The remnants of the insects' corpses fell in scattered fragments.
Being swarmed by those bugs was an unpleasant experience—especially since they fed on chakra.
Having lost a considerable amount in just a short span, Mukumo let out a weary breath. His flame-colored eyes, set against the backdrop of his Ember Cloud technique, locked onto the three Konoha shinobi before him.
He had infused his fire-natured chakra into his Cloud Release technique.
This wasn't the usual soft, misty cloud form of Cloud Release. His entire body radiated searing heat, the fiery hue of his chakra burning away the insects clinging to him.
Compared to other chakra natures, Cloud Release was inherently more fluid, making it highly adaptable for shape transformations.
By integrating additional elemental chakras into it, he had developed powerful offensive techniques.
"Cloud Release: Cloud Blast!"
"Cloud Release: Storm Tempest!"
With a wave of his left hand, a blazing fireball surged toward the retreating insects, incinerating everything in its path.
Simultaneously, his right hand controlled a storm-infused cloud, its razor-sharp winds slicing through the remaining swarm.
In mere seconds, the enemy's offensive was dismantled. The combined force of wind and fire propelled the cloud bullets straight toward the Konoha team.
Despite wearing sunglasses, Aburame Seiko's displeasure was evident. He withdrew his insects and took a cautious step back.
"So, he has this kind of jutsu..."
His kikaichū were at a clear disadvantage against this opponent.
"Beast Human Clone!"
Mukumo's attack was imminent.
Inuzuka Midori quickly formed seals, her companion, the ninken Gukumaru, transforming into an identical copy of her and merging at her side.
Together, the two unleashed their clan's secret technique:
"Fang Over Fang!"
Their combined spinning attack generated a powerful vortex, colliding head-on with the cloud bullets. The intense rotation disrupted the attack's momentum, scattering embers into the air before they faded away.
For the moment, Mukumo's assault had been neutralized, but neither Hyūga Satoshi nor Aburame Seiko felt any relief.
Three against one—and yet they were the ones being overwhelmed.
And now, his teammates had arrived.
"Oh? Looks like I'm not too late. The fight's still going."
Mukumo glanced back to see two figures perched atop a tree behind him.
Yagura waved with a casual smile before sitting cross-legged to observe the fight. Ringo Ameyuri simply crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow in his direction.
They had no intention of stepping in. That was a relief.
Mukumo had rushed ahead for a reason—he wanted to pull off a stylish solo victory, just like Ameyuri often did.
Was he taking too long?
He decided to settle this with the next move.
"Cloud Release: Cloud Blast!"
"Cloud Release: Storm Tempest!"
Dozens of cloud bullets materialized.
But this time, there were variations—some shimmered with water, others crackled with lightning, and a few carried a mixture of mud and debris.
"Cloud Release: Drizzle Scatter!"
"Cloud Release: Little Thundercloud!"
"Cloud Release: Cloud Quagmire!"
Five different types of cloud bullets, each infused with a distinct elemental chakra, floated at Mukumo's side.
The Konoha team stared in shock.
"What?!"
This Kirigakure ninja... he possessed five chakra natures?!
Just like the Third Hokage?!
Having more than three chakra natures was incredibly rare, with shinobi like Sarutobi Hiruzen and Hatake Kakashi being among the few exceptions. Throughout the entire shinobi world, such individuals were nearly unheard of.
Most shinobi, even among the elites, possessed only two elemental affinities at most.
Yet this Kirigakure shinobi had five—on top of his Bloodline Limit.
"Doesn't matter if it's five or ten!"
Inuzuka Midori crouched low, body tensed for another Fang Over Fang.
"None of it means a thing if you can't stop me and Gukumaru!"
...
"Gukumaru?"
Her ninken wasn't beside her.
She turned to look—Gukumaru was cowering behind Hyūga Satoshi, front paws covering his head as he trembled.
"Whimper..."
"Calm down."
Satoshi stepped in front of Midori, then glanced toward Seiko. Their eyes met, wordlessly reaching the same conclusion.
They couldn't win. They needed to retreat.
Seiko unfastened the tag marked with 'No. 55' from his clothing and tossed it to Satoshi. The latter raised both hands, stepping forward.
"This is what you want, right?"
With all his strength, he hurled it high into the air!
Without hesitation, he turned and bolted, dragging his teammates along with him.
"...!"
Mukumo was momentarily caught off guard by their actions but quickly raised a hand.
His elongated cloud limb shot up, effortlessly catching the tag mid-air.
Despite the sheer force behind Satoshi's throw, the cloud hand absorbed the impact, only bulging slightly before securing its grip.
Retracting his hand, Mukumo glanced at the direction the Konoha team had fled.
They were still within his sensory range. He could chase them down easily if he wanted to.
But he had achieved his goal—there was no need for unnecessary trouble.
He turned back to see Yagura and Ameyuri approaching.
After a brief moment of thought, Mukumo simply raised two fingers in silent victory.
Mission accomplished.
Yeah.
...
Death Forest Central Tower
"Are you kidding me?!"
Inside the surveillance room, a chunin proctor suddenly stood up with a shout!
With a loud crash, his chair toppled over.
The other chunin, who had been nodding off in boredom, instantly snapped their heads up in alarm.
As the chief proctor, Nara Shikaku was also present in the tower's monitoring room, which displayed footage from various points in the exam area. He approached the outburst.
"What happened?"
"Chief Proctor, sir! My apologies for the outburst."
The chunin pointed at one of the screens, still looking stunned. "But we already have examinees who completed the test."
"What?!"
"How long has it even been?"
"Twenty minutes, I think."
"Twenty-one minutes and twenty-six seconds."
On the monitor, Yagura's team stood before the tower's entrance, presenting their tags to the gate examiner.
After verification, they were granted entry.
Exam passed.
"These guys are monsters."
A chunin scratched his head. He had taken the Chunin Exams in the same batch as Hatake Kakashi, one of Konoha's legendary prodigies, who had set a record back then.
"Normally, the fastest completion time for this exam is two days."
As Shikaku watched the trio stride down the hallway, surprise flickered across his usually unreadable face.
"Chief Proctor! Another team just arrived!"
This time, Shikaku's expression slipped. He quickly stepped forward to check the monitor.
Not Konoha shinobi.
They were from Iwagakure.
Yagura was surprised to see another team completing the exam so soon.
He recognized them.
"Yo."
Leaning against the wall, Yagura casually greeted them. "Long time no see, kids."
Two of the Iwa shinobi took a step back—having been beaten by him before.
"...Would've preferred not seeing you again."
"Hahaha!"
Akaiwa, the loudest of the three, strode up enthusiastically.
"I knew you'd pass! We actually get to meet again! Last time was too rushed—I didn't get to properly introduce myself! I'm Akaiwa from Iwagakure! Let's get along!"
"Karatachi Yagura."
Yagura remembered the broad-shouldered, dark-skinned teen. He had helped block an attack from Sasori.
"Thanks for that, back then."
"Ah, no big deal! My teammates messed up, so consider that an apology!!"
Loud.
Yagura sighed internally.
Why did this guy have to end every sentence with an exclamation mark?
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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