Once the black screen began rotating through the remaining participants for the next match, the audience leaned forward in anticipation, eyes fixed on the board. The energy in the air shifted as whispers spread among the crowd like wildfire.
Everyone was eager to see who would be selected next.
It had to be said that this year's Chunin Exams had already proven to be one of the most exciting events in recent memory. Hosted by the Hidden Leaf Village, the competition was filled with rising talents, unexpected twists and fierce battles that left spectators holding their breath.
With only a handful of names left on the board, the selection process did not take long. The spinning finally stopped, settling on two names: Itachi and Izumo. As soon as the names appeared, the crowd erupted into loud chatter once again.
Conversations overlapped, rising in volume as the arena pulsed with renewed energy and liveliness.
All eyes turned towards Team 1, which had already earned a reputation for producing standout performances. Tokuma's earlier display had left a strong impression on the audience, and now their attention shifted to Itachi.
As a member of the infamous Uchiha clan, Itachi carried a reputation that paralleled that of the Hyuga. People could not help but raise their expectations, hoping for another spectacular show.
Bets were quickly placed. Most of the crowd had already picked their favourite, and unsurprisingly, the majority backed Itachi. Rumours had been circulating that Team 1 had recently completed an S-Rank mission, a feat far beyond the usual standard for Genin.
The source of this information was vague, nothing official, but it spread fast enough through informants, spectators and gossiping shinobi.
Back in the arena, Itachi began descending the steps with calm precision. He moved like a man who already knew the outcome of the battle, his eyes steady and unreadable. In contrast, Izumo looked noticeably tense.
Though older than Itachi, he was not immune to nervousness, especially when facing someone whose name carried as much weight as Itachi Uchiha.
Izumo was no stranger to the Chunin Exams. He had already failed twice, and now he was facing someone often described as the greatest Sharingan user of his generation. The pressure was immense.
Yet, he took a deep breath and reminded himself of his one possible advantage: his nature transformation. Izumo had an affinity for water, an element naturally strong against fire.
This thought gave him a sliver of confidence. He forced himself to walk steadily down the stairs, mirroring Itachi's approach. Though he knew victory might be out of reach, he at least hoped not to lose too badly.
Once both participants stepped into the arena, Guy wasted no time. With a loud, clear voice, he announced the start of the match and quickly retreated to the edge of the platform to give them space.
Itachi struck first. Without hesitation, he launched a flurry of Kunai at Izumo. The Uchiha were known for their exceptional Shuriken techniques, and Itachi was no exception. His skill in sleight of hand allowed him to throw with such speed and consistency that it almost seemed like he had an endless supply of weapons.
Even the famously sharp-eyed Minato had once been impressed by this technique, remarking on how Itachi's transitions between throws resembled a magic trick.
Izumo raised his 'Kunai blade' to parry the incoming Kunai, struggling to deflect them all. The projectiles came at him from every angle, and it quickly became clear that Itachi had adapted Enso's ballistic Shuriken style, adding his own unique twist to it.
Unable to keep up, Izumo was forced to move constantly. He ducked, rolled and dashed around the arena, trying to avoid being hit. The flat, open terrain provided no cover, making it even more difficult to escape. Despite his efforts, he began collecting small cuts and scratches as the relentless onslaught continued.
Itachi kept circling, retrieving the thrown Kunai and launching them again with no loss in momentum. The tactic was suffocating.
However, seeing a small opening, Izumo pulled out a metal chain and quickly attached it to his own kunai, creating a makeshift chain-blade. Spinning the weapon rapidly, he formed a protective shield of motion around himself.
This gave him just enough space to begin closing the distance between them. With the spinning chain acting as a barrier, he was able to parry the projectiles more effectively. He pressed forward, step by step, pushing towards Itachi and hoping to finally land a strike.
But just as he reached within the striking range, Itachi's body exploded with overwhelming. The sudden blast knocked Izumo off his feet and left him unconscious on the arena floor.
A stunned silence fell over the crowd.
