Naruto: All My Targets Are Ninjutsu.

Chapter 157 "Four-Surname Slaves," and the unexpected appearance of the examiners' team (Part 2)

Yu Mikami didn't immediately conclude that the lizard had been deliberately placed there.

After all, the Death Forest is a complex environment with many ninja beasts, including bears, tigers, and snakes. It wouldn't be surprising to see a lizard or something similar. Unless what just emerged from the wetlands was a split-type dog or a Yatagarasu, in which case he would have immediately noticed something was wrong.

but……

It doesn't really matter.

Because if Mikami Yu can tame this lizard, then it will be his. Having such a thing would be invaluable for both reconnaissance and surprise attacks, making it much more worthwhile than simply killing it.

therefore,

Yu Mikami began to consciously guide the pace of the battle, focusing on weakening the giant lizard's mobility while avoiding inflicting irreversible damage.

As Yu Mikami began to slack off, Obito's strength alone was insufficient to inflict instantaneous damage on the giant lizard. In fact, when the lizard opened its mouth and spat out corrosive mucus, Obito was caught off guard and failed to dodge in time, nearly losing half of his arm to corrosion.

Fortunately, Mikami Yu reacted quickly, slicing off a piece of flesh from Obito's arm with a single stroke, preventing the corrosion from spreading to other areas.

Of course, for Obito, this cut was more painful than corrosion...

"Ouch!! It hurts so much!!"

Obito's body was covered in blood on one side, and he was grimacing, but he still managed to unleash a few "Phoenix Fires" that hit the giant lizard's thick forelimb joints that supported its body and the base of its constantly whipping tail, causing the latter even more pain.

The monitor lizard had dozens of wounds on its body, and its skin was covered with light green blood. Due to severe blood loss, its cloaking ability was completely lost, and its huge body was barely visible in the thick fog. Its movements became increasingly sluggish, and it could only passively defend itself.

at last,

The monitor lizard's cold, vertical pupils revealed obvious fear and a desire to retreat. With a low growl of resentment, it suddenly turned around, pawed at the ground, and charged towards the depths of the wetlands, towards the direction where the moisture was most concentrated!

"Trying to run? Too late!"

Mikami Yu suddenly slammed his short sword into the ground, clasped his hands together, and his chakra surged rapidly within him: "Sealing Seal! Activate!"

next second.

On the giant lizard's body, the dozens of wounds, large and small, that had been slashed by Mikami Yu's short sword earlier, simultaneously emitted a faint purplish-black light! It was the sealing technique left when Mikami Yu slashed it earlier, which was activated at the same moment, covering its entire body like a giant spider web!

at the same time.

Yu Mikami then used the "Twisted Lion's Mane Technique," and a head of white fur suddenly grew longer, tightly binding the giant lizard's forelimbs and neck. The lizard struggled for a while, but finally had no choice but to stop moving, becoming unable to move at all!

"Good job! Yu! Hold that position, I'm going to cut off its head!"

Upon seeing this, Obito immediately prepared to deliver the final blow.

"stop!"

Mikami Yu called out to Obito.

"?"

"This thing is still somewhat useful, let's spare its life for now."

"..."

Although Obito didn't quite understand why Mikami Yu wanted to keep the lizard, after hearing what he said, he put down his kunai and started yelling for Nohara Rin to treat him, otherwise he would probably die from blood loss due to the wound on his arm in a little while.

At this time, the thick fog around us had gradually dissipated.

Nohara Rin walked over with several hostages, looking at the bound giant lizard with surprise. The lizard struggled in vain for a while before losing its strength and was sealed by the sealing scroll that Mikami Yu had prepared. He planned to find a way to sign a contract later.

"Let's go."

Mikami slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air: "Let's find a place to rest briefly, recover some chakra, and then head to the central tower."

……

Inside the Hokage Building, in an office.

A crystal ball reflected the figures of Yu Mikami and his companions fighting a giant lizard in the Death Forest.

It was none other than Hiruzen Sarutobi's "Telescope Technique".

