"Jiraiya-sama, I can't believe you taught Kanon a jutsu that advanced!" Kakashi said, his brow furrowing as he looked at the legendary shinobi.
Jiraiya looked a bit sheepish. Was he supposed to admit that Kanon had mastered the Rasengan just by watching him perform it once? Impossible! He, Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, couldn't afford to lose face like that!
However, before Jiraiya could come up with an excuse, Naruto's voice rang out: "She's moving!"
Every eye snapped back to the battlefield between Kanon and Kankuro. The Rasengan in Kanon's hand was pulsing with a terrifying amount of energy.
"Black Secret Technique: Machine Gun Shot!"
Kankuro manipulated his puppet, Karasu, to launch three poison-tipped needles from its mouth. They whistled through the air at high velocity, aimed directly at Kanon.
Confronted with the projectiles, a glint of crimson flashed in Kanon's eyes, the light of the Sharingan. Against an attack like Kankuro's, she didn't even need to keep the dōjutsu active; a split-second glimpse was enough to map the trajectory.
Her silhouette blurred as she evaded the needles, simultaneously slamming a smoke bomb into the ground.
Thick gray smoke instantly blanketed the arena, but the combatants remained visible to the sharper eyes in the room. Kankuro's laughter echoed through the haze; his puppet's blade had successfully pierced Kanon's abdomen.
"Kanon Uchiha, you didn't expect this, did you? My hidden scalpel!" Kankuro sneered arrogantly.
The sound from within the smoke drew the anxious focus of every spectator.
"Did Kankuro win?" Temari asked, her voice laced with doubt.
Gaara didn't respond. He simply stared down at the pit with cold, analytical eyes.
"Kanon lost...?" Sakura gasped, unable to believe it.
Even Kakashi frowned, squinting to discern the truth through the dust. But nearby, the Hyuga siblings, possessors of the Byakugan, were already frozen in shock.
"Such power... what incredible chakra," Neji Hyuga muttered first.
In that instant, Kakashi's pupils contracted. From within the smoke came the piercing sound of a thousand birds chirping, as if a massive flock had descended upon the forest.
A brilliant white light strobed through the dust. Every Jonin in the room turned their gaze toward Kakashi.
They recognized that jutsu, his original technique... the Chidori! Also known as the Lightning Blade!
"That's Kakashi-sensei's move!" Sakura's eyes went wide.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, his blood pumping with excitement as he watched the scene unfold. "I knew you wouldn't lose!"
Jiraiya turned to Kakashi with a serious expression. "If you didn't teach her that, then she figured it out on her own."
"A true genius..." Kakashi scratched his head, giving Kanon the highest possible praise.
As the dust settled, the reality of the situation was revealed: there were two Kanons in the arena. It was a Shadow Clone. The one Kankuro had impaled was merely a decoy.
The crowd gasped at what happened next; even Naruto was speechless.
Kanon's Shadow Clone slammed the Rasengan directly into Kankuro's face, while the original Kanon used the Chidori to punch straight through the Karasu puppet.
Kankuro's body spun violently through the air before crashing into the floor, leaving a massive crater in the stone.
Kanon stood tall in the center of the battlefield, her expression calm as she looked down at the unconscious Kankuro. She hadn't killed him, but after taking a hit like that, he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
Seeing that Kankuro was completely incapacitated, Hayate Gekko flickered to Kanon's side. He blinked, momentarily stunned by her composure. Is this the genius girl of the Uchiha? He realized he couldn't have replicated either of the jutsu she had just displayed.
"Hey, oji-san, what are you staring at? Hurry up and announce my victory," Kanon's voice cut through Hayate's thoughts. He quickly regained his professional bearing and announced to the hall:
"The winner of the match, Kanon Uchiha!"
Kanon tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and pumped her fist toward Naruto on the balcony once more.
"Great job, Kanon!" Naruto cheered. Seeing her looking up at him, he returned the gesture, "bumping" her fist from above.
When Kanon returned to the spectator level, she found Jiraiya and Kakashi standing together, both watching her with "kind" (if somewhat intense) eyes.
"Oh, if it isn't Jiraiya-jisan!"
"What 'jisan'?! I am the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya-sama! You learned the Rasengan from me; by all rights, you should be calling me Sensei!"
"No way! Blehh! I learned that all by myself!"
"You—!" Jiraiya threw up his hands in defeat. It was true; she had mastered it just by watching him once.
"Is Jiraiya-jisan here to watch our exams too?"
"I'm not here to watch kids like you with no 'assets.' I'm here for the women's bathhouse, obviously!" Jiraiya said, his face twisting into a lecherous expression that made Kanon and Sakura recoil in disgust.
"Pervert Jiraiya-jisan!" Kanon stuck her tongue out and made a face at him.
"Hey, you little brat, don't get cocky!" Jiraiya barked back, though he was clearly joking.
Kanon smiled brightly. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei!"
"Hmph, I don't have a student who—" Before he could finish, Jiraiya purposefully glanced at Kanon's chest and made a show of looking disappointed.
"You big pervert! That's it, you're dead!" Kanon leaped up and bit Jiraiya's arm with all her might.
"Let go! You little Uchiha demon!" Jiraiya yelled, trying to shake her off, but she held on tight.
The joyous atmosphere made Sakura and Naruto laugh. To them, Kanon was the undisputed hero of the moment.
Once Jiraiya had made his exit, Kakashi sat down next to Kanon, his curiosity piqued. "Kanon, how did you really learn the Chidori?"
"I taught myself from a book," Kanon replied nonchalantly. She certainly wasn't going to tell him she'd practiced it with Konin in her inner world.
"Is that so?" Kakashi looked skeptical.
"It's just compressing Lightning Style chakra into a highly concentrated current. It isn't that complicated," Kanon explained. As she broke down the principles of the jutsu, Kakashi's eye widened.
Her analysis was flawless. That was exactly how the Chidori worked, though it required high speed to close the distance, which usually meant the user needed the Sharingan to handle the tunnel vision and potential counterattacks.
Seeing how perfectly she understood the technique, Kakashi felt a surge of emotion. Such talent was a rarity even in the entire shinobi world.
Despite her natural gifts, he knew how hard she had worked to get here. It only strengthened his resolve to protect every member of Team 7.
"Whoa, Kanon, that Rasengan was so cool! Teach me, okay?" Naruto said, shaking her shoulder excitedly.
"Agh, Naruto, stop! If that pervy old man won't let me teach you, there's nothing I can do..." Kanon said helplessly.
"Fine, I'll go find him myself!" Naruto declared, clenching his fists.
Just then, the electronic scoreboard flashed the next pair of opponents.
Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka!
"It's your turn, Sakura!" Kanon said, giving her friend an encouraging smile.
"Right. I'm on it," Sakura replied, following Ino as they both jumped down to the arena floor.
"Kanon, why did you choose a head-on breakthrough against that guy earlier?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Because you were there," Kanon answered.
"Because of me?" Naruto was puzzled.
"Yeah. Isn't it way cooler to beat an opponent while you're watching from the sidelines?" Kanon's eyes danced with mischief.
"Exactly! That's how you win, with absolute honor!" Naruto said, excitedly bumping fists with her again.
From a distance, Might Guy witnessed the exchange and let out a booming laugh. "You kids... your youth is truly boundless!!"
"Why don't you both join my class? I'll give you each a green jumpsuit for free, the true uniform of youth!" Guy offered earnestly.
Kanon and Naruto rolled their eyes in perfect unison. Their look of pure reluctance left Guy clutching his chest, his heart symbolically shattered.
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