A Deadly Encounter

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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Anko was explaining the exam rules with a grin, much to the participants' dread. She talked about death as if it were a ride in a theme park. I couldn't recall the anime precisely, but I remembered the key points of the anime. I knew the rules of the exam, so I wasn't listening to what she said.

Swish!

My instinct flared and my hand quickly caught the kunai flying at me. I twirled the kunai in my hand and then turned to Anko with a quirked eyebrow.

"You there, are you even listening to what I say?" she asked with a frown.

"Did you say something?" I asked Kakashi-esquely.

Anko's mouth twitched. She looked genuinely pissed by my comment. I quirked an eyebrow, wondering if she wasn't informed about my mission. I then remembered that she was just a Tokubetsu Jōnin. She might not be informed about my mission as she was yet to be considered a proper Jōnin.

Disappearing from my view, she reappeared behind me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, leaned on me, and let me feel her scantily dressed body.

"You are sure of your survival, aren't you?" she cooed seductively.

"I don't think assaulting a minor will do something good to your career," I said calmly.

Her long tongue came out of her mouth and licked my cheek. "Who cares? As long as I can have such a delicacy, I am willing to sacrifice my career."

Using Shunshin, I got out of her grasp and stood behind her. Before she could properly respond, I leaned forward and blew on her neck.

"Eep!"

"I prefer eating to being eaten," I whispered.

Anko shivered but quickly straightened herself. She shot me a flustered look before getting back to her spot before the gate. Clearing her throat, she resumed her explanation. She looked vexed when I ignored her but didn't say anything this time. After some time, she handed out the scroll to every team who quickly rushed into the forest upon getting theirs.

"Good luck, brat," she said as I took my team's scroll.

"I don't need that, sweetheart," I smirked lazily.

"Confident, aren't we?"

Checking the scroll, I found out we got the heaven scroll. I waved my hand at Anko and then proceeded into the forest, followed closely by my teammates.

"What is the plan?" Sasuke asked.

"We are going to break the record," I said simply.

"Yeah, how?" Sakura asked.

"We hunt, Sakura." Sensing a question coming, I continued, "I will lead you guys to the closest team. Don't be afraid to kill them."

I could sense a slight hesitance coming from them, but none of them protested. They had only killed bandits and Nukenin so far, so it was time for them to kill Shinobi from other villages just because. After jumping from branch to branch for five minutes, we encountered our first prey. It was the Genin team from Amegakure.

The trio were dressed nearly identically. Their face was mostly covered with bandages and I could barely tell a distinction in their facial features given the rebreather they were wearing. They were standing on the ground and looking around vigilantly. They knew something was amiss but couldn't figure out our position.

"Showcase your kunai-throwing skills, Sakura," I said quietly.

"Copy that."

Taking a kunai out of her pouch, Sakura threw it at one of the trio. Her throw was precise but was not fast enough to hit the target. The kunai ended up hitting the ground, right in the middle of the trio. The one that was almost hit looked up and found us perching on the tree. He was about to attack us when one of his teammates shouted in panic.

"It's an explosion tag!"

"Shi—"

Boom!

Explosion is art. Light covered the area where the trio was standing. When it died down, we could see scorched and slightly dented ground. The trio was nowhere to be found, but I knew they didn't die. They phased through the ground and emerged a few seconds later. Their skin and clothes were slightly singed, but they were fine.

One of them pulled out a crossbow and shot arrows at us. The speed of the arrows was comparable to the speed of the kunai thrown by Chūnin. We could easily dodge them, but the number of arrows being shot added to the challenge.

I dropped to the ground and dashed at the crossbow guy. I unsheathed my tantō and cut the annoying crossbow before he could move it out of the way. He took out a kunai in panic and blocked my tantō. His hands immediately gave up as they couldn't withstand my strength. I swung my tantō wildly, launching him away. While he was still in the air, I threw a kunai and hit him on where I assumed the spleen was.

