A masked figure raced through the Forest of Death.
The examiner, who had originally thought he could toy with any Genin he encountered, turned and ran without the slightest hesitation.
Behind him, another streak of lightning followed close on his heels, visibly closing the distance between them.
"That Lightning Release Ninjutsu... it's Sasuke Uchiha!"
His expression beneath the mask grew tense. As an Anbu operative, he naturally recognized the Ninjutsu of this "Genin" from his own village, whom he had fought before.
Back at the Uchiha Clan Compound, although Hyuga Hiashi had ultimately immobilized him by striking his chakra points, he still remembered Sasuke Uchiha's performance in battle. During the melee, he had even taken a slash from him without knowing how...
When he had appeared at the exam venue earlier, the sight of Sasuke and Hinata Hyuga had given him a shock.
But then he had thought it over. They were on the same team and only needed one mask, so his chances of avoiding both of them were still fairly good... whoever ran into them would just have to count himself unlucky.
He had never expected to be that unlucky bastard!
Having fought Sasuke himself, he knew perfectly well that the boy's combat ability was nowhere near Genin level. He could even hold his own against a veteran Jonin!
With running as his only option, he truly had no confidence that he could escape a technique whose terrifying speed was obvious at a glance.
But he was also an experienced Konoha Anbu operative who had carried out countless highly classified, dangerous missions assigned by Lord Hokage!
Could he really fall into some brat's hands?
At the very least, he couldn't fall into his hands twice!
He decided to divert the trouble onto someone else!
With the resolve to