At the center of the arena, the scattered ninja tools had already been collected by the two participating teams. After all, those things were not cheap—if they could be recovered, they should be recovered. Ninja money did not come blowing in on the wind.
However, the traces left by ninjutsu were still visible on the field. A Konoha ANBU ninja proficient in Earth Release stepped forward and used a simple ninjutsu to level the ground.
Minato looked toward the direction of the waiting room. He knew that inside were two of Konoha's new generation of geniuses, and that this rescheduled Chūnin Exam had, at the very beginning, perhaps been intended by the Hokage as a way to dispel the atmosphere of grief hanging over the village's residents.
But after Shisui registered to participate alone, the meaning of the exam changed. Taking advantage of the situation, the Konoha higher-ups then invited Makoto to respond.
Now, on the surface, this Chūnin Exam had already become a stage for just two people. Yet behind the scenes, it had instead turned into a means for the higher-ups to test their strength against the Uchiha clan.
Minato was not only outstanding in ninja talent; he also lacked no political acumen. He sighed softly to himself—indeed, the relationship between the village's leadership and Konoha's foremost noble clan was truly complex.
He wondered whether, if he were to realize his dream of becoming Hokage, he would be able to handle these troublesome matters properly.
Just thinking about it made his head go bald.
"Well then, for now, let's hand the stage over to these two outstanding juniors," Minato muttered to himself. Then he called out toward the waiting room, "Come down—it's your turn!"
Makoto said upon hearing this, "Let's go, Shisui. It's our turn to go on."
"Mm!" Shisui responded softly. From the way he looked, it seemed he was suppressing the excitement in his heart.
After they arrived at the center of the arena, Minato said, "State your names!"
"Higashino Makoto."
"Uchiha Shisui."
This was treatment that the two teams before them did not receive.
After the two of them spoke, their voices were transmitted through the amplification equipment to the stands. The villagers and shinobi who did not recognize them immediately knew who they were as soon as they heard the names.
"So it's them."
"Could it be—"
"That's right, it's them."
"Yes, the two little heroes who have been rumored about in the village recently—who defeated Kirigakure on the eastern front."
The villagers would not care whether it was true or not. After seeing the two heroes from the legends, they immediately stirred up an even higher wave of cheers, the roar continuing without end.
Minato looked at the two of them, but his attention was more on Shisui. The other party's Uchiha identity made him think of his former student, but Obito was different from Shisui, who had already shown the name of a genius at the age of ten—he was a thoroughly hot-blooded fool.
Although he had also obtained the title of hero on the battlefield where Konoha defeated Iwagakure, he paid the price of his life.
He hoped that this new Uchiha hero could grow up smoothly.
He himself actually had a fairly good relationship with the Uchiha clan.
...
On the main viewing stand, when the Daimyō saw that only two people had appeared in the arena, he asked in confusion, "Oh my, wasn't it supposed to be a confrontation between squads? Why are there only two people now?"
Third Hokage explained, "Because they registered individually to participate in the Chūnin Exams. These are Konoha's two most outstanding geniuses of the new generation. I believe their match will satisfy Your Excellency."
"Is that so? Then that really is something to look forward to—oh, ho, ho, ho."
However, the Daimyō's legitimate son beside him was thinking of something else entirely. If these ninja geniuses could all come under his command and acknowledge him as their lord, then would there still be any need for Konoha to exist?
Force, after all, only brings peace of mind when it is held firmly in one's own hands.
...
Seeing that the atmosphere had been fully built up, Minato extended his right hand horizontally between the two of them. "Then, let the match that belongs to you begin now!"
After speaking, he swept his right hand downward and instantly vanished, yielding the stage.
Makoto and Shisui formed the opposing seal. Then Shisui said, "Makoto, ever since I got to know you, I've known how formidable you are."
"Every time we crossed hands at the Ninja Academy, I could tell that you never used your full strength. Because of that, I have been training relentlessly—whether it was the chakra nature training techniques you taught me, or the various ninjutsu passed down by my clan, I have spared no effort in mastering them."
"All along, I've wanted to see just how great the gap between us really is. And today may be the day to finally uncover the answer that has been in my heart."
"Oh?" Makoto said. "That's quite a hot-blooded declaration. In that case, what are you still waiting for? Begin. Let me see whether you can truly do it."
After the two of them finished speaking, they suddenly pulled back a short distance at the same time. Their hands moved in unison toward their ninja tool pouches, and immediately eight shuriken flew out of their grips.
