"A little boy with his ninja hound!" Chi shielded the lower half of her face with her fan, her smiling eyes fixed on the eager Inuzuka Kiba. "You'll go easy on me later, won't you?"
"Can't promise that. My claws are too sharp. I might just open up a few cuts on your delicate skin and leave a few scars..."
"Konoha ninja... I don't know about their skills, but they're all masters of boasting!"
Gekko Hayate sighed helplessly as he watched the mounting tension between the Sand and Konoha ninja. "Ninth round, begin!"
As his voice fell, Chi, holding a small, white-feathered iron fan in each hand, rushed toward Kiba.
A swift and elegant fan dance, carrying a refreshing fragrance, swept toward him, forcing Kiba to retreat and avoid the initial assault.
The strong showing from the Sand Ninja had convinced the usually arrogant Kiba that a cautious approach was the better strategy.
"Such an impatient big sister!"
Kiba let Akamaru loose and immediately executed the strongest move he currently possessed.
After using the Four Legs Technique, he took out a Military Rations Pill for himself and one for Akamaru, then used Secret Technique: Beast Human Clone without a second thought.
***
The surge of power from the secret technique seemed to give Inuzuka Kiba a great deal of confidence.
With Akamaru transformed into a perfect double of himself, their coordination would more than double their combat effectiveness.
Kiba habitually focused chakra into his nose, enhancing his already outstanding sense of smell by tens of thousands of times.
With such preparations, he could guard against genjutsu, relying on his sense of smell to locate the enemy even if his vision was compromised.
Unfortunately, some things don't go as planned.
Kiba and Akamaru charged toward the waiting Chi. As soon as they got close, they sensed a thick chakra permeating the air.
*Is it genjutsu?*
The thought flickered through his mind. Kiba couldn't help but take a few sniffs, and suddenly an indescribable sensation welled up from deep within him.
*What's going on?*
Sensing something was wrong, Kiba and Akamaru had almost the same reaction. They slowed down, their heads spinning as they lost all sense of direction. The reaction to the genjutsu was shockingly severe.
"Idiot," Daigan couldn't help but spit.
A ninja's greatest strength, if perfectly countered, can become their greatest weakness.
An exceptional sense of smell was the innate talent of Kiba and Akamaru, but relying on it too heavily would lead to serious problems in a situation like this.
If being defeated by one of Uzumaki Naruto's farts was utterly humiliating, then being taken down by Chi's olfactory genjutsu at least preserved a shred of dignity.
Scents were subjective—fragrant or foul—but in essence, they were all the same.
An overly strong smell, whether pleasant or putrid, would make anyone uncomfortable.
Chi's genjutsu chakra, carried by a secret medicine, invaded the opponent's body through scent. The more acute the sense of smell, the more effective it was.
Even Chi was stunned by the reaction of Kiba and Akamaru. She initially thought it was some kind of trick, but upon realizing it was a genuine stroke of luck, she was overjoyed. She quickly moved in and pressed a kunai to the throat of Kiba, who was clutching his mouth and nose, moaning in pain with a dazed look in his eyes.
"The winner is Chi!"
So far, nine rounds of the preliminaries had been held. There were evenly matched bloody brawls and swift victories in lopsided fights, but Kiba was the first to lose in such a baffling manner.
In terms of overall strength, Kiba and Chi were actually quite close, with Kiba possibly having a slight edge. But he had lost so inexplicably.
*That's the fifth Sand Ninja to win.*
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, quietly watched the battle from above. He glanced in Baki's direction. The nominal head of the Sand delegation didn't seem pleased by his ninja's outstanding performance.
*He's quite a composed fellow.*
With Orochimaru and his spies stirring up trouble within Konoha and the unexpectedly aggressive Sand Ninja from without, the troubled Third Hokage would have pulled out all his beard if the Konoha Genin hadn't also performed well.
Chi, having won without breaking a sweat, returned upstairs, overjoyed. Temari greeted her warmly. Daigan, as usual, wore a painfully fake grin and offered hollow congratulations.
"What, did I win too easily? Is it undeserved?"
"Not at all!" Daigan replied distractedly, his eyes on the tenth match below, which pitted the heiress of the Hyuga clan against Akimichi Choji.
Although Hyuga Hinata was a bit timid, she was still much stronger than her opponent. The overweight Choji, already injured and not in top form, had no chance of defeating Hinata, who had been resting for four or five days.
"That said, there's still the winner's bracket draw. Winning one match doesn't guarantee a spot in the third exam, so there's really nothing to be happy about!"
"A win is better than a loss. Don't overthink it," Daigan said dismissively.
There were some things he couldn't say here. Baki was watching from not far away, and it wouldn't do to arouse suspicion.
"But, I've heard your luck has always been bad. Maybe you'll actually draw me later!" Chi teased, her good mood from the victory evident.
"Even if you don't, the losers will see my injuries and might get ideas about challenging me."
"So no matter what, you'll have to fight at least one more time?"
"There's a high probability," Daigan replied helplessly. "Those are the rules. Luck can give you an advantage, but if you lack strength, you'll still be targeted by those waiting for an opportunity."
It wasn't just Daigan. Uzumaki Naruto, Chi, and even Kankuro had won unconvincingly and could be seen as easy targets for a challenge.
From now on, the winning candidates had to start paying attention to their potential future opponents and make preparations.
Below, Akimichi Choji didn't last long before being knocked to the ground by Hyuga Hinata, forfeiting the match.
She was a Hyuga, and she used the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, but Hinata was a far cry from Neji. Still, compared to her fellow rookie Genin, she was truly formidable.
The uneventful tenth match ended quickly. In the eleventh, the treacherous spy put on a masterful performance, "struggling" for a long time before securing a "narrow victory" over Sana, who used Wind Release and Sand Manipulation Technique, once again saving a little face for Konoha.
The final match was a bit more interesting.
The heavily injured Haruno Sakura and the equally unwell Nara Shikamaru engaged in a battle of wits.
Aside from knowing one more secret shadow technique than Sakura, Nara Shikamaru's basic abilities were comparable, and his chakra control was even a bit inferior.
Using only the Three Basic Jutsu and her kunai, Sakura pushed Shikamaru into a desperate corner.
Shikamaru might have had the upper hand in intellect, but Sakura's combat sense, honed through several tough battles, was not to be underestimated. At the cost of aggravating the injuries in her limbs, she nearly defeated him.
If the Shadow Imitation Technique hadn't been beyond the inexperienced Sakura's comprehension, allowing him to succeed with a surprise attack, Team 10 might have been completely wiped out.
"Nara Shikamaru, huh?"
The other eleven members of the winner's circle all looked at the final lucky contestant, who had won with such difficulty.
He seemed like an even easier target than the heavily injured Daigan. If one was unlucky enough to draw a tough opponent and lose, challenging this guy would be a good option.
The disqualified candidates had all left the arena. Gekko Hayate gathered the twelve remaining contestants. "Next, we will proceed with the random pairings for the winner's bracket. The first pair will have a ten-minute break, and then the match will officially begin. Now..."
Everyone's eyes turned to the electronic screen that would decide their fate.
Hyuga Hinata versus Daigan.
A smile touched Daigan's lips as he looked at the surprised Hyuga Hinata.
*Not Hyuga Neji. Are they giving me a glimmer of hope so I don't just forfeit and challenge Nara Shikamaru?*
***
-----
Read up to 20 advanced chapters on my P@treon.
[email protected]/fanfictionsimp