Golden light pierced through the clouds and mist, illuminating the gloomy swamp inch by inch.
Countless reddish-brown stone pillars were exposed beneath the sunlight, their colors turning vivid, like iron stakes stained with blood.
The supply container that had fallen from the sky landed on the peak of a stone pillar. Through the opening cut by kunai, many precious medicines and food supplies slid out, constantly drawing everyone's gaze.
The bottle of amoxicillin reflected a faint gleam.
It was not the light of hope.
Rather, it looked more like a trap luring people toward death.
As a video game, battle royale had rich gameplay, strong entertainment value, and was deeply loved by players.
But holding a real-life battle royale in reality was far too cruel.
On the reddish-brown stone pillar, giant vines as thick as bridges twisted and coiled together.
The reunited Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the battered Kirigakure trio stood at opposite ends of the vines, staring each other down from afar. Their hands never stopped making small movements.
Hiss.
Steam erupted.
Choji's chubby cheeks had already begun to show sharper lines. His ridiculous hairstyle had been destroyed in the blast, and he actually looked a little handsome.
As large amounts of fat were consumed, the savage wounds across his body rapidly recovered under the effects of Yang Release chakra.
Shikamaru kept his eyes fixed on the Kirigakure trio in the distance. His hand seals shifted inside his sleeves, while the shadow beneath his feet quietly climbed along the vines and slipped into the container to steal out large amounts of medicine.
After obtaining the precious supplies, Ino skillfully tore open bandages and treated the injured Shikamaru and Choji.
Hum.
Emerald light gathered in her palm, and Ino pressed it directly against Shikamaru's rapidly rising and falling chest.
Medical Ninjutsu: Mystical Palm Technique.
Five years ago, after witnessing Konome's power, she had left Sasuke's fan club and joined Konome's side instead. Because of that, her relationship with Sakura had returned to what it had been in childhood.
After hearing that Ino would be participating in this dangerous joint Chunin Exam, Sakura had set aside her hospital work and trained her for more than a month.
Not only had she taught Ino battlefield first aid, she had even passed down the precious Mystical Palm Technique without holding anything back.
Sakura was a once-in-a-generation genius in medical ninjutsu.
With Sakura's guidance and the Yamanaka clan's unique spiritual power, this ninjutsu, which demanded chakra control, was not especially difficult for Ino.
It had taken her one week to preliminarily learn the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique.
Memorizing the relevant medical knowledge had taken more than a month, and even then, she had only finished the section on emergency trauma care. For that, she had been scolded plenty of times by Sakura, whose theoretical knowledge was terrifyingly perfect.
But all of it had been worth it.
As the light of the Mystical Palm grew brighter, Shikamaru's breathing stabilized within seconds.
On the other side, Suigetsu Hozuki had already reattached his arm. One hand gripped Chojuro's forehead, while the other pressed against Ringo Ameyuri's chest as he used Water Transformation Healing on both of them at once.
Since neither of them belonged to the Hozuki clan, the healing effect was average, and the chakra consumption was enormous.
Still, something was better than nothing.
Their injuries were not too severe either, so they recovered quickly under his treatment.
The Kumogakure team, which had suffered the worst damage on the outer edge, was dumbfounded.
Omoi supported his two heavily injured teammates and stood up, deciding to risk everything against the two remaining teams.
They could not run.
They were seriously injured and had no medicine or supplies. The longer this dragged on, the weaker their combat power would become. If the match did not end today, then in such a harsh natural environment, they would soon collapse from infected wounds and fever.
If they wanted to survive in Death Paradise, their only option was to fight with their lives on the line and seize the supplies.
As sunlight pierced through the thin layer of miasma clouds, the situation became clearer along with the light.
Sunlight?
Clearer?
Feeling the slightly scorching sunlight against his skin, Chojuro, Shikamaru, and Omoi all froze at almost the same time and looked up together.
They saw that the purple clouds stretching across an unknown distance had now thinned into a faint layer. Under the highly penetrating sunlight, they reflected a soft pink color.
In some places, gaps had opened, and small patches of blue could even be seen.
That was the color of the sky.
"Shikamaru, the miasma layer in the sky seems to be dispersing!"
Ino also noticed the change in the environment. Her beautiful face reflected a pale pink glow, and her green eyes seemed to relax slightly.
Few normal people liked dark, damp environments.