At this time, it was still more than a decade before the Chunin Exams that the twelve Konoha 11 participated in. The technological level of the ninja world was not as advanced as it would be later. Inventions such as monitoring equipment and walkie-talkies were still in the experimental stage, and they could only rely on traditional ninjutsu to observe the movements in the examination room.

Of course, those 12 hostages were essentially proctors as well. With them around, they could get a pretty good idea of ​​the situation in each team.

However, the candidates for this exam were a bit special, including a son of the Hokage and several promising talents who were expected to become Jonin or even Kage-level.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to take time out of his busy schedule to watch it personally.

Behind him stood Minato Namikaze, Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, and others, most of whom were Jonin leading the teams.

Only one person, wearing a dark green robe and with her arms crossed, had golden pigtails and looked like a street urchin, making her seem somewhat out of place among the crowd.

"...Minato, your disciples are truly extraordinary."

Nara Shikaku broke the silence: "This giant lizard was no pushover. Even a Jonin would have a hard time dealing with it, let alone a Genin. Yet he was able to take it down so quickly and easily, without a scratch. And then there were those two Grass Ninja before..."

"Yu Mikami's strength has far exceeded the scope of this exam. If he weren't so young, he could easily be a Jonin."

Minato Namikaze smiled, about to say something...

Tsunade, standing nearby, curled her lip, her golden ponytail swaying gently as she shook her head: "Jonin and Chunin are judged by their abilities, what does age have to do with it? Minato, that kid, wasn't he already a Jonin when he was only ten years old?"

"That's how geniuses are. Not everyone is a late bloomer like that idiot Jiraiya. Don't forget, the battle report from the southwestern battlefield mentioned that this white-haired guy captured Yekura single-handedly."

That being said...

But Tsunade was quite surprised.

The reason she was here was indeed largely because of Yu Mikami and Rin Nohara.

Although she didn't say it, the past six months of interaction had already made her consider these two juniors as her half-disciples. Now that the Chunin Exams were underway and she didn't have anything urgent to do, she naturally came to check on them.

Previously, Mikami Yu's feat of "capturing Pakura alive" was known to many in the Jonin team, but most people speculated that this achievement had an element of luck. It's possible that Pakura was careless, and Mikami Yu used some tricks, which led to this "underdog victory".

But now it seems,

It seems that Yu Mikami is the "strong" one.

Putting everything else aside, that move "Instant Prison Shadow Killing Array" alone has a bit of the shadow of "Spiral Flash Super Wheel Dance Roar Three Styles".

"Disheveled Lion's Mane" is Jiraiya's ability.

In addition, there's the Hatake sword technique, which bears some resemblance to Shiroba's, and the sealing techniques originating from the Uzumaki clan...

What do you mean by "servant of four masters"?

This doesn't even include the Fire Release technique that Mikami Yu is "best at," as mentioned in the data sheet...

To be able to integrate these seemingly incompatible abilities and master them all to a high level is indeed a rare talent. If it weren't for his somewhat ordinary bloodline, Kakashi would probably only be considered average in comparison.

"Speaking of which... why didn't this child just kill that giant lizard? Why did he go through the trouble of sealing it away?" Akimichi Choza asked.

"This one……"

Minato Namikaze thought for a moment: "He probably wants to try to subdue that giant lizard as a summoning beast. I just taught him summoning techniques recently."

"A summoning beast? This thing?"

Tsunade chuckled: "What's the use of this thing besides changing its color? It's dull and stupid, and its direct combat ability is at most equivalent to an ordinary Jonin. Moreover, it might even be countered by sensory ninjutsu... Minato, why don't you give him the contract from Mount Myōboku?"

Upon hearing this, Minato Namikaze scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed: "I mentioned this to Yu, but he seemed a little hesitant and wanted to think about it some more."

"Huh? He's still hesitating about the contract with Mount Myōboku? Does he want me...?"

—A slug?

Tsunade paused suddenly, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Thinking about it carefully, this possibility isn't entirely out of the question. After all, there aren't many summoning beasts that can rival the toads of Mount Myōboku. In Konoha, only her contract partner with Orochimaru and the old man's Enma can be considered comparable.

Could it be that the kid really wants to be his successor?

Or……

Is he trying to imitate Orochimaru by playing with snakes?

