vanished into the rain.

Kawauchi carefully searched the area before saying, "He's gone. His presence has completely vanished. We'll have to use another method."

"Fine, then I'll find him, and you attack afterward." Yamashita formed hand seals with both hands. "Ninja Art: Summoning Technique: Flowing Snakes!"

Boom! Dozens of slender Flowing Snakes appeared, hissing and flicking their tongues.

Yamashita controlled the Flowing Snakes and sent them out to search for Su Zheng's trail.

Whoosh! Dozens of Flowing Snakes entered the rain curtain. This environment was perfect for them. Unlike ninja hounds, they did not track enemies by scent, but through heat detection. As long as a living creature had a body temperature higher than the surrounding environment, they could sense it!

Here, nothing could escape the Flowing Snakes' search.

Su Zheng quietly hid in a tree, waiting for the two to reveal themselves. Suddenly, he sensed a cold presence behind him. Before he could turn around, several Flowing Snakes had already coiled around his neck, baring their fangs as they bit down.

"Haha, found him." Yamashita rushed over, only to discover that the snakes had wrapped around nothing but a Mud Clone.

"Damn it, another clone..." Before Yamashita could finish speaking, he sensed a hand rapidly approaching.

Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!

Boom! Yamashita was dragged into a deep pit. Before he could react, he was knocked unconscious.

Clap, clap, clap!

Kawauchi applauded in praise. "Your clones and substitutions are used to perfection. Combined with your extraordinary talent for ninjutsu, it's truly astonishing."

Then his tone shifted, and Kawauchi said solemnly, "But against me, you won't get a chance to use a substitute."

Kawauchi drew the blade in his hand and explained, "This is a technique I created myself, Water Flow Slash. You'd better be careful!"

Su Zheng noticed that ever since the other man had gripped that blade, his entire presence had changed. It was restrained to the extreme, all for the sharp brilliance of the instant he drew his sword!

"Just what I wanted." His close-quarters combat was not particularly good because he had never had any decent opponents. Now that he had a chance to strengthen his weakness, he was naturally delighted.

Swish!

"So fast!" A flash of white streaked past. Su Zheng did not even see the blade's trajectory before pain flared across his back.

His left hand came away warm with blood. A deep slash had been left across his back.

Kawauchi frowned deeply and asked in confusion, "Is that all the strength you have?"

"I'm being looked down on, huh?"

Su Zheng gave a helpless, bitter smile. "How did you draw your blade so quickly, yet strike my back?"

Kawauchi did not care in the slightest that Su Zheng was stalling for time to stop the bleeding. In Amegakure, only one person surpassed him in swordsmanship: Lord Hanzo.

Kawauchi patiently explained, "My draw is fast because I practice a lot. And I don't observe with my eyes. As for why I struck your back, it's because there are too many openings behind you!"

"I understand!" The bleeding on Su Zheng's back had already stopped. He wanted to use this battle to make up for his shortcomings. If he could not see it, then he would use his cheat!

Su Zheng released his Chakra. The rain grew heavier and heavier.

Water Style: Rain Tiger Hunter Technique!

Torrential rain poured down, completely blocking both sides' vision. No one knew that Su Zheng had activated his Sharingan.

Within his blood-red pupils, two tomoe revolved. Su Zheng said excitedly, "Come on, keep going!"

Through the spinning tomoe, Su Zheng clearly saw the trajectory of his blade.

Clang!

Kawauchi's figure darted past. This time, he did not succeed.

"Was that an illusion? No, he really blocked it! Now this is interesting!"

Kawauchi turned and counterattacked. Each slash was faster and fiercer than the last.

At first, Su Zheng still suffered wounds across his body. But as his body caught up with the speed, an unprecedented fighting spirit erupted from him.

Beneath the dim rain curtain, neither figure could be seen clearly. Only the rapid sounds of metal clashing revealed the danger of the battle.

Woooo~, a clear, piercing flute melody rang out sharply. Both men froze in place.

The scene shifted. In Su Zheng's eyes, the falling rain became bright sunlight. This was no longer the arena, but a field of flowers.

A breeze swept through, and the flowers bent in unison. The air was filled with their fragrance.

"No, this isn't a flower field. This is the arena. I'm fighting two Chunin."

The tomoe spun, and Su Zheng instantly woke up. He could not let anyone discover the Sharingan, or he would never be able to explain it!

The illusion shattered, and Su Zheng returned to the arena. The torrential rain drenched his heart, instantly clearing his mind.

The flute melody lingered. This should have been Yamashita's genjutsu. Seeing Kawauchi standing blankly across from him, Su Zheng got an idea. The training was over. It was time to end this!

"Hahaha, I'm not just good at summoning techniques. The combination of Flowing Snakes and genjutsu is my ultimate killing move!"

Yamashita walked smugly toward the two, rubbing the back of his head where he had been knocked out. He secretly rejoiced. So what if you're a genius? Didn't I still catch you?

