"Damn it! We were from the same squad, so why am I so inferior to him!"
Obito Uchiha muttered angrily, glancing briefly at Kakashi in the distance but ignoring him.
"Everyone hurry up. Everything seems under control, but we might run into other teams soon," ordered Obito.
Beside him was Rin Nohara, and the third member was an unexpected addition—Kurenai Yuhi. If Ye Liang were here, he'd surely know who she was.
A master of ancestral Genjutsu techniques, capable of completely paralyzing someone with a single glance. This ability bore a striking resemblance to [Amaterasu] from the Sharingan. Unfortunately for Obito, his Mangekyō had yet to awaken.
"Yeah, let's move forward quickly," agreed Rin beside him.
With that, they swiftly scattered into the forest, scanning their surroundings.
Before long, a team of three boys wearing blue uniforms was spotted by Obito's group. They were crossing horizontally and hadn't noticed the Konoha team approaching from the side.
"Be careful—we'll sneak past them," Obito signaled before slipping silently into the surrounding bushes.
The jungle terrain gave Konoha ninjas a clear edge. The opposing team, clearly from Mist, was more accustomed to river combat—putting them at a disadvantage here.
"This kid actually has some brains after all," Kakashi muttered while crouching high on a tree branch.
Just then, a shadowy figure landed noiselessly beside him.
"He's definitely improved quite a bit, but you don't seem to have made much progress yourself."
"Huh?!" Kakashi exclaimed in shock.
Before he could even identify who it was, he instantly leapt backward several steps.
"Not bad reflexes," the figure remarked calmly.
"Teacher Ye Liang?"
Kakashi finally recognized the person as he cautiously approached.
His expression shifted to shock as he stared at Ye Liang.
"I didn't sense anything like this before—he must have grown stronger beyond imagination in just a few days!" Kakashi thought to himself.
Kakashi was already a Tokubetsu Jonin; this meant Ye Liang's strength must be at least beyond Kage-level!
"Hai, just dropping by to check up on you guys," Ye Liang said cheerfully as he patted Kakashi on the head. He looked like a harmless old man—but everyone knew better, like a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"Teacher Ye Liang, I… I only became a teacher because Konoha is short on Jonin right now—I wouldn't have gotten the post otherwise," Kakashi replied awkwardly.
"Well, no big deal," Ye Liang chuckled lightly. At that moment, though, his gaze drifted elsewhere.
"What kind of aura is that coming from over there?"
Ye Liang sensed a strong murderous intent rushing toward them, immediately furrowing his brows.
"I'll go check around some more. You keep an eye on Obito. By the way, something seems off about Mist village this time—you need to be careful," Ye Liang reminded him before vanishing toward another direction.
"The Hidden Mist?"
Kakashi nodded vaguely, half-understanding, then turned coldly toward Obito's target—the trio ahead definitely belonged to Mist.
After advancing for some time, Ye Liang stopped when entering a dense fog.
"Come out now—no need to hide anymore!" he called loudly, yet the surroundings remained silent without response.
"Isn't he here?" Ye Liang muttered, puzzled.
But at that moment, a dark shadow silently crept along the tree trunks toward him.
So there really is someone!
Ye Liang's sensory abilities had long surpassed those of ordinary ninja. He noticed a faint chirping sound—an indication that some tiny creature was approaching the branches.
"Right behind me, huh?" Ye Liang sneered. Sure enough, a black shadow the size of a finger lunged at his back.
[Take this, Rasengan!]
Ye Liang immediately launched an attack, but after hitting it, he froze in shock!
An ant?
He stared blankly at the remains of the ant crushed by his Rasengan. But just then, a powerful tremor surged from beneath his feet. All the dirt began transforming into black ants no bigger than a thumb!
The sheer number—easily in the billions!
"So the Chunin Exams aren't going to be peaceful after all!"
At the same time, other ninja across the forest also came under attack.
Innumerable swarms of insects rained down upon the Jonin guarding their villages. Meanwhile, the Kage from each village faced ambushes similar to Ye Liang's.
"Damn it! Who dares ambush us?! Don't they know all five village leaders are present!" Roared Onoki furiously, swatting away the bugs flying toward him.
If not for protecting his granddaughter, Onoki would've already obliterated the entire forest with his Kekkei Genkai!
Other Kage faced the same situation and likewise hesitated due to the presence of their own village ninja nearby.
Suddenly, a massive beast shaped like a wolf charged toward Ye Liang, carrying on its back none other than Yagura—the man who'd approached Ye Liang earlier. Only now, several black metal tubes pierced his body.
"I didn't expect my master actually wants me to fight Ye Liang… Perfect," I muttered with a gloomy smile, my eyes suddenly flashing crimson red!
No one had a clue who his master was.
Perched atop the jungle canopy, Ye Liang carefully scanned the treetops above. At the last critical moment, he had used the Flying Thunder God technique to evade the swarm of ants. Now, he realized almost the entire jungle was crawling with various deadly insects.
He raised his hand and swatted away a few.
Could this be from the Aburame Clan? Is Konoha really targeting the other villages?
Ye Liang fell into thought.
Based on what he knew, only the Aburame Clan from Konoha could possibly control such a massive swarm of insects.
He lifted his gaze.
In the distance, a massive shadow was charging directly toward him.
"What the hell is that?!"
A three-headed giant dog, howling nonstop, was racing toward him. Riding atop its back stood Yagura's figure—just recently separated from Ye Liang. Though small, it was clearly visible even from this distance.
[Sh*t!] That's not Yagura—it's the Animal Path!
Ye Liang cursed loudly.
All over the body of the Mizukage Yagura, countless black rods—clearly tools for sensing the Rinnegan—were embedded densely, packed so tightly there seemed almost no space left to insert another.
What's going on? Isn't Madara temporarily out of the picture? Where did this Animal Path come from?
"Ye Liang felt momentarily confused. Though he knew defeating Madara Uchiha wouldn't be easy, seeing Yagura, the Mizukage, in his Animal Path form still surprised him slightly.
But this battle was unavoidable!
Yagura's target was clearly himself. If he fled now, the other students behind would suffer!
Ye Liang didn't believe any other Jonin could withstand the threat of the Rinnegan!
"No matter what the truth may be, only by defeating Yagura can I discover the real answer!"
[Shifting Body Technique!]
Ye Liang rapidly approached Yagura. A white blur shot forward like lightning.
He had already entered Sage Mode.
The truth would speak through strength alone. Since when had Ye Liang ever been afraid of anyone!"
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