Feng Zheng then focused on sensing his surroundings. He thought after sensing:
“Indeed. There are two Anbu members hidden nearby. Or rather, one Anbu and one Root. I suspect Danzo wouldn't ignore Konoha's lone Jinchuriki.”
He sighed, thinking,
“Hmm, although I really want to see him now, it might cause too many variables in the future. Not to mention, it would also attract the attention of Hiruzen and Danzo. Let's save this meeting for later. At least until I can calculate and control these variables, and until I'm strong enough to face these two Anbu members, in case they have any bad ideas. Sigh, this means I have to go to another restaurant.”
Feng Zheng then walked in the direction of a nearby sushi restaurant. After lunch, he looked for a newsstand near his home and subscribed to a newspaper.
After completing the Rank C mission, Renjiro Squad resumed training.
A week of no training suddenly made the morning workout much more difficult.
When Renjiro returned after the team’s rest, Mieko asked,
“Sensei, when can we go on our next mission?”
Hodaka looked over with interest. Renjiro casually said,
“Rank C missions take much longer than Rank D missions, so we only do one a month, and the rest of the time we focus on your training.”
Upon hearing this, Mieko’s shoulders slumped. This meant there was no escaping these deadly training sessions.
While Feng Zheng and his teammates were training, two Genin squads confronted each other deep in the forest. Both squads consisted of three boys.
However, one squad consisted of Genin who were only 10-11 years old. The other squad consisted of three Genin who were nearly 17 years old.
The younger squad was from Konoha, while the older squad was from Grass Hidden Village.
Uchiha Rai looked at his opponents. They were much older than him, but he wasn't worried. After all, they weren't of the Uchiha Clan.
Minoru Yokota, one of the Genin from Grass Hidden Village, arrogantly said,
“It seems we’re lucky. Konoha Village sent some little babies to participate in the exam.”
Yoshiaki Yokota laughed and added,
“You little kids, why don’t you hand over your scrolls to us and run back to your mommies.”
These words infuriated Uchiha Rai. He angrily said,
“What did you say! I’ll show you the power of…”
However, his words were interrupted by his teammate. Hatake Kaon said,
“Calm down, they’re just trying to provoke you.”
Takihiko Tomiya laughed and replied,
“Uh, we’re not. We’re just stating facts.”
Senju Teru sighed and said,
“They really are arrogant.”
Hatake Kaon chuckled and added,
“Especially considering they’re still Genin at their age.”
Takihiko Tomiya replied,
“Old? Then let me show you.”
He quickly began forming Hand Seals. However, Senju Teru slammed his hands on the ground and shouted,
“Too late!”
As soon as Senju Teru pressed his hands on the ground, stone spears appeared from the ground, completely surrounding the Grass Hidden Village squad.
Seeing their predicament, the Ninja from Grass Hidden Village stopped their Hand Seals and quickly leaped high into nearby trees.
Uchiha Rai was already forming Hand Seals, shouting in his mind,
“Got them!”
and unleashed Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.
Seeing the fireballs flying towards them, Minoru Yokota and Yoshiaki Yokota quickly formed Hand Seals and cast Water Release: Water Wall.
Once the Hand Seals were complete, a water shield began to form between the Kusagakure Ninja and the fireballs.
The water shield fully formed at the last moment, successfully protecting them from the flames.
However, Senju Teru used this opportunity to launch stone spears at the Kusagakure Ninja in the air.
The stone spears easily pierced through the water shield, forcing the Kusagakure Ninja to block them with kunai and land directly on nearby trees.
As soon as they landed on the trees, they began forming Hand Seals.
However, before they could complete their Ninjutsu, a short sword appeared behind Yoshiaki Yokota, piercing his heart. Hatake Kaon, who appeared behind Yoshiaki Yokota, whispered,
“Game over.”
He pulled out the short sword, and a lifeless body fell from the tree.
Seeing their teammate die was a huge shock to the Kusagakure Ninja. Especially for his cousin, Minoru Yokota. He shouted,
“I’ll kill you!” Seeing Minoru Yokota lose his composure, Takihiko Tomiya panicked. He quickly shouted,
“Minoru, wait!”
However, his shouts went unheard. Minoru completed his Hand Seals and unleashed Water Bullet Technique. He shot the water bullet directly at Hatake Kaon.
