Uchiha Gen also came to watch.
Although Genin battles were child's play to him, as the incoming Fifth Hokage, it wouldn't look good if he didn't show up.
And this joint Chunin Exams was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle for Konoha, something that would never happen again.
People of different statuses sat at different heights in the pavilion.
The Third Hokage, Pakura, and the representatives from the various Hidden Villages sat at the very top.
Below them sat the Daimyo and nobles from each nation, along with Konoha's upper echelon.
Past that were the regular seats.
Gen had no desire to sit with nobles or Daimyo, so he brought Tsunade, Mikoto, Kushina, Yūgao, Anko, and the others to sit with the general audience.
Because the number of participants and villages differed from the original Chunin Exams, the match order naturally changed but this version was even more exciting.
The Five Great Nations squared off against the five smaller Hidden Villages, and the difference was clear.
The major villages displayed the strength expected of them, suffering no losses.
Among them, the Genin from the Hidden Mist left the deepest impression, brutal, ruthless, and merciless.
None of their opponents survived; every one of them died in miserable condition.
As the matches went on, the Genin from the major villages began facing each other, and Konoha's new generation immediately stood out.
Among the Konoha 12, aside from Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and a few others who were still in their early-stage growth; Lee, Shikamaru, and Shino all brought honor to the village.
But the three who truly stole the spotlight were:
Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke.
Their combat ability was on a completely different level.
Unlike in the original timeline, Neji now had Uchiha Gen backing him.
Gen frequently gave him pointers, teaching him techniques from the Hyuga main branch.
His strength far surpassed his counterpart in the original storyline.
Naruto, under Kushina's guidance, defeated his opponents with ease.
His fighting style remained similar to the original with Shadow Clones and Rasengan at the core but supplemented with elemental ninjutsu and even Sealing jutsu, thanks to Kushina's tutoring.
Kushina herself, when not using Nine-Tails Chakra, relied heavily on Shadow Clones and Rasengan.
For both mother and son, shinobi with monstrous chakra reserves, the Shadow Clone Technique was the perfect match.
Naruto possessed six chakra natures:
Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, and Yang.
With Kushina backing him, he never lacked training material.
His ninjutsu system, paired with Sealing, was becoming complete.
His use of Shadow Clone and Rasengan far surpassed his original counterpart, dazzling creativity and endless variations.
Sasuke's fighting style diverged from Naruto's, inheriting the Uchiha's classic approach; elegant, precise, swift, and lethal.
With his Sharingan fully analyzing every move, any opponent collapsed the moment he acted.
Gaara also showcased the power of the Hidden Sand, crushing opponents without difficulty.
These four shone the brightest among all the Genin.
But hidden under the surface was one more "ceiling": Rock Lee.
It was simply that his early opponents weren't strong enough to make him show it.
After the preliminaries, the knockout stage officially began.
With Konoha's top medical personnel present, they didn't need the lengthy breaks seen in the original Chunin Exams.
Defeat didn't automatically disqualify one from promotion, performance was what mattered.
Once the main competition started, the fights became far more intense.
Only a handful of Genin from smaller villages remained; the rest were clashes between elite villages.
After multiple rounds, the top ten emerged:
Konoha had: Neji, Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Lee. While Others: one Hidden Sand, one Hidden Mist, one Iwagakure, two Hidden Cloud.
Konoha accounted for half the finalists, causing the other villages' observers to feel a creeping dread.
Hiruzen's wrinkled face bloomed like a chrysanthemum.
Konoha's shinobi, villagers, and the Land of Fire nobles were practically glowing with pride.
Final Day Arrives.
The venue corridors were packed wall-to-wall, a sea of humans, their cheers shaking the air.
Even Lee, already brimming with youth, somersaulted into the arena and finished with a dramatic split, drawing laughter from all sides.
When the match order appeared on the big screen, the entire arena fell silent.
Many turned their eyes toward the Third Hokage, including Pakura and the foreign village representatives.
Match order was as follow:
Neji vs. Hidden Mist Genin.
Sasuke vs. Iwagakure Genin.
Naruto vs. Hidden Cloud Genin.
Shikamaru vs. Hidden Cloud Genin.
Lee vs. Gaara.
Not a single intra-Konoha match.
Suspicious? Absolutely.
Hiruzen, puffing on his pipe, twitched his face and pretended not to notice the accusing stares.
In truth, Konoha did manipulate the matchups but not Hiruzen.
It was Uchiha Gen.
He simply wanted to save the most exciting battles for last.
Shiranui Genma, sharp as ever, immediately announced the start of the matches, helping Hiruzen escape the awkward atmosphere.
Match Highlights was the first Match: Neji vs. Hidden Mist.
Though the Mist Genin was ferocious with a variety of attacks, Neji overwhelmingly suppressed him.
His apparent disadvantage was merely tactical misdirection; he was in control the entire time.
After an opening appeared, Neji blasted him away with Eight Trigrams Empty Palm, sealed his chakra, and claimed victory.
