Hashihime looked at Shinsei, and Shinsei shrugged. Reconnaissance and sensory ninjutsu had always been his weak points. Still, he had kept feeling that someone was following them. This was the result of the powerful spiritual energy his rebirth had brought him, like a sudden premonition, and it was not accurate. Or rather, quantity had yet to turn into quality.
"Sai, you're new, and we still don't know much about you." Shinsei gestured with his chin toward the three people opposite them. "Can you handle them?"
Sai turned toward Shinsei, his face blank.
"Go on. I'll back you up." Shinsei had made up his mind to see what Sai could do. Ideally, their opponents would put up a good fight and kill Sai outright. That way, no one could pin it on him. Who knew their new teammate would be so weak? Who could be blamed if he died?
Hashihime leaned against a large tree, glancing sideways at Sai as her slender fingers toyed with the hair beside her ear. She smiled without speaking.
"You think so little of us?" The middle-aged ninja in white wore a Takigakure forehead protector. A vicious grin curled his lips as his hands rapidly formed hand seals. "Let us show you what we can do!"
Ninja Art: Senbon Burst!
A dense barrage of Water Release senbon, like enormous steel needles, shot toward the three of them.
Shinsei leaped up onto a higher branch.
The massive tree trunk, which would have taken several people linking arms to encircle, was riddled with countless finger-thick, deep holes from the water senbon.
"Hey, work on your aim." Shinsei lowered his head from the tree and smiled at the three opponents.
"Brat, you're asking to die!"
Sai leaned halfway out from behind the tree and swiftly unfurled the scroll in his hands. His brush raced across it, and in the blink of an eye, a black panther appeared on the scroll.
Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitating Drawing!
A majestic black panther made of ink sprang out of the scroll and charged toward the three Taki ninja.
The two large trees stood a dozen or so meters apart. The panther easily cleared the distance in one great leap, lunging at the white-clad ninja with its jaws wide open.
The white-clad ninja dodged sideways, and the panther's sharp claws gouged enormous claw marks into the huge tree's branch.
"Hey!" Somewhat flustered, the white-clad ninja snapped at his teammates. "Are you just going to watch?"
Shinsei raised an eyebrow. Oh? Those three don't seem to work together all that well either.
Crunch! The panther bit clean through the branch, which slid toward the ground with a tremendous crash.
"Now, now, don't be so impatient." The tall, short-haired kunoichi drew the longsword from her back. "You looked like you were having fun!"
The other man, dressed in black, said nothing. He took two short metal rods from his back and leisurely twisted them together.
Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitating Drawing!
A second beast made of ink sprang out of Sai's scroll and bounded onto the opposite branch.
The short-haired kunoichi swung her sword. The ink panther leaped aside, only for her to catch up with a Body Flicker Technique and slice it in half with her longsword. It turned into a puddle of ink that splattered onto the grass.
Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitating Drawing!
Two more ink beasts appeared and joined forces to attack the three opponents.
The man in black swung his metal staff hard, smashing an ink beast's head into liquid ink.
The man in white finally found an opening. Forming hand seals, he wrapped a long Water Release whip around an ink beast and crushed it into scattered ink. He raised his head and glared viciously at Shinsei, who was watching the show from above.
Why was he targeting me now? Did he think I was easy to bully because I was young?
The three opponents exchanged glances, then suddenly leaped over together. The man in black swung his steel staff at Sai, the short-haired woman slashed at Hashihime, and the man in white lashed his Water Release whip toward Shinsei.
A large ink bird emerged from behind the tree, grabbed Sai by both arms, and flapped its wings to carry him higher. A metal staff immediately split the branch Sai had been standing on in two, sending wood chips flying.
Hashihime's smile remained, but it turned cold. She sidestepped the slash and extended both hands. One slapped the flat of the sword, knocking it aside to cut into the tree, while blue chakra flared from her other hand, which swept effortlessly along the short-haired woman's right arm.
The force transmitted through the sword pulled the short-haired woman off balance. At the same time, intense pain shot through her right arm, and she instantly lost all feeling below the joint.
Watching the water whip coil toward him in loop after loop, Shinsei could not help curling his lips upward. Water Release Ninjutsu, huh.
A little chakra emerged from two fingers on Shinsei's right hand, suddenly growing larger and longer. Between the start of his swing and its halfway point, the short little section had become a three-meter chakra sword. It sliced the oncoming water whip in two, then, without slowing, sheared two fingers off the white-clad ninja's hand while he was still in midair.
In the blink of an eye, two of their opponents had lost the ability to fight. The white-clad ninja landed on a branch, clutching his profusely bleeding right hand as cold sweat poured off him from the pain.
The short-haired woman braced herself against the tree trunk, her right arm hanging down, and looked at Hashihime's faint, cold smile.
"Chakra Scalpel?"
"You know your stuff." Hashihime smiled. "You've lost. Hand over your mission scroll and leave. If you hurry, your injuries can still be treated."
The black-clad ninja had just smashed a large tree in half at the trunk, only to find his teammates looking ready to surrender in the blink of an eye. He froze for a moment and nearly had his eyes clawed out by an attacking ink bird, leaving him no choice but to dodge aside and consider his options.
He looked at his teammates. One had a chakra sword held across his throat, while the other's right arm hung limp, clearly no longer functioning normally. After a moment's thought, he tossed aside the scroll tucked inside his clothes.
The Land of Fire and the Land of Waterfalls were not enemy nations, nor was there any major conflict between their ninja villages. Although killing was permitted in an event like the Chunin Ninja Exams, Shinsei was no murderous maniac.
The white-clad ninja wore a miserable expression and did not dare make any grand threats. As someone who also used water release chakra, he knew full well the significance of Shinsei's hand-seal-free Water Release Ninjutsu. He picked up his two severed fingers. He had heard Konoha Hospital was quite good; hopefully, they could reattach them.
The defeated trio did not dare delay and quickly withdrew.
Sai picked up the mission scroll their opponents had left behind. As though being made to face the enemy alone had never happened, he smiled with narrowed eyes.
"It happens to be an Earth Scroll. We can turn in the mission now."
Shinsei did not care what scroll it was. He had planned to coast along anyway, and the later matches had nothing to do with him. He nodded and said:
"Then let's turn it in. Who's there?"
His spiritual energy, far beyond that of an ordinary person, let Shinsei sense a momentary incongruity behind a large tree, as though some primordial beast were hiding there. He could not help turning to stare coldly at the spot.
Clap, clap, clap!
The applause carried far through the quiet forest, coming from a woman wearing a bamboo hat behind a distant tree.
"As expected of Konoha's young genius. I've long heard of you, Shinsei-kun!" A hoarse female voice came from afar, clear to everyone in the silent forest.
The newcomer wore a loose yellow robe, her eyes holding the suggestion of a smile. A tongue slipped out to lightly lick the corner of her slightly parted mouth.
As Shinsei looked at the newcomer, he felt his hair stand on end, and a chill ran through him from head to toe!
Barring any surprises, the newcomer was none other than-
Orochimaru!