A Massive Crisis! Death in Battle?

Outside the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Something's happening over there!"

"Hurry and notify the others..."

Seeing a sudden burst of fire in the distance and sensing powerful chakra fluctuations, the Anbu Ninja stationed throughout Konoha immediately sprang into action.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Several figures darted through the forest, heading straight toward Hozuki Mangetsu and Mu Feng.

Soon, word of an enemy intrusion reached the Hokage Building.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi stood atop the building, looking toward the battle outside the village.

"As expected, they still refuse to pass up the opportunity presented by these Chunin Ninja Exams!"

With a soft click, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe and spoke gravely. His brow furrowed. The shinobi world was far from peaceful, and the struggles between the great nations were growing ever fiercer.

The Second Shinobi World War had clearly left many unresolved problems, especially for Konoha. Konoha had gained considerable benefits from the war, so it was hardly surprising that others had set their sights on it.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi was no coward.

"If they want to come, let them come!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took another puff and slowly exhaled.

"Huff..."

Elsewhere, in the forest outside Konoha, Hozuki Mangetsu gasped for breath, staring at Mu Feng in disbelief.

Is this guy... even human?

Moments earlier, Mu Feng had opened the fifth gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation and launched his attack.

The power of the Eight Gates Released Formation depended on its user. After opening five gates, Mu Feng could distinctly feel a stabbing pain throughout his body, while his speed and strength had doubled.

With four gates open, Mu Feng had already been able to trade blows evenly with Hozuki Mangetsu. With five open, Hozuki Mangetsu clearly could no longer keep up.

Whoosh!

A white gleam flashed past. In the blink of an eye, Mu Feng was right in front of Hozuki Mangetsu.

Startled, Hozuki Mangetsu hurriedly activated the Hydrification Technique, but he was still a second too late. The White Fang short sword sliced through his shoulder, sending a spray of blood into the air.

Hozuki Mangetsu drew a deep breath, feeling both shocked and somewhat relieved.

Fortunately, he had stopped being overconfident and used the Hydrification Technique immediately. Otherwise, Mu Feng's slash would have severed his entire right arm.

Feeling the sharp pain in his shoulder, Hozuki Mangetsu stared grimly at Mu Feng. Hiramekarei glowed faintly in his hand, but instead of attacking immediately, he performed the Water Clone Technique.

Two streams of water slowly gathered on either side of Hozuki Mangetsu, eventually forming two water clones. The three identical Hozuki Mangetsus moved around and exchanged positions. Even with his Sharingan, Mu Feng could not tell which was the real one.

Creating water clones required a great deal of chakra. In the Naruto world, only someone as ridiculously overpowered as Naruto could produce enormous numbers of Shadow Clones. An ordinary Jonin would rarely create more than a double-digit number of clones over the course of a battle.

Hozuki Mangetsu's reason for creating water clones now was simple.

He wanted to keep stalling until Mu Feng's Eight Gates Released Formation wore off.

"Sure enough, no one who becomes a Jonin is easy to deal with!"

Seeing Hozuki Mangetsu's response, Mu Feng frowned.

That last strike had already been the strongest attack Mu Feng could deliver in his current state.

People in the Naruto world did not possess such absurdly tough bodies. Had that slash struck an ordinary Jonin, they would have been gravely wounded, if not killed outright.

But Hozuki Mangetsu possessed the Hydrification Technique. This kekkei genkai could counter virtually any slashing attack, unless Mu Feng coated his weapon with lightning release chakra.

Mu Feng knew this. It was not that he did not want to coat his weapon with lightning release chakra-he simply did not know how.

Infusing a weapon with chakra of different natures required practice, and Mu Feng clearly had yet to master it. Even if he had, he would not have been able to do it while using the Eight Gates Released Formation.

In this state, chakra surged through his body like a raging torrent. Forget delicate chakra control-he could not even perform ninjutsu. Or rather, he had no need to.

This is getting troublesome! I can't keep five gates open for long... but Hozuki Mangetsu is clearly no match for me right now!

Looks like I'll have to take a gamble!

Having already opened five gates, Mu Feng clearly had no intention of giving up.

After weighing his options, Mu Feng moved again. His figure blurred, and when he came to a stop, he was already in front of Hozuki Mangetsu.

Slash-

A white blade flashed past, mercilessly cutting through one of Hozuki Mangetsu's clones. It collapsed into a splash of water.

"Damn it! I still can't track his movements!"

Hozuki Mangetsu tightened his grip on Hiramekarei. He had tried using his clones to hold Mu Feng off, but that plan had clearly failed.

Light flickered across Hiramekarei. A moment later, Hozuki Mangetsu swung it with all his might.

Boom, boom, boom-

Hiramekarei release!

A massive surge of energy erupted from Hiramekarei, exploding outward in every direction.

Unable to track Mu Feng, Hozuki Mangetsu could only resort to a wide-area attack.

The enormous mass of energy exploded in the forest, sending trees and dirt flying and leaving the surroundings in ruins. Mu Feng darted around the area, easily avoiding Hozuki Mangetsu's attack.

But just then-

With a muffled thud from inside his body, Mu Feng's heart abruptly clenched. He froze in place as though he had suffered a tremendous blow.

Hozuki Mangetsu had originally planned to escape amid the chaos, sending his remaining water clone in another direction to gain distance and buy time.

But the instant he started running, he sensed the chakra surging from Mu Feng rapidly dissipating.

Has his time run out?

A sharp gleam flashed in Hozuki Mangetsu's eyes. He immediately stopped and looked back.

On the patch of ground flattened by his attack, Mu Feng had dropped to one knee, his face contorted in pain.

Hozuki Mangetsu was delighted, but Mu Feng's earlier performance kept him wary. He shot a glance at the water clone beside him, which had also stopped.

Tap, tap, tap...

The next moment, the water clone charged straight toward Mu Feng.

A hundred meters, fifty meters...

Twenty meters...

As it closed to within ten meters, Mu Feng remained on one knee, barely reacting. A smile spread across Hozuki Mangetsu's face.

But just as the water clone reached him, a white blade flashed with a sharp hiss!

Mu Feng sprang up and hurled the White Fang short sword in his hand, his Sharingan fixed firmly on the water clone.

Splash-

The short sword struck the water clone with perfect accuracy, reducing it to a puddle.

Thud-

After throwing the short sword, Mu Feng sank back onto one knee as though completely drained.

Seeing Mu Feng use the last of his strength to destroy the water clone, Hozuki Mangetsu felt no shock. Instead, his eyes shone with growing delight.

That last attack seemed to confirm something for Hozuki Mangetsu: Mu Feng no longer had any strength left to fight back.

"Heh, you little Konoha brat..."

"I have to admit, forcing me this far at your age is impressive!"

"If Kirigakure had a genius like you, you could probably slaughter everyone in your year!"

"But what a pity..."

"Cutting off the head of a Konoha genius will be a wonderful experience!"

Certain that Mu Feng could no longer fight back, Hozuki Mangetsu bared his sharp teeth and slowly walked toward him.

Hiramekarei gleamed coldly in his hand, looking exceptionally sharp beneath the moonlight.

On the flattened ground, Mu Feng coughed dryly several times, his eyes filled with unwillingness. Even his Sharingan gradually faded from exhaustion. He looked every bit as though he were suffering the aftereffects of the Eight Gates Released Formation.

One step, two steps, ten steps...