I simultaneously traverse countless worlds

"As expected, most of the ninja students are planning to act at night..."

Later, Li Mo, hiding in a large tree, looked at the island, which was unusually quiet except for the occasional scream, and understood what most of the ninja students were thinking. While eating the cold rice ball in his hand, he made a very certain deduction: "I'm afraid the island will be very lively tonight, and I wonder how many people will die!"

Li Mo wasn't just making things up. He could already smell the faint scent of blood on the island. It was clear that more than one or two ninja students had died. Before the Third Shinobi World War, the Hidden Mist Village had provided very successful education for its ninja students, conducting rigorous training exactly like that of real ninjas.

Admittedly, the rigorous training and brutal examinations of Kirigakure make the number of rogue ninja in Kirigakure among the top of the Five Great Ninja Villages. However, the brutal examinations force Kirigakure genin who obtain ninja qualifications to face the most cruel test of their own lives, personally killing their classmates from the Ninja Academy or even their own friends. The psychological trauma of such tests is enough to drastically change a person's mindset. Kirigakure ninjas who pass such tests can definitely be described as cold-blooded and ruthless, and they will show absolutely no mercy to their enemies.

Compared to the beginning of the Naruto storyline, the ninja exams in Konoha Village were like child's play. Even considering that it was after the Third Shinobi World War, and Konoha Village had become conservative and even tended towards a peaceful state under the leadership of the Third Hokage, Li Mo was certain that even if the ninja graduation exams in Konoha Village were very strict now, their cruelty would definitely not be comparable to that of Kirigakure Village.

Li Mo, who was only slightly capable, couldn't refuse the graduation exam from Kirigakure. All he wanted was to influence the outcome of the exam as much as possible, so that Zabuza Momochi wouldn't kill him!

Chapter 7 Ruthless Slaughter (New book, please add to your favorites and vote!)

As the sun dipped below the horizon and night fell, the island suddenly came alive. The ninja students, who had just taken cover and familiarized themselves with the terrain, began their operations under the cover of darkness, and the sounds of battle and screams could be faintly heard.

Few ninja students would expect the meager supplies of two rice balls to sustain them through the night and allow them to fight for a whole day the next day. The Kirigakure Jonin in charge of the assessment required them to bring back at least two kunai by the end of the assessment to pass. However, the slightly smarter ninja students naturally thought that if they brought more kunai to pass the assessment, would Kirigakure look at them with more respect?

Once this idea took root, it naturally sprouted in the minds of those ninja students. Coupled with the necessity of obtaining at least one kunai, the ninja students, who had undergone the rigorous examinations at the ninja academy, quickly began a ruthless nighttime battle!

Waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump, ambushing and killing, using feints to the east and attacks from the west...

Every trick they could think of was used by the ninja students under the cover of night. People were frequently caught off guard and killed, while others thought they had just killed their target only to find that the target had used ninjutsu to evade and kill them instead.

That's right. Most of the ninja students know a few ninjutsu. Besides the three body techniques taught at the ninja academy, some ninja students are not from purely commoner backgrounds. If their families have produced ninjas in the past, the ninjutsu and other inherited techniques are recognized by Kirigakure as long as they are not passed on casually. Even those powerful bloodline limit families have no objection to this.

It's not that no clan with bloodline limits had the desire to monopolize all ninjutsu knowledge. However, even the first ninja village, Konoha, was built by Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, who gathered together large and small ninja clans and scattered civilian ninjas. The same was true for Kirigakure and the other three great ninja villages. Each ninja clan had its own secret ninjutsu and even bloodline limits. It was simply impossible for a clan with bloodline limits to monopolize the inheritance of ninjutsu. Therefore, it became a rule recognized by all ninja villages that ninjas who made contributions to the village and obtained the inheritance of ninjutsu should pass it on to their descendants without revealing it!

Admittedly, the training at the Ninja Academy in Kirigakure is rigorous, and the assessments are extremely brutal. However, for children from ordinary families or ordinary ninjas, passing the Ninja Academy is the only way to become a ninja. While there are certainly no bloodline limit families among them, it is not uncommon for some to know a few low-level ninjutsu. Now, when facing life-or-death situations, ninja students who have been holding back before will all reveal their trump cards and fight to the death with their enemies.

As a result, the melee on the island became increasingly lively. The island, which could take a person more than ten days to explore, seemed quite large, but for more than two hundred ninja students, it was at most a relatively spacious battlefield, making it very difficult to hide and act as a hunter.