"Clone Great Explosion" was a technique once used against Enso during their academy days
No one expected such a deceptive and explosive end. The technique was far beyond what most Genin would even think to attempt. But what shocked them even more was what happened next.
Itachi walked in from the audience.
He had never entered the arena at all.
The version of him that had fought Izumo was a shadow clone created while descending the stairs. The real Itachi had remained hidden the entire time, watching from the crowd and letting his clone do the work.
The crowd murmured with disbelief. Even seasoned Chunin shifted uncomfortably. This was not just talent. It was intimidation. Team 1 had produced another terrifying fighter.
While Tokuma had displayed overwhelming strength, Itachi had demonstrated terrifying precision and cunning. Both had left their marks, but Itachi's approach instilled a different kind of fear.
Because Itachi had never physically entered the arena, he had not broken any rules. The match had taken place within the regulations, and there was nothing the officials could fault.
Guy, recovering from his surprise, declared Itachi the winner and ordered the arena to be cleared for the next match.
In the stands, Enso smirked. Though impressed, there was a hint of bitterness in his expression. Itachi's tactic had been flawless, and it left a sour taste in his mouth.
After all, he too had once fallen prey to the same trick, which had ended up exposing both of them for skipping class in favour of extra training sessions. It was a lesson neither of them forgot.
Itachi returned to Team 1's balcony, where he was met with a round of fist bumps from his teammates, just as Tokuma had been after his victory.
The medics swiftly carried Izumo off the field, and once the debris was cleared, the black screen above the arena began spinning once again. However, this time, with only four names left, the movement of the screen slowed noticeably.
The audience watched closely, eyes locked on the display. It eventually settled on two names: Ryuzetsu and Ito.
A hum of excitement rippled through the crowd. Ryuzetsu, bursting with energy, practically radiated eagerness. The previous team battle had not given her much chance to shine individually, and now she was determined to make an impression.
At her age, with a bold, tomboyish spirit, she wanted nothing more than to show off her abilities in front of a full stadium.
Everyone had noticed that she had overcome her fear of the crowd after achieving a decisive victory over the Amegakure team.
Enso, watching with interest, felt a quiet amusement stir within him. This was the part he enjoyed most. In his previous life, none of this had been part of the show.
It was fascinating to see how things could shift. He could not help but wonder if Ryuzetsu's cheerful and boisterous personality would remain unchanged had it not been for the tragedy that would later happened to Muku. For now, though, she was full of life.
Surprisingly, Kusagakure had done quite well in the exams. Muku had emerged as something of a dark horse, showing skilled rival that of Jonin.
Back in the present, Ryuzetsu leapt from the balcony with flair, showcasing her enthusiasm to the crowd. She descended lightly, almost floating, as if her body weighed nothing at all.
The audience was genuinely impressed. After all, she had previously wiped out the Amegakure trio with a combination technique in a straight, aggressive assault.
Her performance had already drawn attention. Cooperative Ninjutsu requires precise chakra control, even among those who share the same elemental affinity.
Ito, on the other hand, stepped out slowly from the Sunagakure balcony. His pace resembling the earlier entrance of his teammate Akatsuna. It seemed that Team Sunagakure were intentionally taking their time during these matches, despite being the second fastest team to complete the second stage of the exams.
Once both combatants were in position, Guy stepped forward and officially began the match.
Without delay, Ito drew two standard kunai and engaged in close-quarters combat. Ryuzetsu, recognising the nature of the challenge, smiled faintly. Close combat was her specialty, and she raised her arms, taking a proper guard stance as Ito approached.
When they reached striking distance, Ito slashed at her with 3 pieces combination. His angles were unusual and tricky, catching her slightly off guard. Instead of evading completely, she responded with a swift judo throw as a counter, hoping to bring him down with her strength.
To her surprise, Ito's body felt unnaturally light. The throw did not work as she intended. Instead of crashing to the ground, he managed to twist mid-air and balance himself, landing in a low, arched position. He moved like water, flexible and hard to predict.
