Chapter 308: Last Stand (4k)

"Is Kirigakure trying to start a war with us, daring to do something like this!" Hiruzen Sarutobi, watching through the surveillance, frowned deeply.

Although it was a joint event between the two villages, the host was Konoha, and Kirigakure was required to provide basic information on their participating ninjas, so Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that the sudden black-clad Kirigakure ninja was not an examinee.

"Do they have your Flying Thunder God technique seal on them?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, looking at Minato Namikaze.

Kirigakure's actions were extremely puzzling and infuriated Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he understood that the most important thing now was to ensure the safety of the examinees, and only then to confront Kirigakure.

Genius ninjas like Kakashi, as long as they grew up normally, would surely become renowned strong ninjas. If they died because of this, Konoha's loss would be tremendous.

"No." Minato shook his head. If they had, he would have teleported there immediately.

During the mission involving the Fourth Raikage, Minato had given Kakashi and the others a Flying Thunder God kunai to protect them, but that kunai was used up in battle and not recovered due to the critical situation. Since no further dangerous situations occurred, Minato didn't specifically give Flying Thunder God kunai to Kakashi and the others afterward.

After all, a Flying Thunder God kunai was essentially a locator. Due to various considerations, Minato generally didn't give them out casually.

Who would have thought that something like this could happen while taking the Chunin Exam in one's own village?

"It's alright. If I remember correctly, my main body is patrolling nearby and should have noticed the situation there by now," Muyue said at this moment.

Even though Muyue had used Appraisal to examine all the examinee information, he still wasn't entirely reassured. After all, in Muyue's impression, the Chunin Exam was really prone to incidents. So the Muyue in the surveillance room was a shadow clone; his main body had been patrolling near Obito and the others.

Minato swallowed the words he was about to say. Originally, he was going to say that if he rushed over at full speed, he should make it in time, given Might Guy's performance—he could hold on for at least a few minutes. But if Muyue could get there faster, that would be even better.

"But to prevent any accidents, let's have the main body receive the memory now," Muyue continued.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said, "Muyue, as the chief examiner, go and deal with that Kirigakure jonin. Minato, go notify Jiraiya now and have him go to the inn where Kirigakure is staying, and detain all the Kirigakure ninjas inside."

It was the best choice for Muyue to handle this problem, because Muyue was the chief examiner of the second exam, and he was responsible for any issues that arose during the exam.

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi issued an order to summon a portion of the Anbu to assemble. Finally, using the Telescope Technique, Hiruzen Sarutobi confirmed that Genji, the Kirigakure elder, was still in Konoha, and went to confront him personally with the Anbu.

This whole matter seemed quite strange to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Based on the performance of those Kirigakure ninjas, they also had some decent talents. There was no way Kirigakure thought they had the strength to cause a major disturbance in Konoha and still leave with those ninjas, right?

If they weren't that arrogant, then Kirigakure's actions would seem even more foolish and unreasonable. If Konoha's Chunin Exam didn't have any talented participants, wouldn't Kirigakure be at a huge loss?

Hiruzen Sarutobi suppressed his doubts. Whether it was foolishness or arrogance, he would know once he saw Genji.

On the other side, Muyue, who was quietly watching Obito and the others fight from a distance, received the memory from his shadow clone.

However, he didn't rush to take care of Hideyuki Akatsumi. Instead, he focused more attention on his surroundings, using his Byakugan to carefully observe the area.

Because if he wanted to kill Hideyuki Akatsumi, he could do so at any time. The person who made Hideyuki Akatsumi appear here was what Muyue truly valued.

The Forest of Death was not a place where one could come and go freely. To prevent any accidents during the exam, Konoha had set up a barrier around the Forest of Death.

For Kirigakure to enter the Forest of Death, they could only do so as examinees. Before the exam started, Muyue had used Appraisal to verify all examinees; the Transformation Technique couldn't fool Appraisal, so there was no case of someone disguising as an examinee to infiltrate the Forest of Death.

Since they weren't examinees, they must have used some special method to bypass the barrier and sneak in.

Muyue guessed that this might not be Kirigakure's plan, but rather Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu causing trouble.

Because if Kirigakure were causing trouble, it wouldn't make sense. A few genin might be insignificant, but Kirigakure had also sent Genji, a heavyweight elder of the Hidden Mist Village, along with some Kirigakure jonin.

