Yakumo felt a chill of unease run through her.
Without hesitation, she tightened her grip on her paintbrush, drew on all the chakra in her body, and swept the bristles across the air. In an instant, a colossal tiger took shape, its form soaring up toward the clouds.
The giant tiger materialized in front of her, standing as a living shield.
Kitazawa had originally planned to stop Hinata, but he quickly realized this was the perfect chance for her to make a name for herself.
After all, there were plenty of spectators watching this graduation exam.
Not just ordinary villagers, but many Jonin as well.
Kitazawa had already arranged for Tsunade to bring up the "new Konoha Sannin" after team assignments were announced.
But with the World-Ending Arrow on display, the impact would be even greater.
Besides, Hinata wasn't using the ultimate version of the World-Ending Arrow.
More importantly, with Kitazawa's strength, he could completely protect the audience.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Kitazawa clapped his hands together.
Three Shadow Clones appeared at three different points around the Konoha Arena.
"Four Violet Flames Formation!"
Kitazawa and his Shadow Clones formed hand seals in unison.
In the blink of an eye, a purple barrier surged upward, layering itself over the earlier purple barrier and creating a double wall of protection.
"World-Ending Arrow!"
Hinata released the bowstring.
Yin Release power flared out like black-purple flames, sweeping across the entire Konoha Arena in an instant.
BOOOM!
Under everyone's stunned gaze, the World-Ending Arrow detonated.
Its world-erasing force instantly wiped out the beasts Yakumo had summoned and then surged toward the massive tiger shielding her.
The tiger's gigantic body shuddered violently but did not vanish at once.
After all, this wasn't the World-Ending Arrow at full power.
Hinata had only drawn on one-third of Satori's Yin Release power.
Even so, the might behind it was terrifying.
Wild currents of Chakra roared into the sky as the entire Konoha Arena shook.
Cracks began to spiderweb across the innermost purple barrier being held up by the Sealing Squad.
Fortunately, Kitazawa's Four Violet Flames Formation stood firm, unmoving like a mountain.
Feeling the crushing pressure from all directions, Yakumo's face turned pale.
All she could do was desperately pour more Yin Release power into the tiger, trying to keep the world-ending arrow's aftermath from reaching her.
Outside her field of vision, Hinata formed a seal and vanished with the Body Flicker.
She activated the Byakugan, her gaze instantly locking onto Yakumo's position.
Hinata appeared at Yakumo's left flank.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
She struck without hesitation, both palms blurring.
Yakumo, fully focused on maintaining the giant tiger, had no time to react. Her defenses collapsed, and she was blown off her feet, hitting the ground hard.
Kitazawa flashed between them in an instant and whisked both girls out of harm's way.
"What secret technique is this?" Kiba finally managed to ask after a long, dazed silence.
"World-Ending Arrow," Neji answered. "It's a secret technique Kitazawa-sensei created by imitating the Tailed Beast Ball."
"You know about it too?" Sasuke's heart tightened as he spoke.
"Yeah," Neji nodded.
"It's just broken," Tayuya muttered, unable to hold back her complaint.
"Its chakra cost is extremely high," Neji explained. "Under normal circumstances, it can only be used once."
His eyes fell on Hinata.
Her weakened version of the World-Ending Arrow had, without a doubt, solved their lack of firepower.
From using it only once to being able to fire it three times, her combat strength had skyrocketed.
After all, for most shinobi, there was no real difference between a one-third-power World-Ending Arrow and a full-power one. Either way, they were dead.
"Too strong!" Naruto breathed in awe.
"You're a Jinchuriki. You can do it too," Neji said with a glance at him.
Naruto scratched his head at that.
He did know how to use the Tailed Beast Ball.
It hadn't been taught by Kitazawa, but by Uzumaki Kushina.
Reminded by Neji's words, Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly.
Jinchuriki really were cheaters.
Fortunately, he had Amenotejikara and wasn't afraid of the Tailed Beast Ball.
He could just teleport up to the spectator stands when the Tailed Beast Ball exploded.
His Amenotejikara could mark five targets, after all, letting him jump freely between those marks.
In a sense, that was already cheating.
But the problem was that the Tailed Beast Ball was even more of a cheat.
A short while later, the Konoha Arena finally calmed down.
However, the once-flat arena floor was now gouged and cratered, not a single intact patch of ground left.
The arena was frozen in stunned silence, countless faces locked in disbelief.
"The winner: Hinata!"
Kitazawa's voice finally shattered the quiet.