At least, ordinary ninja students don't have the ability to be the ones to stalk the prey. In addition, many ninja students are thinking that the night is a good time to attack, so they turned the entire island into a chaotic battlefield. Not every ninja student has the strength to easily defeat their opponents. If the battle is prolonged, it will easily attract other people, and then it will turn into a large-scale melee, with people constantly dying and new people constantly joining in.

Under the dim moonlight, the young ninja students, their faces youthful yet ruthless, were engaged in a desperate battle. Some tried to kill their opponents, grab a handful of kunai, and escape, while others killed their opponents, seized the spoils, and then wanted more. They hunted down other ninja students like bloodthirsty beasts. Occasionally, a group of ninja students would team up and kill a stronger one. Ambushes were child's play, and they fought each other without restraint. Blood and screams were the most common sights on the battlefield.

In less than an hour, it is estimated that more than half of the ninja students died on the island. This is based on Li Mo's calculation of the number of corpses, who was secretly observing. He alone found more than eighty different corpses.

Considering that the total number of ninja students taking the graduation exam in Li Mo's year was only two hundred and fifty or sixty, and that the number of deaths that occurred when they first landed on the island and before nightfall had to be deducted, it would not be surprising if half of them were dead. The survivors who had experienced the fierce battle had also come to their senses and were constantly leaving the battlefield or even fleeing.

Just kidding. Ninja students are human too. Even if they have a fierce aura and possess extraordinary power, they are not NPCs who are not afraid of death. At first, they tried to take advantage of the fight and got caught up in it. Once they started fighting, it was difficult to get away. When many people died, the smart ones had already retreated to the edge of the battlefield. Those reckless people who did not realize this had already turned into corpses.

Even if some of them are ninja students with the strength of a formal genin, so what?

Faced with a group attack from more than double-digit ninja students, and the occasional display of ninjutsu, those reckless fools who couldn't see the situation simply met their demise. At most, they could take a few enemies with them before they died. It was a pipe dream to think that one could defeat the overwhelmingly numerous ninja students on one's own.

Including Li Mo himself, he did not have the strength to face dozens or hundreds of ninja students directly. The numerical advantage was too obvious. If there were ninja students who mastered ranged attack ninjutsu, he would have to retreat directly if he faced the combined strength of more than a dozen ninja students. Otherwise, even with the power of his two different worlds and his proficiency in martial arts, his physical attack skills would not be enough. He was still made of flesh and blood. If he was hit by a kunai, he would be injured and bleed. If he was hit by ninjutsu, he might be seriously injured or crippled. In that case, he would probably die at the hands of those ninja students.

Naturally, Li Mo remained aloft in the tree like a nimble cat, observing the various battlefields without any intention of getting involved. Even when he saw injured ninja students running by in the distance, he calmly concealed his presence and waited.

The island remained quiet all night. After the initial fierce fighting, the surviving ninja students dared not engage in battle rashly. However, the scenes of ambushes and sneak attacks never ceased. In particular, the wounded ninja students became the targets of the few hiding ninja students, making the island's night a constant series of battles and deaths.

As the sun rose above the sea, the misty island seemed to be stained with blood. Less than one in ten ninja students had survived, and Zabuza Momochi had fallen into a state of near madness.

Chapter 8 The Madness of Zabuza Momochi (New book, please add to your favorites and vote!)

"Damn it! You all should just die!"

As the blood-scented morning mist still lingered, Zabuza Momochi appeared like a ghost, his kunai piercing the chest of an injured ninja student, straight through his heart, as he growled angrily.

Kirigakure no Jutsu!

This is the ninjutsu that Zabuza Momochi just used. It is one of the signature ninjutsu of Kirigakure and belongs to the water-based ninjutsu that is very suitable for Kirigakure.

As an island environment, the Land of Water is often shrouded in dense fog in the mornings and evenings. In addition, the Hidden Mist Technique is enhanced when used on the water, making it arguably the most common water-style field ninjutsu in the Hidden Mist Village.

In particular, the strength of the Hidden Mist Technique can vary depending on the user's strength. Powerful ninjas can even condense a Hidden Mist Technique covering an area of ​​several square kilometers in one go. The mist containing chakra can even vaguely sense the movements of the opponent. As the user, the Hidden Mist Ninja can easily take the initiative. Unless they encounter a Hyuga clan member with the Byakugan or a sensory ninja, Hidden Mist Ninjas in the ocean or water environment can easily gain a field advantage.

