"Damn it…"
The ANBU candidate's eyes darkened, a cold glint flashing within them.
Even if Yuya's strength was far beyond expectations, he wasn't some pushover either.
This scroll had been forcibly seized after hard fighting—there was no way he'd hand it over so easily.
His hands began forming seals at high speed.
Boom!
Yuya moved first.
His speed was explosive—his figure blurred into an afterimage as he appeared in front of the man in an instant, throwing a punch.
The seals were completed at the very last moment.
Poof!
Under the impact of the vibration force, the ANBU candidate's body instantly turned into smoke.
A clone.
In the next moment, the shinobi reappeared to Yuya's left—and at the same time, released a Shadow Clone.
Both the original and the clone began forming seals simultaneously.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Crash—!!
A massive surge of water roared forward, taking the shape of a dragon as it slammed toward Yuya with terrifying momentum.
Even more frightening—
Lightning crackled through the water, racing along with the torrent, forming a compound ninjutsu that was nearly unstoppable.
The moment the Lightning Release was completed, the shadow clone dispersed.
A cold smile crept into the shinobi's eyes.
You can stop an ordinary B-rank technique…
But can you stop this?!
"Compound ninjutsu…"
Yuya paused slightly as he looked at the incoming torrent wrapped in lightning.
Two standard B-rank techniques combined—
their power was already comparable to a high-tier B-rank ninjutsu.
Wind, Water, and Lightning…
Three chakra natures?
Even among ANBU candidates, this man was exceptional.
But—
Before Yuya, there was no difference.
Whether the dust was a small grain or a large clump—
a single sweep was enough.
To Yuya, shinobi of the same tier were all dust.
The only difference was size.
Chakra surged.
A pale white glow spread across Yuya's fist.
He punched forward without hesitation.
Vibration Release: Monstrous Strength!
Crack—!!
Terrifying vibration force detonated through the air, smashing straight ahead.
Enhanced by Chakra-Enhanced Strength, the vibration force became sharply focused, compressed into a single direction.
Humm—!!
In the next instant—
The Water–Lightning compound technique froze in midair.
The overlapping forms of the water dragon and lightning dragon were locked in place, completely immobilized.
The crackling of lightning overlapped with the hum of vibrating air.
Snap—crackle—!!
The entire area seemed to shatter.
When Yuya withdrew his fist—
Everything in front of him was gone.
The B-rank compound ninjutsu had been obliterated by a single punch.
Only scattered streams of water remained, flowing harmlessly across the ground.
"That's… impossible!"
The ANBU candidate finally lost his composure, shouting in disbelief.
He stared at Yuya as if looking at a monster.
This was absurd.
Blocking ordinary B-rank ninjutsu was one thing—but even his full-power compound B-rank technique had been destroyed so easily.
How could anyone be this strong?!
"Hand over the scroll."
Yuya looked at him calmly and walked forward step by step.
"I—I—here! Take it!"
Cold sweat poured down the man's forehead. Fear finally surfaced in his eyes.
He reached into his clothes, pulled out a scroll, and threw it toward Yuya.
Yuya examined it briefly, confirmed it was genuine, then turned and left.
Watching Yuya walk away so casually, the ANBU candidate's body trembled slightly. He clenched his teeth—
—but in the end, he didn't dare attack again.
"First scroll acquired…"
Yuya murmured softly.
"If I gather enough scrolls… maybe I won't even need to participate in the second or third training phases."
Since he had chosen to camp the tower, he had no intention of stopping now.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down?
Pretend to be weak and strike later?
Those ideas were meaningless in this world.
Namikaze Minato always aimed for the best results in everything.
After mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique, he dominated battlefields openly—
fighting alone against many, refusing assistance, and crushing his enemies head-on—
earning a fearsome reputation across the shinobi world.
In contrast, Kabuto Yakushi planned everything meticulously and hid in the shadows from beginning to end—
yet still failed.
Uchiha Madara had summed him up with a single word:
"A rat."
To Madara, even someone who nearly controlled an entire war was still a rat if they were timid and hesitant.
Did Madara ever hesitate?
No.
He relied solely on absolute strength to force the world to bow.
That was why he fought his way to the summit of the shinobi world alongside Senju Hashirama,
becoming a god-like existence feared by all.
And now—
For Yuya, every ANBU candidate here was someone he could sweep aside.
So why hold back?
If you don't even dare to display your strength—
if you live cautiously like Kabuto—
you'll never become someone like Madara, who stood above the entire shinobi world.
More importantly, for Yuya right now—
the more talent and strength he displayed,
the more attention he would receive from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And the harder it would be for Danzo and the Uchiha clan to make a move against him.
After obtaining the first scroll, Yuya didn't enter the tower.
Instead, he casually placed the scroll on the ground beside him—
and waited.
For the second challenger.
Observation Room – Inside the Tower
Everything Yuya did was clearly visible to the ANBU monitoring the Forest of Death.
"Not entering the forest and instead camping the tower… that's not ordinary confidence."
"Leaving the scroll lying out in the open? That's not confidence—that's arrogance."
"He's that sure he can defeat everyone who comes next?"
Formal ANBU operatives—including the Division Leader—were all observing the forest in real time.
Naturally, Yuya's actions drew their attention.
The Division Leader glanced at Yuya and muttered,
"So he's that troublesome kid everyone keeps talking about… no wonder the Captain told me to keep an eye on him."
"He really does like stirring things up."
He shook his head slightly.
"Anyone who makes it back to the tower either has exceptional mobility or exceptional strength."
"Even blocking a few of them would be difficult—let alone winning every encounter."
With that, the Division Leader shifted his attention back to the other battles in the forest.
In his eyes, Yuya would at best stop a handful of candidates, earn a respectable score—
or be defeated by a stronger candidate, losing all his scrolls in the process.
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