Passing the Second Round

"They actually saw through us. Is this the Uzumaki Clan's ability?" The lead ninja snorted and shed his disguise. The newcomers were clearly their old acquaintances—the Sound ninja.

"Looks like you've infiltrated quite deeply." Tianming stepped in front of Karin Uzumaki.

"Enough nonsense." The Sound ninja gave no friendly expression. "Lord Orochimaru ordered us to take you back to the Snake Cave. Don't make any pointless resistance!"

Orochimaru had merely taken advantage of the timing of the Chunin Exams to capture Qingchuan Tianming. His true goal was to attack Konoha. After all, he would not make such a huge fuss over a single vessel.

Orochimaru had made quite a few arrangements for this, infiltrating along three routes. Tianming knew all these top-secret details perfectly well.

"You guys acting so self-righteous is honestly hilarious." Tianming laughed outright. "Lord Orochimaru is so generous—he keeps sending me free kills?"

"Damn it!" Provoked by Tianming's mockery, the lead Sound ninja immediately pulled out a shuriken and threw it. That movement prompted the Sound ninja surrounding them to attack as well.

Shuriken tore through the air from every direction, all aimed at the two in the center.

Boom!

Tianming stomped his foot! The immense chakra within him surged outward, forcibly halting every shuriken in midair!

The moment he began using chakra, the Cursed Seal on the back of his neck flared up. That burning sensation returned!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The lead Sound ninja charged in first. As the kunai in his hand spun, it emitted bursts of Sonic Roar.

"Your Cursed Seal is acting up. How are you going to resist?" The lead Sound ninja laughed wildly as he closed in on Tianming, his kunai stabbing down at Tianming's thigh like lightning.

Their mission was to bring Tianming back. They could not kill him, only capture him.

Clang!

"Just a Cursed Seal?" Tianming thrust out his own kunai, colliding with the incoming blade.

The Cursed Seal's power had caused him so much suffering yesterday only because he had endured it head-on while using his fruit ability. But now? The chakra it devoured was less than what he generated at random.

Just as the saying went: You want to devour it? Go ahead and eat!

The instant the two kunai collided, the lead Sound ninja realized something was wrong!

Tianming's strength was terrifying!

Realizing this, the lead Sound ninja tried to retreat and open up some distance, but it was already too late.

Tianming stepped forward, his right leg snapping skyward like lightning! Accompanied by the sound of a shattering jaw, the lead Sound ninja took the kick squarely on the chin and flew into the air.

Before the others could react, Tianming had already closed in, instantly forming hand seals and summoning dozens of Shadow Clones.

Naruto Barrage? Not happening.

The lead Sound ninja could not land, so every one of Tianming's clones sent a kick into his body.

Tianming's taijutsu was already exceptional, and with the Cursed Seal flaring up, his strength had been enhanced even further.

In the end! The lead Sound ninja was kicked to death alive!

Only then did the nearby Sound ninja react, fear rising in their hearts.

What had just happened? Their leader had thrown a shuriken, then charged in with a kunai, only to be kicked into the air? Kicked to death just like that? Meanwhile, they subordinates had done nothing but throw one wave of shuriken from beginning to end?

Yet while the others stood there in stunned disbelief, Karin Uzumaki on the ground unleashed Adamantine Sealing Chains.

This was a technique unique to the Uzumaki Clan! Chakra burst from Karin Uzumaki's body and formed chain after chain, directly binding the remaining Sound ninja.

After taking Adamantine Sealing Chains head-on, the chakra in their bodies instantly stagnated! Sound ninja unable to use chakra were no different from ordinary people.

Tianming descended from above and paused slightly at the sight. As expected of Karin.

Her ninjutsu and combat ability might not amount to much, but her sensory ability and battlefield awareness were second to none.

After exchanging a glance with Karin Uzumaki, Tianming said nothing more and killed them one by one.

Tianming had never been softhearted toward enemies. After all, this was a world where the strong preyed on the weak.

"Karin, well done!" Tianming said, raising a thumbs-up.

Karin Uzumaki froze for a moment, then smiled as brightly as a flower.

So this was what it felt like to be acknowledged...

Time passed second by second, and the second round of the Chunin Exams finally neared its end.

When Tianming and Karin Uzumaki arrived at the Central Tower, quite a few people had already gathered there.

All of Konoha's Rookie Twelve were present, and over by Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki waved his hand while clutching the Heaven-and-Earth Scrolls. "Tianming, we passed!!"

"Are they your companions?" Karin Uzumaki asked quietly.

"They'll be yours too." Tianming smiled. "Let's go over together."

"Tianming, are you okay? Where did you go? Why did you get here so late? And who exactly is this girl..." Naruto Uzumaki immediately bombarded him with questions.

"Naruto!" Sakura Haruno beside him brought down a righteous iron fist. "You're asking so quickly—how is Tianming supposed to answer?"

"Let me introduce everyone. This is Karin Uzumaki, a friend I met in the forest," Tianming said openly.

"Uzumaki? What a coincidence! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" An optimist like Naruto Uzumaki naturally found it easy to accept newcomers.

Amid the cheerful atmosphere, Tianming sensed a hostile gaze, but he paid it no mind.

He could deal with it, but there was no need.