"I didn't expect to run into you guys so soon!"
The voice from the treetop made both Squad Three and Maki's team stop their fight at once.
It was the Iwagakure Gangtu Squad! Judging by their timing, they must have been drawn here by the commotion.
A normal fight wouldn't have caused such a disturbance— but this battle had involved ninjutsu, explosive tags, and even a massive summoning that looked like an S-rank forbidden technique.
Sunset!
The power and spectacle of that jutsu were both overwhelming—anyone within range who wasn't blind would have noticed and rushed over.
Now, three teams stood facing each other in a tense standoff.
No one dared to move first. Because the moment one team tried to disengage, the remaining two could easily turn and focus their attacks on them.
Everyone knew— the best move here was to retreat.
But the countless cameras around them made that option awkward to even bring up.
"I think we should deal with the hunters first, don't you?" Shien finally spoke up.
He wasn't one to seek attention, but if he didn't step in now, he might not live to regret it.
Forced by circumstance— that was the only way to describe his current predicament.
Maki fell into thought, clearly weighing the proposal. But Gangtu, still high on his recent success after claiming his token, refused outright:
"Just a bunch of rats. Let's show the ninja world who the true genius is!"
To be fair, the chance to face both Maki and Kakashi at once was too rare for him to pass up.
If he missed this fight, he might never get another like it.
After all, the third exam was individual combat— and there was no guarantee they'd even cross paths.
If that happened, then even if he won in the end, his "victory" would lack weight.
But Iwagakure needed a genius—someone who could stand as their symbol.
So no, Gangtu wasn't being foolish. He was making the calculated, patriotic choice to take the risk for his village.
"Earth Release: Stone Spear Forest!"
Rejecting the suggestion, Gangtu immediately launched an attack.
Swish, swish!
From beneath the ground, countless stone spears shot upward— if not for both teams' quick reflexes, they would've been skewered like kebabs.
The battle ignited!
Facing such open provocation, neither Kakashi nor Maki could back down. They were forced to fight.
And as if things weren't bad enough, the hidden hunters among the examinees were surely on their way now.
Shien was done. Absolutely done. If he could've, he'd have grabbed a bucket and bolted already.
"You guys—!"
Suddenly, two genin charged straight into the battlefield. And they ran right toward the three "genius" teams from the Great Villages.
"Careful!"
Shien's instincts screamed that something was wrong. He shouted a warning.
It was too unnatural. Real hunter-genin would've stayed hidden and waited for the perfect ambush. Charging in like this was just asking to die.
Which meant—they weren't what they appeared to be.
Kakashi caught the warning and began keeping a close eye on the two as he fought, deliberately avoiding them.
"Don't get in my way!"
Gangtu shouted irritably and lashed out at them.
He'd been dominating the fight, proving himself superior to Kakashi and Maki, and was in no mood to have some randoms interrupt him.
But the moment he struck—he realized something was off.
Bang! Bang!
The two genin's Transformation Jutsu broke apart, revealing their true forms— two adult ninja, one wearing a Konoha forehead protector, the other from Sunagakure.
Central Tower, Forest of Death
"…!"
Watching the surveillance feed, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened.
There was no mistaking it—this was a major failure on Konoha's part.
If they'd been hunters mixed in among the examinees, that would've been excusable— the three Great Villages had agreed to turn a blind eye to that kind of infiltration.
But these two adult shinobi clearly hadn't entered that way. Which meant it was entirely Konoha's fault.
Still, with two other Kage sitting beside him, Hiruzen couldn't lose composure. He quietly signaled for someone else to handle it.
"ANBU! Capture the intruders immediately!"
The command came from Homura Mitokado, one of Konoha's elder advisors, who also held authority over the ANBU.
And not just Konoha— the other two Great Villages gave the same order in secret.
On the surface, the three Kage looked calm, as if everything was under control— but inwardly, they were panicking.
Those genin out there represented their villages' future.
If it weren't for the presence of nobles and merchants watching the exam, they'd have jumped into the forest themselves.
All around, ANBU and proctors rushed toward the battle like madmen.
Meanwhile—
"Run!"
Gangtu, realizing what they were up against, shouted to his teammates.
But— instead of fleeing, both of them stepped in front of him.
They knew perfectly well— Gangtu was the village's future.
Iwagakure could afford to lose them, but not him.
Gangtu flipped backward to gain distance, landing with practiced grace, hands flying through seals—
"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
With a low shout, he slammed his palms to the ground.
Boom!
The earth trembled as a wall several meters high and dozens long shot upward, dividing the battlefield.
If the enemy tried to go around it, he'd have a chance to counter or escape.
Unfortunately for him— these weren't genin or even chunin. They were jonin-level infiltrators who wouldn't give him that chance.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
The Konoha-nin formed seals in a blur and unleashed a B-rank Lightning Technique.
A B-rank versus a C-rank— just one level apart on paper, but the gap in power was astronomical.
And worse—Lightning beats Earth.
Zzzzzrak!
Searing bolts of electricity sliced through the air, the crackling arcs cutting Gangtu's stone wall like paper.
It was like chopping through tofu.
B-rank techniques involved nature transformation, something no genin or average chunin could pull off.
And the power difference showed.
(You get it now, right? Just how absurd it was that Sasuke could use an A-rank jutsu during the Chunin Exams in the future?)
The kid really was talented— but in the ninja world, bloodline and cheats reigned supreme.
Naruto had the Uzumaki bloodline and the ultimate cheat—the Nine Tails. No wonder poor Sasuke ended up feeling so overshadowed he had to pack his bags and defect to Orochimaru.
When the lightning faded, a cry came from behind the crumbling wall.
"Captain!"
Gangtu lay unconscious, his two teammates shielding him with their bodies. A deep, blackened wound marred his chest—clearly the aftermath of the lightning strike.
Thankfully, with chakra strengthening their bodies, ninjas had far greater resistance to damage.
That was the only reason he was still alive. An ordinary person would've been cut clean in half.
Jonin— their power was not something genin or chunin could even dream of challenging.
"Retreat!"
Shien didn't need to be told twice. He'd seen Gangtu's fate and immediately signaled his squad to fall back.
Maki's team made the same choice.
The two infiltrator jonin hesitated briefly, then after confirming Gangtu was still alive, split up and gave chase— one after each fleeing team.
They were going for all of them.
Every genius from the three Great Villages— they wanted them all dead.
At that moment, the feed from the tower monitors suddenly went black.
Several areas of the Forest of Death were now pocked with craters, the buried wiring shredded and destroyed.
That was why the surveillance had cut out.
It was clear now— this operation had been meticulously planned from the very start.
The real hunt had begun.
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