Clink, clink, clink, clink~
The shuriken collided with one another with precise accuracy at high speed in midair, producing crisp collision sounds. Both sides had infused them with Wind Release chakra, making the ninja tools' flight speed unbelievably fast. Those without sufficient eyesight could not see them clearly at all, hearing only the sounds of impact.
Makoto's ninja tool throwing was not flashy; what he pursued was speed, accuracy, and lethality.
Although Shisui's Wind Release chakra nature training was not as strong as Makoto's, it was at least enough to ensure that his shuriken could block the opponent's attacks without being sliced apart.
At the same time, as a member of a clan that liked to employ fancy ninja tool techniques, the shuriken Shisui launched were not limited to just eight. There were also four concealed beneath them that changed direction midway, attacking the opponent from the left and right flanks.
Makoto leapt forward to evade the shuriken, closing the distance between himself and Shisui, while simultaneously drawing the short blade from his back and slashing toward his old friend.
Shisui instantly drew his blade to block. Both of them poured chakra into their swords, protecting the blades while increasing their sharpness.
Immediately afterward, the two sides began exchanging blade strikes. Shisui activated his two-tomoe Sharingan right from the start, greatly enhancing his dynamic vision; his attack speed and neural reactions were extremely astonishing.
Although Makoto did not possess any particularly advantageous eyes, his body—nourished by natural energy—had dynamic vision and reaction speed that were likewise not weak, allowing him to handle the exchange with ease.
Shisui could tell that his friend still had not gone all out, and he could not help but feel somewhat discouraged. At the same time, a stubborn unwillingness to admit defeat arose in his heart.
'I need to be a bit faster—faster. Maybe if I'm just a little faster, I can suppress him.'
The two of them moved through the arena like gusts of wind, their blade strikes flashing like lightning. The speed was so astonishing that even many capable shinobi watching could not help but cry out in amazement.
Ordinary villagers: I can't see anything at all anymore, hey! Are you two monsters or something? Could you slow down a bit? We came to watch a match, not to watch you two run around the arena like lunatics.
After exchanging blows for a while, Shisui felt that this approach would not work, because his breathing was beginning to grow unsteady.
He knew that in terms of physical strength, endurance, and chakra reserves, he was no match for Makoto. If things continued like this, he would soon be defeated.
But how could he possibly be defeated so easily?
Shisui exerted all his strength to knock Makoto's weapon aside with a single slash. Then his left hand flicked out at extreme speed, sending four kunai flying to block Makoto's pursuit, while he himself rapidly formed hand seals.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
After batting away the kunai that came at him, Makoto saw the Uchiha clan's signature ninjutsu come straight toward his face.
But in his eyes, the fireball's speed was still far too slow.
That was why Makoto did not like attack-type ninjutsu that were expelled from the mouth; he only occasionally used defensive ones.
In order to give the Great Fireball Technique—which had never actually hit anyone—a confirmed hit on record, and also to enhance the spectacle of this match, Makoto did not dodge. He stood his ground and took the ninjutsu head-on.
His body was instantly engulfed by raging flames. His figure could not be seen at all, as if he had completely failed to evade that ninjutsu.
The spectators in the arena shifted in an instant from absolute silence to agitation, erupting into loud clamorous noise.
"No way!"
"How did he not dodge it?"
"It's over—our Konoha hero killed another hero!"
"Murder! Murder!"
Minato's body moved slightly, but he quickly returned to his original posture and did not step forward to intervene.
As the flames dispersed, Makoto's figure was revealed. His entire body was enveloped within a spherical, pale-blue chakra defensive barrier.
Minato looked at this defensive ninjutsu with curiosity. Before agreeing to serve as the chief examiner for the third match of the Chūnin Exams, he had of course reviewed the relevant materials and was aware of the series of ninjutsu Makoto had developed.
It truly was remarkable—being able to take the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique head-on without suffering the slightest injury. It was very practical, though the difficulty of learning it was perhaps a bit too high.
Besides, he did not yet possess a Water attribute. If he wanted to learn it, he would first have to develop that attribute through training. Forget it—better to continue grinding away at the subsequent variants of the Rasengan.
Spiraling Flash Super-Round Dance Howl, Fourth Form: Wind Arrow Sword Dance!
He had even prepared the flashy name already, yet he still had not managed to integrate the Wind attribute, which made things a little awkward.
The Konoha shinobi watching the match naturally also noticed the wonder of Makoto's ninjutsu. They wanted to learn it, but it looked extremely difficult.
As for the ordinary villagers, they could not understand any of it. They only felt that the turnaround had come far too quickly, finding it immensely satisfying. The cheers rose higher and higher, wave after wave.
At this point, even if the Great Fireball had hit them instead, it would have been worth it!
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