Smelling the rotting stench rising from the swamp, enduring the poisonous clouds in the air and sky, and fighting other villages' ninja in life-and-death battles was far too much psychological pressure.
Although they had not been in Death Paradise for long, the past few hours had already exhausted them physically and mentally.
"The miasma dispersing might not be a good thing."
Shikamaru looked up at the blazing sun now revealed in the sky and murmured.
He had already witnessed how cruel this exam was.
First, they had confiscated everyone's supplies, so strictly that not even a single lollipop could be kept.
Then came the thousand-meter high-altitude drop.
Not many genin could fall from such a height and guarantee they would remain uninjured. Even most of those who landed successfully were wounded.
After that came the appalling survival environment, preventing them from obtaining food, water, or herbs through any normal means. They could only search for treasure chests left behind by the exam organizers.
And the treasure chests were the biggest traps.
Once opened, they automatically fired a signal flare into the sky, summoning the giant eagle circling above to drop supply containers and trigger conflict among the teams.
If they did not fight, they had no supplies.
The longer time dragged on, the worse their position became.
But the more they fought, the greater their sunk costs became. Once injured, they would inevitably need medicine. In the end, even if they were exhausted, they could not give up.
The Kumogakure trio were clearly heavily injured, yet they still refused to leave. Was that not because of this absurd exam's rules?
Would the person who designed such a cruel exam really be kind enough to disperse the miasma that had accumulated in this swamp for years?
Impossible.
Based on Shikamaru's psychological profile of the rule-maker so far, he believed this absolutely was not as simple as it looked.
He had to figure out the planner's intent first. Only then could he gain the initiative in the next phase of the exam.
Sniff, sniff.
Looking at the thinning cloud layer, Shikamaru twitched his nose and suddenly sensed that something had changed in the air.
Aside from the swamp's sour rotting stench, there was now a strange fishy smell in the air. If one smelled carefully, there was even a faint sweetness mixed in.
This scent was exactly the same as what they had smelled in the cloud layer when they descended.
Shikamaru's eyes widened, and he covered his nose.
"Damn it! The miasma hasn't disappeared. It's sinking into the air. Everyone, slow your breathing."
Hearing Shikamaru's words, Ino and Choji quickly covered their mouths and noses with their sleeves.
Soon, they realized the sky was becoming bluer, but the purple in the air was growing denser. Beneath the sunlight, the golden beams carried a dreamlike lavender hue, making the swamp look almost like a fairyland.
Thud.
"Atsui!"
Karui's voice was filled with panic.
Everyone looked over and saw that Atsui had completely collapsed to the ground. No matter how Omoi shook him, he would not wake up. His lips and eye sockets had even turned a frightening bluish purple.
"This miasma is highly toxic. We can't waste time here anymore!"
Ringo Ameyuri also noticed the abnormality. Or rather, anyone with eyes could see it.
"What miasma?"
Chojuro removed his glasses and squinted as he looked around.
Earlier, he had tried to wipe the lenses with the hem of his clothes, only spreading the bloodstains more evenly across them. Now everything he saw was tinted crimson.
"What about that supply container?"
Suigetsu had turned his lungs into water, so he felt he had no immediate worries. He could still fight for three hundred rounds.
No, three rounds.
After having his arm severed and using chakra to treat Ringo Ameyuri and Chojuro, he did not have much chakra left. Water Transformation also consumed a lot of chakra, so even he could not survive in this miasma-filled environment for too long.
"…"
Chojuro's eyes showed hesitation.
The Konoha and Kumogakure ninja were powerful, and both sides were eyeing the supplies. If they kept fighting, they might all die in this poisonous mist.
But simply giving up those precious supplies was something he could not accept.
It was a difficult decision.
As the saying went, personality determined fate.
Chojuro's lack of confidence made it hard for him to make a decision immediately, and because of that, he missed the best chance to eliminate Ino-Shika-Cho.
"Woof, woof!"
"Fang Passing Fang!"
At that moment, two strange tornadoes burst into the battlefield, striking at Chojuro from the left and right with an extremely clear target.
The sudden tornadoes were incredibly fast. Since everyone had been distracted by the miasma, there was no time to dodge.
Chojuro tried to repeat his earlier move and raised Hiramekarei to defend, but he discovered that the twin blade in his hands was frighteningly dry. There was not even the slightest bit of chakra inside it. Even the chakra he poured into it sank like mud into the sea.
He abruptly looked down.
At some unknown point, a large number of black insects had infested the flounder-shaped Hiramekarei.
