Chapter 102: Apex of the Food Chain (Part 2)
Hiss—
A massive serpent, covered in glowing purple markings, slithered silently through the dense undergrowth.
Its well-developed muscles rippled in wave-like patterns beneath its scales. A forked purple tongue flicked in and out, probing the air with swift, practiced movements.
Thud, thud...
Suddenly, rhythmic thumping echoed ahead, followed by heavy footsteps and loud voices. The sound made the serpent instinctively coil its body.
Compared to its thick, powerful frame, its small head rose slightly, tilting back to reveal a chillingly intense predatory aura.
Thud... Thud...
The noise drew closer. A metal staff pushed aside the grass.
A pair of small booted feet stepped forward without hesitation. Beneath the pants, pale, delicate skin peeked out.
Hiss!
The serpent tensed, waiting for its prey to get closer.
Then, in a flash, it lunged up from the underbrush.
Its massive jaws snapped open, lower jaw unhinging to reveal rows of dagger-like fangs. A sharp hissing gust echoed from deep within its throat.
It struck so fast that its movement blurred in the air. A bite like that could easily sever tendons—at worst, leave someone permanently disabled.
But the person ahead didn't seem to notice the incoming attack. They kept walking casually.
As the serpent's foul breath neared the surface of the exposed skin, threatening to invade every pore—
Buzz!
A faint light shimmered across the skin. The transparent air around them suddenly warped, rippling like raindrops hitting a lake.
The serpent didn't realize a thing.
It sank its fangs down, aiming straight for that vulnerable skin.
But it bit into nothingness.
No form, no substance.
No light, no shadow.
In the next instant, a thin line appeared from its jaw down to its tail. With a sickening split, its purple scales burst open. A fountain of blood gushed forth.
Slice!
Still propelled by its own momentum, the serpent's body split cleanly in two as it soared through the air, passing harmlessly on either side of the girl's legs. Even the thick, sticky blood was cut apart by the intense air pressure.
Thud!
Thud!
Two heavy halves of the serpent crashed to the ground, kicking up dust. Blood gushed from its severed body, soaking the earth.
The snake's nerves hadn't stopped firing. Its split form spasmed wildly in its death throes.
"That was awesome, Hikari! Another one down," Naruto grinned, his blue eyes sparkling as he stared at the bisected giant snake on the ground.
Wherever Hikari passed, prey simply split cleanly in two—without her lifting a finger.
Seriously cool.
"Don't pick it up."
Hikari's cold voice cut through the air, stopping Naruto from grabbing the carcass. She used her blind cane to sweep aside the grass ahead and kept walking.
"What?! Again?!" Naruto pouted. "Hikari, you eat so much in one sitting! If we don't take this one, we'll be starving tonight!"
"Can you even cook it?"
Naruto looked up at the sky, thinking about his own awful cooking. "...Probably? I could roast it."
"Then let's move."
Hikari didn't even glance back as she kept going.
She used to know someone who could cook really well—loud and impulsive, kind of like Naruto. But that person now rested forever beneath the land of the Land of Water.
Naruto gave the snake carcass one last regretful glance, slung his backpack over his shoulders, and jogged to catch up.
"Hikari, that jutsu of yours is amazing! Can you teach me?!"
"You need Fūton chakra nature transformation. You're not ready yet," Hikari shot down his hopes without hesitation.
After days of training beneath the waterfall, her control over Fūton had grown significantly, making her techniques faster, sharper, and deadlier.
No wonder Fūton was considered one of the strongest chakra natures.
Fast. Efficient. Precise.
A perfect killing machine. Just a touch of chakra—and anything near Hikari would be instantly sliced apart.
She had only just entered the first stage of Hakke Kūhekishō—the level where she could expel chakra from her tenketsu points. Full mastery was still far off.
But she was already combining it with Fūton transformation.
Before, chakra could only be expelled from her hands or mouth. Now, using the secret techniques of Kaiten, she could release chakra from any part of her body.
Infused with Fūton, that chakra turned into invisible blades. What had just happened was the result.
The snake had simply gotten too close—and was torn in half by the invisible wind pressure.
Whether it was a beast or a human, the result would be the same.
One day, any shinobi who lacked defense and got too close to Hikari could find themselves in pieces before they even realized they were dead.
The Hyūga clan's taijutsu was practically made to work with the Byakugan.
And the Byakugan—it really was the jack-of-all-trades dōjutsu.
Intel, control, ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu—it had a role in all of them.
Their Jūken style was just as versatile. Pair it with any ability, and the results were always more than the sum of their parts.
Hikari, of course, had plenty of weird abilities to begin with.
And Jūken brought out the best in all of them.
Not just Fūton...
Fwoosh!
Thick smoke billowed into the air.
The charred skin of a wild boar sizzled over the fire. The fatty meat glistened gold under the flames, juices bubbling on the crisp surface.
Sizzle!
As fat dripped into the fire, an irresistible aroma filled the forest.
From a tree nearby, "Miyo-sensei" peeked over repeatedly, her fingers twitching with impatience as she clung to the branch.
Hikari sat off to the side, cane in hand, perfectly composed, keeping up her cool and collected demeanor.
Naruto, grinning ear to ear, shaped his right hand like a snake and sprinkled seasonings over the meat with a flourish.
The rich boar fat brought the spices to life, making the air smell even more delicious.
"Done!"
Naruto spun around excitedly after the last sprinkle.
From above, their "academy teacher" couldn't wait any longer and leapt down, tending to the now-smoking fire.
"We cooked enough for the whole day! Now we just need to hide near a water source until the survival exercise ends."
"Ino, you're a genius!"
Disguised as Naruto, Ino grinned and gave a thumbs-up to the quiet "Hikari" beside her.
Shikamaru leaned against a tree trunk, arms folded lazily. "It was just a gamble. If it worked once, the rest of the exam becomes way easier."
"I hid all the supplies in a cave. Even if we're found out, worst case we just lose this one boar. No big deal either way."
"Honestly, the rules of this exam are full of holes."
"Hot! Ow!!"
Smoke burst up again as Chōji yelped, having burned himself on a piece of crispy pork skin.
"Chōji! Stealing food again?!"
Ino scolded him with a vein popping on her forehead. "Get back into disguise! What if someone sees you?!"
Thud. Thud...
Before she could finish—
The sound echoed again.
Shikamaru, still disguised as Hikari, instantly straightened up, eyes narrowing.
The silver-haired blind girl and the blond boy were headed their way.
"Shikamaru, can we get half of that roast boar meat?"
Hikari smiled sweetly, her expression dangerous as she looked at her doppelganger with that exact same face—but a rather guilty look.
"You really thought you could run around using my face without paying the price?"