The spectator stands were packed to capacity.
Even those who had been eliminated in the previous rounds chose to stay, eager to see how far the opponents who had defeated them could go.
By the end of the morning matches, the final four contenders of the Chunin Exams had emerged.
Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Takigakure had all been eliminated.
Once again, Konoha proved its reputation as the strongest shinobi village, with two of its genin advancing to the semifinals.
However, the biggest surprise of the tournament was Kirigakure, which had made a striking debut in this Chunin Exam. Two of their genin had broken into the final four, pushing aside Iwagakure and Sunagakure to stand alongside Konoha.
And judging by their performance, these two Mist shinobi were undeniably stronger than their Konoha counterparts.
...
On the referee's platform, Nara Shikaku stepped forward. He cleared his throat, quieting the buzzing discussions among the spectators.
After briefly testing the microphone, he announced,
"Next, we will proceed with the final round of the second stage of the Chunin Exams—the semifinals. The matchups will be determined by a draw."
Dong!
Yagura felt like he'd been struck in the chest by Shikaku's words. He turned to him in shock.
"Wait, wait, wait! Are you serious?"
"You never mentioned another draw before!"
According to the original schedule, he was supposed to fight Asuma, while Ameyuri was set to face Shiranui Genma.
Yagura muttered to himself, "They're not going to put the two Konoha guys against each other and have me fight Ameyuri, are they?"
He wasn't the only one suspicious about this sudden change.
"What? Did they say anything about another draw earlier?"
"Yeah, I thought we already did the draws for the elimination rounds."
"This seems sketchy. Just start the fights already!"
Ignoring the murmurs from the stands, Shikaku signaled the tournament staff to proceed.
The electronic screen lit up, flashing the names of the four remaining genin. Moments later, the matchups were set:
Match 1: Sarutobi Asuma vs. Shiranui Genma
Match 2: Yagura vs. Ringo Ameyuri
"Hah!"
Jinin Akebino glanced at Yagura and smirked. "Damn, kid, you really called it. After this, buy me a lottery ticket."
Yagura clapped his hands together, feigning amazement. "Oh wow, what a coincidence!"
He was seriously considering taking Jinin's advice.
"Konoha's dull competitors are putting me to sleep," Ameyuri scoffed. "Just give up already, weaklings!"
"Calm down, Ameyuri. Have some candy first."
Yagura tossed her and Mukumo each a lollipop from a street vendor, then popped one into his own mouth.
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he grinned. "At least we get to watch a show first."
...
Shikaku had anticipated this reaction and paid no attention to the audience's grumbling. He turned and left the platform.
This decision should have been made before the second stage even began, but an unexpected incident—the disappearance of the Third Kazekage—had disrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi's plans, leaving him no choice but to handle it now.
The first match was announced, and Asuma and Genma stepped into the arena.
After an intense exchange of techniques, Genma was defeated, and Asuma advanced to the finals.
The audience's applause was sparse and unenthusiastic.
Most spectators weren't fools. Even if they hadn't caught on immediately, a little time—or eavesdropping—was enough to figure out the real reason behind the sudden redraw.
Even Konoha's own villagers seemed reluctant to clap.
"The second match: Yagura vs. Ringo Ameyuri. Will both contestants please step forward—"
"Hold it!"
A voice interrupted the referee.
Tui!
Ameyuri spat out the lollipop stick, crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow at the referee with a smirk.
"I'm Ringo Ameyuri. I forfeit this match."
She didn't even glance at the uproar her declaration caused in the audience.
Turning to Yagura, she shrugged and grinned. "We'll have plenty of chances to fight. Skipping this one isn't a big deal."
Her golden eyes sparkled with mischief. "Besides, their reactions are priceless! Don't you think so?"
Yagura, infected by her playful mood, nodded slightly. "Agreed. I owe you a meal."
With Ameyuri forfeiting, Yagura advanced to the finals unscathed.
This undoubtedly put Konoha in an even worse position.
Still, it was better than having the Mist shinobi crush Konoha in broad daylight and turn the finals into a Kirigakure-only showdown.
Clearly, Konoha's leadership had weighed this scenario and decided that some damage control was necessary.
And there was no way this decision had been made without Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval.
Unfortunately, Hiruzen was seated too high up for anyone to gauge his reaction.
Yagura shifted his gaze downward, meeting Asuma's eyes.
Asuma's expression was worse than expected.
He wasn't naive—he knew that the adults had interfered. And in Konoha, the most powerful "adult" was none other than Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But he couldn't understand why his father had done this.
Yagura saw the frustration written all over Asuma's face and teasingly stuck out his tongue.
"Idiot."
Even if everyone knew Konoha was pulling dirty tricks, they couldn't let their sponsors witness their genin getting utterly crushed by Mist shinobi.
...
"Final match of the Chunin Exams: Sarutobi Asuma vs. Yagura Karatachi!"
Well, if that's how it is, then there's only one way to make this worthwhile.
A blade of water formed in Yagura's grip, his fingers tightening around the hilt.
He lowered his stance, lightning chakra surging through his legs, every muscle tensed.
"Begin!"
The moment the words left the referee's mouth, a thunderous boom erupted—Yagura shot forward like an arrow loosed from a drawn bow.
Asuma was still reeling from his thoughts when the referee's shout snapped him back to reality.
But by then, Yagura was already upon him, his speed overwhelming.
A sharp swing sent Asuma's trench knives flying aside. Yagura pivoted midair, delivering a vicious double kick—one to the chest, one to the chin!
Wham!
The sheer force made Asuma's vision blur white.
Thud!
A water blade flashed—piercing into the flesh just below Asuma's collarbone!
Yagura flipped backward, landing with a heavy stomp that cracked the stone floor beneath him.
He wasn't here to play fair.
He wasn't going to give Asuma some grand speech to motivate him to fight at full strength.
Not now.
Not when he had a mission.
For Kirigakure.
Before the eyes of thousands of spectators—
Konoha would suffer the most humiliating defeat!
Lightning crackled.
Blows rained down.
Blood splattered onto Yagura's blade.
And finally, Asuma fought back.
After all, he was the Hokage's son.
And he would not fall so easily.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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