Before Ryuzetsu could recover, a series of kunai floated into the air behind him. The crowd murmured. This was the Manipulating Blade Technique, a classic skill in the Sunagakure arsenal. Though not a secret technique, it was rarely seen outside the village and required delicate chakra control to master.
From his bent position, Ito launched the floating Kunai into the air. Ryuzetsu performed a backflip, narrowly avoiding the surprise attack. While flipping, she weaved hand signs and activated the Demon Lantern Technique, summoning multiple balls of fire that hovered and intercepted the flying kunai.
Landing on her feet, she barely had time to breathe before Ito rushed her again. He was relentless, charging forward with both kunai raised. Ryuzetsu met his attack with her own blade, parrying his strikes while trying to read his next move.
Ito had a clear advantage in flexibility, while Ryuzetsu relied on speed and footwork.
They continued exchanging blows, each matching the other in strength and agility. However, their techniques began to grow repetitive. Each move was countered by the other, leading to a stalemate. It became clear to the audience that a direct confrontation would not lead to victory.
Changing her approach, she began dodging instead of counter, slipping past Ito's attacks with clean footwork. Occasionally, she countered, but her strikes were repeatedly dodged by Ito's inhuman movements. He bent his body in impossible ways, almost as if he had eyes on the back of his head.
The audience watched in silence, captivated. This was a true contest of skill and wit. Neither fighter gave ground easily. Yet, slowly, Ito began gaining the upper hand. His awkward but effective movements created gaps that even Ryuzetsu struggled to exploit.
Then, without warning, Ryuzetsu pulled back and increased the distance between them. Ito, wary, did not pursue. He raised his guard and waited, carefully watching for her next move.
Ryuzetsu formed a single hand seal, the 'Rat', and the ground beneath Ito suddenly erupted. A loud explosion echoed through the arena, sending smoke and dust into the air. The crowd gasped.
As it turned out, during their earlier exchanges, Ryuzetsu had been placing explosive tags around Ito's position as she moved. Each missed counter-strike had masked her true intent, turning the area around him into a trap. The audience, focused on the flashy exchanges, had not noticed her careful trap.
Ito's body was thrown into the air by the blast, and he fell limply to the ground. Smoke covered the arena floor, making it hard to see anything clearly. Even the medical team hesitated, waiting for the debris to settle.
Just as the medics prepared to rush in, a figure began to stir. Ito stood up slowly, drawing a shocked gasp from the crowd. Despite the explosion, he appeared relatively uninjured.
Yet, he raised his hand in surrender.
Without a word, he turned and walked calmly back to the Sunagakure balcony. The stadium fell into stunned silence. Even Guy was caught off guard by the gesture, and can only declared Ryuzetsu the winner after Ito had returned to his team.
The match had ended, not in a dramatic victory, but in a quiet, unexpected surrender.
Ryuzetsu had won, but Ito had earned respect. It was difficult to guess what Ito was truly thinking. After all, Sunagakure was also one of the Great Hidden Villages.
The Chunin on standby quickly stepped in to clear away the debris left behind by the explosive tags. Shortly after, one of the Anbu members entered the arena and used Earth Style to level the ground.
In a matter of minutes, the entire arena looked brand new, a clear testament to the efficiency and discipline of the Konoha Shinobi.
This time, the black screen did not spin like it had during previous match selections. Instead, it simply displayed the names of the final participants of the preliminary round. The screen read: Tori vs Enso.
The proctor, Guy, stepped into the ring, standing at the centre as he waited for both participants to appear.
The crowd buzzed with anticipation. Excitement filled the air as expectations soared, particularly with Team 1 continuing to dominate the exams. The audience had high hopes, eager to see what Enso would bring to the final match.
Both Tori and Enso leapt from their respective balconies at the same time, landing smoothly on the arena floor. Their movements were swift and precise, drawing impressed murmurs from the spectators.
