The Enlightened One Ch.67 (Patreon)

— Anko —

Anko sat in a tree, within the Forest of Death, hidden from all examinees while petting one of her smaller snake summons. 

She could feel some crazy vibrations going on around in the forest, and some real large chakra reserves moving differently. 

Yup, this Chunin Exams may be the best one in recent history, maybe even of all time!

She already knew it was gonna be a show when she saw the kid, the Kyuubi girl, the Hyuga Heir and the Uchiha Heir all in it, but then when she learned that there were even more Clan Heirs competing-

She had to throw some bread in the basket! 

Of course there was only one person she believed could win, none other than the genin who she would confidently say could kick her ass in a one on one fight. 

Was it sad for her to admit that a boy nearly half her age could beat her?

A bit?

Did she care when she could make triple her life savings from this bet?

Not a fucking chance! 

She was going to be rich, and all she had to do was sit her pretty round ass and eat dango while it happened!

A sudden thought came to her mind, an order from the Hokage. 

He had told her to be on the lookout for Orochimaru, Danzo, or any ROOT that could possibly infiltrate the forest. As she expanded her senses, the only thing that was mildly concerning was the two large chakra masses battling around some of the kids deeper in the forest. 

They were all pretty close together with the exception of one of the large chakra masses that seemed to be off by itself. 

While the signatures were high, they were familiar. Definitely, the two Konoha boys that were on the same team as the pink-haired girl. 

Which means all should be well!

Anko let out an annoyed sigh as she rose to her feet.

Yeah right…

She’d be in huge trouble if she didn’t check out what was going on over there. The chakra signatures were just too high to be anything less than concerning, and she’d be damned if she lost her freedom because she decided to be lazy! 

Anko began moving toward one of the huge chakra signatures, the loner. She prayed in her heart that no foul play was involved, but knowing her life…

She was about to be buried in some deep shit. 

— Naruko —

The blonde-haired Uzumaki looked at the chakra figure covering and shielding Taro’s body with no small amount of hesitation. 

She had no idea what the hell that was, but she knew that literally seeing chakra wasn’t a good thing. Only the super badass, powerful ninja could keep their chakra that strong and visible for extended periods of time, and while Naruko knew she was among those ranks, it was only if the fur ball inside her tummy was in a jolly mood. 

No matter how she looked at this, Taro had somehow managed to get stronger! 

Which means they were in trouble…

Naruko glanced down at her hip, her focus was hardstuck on her pouch. Should she…go and help Lei?

If there was a chance that Kuzan also had this insane level of power, then Lei needed their help, right?

“Focus, Naruko!” Hinata called out.

Naruko returned her attention to the battlefield and saw everyone preparing for Taro’s inevitable attack. 

Hinata and Satsuki were already in their stances, with the latter holding a hand sign in preparation for what was to come. 

“If he managed to tank Choji’s attack, then that chakra around him is no joke. Scratch the initial plan; we need something new.” Shikamaru informed them while still kneeling on the ground. His gaze went over to Choji’s downed form for a few seconds before he glared at their opponent. 

Naruko however didn’t know if anything could be done to the guy. A powerful hit like that should leave even the most experienced of chunin incapacitated, and could likely take out a jonin. However, she was far from giving up just because something seemed hard!

If she surrendered when things got tough, what kind of person would she be? What kind of ninja would she be?! 

A quitter that’s what she’d be, and Naruko Uzumaki ain’t no quitter! 

“If hitting him hard doesn’t work…” Naruko grinned as both of her hands came up to form the clone seal. “Then we just have to hit him really hard!” 

‘Shadow Clone Jutsu!’

Beside Naruko, hundreds of clones appeared with a puff of smoke, all confidently standing and taunting Taro.

“Good thing for us, we have more than a couple hard hitters!” Naruko called out, giving the two girls she spent entire days with a confident smirk. 

Hinata gave a gentle smile in response, and Satsuki returned the smirk. 

“So that’s how it’s gonna be…” Shikamaru face-palmed, but as Naruko looked closer, she could see the smile he had behind his hand. “Alright then! Everyone groups up, and hit him till he drops!” 

““Right!””

— Kurotsuchi —

The Granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage stared down at her opponents. The boy had long since lost consciousness, the dark skinned girl was on her last leg, panting with her body fighting against her. 

The last woman…

She was still standing, albeit not doing much better than the other girl.

Her two men had been laid out already, their spirits were strong, but their bodies weren’t strong enough to survive this battle. Unfortunately for her chances of success all things considered, but she knew they could be patched up later. No Hidden Stone Shinobi would dare fall in an exam like this, and if any of them should fall, then they did not embody the Will of Stone!

“This battle…was wasteful.” The blonde-haired woman, Samui, breathed out. Her clothes were torn and shredded in some places, and scratches, cuts, and bruises riddled her body. 

“In your eyes, it may have been.” Kurotsuchi frowned, raising a clenched fist to the Hidden Cloud Shinobi. “But not for me…I made a promise to myself, to my village—and I intend on keeping it.”

“By making things harder for everyone?” 

“By standing alone.” Kurotsuchi corrected with a shake of her head. She knew people from the other villages wouldn’t understand. Why would they? They were not raised on the principles of the Stone Village. They did not understand what it meant to be unmoving, to have a spirit to stand and die for their village unflinchingly.

She didn’t need a rhyme or reason to carry out this mission. Her grandfather ordered her to kill Lei Senju, so it shall be. 

