Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 129 Seven-Day Breathing Method

"Huff huff..."

After severing another giant snake that suddenly attacked, Uchiha Hikaru, slightly out of breath, stared intently at his surroundings with his Sharingan, searching for Orochimaru's true form.

As expected of the Third Hokage's most prized disciple, the opponent can demonstrate extraordinary strength even without using high-level ninjutsu.

Furthermore, he is very adept at manipulating people's hearts during battles, and I almost fell into his trap several times.

She had fought until now, and her physical strength was greatly depleted, and her chakra was also mostly used up. However, she still hadn't found Orochimaru's true body. She had killed several of his clones, which meant that he was clearly on guard against her genjutsu attacks.

"It's time to go!"

Without hesitation, Uchiha Hikaru used the Chidori Speed ​​state as a foundation to quickly retreat with the Lightning Body Flicker.

Continuing to fight would be detrimental to themselves; retreating is the best option.

Emerging from behind a large tree, Orochimaru watched the girl quickly depart without giving chase.

He realized how difficult the girl was to deal with. Compared to the strength she displayed in the Land of Iron a year ago, the girl had improved a lot now, and in every aspect.

This put him in a very difficult position. He had thought he could win over the girl, but who would have thought she would improve so much?

However, he cannot unleash a large amount of chakra or use large-scale ninjutsu here, otherwise it would be very troublesome if the village sensed it.

This Chunin Exam is different from previous ones, as all four major ninja villages are participating. If I mess it up, even as a disciple of the Hokage, I will definitely suffer.

"We'll meet again!"

Licking his lips, Orochimaru's body disappeared into the ground and he was gone.

Although this attempt failed, there will be other opportunities in the future. He has always been very patient with his prey.

"Did you leave?"

As Orochimaru left the Forest of Death, Tamura Hao, several kilometers away, turned his head and glanced in that direction, realizing that Orochimaru had left.

He can now borrow Kagura's Mind's Eye from Princess Kaguya, which has a range of ten kilometers. After confirming Orochimaru's chakra, he has been locking onto it and sensing it, especially the chakra that Orochimaru unleashes during battle.

Currently, Hikaru Uchiha's chakra is rapidly moving towards the center, while Orochimaru is moving towards the edge of the forest, clearly having failed.

That makes sense, though. Uchiha Hikaru's strength is not bad; at least it's no worse than that of Nisuke, who has already completed his apprenticeship.

Orochimaru would not have been able to defeat Uchiha Hikaru if he had reservations.

After confirming that Uchiha Hikaru was alright, Tamura Hiroshi stopped paying attention to him and focused on helping Sasori create a new type of puppet.

After working tirelessly until dawn on the last day of the exam, the envisioned mechanical puppet was finally completed.

It is an aircraft that can fly like Naruto in his mecha form using jet propulsion. Its power source is a special fuel provided by Sasori, a chakra-mixed fuel.

"I hope the flight will be smoother."

Looking at the aircraft in front of him, Tamura Hiroshi couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

It can definitely fly, but whether it can fly smoothly is another matter.

Even though this was the first time Scorpion had made this thing, and despite having theoretical knowledge of puppetry, he wasn't very confident.

"It will definitely work!"

Scorpion rallied himself, then sat in the cockpit, activated the engine with chakra, and spat out mixed fuel into the combustion chamber to ignite it. Instantly, a powerful burst of flames and gas propelled the aircraft into the sky like a giant firework.

Scorpion then used puppets to control the various movable sections on the wings, using air resistance to gradually change its flight trajectory, from initially flying straight upwards to gradually transitioning to parallel flight.

The flight path was very turbulent, but the scorpion was trying to adapt.

After flying for three minutes, the aircraft finally flew back shakily and eventually landed with the help of a parachute.

Although it is very unstable, at least it is a flight that can be controlled.

Flying puppets have never appeared before; this is a groundbreaking creation.

Tamura Hiroshi then began inspecting the aircraft and discovered many shortcomings.