Currently, every surviving ninja student from Kirigakure can be considered a qualified genin, but expecting them to possess the Byakugan bloodline limit or sensory abilities is a pipe dream. Let alone the Hyuga clan in Konoha, whose main and branch families have a strict system that makes it extremely difficult for the Byakugan bloodline limit to leak out. Ninjas with sensory talents are the darlings of every village; any ninja student with such talent would have been immediately transferred and carefully trained during the ninja academy's entrance exams!

Despite the fact that the injured ninja student had already bled and had his heart pierced by a kunai, he was still able to let out a scream and grab the kunai, trying to stab it out. However, his strength was far inferior to that of Zabuza Momochi, and he had also suffered some injuries the night before. Zabuza Momochi grabbed his arm and broke it, causing the kunai piercing his heart to thrash around.

After struggling for a moment, the injured ninja student died unwillingly. His eyes were wide open before he died, but he was completely ignored by Zabuza Momochi, who coldly withdrew his kunai and threw away the corpse!

……

When the injured ninja student died, Zabuza Momochi released the Hidden Mist Technique, took a rice ball from his pocket and ate it in a few bites, all the while keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings.

It should be said that Zabuza Momochi's strength is indeed very strong among the ninja students of this year, and he could even be said to be No. 1. However, at most his chakra has reached the level of an ordinary Chunin. With his decent taijutsu and a few ninjutsu, he can easily fight against ordinary Chunin without bloodline limits or secret techniques. It is hard to say what the outcome would be in a life-or-death battle, but he is enough to suppress ordinary ninja students in one-on-one combat.

But the battlefield is never a gladiatorial arena. Even in a world like Naruto with its extraordinary powers, one-on-one duels are relatively rare. This is even more true for the ninja students in Kirigakure. After the fierce battle last night, the surviving ninja students don't care about one-on-one duels. When they find a strong opponent they can't defeat, their former life-or-death opponents immediately join forces. If more than five ninja students team up, even Zabuza Momochi would have to temporarily back down.

However, Zabuza Momochi's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he was in a bloodthirsty frenzy, but he was very clear-headed. He didn't give the surviving ninja students a chance to team up. He had been very careful since he left the battlefield last night, and his targets were all ninja students who were acting alone. He didn't bother with the groups of ninja students that only had two or three groups.

Now, including that ninja student just now, Zabuza Momochi has accumulated the lives of more than twenty ninja students. It can be said that his kill count in the entire trial ground is definitely the highest!

"call……"

As Zabuza Momochi quickly devoured the rice ball still stained with a little blood, he exhaled deeply and gazed at the corpse at his feet, a subtle expression of sadness and anger on his face. He then reverted to his usual cold demeanor, carefully looting the kunai and rice ball from the body and packing them away. Looking at the misty island, he murmured, "Time to find the next target. Once everyone's dead, everything will be alright!"

When he said these words, Zabuza Momochi's face was extremely ferocious. This ninja student, who was half a head taller and stronger than other children his age, was terrifying. It could be said that his ferocity had been completely unleashed, and he had the intention to kill all his classmates.

The reason is simple. Since arriving on the island yesterday afternoon, Zabuza Momochi has witnessed at least five scenes of so-called classmates and friends killing each other. One of them, whom Zabuza Momochi considered to be a decent friend, even tried to ambush him by saying he wanted to team up with him. After being killed by Zabuza Momochi, he has fallen into a state of paranoia. The particularly tragic battlefield situation at night has made him want to end it all.

Zabuza Momochi knew that he couldn't stop the ninja students from killing each other just by speaking up. Even if he had the ability to stop this killing, if Kirigakure didn't stop this cruel ninja graduation test, who knows how many Kirigakure ninja students would kill each other during the graduation exam. As someone who came from a ninja family that had been around for several generations, Zabuza Momochi had a crazy idea.

That would be to escalate the situation. If he were to kill all the ninja students in this year's class, it would be impossible not to alert the higher-ups of Kirigakure. Now, with less than twenty survivors remaining, Zabuza Momochi has hope of achieving his goal!

"...Found the next target!"

Zabuza Momochi, who had concealed his presence with a thick fog and used the brief moment to recover some of his strength, followed a trace from one of the battlefields of the previous night and found a ninja student who might have survived. His face was filled with a fierce light.

As an outstanding student of the Ninja Academy in Kirigakure this year, Zabuza Momochi's tracking skills are quite good. Even though the surviving ninja students from last night scattered and some of them dealt with the smell of blood and their wounds, they were still novices who had never experienced actual combat before. Many valuable experiences that they had no idea about during training could only be learned in actual combat.

At least, the subtle traces that Zabuza Momochi discovered again made him track his newly chosen target with the utmost care, like a ghost, preparing to kill this new target and complete his goal of killing all the surviving ninja students!

