"That's it? All that buildup for a single move released in one go."
The massive consumption left Mizuki feeling sore.
"If quality can't be achieved, then quantity must suffice. This path works occasionally, but normally it's completely useless. Just this one shot wiped out all my savings from the past few months—completely not worth it."
Mizuki glanced at the scarred clone.
"These pseudo-jinchuriki who fail to become self-sufficient also constantly require chakra refills. Their solo operation capability is heavily restricted. Regular chakra clones ultimately do not meet the requirements. Moreover, there remains the problem of lifespan and vitality."
Thinking about it gave him a headache.
"And now such a huge commotion. I wonder how the village will react."
Outside the Forest of Death, Examiner Mitarashi Anko's previously decent mood had been utterly ruined. Everything had been fine earlier; she was comfortably eating dango to pass time while letting candidates fight each other. Occasionally, she could even hear a scream or two.
However, what was originally expected to be an uneventful conflict seemed to be escalating. The intense chakra fluctuations surprised her even from outside the Forest of Death. Continuous explosions exceeded the typical power level of ordinary genin.
"This isn't good. Did some dangerous people sneak into the exams?" As Mitarashi Anko hesitated over whether to investigate herself, a chunin arrived reporting unusual activity, forcing her to set aside her concerns and check the situation immediately.
Anko glared grimly at the dead Sound Ninja trio. Their identification cards revealed their identities, yet their faces had melted away beyond recognition.
[Disappear Face Jutsu]? Have you returned? Immediately, Mitarashi Anko thought of that terrifying figure, and the cursed seal on her neck throbbed painfully.
"You few, hurry and report to the Third Hokage. Request one squad—no, make it two squads of Anbu backup."
After speaking, Anko rushed into the Forest of Death.
"What do you want now, having returned as a Konoha rogue ninja?"
Inside the Forest of Death, Gaara, who had just eliminated three Rain Ninja, remained unsatisfied. Meanwhile, distant fighting sounds caught Gaara's attention, naturally drawing his focus toward that direction. Kankuro and Temari continuously urged Gaara to stay away from danger.
On the other side, Team 7—Sasuke Uzumaki, Naruto, and Sakura Haruno—felt much luckier. They had barely escaped when they noticed a sharp increase in combat power behind them, prompting them to hasten their retreat.
When the [Crimson Magical Formation] rose hundreds of feet into the air, its terrifying aura captured the attention of every candidate in the Forest of Death. Karin, already somewhat nearby, fled far away long before. Seeing this scene unfold, she dove straight into a river without daring to surface again. As for her two teammates, they were left to fend for themselves.
The closest team—the Sasuke squad—paled instantly.
"Hurry, find somewhere to hide!" Sasuke shouted loudly.
"How could someone this powerful appear during the Chunin Exams?"
Even Naruto, usually carefree and unbothered, felt the terror this time and didn't hesitate further, hiding together with the others.
Anko Mitarashi was sprinting toward the Forest of Death when she spotted a brilliant column of light crashing down from afar.
"Damn it, I'm too late after all."
The immense force sent tremors through the ground that Mitarashi could feel even from a distance. Looking further ahead, a swirling mass of terrifying plasma surrounded the impact site, making survival seem impossible.
The final clash—spherical lightning colliding with [Summoning: Rashōmon]—followed by a small mushroom cloud, completely shattered most people's understanding of the upper limits of ninja power.
As the dust settled, Sasuke Uchiha stared intensely in the direction of the battle.
"Can a ninja really reach that level? If I had that kind of strength, maybe I could finally kill Itachi Uchiha."
Unaware of just how powerful the elite ninja in the world truly were, Sasuke lost himself in unrealistic dreams while Haruno Sakura and Naruto Uzumaki approached.
"(Softly) Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" asked Sakura.
"Hn," Sasuke replied absentmindedly.
"Sasuke, there's such a huge commotion over there. Should we go check it out? Maybe we can get something out of it," Naruto suggested.
"I don't think so," Sakura resisted strongly, still fearful from barely escaping that dangerous area. "Besides, this is just the Chunin Exams. Someone this powerful couldn't possibly be a mere candidate. It's very suspicious; there's likely a dangerous individual mixed in among them. Better leave it up to the village to handle."
"We'll leave now and hunt for weaker teams to steal their scrolls from," Sasuke decided.
"If every opponent out there is stronger than the last, and all I can do is pick on nearby weaklings who haven't even become Chunin yet, how long will it take before I can finally seek revenge?"
Sasuke's hunger for power had surpassed everything else—he'd grown impatient with pretending to care about childish notions of ninja camaraderie.
Elsewhere on the field, Kabuto Yakushi's Genin team stood silently watching the distant spectacle.
"Kabuto, it seems Lord Orochimaru has encountered a formidable enemy. Should we go assist him?" Akadō Yoroi suggested respectfully.