To sacrifice so much combat power just to kill some genin, the Mizukage would have to have not just water in his brain, but nothing but water in his brain—the cost and reward were far too imbalanced.

If it was Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu causing trouble, then it made sense. They had both the capability and the motive.

Doing this had many benefits for Madara Uchiha. The conflict between Kirigakure and Konoha could easily spark a war, making the shinobi world more chaotic and giving Madara more opportunities.

"But if that's the case, wouldn't it be smoother not to target Obito? Or is he trying to stimulate Obito's strength?" Muyue pondered Madara's intentions.

Simply causing a war between Kirigakure and Konoha, and indiscriminately killing the other examinees, would achieve the same effect.

After scanning the surrounding area meticulously with his Byakugan, Muyue found no suspicious figures.

This was within Muyue's expectations; neither Madara Uchiha nor Black Zetsu were easy opponents.

As Might Guy and the others' battle grew increasingly difficult, Muyue focused most of his attention on his disciples. If any disciple faced lethal danger, he would immediately act to kill Hideyuki Akatsumi.

Conversely, if there was no life-threatening danger, Muyue would not appear.

This might be somewhat cruel to his disciples—they wouldn't die, but the injuries would hurt. However, Muyue had no choice. This was the cruel ninja world; he could protect his disciples once, but not forever.

This time, because they were in Konoha and he had made multiple preparations, he could secretly protect his disciples. But what if next time they were outside Konoha? What if his disciples encountered danger in different places?

Even Minato with his Flying Thunder God couldn't perfectly arrive in time to save the day, let alone him who was just a little faster at running.

Improving his disciples' strength was the optimal solution. Once they became strong themselves, even if they couldn't defeat the enemy, they could hold on a bit longer until he arrived.

"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"

The sword wounds on his body did not make Might Guy show any fear; with Kakashi's assistance, he launched another attack against Jian Xiu Xing.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Jian Xiu Xing calmly performed the Water Release ninjutsu, spitting out an enormous water ball.

Water itself is not very harmful upon contact, but if there is a massive amount of water flow, the impact force it unleashes is considerable.

This wave-like deluge of water crashed into Kakashi and Might Guy; Kakashi, with little stamina left, was directly washed away by the current. Might Guy could resist the flow and move forward, but his speed was greatly reduced.

Jian Xiu Xing swam swiftly in the water, dodging Might Guy's attack while adding a bloody gash to Might Guy's body with his fast blade.

"Guy." Kakashi, swept away, lay on the ground gasping heavily; he no longer had the strength to maintain Total Concentration Breathing, and despite his anxiety, he could not help Might Guy fight.

Shiranui Genma and Ebisu were already much weaker, and now injured; although they still had some stamina, they were unable to participate in the battle between Might Guy and Jian Xiu Xing, and were immediately blasted away by the Great Waterfall Technique.

The injured Rin Nohara was using her last chakra to treat Obito; rather than healing herself, Rin Nohara chose to trust Obito.

"Noon Leopard!"

With more and more wounds on his body, Might Guy finally used the strongest taijutsu he could currently employ.

At present, he could use it at most twice in a short period, and this was his last chance, but he had no choice; if he delayed any longer, he wouldn't even be able to use it one last time.

Might Guy poured all his strength into his leg; the powerful burst of chakra resisted the water current, and Might Guy began to run again.

"Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Jian Xiu Xing immediately formed hand seals and used ninjutsu to utilize the surrounding water. This was a typical combat habit of Kirigakure: first creating a favorable environment with auxiliary Water Release, then using offensive Water Release.

A large amount of water whirled around Jian Xiu Xing, eventually forming an enormous water dragon that charged toward Might Guy.

In front of the massive water dragon, Might Guy, who was only about 1.3 meters tall, appeared exceptionally small; even the dragon's head alone was several times larger than Might Guy.

But Might Guy's steps never paused; he charged forward like a leopard, the chakra aura around his body faintly forming the shape of a leopard's head.

Boom!

A huge roaring sound rang out; fine water droplets continuously sprayed in all directions, the dragon's head collapsing, teeth breaking, horns snapping, and head deforming.

"This guy is a monster in the truest sense." Kisame remarked, seeing Might Guy's performance—after fighting him once, he could still unleash such power.

"Can he do it?" Kakashi, pushing himself up off the ground with his arm, stared intently at Might Guy and Jian Xiu Xing.