At this time,

Minato Namikaze composed himself and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, bringing up another detail that concerned him even more: "Hokage-sama, did you notice the 'blood sac' that Yuu found on that Kusanagi ninja just now...?"

"Ah, I saw it too."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe, slowly exhaling smoke, his eyes showing seriousness: "'Telescope Technique' can only see images, not hear sounds, but judging from the lip movements of Yu and that grass ninja when they were talking... they seemed to have mentioned the word 'whirlpool'."

"According to what Lord Mito said back then, there are indeed some Uzumaki clan members whose bloodline naturally contains healing power. During the Warring States period, some ninja clans kidnapped and imprisoned Uzumaki clan members because of this. Could it be that Kusagakure is also..."

"...The exam is still ongoing. Let's ask him about it in detail after it's over."

Hiruzen Sarutobi made his decision.

Minato Namikaze nodded: "Yes."

The others in the office, except for Tsunade who frowned, all pretended not to hear: the Uzumaki clan… that sensitive name was shrouded in too many past events and secrets. As outsiders, it was best for them to keep quiet.

……

After leaving the wetland outpost.

Yu Mikami and his group followed the pre-planned route to the tower in the center of the Death Forest.

On the road.

They encountered several small teams from other villages.

Speaking of which, the genin from these other ninja villages are generally a few years older than those from Konoha, with some even in their twenties or thirties, or even older.

Among them, a small number possessed Chunin-level strength but failed to advance due to various reasons.

However, most of them are of average talent and have failed to become Chunin despite years of experience. Nowadays, apart from being older and stronger, they are no match for the ninjas of the major ninja villages.

Therefore, Mikami Yu was too lazy to deal with these weaklings. Instead, under the pretext of protecting the hostages, he shielded Obito and Nohara Rin in front of him and watched as the latter two easily defeated their opponents.

period,

On one occasion, two squads appeared together to launch a surprise attack on Mikami and his group, with one squad even carrying a hostage. So when Mikami and his group defeated the enemy, they gained one more hostage than the original three, bringing the total number of people in the group to eight.

"...Yu, is it really okay for us to be carrying so many hostages?"

Obito was a little uneasy: "The exam rules say that each team only needs to save one person, but the three of us have saved four, plus a Kusagakure prisoner... Won't this be considered a violation?"

"Violation of regulations?"

"Yes, after all, this would result in the elimination of three teams that could have passed the test."

Faced with Obito's concerns,

Mikami Yu said calmly, "Being eliminated means their strength isn't up to par. They'd be easy to kill on the battlefield anyway. They might as well go back and train for another year. Besides... we can wait near the tower later and see if anyone comes empty-handed. We can sell them one or two hostages."

"...Huh? Is that even possible?"

"Why not? Losses during transportation are normal, aren't they? If all else fails, we can just sell them to the people of Konoha. 30,000 ryo per hostage isn't excessive, is it?"

Or a ninjutsu scroll that Mikami Yu hasn't practiced would be fine too; he's not picky.

Obito: "..."

at this time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others inside the Hokage's office building exchanged bewildered glances.

"Ahem... They did rescue a bit too many hostages, but that doesn't violate the exam rules," Minato Namikaze coughed, explaining on behalf of his student.

……

after that.

The Mikami Yu team hurried along the mountain forest, and finally arrived at a place not far from the central tower before the moon rose. The outline of the tower top was clearly visible behind the sparse tree shadows, and it was estimated that only one kilometer remained.

"Wow, is that the final destination?"

Obito pointed excitedly ahead, his Sharingan behind his goggles seeming to shine even brighter. "We must be the first ones to get here, right? Haha, the rules give us three days, and we've basically cleared it in less than half a day. Even Kakashi would be shocked if he saw this!"

Beside her, Nohara Rin smiled and said, "Indeed, this time it was all thanks to Yu!"

"I also put in a lot of effort! If it weren't for me, how could Yu have defeated that giant lizard!"

"……Oh."

Amidst Obito's shouting.

Yu Mikami looked up at the sky. Because of the sparse trees near the tower, the moon was clearly visible, allowing him to estimate its approximate time.

"Come to think of it... it should be almost that time, right?"