Then the second Match: Sasuke vs. Iwagakure. Sasuke won after some effort, though he was never in real danger.
As for the third Match: Naruto vs. Hidden Cloud. Naruto's overwhelming shadow-clone-fueled aggression secured the win.
With three victories in a row for Konoha, many spectators from other villages turned green.
Konoha's villagers erupted into cheers.
For the forth Match: Shikamaru vs. Hidden Cloud. Shikamaru fell into a brutal fight from the first second.
The Cloud Genin had the strength of a full Chunin.
Shikamaru wanted to surrender, but the situation didn't allow it.
Although outmatched in chakra and physical strength, he nearly turned the tide multiple times through pure strategy. In the end, he was worn down and defeated. But the loss wasn't shameful, it was impressive.
The Cloud Genin was, after all, actually a Chunin.
Next was fifth Match: Rock Lee vs. Gaara. A perfect repeat of the classic; breathtaking, intense, emotional.
The only difference was that Gaara didn't aim to kill this time, leaving Lee wounded but safe.
Afternoon Finals.
The venue overflowed, louder than ever.
Hiruzen, perhaps embarrassed by the morning's matchups, rearranged things slightly:
Naruto vs. Gaara.
Sasuke vs. Neji.
Cloud Genin — bye.
Naruto vs. Gaara, Jinchuriki Clash.
Naruto's limitless Shadow Clone combinations overwhelmed the stage.
Gaara responded with massive waves of sand.
Gaara's counterattack soon turned half the field into an ocean of swirling sand.
Naruto, stronger than in the original story, quickly realized ordinary attacks wouldn't work.
He unleashed a crimson chakra tail and maintained control.
With Nine-Tails' chakra fueling him, the sand couldn't hold him back.
Gaara then invoked Shukaku's chakra.
The battlefield became a war zone, the two half-beast figures shaking the arena.
The Cloud Genin watching this had a face blacker than ink, terrified he might have to fight one of them next.
After a fierce struggle, Naruto found an opening, used sealing to suppress Shukaku's chakra, and defeated Gaara.
The arena erupted into earth-shaking applause.
Sasuke vs. Neji — Uchiha vs. Hyuga.
The most anticipated match.
Rock Lee, still injured, wrapped in bandages, limped out to watch.
Gen had no bias, both were family in his eyes.
Their taijutsu clash immediately surpassed Jonin-level speed; most spectators couldn't even see it, only feel the pressure.
Guy and Kakashi's hands itched to join them.
Lee was practically crying, he wanted to jump in and fight both.
Realizing taijutsu alone wouldn't settle things, the two switched to clan techniques.
Hyuga and Uchiha arts filled the arena with precise, dazzling exchanges.
Though both fought fiercely, Sasuke ultimately had the edge.
Hyuga techniques, despite their brilliance, were still simpler in structure compared to Uchiha's.
Neji fell into a Sharingan-crafted genjutsu.
He broke out quickly, his anti-genjutsu training showed but the slight delay cost him momentum.
Sasuke steadily turned that into a decisive advantage and won.
The audience roared with praise for both.
Final Round: Three-Way Battle.
After a short break, the last match began — a free-for-all.
Naturally, Naruto and Sasuke teamed up first against the Cloud Genin to prevent him from stealing the win.
The Cloud Genin fought with everything he had, determined to honor his village but he lasted only two exchanges before being taken out.
Now only Naruto and Sasuke remained.
Taijutsu alone put Naruto at a slight disadvantage, but Shadow Clones equalized the field.
Even Otsutsuki would struggle against Shadow Clone unpredictability.
Naruto and Sasuke knew each other inside and out, personality, timing, ninjutsu, tricks, which made the fight even more explosive.
Their elemental focuses: Naruto, Wind and Earth. While Sasuke, Fire and Lightning.
Each countered the other in different ways.
Sasuke's genjutsu had reached Jonin level thanks to Itachi, Shisui, and Gen but Kurama neutralized it instantly.
After more than ten minutes, they realized they couldn't decide the match without trump cards.
Naruto released more of Kurama's chakra.
Sasuke activated his pseudo-Sage Mode, natural energy mixed into his chakra, similar to Mitsuki's, but without the excessive serpent traits of the original Cursed Seal.
Their auras clashed violently, tearing up the restored battlefield.
Still evenly matched, they unleashed their final moves with Naruto's light-purple Rasengan, and Sasuke's black Chidori.
The impact created a deep-purple chakra barrier, swallowing them both.
Mikoto and Kushina stood up in alarm.
The shield shattered, sending shockwaves across the arena.
The ground was plowed like soil under an iron blade; winds tore into the audience stands.
When the dust settled, both boys lay on the ground, struggling but alive.
Mikoto and Kushina exhaled in relief.
Genma immediately ended the match, declaring a draw, unwilling to let the two "little ancestors" continue.
The audience erupted with a roar louder than thunder.
The Chunin Exams concluded perfectly.
Konoha shone.
The world watched.
And another era quietly shifted into place.