3 Chapter 2

(A/N: This chapter took a lot longer than I anticipated to put out. I couldn't stop changing things for the future which ended up changing this chapter a lot but here it is.

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The winning team was from Takigakure, while the losing team was from Konohagakure. Both teams had no one Yuro could recognize. They were background characters, just like him.

No deaths had occurred during their fight, as most participants saw it as a test. A very hard and brutal test, but a test nonetheless. Besides those who were bloodthirsty, most deaths were accidental in many different ways.

When all three Konoha members were unable to continue, the winners took the others' scroll. They now had the complete set of Heaven and Earth scrolls, only needing to get to the tower before time was up.

Coincidentally, Yuro also needed both scrolls, and those who had just won were not at their full strength, bruised and battered. They would be perfect, though he still felt unsure if he could win. It was a one versus three situation after all.

This was going to be his first real fight where he couldn't use the Sharingan, the thing that would make this all a lot easier. Orochimaru forbade it since it would be highly suspicious to any Konoha higher-ups if it was noticed, so it was off-limits. Truly a handicap.

He thought while the team conversed, soon deciding his first action. Taking his mask down, he brought up his hands to begin the seals:

Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger

'Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu.' (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

Breathing in, he then heavily exhaled a large ball of fire which made its way towards the trio. This wasn't meant to hit any of them, but to grab their attention and hopefully split them up. So right when it was released, Yuro immediately moved to a different spot that was not where the ninjutsu had come from. It would be stupid not to do so.

When the three of them noticed the ninjutsu heading right towards them, they all managed to dodge by scattering in different directions. They didn't know that there was only one enemy instead of a full team and were all searching for the perpetrators to no avail.

The person who held both scrolls was the least injured and managed to be the furthest from where Yuro went. He threw a kunai toward that guy while also jumping toward the nearest person, the girl of the group. She looked to be the most beaten between the three of them.

By the time he landed, the kunai had easily been noticed and evaded, but all their attention was on it for the next few moments. No one had yet to notice his presence, even more so because he hadn't made any noise coming over. His target's back was to him thanks to the distraction, but one of the others had finally seen his approach, albeit too late.

Before being able to bring attention to his presence, Yuro was already at the unsuspecting girl and leaped towards her, winding up a full kick to her neck.

She was sent flying, unable to notice and prevent the incoming strike, landing on the ground and continuously tumbling. The others looked towards her and saw the sudden attack had immediately made her unconscious.

"You bastard!" One of them screamed out.

"Calm down!" The other yelled towards the one angered at their teammate's downfall. "Look out for the other two! This guy was a part of the creeps team!"

The guy with the scrolls went to regroup with the other, but Yuro tightened his grip and pulled his hand back. No one had noticed, but when Yuro threw the first kunai, there was a very thin thread attached to it. With the kunai embedded into the ground, the guy's feet were blocked from moving forward by the sudden obstacle, falling to the ground.

To make his life a little worse, Yuro threw a couple of shurikens to keep him busy while drawing out another kunai and ran towards the only standing enemy left. The guy didn't seem all that confident fighting Yuro alone in his state, so he decided to book it towards the one with the scrolls to make this a two-on-one.

Yuro didn't want them to regroup at all, so he threw the kunai he held to stop his advance towards his teammate. It was going to come down to a taijutsu fight.

While all that was happening, the one who held the scrolls got up and, seeing that the other two hidden enemies still hadn't shown themselves, thought they would surely lose this battle.

One of them had been quickly dispatched, and taking a glance towards Yuro, who was shown to be winning despite his small size, it was clear it was their loss.

Yuro finished the fight by grabbing an incoming punch, blocking it, and using it as leverage to pull his opponent closer before launching his foot into their chin. Their head snapped back and they fell unconscious.

He expected the last opponent to be on their way, but heard nothing. Turning around, he saw that they hadn't moved.

"It's our loss. You already took out two of us and your teammates haven't even shown themselves. Which scroll do you need? We already have both."

Losing a scroll would mean their previous battle was pointless. After obtaining both scrolls, they were about to lose one. How unlucky. But it was just one scroll. After some rest, they would need one more. A temporary setback.

"I need both. Hand them over," Yuro responded, causing the other to choke.

"The test just started and you already lost yours?" The opponent hadn't even been in a fight, so how did their team lose their scroll?

"That's none of your business. Give me both or I will take them."

Gritting their teeth in frustration, the opponent handed over both the heaven and earth scrolls.

"Fine! Take them!"

Silence fell. Yuro stared at the opponent and instead of picking up the scrolls, he picked up a fallen kunai and knelt before the unconscious person, holding the blade to their throat.

"Toss them over and move away."

After a tense moment, the scrolls were placed on the ground and the opponent moved away. Yuro picked them up, never taking his eyes off the opponent. With both scrolls in hand, he began to distance himself. Before leaving, he gave the opponent an eye smile, showing that he was smiling underneath his mask.

"By the way, my team wasn't even here. Bye-bye," he waved before dashing away at full speed.

As he ran, trees flew by. The terrain was challenging, with large trees and roots creating hiding spots for animals. Yuro climbed a tree and jumped silently across branches to avoid potential threats.

Once he felt safe, he stopped on a large branch and leaned against the trunk, taking a break. He had both scrolls and hadn't broken a sweat besides the run. Now, he just had to move towards the center leisurely, avoiding everyone. The test was easier than he anticipated.