"Match three of the Genin Exchange: Uchiha Sasuke versus Hozuki Suigetsu," Kitazawa announced from the dais.
Ao cut a small detour to reach Suigetsu and quietly warned, "Suigetsu, watch out for his Sharingan and genjutsu."
He still didn't really believe Sasuke had awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan, but after what Uzumaki Naruto and Kurama Yakumo had shown, he couldn't shake a lingering anxiety. Better to brace himself now so he wouldn't panic the moment he saw those eyes.
"I got it," Hozuki Suigetsu nodded.
Naruto and Yakumo's strength had already shaken this Kirigakure prodigy's mindset. He wasn't arrogant anymore—but he was still confident. The Uchiha excel at Fire Release and genjutsu. His Water Release counters fire. The only real worry was genjutsu.
"Can he win?" a Mist jōnin asked, uneasy. Naruto and Yakumo's performances had really dented his faith in their village's young elites.
"That's Mangetsu's kid brother," Momochi Zabuza said in a low voice. "We should believe in him."
After being captured by Uchiha Itachi and then ransomed back by Terumi Mei, Zabuza had reined in his temperament. He hadn't been injured and hadn't returned to the village early. He didn't know Suigetsu well, but he did know Hozuki Mangetsu—the prodigy "beloved by the Seven Swords" and famous throughout the Mist.
"He'll win," another Mist jōnin declared. "He's carrying the Blunt Blade: Kabutowari!"
"Right," Zabuza nodded. "Naruto's got Samehada, but Sasuke doesn't have a sword like that."
Among the remaining four swords, Suigetsu had chosen Kabutowari. He actually preferred the Kubikiribōchō, but that was in Biwa Juzo's hands, so he settled for second best. "Blunt Blade" in name, it was really an axe paired with a hammer—the trick was slamming the hammer into the axe to unleash a shockwave that could smash anything. "Blunt" only in name; its offensive power was terrifying.
"Whatever happens, we need at least one win."
"Yeah. Getting swept would be humiliating."
"We've got three people left, but only Suigetsu can really carry. Right now he's our only hope."
"He can't lose!"
No one in the Mist expected the exchange to end up like this, but here they were, and all their hopes piled onto Hozuki Suigetsu.
Over on Konoha's side, the mood was lighter.
"One more win and we can call it for Konoha," Akimichi Choza sighed with feeling. "Our prodigies are ridiculous."
By sheer number and sheer freakishness, this cohort—Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke's class—was the strongest Konoha had produced in years.
"Credit to Kitazawa," Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled. "He let these kids 'cash in' their talents early."
"Good teachers and good students amplify each other," Nara Shikaku said mildly. "Just like you and the Three Sannin."
Hiruzen's smile deepened. For all his achievements, training the Sannin was one of his proudest.
"Fugaku, how do you see this bout?" Hiruzen asked, turning to Uchiha Fugaku.
"Sasuke won't let us down," Fugaku replied after a beat.
"I think so too," Hiruzen agreed. He'd taught the gifted class long enough to know exactly what Sasuke and the others could do.
Hyuga Hiashi sighed inwardly—what a pity. The Hyuga were well positioned to shine this time; five entrants and two were Hyuga. But luck wasn't on Neji and Hinata's side. The Mist's big names were Chojuro and Hozuki Suigetsu; if you didn't match into them, even a win wouldn't be the headline. In the end, everyone would only talk about the Naruto and Sasuke fights.
"Sasuke, youth is for fighting—go all out and take him down!" Naruto threw a big thumbs-up.
"No need to go all out," Sasuke said coolly.
"…" Kiba Inuzuka, who'd been about to cheer, was left speechless. Peak smug. Full marks.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's eyes sparkled. "Finish him—easy!"
"Watch his blade," Hyuga Neji noted, eyes flicking to Kabutowari.
"That should be Kabutowari," Nara Shikamaru mused. "Its strike power is crazy."
Because Naruto had gotten Samehada, they'd all brushed up on the other six swords. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been around forever; the seven swords weren't exactly secret.
"I've got the Sword of the Thunder God," Sasuke said, unconcerned.
"The Hozuki are also gifted at Water Release," Aburame Shino reminded him.
Sasuke nodded. Water does check fire—but fire isn't all he had.
Sasuke stepped onto the platform and faced Hozuki Suigetsu. All eyes settled on them. No question—this was the pivotal fight. If Suigetsu won, the Mist still had a path. If Sasuke won, the match was effectively over.
