Binding Spell No. 21: "Red Smoke Escape"

Tenten answered, "They were driven off by Su Bai."

Lee raised his weary eyes and looked at Su Bai.

"As expected of Su Bai. You actually managed to drive them back, while I was utterly defeated."

"Looks like I still need to work even harder."

Su Bai denied it. "You were just careless."

He knew Lee had not used the Eight Gates. If he had, he would certainly have made short work of those Hidden Sound ninja.

Not long after, Lee and his group left.

Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, casting dappled patches of light across the grass.

A breeze swept past, making the leaves rustle.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, the harsh sunlight making him squint uncomfortably.

He frowned, pushed himself up, and looked around.

"Where is this...?"

Sasuke looked bewildered.

His memories still lingered on the battle with Orochimaru.

"Sasuke, you're awake!"

Sakura's voice came from nearby, carrying a trace of joy and concern.

Sasuke turned his head and saw Sakura smiling at him.

But he quickly noticed something was off.

"Sakura, your hair... what happened to it?"

Sasuke frowned.

He clearly remembered Sakura's waist-length hair, which she had once been so proud of. Now, it had been cut much shorter.

Sakura instinctively touched her short hair, a hint of bitterness beneath her smile.

"It's nothing, Sasuke. I just thought short hair would be better for moving around in the forest."

Sasuke stared at Sakura, feeling that her smile seemed forced.

But he did not press the matter and merely nodded.

Naruto woke up beside them as well.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes, saw Sakura's new hairstyle, and cried out, "Whoa, Sakura, why did you cut your hair? It suits you really well!"

Sakura curled her lips into a smile. "Thanks, Naruto. I thought short hair would be more convenient, so I cut it."

Naruto nodded, accepting the explanation.

He stretched and looked around, suddenly remembering something.

"Right, the scrolls! Where are our scrolls?!"

Naruto shouted, his face full of panic.

Sasuke seemed to snap awake as well and hurriedly checked his ninja tool pouch.

But to his dismay, the scrolls were not there.

"Damn it." Sasuke gritted his teeth, his expression darkening.

Without the scrolls, they would not be able to pass this exam.

"Are you looking for the scrolls? I have them."

The two turned toward the voice and saw that Su Bai had somehow appeared behind them.

He held two scrolls in his hands, a faint smile on his face.

"Su Bai!"

Naruto cried out happily. "When did you get the scrolls? Great! Now that we have them, we can pass the exam!"

Sasuke also let out a sigh of relief, the gloom on his face vanishing.

He had not expected that while he was unconscious, Su Bai had already gathered both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls.

Though he was somewhat unwilling to accept it, passing the exam was what mattered.

"Wait, we should eat something first and restore our strength."

Naruto's stomach chose that moment to let out a loud growl.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Sasuke shook his head, though a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips as well.

"Then let's make a fire and cook first. I'll go fetch some water."

Sakura volunteered.

Naruto jumped up excitedly and shouted, "Awesome!"

Su Bai quietly watched his lively teammates, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, spilling over the small campsite.

Laughter echoed through the forest, dispelling the gloom from earlier.

Taking advantage of this rare moment of rest,

he opened the system panel. The fusion rate had already reached 9%!

[Host]: Su Bai

[Fused Character]: Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto

[Zanpakuto]: Ryujin Jakka

[Current Fusion Rate]: 9% (72000/50000000)

[Shikai]: None

[Bankai]: None

[Hakuda]: Shin'ō Academy Intermediate Hakuda

[Kido]: Destructive Art No. 4 "White Lightning" (can be used without chanting), Binding Spell No. 21 "Red Smoke Escape"

[Movement Technique]: Shin'ō Academy Intermediate Flash Step

[Zanjutsu]: Shin'ō Academy Intermediate Zanjutsu

Over the past two days, Su Bai had gained tremendously in the Forest of Death.

During the two days he had been separated from Sakura, he had followed one principle: wherever there were screams, he went there.

He had encountered countless conflicts, large and small, sparked by the struggle for scrolls.

By chance, he had witnessed Gaara ruthlessly slaughtering a Hidden Rain Village team.

The bloody sight was chilling, but to Su Bai, it meant gaining a massive amount of experience points.

The experience gained in that one instance was especially staggering—over ten million points!

This also indirectly proved just how powerful Gaara was.

Afterward, he gained even more experience elsewhere.

Just like that, his fusion rate rose from 7% to 9%.

When the fusion rate reached 8%, Binding Spell No. 21: Red Smoke Escape had been unlocked.

