Bluebird injected all of his remaining chakra into his hands. His surging chakra, his resolute eyes, and his wildly swirling aura all reached their absolute peak!
He once again adopted the Gentle Fist starting stance, implicitly aligning with some profound rhythm. In Bluebird's mind, an immense Eight Trigrams Formation seemed to materialize in the formless space around him.
He gathered his momentum, raised his focus, and infused his chakra!
His hands traced two full and perfect circles in the air. As these two circles were drawn, the air for several meters around Bluebird seemed to be compressed by the momentum they generated. He drew his hands back to his abdomen and waist, his entire focus, spirit, and energy condensed into this moment, then thrust his palms forward suddenly!
Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Shockwave Palm!
Because the momentum of this strike was so incredibly fierce, the air where Bluebird struck suddenly collapsed and recessed, forming a distorted, semi-circular fold of compressed air.
In less than a tenth of a second, the collapsed and recessed air violently snapped back and tensed, carrying with it the collected force from the initial stance.
"Boom!" It let out a earth-shaking, explosive roar. The violent force condensed within was finally unleashed without hindrance, like a torrent breaking through a dam. It converged into a vacuum air column easily as thick as two people holding hands, rubbing against the surrounding air with a fierce whoosh, and shot toward the towering rock giant like a cannonball.
Facing Bluebird's strongest attack, Ōnoki frowned, sensing the power and difficulty of this single strike. He commanded the Earth Golem's two rock hands to clench and press together, slamming down heavily toward the formidable air column with a dull, stifling sound of wind resistance!
Rumble, rumble—
The two violent and ferocious attacks finally collided. The arena was filled with a colossal sound like thunder and a tsunami, immediately followed by the rock giant's familiar, terrifying roar: "ROAR—"
Although the two attacks collided in the air, all the spectators felt a distinct tremor and shaking. Orochimaru knew that the residual force from the collision had reached not only the ground but also the defense formula protecting the stands, causing such a violent vibration.
The explosions and roars shook the heavens and the earth, and shattered stone and smoke blanketed the entire arena!
Sensing the auras of the two fighters in the arena, Orochimaru shook his head slightly. He knew that Bluebird had lost!
The noise and smoke cleared, revealing the scene in the arena.
The Earth Golem's towering body was covered in countless spiderweb-like cracks and was missing one arm, while Bluebird lay exhausted and collapsed on the ground.
Ōnoki also looked slightly disheveled and tired. He dismissed the rock giant and gave a deep bow toward the fallen Bluebird.
The winner of the Third Preliminary Match was Ōnoki!
Clap, clap, clap—
Bluebird was carried off by Konoha's Medical Squad amidst the applause of the entire audience.
The arena was quickly restored by the surrounding maintenance ninja.
The fourth match was Konoha's Jiraiya versus the Sand ninja genius puppeteer, Sasori!
Although Jiraiya had reached the Chūnin level through three years of real-combat training with Orochimaru and had made considerable progress in strength, he was still defeated by the Sand ninja genius puppeteer, who was just beginning to display his exceptional talent by using various puppets with bizarre and sharp attack methods!
Thus, of Konoha's three participating examinees, only Orochimaru remained!
The fifth match was the Sand ninja Iron Sand user, Nagai Moriyama, versus the Mist ninja Yagura!
Though Yagura possessed exceptional talent and his mastery of Water Release Ninjutsu far surpassed that of his peers, he still fared poorly against the powerful Iron Sand Ninjutsu, which excelled in both offense and defense, and he regretfully lost the match.
The first day of the preliminary round ended with Yagura's look of disappointment!
However, the Konoha audience remained immersed in the thrilling ninja battles, discussing them animatedly and unable to forget what they had seen.
During the two days of rest, the entire village of Konoha was consumed with discussions about the matches and speculation about the ultimate winner. Pubs and tea houses were packed daily, and even in the bathhouses and hot springs, people could be heard debating and discussing the tournament.
However, the one thing that disappointed the Konoha villagers was that despite the spectacular and powerful nature of Hyūga Bluebird's fight, the fact that two of Konoha's three examinees were eliminated in the preliminary round still caused the villagers regret.
They gradually focused their attention on one place, on the young man who, as time went on, had become unanimously regarded by all of Konoha as the "Number One Genius of Konoha!"
He was Orochimaru!
On the morning of the third day, with the sound of nine cannon shots, the Konoha Grand Arena once again became a bustling hub of excitement. Even many ninja who were off-duty or without missions gathered in the stands or on the rooftops, awaiting the start of the semi-finals.
"Brother, you must be careful. You absolutely must win!" A soft, gentle female voice echoed in the dark contestants' tunnel.
"Mmh, I will win!" The familiar, low, slightly magnetic voice was as calm as ever, as if stating an already established fact!
A figure, whose height was clearly beginning to stretch, gradually walked out of the dark tunnel, stepping into and basking in the sunlight.
"Orochimaru, it's Orochimaru!"
"Orochimaru is here!"
"Lord Orochimaru is so handsome! Lord Orochimaru, we love you!"
...
In the ocean of sound generated by cheers and applause, Orochimaru, dressed in a wide-sleeved, moonlight-white kimono, stood in the center of the arena.
With his pale, handsome face, his bizarrely calm dark-golden snake eyes, and the faintly curled, wicked smile on his lips, he carried a strange, alluring charm. He was Orochimaru!
The moment Orochimaru stepped into the center of the arena, the audience's emotions intensified even further; the cheering and applause grew even louder!
Standing amidst the sound waves of cheers and applause, Orochimaru's faint smile remained unchanged. He calmly and serenely looked across at Sasori, who was wearing an expression of indignation.
Sasori, dressed in a black puppeteer's robe, had a pair of clear, bright, lively eyes and burgundy-colored choppy hair falling down his soft features. Despite his soft look, his face was full of resentment. Feeling that all the cheers and applause were directed solely at Orochimaru, Sasori curled his lips faintly and said indignantly to Orochimaru: "Hmph, my name is Sasori. Remember it, because I'm going to defeat you!"
Orochimaru said nothing. He only let the wicked curve of his lips deepen slightly, growing colder in the process!
The Chief Examiner of the Chūnin Exams, Yūhi Rō, looked at Sasori and Orochimaru, then solemnly announced: "The first match of the semi-finals: Konoha's Orochimaru versus the Sand Ninja Puppeteer—Sasori! Begin the match!"
🗒️NOTE:
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