Asuma steadied himself on the ground, borrowing the wind to ensure a firm landing. The violent gusts instantly dispersed the lingering mist that had shrouded the entire battlefield.
With his vision suddenly clearing, Asuma had never felt the warmth of Konoha's sun so intimately before.
Above, the Kirigakure ninja hovered mid-air, surrounded by eight small cloud-like orbs, some crackling with lightning, others glowing a deep crimson.
They looked impressive, but inwardly, he felt bitter.
Twice now, his body had been dispersed and reformed by the force of the wind.
Cloud clones, the mist-shrouding jutsu, and a continuous barrage of elemental cloud projectiles—fire and lightning. His chakra reserves were nearly depleted.
The eight small winged birds of condensed cloud beside him were created through Mukumo's ninjutsu. They could autonomously fire elemental cloud projectiles matching their chakra attributes.
But they themselves were also projectiles.
Mukumo made the first move, waving his hand. The eight cloud birds flapped their wings and dove toward Asuma.
Asuma quickly analyzed their numbers and flight paths, then pulled out a handful of shuriken.
Wind chakra surged into the weapons before he launched them with pinpoint accuracy. The shuriken collided head-on with the cloud constructs, causing chakra-infused explosions that filled the air with black smoke.
Because they were infused with elemental chakra, these weren't intangible clouds that could be passed through.
At the same time, Asuma's shadow on the ground rapidly expanded!
"He's charging straight in?!"
Having exhausted his ability to use large-scale Wind Release techniques, Asuma raised his hand, summoning a gust to meet the incoming attack.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Meanwhile, Mukumo swiftly formed a two-seal hand sign.
"Release."
The rising gale swept up, but instead of dispersing, Mukumo leaned forward, shielding himself with his arms, and stomped down on a chakra-infused cloud platform, accelerating his descent!
Contrary to expectations, he wasn't blown away!
Asuma reacted quickly, hurling a shuriken as a probe.
Mukumo deflected it with a kunai, refusing to give Asuma a chance to counterattack. He closed in, drawing back his fist and delivering a powerful punch!
This guy had dispelled his cloud-body transformation!
Caught off guard, Asuma barely had time to raise his arm in defense. The punch landed hard against his forearm, sending a jolt through his body.
Asuma tried to counter with a kunai strike, but Mukumo's knuckle blade intercepted it.
Stepping on a temporary chakra foothold in midair, Mukumo took advantage of Asuma's unsteady footing and forcefully knocked his kunai aside!
The next moment, his blade pierced Asuma's chest!
Pu—
A puff of white smoke erupted—
'Asuma' was replaced by a wooden log.
Body Replacement Technique.
A sudden shift in the wind behind him!
Without hesitation, Mukumo dispersed the cloud platform and dropped to the ground, dodging Asuma's blade as it swept through the air!
Before he could recover, Asuma launched a flurry of kicks from above!
Mukumo barely managed to dodge or block, taking a few hits in the process. Asuma landed, keeping up the pressure, seamlessly transitioning into a relentless blade assault.
Forced into close combat, Mukumo clenched his teeth, gripping his kunai tightly to meet Asuma in a clash of steel.
With most of his chakra spent, he could no longer maintain his cloud-body form. Likewise, Asuma's knuckle blade had lost its wind chakra enhancement.
From the sidelines, Yagura observed their taijutsu exchange and sighed. "It's over."
The moment Mukumo lost his greatest advantage, the battle was decided. He was a ninjutsu specialist, relying on Cloud Release, with no real experience in close-quarters combat.
Ringo Ameyuri chuckled, shaking her head. "Mukumo really needs to work on his taijutsu."
"And his training against Wind Release could use improvement. I'll spar with him when I have time."
Watching Mukumo struggle against Asuma in melee combat, Yagura smirked.
"That's perfect. I've just come up with some ideas for Wind Release training."
Back on the battlefield, Asuma's knuckle blade struck with force, slicing straight through Mukumo's kunai!
Mukumo immediately stepped back, forming hand seals at lightning speed.
"Not happening!"
Asuma wasn't about to give him a chance to use ninjutsu!
Dashing forward, he slashed out with his knuckle blade, sending an arc of wind-infused chakra forward!
A single hand sign.
The blade's arc dispersed the remaining mist around Mukumo's head.
Mukumo was pushed beyond the boundaries of the arena.
With his chakra depleted and unable to match Asuma in close combat, he had no choice but to concede.
He saved his last remaining chakra to heal the wound on his neck.
The first Kirigakure ninja was eliminated. "I forfeit."
Asuma stopped in his tracks.
With his opponent defeated, he exhaled in relief.
Thankfully, he had lived up to expectations.
The referee raised his flag. "Winner—Sarutobi Asuma!"
"OOOOHHHH!!!"
This was Konoha's home ground, and the cheers from the audience roared even louder than in the first match!
"No doubt about it! He's the son of the Hokage!"
"Asuma did well. He didn't disgrace the Sarutobi name."
"Go Asuma! Go Asuma!!"
From the stands, the leader of Takigakure smiled and congratulated Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Your son has won."
"Haha, it was just luck, just luck," Hiruzen replied humbly, stroking his beard.
The Takigakure leader continued, "He analyzed his opponent's abilities well and countered accordingly, even against a Bloodline Limit user. This child will surely become one of Konoha's pillars in the future."
"You flatter me," Hiruzen said, nodding modestly. "But I appreciate the kind words."
...
With the excitement still burning in the stands, the third and fourth matches followed immediately.
In the third match, Konoha's Shiranui Genma fought hard to defeat a Sunagakure genin, advancing to the final four!
The Konoha crowd erupted once again!
In the fourth match, Kirigakure's Ringo Ameyuri overwhelmed her opponent from Takigakure, securing her spot among the finalists!
...
The final four were set—
Two from Kirigakure, two from Konoha.
The referee announced the morning matches concluded. All competitors were given a break until 2 PM, when the semifinals would commence.
"Even an idiot can see this break is just to give Konoha's genin time to recover!"
"The Chunin Exams never used to have these kinds of rest periods! It was always nonstop battles!"
At lunch, Jinin Akebino scoffed at Konoha's favoritism while devouring grilled meat, loudly complaining to his three students.
Anyone with eyes could see the disparity in the previous matches.
Konoha's genin had to struggle to secure their wins.
Meanwhile, the Kirigakure contestants dominated—Yagura was in control the entire time, and Ameyuri's match could only be described as a massacre.
Neither had expended much chakra.
Jinin Akebino clicked his tongue.
"Mukumo was unlucky. He got matched against his worst possible opponent."
Just a little more, and Kirigakure would've taken three of the four spots.
Mukumo hung his head. "I'm sorry."
Yagura patted his shoulder. "I'll help you train against Wind Release."
Mukumo's eyes lit up. "Really? Thanks!"
"No problem. And thanks to you, Akaiwa's flying technique, and Asuma's wind blades, I've got some ideas for my own Wind Release."
Biting into a sweet pastry, Yagura smirked. "This afternoon, I'll get revenge for you."
...
At 2 PM, the Chunin Exam semifinals resumed!
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo