Su Bai Arrives

The air seemed to freeze, and the forest fell utterly silent.

Looking at the three Sound ninja, Su Bai recalled the original plot.

It seemed there had been a scene like this as well.

This time, they had come for Sasuke again.

Back then, Sasuke had awakened and saved Sakura.

But this time, Sasuke seemed to have been asleep longer, showing no sign of waking up.

"You three."

Su Bai's tone hardened, every word like a sharp blade stabbing at everyone's nerves.

He swept his gaze around. No one dared meet his eyes.

Cold sweat streamed down the forehead of the Sound ninja with arm guards.

He seemed to realize that the refined, handsome youth before him was no ordinary person, but a sleeping beast.

Now, that beast had been awakened and was searching for whoever had hurt his companion.

He wanted to tear apart those vermin who had dared offend him with his own hands, washing away Sakura's humiliation with blood!

The atmosphere on the battlefield became unbearably heavy, thick with killing intent.

No one dared make a rash move, fearing they would become the first sacrifice to Su Bai's vengeful fury.

Sakura was startled by his tone. She had never seen Su Bai so cold and ruthless.

The Sound ninja who used Air Slash Wave said smugly, "Of course we did.

"I know. That's why you're dead."

Su Bai's sharp gaze swept toward him.

The arm-guarded Sound ninja hurriedly tried to stop his companion, but it was already too late.

The Air Slash Wave Sound ninja aimed both hands at Su Bai, firing an Air Slash Wave.

An explosion rang out, and dust filled the air.

"See? That took care of him!"

The caster looked pleased with himself.

But Su Bai had already appeared behind him, knocking him to the ground with a slap before stomping heavily on him.

The Air Slash Wave Sound ninja reached backward, the holes in his hands aiming at Su Bai again as he prepared to fire another Air Slash Wave.

But his movements were restricted.

Su Bai grabbed the Sound ninja's wrist and viciously twisted it in the opposite direction.

"I'll kill you first!"

The Sound ninja beneath him felt a chill run down his spine. "N-No... don't!"

Su Bai seized the Air Slash Wave Sound ninja by both arms, cold light flashing in his eyes.

He twisted violently in opposite directions. With a loud crack, one of the Sound ninja's arms snapped.

That horrifying sound of bone breaking echoed through the forest like a scream from hell.

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

A mangled limb with jagged bone protruding burst from his shoulder, blood spraying everywhere and staining Su Bai's clothes red.

"There's still one left."

Then, Su Bai repeated the process, forcibly snapping his other arm as well!

"No! AAAAAHHHH!"

Witnessing the brutal scene, Sakura was terrified, her pupils shrinking sharply.

She covered her mouth with trembling hands, unable to believe that everything before her had been done by Su Bai.

The image of Su Bai from the past surfaced in Sakura's mind—gentle and refined, humble and courteous, always polite to everyone.

Yet now, icy killing intent radiated from his body, his gaze sharp as a blade. He seemed like a completely different person.

"Is this really Su Bai-kun?"

Sakura could not help doubting her own eyes.

She had never seen Su Bai so cruel before, and her heart was filled with fear and unease.

Su Bai seemed to have become another person—a cold-blooded asura with blood on his hands.

He held the crippled Sound ninja hostage, like an asura walking out of hell, radiating the aura of death from head to toe.

"Su Bai-kun..."

Sakura called his name tremblingly, tears blurring her vision.

Gathering her courage, she rushed forward and tightly hugged the Su Bai who felt so unfamiliar to her.

"Please, stop! Don't do this anymore!"

She desperately wanted to bring back the warm, familiar Su Bai.

"Sakura, there's no need to go soft on him. He was going to die sooner or later."

Su Bai recalled the original plot. This Sound ninja and that female Sound ninja would, during Orochimaru's future battle against the Third Hokage,

be used by Orochimaru as living sacrifices for Edo Tensei to summon the First and Second Hokage.

