The flames dissipated, and Makoto smoothly dispelled the defensive ninjutsu One-Horn Tranquility, wiping his forehead where there was no sweat.
"Seriously dangerous. Good thing I used Wind Release to vent the hot steam—otherwise, I'd have been steamed to death. Were you planning to boil me and eat me, Shisui?"
"No, Makoto. I just want to defeat you—but it looks difficult," Shisui replied, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he panted heavily.
After all, he was still young. His body couldn't compare to Makoto's brute endurance. The prolonged, high-speed exchange of sword techniques had drained him severely.
By contrast, Makoto's breathing had remained steady the entire time, with no sign of flagging stamina. That was why the Great Fireball Technique had actually been used to buy himself a moment to catch his breath.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
Shisui, who had just been gasping for air, suddenly formed hand seals. More than a dozen fireballs burst from his mouth, flying at extreme speed and closing in on Makoto from every angle.
In order to secure victory, Shisui had started using some small tactics—but since everyone here was a shinobi, there was no such thing as "despicable."
Makoto opened One-Horn Tranquility once again, blocking the Phoenix Sage Fire outside.
At that moment, Shisui completed another set of hand seals, slammed both hands onto the ground, and two streaks of lightning shot forward from the earth like flashes, attacking his opponent.
Lightning Release: Ground Walk
Shisui possessed the Lightning attribute, and with the Uchiha clan's extensive ninjutsu repository allowing him to learn freely, his use of Lightning Release was hardly surprising.
Unexpectedly, this Lightning Release came far too fast.
It had traveled along two steel wires. Those were attached to the kunai Shisui had thrown earlier—set lower down—and Makoto had casually slapped them down at his feet.
At the time, he saw the wires and thought they were part of the opponent's method for manipulating shuriken, so he stayed on guard. He hadn't expected them to be used to conduct Lightning Release instead, which greatly increased the speed of the Lightning Release attack.
As everyone knows, ninjutsu imitates various phenomena in the natural world. Lightning Release naturally has the characteristics of lightning, and its conduction through metal is faster than through the ground.
Most importantly, Lightning Release can also conduct along Water Release.
Sure enough, in order to gain at least a bit of an advantage in his fight with Makoto, Shisui had still painstakingly arranged targeted tactical preparations.
After becoming a shinobi, even the honest child Shisui was no longer so honest.
Makoto lightly leapt into the air, easily dodging Lightning Release: Ground Walk. Shisui hadn't been learning Lightning Release for long, and he wasn't as proficient with it as he was with Fire Release. There was an obvious gap in the linkage between the two ninjutsu.
However, when he saw Makoto jump into the air, joy rose in Shisui's heart—an opportunity had come.
Both his hands swept past the ninja tool pouch at the small of his back, and he quickly flung out more than a dozen shuriken, attacking the opponent in midair at blinding speed, where he had no foothold to borrow strength from.
Makoto held a kunai in each hand, swinging them up and down like a phantom, precisely knocking every shuriken away.
But all of those shuriken were connected by a thin line that was difficult to see with the naked eye. Its material was unknown, and it allowed the shuriken to remain controllable even after being knocked away.
Uchiha Style: Manipulating Shuriken Technique
The shuriken that had originally been sent flying like headless flies instead turned into an attack that wrapped around the opponent from front, back, left, and right, weaving a trap meant to bind its prey.
After using the Manipulating Shuriken Technique, Shisui bit down on all the loose ends of the thin lines with his teeth, and the speed at which his hands formed seals produced afterimages.
An opportunity like this could not be missed—Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique. Several tongues of flame surged forward like arrows along the thin lines.
As long as Makoto was bound, the Dragon Flame Technique would hit its target. The timing was grasped with remarkable precision.
A person cannot move freely while in midair—unless one can fly.
Then he saw it: Makoto's body, which had been falling, suddenly shot upward, breaking free from the entangling lines and hovering steadily above the trap.
The painstakingly arranged trap and ninjutsu all came to nothing.
Shisui: "…"
You can actually fly? That's not scientific!
The entire audience: "..."
This is bad. Someone must have invaded Konohagakure during the Chūnin Exams—we're all hallucinating.
Ninja is a profession that places great emphasis on secrecy, so the fact that Makoto could fly was probably known only to his mother. In Konohagakure's records, it was only noted that he could flexibly change direction in midair.
This was reported by Kumomi with Makoto's consent.
It was said in legend that the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Ōnoki, could fly with his physical body—but ordinary people, or even most ninja, had never seen it.
Today, they had finally seen it—Konohagakure also possessed such an enviable ninjutsu.
A ninja who could fly? That was truly rare. In combat, it was an enormous advantage, making the user extremely difficult to deal with.
Fight when you want, leave when you want—downright shameless, just like the Flying Thunder God Technique.
