A probe, red chakra

Liumu slowly emerged from the darkness with his fist raised. When he saw that the person nearby who had just ambushed him was actually a boy with a tail, his brow instantly furrowed.

He had originally only wanted to find that team of Sound Ninja, but he had not expected the buildings in Kumogakure to look almost identical. The roads between them were even more complicated, and wandering blindly had gradually left him lost.

But who could have expected that, just after Liumu arrived here, intending to climb up high to get his bearings, someone would ambush him without a sound? That instantly soured the mood of Liumu, who already had a bellyful of anger.

Under the cover of night, Liumu could not make out his opponent's appearance at all. Still, that did not matter. After all, once the fight was over, his opponent would have a bruised face, so what difference did his original appearance make?

With that thought, Liumu leaped straight down from the rock face. Seeing his opponent braced for battle, he began walking slowly toward him.

But just then... the tail behind the boy began smashing toward him like a boulder, its heavy, powerful blows sending waves of humming vibrations through the air.

Seeing this, Liumu did not take the attacks head-on. Instead, he planted his feet and stood straight, calling softly, "Serious Series: Side-to-Side Hopping!"

Thud, thud, thud!

His rapid footsteps crushed the rocks beneath his feet, and the thunder of boulders instantly echoed through the mountain ravine.

To the boy, however, after that shout, Liumu's figure had suddenly become dozens... no, hundreds of figures. Flickering rapidly, they quietly surrounded him as though he had used the Clone Technique.

The boy's expression tightened, his eyes sharp as lightning as he kept watching the figures surrounding him. After a long wait, no attack came. Under Liumu's gaze, the boy suddenly planted both hands on the ground. In an instant, countless red chakra bubbles began pouring out of his body.

In just a few breaths, the red bubbles enveloped the boy completely, while the tail behind him had gone from the original one to three.

"Hmm?"

Only now did Liumu realize. Seeing that familiar red chakra and the boy's tails, he immediately thought of the boy's identity!

"Blue B? Oh, no. At this point in time, it should be... Killer B!"

Just as Konoha had the Nine-Tails, Kurama, sealed within it, Kumogakure housed two Tailed Beasts. One of them was Gyuki, known as the Eight-Tails.

From what he remembered, Gyuki the Eight-Tails ranked second in strength among the Nine Tailed Beasts and was a giant ox with octopus tentacles for tails.

He had two horns on his head and a volatile temperament. During his time in Kumogakure, he had been sealed first inside Blue B and then inside Killer B.

Blue B was the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki before Killer B, as well as Killer B's first teacher. After Blue B died, Kumogakure assigned the role of Jinchūriki to Killer B.

Killer B was only thirteen or fourteen at this time, around the same age as the ninja who had come to take the Chunin Exams. But as Kumogakure's hidden fighting force for balancing its strength against the other hidden villages, Killer B's identity was not known to most people.

Liumu stopped walking. Looking at his opponent's transformed state, he suddenly took an interest and found himself wanting to test his strength against Killer B's Tailed Beast Transformation.

Killer B crouched on the ground, his body giving off an astonishing presence beneath the Tailed Beast Cloak. His three tails constantly shifted, each smashing toward Liumu's position.

Seeing this, Liumu used a fraction of his strength and dodged sideways, his figure as fast as lightning as he moved freely through clouds of smoke.

Watching his opponent's fourth tail gradually begin to take shape, Liumu smiled slightly. His figure flashed, and he appeared in front of the transformed Killer B.

He threw a punch, sending Killer B flying dozens of meters away.

As Killer B flew, a few drops of blood scattered through the air. He adjusted his posture in midair, and the instant he landed, he began condensing chakra in his mouth. Countless red and blue bubbles frantically gathered, and a fist-sized Tailed Beast Bomb immediately appeared.

With a bang, the Tailed Beast Bomb shot toward him.

"I wonder if Taotie's Gluttony is picky about what it eats."

Seeing this, Liumu countered the move, smiling as he guided the devouring power within his body. In an instant, red flames enveloped him. As he raised his hand, a powerful suction burst from his palm.

Watching the Tailed Beast Bomb before him rapidly shrink until it was completely absorbed, Liumu felt as though another surge of power had appeared within him, leaving him full of vigor.

Refined by Taotie's Three-Flavour Divine Fire, the Tailed Beast's chakra was gradually absorbed by Liumu.

Liumu clenched his fists, sensing the power inside him as a succession of crisp cracks rang from his closely aligned joints.

As the first Jinchūriki in the original story to completely master a Tailed Beast's power, Killer B possessed remarkable natural talent. But now, faced with such an overwhelming difference in strength, a Jinchūriki was still human and could not unleash one hundred percent of a Tailed Beast's power.

Still, Liumu was already quite satisfied with their bout. Unless Killer B could undergo a complete Tailed Beast Transformation now, continuing the fight would only waste time.

Moreover, a Tailed Beast's power was different from a human's. As someone constantly watched by Kumogakure's higher-ups, any unusual activity in Killer B's and the Eight-Tails' chakra would certainly draw considerable attention. Liumu did not want to cause a misunderstanding at this point, so he simply strode away, leaped off, and left.

Otogakure was a very closed-off small country that rarely participated in competition between the great nations.

As for the three people who had caught Liumu's attention today, he was almost certain they were several Jonin from Konoha in disguise using the Transformation Technique.

And Liumu happened to know all three of them.

After searching fruitlessly for a long time, Liumu finally managed to return to the Konoha lodgings. Upon entering, he discovered that neither Kakashi nor Suiguang had gone to sleep.

As a combat team, they generally shared a room, whether eating or sleeping.

Suiguang was holding a book, quietly reading by lamplight.

Kakashi sat curled up by the window, his expression gloomy, his thoughts unknown.

Liumu pushed the door open and entered. Suiguang immediately looked up and asked in a reproachful tone, "Liumu, where did you go?"

"Nowhere. Just wandered around for a while."

Liumu certainly did not want to tell them he had gotten lost. It was simply too embarrassing.

After speaking, Liumu returned to the tatami with a flushed face and covered himself completely with his quilt.

Seeing this, Suiguang and Kakashi exchanged a glance. Though they did not quite understand, they asked no further questions.

Only two days remained before the Chunin Exams. In the days that followed, the three focused on reviewing theoretical knowledge. At the same time, they also gained a basic understanding of one another's abilities.

Two days later...

Cloud Shadow Ninja Academy.

As A, the Third Raikage, officially announced the start of the Chunin Exams, a wave of shrill cheers immediately erupted from the crowd!

(Fun fact: every Raikage of Kumogakure was named A.)