"The nozzle has a large area of ​​melting, so it needs to be made of a high-temperature resistant alloy to withstand the load for a long time."

The structural design of the fuselage and wings is not perfect enough; otherwise, it could fly as smoothly and turn as a bird. The fuel power is also insufficient; for now, it can only carry children like you.

We also need lightweight alloys to reduce the weight of the fuselage…

Scorpion, after disembarking from the aircraft, took out a small notebook and carefully recorded all the shortcomings he had discovered while controlling the aircraft in the air, waiting to gradually improve them in the future.

"The control system needs to be simplified, ideally allowing non-puppet masters to operate it as well. This would enable widespread adoption, and with enough people, we can definitely usher in an era for puppet masters..."

After observing, Tamura Hao then shamelessly tried to brainwash the little boy, making him blush with excitement.

The term "the age of puppeteers" is too alluring.

Moreover, very few ninjas are capable of flying, and even those who are are not fast or agile enough to compare with this flying puppet.

When the time comes, various ninja tool launchers will be installed on the aircraft, and even explosive tags will be attached to launch them for attack. The ninjas on the ground will only be able to take the beating.

This is many times better than those puppets of the past; this is the future of puppeteers.

"It's almost time. We need to head to our destination to meet up with everyone. It will be the final battle."

Tamura Hao loosened up his hands and feet; the real battle was about to begin.

"Are you going to participate in those boring games too?"

Scorpion used a sealing roll to seal up the nearly destroyed aircraft and asked a question, saying he had no interest in that kind of game.

"I didn't want to participate, but I had no choice."

With a sigh, Tamura Hao took off his clothes and washed himself briefly in the nearby stream. He then changed into a new set of underwear and put on his leather jacket and light armor.

Scorpion jumped into the river to wash himself quickly. He had been busy making puppets for a while and had started to smell.

After cleaning up, the two headed to the central point, where a large number of people had already gathered.

The examinees from the four major ninja villages gathered together to block the gate, while the examinees from Konoha confronted them.

Compared to the number of people who entered, only half remain now. The others either stayed in the forest forever or had to leave midway because they lost their teammates.

This Chunin Exam is far more brutal than usual, and the sacrifices are far greater.

However, those who survived to this point are all elites, none of them are pushovers.

Konoha has three teams, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure each have one team, and Kumogakure has four teams.

Of course, four teams seem like a lot, but there is a solo team of Tamura Hao and Uchiha Hikaru, and a duo team of Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Vanilla.

The team from Konoha consisted of three fully-fledged squads, totaling nine people, and all of them knew someone from their own group.

"You despicable bastard, I'm going to beat you this time."

Upon seeing someone arrive, Rope Tree became furious and clenched his fists, ready to fight that person to the death.

I was so frustrated by the last loss, and I even lost the birthday present my sister gave me. I'm determined to win this time and win back the birthday present she gave me.

"You're so energetic!"

Tamura Hiroshi laughed, "What an energetic young man!"

"Owner!"

Whirlpool Vanilla strode over and handed over a scroll.

They collected many of these scrolls, and naturally prepared a copy for their owner as well.

Tamura Hao took the scroll and put it into the sealing technique, then looked at Uzumaki Kushina, who was making a face at him.

"You guys go inside the tower first; it's not your place to participate in the battle that's about to begin."

After all, that person is still alive, and Nawaki is related to Kushina.

"Um!"

Vanilla knew that her master's will could not be disobeyed, so she obediently went over and followed Kushina Uzumaki into the tower to complete the exam.

"You can pick anyone else, but we'll deal with the blond guys and the ones with thick eyebrows; they're strong."

Tamura Hao said something to the others, and the Cloud Village team responded decisively.

The teams from the other three ninja villages were dissatisfied, but they didn't say anything.

They had witnessed the strength of that blond-haired, thick-browed man; he was indeed the most troublesome.

"A swift and decisive victory!"

He said something to Uchiha Hikaru, and then Tamura Hao took out Big Meow and Little Meow and attacked Namikaze Minato.

