Chapter 22
Fujiwara Tetsuya tried to suppress the questions gnawing at him as he leaned against the tree. His eyes drifted shut, but the lingering image of Uchiha Mikoto's body flashed in his mind.
No! Eyes closed! Not happening!
"Hey, Tetsuya! Wake up, it's time!"
The early morning light trickled through the dense foliage, casting weak beams into the hollow of the tree. At Yamanaka Muto's insistence, Tetsuya lazily stretched and rubbed his eyes. As he glanced over to where Mikoto had been lying, she was already gone.
In the large tree hollow, only Muto and Tetsuya remained.
"Where's Mikoto?" Tetsuya mumbled, biting into the rice ball Muto handed him, speaking around a mouthful of food.
"She went ahead to scout the area. Finish eating, and we'll meet her."
"Let's get going. It's not safe for her to be alone out there."
Finishing the last bite of his rice ball, Tetsuya stood, gripping his small katana. The sleeves of his shirt still bore the dried, rust-colored stains of battle.
---
The first day of the second phase saw more eliminations than the initial exam. Teams were dropping like flies. Not only had Tetsuya's group taken out two teams from the Rain Village, but at least nine more squads had been wiped out or forced to withdraw due to injuries. The numbers were dwindling, but the remaining fights were growing fiercer.
"Magnet Release: Golden Spear!"
Somewhere deep in the forest, Rasa, the future Fourth Kazekage, stood tall in front of his squad from the Sand Village. With a wave of his hand, he summoned gold dust, spearing several ambushing shinobi from rival villages in one swift, brutal motion. His confidence radiated through every movement.
"Magnet Release, huh?"
"So, the rumors about the Sand Village are true. I never thought they'd actually send someone like you to the exam."
Rasa's enemies were a ragtag bunch—some from the Rain Village, others from the Rock Village, even a few from the Grass Country. It was clear they'd temporarily banded together for mutual benefit.
"You really think you can take our scroll? You're way out of your league." Rasa smirked. "Leave now, and I'll pretend nothing happened."
Golden dust churned at his feet, and though the amount wasn't overwhelming, in Rasa's hands, it was more than enough to repel the combined assault of ten rival shinobi.
"We'll remember this," one of the opponents spat, glaring at the growing spear in Rasa's hand.
"Mark my words, this isn't over. We'll meet again."
As soon as Rasa tightened his grip on the golden weapon, the surrounding shinobi scattered, retreating in different directions.
They had tested his strength and found it far beyond the level of a regular genin. Even a team of chunin would struggle against someone like him.
"Rasa, are you alright?" Karura rushed to his side, concern clear in her expression.
"I'm fine, Karura. These guys aren't even close to hurting me." He waved off her worry. "We need to keep moving. I have a feeling the scrolls are much scarcer than we think."
He was right.
To add to the chaos, Orochimaru had secretly ordered the Anbu to remove some of the scrolls from the field. There were now only about twenty left in the entire arena. Nearly sixty squads, all competing for twenty scrolls—the fights were bound to get uglier.
---
"Leave the scroll and scram, Cloud Village scum!"
On an open plain, the whistle of kunai and shuriken filled the air as a squad from the Leaf Village ambushed a team from the Cloud Village, blocking their path.
"You think taking our scroll will be that easy? Don't make me laugh." The future Fourth Raikage, Ay, toyed with the scroll in his hand, the raw power radiating off him like a storm.
"Arrogant bastard!" one of the Leaf genin spat. "Hand over the scroll, or we'll make sure you don't walk out of here alive."
This wasn't an ordinary Leaf Village squad. It consisted of shinobi from the Senju, Hyuga, Shimura, and Mitokado clans. Each of them had a storied lineage.
"Heh, you know why I brought you here?" A smirked. "Because this place is perfect for crushing you all in under a minute."
He tossed the scroll in the air. "Jin, Tama, stand back. I'll handle this."
His teammates caught the scroll, stepping aside without hesitation. They knew better than to get in his way.
"Big talk from a guy who's about to get burned!" a Leaf genin shouted as he weaved hand signs. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
"Water Style: Raging Waves!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
---
"Too slow!" A grinned, his body enveloped in crackling lightning. "Lariat!"
As the heir apparent to the Third Raikage, A was a prodigy among prodigies. He had already mastered the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, making his strength and speed unmatched by anyone his age. Within seconds, two Leaf genin lay dead, another seriously injured.
"Damn..." The remaining Leaf shinobi huddled together, their fear palpable. This guy wasn't normal. He was a monster.
"Cloud Village… the rumors were true. How can someone so young be this strong? Is it the Lightning Release? Or is it that secret technique, the Taijutsu of the Raikage?"
"You're all disappointingly weak," A scoffed. "Senju, Hyuga—I expected more."
He clenched his fists. "This game's over. Lightning Style: Thunder Bomb!"
---
In the depths of the Leaf Village's 37th training ground, two squads of Mist Village shinobi were in hot pursuit of a pair of Uzumaki genin. The fleeing pair—a boy and a girl, barely thirteen—were bruised, bloodied, and running on pure adrenaline.
"Namihana, I'm done for. My injuries are too severe. I'll stay behind and hold them off—you need to get out of here!" The boy, Heiji, gasped, barely keeping up.
"Shut up, Heiji!" Namihana snapped. "Asatsuki's already dead. If you die too, what's the point of me living?"
In the shinobi world, kids grew up fast—sometimes too fast.
"Namihana! There's someone southeast! We can head that way!" Despite his condition, Heiji's heightened sensory abilities kicked in. As an Uzumaki, he had a natural gift for sensing chakra.
"Is it another squad from the Leaf Village?"
"Yes!"
With newfound hope, they pushed forward. After what felt like an eternity, the two finally spotted three Leaf genin resting against a tree in the distance.
"We're saved! Over there!"
"We've got incoming!" One of the Leaf genin leapt to their feet, ready for another battle.
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