Watching them, Kitazawa felt his butterfly effect. In the original storyline, Sasuke and Suigetsu would have been teammates in Team Taka. Now, that team likely wouldn't exist; they were opponents, not comrades.
"Begin!" Kitazawa called from the edge of the stage.
Water Release: Water Gun!
Suigetsu raised his index finger at Sasuke. A thread-thin bullet of water snapped out—fast and hard to see, just a blur of blue. At the same time, he charged in with Kabutowari, axe raised to take Sasuke's head.
A flash of scarlet—Sasuke's two-tomoe Sharingan spun to life. He tilted his head, casually slipping the water bullet, then met the incoming gale head-on, the Sword of the Thunder God in his grip.
A heavy clang rang out. The Thunder God blade caught Kabutowari's axe.
"Two-tomoe Sharingan?!" Suigetsu jolted, forcing himself not to meet Sasuke's eyes. He brought the hammer down—not at Sasuke, but at the axe.
Sasuke's pupils tightened. Normally, the hammer should be coming for him, not the axe. So this was Kabutowari's trick. The instant he sensed something off, Sasuke Body-Flickered away. Sparring with Naruto and Neji had taught him a simple truth: shinobi battles are battles of intel. When you don't know an enemy technique, avoid the edge first—figure it out later.
Hammer and axe jolted together and an invisible shockwave burst out, spiderweb cracks skittering across the floor.
The spectators—especially the Mist shinobi—buzzed. Not at Kabutowari's power, but at Sasuke's two tomoe. Everyone knew: more tomoe, more power. Two tomoe meant Chūnin-class strength. If he were already a seasoned adult, no one would bat an eye—but he was just getting started.
Terumi Mei bit her lip. Everything Ao had dug up was being confirmed in real time. She didn't even know what kind of face to make. Was Ao that good? Not really. The only certainty was that Konoha hadn't played games to hide anything. Which meant Naruto and Sasuke really had defeated a jōnin before?
Thinking it through, Mei realized it was plausible at their level. Whether it was the Rasengan or two-tomoe Sharingan—catch a jōnin wrong and even they could get overturned. She fell silent. So did Ao. He'd hoped his intel was wrong.
Onstage, Sasuke rushed Suigetsu with the Thunder God blade. He didn't use genjutsu—he hadn't felt any real pressure yet. He only bothered with genjutsu when he couldn't take someone head-on.
The blade hummed through the air. Suigetsu yanked his axe up to block and went for the same trick—hammer into axe to trigger the shockwave.
Sasuke gave him no chance. The Thunder God blade sped up and slid diagonally upward, wedging perfectly between hammer and axe. The hammer struck the sword instead of the axe.
"What?!" Suigetsu's eyes widened. In that split second, Sasuke had shut down his shockwave—how fast, how precise did you have to be?
"Before these eyes, all your movements are futile," Sasuke sneered, switching chakra to Lightning Release and flooding the Thunder God blade.
Brilliant lightning raced down the metal. Suigetsu's heart lurched—he tried to retreat with Kabutowari in hand, but the lightning crawled along the axe and hammer faster than he could move. He grit his teeth and let go. If the paralysis hit, he'd be a lamb to the slaughter.
"Dropping your weapon after two exchanges?" Zabuza's remaining confidence evaporated. As a swordsman himself, he knew exactly how bad this was for Suigetsu—one word: dire.
"From start to finish he's been smothered," a Mist jōnin muttered helplessly.
"Quiet," Ao snapped, shooting him a glare.
Terumi Mei shook her head. Time to let go of pretty illusions—sometimes you just can't win. At the genin-to-chūnin tier, a two-tomoe Sharingan is nearly untouchable. Every move gets read.
Water Release: Water Hail!
The instant he dropped Kabutowari, Suigetsu flashed through seals, a spray of water pellets fanning out like scattered blossoms.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Sasuke threw his head back and exhaled flame—heat roared out, coalescing into a fireball over five meters tall, swallowing every pellet. Steam boiled up between them.
Suigetsu's eyes lit up—cover! He lunged to grab Kabutowari—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Four shuriken sliced out of the steam, locking his angles. Suigetsu hit the ground and rolled, barely dodging, coming up empty-handed. He abandoned the blade and snapped his finger up again.
Water Release: Water Gun!
A water bullet lanced for the silhouette in the mist.