"I don't think so," Tachibana Mei disagreed. "Judging from the intensity, if even Lord Orochimaru finds this opponent challenging, I doubt we would be any help at all."
Kabuto didn't respond at first. After a moment's thought, he said, "You two head out first. I have some unfinished business. I'll catch up later," and then turned and walked away on his own.
"What an impudent brat! Thinking he can act high and mighty just because he's recently gained Lord Orochimaru's favor," both Akadō Yoroi and Tachibana Mei fumed with anger. "We'll see about that—arrogant kid. Just wait until this mission ends and see who Lord Orochimaru credits with greater merit!"
Inside the Hokage's Office in Konoha Village, The Third glanced at the intelligence reports and support forms in his hands before setting them aside. "I don't need to read this to know things are going badly."
The violent fluctuations in chakra were noticeable throughout Konoha by any ninja with even moderate skill.
"Anbu, mobilize! Your primary objective is to locate Orochimaru, discover his intentions, and stop him."
"Secondly, investigate the identity of the ninja fighting against Orochimaru—if capture isn't possible, eliminate them on sight. Move out!"
"Yes!" A group of Anbu swiftly dispersed into action.
In the Forest of Death, any ninja with a shred of common sense instinctively kept away from the battlefield where Mizuki and Orochimaru clashed. Yet there were always a few insane individuals who simply couldn't be reasoned with.
When Gaara arrived at the battlefield, all that remained was a large pit slowly filling with water and a chaotic mess scattered across the ground.
Gaara, whose killing intent had been stirred but left unsatisfied, was already on the edge of a mental breakdown. Temari and Kankuro could only stand by silently, watching him shudder.
"What should we do? Gaara seems about to lose it," Temari said anxiously. "At this rate, our entire operation plan will fall apart."
"Who could've predicted that a mere Chunin Exam would turn into such an intense battle that would provoke Gaara like this?" Kankuro replied uneasily. "We don't have time to worry about that now. If Gaara can't calm down soon, what we should fear most is for our own lives."
"I hope nothing else happens to set him off. Once he calms down, we'll go straight for the central tower. I really can't handle any more shocks like this."
On the streets of Konoha, there were noticeably more ninjas around. Although far away, the entire village could feel slight tremors. Ordinary citizens who didn't know what was happening even mistook it for an earthquake.
After settling things at home, Mizuki was just about to step out when the door suddenly swung open.
"Tsubaki, why are you here? What's the rush?"
"It was you, wasn't it, Mizuki?" Tsubaki asked urgently. "That attack—was it your celestial phenomenon attack?"
Others might not understand, but Tsubaki was indeed capable of guessing much.
Regarding the matter of asking his fiancée to help collect chakra for him, Mizuki had revealed some ideas long ago. He had started accumulating massive chakra energy as a precaution quite early on. Combining summoning and sealing techniques into a long-range precision combination attack was an idea conceived after returning from the assignment in the Land of Waves. It gradually matured after receiving numerous sealing and summoning resources from The Third.
The massive chakra acted as the initial energy source, serving to open distant spatial nodes. During the opening process, this immense energy, laced with the force of tearing through space, unleashed the first wave of damage through sheer brute power.
Meanwhile, in the material world, guided by array formations and barriers, the dispersing energy generated vast amounts of dust, which then rubbed against air particles, creating plasma phenomena. This ensured the attack force wouldn't scatter, forming the second wave of continuous damage.
Finally, combining the energies of shattered voids, chakra, and free-floating plasma-state electric charges formed a Lightning Ball—the third and final deadly blow, while simultaneously providing perfect cover for retreat.
Draining energy from the temporary spatial passage and combining it with Summoning became a life-saving technique as a precursor to actual physical teleportation through space. The first use gravely underestimated the danger of space-based jutsu. Within the clone's brief time inside the spatial corridor, it nearly got twisted and pulped.
"Weak flesh and inferior chakra quality have become the greatest bottlenecks holding back further advancement."
It's not that Mizuki didn't want to resolve things quickly, but rather he had fallen into an unbreakable vicious cycle. Without a strong physical body, his body couldn't generate the enormous amount of chakra needed to balance natural energy for cultivating Sage Mode. Without Sage Chakra, there was no way to fundamentally improve his body.
Even though he now had Hashirama Senju's cells, without detailed experimentation, Mizuki dared not attempt transplantation. Relying on the Cursed Seal was like licking blood off a blade—toxic and self-destructive. Before making any research breakthroughs, he absolutely refused to risk his life recklessly.
"That's right. It is me," Mizuki replied bluntly. "I originally just wanted to sneak into the Forest of Death to check it out. I didn't expect to run into Orochimaru, and was forced into a fight. I barely managed to escape using my last resort." He certainly couldn't tell Tsubaki that the reason was because he'd tried to kidnap a little girl.
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