Those disgusting bugs had already covered the entire blade, continuously devouring the chakra stored inside and multiplying rapidly under its nourishment. Some had even silently approached his hands.
"What are these…"
"Die!"
Along with Kiba's roar, the two wildly spinning tornadoes struck directly.
Chojuro's eyes bulged as he was sent flying backward. He vomited a mouthful of blood in midair, and even the precious Hiramekarei slipped from his hands, bounced off several vines, and fell into the swamp below.
A large mass of insects caught the unable-to-change-direction Chojuro in the air, and then began devouring him like a whale swallowing prey.
Team Eight, which had been hiding for a long time, succeeded with a single strike and directly crippled Kirigakure's strongest member.
"Chojuro!"
"Damn it!"
Suigetsu and Ringo Ameyuri were stunned by the sudden turn of events. Seeing the person and dog in gas masks appear before them, they drew their blades and slashed.
But the sound of rushing wind came from behind.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"
Hinata, who had silently moved behind the enemy, erupted into action. Although her voice was soft, her hands were not. She opened with a killing technique.
Suigetsu directly liquefied his body, only to realize the expected attack never came.
Instead, Ringo Ameyuri beside him was the one who suffered.
Her back's tenketsu were struck repeatedly. Even the lightning that had just lit up around her body flickered twice like a short circuit before vanishing completely.
"How… is that possible?"
With all her chakra points sealed, Ringo Ameyuri's eyes were filled with shock. She dropped to one knee, loosened her grip on her blades, and her trembling hands formed unfamiliar seals.
In the distance, Shikamaru curled the corner of his mouth and made the same movement.
At some point, a thin shadow had appeared on the ground, directly connecting Shikamaru's shadow to Ringo Ameyuri's.
Another shadow thread was connected to Suigetsu, whose body had turned into water.
"When did that happen?"
Although Suigetsu's body was still in a watery state, he was forced to take the same posture as Shikamaru. His translucent face was filled with disbelief.
He had already suffered greatly from Shadow Imitation before, so of course he had been guarding against it.
But he had not seen when the enemy connected their shadows at all.
"It's above!"
The observing Kumogakure ninja Omoi and the others noticed the trick and looked up at the sky.
Countless kikaichu insects were suspended in midair, lined up one after another into two long chains. Using the blazing sunlight that had appeared after the clouds split apart, they cast two nearly invisible shadow lines across the vines, directly linking Shikamaru's shadow to Suigetsu and Ringo Ameyuri.
"Well done, Shikamaru."
Shino Aburame raised both hands. Kikaichu insects continuously poured from his sleeves, devouring the chakra of Ringo Ameyuri and the others.
His voice sounded somewhat muffled through the gas mask, but to Ino and the others, it was like heavenly music.
"You found gas masks?"
After confirming that the Kirigakure trio had lost combat ability, Shikamaru released Shadow Imitation and noticed the unusual gear worn by Hinata's group.
"A gift from friends."
Shino tied up the Kirigakure trio, who had lost their chakra and inhaled too much miasma, falling unconscious. Then he took gas masks from his scroll and tossed them to Shikamaru and the others.
The Kumogakure trio exchanged glances and supported each other, trying to sneak away. But they discovered that the beautiful girl with pure white eyes had already blocked their path. Her hands glowed with blue chakra.
Kiba and Akamaru also ran over, surrounding the Kumogakure trio together with Hinata.
After putting on gas masks and no longer fearing the miasma, Shikamaru and the others also rubbed their palms and moved in from behind.
One against nine.
Omoi, Kumogakure's only remaining combatant, supported two teammates who could barely even walk. Then he looked at the six people and one dog eyeing them from all sides and sank into deep despair.
"I…"
Boom!
Just as Omoi was about to surrender, a dull rumble came from the distance, startling the Konoha six, who had thought victory was already theirs.
"What… what was that?"
"It sounded like it came from that direction!"
Kiba and Shikamaru looked warily to the east. Choji, who had already put away the Three Colored Pills, quietly took them back out into his palm.
Hinata's eyes glowed brightly as she looked toward the east where the rumbling continued, only to be frightened speechless by the scene before her.
"Over there…"
Ino, who had used sensory ninjutsu, stared blankly and pointed toward the eastern sky.
The sun had already shifted south, but in the clear blue sky, a figure radiating gray light was slowly rising.
Like a newborn gray sun.