Just as Yamashita was about to announce the end of the assessment, he suddenly realized something was wrong with this Su Zheng. A thought came to him: No way, this is fake again.

Earth Style: Mud Wall!

The soil beneath Yamashita and the others instantly turned into a swamp, dragging the two men into the mud. "Su Zheng" also dissolved into splashing water.

The rain gradually stopped.

Only then could the people in the stands clearly see what had happened. Su Zheng stood to one side, while Yamashita and Kawauchi were both trapped in the swamp, powerless to struggle.

Su Zheng had won!

"Did any of you see what happened?" a young ninja asked.

"No. We could still see a little at first, but once Su Zheng and Kawauchi started fighting, we couldn't see anything at all."

"Whatever. As long as Su Zheng won." A Chunin looked provocatively at the gloomy middle-aged man nearby.

The gloomy middle-aged man did not argue, only frowned tightly.

Kaiyu Rui had sensed everything, but he did not know that Su Zheng had activated the Sharingan. Otherwise, Su Zheng would have been taken down long ago.

Kaiyu Rui could not believe that Su Zheng possessed such strong combat instincts and could improve so quickly in battle. At first, he could not keep up with Kawauchi's speed, but later, the two were completely evenly matched.

Kaiyu Rui turned back and said, "Send Kurokawa in. Don't hold back. Test what he's made of!"

The Chunin beside him was somewhat surprised, but he did not dare show it. He turned and left.

Inside the arena, the referee ninja stepped forward and surveyed the field.

"Su Zheng, you have completed the Chunin examination. Now..."

"Wait..." A burly young ninja jumped into the arena and said with a teasing smile, "I see that Genin Su Zheng is still in excellent condition and has strength left. I would like to challenge him. I wonder whether Genin Su Zheng is willing."

His words sounded polite enough, but he emphasized the word "Genin," making it obvious that he had come looking for trouble.

Before Su Zheng could respond, the ninjas in the stands could no longer sit still and began shouting.

"Accept it! We didn't see anything in that last fight. That's not fair!"

"Exactly! Fight again!"

Su Zheng gave Kurokawa a deep look, the corner of his lips curling upward. "Since you want to fight, then come on!"

Since this match was not part of the examination, the referee emphasized the rules: no killing, raise a hand to surrender if unable to continue, and so on...

Kurokawa revealed a sinister smile. "I won't be showing any mercy."

With that, he charged forward at high speed.

As Su Zheng twisted aside to dodge the heavy blow, a fast blue rope shot toward him.

Water Style: Water Whip!

"Haha, got you." Without giving Su Zheng time to react, Kurokawa formed hand seals with both hands. "Lightning Style: Lightning Stream!" Blue lightning raced along the Water Whip and struck Su Zheng.

"Arghhh!" Crackling lightning exploded across Su Zheng's body, scorching him black.

Su Zheng trembled as he stood up, only for another combination ninjutsu to come rushing toward him.

Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!

Kurokawa and his clone respectively controlled Water Style and Lightning Style, forming a combined ninjutsu that charged toward Su Zheng.

The powerful impact and the paralyzing effect of the lightning made Su Zheng convulse continuously in the water.

The situation seemed completely one-sided in Kurokawa's favor, and his face twisted into a terrifying grin.

"Lord Rui told me to test your level, but you can't even take a hit. What a disappointment!"

Just as he was lamenting, an enormous Water Dragon Technique came hurtling toward him. A B-rank ninjutsu had forcibly produced an A+-rank effect, even more powerful than his own.

Kurokawa was slammed hard into a tree. His back shattered three trees before he finally stopped.

Just as he was about to catch his breath, Su Zheng had somehow appeared beside him. His left hand, wrapped in Chidori, thrust toward him.

Boom!

The tree behind Kurokawa exploded, while he collapsed to the ground with a huge gash torn across his waist.

"I only wanted to test the power of your ninjutsu. I didn't expect you to take it seriously!"

"I gave you a chance, but you were useless!"

Su Zheng looked at Kurokawa lying on the ground. With his kidneys damaged, he probably would not even be able to be a "craftsman" anymore!

In the blink of an eye, the situation had completely reversed. Many people still did not know what had happened. Only that young Jonin and Kaiyu Rui had seen it clearly.

The referee ninja stepped forward and checked Kurokawa's condition. There was only one wound at his waist, and it was bleeding heavily. His condition was not optimistic. The referee summoned the medical team to carry him away for treatment, then took Su Zheng to register him as a Chunin.

Kaiyu Rui stared fixedly in the direction Su Zheng had left, his heart filled with shock. In Su Zheng, he saw Hanzo's shadow—someone who had suppressed him mercilessly since their days at the ninja academy. That astonishing presence was something he never wanted to experience again.

"Su Zheng, this is your last chance!" Kaiyu Rui thought to himself.