Guy wasted no time and announced the start of the final match. As he turned to walk out of the arena, Enso caught the sound of a lazy sigh escaping the proctor's lips. He frowned slightly. It was clear that this senior of his couldn't wait for his shift to end.
Perhaps it was a bad habit he had picked up from spending too much time with Kakashi.
Tori didn't hesitate. He pulled out a Kunai and dashed forward, closing the distance between him and Enso with determined speed. Enso, however, didn't move a muscle. He stood still, patiently waiting for his opponent to reach him.
As soon as Tori came within striking distance, Enso lifted one hand and, with an almost casual movement, grabbed him by the neck, holding him up mid-air with ease.
Enso immediately noticed something unusual. Tori's body was incredibly light. The sensation reminded him of Izumo from the earlier match. There was something not quite human about it. Though Tori's skin felt soft to the touch, there was a wooden sturdiness hidden beneath it.
Without even flinching, Tori twisted his hips and launched a powerful right roundhouse kick aimed directly at Enso's head. Unfortunately for him, Enso was no amateur. Despite usually relying on his sword, Enso had honed his hand-to-hand combat skills to perfection in his previous life.
He considered close combat his true area of expertise.
Instead of dodging the kick, as anyone else might have done, Enso took a bold step forward with his left leg, subtly shifting his stance so that his right side turned slightly inward. To the audience, this move appeared foolish, as it seemed he was exposing his left side to a dangerous strike.
Then came a sudden, thunderous boom. The sound echoed across the arena as Tori was launched backwards, crashing into the edge of the ring. What the audience hadn't seen in that split second was how Enso had released his grip on Tori's neck, slipped into a high guard, and landed a clean jab straight into Tori's stomach.
It had all happened so fast. The punch hit while Tori was still suspended in mid-air, throwing him off balance entirely.
Before the crowd could even begin to react, Enso reappeared in front of Tori in a blur. In his right hand, a Wakizashi blade was already pointed at his opponent's throat, signalling the clear end of the fight.
To the audience, it looked as though he had teleported. Whispers rippled through the crowd as they glanced towards the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, famously known as the Yellow Flash.
Many suspected Enso had used the Flying Raijin, the legendary teleportation jutsu. However, those who were more familiar with him knew better. This was not a space-time technique. It was the Void Step, a purely physical movement skill developed by Enso himself.
At close range, its speed rivalled even the Flying Raijin, though it relied entirely on footwork and precision.
The arena was dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone was stunned by the sheer speed and efficiency of the takedown.
It took several moments for the shock to wear off before Guy finally raised his voice and announced Enso as the winner of the match.
As a Taijutsu specialist himself, Guy could scarcely believe what he had just witnessed. That a purely physical technique could reach such blistering speed defied all expectations. The match had been over in an instant, and not a single person in the audience had seen it coming.
Enso walked calmly back to the Team 1 balcony. From the corner of his eye, he saw Tori slowly rising to his feet. Despite the damage he had taken, the boy stood without any assistance, a testament to his durability.
Enso's gaze shifted briefly to Akatsuna, and the two locked eyes for a moment.
As Enso returned to his team, his teammates greeted him with their usual fist bump. Team 1 had triumphed once again, and now the preliminaries had officially come to an end.
The crowd erupted into applause, still buzzing from the spectacle. The Hidden Leaf had put on a show worthy of legends, and Team 1's reputation would surely echo far beyond the borders of the village.
*If you're enjoying the story, consider blessing it with a Power Stone!
Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed with this website. A week has passed, and no one from their side has made any contact or offered any explanation.
I won't announce the new book just yet to prevent it from being sabotaged again so soon. But if you happen to come across a new book that feels very similar to this one, it's likely part of my contingency plan. No need to worry. I'll also release it on other platforms.
Also, if you've made it this far and haven't left a review yet, please consider doing so. It would really help me out.
I'm counting on your POWER STONE, REVIEWS and Interaction (comments). Share your thoughts, your vision, or how you would do things differently.*