Chapter 134: Yagura's Plot?

Aoi's Side

The mist was thick, almost solid.

Aoi felt that something was wrong. Every muscle tense, breath controlled.

Then, the sound.

CLANG!

A blade came down on him.

He blocked the strike by a hair's breadth, the metal vibrating on impact. He jumped back, watching his attacker.

Too fast.

Not a normal student.

But he didn't have time to think about it.

A whistle in the air.

Aoi moved on instinct. A strike missed by a hair.

But in that moment, Water bullets pierced through the mist, aimed at his attacker.

Who had launched them?

A familiar figure emerged from the fog.

Hiroshi Hozuki.

His smile was sharp."Finally, someone worth fighting!"

The mysterious enemy did not flinch.

Hiroshi attacked first. His arms turned into jets of water, shooting forward with force.

The opponent dodged effortlessly, precise, calculated movements.

Aoi observed. Analyzed.

He's keeping up with Hiroshi.

The realization made his blood run cold.

"Water Clone Technique."

A clone appeared beside him, formed from the very mist that surrounded them.

Damn it… Hiroshi is my best ally right now.

The clash exploded in a whirlwind of blows.

Hiroshi darted forward, fluid, his body liquefying and reforming in an unpredictable fight.

But the attacker did not waver.

He moved with deadly grace, a perfect dance between attacks.

Aoi waited for the right opening.

His clone moved, trying to create a distraction. Hiroshi lunged with a water punch—

The enemy avoided the hit with unnatural speed.

Then attacked.

A flash of steel slashed through the air.

SHLACK!

The blade struck him square in the chest.

Hiroshi tried to dissolve into water… but only partially.

Aoi turned pale.

Blood.

Hiroshi staggered back, his breathing short.

The cut was deep. It had wounded him despite his transformation.

Aoi did not hesitate.

Three explosive tags flew through the air.

BOOM!

The explosions ripped through the mist, debris everywhere.

He seized the moment.

He knelt beside Hiroshi. Too much blood.

The wound was dangerous. A few millimeters deeper and…

No. Focus.

Aoi pressed a sterile bandage onto the wound.

"Stop gritting your teeth and let me work."

Hiroshi spat on the ground.

"Don't give me orders, worthless medic."

But he didn't move.

Aoi was preparing to seal the wound with chakra when—

A scream.

His clone had fallen.

The enemy lunged at him.

The blade gleamed in the mist, aimed at his throat—

CRACK!

A wall of ice exploded between them.

The attack was stopped instantly.

Aoi lifted his gaze.

Through the mist, two eyes as cold as snow stared at him.

Yukiko had arrived.

Ren's Side

The attack came.

A shadow leaped out of the mist, the blade aimed straight at his throat.

Ren moved by mere millimeters, the cut grazing his neck without touching it. The opponent landed clumsily, thrown off balance by the failed execution.

"Damn it!"

The boy raised his hands.

"Wait, wait! Sorry! I thought you were an animal!"

Ren did not respond. His eyes narrowed slightly, analyzing the opponent. Too calm. Too sure.

"Who are you?"

"Tenzo." The boy gave a slight smile.

"I never saw you at the acadamey."

 " Because I never attended it. I learned to fight on my own."

Ren remained impassive.

A lie.

"Things are getting worse, we should team up. Together, we'd have a better chance of surviving."

Ren did not respond. Every instinct told him he was suspicious.

Then—

Memories.

A wave of information crashed over him.

Kurara. Wounded. An opponent with a mask. Maybe Zabuza.

He had to move.

Without warning, he grabbed Tenzo's arm tightly, locking him in a lethal grip as he pulled out his ninja wire.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"I don't have time for games."

His hands moved quickly to immobilize him, but his instinct screamed danger.

Who!

He darted to the side.

SHING!

A blade sliced through the spot where he had been just an instant before.

Ren spun around.

A second attacker had appeared from the mist.

Tenzo yanked free with a jerk, jumping back.

"Tsk. Too bad."

Ren studied them. A strategist and an executioner. It was an ambush.

"Careful," Tenzo said to the other. "He's not like the others."

Ren barely smiled, "You have no idea what you're dealing with."

Mist Body Flicker.

The mist twisted around him.

He vanished.

Tenzo and his partner spun around, searching for him in the fog.

Too late.

Ren appeared behind the second attacker.

"Lightning: Static Shock Strike!"

The electric energy concentrated in his palms, striking the opponent's nerve points.

The attacker's eyes widened. His muscles locked instantly.

Ren shoved him away, letting him fall heavily to the ground, paralyzed.

One down.

Tenzo moved instantly, dashing into the mist.

Ren did not follow.

A thin smirk appeared on his lips.

Tenzo was running exactly where Ren wanted him to go.

BZZZT!

The trap seal activated.

BOOM!

The sealed energy exploded, hitting Tenzo head-on.

Ren approached slowly, his breath steady.

"I told you I don't have time to waste."

The second attacker lay on the ground, still paralyzed by Static Shock Palm. His breathing was heavy, his body unable to respond.

Ren approached, his face impassive.

"Talk."

The other lifted his gaze, confused.

"How many of you are there?"

Silence.

Ren crouched down, his tone lower, more dangerous.

"Why are you doing this?"

The attacker swallowed hard, struggling against the paralysis. Then, he hissed through clenched teeth:

"It's not my will. They are orders."

"Orders from who?"

A shadow of a bitter smile crossed the enemy's face.

"From the Mizukage."

Ren felt a shiver run down his spine.

Yagura orchestrated all this?

It was a crazy thought… or maybe not.

The exam was already ruthless, but if the Mizukage himself was manipulating events, then the real goal wasn't to test the students. It was to eliminate them.

Something stinks.

Ren stared at the attacker, the thought hammering in his mind.

What should he do with him?

If he let him go, he might become a threat later. If he eliminated him, he would be acting like a true Mist shinobi…

He gritted his teeth.

He didn't have time for moral dilemmas.

A sharp blow to the neck.

The attacker lost consciousness.

Ren dragged both bodies into the vegetation, covering them with leaves and branches to keep them from being found immediately.

Then he stood up, his gaze set in the direction where Kurara was.

He had to move.

He turned.

He had to reach Kurara.

Fast.