Boom!
The light cannons suspended in the sky fired into the earth. The water shuttles tilted and rotated, slicing the ground apart like rotten beef. Even the underground waterways were pierced through, muddy torrents surging through the cracks.
Where the light cannons raked across the land, a slender white snake darted through the mud. Its agile movement and lightning-fast reactions allowed it to avoid the firepower pouring down from above.
Hiss!
A laser swept across from a tricky angle. The earth split open instantly, and the white snake failed to dodge in time. Its head was sliced clean off.
Even so, the headless white snake continued twisting madly as it fled. Because it had lost part of its body, it actually became even more agile.
Buzz.
The piercing hum gradually faded. The straight beams of light in the sky also became unstable. As their energy rapidly drained away, the wildly spinning water shuttles fell silent once more.
The distance was too great. Konome could not recharge them remotely, so she swiftly recalled the water shuttles.
In the mud, the white snake whose head had been cut off writhed violently. Its abdomen suddenly split open, and Orochimaru crawled out from within, soaked from head to toe yet completely unharmed.
Orochimaru Style: Substitution Jutsu.
Snakes already possessed extremely tenacious vitality. Even after being decapitated and having their organs removed, their nervous systems could still function normally.
This substitution technique imitated natural phenomena such as a snake's immortality and molting, allowing the user to refresh the body's condition. As long as the soul itself was not damaged, any injury could be restored.
Because Orochimaru's body had undergone human experimentation, her mastery of this technique was extremely high. Its chakra consumption was also very low. One could say it was the ninjutsu she was most skilled in.
"Danzo actually died?"
Her hoarse voice carried uncontrollable fear. Orochimaru stood in place, waiting for Danzo to revive, yet no trace of him appeared for a long time.
Danzo did not know space-time ninjutsu. His powerful chakra could not have vanished completely either. This could only mean one thing. Under that gray force of death and decay, even Izanagi, which could rewrite reality, had failed to call Danzo back from the underworld.
That man who had ruled Konoha alongside the Third Hokage, the man known as the Darkness of the Ninja World, was dead.
"Can you tell me what that gray power is?"
Orochimaru stared straight into Konome's eyes. There was fear of the unknown in her gaze, but also a hunger for knowledge and Kekkei Genkai.
"Kekkei Mora: All-Killing Ash Bones."
Konome spread her jade-like palm. Strands of death and decay power swirled within it.
Having discovered a new use for Takamagahara, Konome was in a good mood. Out of appreciation for a fellow researcher, she was not stingy about sharing certain knowledge.
"Kekkei Mora?"
Seeing that Konome did not seem intent on wiping her out immediately, Orochimaru temporarily halted the Reverse Summoning Jutsu hidden in her sleeve.
"When two chakra natures fuse, it is a Kekkei Genkai. When three chakra natures fuse, it is a Kekkei Tota. When all seven chakra natures fuse, it becomes a Kekkei Mora."
"You fused seven chakra natures?"
Orochimaru's eyes widened sharply after hearing Konome's words.
She had mastered all seven chakra natures and had studied nature transformation for more than forty years, yet she had not managed to synthesize even one Kekkei Genkai. How had this girl, at such a young age, fused seven natures into a Kekkei Mora?
"I was not finished."
Konome, of course, had not completed the final form of Kekkei Mora.
Her path to Kekkei Mora still depended on Orochimaru's improved Impure World Reincarnation to summon Pakura, the Scorch Release user, from the underworld.
"Kekkei Genkai come in many forms. Some are physical mutations, such as dojutsu like the Sharingan and Byakugan. They are completely different from Kekkei Genkai formed through nature fusion."
"The power of Kekkei Mora also varies widely, so it naturally cannot all be lumped together."
Konome spoke calmly.
In the original story, it was only stated that fusing Yin, Yang, and the five elemental natures produced Kekkei Mora, but the true meaning of Kekkei Mora had never been explained clearly.
Only when she used the All-Killing Ash Bones did she suddenly understand what the term meant.
In essence, Kekkei Mora was the fusion of two or more Kekkei Genkai.
For example, the Rabbit Hair Needle she could use as a chunin was a power born from the linkage between the Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku.
With the Byakugan's detection and extreme control, the Shikotsumyaku's physical manipulation, and even Takamagahara's power before the gray eyes had fully awakened, the powers of three Kekkei Genkai fused into one. A Kekkei Mora was naturally born.
By the same logic, the All-Killing Ash Bones were also a Kekkei Mora.
