"Winner: Kurama Yakumo!"
Kitazawa announced it.
Kimimaro stepped off the field in a daze. In his bout with Yakumo, he had no idea when the illusion hit or how he lost—everything happened too fast.
To Tayuya, Yakumo was even scarier than Naruto. At least against Naruto, Kimimaro could still fight back. Here he'd just… stood there until he lost. From the audience's perspective, it was downright chilling.
Tayuya practiced genjutsu herself. Her earlier hunch was confirmed: Yakumo's illusions were absolutely jōnin-level.
"This isn't your fault," Jūgo said, trying to comfort him.
Kimimaro opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. Proud as he was, two straight losses had left him punch-drunk.
Sasuke sighed inwardly. He knew that feeling all too well—he'd been through exactly what Kimimaro was going through. Even now, after learning Lightning Style, he still had no answer to Yakumo's illusions. Maybe once he awakened a three-tomoe Sharingan he could stand against her.
"Round Two, Match Two: Haruno Sakura versus Uchiha Sasuke," Kitazawa said, raising a brow.
Yakumo versus Kimimaro had been his behind-the-scenes tweak. Sakura versus Sasuke wasn't.
"Huh?" Sakura froze. "My opponent is Sasuke?"
"Go get 'em, Sakura!" Ino, loving the drama, egged her on.
"Sakura, you're good at Water Style—it counters his Fire. You can definitely beat Sasuke!" Kiba, also playing agent of chaos, cheered while trying not to laugh.
"That's true," Shino said, adjusting his glasses.
"Sakura, youth doesn't surrender!" Naruto gave a thumbs-up.
"You might not be as outmatched as you think," Tenten encouraged.
Sakura shot Ino a glare. This was exactly the kind of hype she started.
To Tayuya, the only straight-shooter here, the gap between Sakura and Sasuke looked way too big for any real chance.
"Wait for me, Sasuke!" Sakura hurried after him as he stepped onto the field.
"Begin!" Kitazawa moved aside.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke didn't hesitate—he tilted his head back and blasted a searing fireball.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" Sakura immediately went all-in. Chakra surged; a water dragon lunged forth.
Boom! Fireball and water dragon collided, and thick steam billowed out.
Sasuke's two-tomoe Sharingan spun to life, locking on to Sakura in a heartbeat. Most of this was ordinary steam, not the dense chakra fog of the Kiri's Hiding in Mist Technique. His Sharingan saw right through it.
He arched a brow. The water dragon hadn't completely evaporated; a remnant burst from the haze and rushed him. At the same time, Sakura started forming seals again.
Sasuke hopped left and slipped past the stream with ease.
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!" Sakura pressed two fingers to her lips and spat a high-pressure jet.
Body Flicker! Chakra burst from Sasuke's legs. Instead of retreating, he cut in with a weaving footwork and slipped past the jet.
He drew the Sword of the Thunder God and thrust straight for her.
Having just cast a jutsu, Sakura couldn't dodge at all. She squeezed her eyes shut on reflex.
The blade stopped at her throat.
"Knew she couldn't win," Kiba said, genuinely regretful.
"She never could," Shikamaru chuckled. "But Sakura's gotten a lot stronger," Tenten added; facing her now wouldn't be the easy win it used to be.
Ino clenched a fist. Six words flashed through her mind: "Kitazawa-sensei, save me." Losing to Sakura still stung, and she'd already decided to beg Kitazawa for special training after the exam. If Sakura had Kōsuke Maruboshi helping her, Ino couldn't afford to fall behind.
"Round Two, Match Three: Tayuya versus Aburame Shino," Kitazawa's voice cut through their chatter.
"Finally my turn again!" Tayuya straightened up. This time, she'd show her real skills. Being one-shotted had been mortifying; even if she lost, she wouldn't lose like that.
She strode to center field, energized. Shino was as calm as ever.
Watching him, Tayuya recalled his first-round performance. The biggest headache would be his kikaichū: solid offense and defense, and they could drain chakra. But that didn't mean she'd lose.
Summoning Jutsu!
She slapped the ground without hesitation. A chill wind swept the arena as three grotesque Doki erupted into view.
"So those are the 'Doki' she mentioned?" Ino said, surprised. "They look pretty imposing."
"She was hiding this much power?" Kiba felt a twinge of crisis. The three Doki were about the same size as his Haimaru Triplets; hard to call who'd win.
"Maybe they only look strong," Sakura blinked. Getting one-shotted by Hinata in Round One had left her with a bias she couldn't shake.
"Those are some beefy summons!" Naruto blurted.