"Kagari!" the teammate of the guy I just took down exclaimed.

"You don't turn your eyes away from your opponent," Sasuke who was facing the said teammate said calmly.

Clank!

The guy managed to block Sasuke's kunai. His water clones immediately joined the fight, but they did little to help him. Sasuke was bound to take him down. Tearing my eyes away from Sasuke, I looked at Sakura who was having quite a hard time against her opponent. Her opponent was using a Genjutsu on the surroundings, creating tens of figures that looked like him. I could see through the Genjutsu easily, but Sakura struggled to do that.

Deciding that my teammate would be fine, I walked to the guy I had taken down. He was still breathing, but I was sure he was dying. Checking through his pockets and pouches, I found what I needed from him—the scroll. Heaven favored me as I got an earth scroll. Now, the only thing we had to do was reach the tower in the center of the forest.

Turning to my teammates, I was in time to see Sasuke knocking his opponent out and Sakura driving her kunai into her opponent's abdomen. It was a sight to see. In the anime, Sakura was almost as useless as a knife in a gunfight and Sasuke was too angry to function properly. The scene almost brought a tear to my face.

Look at what I have accomplished. I managed to bring the best out of these child murderers!

Walking to them, I praised them for their job. They turned to me and then looked curiously at the scroll in my hand.

"We got the earth scroll. We are going to break the record." Gesturing at Sakura's struggling opponent, I added, "Knock him out, Sakura. We can't risk him getting a cheap shot at us."

"Oh, right…" Sakura looked quite shaken but still knocked her opponent decisively. "Are we going to head to the tower now?"

"That is rhetorical," Sasuke scoffed.

Turning in the tower's direction, we got onto a tree branch and continued our journey. I sensed a couple of teams nearby, but I ignored them. My job was to ensure my team's safety; not to eliminate every other Genin. A few minutes into our journey, we encountered a gigantic snake. I thought it was Orochimaru's Summon at first but immediately discarded the thought since the snake was by no means sentient.

We encountered a couple of gigantic creatures after that, but they posed no threat. They were tough but not hard to hit since they didn't fight with tactics. We were less than three kilometers away from the tower when I sensed a vile presence quickly approaching. A strong gale was quickly approaching, prompting me to use Fūton: Daitoppa.

Woosh!

The impact threw my startled teammates to the ground. I remained on the tree branch as I had a solid footing. Quickly dropping to the ground, I stood before my teammates as the attacker showed himself. It was a long-haired Genin with an androgynous face from Kusagakure. I knew better. He was Orochimaru.

"So, you are trying something," I remarked.

"What do you mean?" Orochimaru asked with a confused look.

"You are not fooling anyone, Orochimaru. You can't disguise your Chakra."

The stolen face tightened, but a smile quickly appeared on it. Orochimaru immediately ripped the stolen face off, revealing his actual pale face.

"An interesting one, aren't you?"

"Who is this person?" Sakura asked nervously.

"One of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru. Someone that could kill us," I answered before turning to Sasuke. "Head to the tower with Sakura and call for a backup."

"There is no way I am going to leave you behind," Sasuke refused with a scowl.

"I am not going to die, asshole. Go. I trust you."

Sasuke looked at me hesitantly before eventually nodding his head. I immediately took out Raijin no Ken and activated it. Orochimaru was right in front of me as soon as Sasuke turned around. I swung Raijin no Ken at him and he blocked it with a kunai. The lightning that Raijin no Ken produced electrocuted him, causing him to back off.

Orochimaru looked at Sasuke's retreating form in annoyance and then threw his kunai to the ground. Opening his mouth widely, he regurgitated a sword which I was sure was Kusanagi. He wielded it in his right hand and then thrust it at me while remaining in his place. The sword lengthened and I immediately swung Raijin no Ken upward to block the blade.

The force behind the sword was telling me I would have a good fight.