……

It has to be said that Zabuza Momochi is one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist who appeared in the original Naruto anime. Even though it seems like he was defeated by the male protagonist and the second male lead in a logical way, it was actually because both male protagonists were exceptional. Otherwise, a few rookie genin would have been defeated and killed long ago.

Although Zabuza Momochi has not yet experienced the Third Shinobi World War, become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and subsequently failed in his assassination attempt on the Fourth Mizukage, thus becoming a powerful rogue ninja, at the age of ten, he already possesses the strength of an ordinary Chunin. In Kirigakure or other major ninja villages, he would be considered a genius. Even if we don't compare him to those top geniuses who become Chunin at a young age or even Jonin at eleven or twelve, he is definitely a first-rate genius with outstanding talent.

In comparison, the graduates of the Kirigakure Ninja Academy this year are not particularly outstanding. Not only are there no members of bloodline limit families or secret technique families, but excluding the unexpected case of Li Mo, the other talented students are only comparable to ordinary Chunin in strength. In addition, after the battle on the island and the night of fighting, most of the surviving ninja students were injured and their strength was weakened. They are no match for Zabuza Momochi in a one-on-one fight.

Zabuza Momochi was carefully tracking him when he suddenly stopped a hundred meters ahead. Instinctively, he leaped backward to dodge several flying kunai, and while warily watching what was in front of him, he whispered a question:

"Who?!"

Chapter 9: The Ambush and the End (New book, please add to your favorites and vote!)

"Who?!"

Zabuza Momochi suddenly leaped backward to avoid the enemy's attack, shouting loudly as he dodged, trying to trick his opponent into revealing the hidden enemy so that he could be dealt with more easily.

*Sizzle* — Pfft!

When Momochi Zabuza spoke, no one was foolish enough to jump out, and no one answered. Instead, several kunai flew out in response, forcing Momochi Zabuza to dodge while simultaneously throwing kunai in retaliation.

After all, ninja students, and even genin and chunin, have limited chakra and cannot release too many ninjutsu. They rely more on taijutsu and ninja tools for attack. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, and even secret techniques are only used in critical moments. Unless it's the male protagonist who recklessly squanders his chakra, how many genin or chunin have you ever seen casually use ninjutsu to attack?

While Zabuza Momochi may be considered a top-tier genius among his peers in the Five Great Ninja Villages, he cannot compare to those super geniuses. Although he has made considerable progress in several battles, that is an increase in combat experience. Chakra, for example, cannot suddenly explode and increase dramatically.

Facing the enemy's kunai thrown from the shadows, Zabuza Momochi dodged three times in succession before being slashed on the right leg by a kunai. Blood spurted from the wound on his calf. Even though Zabuza instinctively stepped back, the kunai wound was over ten centimeters long. Although it didn't break any bones, it temporarily disabled Zabuza's mobility. Unfortunately, Zabuza didn't know any medical ninjutsu or possess strong regenerative abilities. This wound put him in a critical situation, and the enemy could easily use a kiting tactic by attacking from a distance.

Zabuza Momochi understood his predicament. He gritted his teeth and used the Hidden Mist Technique again, while also enduring the pain in his leg to move slightly. He gripped two new kunai in his hands, ready to fight to the death. Even when facing a desperate situation, he would not think of surrendering. Moreover, Zabuza Momochi even felt a sense of calm acceptance of death, feeling that it would be a matter of course if he died on this island.

However, to Zabuza Momochi's astonishment, he waited for several minutes without receiving an attack from the mysterious opponent. Even after gritting his teeth and bandaging the wound on his leg, he still couldn't find any trace of the mysterious opponent. The opponent simply vanished!

……

A moment later, a figure moved silently through the woods on the island. The movement was not only completely silent, but also remarkably fast.

If an experienced hunter were watching nearby, he would unconsciously feel as if he were seeing a feline moving swiftly through the forest without making a sound, its movements as ghostly as a phantom. It was the kind of jungle hunter that was most difficult to provoke.

In a sense, big cats are also a type of feline. Li Mo inherited Xingyi Quan, a widely circulated beast-like boxing style, from Li Mo, a martial arts master in the late Qing Dynasty. Moreover, Li Mo in the late Qing Dynasty had devoted more than ten years to this aspect of boxing. With the addition of his own qualities from the three worlds, he had already transitioned from hard to soft and stepped into the threshold of a boxing master. His self-control had reached an astonishing level, and he only slightly showed the charm of the Xingyi Tiger style.