This power required the ultimate life force of the Sage Body to merge with and stimulate Shikotsumyaku. It was obtained through the ultimate transformation between life and death. Since it was the fusion and evolution of two Kekkei Genkai, it naturally belonged to the category of Kekkei Mora.
Kaguya Otsutsuki's Rinne Sharingan was similar. It required the combination of a Sage Body, Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and even the power of the Tailed Beasts. Its conditions were extremely harsh.
"I see."
Orochimaru understood part of it. That death power, likely evolved from Shikotsumyaku, was actually on the same level as the Kekkei Mora created by fusing seven natures.
"So what do you want?"
Orochimaru's eyes were filled with wariness, and her posture was extremely humble.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
After killing Danzo, the other party did not continue attacking. Instead, she stood there and explained her ability. Excluding the possibility that Konome was a fool, the only explanation was that she wanted something.
Orochimaru was certainly afraid of death. Otherwise, she would never have developed Living Corpse Reincarnation to prolong her life.
Her enemy's ability was far too dangerous. Even Izanagi, which rewrote reality, was ineffective against it. Her Living Corpse Reincarnation and substitution techniques were likely unable to withstand it either.
The only reason she could still speak calmly was because she still held two trump cards, Reverse Summoning Jutsu and Impure World Reincarnation.
"Your improved Impure World Reincarnation. The corpse of Pakura, the Scorch Release user. The corpse of Gari, the Explosion Release ninja. Haku, the Ice Release ninja. And the corpse of the Second Tsuchikage, Mu."
Konome stated her demands directly while watching Orochimaru's expression shift repeatedly.
In normal negotiations, one should hide one's true goal as much as possible, to prevent the other party from seeing through it and raising the price. But she no longer needed such tricks, because she now held true power.
"You are asking for quite a lot."
Orochimaru's voice grew extremely hoarse. Her trump card, Impure World Reincarnation, had actually been seen through in advance.
Did Konome have a spy beside her?
Only Kabuto Yakushi knew about the improved version of Impure World Reincarnation. He was also the one who dug up the corpses of Pakura, Gari, and the others. The informant seemed as if it could only be Kabuto.
"It is already cheap for buying your life."
Konome's eyes shimmered with gray light. Her aura of fear pressed down on Orochimaru's body.
Every card in Orochimaru's hand was within her control. The casting windup for both Impure World Reincarnation and Reverse Summoning was long. Her weight issue had already been resolved, and with the speed of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, she could kill Orochimaru eight hundred times in the time it took her to form hand seals.
Feeling that intense aura of terror, Orochimaru's heartbeat almost skipped. Her chest felt as if it had been soaked in seawater, heavy and powerless.
Click. Click.
Her teeth trembled in fear. For the first time, she personally experienced the terror Danzo had described. She finally understood why Ao had been unable to speak and had been executed on the spot.
Even after multiple human modifications and beginning to break free from the restraints of a human body, she still lost more than half her combat power under this overwhelming fear.
She was already weaker in direct strength. Her hidden trump cards had been seen through. Now she also had to fight under this pressure.
Did she even have a one percent chance of winning?
Looking at the long water shuttles, now recharged and glowing once more, Orochimaru felt that might be too optimistic.
"Is this also Kekkei Mora?"
Buzz.
Twelve long water shuttles lined up on Konome's left and right like angel wings. Their beast-like narrow pupils stared fixedly at Orochimaru.
"You know."
Konome slowly walked forward. Her eyes met Orochimaru's shrinking pupils, which were filled with fear.
"What I want to hear is not that."
"Hand over what I asked for, and you do not have to die. Simple enough, right, Orochimaru?"
"Gulp."
Orochimaru's throat kept rolling. Facing those gray eyes full of killing intent, she discovered that she could not say even half a word of refusal.
At the same time, in the Bone Hell.
Purple-black clouds covered the sky. It was clearly the brightest hour of the afternoon, yet within the gloomy Bone Hell, it looked as if night was about to fall.
An unremarkable pile of white bones stood there.
Scarlet fungal threads grew between the bone cracks at a visible speed, giving off a sweet, sticky, bloody smell. At first glance, it looked as if long-dried bones were growing blood vessels again, preparing to live a second life.
A faint sound of breathing came from within the bone pile.
The sound was disordered, yet extremely soft and deep. If one did not listen carefully, it would blend with the breeze. Paired with the ferocious bone pile covered in red veins, it was truly chilling.
"How is it?"
A suppressed female voice sounded from within the bone pile. It was even lighter and thinner than the breathing, like it had squeezed through a crack in a door, or as if the speaker was enduring something.
