Chapter 127: If You Give Someone a Chance and They Can't Use It
I say, should we find a place to rest first?
said Haruko, who was walking at the very back.
His wet white hair clung to his cheeks, and water dripped from his body.
No need. We'll rest after we enter the Central Tower.
Haruko performed hand seals, and a gust of hot wind swirled around him—it was Wind Release combined with a touch of Fire Release.
But we don't have the Earth Scroll yet,
reminded Inuzuka Hana, who was scouting ahead. "Even for Gaimaru and me, it would take quite some time to find someone in a forest with a ten-kilometer radius."
That's why I said to go straight to the Central Tower,
Haruko said, patting his clothes, which were almost dry. "Everyone who wants to pass the exam will eventually have to report to the tower. Instead of us looking for them in the forest, we might as well go to the tower entrance and wait for them to deliver the goods."
But other teams will definitely think the same way and ambush the area around it...
That's a good thing. Then we can just rob them. Besides, at our speed, we should arrive faster than the others, and by then, it will be us ambushing them.
No, no...
No, no, no...
After some back-and-forth, the three finally reached a consensus—they would spend the daytime searching for isolated teams in the forest.
If they hadn't found one by the time the sun set, they would head straight to the Central Tower.
During a night battle, Uchiha Matsuri's Sharingan and Inuzuka Hana's sense of smell would provide a huge advantage, allowing them to launch a direct surprise attack on the teams ambushing around the tower and seize their scrolls.
More importantly—there were too many mosquitoes in the forest, and even with Ninjutsu for daily life, Haruko didn't want to camp out.
The three wandered around the forest for another two hours until a sudden explosion echoed from afar.
Finally found them.
Haruko took the lead and charged out once again.
Inuzuka Hana and Uchiha Matsuri, who had been left behind, exchanged a glance and shook their heads helplessly.
...
In the forest clearing, the fierce battle had reached a fever pitch.
Damn it! Are these Amegakure hidden weapons endless?!
Mino Ichi roared, his entire body pierced by five or six senbon.
He swung his fist to shatter a flying rock, but his movements were clearly much slower—the senbon were poisoned.
Maki Retsu leaned against a tree trunk, one lens of his glasses shattered, desperately performing hand seals to cast Wind Release for interference. However, the three Amegakure ninja on the opposite side were working in perfect sync, giving him no chance to build up chakra.
As for Kamano, who should have been covering Maki Retsu, he was being beaten so badly by an Amegakure ninja that he couldn't even look after himself, and the opponent even had the spare energy to support their companions.
Give it up, you Konoha brats.
The lead Amegakure ninja sneered, twirling the mechanical umbrella in his hand. "Hand over the Earth Scroll, and we might spare your lives."
In your dreams...
Mino Ichi spat out a mouthful of blood, a look of determination flashing in his eyes; he was ready to risk it all.
Then go to hell!
The Amegakure ninja threw the mechanical umbrella into the air. "Ninjutsu: Rain of Senbon."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Hundreds of senbon shot out from the mechanical umbrella, enveloping Mino Ichi like a torrential downpour.
Mino Ichi!
You still have time to worry about others?
Maki Retsu and Kamano wanted to provide support, but they were suppressed by the enemies in front of them and could only watch helplessly as Mino Ichi was swallowed by the rain of senbon.
Get down!
A familiar voice rang out from the forest, causing Mino Ichi to instinctively follow the order. "Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
Three layers of earth walls rose from the ground, shielding Mino Ichi in a hemispherical shape.
Thud, thud, thud—
The rain of senbon struck the earth walls, sending chunks of dirt flying.
It's useless. My senbon can even pierce iron plates.
More senbon hit the earth walls, and in the blink of an eye, the three layers of walls shattered and collapsed—
But the victim, who was expected to be turned into a pincushion, had disappeared.
Over there!
Not far away, Haruko threw Mino Ichi, whom he was carrying, behind a tree.
Why is it you!
The Amegakure ninja recognized Haruko and instinctively took a step back.
Since you've recognized me, that saves some trouble.