However, Hatake Kaon simply moved behind the tree, completely dodging the attack.
Seeing his attack miss, Minoru Yokota became even more enraged. He leaped towards Hatake Kaon.
Sensing this opening, Senju Teru quickly made gestures.
Seeing Senju Teru preparing Ninjutsu, Takihiko quickly completed his Hand Seals and shot a water bullet directly at Senju Teru.
But Uchiha Rai noticed this and thought,
“Not on my watch.”
He quickly unleashed Fireball Technique, intercepting the water bullet.
Meanwhile, Senju Teru shot a water bullet directly at Minoru Yokota. The Ninjutsu hit Minoru Yokota's left ribs, knocking him off balance.
Seeing his teammate at a disadvantage, Takihiko Tomiya wanted to rush over.
However, he was stopped by Uchiha Rai and Senju Teru. They fought him, preventing him from getting close to Minoru Yokota.
The water bullet had caused significant damage to Minoru Yokota, but he gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and continued to fight.
He grabbed a kunai and continued to move towards Hatake Kaon.
After closing the distance, he attacked with the kunai. Hatake Kaon raised his short sword to block the attack.
Although Minoru Yokota’s attack was powerful, when the kunai and short sword collided, an electric current struck him through the kunai.
Though not fatal, it was extremely painful, and Minoru Yokota had to take his hand off the kunai.
Hatake Kaon sneered, thinking,
“Electric Current Transfer Technique. Never fails!”
He stepped forward and slashed at Minoru Yokota’s neck with his short sword.
Minoru Yokota, blinded by rage, with damaged ribs, excruciating pain, and feeling the electric current, was unable to dodge, and the slash went straight through his throat.
His throat split open, and blood gushed out.
He looked at Hatake Kaon, his eyes full of unwillingness. Unfortunately, he could no longer control his body and fell to the ground, dead.
Meanwhile, Takihiko Tomiya was fighting Senju Teru and Uchiha Rai.
After several clashes, Uchiha Rai closed the distance and unleashed Fireball Technique.
Senju Teru knew Takihiko Tomiya would dodge, so he threw Shuriken, preventing Takihiko Tomiya from avoiding the fireball.
Takihiko Tomiya had no choice but to use Water Release Ninjutsu for defense.
After seeing the water shield created by Takihiko Tomiya, Senju Teru thought,
“All three of them have the same attribute, don’t they? However, this isn’t good for them.”
He quickly formed Hand Seals and then placed his hands on the ground.
Just then, the fireball had already engulfed the water shield. But due to the presence of the shield, Takihiko Tomiya was temporarily completely safe.
Tragically, just then, a stone spear emerged from underground. It easily pierced through the water shield and rushed towards Takihiko Tomiya.
The stone spear panicked him. He grabbed a kunai and tried to block the spear.
But the stone spear pushed him backward, knocking him out of the water shield and into the fireball, burning him alive.
Seeing him dead, Senju Teru breathed a sigh of relief. He said,
“It’s all taken care of.”
Uchiha Rai nodded and said,
“Yes, that was easier than expected.”
Senju Teru chuckled,
“Yeah. I hope this guy doesn’t have the scroll.”
Uchiha Rai looked at Senju Teru with a confused expression. But he quickly realized and cursed,
“Damn it! If the scroll was with him, it would have turned to ash.”
Just then, Hatake Kaon appeared from behind. He said,
“Don’t worry. That lunatic didn’t have the scroll.”
Then he gently tossed the scroll into the air and said,
“We’re lucky that such a weak team had the scroll we needed.”
Senju Teru said,
“Great, we got the scroll of earth. Let’s head to the Tower.”
Uchiha Rai objected,
“That’s too boring. Why don’t we try to eliminate the weaker teams in the forest? That way there will be less competition later.”
Hatake Kaon shook his head and said,
“It’s fine, this forest will weed out the weak teams.”
Senju Teru nodded in agreement,
“Yeah. Besides, the longer we stay in the forest, the more teams will set traps near the Tower. If a team is weak enough to be eliminated by us in this round, then we can do the same in the next round.”
Seeing both his teammates oppose his idea, Uchiha Rai compromised and followed his team towards the Tower.