Unlike ninjas who directly amplify their power with chakra, Li Mo's taijutsu involves gradually developing his own potential. In other words, he can amplify his power with chakra when necessary, and act using his own strength when not. Moreover, his movement speed is already comparable to that of an average Chunin, and his powerful body control leaves no trace.

Having confirmed that he was more than 300 meters away from Zabuza Momochi, and that Zabuza was too busy healing to pursue him, Li Mo was...

[Very good, Zabuza Momochi is injured in the leg, so forget about killing anyone else. With several ninja students surviving along with him, he won't stand out much...]

At this moment, Li Mo, who had stopped to rest, exhaled slightly. A wisp of white smoke flew nearly two meters away like a sharp sword before dissipating. However, he did not pay attention to this strange breathing phenomenon caused by the superimposed national martial arts. Instead, he carefully calculated his actions in his mind.

That's right!

Li Mo had no intention of killing Zabuza Momochi. He didn't want to replace Zabuza Momochi as the sole victor. While that would certainly earn him great respect in Kirigakure, the consequences would be far from what Li Mo wanted.

Just kidding, the Third Shinobi World War is about to begin. At this time, becoming a rising star in Kirigakure is sure to attract the enemy's main firepower, isn't it?

Moreover, judging from the original Naruto anime storyline, Zabuza Momochi killed his way through the Ninja Academy's assessment, which must have made him the target of many people associated with Kirigakure. He was only spared further repercussions after his defection.

Otherwise, if Zabuza Momochi were to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he would have already reached the limit of Kirigakure. At best, he would become a sharp blade in the hands of the Mizukage of Kirigakure. He could forget about becoming a high-ranking member of Kirigakure unless he had the ability to directly become a Kage-level shinobi. Only then could he probably obtain a place in the upper echelons of Kirigakure. However, considering the situations of Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha, one can imagine how dangerous it would be to stay in Kirigakure.

For Li Mo, there was absolutely no intention of developing in Kirigakure. There were far too many dangerous people there, making it unsuitable for a novice to start developing there. Even if he survived the Third Shinobi World War, he would still have to face the already corrupted Obito Uchiha, not to mention the likes of Black Zetsu who might have some hidden trump cards. Li Mo didn't want to risk his life to prove to the Li Mo of another world what the consequences of dying in one of his own worlds would be, nor did he plan to go off alone to fight a boss right now.

Therefore, Li Mo's actions against Zabuza Momochi were entirely meticulously planned. He not only slashed Zabuza's leg, temporarily crippling him, but also left five or six ninja students on the island who were all injured to varying degrees and out of sorts. So, if Li Mo added a few wounds to himself and blended in, it would be completely inconspicuous and even perfectly normal.

As for how Kirigakure will handle it, Li Mo doesn't care. He knows that someone in Kirigakure will definitely suffer, but as the few surviving ninja students, he just needs to pass the exam and become a formal Kirigakure ninja!

……

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the inspectors from Kirigakure began their inspections on the island. Everyone was stunned and couldn't believe that only six ninja trainees had survived and passed the test.

This result is obviously very wrong. Even among those ninjas from Kirigakure, many had experienced the Kirigakure Ninja Academy graduation exam after the Second Shinobi World War. But those were all one-on-one battles where only one person survived, and occasionally there were cases of mutual destruction. At least the graduation exam had a pass rate of over 40%.

But what kind of nonsense is this year's graduation exam? Out of more than two hundred ninja students, only six survived, which is less than 5%. The situation is so serious that it is beyond their capacity to handle... At least the dozen or so Chunin are not capable of fulfilling this responsibility. Their original duty was to prevent too many casualties among the ninja students during the exam. Now, it's not just a matter of too many casualties, but that only six graduates from this year's Ninja Academy have survived.

Fortunately, the dozen or so Chunin knew they wouldn't have to bear the huge blame for the deaths of over two hundred ninja students. While watching the six ninja students emerge, they subtly glanced at the Kirigakure Jonin in charge of leading the group. The other Jonin in charge of the Ninja Academy was also looking at him. He might have some joint responsibility, but the main responsibility lay with the guy leading the assessment.

At this moment, the Kirigakure Jonin in charge of leading the assessment team had a grim expression, but he knew the situation was beyond his control. He ordered his men to quickly inquire about the situation and scout the island, while simultaneously gritting his teeth and saying helplessly:

"Damn it! This matter must be reported to Lord Mizukage!"

Chapter 10 The Third Mizukage's Orders! (New book, please add to your favorites and vote!)

"Oh? Only six people qualified for this year's Ninja Academy graduation?"