"Guy, keep it up!" Obito maintained his breathing, praying for Might Guy in his heart.

In the end, under everyone's gaze, in this clash of dragon and leopard, the leopard shattered the dragon's head, and the dragon's head completely crumbled.

But by then, Might Guy had already expended most of his strength; under the impact of the dragon's body, he was knocked backward, smashing through eight trees before stopping.

"Since you're going to die anyway, why not choose an easier death? Do you really think you can defeat me?" Jian Xiu Xing said with a mockingly expression.

Facing the taunt, Might Guy stood up again. By now, his green jumpsuit had turned blood-red from excessive bleeding.

"There is no word 'give up' in my youth!" Might Guy clenched his fists and shouted.

Some of his comrades were severely injured, some exhausted. Might Guy knew deeply that he could not fall now; if he fell, no one would be able to fight Jian Xiu Xing head-on.

Might Guy took a deep breath. He wanted to try to open the Fourth Gate, the Gate of Wounds, of the Eight Gates. Normally, given his current training, he was far from being able to open the Gate of Wounds, but Might Guy had once forcibly opened the Second Gate during a battle against a Cloud ninja using Breathing Techniques when his training was insufficient. He wanted to replicate that, but this time he was going to force open the Fourth Gate.

"Open!" Might Guy's eyes bulged, his fists clenched tight, veins bulging on his arms as he used all his strength to impact the Fourth Gate of the Eight Gates.

Whether because the difficulty was too great or because such an operation could not be done after the Third Gate, Might Guy failed.

Bang!

Jian Xiu Xing used Water Body Flicker to appear beside Might Guy and kicked him, caught off guard, flying away.

"Your decision won't change the outcome, whether you give up or persist." Jian Xiu Xing said flatly.

Jian Xiu Xing continued to press his advantage, casually knocking down Shiranui Genma and Ebisu, who had tried to intervene.

Shiranui Genma's heart was filled with resentment; whether victory or defeat, it seemed to have nothing to do with him—his strength was far too inferior to Kakashi and the others.

Ebisu felt the same. For the first time, he craved power not for status, authority, or money; he had never felt so powerless, forced to watch his comrades get hurt while being unable to act.

Might Guy stood up again, striving to maintain Rock Breathing as he fought Jian Xiu Xing.

But the difference in strength cannot be made up by sheer perseverance alone. In the midst of his difficult struggle, Might Guy fell once again.

Watching Might Guy fall and rise again and again, and listening to Jiejian Xiuxing's mockery of their persistence, the fire in Obito's heart burned ever brighter. Unconsciously, his breathing began to change slightly.

"Flame Breathing, Full Concentration!" As soon as he could move again, Obito immediately activated his Sharingan, burst out with power, and charged forward, throwing a punch wrapped in angry flames at Jiejian Xiuxing.

Whether it was because he was too angry to feel pain or for some other reason, Obito's fist was wrapped in fierce flames without using chakra to isolate them, yet he felt no burning sensation.

However, Jiejian Xiuxing's attention was most focused on Obito, so he immediately noticed Obito's movement. He sidestepped to dodge Obito's attack while swinging a short blade at Obito.

Obito's Sharingan saw through Jiejian Xiuxing's movements. This strike would not kill him, so Obito let the short blade cut across his chest, and with his left hand, he burst out even fiercer flames, hitting Jiejian Xiuxing's abdomen.

Jiejian Xiuxing staggered back a few steps, frowning slightly at the intense burning sensation on his body. He activated Water Nature Transformation in his chakra, spraying a stream of water to extinguish the flames on his body, but the pain from the burning did not disappear immediately.

Having landed a hit, Obito did not feel elated; instead, he was thinking of a countermeasure. Continuing this mutual-destruction style of fighting, he would be the first to fall.

But Jiejian Xiuxing did not give Obito time to think; he immediately closed in and engaged Obito in battle, leaving several new wounds on Obito's body.

"They are still trying..." Nara Yanshui, unable to move due to his injuries, watched this scene and had a bold idea.

As a fellow Konoha ninja, Nara Yanshui did not want to fall too far behind in this regard.

Nara Yanshui told his plan to Inuzuka Lü and Aburame Naoya, and both nodded, deciding to make a final effort.

"Even if I die, Lü will die with some backbone." Inuzuka Lü endured the pain and used the Beast Imitation Ninja Art to get down on all fours.

End of the next chapter.