The task assigned by Lord Danzo must be carried out, and the attitude must be shown. Whether it can be completed is another matter.

Seeing Tamura Hiroshi charging towards him, Namikaze Minato quickly formed hand seals, holding a shuriken in his hand, preparing to unleash the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.

This type of area-of-effect attack is perfect for dealing with speed-type ninjas.

Uchiha Hikari drew her sword and charged at Might Guy. Having fought Orochimaru before, she was very wary of this thick-browed young man who could make that shameless villain feel the same kind of danger.

Before they even made contact, the Sharingan with three tomoe appeared in his eyes, and he unleashed a genjutsu enhanced by his dojutsu.

Just as Might Guy was about to make a move, he was instantly hit and froze on the spot.

"Sharingan!"

Upon seeing the Sharingan, Minato Namikaze cursed inwardly and redirected his prepared Shadow Clone Technique towards Uchiha Hikaru, who was about to kill Might Guy.

He then formed hand seals and used the Shadow Clone Technique, wielding two specially made kunai to meet Tamura Hao who had already attacked him. The shadow clone rushed to Might Guy's side, placed its palm on him, and used its own chakra to dispel the genjutsu from Might Guy.

"Uncle Dai, use that quickly!"

Still somewhat bewildered, Might Guy heard Minato Namikaze's rapid shout and, without hesitation, immediately activated the Eight Gates, opening five gates in an instant.

Although opening all five gates at once would cause more damage to the body, there's no time to worry about that now.

The violent chakra flowed rapidly through the meridians within his body and emanated outwards.

Seeing the violent chakra through his Sharingan, Uchiha Hikaru couldn't help but frown.

Such rampant chakra cannot be controlled by genjutsu; the only option is to fight it with ninjutsu and taijutsu.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

He quickly formed a hand seal, took a deep breath, and then suddenly exhaled a large burst of flames, turning the area in front of him into a sea of ​​fire.

"This is a genin? You're kidding!"

Everyone was stunned by the scale of the fire-based attack and the intense heat it emitted.

Even the ninjutsu of a Jonin wouldn't be this exaggerated.

In contrast, Tamura Hao's battle was much simpler and more straightforward. He didn't use large-scale, high-effect ninjutsu, but his offensive was no less powerful and equally deadly.

Having already lost the initiative due to being distracted by Might Guy, he was then pressured at close range by Tamura Hao and could only use two kunai to block the attacks with physical techniques.

However, when it comes to taijutsu and close combat, Minato Namikaze is far inferior to Hiroshi Tamura. His current specialty is wind-style ninjutsu.

Tamura Hao had considered killing Namikaze Minato, but unfortunately, he sensed two chakra energies inside the tower at that moment.

With those two around, there was no way he could kill Minato Namikaze, not to mention Might Guy was also there.

However, the act had to be a full performance. Danzo had to know that it wasn't that I, Tamura Hiten, wasn't trying hard enough, but that he had bodyguards, the kind that were impossible to resist.

"Three slashes in a flash!"

Two flashes of light slashed through the air, severing the two special kunai that Minato Namikaze had used to block, and also slicing off a piece of flesh from his left arm, leaving it a bloody mess. The piece of flesh was then caught and collected by the chakra threads that Tamura Hao had already extended.

Minato Namikaze also possessed the talent to master the Flying Thunder God Technique. By having the Ten-Tails and Kaguya devour his flesh and chakra, and then simulating his chakra and combining it with Tobirama's chakra, his chances of indirectly mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique should have increased somewhat.

The third strike came down with even greater speed and ferocity.

However, Tamura Hao's third strike did not aim at Minato Namikaze, but instead struck Might Guy, who was not far away.

At the same time, with the help of Chidori's speed and Shunpo, he rushed in front of Uchiha Hikaru, kicked him away, and swung his sword wildly, shattering the high-pressure air fist imprints in front of him one by one, while retreating to create distance.