"Only Naruto could… focus on that," Shikamaru deadpanned politely.
"Ugly," Sasuke muttered. Uchiha summons were crows, cats, maybe hawks—none of them ugly.
"So what if they're ugly? Strength is what matters!" Tenten defended her own giant lizard summon.
"Let's watch the match," Neji said, shutting down the tangent.
"Demonic Flute: Illusionary Warriors Manipulating Melody!"
Tayuya raised her bamboo flute and began to play.
Rumble! The Doki sprang into motion. The left one swung a massive club down at Shino.
"Secret Technique: Insect Wall!" Shino swept his hands. Clouds of kikaichū surged up and blocked the club midair.
Tayuya frowned; the melody shifted. The middle Doki's right arm scythed out, its huge bone claw chopping toward Shino.
"Secret Technique: Insect Wall!" Shino repeated, the bugs forming a barrier that caught the blow.
But this Doki had two bone claws—the left came slashing as well. Shino leapt back to avoid it.
"Secret Technique: Insect Cocoon!" The weapons were enormous and burned through a lot of kikaichū. Shino had to emergency-hatch more.
Crash! The bone claw smashed down, scattering stone. The last Doki, armless but fast, spun and rammed with its back. Its sheer bulk brought crushing pressure; Shino's view went dark behind a wall of Doki hide.
"Secret Technique: Insect Ball!" As he retreated, a swarm of kikaichū shot out and clung to the Doki's back. It roared as its chakra was leeched away. Tayuya quickly redirected it to slam the ground instead. When the bugs touched the earth they were crushed under that mountain-like mass—most were killed on the spot.
"Is Shino gonna lose?" Sakura asked, seeing him on the back foot.
"Tayuya didn't lie—her summons are strong," Ino admitted. She didn't like her odds against the Doki either.
"The Doki are just summons," Shikamaru said bluntly. "They're not the key."
"Agreed," Neji nodded. "Beat Tayuya and it's over."
Hinata had already shown how to beat Tayuya, so Neji felt no pressure at all.
"Shino's sharp—he should have figured that out," Kiba said. "Unless he's got something else up his sleeve?"
A thought struck Shikamaru—he remembered their run-in with the Kamizuru clan. Kitazawa hadn't just given Shino their jutsu… he'd given him more.
"Whoa, that's a huge bee!" Naruto shouted.
Wind whistled. A gigantic bee swept into view.
"It's the Kamizuru clan's queen," Shikamaru murmured. Bingo.
Tayuya's pupils tightened. How did he have a summon that big too?
"Honey Technique!" Shino lifted both hands. Swarms of normal-sized bees poured from his sleeves and dove at the Doki. Tayuya blew a sharp phrase and sent the Doki crashing forward. The bees exploded—showers of beeswax splattered across the summons.
The Doki's movements grew sluggish. The queen bee lifted off and rained more wax down. Like industrial glue, it pinned the Doki in place.
"Move!" Tayuya shouted, face paling.
No use. With a flick of Shino's hand, a black tide of kikaichū swarmed straight for her.
"I… I forfeit…" Tayuya ground the words out, frustrated.
Shino nodded, satisfied. His first use of the Kamizuru arts had gone smoothly.
"Shino just keeps getting stronger. How are we supposed to beat that?" Kiba scratched his head.
"Kikaichū plus bees—outside of Sasuke and Naruto, that's basically untouchable," Shikamaru sighed. He'd sworn to stop slacking, but sometimes the harder you worked, the bleaker it felt—especially in the Advanced Class. He was starting to think effort or not didn't change much.
Neji's eyes narrowed. He'd need to watch out for that Honey Technique; get stuck and there'd be no breaking free, which meant no Gentle Fist, no tenketsu strikes. Even he felt threatened by Shino now that he had the Kamizuru techniques.
"Shino, where'd you get that queen bee?" Naruto asked, envious. "I want a summon that cool."
"From Kitazawa-sensei," Shino said, and briefly described the mission.
Fresh off the field, Tayuya froze at the name "Kitazawa." Him again? She was starting to realize the reason these kids were all so strong came back to Kitazawa. Could she… No way. She absolutely wasn't going to ask him for help.
She let out a breath. She hadn't won, but at least she'd redeemed her image.
Round Two continued—fewer matches than Round One: from seventeen down to nine. Which meant eighteen students had advanced.
In truth, those eighteen were the ones who would basically be tapped for missions.
"Next, I'll announce the students advancing to Round Three," Kitazawa said by the ballot box.
Last time, thirteen made it—Konoha Twelve minus Chōji, plus Hana and Yakumo. This time there were three more.