On the main viewing stand, the daimyō's heartbeat suddenly quickened. Pointing his exquisite fan at Makoto in the air, he said, "Third, can ninja really do something like this?"
Hiruzen took a few puffs from his pipe. "They can, Your Excellency. Flight isn't rare in the ninja world—summoning beasts or flying ninja tools can achieve it."
"As for relying purely on ninjutsu, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Ōnoki, can do it. But the difference between Makoto and Ōnoki is that Makoto achieved flight by training his Wind-attribute chakra nature transformation to a level ordinary ninja cannot reach."
"Is that so? Then it truly is incredible."
"If it's Makoto, I'm not surprised. After all, he's currently the ninja in Konohagakure with the greatest talent for ninjutsu development."
The Hokage's meaning was obvious: Konohagakure has plenty of talent and great strength—we can absolutely protect the Land of Fire, so please be more generous next time the funds are allocated.
The entire arena fell into dead silence.
Makoto swung his arm downward, using a kunai to unleash Wind Release: Shadowless Sword. A blade of wind severed all the thin lines, then drove into the ground, carving out a deep gash.
Like a gust of wind, he drifted to a stop in front of Shisui, looked at him, and said, "Your tactics are impressive—but do you still have the stamina to keep going?"
Shisui was panting heavily, sweat pouring down like rain.
His combat wisdom was already no less than that of a jōnin, but his body, not yet fully developed, limited his chakra capacity.
The continuous use of ninjutsu had drained him severely.
Even the earlier exchange of sword techniques required the constant infusion of large amounts of chakra into the blade. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to withstand even a single strike from Makoto before his sword broke and he was defeated.
"Makoto, you bastard… I didn't expect you to still have such a powerful trump card. Sorry about this—my chakra isn't enough to keep fighting anymore. But I haven't lost yet."
As Shisui spoke, his slightly lowered head suddenly lifted. The twin tomoe of his Sharingan spun, and he launched a genjutsu straight at Makoto.
Genjutsu was the ninjutsu he excelled at most—and his final decisive move.
Seeing Makoto's eyes lose focus, Shisui drew a kunai and placed it against his neck.
"Sorry, Makoto. The essence of a ninja is deception. I know my strength in other areas can't compare to yours—if I want to win, this is the only way."
Another Makoto silently rose from the ground behind Shisui, a kunai likewise pressed close to his neck.
"You're right—the essence of a ninja is deception. So that one was actually a shadow clone."
Shisui was momentarily stunned. "When did that happen?"
"When I was surrounded by your Great Fireball Technique. It was so hot inside the defensive ninjutsu—I wasn't going to stay in there and suffer."
"…Alright. You win!"
Nearby, Minato immediately announced, "The winner: Higashino Makoto!"
"Whoa!"
"Amazing!"
"So strong!"
The arena, which had been quiet, erupted into enthusiastic cheers.
After the two thanked the chief examiner, Minato, and formed the sign of reconciliation, Makoto said, "Let's go. Our fight is finally over."
Shisui looked somewhat dispirited. "I still couldn't figure out just how big the gap between us really is."
"Soon—soon. And besides, your Sharingan has only reached two tomoe. Once it reaches three tomoe and your body matures for a few more years, things will be different then."
"Just look at you—your breathing is steady, and you didn't even shed a single drop of sweat. I don't believe a word of what you're saying."
"How could that be? To make the fight last a bit longer and satisfy everyone's desire to watch, I worked very hard, you know."
"So that means you could have defeated me easily from the start. Makoto, you really are strong like a monster."
"Hey, why are you insulting me now?"
Watching the two of them joke as they left together, Minato smiled faintly. Having such outstanding juniors in the village truly made one happy.
...
On a certain stand, the young Uchiha Itachi fell into a daze. "Shisui-nii… lost? How is that possible? He's obviously so strong."
Uchiha Fugaku said, "Itachi, although our clan possesses ninja talent unmatched by others, there will always be people who break through that boundary."
"Do not underestimate anyone in the ninja world, and do not relax your training just because of innate talent. I believe you will surpass anyone else—and even surpass all of us."
...
On the main viewing stand, the daimyō was very satisfied. "What a splendid match. Seeing that Konohagakure remains strong puts my mind at ease."
"As long as Your Excellency is satisfied!"
After speaking, the Third Hokage exchanged a glance with Fugaku in the distance and smiled slightly.
No matter what, he trusted Tobirama-sensei's judgment. The Uchiha clan was an unstable clan and had to be kept under control.
He understood the desires of this clan and knew what they wanted most. But due to years of ingrained impressions, he could not entrust the village to the Uchiha—it was far too unstable.
Aside from that, he had no other objections toward the Uchiha and acknowledged them as members of the village, unlike his close associate Danzō, whose prejudice against the Uchiha had already been etched into his bones.
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