The Mysterious Grass Ninja Duo

"Damn it, what rotten luck! There were ferocious beasts even in a place like this!"

Zhi Ge muttered under his breath, then hurriedly picked up his pace, intending to leave.

"Not bad! You little brat from Konoha! You actually managed to beat that giant snake?"

Just then, a strange, mocking voice reached Zhi Ge's ears.

"Hm? Who's there?"

Upon hearing the voice, Zhi Ge immediately stopped and looked toward its source.

He saw two men in black robes and conical hats standing in the distance.

Though he could not see their faces clearly, their forehead protectors identified them as ninjas from the Grass Ninja Village.

"Are you the Konoha brat called Zhi Ge?"

The shorter man spoke.

"Who are you?"

Zhi Ge was silent for a moment before asking coldly.

He did not know these two men. Besides, they were ninjas from the insignificant Grass Ninja Village.

"Who we are is none of your concern. My brother and I happened to be bored, so why not have some fun with a little brat like you?"

The shorter man smiled faintly.

Zhi Ge's expression darkened. His right hand clenched into a fist as his icy gaze swept over the two men. He said in a deep voice, "I advise you not to act recklessly! Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!"

"Hehehe..."

"How pitiful! A little brat actually dared to threaten us?"

"Hahaha, how amusing. Do you think you can win? You're nothing more than a Genin from Konoha Village!"

The taller man sneered.

"Is that so? Aren't you Grass Ninja Village Genin here for the Chunin Exams too? You only have one more person than I do!"

Hearing that, Zhi Ge narrowed his eyes, and a flash of cold light burst forth from their depths.

He slowly walked toward the two ninjas, killing intent radiating from his body.

"You don't need to keep putting on an act. Against the two of us, you have no chance of winning!"

A cruel smile appeared on the shorter man's lips.

"Heh, is that so? Why do I get the feeling that you were originally a three-man team, but one of you was killed, leaving only the two of you?"

Zhi Ge smiled disdainfully and stared coldly at the shorter man.

"Hahaha! How adorably ignorant! Our companion went off to do something more important! Of course, there's no need for me to tell you that. You only need to know that you're about to die!"

The taller man laughed as though he were looking at a dead man.

"Since you put it that way, I won't hold back!"

Zhi Ge said coldly, vanishing in a flash and appearing before the two ninjas.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Two iron fists smashed toward the ninjas' chests.

The two hurriedly dodged.

Bang!

Zhi Ge threw another punch, this one aimed straight for the shorter man's neck.

Bang!

The shorter man raised his left hand to block it.

But after blocking Zhi Ge's fist, Zhi Ge struck again with his foot, kicking him hard in the abdomen.

"Bang!"

The shorter man who had been kicked suddenly turned into a piece of wood!

"Heh! Substitution Jutsu, huh? What good is that?"

Zhi Ge sneered disdainfully.

The Substitution Jutsu was indeed impressive, but it was useless before him.

Bang!

He kicked again, shattering the substitute before charging toward the taller man.

"Brat from Konoha! Don't get so cocky! Water Release! Water Dragon Bullet!!!"

The taller man shouted, performing a Water Release ninjutsu and forming a huge water sphere around himself.

"Break for me!!! Rubber Straight Punch!!!"

Zhi Ge roared, swinging his elongated fist at the Water Dragon Bullet.

Boom!!!

The Water Dragon Bullet exploded, scattering into droplets that filled the sky and engulfed Zhi Ge.

Splash!

At that moment, the shorter man appeared behind Zhi Ge and unleashed a combination ninjutsu.

"Earth Release! Earth Dragon Bullet!!!"

The shorter man continuously launched Earth Dragon Bullets, burying Zhi Ge, whose body was covered in water.

In the blink of an eye, only Zhi Ge's head remained exposed.

Only then did Zhi Ge realize that something was wrong!

These two were definitely not Genin!

It was clear from their use of these B-rank ninjutsu

that the two were at least Chunin-level, perhaps even Elite Jonin-level ninjas!

Their strength was absolutely no weaker than his!

Yet the two had concealed their strength, making him mistake them for Genin. That was why he had suffered a loss!

Even so, Zhi Ge would never admit defeat.

"What are you trying to do? Why are you participating in the Chunin Exams when you possess such strength?!"

Zhi Ge snorted coldly, staring fixedly at the two ninjas.

"Why? A little brat like you has no right to know that much! You only need to know that there is a huge gap between us!"

The shorter man sneered arrogantly.

"Heh!"

"Your ninjutsu does have some bite, but the two of you are nothing in my eyes!"

Zhi Ge spoke with utter disdain.

"Then have a taste of what the two of us can do!"

The two ninjas sneered and each drew a ninja tool.

One was a sharp short blade, while the other was a thin sword!

Both wore proud expressions, as though they had come to bully the weak.

"Let's see what you're capable of!"

Zhi Ge said coldly, stretching out both arms to grab them.

However, the two seemed to have anticipated it. They reacted in advance, leaping away and evading Zhi Ge's attack.

"Hmph! You two think you can kill me? Dream on!"

Zhi Ge snorted, then twisted his body and charged at them again.

"You're courting death!"

"Earth Release: Swamp Assault!!!"

The shorter man roared angrily, slamming his right hand against the ground.

At once, a massive amount of mud began to surge.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, the entire ground split apart, forming a circular pit.

Countless jets of mud erupted like fountains, nearly swallowing Zhi Ge whole in an instant.

"Damn it! Rubber Slingshot!"

Just before he was submerged, Zhi Ge immediately stretched out his hands and grabbed two large trees.

Then he launched himself forward, easily pulling his body free from the swamp.

"Hmph! Trying to escape through the air?"

"Dream on! Water Release! Water Ball Assault!!!"

The taller man snorted and flicked his right hand. Two water balls condensed with chakra instantly shot forth.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The water balls tore through the air with piercing sonic booms and struck Zhi Ge directly.

"Ah!!!"

Zhi Ge cried out in pain, his body falling onto the treetop.

"This won't work! I need to take one of them down before dealing with the other!"

A vicious glint flashed through Zhi Ge's eyes.

"Rubber Great Vertebra!!!"

He growled, curling his foot into a coil, grabbing the taller man's body with the top of his foot, then rapidly spinning and smashing him violently toward the ground.