The opponents were none other than the contestants from the Hidden Cloud Village during the Chunin Exams—Darui, Karui, and Omoi.
"You bastards, you caused us to get chewed out by the Raikage and Lord Bee, and we were thrown into the Cloud-Lightning Ravine for hellish training."
The hot-headed Omoi gritted his teeth as he looked at Aoki Yoru.
If it weren't for those three, he wouldn't have spent his days in the Cloud-Lightning Ravine getting struck by lightning, slashed by Lord Bee's sword, and even taking a Tailed Beast Ball from the Eight-Tails.
That wasn't normal training at all; it was a grueling trial meant to kill them. Sometimes he felt like he had seen his great-grandmother, and if he managed to survive and come out, he really had to thank his great-grandmother for protecting him from the afterlife.
"Pfft!"
Darui, at the front, spat out the grass root in his mouth, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Little brother, don't blame us for outnumbering you. The Raikage gave a death order to take the lives of your four-man squad, so could you please just stand there and don't move? I'll be quick; it won't hurt."
Aoki Yoru watched as the three surrounded him from three directions, blocking his escape route. There was no fear on his face; instead, he looked at them with a playful expression.
"You speak as if you've got me in the bag. You were just as confident last time, and look how you retreated in disgrace."
At this moment, Karui shouted from behind him: "Stop talking nonsense, kill him already!"
The three stopped talking, their fingers moving in afterimages to weave hand signs, and they shouted in unison:
"Lightning Release: Triple Lightning Strike Formation!"
Aoki Yoru looked up to see three bolts of lightning gathering and intertwining above his head, instantly forming a massive ball of lightning with dense arcs of electricity dancing across its surface.
"Oh, not a bad move."
Aoki Yoru stood calm and composed in the arena. If this were last year, he would have dodged without a second thought, but now, it posed no threat to him.
No sooner had he finished speaking than the lightning ball came crashing down. A purple-blue light exploded, illuminating the entire battlefield. The earth trembled slightly, and the electric light swept outwards, instantly swallowing everything.
The battlefield seemed to hit a pause button as everyone turned to look toward the lightning. What kind of S-rank forbidden jutsu was this?
"Hahaha! You're dead!"
Omoi laughed triumphantly when he saw Aoki Yoru hit head-on by the lightning ball, but his laughter suddenly stopped. He looked at the arena in disbelief.
As the lightning and smoke dissipated, Aoki Yoru was seen standing there completely unharmed, even dusting himself off.
Around him, a giant made of purple lightning, resembling a Susanoo, had condensed. The arcs of the lightning ball swirled around the giant, as if giving it a lightning bath.
"Th-this, what is this..." Darui's throat seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, and his voice came out dry and strained.
He quickly regained his senses and said to his companions: "You guys go, I'll hold him off."
"Are you kidding? How could we run away and be cowards?" Omoi and Karui refused outright.
Aoki Yoru dispersed the lightning, raised his Ninja sword, and said to them, "No need to argue, none of you are getting away."
The scene fell silent. They watched each other, slowly building up their momentum, forming a stark contrast to the chaotic fighting around them.
In the distance, the battle was raging. Kenta kicked a Kumogakure Chunin away and said to Yui: "Don't we need to go help Yoru?"
Yui dodged a slashing blade and drove her Kunai into the enemy's heart. "No need. His strength has become increasingly unfathomable over this past year. Those three losers can't do anything to him."
"Clang!"
The four moved, disappearing from their spots. The collision of blades sparked.
The four clashed rapidly in the arena. Those with weaker strength could only see afterimages, with only the sparks of their collision flashing everywhere.
In the world of martial arts, only speed is unbreakable—this was Aoki Yoru's life motto. Over the past year, through more extreme control of his Chakra combined with the muscle explosion techniques he learned from Might Guy, he had extreme confidence in his speed.
Looking at the three who were attacking again, although they had made huge progress compared to last year, in his eyes, it was nothing much.
Aoki Yoru accelerated instantly and appeared in front of Omoi in the blink of an eye.
"The first one."
"Slash!"
The cold Ninja sword grazed Omoi's throat. Blood gushed out. Omoi didn't even have time to stop his forward momentum before he collapsed straight down.
"Omoi!" Seeing their companion die, Darui and Karui's eyes split with rage as they rushed at him with all their might.
With a flicker of his figure, Aoki Yoru appeared behind Karui. At this moment, the hairs on Karui's body stood on end, and she stiffened in place, unable to even turn her head. The blade had already pierced through her chest, and red droplets of blood slowly dripped from the tip of the sword.
Watching the two companions fall before him, Darui's mind flashed back to the near-death experiences the three had shared in the Cloud-Lightning Ravine. Back then, the three had encouraged and supported each other; he never expected them to fall before him now.
Darui's pupils dilated, his expression crazed, and he gritted his teeth as he glared at Aoki Yoru.
"I will tear you into pieces!"
Veins bulged on his face, blood slowly streamed from the corners of his mouth and nostrils, and he unleashed his Chakra to its limit, clasping his hands together.
"Secret Technique: Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
His whole body emitted a black light, and countless points of light shot out from him in all directions, attacking everyone around indiscriminately.
"Hey, hey, hey, this guy is crazy, attacking his own people too." Seeing the crazed Darui, Aoki Yoru knew this guy had lost his mind.
He used the Body Flicker Technique to move to the side where there were more Konoha people and used Lightning Release to quickly block all the lasers.
"Ah! Lady Karui, it's us! Why are you attacking me?"
On the other side, even though some reacted quickly and used Earth Wall, they were pierced through by the lasers, leaving them riddled with holes and suffering heavy losses.
Watching the completely crazed Darui, the Lightning Release on Aoki Yoru's hand quickly extended as he slashed at him.
"Slash!"
An arm fell to the ground, and the flowing blood stained the earth red.
"Hmm?" Aoki Yoru frowned. At the critical moment, his Chidori Blade had been deflected by a punch.
Darui had fainted and was being held in the arms of a middle-aged Ninja.
The man gave Aoki Yoru a deep look. He didn't fight him, but instead turned and fled toward the base camp with Darui.
Darui was the number one of the new generation in the Hidden Cloud Village and the hope of the Village. If he were to fall here, there would be no way to answer to the furious Raikage.
Aoki Yoru watched them leave without pursuing. That middle-aged man was one of the few elite Jonin of Kumogakure in this operation. Chasing him might not result in killing Darui, and it could even lead to being surrounded by enemies.
At this moment, the battlefield did not calm down in the slightest from Aoki Yoru's victory. Everyone was now blinded by rage, watching their companions who had lived and worked together fall one by one, and they were all furiously attacking the enemy, fighting to the death.
Aoki Yoru did not join the battle in the center of the battlefield where the elite Jonin were fighting. Instead, he continued to hunt Kumogakure Ninjas on the periphery, occasionally stepping in to save his Konoha companions.