Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Clash of Titans!

Body Flicker Technique! Kakashi lunged towards Maki.

For a ninja, speed truly is the key to doing as one pleases.

The future 'Fastest Shinobi in the World', Minato Namikaze, built his reputation on speed.

With his Flying Thunder God Technique, he left the Raikage brothers utterly defeated.

Kakashi was currently following a similar path.

"Summoning Technique!"

Meanwhile, Uchiha Takashi stopped to perform a summoning jutsu, bringing forth Taiichi.

Bang! A white mist dispersed.

A three-legged crow, covered in dark golden feathers, appeared on the battlefield.

"What a huge crow!"

"It's a summoning beast!"

...

Under the watchful eyes of many, the summoned Taiichi began to move.

Caw! It spread its wings and took to the sky.

In previous summonings, Taiichi had always fought on the ground, but one must not forget that Taiichi can fly.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Amidst the howling winds.

Taiichi soared into the sky, casting a massive shadow below.

The Taiichi of today was a far cry from the one during the graduation exam a few months ago.

Back then, it was barely as tall as a person, with a wingspan of only a few meters.

In the world before, it would be considered a 'large bird', but in the ninja world, it was merely 'small'.

Now, things were different!

Its wingspan exceeded over ten meters, creating an impressive spectacle.

It looked enormous.

But in reality, the size of birds can be misleading.

The wingspan was indeed over ten meters, but with wings folded, it stood about six meters tall.

Yes, this height wasn't short.

But compared to those gigantic summoning beasts that easily reach over ten meters tall, it was barely half their size, maybe a third.

So, Taiichi still had plenty of room to grow.

Caw! The airborne Taiichi began its assault.

It spat out fireballs the size of soccer balls.

Target?

The giant Black Bear, roughly the height of a two-story building on the ground.

The choice was obvious since attacking other targets would be futile.

With a ninja's maxed-out evasion skills, dodging such fireball attacks was truly simple.

But for the Black Bear, it was a different story.

Its bulky frame made it an easy target.

Boom, boom!

Fireballs exploded, turning a large area of the ground into a sea of flames, with a power that seemed to destroy everything in its path.

Some even fell victim to this indiscriminate fireball barrage.

This is the terror of a large summoning beast! Its attacks grow with its size.

If Taiichi's size were the same as during the graduation exam, it couldn't have caused such destruction.

But now, with its size multiplied several times, its destructive power increased more than tenfold.

For Taiichi, such a terrifying attack didn't consume much energy, akin to using a C-rank jutsu.

Roar! A furious roar echoed from the sea of flames.

The massive Black Bear charged out of the 'sea of fire', heading straight for Uchiha Takashi.

It was clear that its animal instincts had sensed the connection between the two.

It couldn't do anything to Taiichi in the sky, but it could certainly target the summoner on the ground.

"Truly thick-skinned!"

Uchiha Takashi stood atop a tree, muttering to himself as he watched the tank-like Black Bear crash through the trees towards him.

Yet, he showed no intention of dodging.

These large ninja beasts were incredibly difficult to deal with.

Because they wielded the extraordinary power of 'chakra'.

They could enhance their attack, defense, and other abilities, which was why it could withstand Taiichi's assault and charge out.

If it were an ordinary beast, no matter how large, it would have perished.

Just as the Black Bear closed in.

Chapter 38: Clash of Titans!

Boom! A massive explosion erupted from below.

It was an explosive tag!

The attack's power was no less than a high-level Fire Release jutsu, and even a Kage-level ninja wouldn't dare to ignore its threat.

However, the cost was equally staggering.

30,000 ryo per tag! This time, Uchiha Takashi had Yamakawa Koji use five of them to set up a trap.

Facing such a formidable opponent, a single tag wouldn't be much use, so they used up all of Team Three's stock in one go.

By the way, explosive tags have an 'expiration date'; you can't just buy them once and use them forever.

As the explosion's smoke cleared,

Uchiha Takashi saw the barely breathing Black Bear on the ground in front of him.

Hit at point-blank range by five explosive tags, even a large ninja beast would meet a tragic end.

If it were an intelligent summoned beast, it might have dodged or defended itself.

But this Black Bear, despite having chakra, was nearly devoid of intelligence, which is why it fell for such a simple trap.

Otherwise, trying to kill it head-on would have required much more effort.

Of course, this was also because Team Three didn't play fair, using such a devastating weapon as explosive tags.

Other candidates didn't use them not because they didn't want to, but because they couldn't afford to.

Poverty limits imagination!

At 30,000 ryo each, they're not something a genin can afford.

Even jonin wouldn't have many, if any at all.

But Uchiha Takashi was different.

To him, his life was more important, so the more powerful weapons, the better.

And he had the means to acquire them, which is how he got five to use as his trump card.

Looking at it now, the effect was astonishing.

In an instant, it severely injured the Black Bear that even Maki couldn't handle.

"Uchiha Takashi, watch out!"

At that moment, Yamakawa Koji suddenly shouted.

A candidate wearing a Cloud Village headband had silently appeared behind Uchiha Takashi, stabbing him with a kunai.

Poof! Uchiha Takashi's entire body dissipated into smoke.

A Clone Technique! A standard D-rank jutsu.

If someone had a Byakugan or similar bloodline limit, they could have seen through it.

The problem was, the attacker didn't have such abilities.

Judging by the technique and aura, the opponent was definitely an experienced professional assassin, not an ordinary ninja.

But even so, they failed spectacularly.

While the D-rank Clone Technique is far inferior to the B-rank Shadow Clone Technique, when standing still on a tree, its ability to deceive is indeed impressive.

The key point is that no one expected Uchiha Takashi to use a clone as bait from the very beginning.

"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

A wheel-sized flame bullet shattered the Cloud-nin who had just attempted the sneak attack.

It was Uchiha Takashi! As a master of the 'Cautious Style,' he wasn't foolish enough to stand in such a high place.

It was all to lure someone into making a move.

And it worked.

A single C-rank jutsu swiftly took care of the assassin.

Yes, the opponent was definitely not a candidate but an assassin sent by another ninja village.

The entire battle ended in an instant, without the hundreds of rounds of fighting you might expect.

This is the reality of ninja battles.

Dangerous and swift! This isn't a time of peace; the Chunin Exams are a legitimate killing ground. The casualty rates in the anime's Chunin Exams are just child's play.

"Binding Technique!"

Just then, a strip of white cloth swept toward Uchiha Takashi.

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

Yamakawa Koji also stepped in to help.

Whoosh! A kunai shot towards Uchiha Takashi.

Maki's teammates, Juun and Yoroi, also made their move.

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Maki were clashing not far away, and the sound of metal clashing indicated the intensity of their battle.

Taiichi couldn't intervene in this kind of fight.

Because of its large size.

If it did, not only would it fail to resolve the enemy, but it could also easily cause friendly fire.

Team Three vs. Maki's Squad!

One of the biggest highlights of this exam had finally begun.

(End of Chapter)

Drop some power stoooones