New Special Moves
"Bai Ye… This guy won't die just from rupturing a few blood vessels, huh?"
Kazuo and Shō were still joking in the middle of the arena. Despite sensing the overwhelming pressure radiating from Bai Ye, neither moved an inch.
At that moment, Bai Ye's body glowed faintly green. His skin flushed from pale to crimson, and bulging veins covered his limbs and neck—his blood circulation clearly operating at extreme speed.
He raised his right index and middle fingers, pressed together. A crimson light flickered at the tips, directly aimed at Kazuo and Shō.
"Hey—ever seen ninjutsu fall from the sky?"
"You lunatic! Stop talking and run!"
The moment Bai Ye raised his fingers, both boys felt a tingling across their skin, as if the air itself were folding in on them. They didn't need convincing—Kazuo instantly abandoned any pretense of bravado and sprinted off. If that glowing finger even grazed him, he'd be in the hospital for weeks.
Bai Ye's power had clearly reached a climax—but he didn't strike immediately. He remained still, power continuing to build.
Then he opened his tightly shut eyes.
The entire ceiling cracked with a thunderous snap—then vanished.
Even Yuyan, watching through her Byakugan from the edge of the field, only saw a black streak flash past her field of vision. She couldn't track his movement at all.
"Human Bomb Tank!"
Kazuo, glancing skyward while retreating, saw the hole blown open in the ceiling and felt his scalp go numb.
He immediately swelled his body, retracting his limbs and head—forming a perfect, rolling ball of flesh. His movement was practiced, almost instinctive.
"I—!"
Shō, running beside him, was sent stumbling when Kazuo's expanded body slammed into him. His expression turned sour.
Realizing he couldn't recover his footing in time, Shō grabbed onto Kazuo and used him as a human shield.
Only a single second passed from Bai Ye's disappearance to their defensive response.
Before Obito could even make a sarcastic comment, the entire arena shook violently. He had to grip the railing to stay upright.
Don't be fooled—Obito wasn't weak. It only seemed that way because the others around him were monsters. Compared to other fresh graduates, his ability was already near the top.
"Gulp… Is he trying to bring down the entire exam hall?"
The tremors lasted five full seconds. When Obito finally regained his balance, he looked down—face pale.
What used to be the central arena had collapsed into an enormous crater. It looked like a small-scale Shinra Tensei had gone off—nothing but destruction in all directions.
At the center, Kazuo's large form was embedded halfway into the far wall, only a portion of his body still visible.
Poor Shō was wedged between him and the concrete, immobilized.
"That move's monstrous. But the backlash is brutal," muttered Kakashi from the cracked second-floor gallery, staring down with narrowed eyes.
His words hinted that he and Guy already knew about Bai Ye's trump card.
"That impact... it felt close to jōnin-level force."
At the edge of the devastation, piles of stone covered the ground. Underneath, a swarm of black insects churned. In the center, Kazuhiko lay protected.
"Good thing I never relied on brute strength," he murmured, chuckling despite his bloodied condition.
The force from Bai Ye's strike had driven deep into the earth, dispersing with a shockwave like Shinra Tensei—but less refined. The impact was wild, tearing through the terrain without precision.
Kazuhiko had prepared. Before the exam, he'd burrowed into a tunnel dug by his kikaichū. The pressure from falling debris forced him to the field's edge.
Even with insect shielding, he was wounded all over. His legs took the worst of it, and he could no longer stand.
"Secret Technique: Insect Jade!"
Detecting no movement from Bai Ye underground, Kazuhiko unleashed a torrent of kikaichū. They erupted from the cracked gourd on his back, tearing through the debris, rushing toward Kakashi and the others.
Among the competitors, Kazuhiko feared Bai Ye the most. His unpredictable use of Ice Release made him dangerous. But now, with his chakra depleted and his body wrecked, he was no longer a threat.
Kazuhiko still chose a conservative approach.
Ten meters beneath the surface, Bai Ye had carved out a narrow pit just wide enough for himself. His body was drenched in blood. Capillaries across his body had ruptured, and he looked like a corpse.
Kazuhiko judged him out of the match—and didn't bother targeting him further.
"Get up. We're under attack."
Kakashi appeared beside the embedded Kazuo, slapping the giant meatball with his palm.
After two smacks, the swollen mass deflated with a hiss, reverting back to Kazuo's hefty frame.
"I thought I was gonna suffocate in there…"
Beside him, Shō emerged gasping for air, glaring at Kazuo with pure resentment.
While being slammed into the wall, Shō's face had been completely smothered by Kazuo's body fat. For a few harrowing seconds, he'd genuinely thought he was going to die.
"You're in terrible shape," Kazuo grumbled, brushing himself off. "I took the hit for you."
"I—!"
"Save it," Kakashi cut in sharply. "Kazuhiko's insects are closing in."
Shō bit his tongue, fury bubbling in his throat, but seeing both Kazuo and Kakashi shift into fighting stance, he reluctantly followed suit.
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