"The morning peacock! It should be that the View Gate has been opened."

Tamura Hao watched the countless flames dissipating, the remnants left behind after the eruption of the Morning Peacock.

Might Guy just opened the Gate of View and used Morning Peacock, which is a combat power that completely surpasses the level of Jonin, and naturally Uchiha Hikaru cannot withstand it.

If the Mangekyou Sharingan were still around, it could be used with eye techniques and Susanoo to defend against it, but unfortunately it's gone.

"well enough?"

Without turning his head, he asked a question. He had just seen Uchiha Hikaru's lightning blade being accidentally knocked away, and his arm had also been hit. Judging from the posture, it seemed to be dislocated.

"Thank goodness you didn't kick me to death."

Uchiha Hikaru, having retrieved the Lightning Blade and restored his right arm joint, glared at someone. "I know you're trying to save me, but could you please not use such a brutal method?"

"You're right, he's very strong!"

Suppressing his displeasure, he looked at Might Guy opposite him and admitted that the villain was right that day; that guy with the thick eyebrows was very strong, even surpassing Orochimaru in terms of explosive combat power.

"Let's switch opponents. You deal with Minato Namikaze, and I'll take on this old man."

Tamura Hao switched opponents; Uchiha Hikaru is not currently suited to face this type of opponent.

"Can you do it?"

After recovering, Uchiha Hikaru was somewhat worried; that guy with the thick eyebrows was too strong.

Although it looks like a forbidden technique that involves self-harm, its explosive power is truly formidable. Even if one still possesses the Kaleidoscope Sharingan, facing such an opponent would be extremely difficult.

"Snapped!"

Never ask a man if he can do it!

Dissatisfied, he slapped the perky spot with the blade of his knife, then pulled the wire back into his hand, retrieving the giant cat he had just thrown to interrupt Might Guy's attack.

"Shameless!"

Uchiha Hikaru blushed after being slapped and glared at someone resentfully.

Meanwhile, Might Guy wiped the blood from the wound on his face caused by the knife, and Minato Namikaze came to his side and gave emergency treatment to the wound on his arm.

"Uncle Dai, are you alright?"

Minato Namikaze asked, keeping a wary eye on the two people in front of him.

"I'm fine. Everyone gather around. I'll use the peacock formation to rush into the tower and complete the exam."

Might Guy said in a low voice, "The Eight Gates is a forbidden technique after all, and I can't hold it for long."

"Everyone, gather around here!"

Minato Namikaze understood and called out to Nawaki and the others who were being entangled by other ninja village examinees.

Might Guy glared back in response, startling the examinees from Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure who immediately backed away.

Once they caught their breath, Nawaki and the others quickly leaped over, looking around at the ninjas from other villages with lingering fear.

Tamura Hao waved his hand, signaling his own team, which was still targeting the two Konoha examinees, to retreat, and looked at Might Guy, who was adjusting his breathing.

"Uncle, my name is Tamura Hiroshi. What's your name?"

Compared to the future Might Guy, Might Dai is far inferior; otherwise, three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen wouldn't have survived after the Eight Gates were opened in the future.

Nowadays, even opening the view gate and using the morning peacock is a struggle for Matt Damon, and the burden is considerable.

"Dai! Might Dai!"

Matt Day also kept his eyes fixed on the boy opposite him; the other was definitely not weak.

"You must be using the legendary Eight Gates Formation. I didn't expect that such a self-destructive taijutsu would still be practiced today. But it fits the style of Konoha. You must have been sent in by the Third Hokage to protect those people."

As Tamura Hao spoke, he secretly circulated his chakra in his lungs to help absorb more oxygen and store it in his blood. His red blood cells were stretched into spherical shapes, preparing for the upcoming burst of power.

"Where the leaves dance, the fire will never cease; its light will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."

Might Guy believed in the Will of Fire, which was also his ninja way.

"That uncle might burn himself to death later!"

With an icy expression, Tamura Hao decisively erupted.