Haruko glanced at Mino Ichi's condition, confirming he wouldn't die for a while.
He then calmly looked at the three Amegakure ninja who were acting as if they were facing a great enemy: "I suppose this counts as cheating for them, so for the sake of fairness, I'll give you a chance."
Hand over the scroll, and I'll allow you to leave.
You, you guy! What kind of joke is that!
The Amegakure ninja's forehead veins popped, and he raised his mechanical umbrella again. "Although you are strong, isn't this too arrogant!"
Tsk, tsk, tsk. If you're given a chance and you can't use it...
Seeing the mechanical umbrella being thrown into the air again, Haruko quickly performed hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique."
So fast, this speed of hand seals...
The Amegakure ninja, who had intended to hinder Haruko's hand seals to cover his companions, had to face the oncoming fire dragon before he could even act. The three had no choice but to scatter and evade.
Wind Release: Fly Swatter.
Haruko raised his hand and swatted the mechanical umbrella in mid-air onto the top of one of their heads. "Hey, you dropped your stuff."
Wha?!
The Amegakure ninja's expression changed drastically, and he scrambled to escape—
It's going to rain, so I'll hold an umbrella for you. Don't thank me, my name is Lei Kaede...
The mechanical umbrella's trigger was activated, and it opened right in front of him.
Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft—
Senbon shot out, and there was one more "cactus" on the ground.
Haruko! You guy!
You actually abandoned us again!
Turning his head to look, Uchiha Matsuri and Inuzuka Hana had finally arrived late and were already engaging one of the Amegakure ninja.
Five against one, it was a completely one-sided battle, and the two girls even had the spare time to complain.
As for the other one—
Yun, Haruko...
Kamano trembled, his voice laced with tears.
He had been captured alive by the last Amegakure ninja, with several senbon held against his neck.
If you don't want this guy to get hurt...
Kamano, stand still and don't move.
Haruko ignored the opponent's threat and drew his blade.
You guy, you really don't care...
Water Breathing: Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust.
Accompanied by ripples, a blue line flashed past.
The chasm-like gap in strength meant the Amegakure ninja couldn't react until his head was pierced.
Red and white splattered all over Kamano's face, and he slumped to the ground, his legs shaking.
On the other side, the Amegakure ninja who was being ganged up on by two girls and three Ninja Hounds was also soon struggling to defend, and was hit in a vital spot.
Uchiha Matsuri glanced at Haruko, and seeing him shake his head, she raised a Kunai to end the Amegakure ninja's suffering.
Maki Retsu was dumbfounded.
This was an Amegakure team that had pushed them into a desperate situation and possessed strength approaching that of a Chunin!
But he quickly came back to his senses: "Thank you, Haruko."
Hmm.
Haruko responded casually, bending down to treat Mino Ichi's injuries. "Don't move."
Green light glowed on his hands as Haruko began to pull out the senbon.
Mino Ichi gritted his teeth, cold sweat dripping down his cheeks.
Why is it another Earth Scroll!
Uchiha Matsuri angrily threw the scroll she had searched from the Amegakure corpse onto the ground.
Haruko, who had finished simply treating Mino Ichi's wounds, stood up and reached out to Maki Retsu: "It's all with you, right? Hand it over."
Maki Retsu sighed and took out three scrolls from his embrace—Earth Scrolls.
Here.
Hey! That's ours... never mind...
Kamano struggled to get up and protest, but under everyone's gaze, his voice grew smaller and smaller, and finally, he sat back down.
Earth Scroll obtained. Mission accomplished. Let's go to the tower to catch up on sleep.
Haruko tucked the scroll into his clothes and called out to Inuzuka Hana and Uchiha Matsuri.
He hadn't walked many steps before he stopped again.
That Amegakure team had Chunin-level strength, but in this exam venue, they wouldn't even rank in the top five.
Next time, you might not be so lucky. Whether you want to continue, you'd better think it over carefully.
After speaking, he walked away without looking back.
Behind him came Maki Retsu's muffled voice:
...Thank you.
Haruko waved his hand without responding.
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