Chunin Exams: Sarutobi Hiruzen's Ever-Twitching Eyelid

"Hatake Sakumo, hurry. No matter what, stop them!"

Seeing Uchiha Xia rapidly forming hand seals at him, Konohamaru could not help but feel a chill rise in his heart. It was as though... if he were hit by Uchiha Xia's ninjutsu, he would likely die.

He hurriedly roared, ordering Hatake Sakumo to block Uchiha Xia's ninjutsu attack.

The moment Konohamaru's voice fell, Uchiha Xia spat out a massive fireball that blotted out the sky and hurtled straight toward him!

Originally...

Uchiha Xia had not wanted to use such a large-scale destructive ninjutsu in Konoha, especially in territory under Uchiha jurisdiction. But seeing Konohamaru trying to flee, he truly could not hold himself back any longer.

If he let Konohamaru leave, he would have to face an unrestrained Hatake Sakumo, which would likely cost him even more effort!

Taking care of Konohamaru would solve the problem once and for all!

Boom.

Just as Konohamaru watched the enormous fireball descend and fell into despair, Hatake Sakumo stepped in front of Konohamaru and his attendant, using his own body to block the advancing fireball!

The fireball paused slightly before swiftly swallowing Hatake Sakumo whole!

Taking advantage of that brief pause, Konohamaru immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and escaped the fireball's range. However, he was not in good shape either. The scorching blast had burned away all the hair on his body, and even his clothes had caught fire in the searing heat.

"Hot, hot, hot!" Konohamaru cried out in agony.

The attendant hurriedly formed hand seals to extinguish the flames on Konohamaru's body, then swiftly fled without daring to look back at Uchiha Xia and the others.

"I didn't expect you to delay me for an instant. That attack... didn't take your life?" Uchiha Xia snorted coldly, his figure flashing forward as