Konohagakure, Hokage's Office.
One intelligence report after another was delivered to the administrative center of the village by the ANBU.
While the Uchiha Police Force was responsible for maintaining public order on the surface, the ANBU operated covertly, spreading their surveillance network throughout the entire village.
Beyond keeping an eye on foreign shinobi and responding immediately to any major incidents, the ANBU had another crucial task—gathering intelligence on shinobi from other villages and promptly relaying it to the Hokage's Office.
Conflicts between shinobi, who had long been at odds with one another, were inevitable. These tensions provided Konoha with ample opportunities to collect valuable intelligence.
In fact, Konoha's public training grounds served a similar purpose. Everyone understood this unspoken truth.
If Sunagakure were hosting the Chūnin Exams, or if any other village held a joint exam, the same strategies would be at play.
"I'll give you some information today, and tomorrow, you'll give me some in return." Following the unwritten rules of the game, all sides participated willingly.
After all, the intelligence being exchanged was mostly about genin and chūnin—nothing particularly valuable.
Some of these young shinobi might grow into jōnin in the future, but relying solely on intelligence from their genin and chūnin days would only prove harmful to their opponents in the long run.
After extensive intelligence gathering, Konoha had compiled a list of the most noteworthy foreign shinobi participating in this exam:
Akaiwa, the apprentice of the Third Tsuchikage from Iwagakure; Sasori, the grandson of Chiyo and a rumored prodigy in puppet craftsmanship from Sunagakure; and Yagura, a completely unknown quantity from Kirigakure.
"These reports—take a look. Make sure your students keep an eye on these individuals."
The Third Hokage exhaled a puff of smoke from his pipe and tapped the stack of intelligence files on his desk.
Seated across from him were the jōnin team leaders of the participating Konoha genin teams.
"Yes, sir!"
None of them had anything to add. But if Yagura had known which Konoha genin were participating, he might have been surprised.
Among them was Sarutobi Asuma, whom he had met earlier.
Alongside him were Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, and other familiar names.
...
With half a month remaining until the Chūnin Exams, the countdown had begun.
After parting ways with Sasori, Yagura had spent the past two weeks training intensely with his teammates, rarely stepping outside.
Despite Sasori's promise to reach out again, no further messages had come.
On the final night before the exam, Ringo Ameyuri wasted no time, dragging Mukumo into a two-on-one spar against Yagura to test their training results.
"Lightning Release: Scattered Thunder Strike!!"
Ameyuri stabbed both of her twin blades into the ground, channeling her chakra through the hilts. Twin arcs of lightning shot into the sky before crashing down toward Yagura.
"Interesting technique."
Yagura swiftly maneuvered backward, flipping and repositioning himself to dodge each lightning strike as they scorched the ground where he had just stood.
A sudden wave of searing heat rushed toward him.
He ducked low to avoid it, then glanced to his five o'clock position.
Mukumo had conjured twenty clouds around him, forming a hand seal. Instantly, the white clouds ignited into flames.
"Cloud Release: Flaming Cloud Barrage!"
With his index and middle fingers extended, Mukumo directed the fiery clouds to launch at Yagura.
Still evading Ameyuri's lightning strikes, Yagura watched as the fiery projectiles closed in on him from all directions. The moment they entered his attack radius, his water blade flashed.
His strikes were so fast they were nearly invisible, slicing each flaming cloud in half.
As Yagura sheathed his blade, the twenty clouds split apart and dissipated.
Boom!
Another lightning bolt struck!
This time, Yagura didn't dodge. Instead, he raised his left fist and took the full brunt of the attack, allowing the blue lightning to envelop him.
"Yes! Got him!" Ameyuri exclaimed excitedly.
"No, not yet!" Mukumo's sharp eyes caught something through the smoke.
Yagura's eyes suddenly snapped open, perfectly clear and unscathed—he showed no signs of injury.
Crack... crack...
Chunks of blackened coral, charred by the lightning, crumbled from Yagura's hand.
Ameyuri's expression darkened. "So he protected himself with coral?"
That explained why the lightning attack had done no harm.
Mukumo sighed, feeling drained. "Just how many tricks do you have up your sleeve?"
"Well, now, that's not something I can just reveal," Yagura replied with a shrug, channeling chakra to repair the damaged coral armor on his body.
This technique was inspired by Gaara's Sand Armor. It hadn't taken Yagura long to replicate it.
While the coral armor compensated for a shinobi's natural low defense, it shared the same drawback as Gaara's sand—it added weight and slightly slowed movement.
However, what was a disadvantage for someone like Gaara, who lacked physical combat skills, was merely additional weight training for Yagura.
"Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu!"
Yagura turned his focus to Ameyuri.
Having experienced this jutsu's power firsthand, she immediately reacted, channeling Lightning Release into her legs and vanishing from her original spot in an instant.
During this period of intensive training, Ameyuri had honed her Lightning Flicker Technique to near perfection.
However, her chakra reserves weren't limitless. She couldn't maintain the technique indefinitely like Yagura could.
"Ameyuri! The air isn't a great escape route," Yagura warned.
The forming water prison suddenly split apart, tendrils of liquid lashing toward her midair.
"Damn it!"
Mukumo refused to stand by and watch. One of his hands transformed into a cloud and extended, grabbing Ameyuri and pulling her out of danger.
At that moment—
A flash of steel!
Yagura, seizing the distraction, closed the distance and slashed straight through Mukumo's extended arm, severing it.
Before Mukumo could react, a flurry of precise strikes rained upon him at close range!
Forced to disperse into mist, Mukumo barely managed to retreat, reassembling himself from his severed body parts.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Ameyuri descended, bringing both blades down in a powerful strike to cut off Yagura's pursuit.
Yagura blocked her left sword with his short blade and sidestepped her right swing, countering with a thrust of his own.
She deflected it with a parry, then followed up with a sweeping slash.
Yagura retreated, dodging, but she pressed forward with another downward cut.
"What?!"
Ameyuri's eyes widened in shock.
Yagura had caught her blade with his bare left hand!
Lightning chakra crackled between them as their techniques clashed.
Her sword refused to budge, as though caught in a vise.
Bam!
Yagura capitalized on her opening, delivering a powerful kick to her chin, sending her flying!
Mukumo barely managed to extend a cloud-like arm to catch her before she crashed to the ground.
But before he could react further—
Yagura appeared before him, pressing a hand to his chest and releasing a jolt of lightning, paralyzing him instantly.
"Damn…" Mukumo gritted his teeth.
Their battle had been overwhelmingly one-sided.
...
Watching from the shadows, Jinin Akebino took a sip of sake, amused.
"They're good… Ameyuri and Mukumo have potential. Given time, they'll make fine jōnin."
But his gaze hardened as he muttered, "Still… that Yagura kid… he's got a real punchable face. Feels like he's begging for a beating."
Yagura, sensing the scrutiny, ignored it.
Wiping a small wound on his cheek, he sheathed his blade.
"That's enough for today."
His teammates, exhausted and drained of chakra, were quick to agree.
Tomorrow, the real challenge would begin.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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