"So you really only use those two Water Release techniques," Sasuke said, stepping left and letting it whistle past.
"Only those two"? Suigetsu trembled with anger. Did he have any idea what it meant to have mastered two Water Release techniques at this stage? That's "monstrous prodigy" territory. Then he remembered—the guy across from him was just as absurd—and he had nothing to say.
"Boring fight. Time to end it," Sasuke said, exploding forward.
Leaf-Style: Willow!
The Thunder God blade danced. Suigetsu tried to move—and froze, horrified. Sasuke blurred, like a leaf that might vanish between blinks, and blades seemed to fill the air.
"Genjutsu? When did he—?" Realization hit too late. Amid the storm of afterimages, the real Thunder God blade thrust straight to his face.
Sasuke halted the tip. "You lose."
Suigetsu exhaled. He nodded, honestly convinced. No excuses here—Sasuke had won clean. If he'd gone down the moment the Sharingan appeared, he could've blamed that. But he'd shown both his Water Release and his swordwork, and none of it mattered.
Sasuke lowered the Thunder God blade and glanced toward the stands—more precisely, at Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi. With Tsunade and the others present, neither reacted much; only Itachi sent him a small smile.
"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke," Kitazawa announced with a grin.
With both Chojuro and Suigetsu beaten, Konoha's five-match sweep was all but sealed. The two remaining Mist genin weren't names Kitazawa had even heard; even if they were competent, there was a ceiling.
The Mist side fell into silence. There were still two bouts left, but under a best-of-five, the exchange was already decided. Losing wasn't the end of the world—Konoha is stronger—but they wanted a close loss, not a rout. A rout meant a gulf between villages. That wasn't a result the Mist could accept.
"Same as Naruto—way too easy," Shikamaru said as Sasuke returned.
"Two-tomoe Sharingan is scary. Naruto and Yakumo just warped our expectations," Ino shook her head.
"Compared to them, I'm actually pretty strong, y'know," Kiba grinned. In the gifted class he'd been battered by Sasuke and Neji until he doubted life itself; now, looking at the Mist's top duo, they hadn't shown much better. Take away those two swords and it'd be about even.
"Sasuke, as expected of my lifelong rival!" Naruto beamed. "Your youth fires me up!"
With the Thunder God blade, Sasuke had leveled up a lot. If not for the occasion, Naruto would have challenged him on the spot.
"I'm faster than you," Sasuke said evenly, suppressing a smirk.
"Faster how?" Naruto blinked.
"Obviously he finished quicker than you!" Sakura said, thrilled. "Sasuke-kun, that was so cool—just a few moves!"
Hands in pockets, Sasuke gave a small nod.
Below the stage, Kitazawa stood by the draw box and gestured. "After you."
Even though the Mist had already lost, they'd still finish the last two bouts. Anything else would look unsporting.
Ao nodded silently, stepped up, pulled a slip, and called, "Hyuga Hinata."
Kitazawa followed: "Miyamoto Kai."
Hearing her name, Hinata exchanged a quick word with Ino and the others, then walked up. She glanced once at Miyamoto Kai, then over at Kitazawa.
"Relax. You've got this," Kitazawa smiled.
Hinata nodded, face set, Byakugan flaring open. With Konoha Body Flicker, she vanished like a scattering leaf. Miyamoto Kai lost sight of her and spun.
Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!
Hinata appeared behind him, twin palms flashing. Two strikes sealed his arm's tenketsu; he swallowed the surge of sluggish chakra and kicked—Hinata twisted aside, tapped twice more at his leg, then stepped in and landed another pair. Resistance gone, the remaining twenty-six palms landed clean. He collapsed, chakra flow dead-stopped.
"Winner: Hyuga Hinata," Kitazawa declared at once.
Hinata's mouth quirked up. Wrong place for it, but if she could, she'd be angling for Kitazawa's pat-on-the-head reward.
Another loss. The Mist fell into that now-familiar quiet. And it wasn't over yet. In the final bout, Hyuga Neji stepped up—and, like Hinata, finished it cleanly. If a two-tomoe Sharingan steamrolls most genin and chūnin, the Byakugan isn't far behind. That's the terror of kekkei genkai—bloodline limits.
Worse, Konoha's five prodigies left them seeing no hopeful future.
The Genin Exchange ended. Terumi Mei didn't say much. After a brief farewell to Tsunade, she led Kirigakure's shinobi out of the academy, worry written on every face.