"The Seven-Day Breathing Method - First Phase!"

"Secondary activity!"

"The third activity!"

"The fourth activity!"

"Fifth... never mind, that's the limit. Driving any further will harm your health."

He activated the seven-day breathing technique's activity boost to the fourth level in one go, and then decisively stopped when he realized that the fifth level of activity exceeded his own safe limit.

Health is the foundation of everything. Although the task given to him by Lord Danzo was important, Tamura Hitomi valued the future even more.

We must take the path of sustainable development. Only by staying alive can we bring a continuous stream of intelligence benefits to Lord Danzo, which is far better than ruining ourselves now.

This is the best way to serve Lord Danzo.

Moreover, I, Tamura Hitomi, am an intelligence officer, a civilian employee; combat is not my primary job.

Despite having many ideas, Tamura Hiroshi did not stop for a moment, and swung his sword at Might Guy.

"The Morning Peacock!"

Seeing the boy charging towards him, Might Guy punched the air again, compressing it into an air cannon at incredible speed. The air even ignited due to the friction between the high speed and the air, making him look like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, blocking all of Tamura Hao's escape routes.

Tamura Hao's burst of power was also impressive. He wielded his twin swords to precisely slice and shatter the incoming air fist imprints, directly confronting them head-on.

His self-made Seven-Day Breathing Technique was not bad. Although he had only reached the fourth level of activity, his physical condition was much better than Might Guy's.

After all, it was forged and tempered using a combination of financial resources and external cheats, far surpassing what Might Guy could achieve by grinding on his own.

If this body were to be used to open the Eight Gates, opening up to the Gate of Shock wouldn't be a problem.

Unfortunately, the Seven Days Breathing Technique's burst of power caused his chakra to become too violent, preventing it from stacking with the Chidori Ninjutsu; otherwise, the effect would definitely have been even more intense.

But it's enough to defend against the Morning Peacock of Mighty.

The Morning Peacock is indeed very strong, but its power is too dispersed and is far inferior to the Day Tiger's concentrated burst of power.

The fact that Might Guy managed to beat Kisame so many times at close range with Morning Peacock without killing him shows the power of a single punch; it wouldn't be difficult for him to shatter it now.

Might Guy was surprised to see that his Morning Peacock was blocked, but he could only continue to throw punches, hoping to suppress his opponent with the Morning Peacock.

The others were also very surprised. They had all witnessed Might Guy's outburst, and even the girl's super-powerful fire jutsu had been suppressed by him. But now the boy had blocked it head-on.

"Is he that strong?"

Rope Tree found it hard to believe; how could that despicable bastard be so strong?

Minato Namikaze was also quite surprised. Although Jiraiya had told him to pay attention to this person and that the other party was very strong, he hadn't said that the other party was that strong.

However, they soon had no time to think, because Uchiha Hikaru had already attacked from the side, raising his hand to unleash a more concentrated Great Fire Annihilation than Great Fire Annihilation.

"Earth Release·Earth Style Wall!"

Rope Tree snapped out of his shock, raised his hands and quickly formed hand seals, finally slamming both hands hard onto the ground.

A massive earthen wall rose rapidly from the ground, blocking and extinguishing the surging flames.

Although he hasn't mastered the Earth Release: Nature Transformation, he possesses a vast amount of chakra. By using more chakra to enhance his ninjutsu, he can increase his size, making his defense quite formidable.

Of course, although the flames were blocked, the intense heat still made them very uncomfortable.

But Uchiha Hikaru's offensive wasn't over yet.

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"

Three fiery dragon heads flew through the flames and earthen walls from mid-air and crashed into the crowd, instantly blasting eight people away. Three of them died on the spot, and the others were injured to varying degrees.

Even though Minato Namikaze only managed to grab onto Rope Tree to avoid the main blast radius, he was still in a sorry state.

Uchiha Hikaru wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. With the combined power of Chidori Speed ​​and Chidori Blade, he swiftly charged towards Namikaze Minato.

(End of this chapter)