Dark Undercurrents Surge

The next day, outside Training Ground 38.

Orochimaru watched as the Genin signed their "waivers of life and death" and received their teams' Heaven and Earth Scrolls. The killing intent in his eyes became even more naked.

Amid the crowd, Uchiha Yufeng was on high alert.

With Orochimaru proctoring the exam, this was definitely not a good sign for him.

For all he knew, Orochimaru might have taken an interest in him.

"The Book of Heaven and the Book of Earth—this exam will revolve around a battle to seize these two scrolls. Teams will fight one another for them.

"During the competition, there are no rules, no restrictions on methods, and no restrictions on death.

"Any team that passes through Training Ground 38 within three days, gathers both the Book of Heaven and the Book of Earth, and reaches the Lighthouse at the very center will pass.

"All others will fail!"

"Also, the scrolls must not be opened..."

Orochimaru gave Uchiha Yufeng a meaningful look, then extended his scarlet tongue and licked his lips.

"Ding. Yakushi Kabuto (Shippuden) fragment +2."

"Ding. Uchiha Sasuke (Mangekyō Sharingan) fragment +4."

Facing Orochimaru's gaze, Uchiha Yufeng showed no expression.

It was as if he had not seen Orochimaru looking at him at all.

Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, the Genin began discussing it among themselves.

"This is way too hard, isn't it? That training ground looks like a massive forest. How are we supposed to reach the destination in three days... And putting aside the restrictions, we have to steal other people's scrolls too..."

"Steal other people's scrolls? You're thinking too simply. What if the scroll you steal is the same as your own? Then you'll have to steal another one!"

"Damn it, isn't this completely gambling on a team's luck?"

"..."

Orochimaru ignored the other ninjas' reactions and slowly walked to the entrance of the training ground.

He took out a key from his robes and unlocked it.

"From this moment on, the second exam begins!"

As soon as his words fell, several ninja teams that had snapped out of it rushed inside.

Watching Uchiha Yufeng's retreating figure among the crowd entering the training ground, the cold smile on Orochimaru's face deepened.

"I wonder whether you'll give me a surprise today... No, I should call it a miracle!"

A team from Sunagakure ran through the forest. One of them, a Kunoichi with face paint, spoke to her teammates as she ran.

"You remember our mission, right? First, find a few Konoha ninjas and ask around for information! And while we're at it, see if we can get some scrolls."

"Yes!"

They hurried past. After a while,

once the surroundings had fallen quiet,

Uchiha Yufeng slowly emerged from beneath a large tree.

Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao appeared as well, one to his left and the other to his right.

"That was close. We almost got discovered!"

Yuhi Kurenai patted her chest and let out a long breath.

"Hiss!~"

An eight-meter-long crimson python in the tree spotted the three below.

It coiled its body, flicked its tongue, and lunged straight at Uzuki Yugao, who was closest.

Uzuki Yugao immediately raised the Kusanagi Sword in her hand before her chest.

Chakra flowed into the blade as she slashed.

Blood splattered, and Uzuki Yugao severed the snake's head in a single strike.

A foul stench immediately spread through the area.

"Let's move!"

Uchiha Yufeng glanced at the two girls, gave them a signal, and darted deeper into the forest.

Not long afterward, a ninja team from Takigakure arrived.

"The blood is still fresh. Chase them!"

One of the ninjas examined the bloodstains on the ground and rose to leave.

Suddenly, he felt an itch on his neck.

He reached up and touched a creature the size of two palms clinging to it.

"What is this?!"

The Genin cried out in terror.

The moment his voice fell, he collapsed to the ground.

The other two stared around in horror as Bloodsucking Leeches leaped down from the trees and latched onto the ninjas' bodies.

Before long, the remaining two also stopped moving and fell to the ground.

Just as the Bloodsucking Leeches were about to devour them, a giant snake that had appeared from nowhere swallowed the corpses whole, then burrowed into the ground and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Listening to the terrified screams coming from the forest, Orochimaru slowly spoke in a hoarse, chilling voice.

"Has some experimental material... fallen into my trap?"

By then, Uchiha Yufeng and the other two had already left the woods infested with Bloodsucking Leeches and reached an open clearing.

As one horrifying scream after another rang out behind them,

Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao both wore traces of tension and caution on their faces.

"It's fine. I'm here. I'll protect you!"

Uchiha Yufeng smiled at them.

The instant he finished speaking, his body flashed away.

A Kunai struck the spot where Uchiha Yufeng had just been standing.

"Who's there?"

Uzuki Yugao immediately swung the Kusanagi Sword in her hand, watching the surroundings warily.

Uchiha Yufeng coated the soles of his feet with Chakra and hung upside down from a tree trunk.

Had Orochimaru already lost his patience and decided to make a move on me?

He brushed his hand over his waist, and a Ronin Katana appeared in his grasp.

"Oh, you're quite alert!"

A light chuckle rang out.

Three ninjas wearing Amegakure forehead protectors appeared before them.

The one who had spoken wore a gas mask and looked the three of them over.

"What good luck!"

After saying that, he threw a Kunai toward Uchiha Yufeng and the others.

The instant he threw it, his two teammates charged at Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao.

One of them was just about to grab Yuhi Kurenai when the tree beneath his feet suddenly came alive.

Its branches grew rapidly and bound him directly to the trunk.

Behind the tree, Yuhi Kurenai held a Kunai and stabbed it into the man's shoulder.

In the end, she had still held back.

She had not killed him.

Meanwhile, Uzuki Yugao unleashed her Konoha Style Kenjutsu.

The Kusanagi Sword in her hand moved like a snake's flickering tongue, swift and tricky.

In the blink of an eye, she injured the Rain Ninja's legs, sending him crashing to the ground.

Uchiha Yufeng remained where he was without moving.

He watched as the Kunai pierced his body.

Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao's expressions changed.

"Yufeng!"

"Bang!"

The struck Uchiha Yufeng fell toward the ground, transforming into a wooden log in midair.

"The Substitution Technique?!"

Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao both breathed sighs of relief.

The Amegakure ninja wearing the gas mask was shocked.

Before he could react, a figure slowly emerged behind him.

It was Uchiha Yufeng.

He silently raised the Ronin Katana in his hand and stabbed it into the man's heart.

The terror had yet to fade from the Amegakure ninja's face when he died. Chakra surged across the katana, and a sudden wash of water appeared.

It then rinsed the blood clean.

Uchiha Yufeng jumped down from the tree and gave Uzuki Yugao and Yuhi Kurenai's opponents a finishing strike each.

"Those three were trying to kill us. At times like this, you absolutely cannot go easy on them. Understand?"

Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao nodded seriously.

"Yufeng, I didn't expect your swordsmanship to be so outstanding!"

When Uchiha Yufeng had acted earlier, his movements and techniques with the Ronin Katana had been simple and direct at their foundation.

There was not a single wasted motion or ounce of stamina, as though every move had been practiced solely to kill enemies.

Compared with Uzuki Yugao's somewhat flashy Konoha Style Kenjutsu,

it felt like a new path entirely, opening a door to a new direction in swordsmanship for Uzuki Yugao.

Uchiha Yufeng did not answer. He immediately raised his hand, pulled out several Kunai, and flung them in every direction.

The Kunai collided in midair with a series of clanging sounds.

The Kunai he had thrown with perfect precision knocked down every Kunai hurled toward the three of them without missing a single one.

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight more Kunai lay scattered across the ground.

Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao's hearts sank.

Were more enemies here?

"Uchiha Yufeng, I've finally caught you!"