All of the Konoha Twelve advanced, plus Hana, Yakumo, Tayuya, and Kimimaro—sixteen total. Haku didn't make it; he hadn't mastered Ice Release yet. Jūgo would be strong enough with Sage Transformation, but without using it and relying only on Konoha-ryū taijutsu, he had no edge. As for Karin, sealing arts weren't suited for direct combat, so she didn't reach Round Three either.
Tayuya patted her chest in relief. She'd made Round Three—top sixteen. If she hadn't, she really would've wanted the ground to swallow her, especially after bragging before the exam that she'd crack the top five.
Kimimaro, on the other hand, couldn't be happy at all. He'd made Round Three, but he'd lost both prior rounds. In the Sound, he'd have been eliminated already.
Jūgo took it in stride. He was more excited about Kitazawa's Eightfold Cursed Seal of Earth. As long as he could get back to normal, he didn't care if he was in the Sound or in Konoha. He wasn't loyal to the Sound anyway—he only cared about his friend Kimimaro.
"Life in the Advanced Class just keeps getting rougher," Kiba sighed.
"Time to double down," Ino pumped a little fist and glanced at Sakura.
"Competing with geniuses—that's what youth is!" Rock Lee practically vibrated.
"Right! Youth means pushing each other to improve!" Naruto was fired up.
"You two have endless energy," Shikamaru said, shaking his head.
"Use the break to recover chakra," Tenten reminded them.
They wrapped up the chatter and started refining chakra.
"Break's over. Round Three begins," Kitazawa said, pulling two slips. "Match One: Kimimaro versus Uchiha Sasuke."
"Another great matchup," Tenten said at once. Sasuke needed no introduction—he practically lived in the Advanced Class top three. Kimimaro had lost two in a row, but he'd lost with honor, and everyone acknowledged his strength.
"Sasuke!" Sakura called his name and nothing more.
"I hereby declare Kimimaro the unluckiest in this exam," Kiba announced.
"What do you mean, 'unluckiest'?" Ino asked.
"His draw," Kiba spread his hands. "Naruto, then Yakumo, and now Sasuke. How is that not terrible luck?"
"When you put it that way… yeah, that's rough," Hana agreed, blinking.
"Why does it feel like Kimimaro's being targeted?" Tayuya frowned.
"Kitazawa-sensei wouldn't do that!" Ino shot back at once.
"He definitely wouldn't," Hinata said, nodding quickly. She didn't talk much, but when it came to Kitazawa she couldn't stay silent.
"Our rankings are based on performance, not just wins and losses. Who you face doesn't really matter," Kiba said, and he didn't think Kitazawa was setting Kimimaro up either.
"Exactly," Sakura agreed. "And Kitazawa-sensei treats us the same—everyone has their own training plan."
Tayuya fell silent. Sakura wasn't wrong. Even as a new transfer, she'd been taught a B-rank genjutsu. And why would Kitazawa target Kimimaro? No reason. No need. She felt a little guilty—Kitazawa had been decent to her from the start, and she'd been the one acting ungrateful.
"…" Shikamaru almost said something, then held it back. His gut said Kitazawa really was targeting Kimimaro, but he didn't dare say it. No one would believe him anyway; his words didn't carry weight.
"Be careful," Jūgo reminded.
Kimimaro nodded and walked to center.
"Sasuke, burn with youth!" Naruto threw him a thumbs-up.
"Only an Uchiha wins," Sasuke said, hands in his pockets as he faced Kimimaro.
"Begin!" Kitazawa called.
A flash of crimson—Sasuke's two-tomoe Sharingan spun open.
"Genjutsu: Unknown Fire!"
An invisible ripple spread out. Kimimaro froze. He hadn't expected Sasuke to open with genjutsu. In the first two rounds, Sasuke had led with Fire or Lightning.
Darkness closed in; Kimimaro was yanked into an illusion. Flames engulfed him; pain flared across his body. Less than a second later, he broke free.
"…?" He stared at Sasuke, puzzled.
"I used that to tell you the Uchiha's Sharingan is no weaker than the Kurama illusions," Sasuke said coolly. "But I won't be using genjutsu next. I'm going to beat you head-on."
"So cool! Sasuke!" the girls squealed.
"He really sold that. Damn it," Kiba ground his teeth.
"That's Sasuke's youth!" Naruto praised.
"What does that have to do with youth?" Tayuya couldn't help snarking.
"Still cool," Tenten laughed. "As expected of an Uchiha."
The corner of Kitazawa's mouth twitched. What a show-off; I'd give that a perfect score. If it weren't for a system quest, he'd honestly want to see Sasuke get pounded.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!