Her grandfather could have ordered her to bring him the Senju’s head at the cost of her life, and she’d gladly fulfill that order because that’s what it meant to be a shinobi of the Stone.

Anything less is the mark of a weak tree sitter.

“I understand.” Samui nodded, standing a bit taller, and the Stone shinobi raised an eyebrow at her.

“No, I don’t think you do.” 

“I wouldn’t have said I did unless I did…” Samui blinked back. 

Kurotsuchi looked at the blonde for a long while. Then, she let out a sigh. 

“Then I suppose you do-”

“Which is exactly why I won’t allow you to take down Lei Senju by yourself,” Samui added, her gaze growing a level sharper. “Your Kage ordered you in the same way ours ordered us. We could have worked together, but your traditions clash with our methods. That’s fine. We’ll just have to cut through your forces first.” 

Kurotsuchi paused at that, not because she was fearful, but because she couldn’t figure out this Samui woman. She had believed that all Cloud Shinobi were relatively the same, fool-hearted and brash. The kind of shinobi that would rush into a battle and die without ever hearing their orders. 

Yet this woman…

She not only understood the Will of Stone, but actively chose to embody it. 

Perhaps…they weren’t that different. 

“Then let’s finish this.” Kurotsuchi offered, weaving through hand seals. 

Once she claimed victory over this team, she’d spare the woman…Samui. It was the least she could do. 

— Kuzan —

The traitor looked down at the glaring scorched golem that was still trying its best to move. Its entire body was burned all over, some places worse than others, and it seemed the intense heat disabled its ability to move freely. 

…But it was recovering. 

Faster than he’d like. 

Yet killing it didn’t seem to be an option. 

Which means he had to end this fight as soon as possible and complete his mission. 

Kuzan looked out to the forest, frowning at the fact that he still couldn’t sense the Senju’s chakra signature. 

He had managed to fall off the grid as if he was never there to begin with, and the ROOT agent had no way of tracking him. 

Typical Lei. 

Did he truly intend to wait him out until he could no longer fight? Smart, but utterly cowardly. It should have been expected of him to pull something like this. Hiding away while someone or something else fixes the problems he’s created. 

Suddenly, several wood spikes launched Kuzan’s way. He stared at them uncaringly as the Susanoo absorbed the hits. 

So he wasn’t as cowardly as he thought, surprising.

Kuzan’s eyes focused on the approaching wood clones that had sprung the surprise assault. They were rushing him at a higher speed than anything Lei had managed beforehand—meaning his target had likely healed. 

That…was acceptable.

As the clones closed the distance, contrary to what Kuzan believed they would do, they began attacking the Susanoo with physical strikes instead of using Jutsu. 

For a split second, the traitor was dumbfounded at the sight. 

Such a thing…was the height of stupidity.

It didn’t make sense. Lei wasn’t that stupid.

He’s planning something. 

Kuzan used the skeletal arms of the Susanoo to swipe at the clones, a deep frown tugging at his lips as they dodged the hits before resuming their pointless attacks.

They were nothing more than insects swarming around him, insects he resolved needed to be crushed.

As Kuzan was readying another attack, his gaze fell on the massive wood construct, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of the golem beginning to stand back up. The burns on its large body had been significantly reduced. 

“GRAAAAAHHHHHHH!” The golem shouted as it pushed itself back to its feet. 

Problem after problem seemed to emerge when it came to dealing with this annoyance!

Kuzan began weaving through hand seals again, even as the clones attempted to batter through the Susanoo.

It was of no concern, he would just scorch the golem again and buy more time-

Suddenly, he along with the clones were swept up in a giant blast of water, getting knocked all the way down to the forest floor. Even as they fell, the water didn’t stop, pushing them harder against the ground. 

“GRAAAAAAAH!” The golem roared above them, bringing a giant foot into the air, before dropping it down.

BOOOOM

The impact left Kuzan disoriented from the blow, his Susanoo still held strong, but the force of the impact hadn’t been completely absorbed by the chakra construct. 

The golem repeated its action, bringing its foot up, before dropping it back down, this time harder and faster than before.

BOOOOOOOM

Kuzan quickly shook his head and tried to make his move, but paled when he saw that the clones that had previously given him nothing more than a mild headache, had now managed to hold his Susanoo down with wood restraints. 

Kuzan nearly panicked when he saw the golem decided to switch up its tactics. Instead of raising its foot into the air, it jumped high into the air and dropped its entire body down to the ground!

The ROOT agent knew he couldn’t take that hit! Not even the power of the Susanoo would be able to keep him unharmed from such a blow! So, to free himself, he reverted the Susanoo to its ribcage state, and quickly shot into the air, aiming to land on a tree branch-

Time slowed in mid-air as he looked off to his side, his eyes widening in shock and an emotion he hadn’t felt in a long time—fear.

Two Wood dragons were cruising through the air, their gazes locked onto him. 

As Kuzan looked at the two approaching dragons, he caught a glance at the figure tens of meters behind them, standing on a tree branch. 

His mind barely processed the boy’s face before the dragons were within range. Their bodies began to glow, and Kuzan knew at that moment…

He had lost. 

BOOOOOM

BOOOOOM

— Chapter End —

Beta-reader: @Dragonboy1

Author’s Note: This chapter and the next two won’t be affected by the poll since enough time hasn’t passed. (Even if it seems like Longer Chapters is gonna win unsurprisingly)