At 9%, his Shin'ō Academy Zanjutsu advanced from Basic to Intermediate.

Su Bai had already tested the effects of Red Smoke Escape.

It could create a vast smokescreen that blotted out the sky and obstructed the enemy's vision.

It had a similar effect to Zabuza's Hidden Mist Technique.

The only difference was that the smoke was red and carried a non-toxic but irritating odor.

As for the Heaven and Earth Scrolls in his hands, Su Bai had stolen them under the cover of Red Smoke Escape after other teams were defeated.

Now, Su Bai's fusion rate had reached 9%. He was only one step away from 10%.

Su Bai had a feeling that Ryujin Jakka's Shikai would be unlocked once his fusion rate reached 10%.

He believed he would definitely break through to 10% during the one-on-one preliminary matches of the third Chunin Exams round.

In other areas, Flash Step, Hakuda, and Zanjutsu had all advanced to Intermediate.

As for Kido, aside from White Lightning, which could be used without chanting or preparation, he had also gained Red Smoke Escape, which was comparable to the Hidden Mist Technique.

Su Bai's strength should have already reached the level of a jonin.

His uncle, Hayate Gekko, should no longer be a match for him.

However, against the Sunagakure jonin who had killed his uncle, he still could not guarantee victory.

Only by unlocking Ryujin Jakka's Shikai could he become truly unbeatable.

Therefore, passing the second round was extremely important.

Su Bai began considering the current situation.

Now that they had both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, they only needed to deliver them to the tower at the center of the Forest of Death to pass the second round.

However, there would inevitably be people lying in ambush on the way to the tower.

Those teams were lurking in the shadows, setting trap after trap as they waited for exhausted teams to pass by.

But for Su Bai, this should not be a problem.

Because truly strong teams would not stoop to doing such things.

They had already gathered their scrolls.

Just like Gaara's team, they had no need to go through so much trouble.

Therefore, those lying in wait near the tower were nothing more than mediocre opponents.

Su Bai began formulating a plan.

The plan was simple.

They only needed to proceed toward the tower in an orderly manner.

If they encountered enemies, Naruto and Sasuke would deal with them.

It would be a good opportunity to assess how much they had improved after their battle with Orochimaru.

He himself would stay to the side and collect experience points.

If they could not handle it, Su Bai would step in and resolve things himself.

With the plan decided, Team 7 had a hearty meal and set off once more.

At the entrance to the tower in the Forest of Death,

Team 7 safely arrived at their destination according to Su Bai's plan.

They had indeed encountered an ambush from the Hidden Rain Village along the way.

But Naruto and Sasuke had dealt with them all.

Having gone through a life-and-death battle with Orochimaru, the two had clearly improved.

Although Naruto had been sealed by Orochimaru and could not temporarily use the Nine-Tails' chakra,

his performance was still impressive even so.

Sasuke's situation was somewhat troublesome.

Orochimaru had planted a cursed seal on him. Once he used too much chakra, the cursed seal would spread across his body.

When that happened, pain would rack his entire body, leaving him completely unable to move.

But as long as he controlled his chakra usage, it would be fine.

Su Bai, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura pushed open the tower doors.

Looking around, they found that of the original seventy-nine participants, only twenty-two remained.

Everyone consciously found a place to stand and waited for what came next.

After quite a while, the chief examiner, Anko, appeared and had everyone line up.

Looking at the twenty-two people before her, Anko thought that she had originally wanted to eliminate a few more.

Soon afterward, the jonin from the villages represented by the advancing teams arrived one after another.

Among them were Kakashi, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma.

The Sunagakure jonin.

Orochimaru, disguised as a Hidden Sound Village jonin.

The examiners from the previous rounds.

In short, there were countless jonin.

Then the Hokage arrived as well.

The Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stepped forward, swept his gaze across the crowd, and began explaining the rules of the third exam.

"Everyone, congratulations on passing the second round."

"The Chunin Exams are not merely meant to test your strength. They are also meant to strengthen communication and cooperation between the villages."

"Through this exam, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your abilities before the daimyos and nobles of the various countries, winning honor for your villages..."

Through the Hokage's speech, everyone gained a clearer understanding of the significance of participating in the Chunin Exams.

At that moment, Su Bai's uncle, Hayate Gekko, walked up to the Hokage and dropped to one knee.

"Forgive my presumption, Lord Hokage, but please leave the next part of the exam to me, Hayate Gekko, the chief examiner for the third round."