While Kaiji followed Daiki, some other students, similar to him, were also choosing their targets.
And a few were following Kaiji himself.
Kaiji noticed this. He sighed inwardly.
It was an open test; he couldn't expect things to go entirely his way.
He decided not to focus on those following him, just on his target.
Once Daiki stopped and attempted to hide himself within the sand, Kaiji quickly used Body Flicker.
He made some hand signs: Hare—>Tiger. He said the name of the jutsu in a low voice,
"Wind Style: Twister Shot!"
Daiki didn't see the attack coming towards him. He was hit by a small spinning wind projectile.
Kaiji knew one wasn't enough to knock him out.
He wasn't using much chakra, wanting to reserve it until the end of the test.
So, using less chakra in the start, he quickly formed two more small spinning wind projectiles in his hand. He threw them rapidly at Daiki's head.
They hit their mark. Daiki was knocked cold. Once Daiki was out, Kaiji looked behind him.
"Come out" he said.
Then, a figure emerged. It was Hiruko, another blonde-haired student from his batch.
Hiruko smirked at Kaiji. "You really improved," he said condescendingly.
"Improved from a Trash to a little better Trash, but trash nonetheless."
Kaiji didn't waste his time talking with him. He directly threw his Shuriken at Hiruko.
Hiruko dodged them. Kaiji rushed towards him.
He used Suna's basic offensive Taijutsu strikes, Sand Eruption Kick, Sandblast Palm, Falling Sand Elbow, and Cactus Needle Flick.
These were the basic offensive Taijutsu strikes taught at the Academy.
Hiruko countered them with defensive Taijutsu, Sand Dust Guard, Palm Deflection, Quick Crouch, and Sand Evasion steps.
Hiruko then made hand signs, Snake—>Dragon—>Ram.
"Genjutsu: Phantom Oasis!" he said.
Kaiji quickly made a sign. Once the Genjutsu affected him, he shouted, "Kai!"
Understanding that Kaiji was good at Taijutsu against him, and realizing he himself couldn't use D-rank Genjutsu like Kaiji, Hiruko started attacking him with Ninjutsu.
Hiruko made another hand signs, Tiger—>Rabbit—>Serpent. He shouted,
"Wind Style: Dust Cloud Jutsu!"
A cloud consisting of desert sand obscured Kaiji's vision.
Kaiji remembered he had used this same jutsu against Maki and how she had quickly dissipated it.
Upon recalling this, he chuckled lightly to himself.
Kaiji also made hand signs, Bird—>Ox. He said,
"Wind Style: Wind Push!"
A burst of wind strong enough to unbalance an opponent came from Kaiji, driving the sand cloud towards Hiruko.
Hiruko's eyes widened.
He gritted his teeth. He couldn't accept that Kaiji, who had been the dead weight of the class, was now matching him equally and countering his jutsu.
He made hand signs and used Wind Style: Gentle Breeze to dissipate the Dust Cloud he himself had created.
Kaiji didn't waste any moment. He made hand signs for another Ninjutsu, Bird—>Ram—>Serpent. He said,
"Wind Style: Desert Scatter!"
While Hiruko was dissipating the Dust Cloud, Kaiji created a chaotic, swirling gust targeted directly at Hiruko's eyes.
Once sand and dust flew into Hiruko's eyes, he cursed loudly. "Damn yo–!"
Kaiji used his low-chakra-enhanced blows on Hiruko. He beat him until he fell unconscious.
After that, Kaiji took a deep breath. 'Looks like I uselessly wasted my chakra reserves on this fight,' he thought.
The competition continued, and Kaiji stealthily sought another target.
But he had bad luck. After around two hours, he encountered Taichi.
He lost to him. Taichi didn't hold back even a little.
Once he awoke again, the competition was already about to be over. Kaiji sighed.
Once the competition was completed, all the students were gathered back at the Academy.
And surprisingly, not even a single trainee was in one piece. Everyone was bruised.
Even Renji was bruised Little, and some were in even worse condition.
Kazeo Sensei announced that the results would be revealed next week. Their Team assignments would also be told on the same day.
After saying that, he and some other instructors took all the trainees to the hospital, as not a single one was in tip-top condition.
Two days later, in the afternoon, at Tsumuji Snacks shop, Kaiji, Ren, and Hiroshi were eating Ramen.
They were discussing how much they were able to score. Would it be enough for them to have a team?
Ren said, "I can't be sure of the Desert Test, but On the first day, I pretty much did well at all."
Hiroshi shook his head, very nervous and scared.
"I don't know how my score will be," he mumbled. "I think I didn't do well."
Kaiji spoke with a calm voice. "Don't worry," he said. "What's the point of worrying now when the exam is already over?"
He took a loud slurp of his ramen.
"Will we get a team or not," he continued, "will be known to us in five days anyways."
"Just believe in yourself, All is well!"
"!!!"
Ren and Hiroshi looked at each other, slightly surprised at how calm Kaiji was.
Ren asked, "Kaiji, aren't you even a little nervous about results? I feel I did well, but even then, I am nervous."
Kaiji waved his hand dismissively. "That's not a big thing," he said.
"Even if I get a team or not, I will be an official Genin, and that's what matters."
Ren and Hiroshi nodded. They thought Kaiji was telling the truth.
However, unknown to them, in his mind, Kaiji was even more scared and nervous about the results than they were.
He was cursing inwardly, 'Fuck fuck fuck, I don't think I will have any team, damn it, damn it.'
But from the outside, his expressions were calm.
He slowly ate his ramen, taking a quiet slurp and a thoughtful chew, not letting anyone see what was going on in his mind.