Even if he did not kill them now, they were still going to die.

"Su Bai-kun, I'm fine... I'm only begging you not to do this anymore... I'm so scared..."

Sakura pleaded through sobs, her tears soaking his clothes.

Su Bai found himself in a difficult position.

He turned back to look at Sakura.

She was like a terrified cat, tears falling nonstop as her whole body trembled.

If he killed these three Sound ninja now, Sakura might be left with some kind of psychological trauma.

It seemed today's trial had still not been enough.

But growth could not be rushed.

He would give her some more time.

Since Sakura was pleading for them here, he would let them live a few more days.

If they were fortunate enough to escape the fate of becoming living sacrifices in the future, he would finish them himself!

"Get lost."

Su Bai coldly tossed out those words and released his hold.

The severely wounded Sound ninja fled in a panic, scrambling away like a beaten dog.

Sakura quietly nestled in Su Bai's arms, tears streaming endlessly down her face.

The arm-guarded ninja looked at Su Bai's cold eyes and the killing intent surrounding him, shuddering uncontrollably.

He realized that the seemingly frail youth before him was unfathomably powerful, someone they could not possibly contend with.

"Lord Su Bai, we know we were wrong. Your strength is far beyond ours. We are no match for you at all."

The arm-guarded ninja took a scroll from his robes and offered it with both hands. "This is our Earth Scroll. Please accept it as our apology."

He respectfully placed the scroll by Su Bai's feet, bowing again and again.

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead as he feared that one wrong move from Su Bai would cost them their lives.

Seeing that Su Bai had no intention of attacking, the arm-guarded ninja felt as though he had been granted a pardon.

He quickly turned around and signaled to his companions.

"Retreat!"

They scrambled to help up the badly injured Air Slash Wave Sound ninja and fled the place of trouble without looking back.

Their fleeing figures were utterly ridiculous, like beaten dogs with not the slightest shred of a ninja's dignity left.

The map scroll they had left behind lay quietly on the ground, as though telling of the battle's end.

Everything returned to silence, with only the rustling of wind through the treetops echoing through the quiet forest.

Neji had been standing silently on a tree branch, coldly observing the battle below.

As one of Konoha Village's most outstanding new genin, he had always been confident in his own strength.

Yet when he witnessed Su Bai's performance, stormy waves rose in his heart.

Su Bai's speed, ruthlessness, and precision had completely surpassed his expectations.

That merciless, one-strike-kill aura was enough to make one's heart tremble.

"Is this Su Bai's true strength?"

Neji could not help marveling inwardly.

He recalled that back at the Ninja Academy, Su Bai had always been a low-key and reserved student.

Although he had ranked among the best in every subject, he had never been arrogant or ostentatious.

Neji had always believed Su Bai was merely an intelligent scholar whose combat experience and abilities were nothing to fear.

But now, it seemed he had greatly underestimated this seemingly frail youth.

"I never expected Su Bai to be so powerful, hiding himself so deeply..."

If he fought Su Bai himself, he might not necessarily gain the upper hand.

Su Bai's strength had completely exceeded his estimates.

The Moonlight Clan was famous for its swordsmanship, yet Su Bai had defeated three Sound ninja barehanded.

That terrifying explosive power and decisive ruthlessness were enough to make one's scalp tingle.

"Looks like I have an extraordinary opponent..."

Neji narrowed his eyes, a hint of amusement appearing on his face.

As an exceptional ninja, he never feared any opponent.

On the contrary, the stronger the enemy, the more it could ignite his fighting spirit.

He silently listed Su Bai as his greatest rival and swore that during these Chunin Exams, he would find an opportunity to settle matters with him.

Neji's desire for victory was completely ignited, eager light gleaming in his eyes.

He could no longer wait to test himself against this hidden genius.

Tenten jumped down from the tree branch and woke Rock Lee.

Rock Lee asked, "Where are those Sound ninja?"