Hearing his teammate's question, Neji, hiding beneath the bones, quickly formed a hand seal. His pale eyes shone, and the veins at the corners of his eyes bulged even further.
Byakugan, activate!
His Byakugan pierced through the blood-threaded bone pile and gazed into the distance. After a long while, he still could not locate that terrifying Sunagakure ninja.
"I do not see him."
"Whew."
Tenten, hiding in the bone pile, quietly let out a breath. Suddenly, the bones covering her body and the red hairs prickling against her skin no longer felt as unbearable as she had imagined.
Their luck had been terrible. Right after landing, they had run into a group of troublesome Sand ninja.
Neji and Lee were very strong in taijutsu. Logically speaking, they could even fight a jonin. But unfortunately, they had encountered Sunagakure ninja who completely countered them.
The enemy stood on sand and flew in the sky, leaving Lee, who only knew taijutsu, stunned on the spot.
His raw strength was useless. He could not even get close and could only be used as a target.
Tenten had long-range attacks, but the enemy stood a hundred meters in the air. Under the influence of gravity, her projectiles lost both speed and power, unable to break through the sand shield.
Moreover, the enemy's companions were no pushovers. The blonde female ninja using Wind Release only needed to wave her fan gently, and all the weapons Tenten had carefully calculated to seal every escape route were blown away.
Among the three of them, only Neji's Eight Trigrams Air Palm had successfully broken through the Sand Release defense and accurately struck the enemy's torso.
After that, they had been chased by the enraged enemy until they were fleeing in panic. Only by crawling into one of the many bone piles had they finally shaken them off.
"What about Lee?"
"I do not see him either."
Neji shook his head gravely. He had pushed the Byakugan to its limit but still could not find their teammate.
The enemy had flight capability and an extremely broad field of vision. The reason they had escaped pursuit was mainly because Lee had drawn the enemy away.
Once Lee removed his weights, his speed was fast, and his stamina was far beyond ordinary imagination. As long as he did not actively attack, the enemy could not do much to him.
That was the advantage of an open field.
If this were a one-on-one arena match, no matter how fast Lee was, he would not have enough space to make full use of it. But in the vast and complex Bone Hell, no one could catch up to Lee after he removed his restraints.
"Wait."
While searching for Lee, Neji's gaze sharpened. He spotted Lee, dressed in his green jumpsuit, running wildly toward them. His mouth seemed to be shouting something nonstop. Above Lee's head was the very Sunagakure team they had been avoiding.
Lee had led the enemy back again!
"What happened?"
Tenten was no different from a blind person while hidden in the bone pile. Hearing the change in Neji's tone, she hurriedly asked.
"Lee brought the enemy back. Something seems wrong."
The veins at the corners of Neji's eyes surged violently, his expression extremely grave.
The enemy's strength exceeded his imagination. Combined with the absolute counter in fighting style, their team's chance of winning was infinitely close to zero.
If even Lee's speed and stamina could not shake off the enemy, then their only option was elimination.
"How could this Chunin Exam have monsters like that?"
Tenten's voice carried a trace of despair. With their team's combat power, becoming chunin should have been more than enough. Who could have known the enemy's strength would be even more absurd?
While they spoke, the incredibly fast Lee had already approached their location.
"Neji! Tenten!"
Lee's faint shout echoed. Because of the distance, they could only vaguely hear their names, and the rest was blurry.
But Neji, who had been watching with the Byakugan, already knew what Lee was shouting.
"Run."
"What?"
Tenten, still immersed in despair, froze.
Before Neji could answer, Lee's voice became clear as he continued running.
"Neji! Tenten! The miasma is coming! Run!"
The gloomy purple-black clouds in the sky seemed to become slightly clearer. Golden sunlight even began to pierce through the cloud layer.
The miasma clouds that stretched for hundreds of kilometers descended from the sky like a pale purple waterfall. After hitting the ground, they rolled forward like ocean waves, surging toward them.
Only now did Neji look again at the Sand team in the sky. The red-haired ninja, who had been full of killing intent, was now visibly tense. His two companions were drenched in cold sweat and kept looking back.
They were not chasing Lee.
They were fleeing.
And it was not just them.
More than a dozen ninja darted out from different places like fleas, fleeing the advancing miasma. Some who were not fast enough had already been swallowed by the miasma, collapsing within it, their fates unknown.
"Run!"
Boom!
Neji and Tenten burst out of the bone pile and regrouped with Lee, who had sprinted over. Together with several other ninja teams, they fled in the opposite direction of the miasma waves.
Battle royale survival had begun!