From the crowd's reaction alone, he understood one thing: his plan to cultivate a new Konoha Sannin was about to succeed—within a week at most. Once the graduation exam ended, Hinata's reputation would explode across the village.
"Who would've thought this was just a graduation exam," Jiraiya muttered, shaking his head.
"It's not that strange," Tsunade said with a light laugh. "The Partial Tailed Beast Transformation's Yin Release Chakra Mode using a world-ending arrow similar to a Tailed Beast Ball is pretty reasonable."
"So you knew about it from the start?" Hiruzen gave her a surprised look. Even he hadn't been informed.
"Kitazawa told me," Tsunade explained. "We kept it secret because it has strategic value, but there's no need for that anymore."
Right now, Konoha's greatest threat was the Akatsuki. Revealing the World-Ending Arrow would instead strengthen the villagers' confidence.
Of course, that was just the explanation she gave Hiruzen and the others.
The real reason was simpler: she trusted Kitazawa.
"The students advancing to the fourth round are Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, and Hinata," Kitazawa announced. "The fourth round will begin after a fifteen-minute break."
As soon as he finished, he directed the Anbu to repair the Konoha Arena. However, he left the Four Violet Flames Formation in place. The battles to come would be even more intense.
Kitazawa returned to the stands. The spectator area was still buzzing, the excitement from Hinata's display nowhere near fading.
"Tsunade-sensei," he said, sitting down beside her. "Once the team assignments are done, remember to mention the new Konoha Sannin."
"I've noticed you're really invested in that," Tsunade said, pausing to study him. "Are you laying the groundwork for them in advance?"
Kitazawa blinked, momentarily taken aback. She'd misunderstood, but it wasn't an unreasonable assumption.
To become Hokage, you needed overwhelming renown. If the new Konoha Sannin were acknowledged by everyone, any one of them could be made Hokage at any time. Just like with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru back then—no one would object no matter who took the hat.
That was how it usually went.
In the original timeline, the Fifth Hokage title had fallen to Tsunade only because Jiraiya refused it. And if Minato Namikaze hadn't appeared so suddenly, Orochimaru would likely have become the Fourth Hokage long ago.
"I learned it from you," Kitazawa said, blinking playfully. "Retiring early."
"You're already thinking about retiring when you're not even Hokage yet?" Tsunade couldn't help but laugh. "In that sense, you really are my student."
"Even if I want to retire early, it won't be easy," Kitazawa replied casually. "They've still got a while before they're adults. At the very least, I'll have to be Hokage for six years."
"Six years isn't that long." Tsunade glanced toward Hiruzen. "The old man was Hokage for over thirty years."
"Then why didn't you stay in the office a bit longer?" Kitazawa complained.
"I'm different," Tsunade said, her lips curling into a faint smile. "Besides, isn't it because of you?"
"Then you'll have to compensate me properly," Kitazawa said, his expression calm but clearly hinting.
"We'll talk about that when the time comes." Tsunade ignored the implication and smoothly changed the subject. "You should keep an eye on the Hyuga and Uchiha clans from now on."
The meaning behind the new Konoha Sannin was obvious. The Hyuga and Uchiha would definitely clear the way for Hinata and Sasuke—or rather, they would compete over the future Hokage seat.
"I know," Kitazawa answered indifferently.
As long as he held absolute strength, no matter what schemes the Hyuga or Uchiha came up with, they wouldn't dare openly defy him.
"When do you want to become Hokage?" Tsunade asked, nodding slightly.
"Anytime is fine," Kitazawa said after thinking for a moment. At this point, being a few days early or late didn't matter.
"Good. Let's make it next week then," Tsunade decided immediately. "Once today's graduation exam is over, I'll send someone to invite the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."
"You really can't wait," Kitazawa said with a small chuckle.
The fifteen-minute break ended quickly.
The crowd had already recovered from the shock of the world-ending arrow and turned their attention back to the arena.
After all, the fight between Hinata and Yakumo hadn't been the final match.
The remaining battles might even showcase Ninjutsu more shocking than the world-ending arrow.
Kitazawa reached into the lottery box and drew two small slips of paper.
He glanced at the names and gave a slight nod.
In a way, this result was the most fitting for a graduation exam.
"Fourth round, first match: Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyuga!"
Kitazawa announced loudly.
With only four students left, deciding the first matchup automatically decided the second.
And the winners of these two fights would advance to the fifth round and face off in the final.
Sasuke subconsciously clenched his fists.
He just had to defeat Hinata, and then he could fight Naruto for first place.
No matter how many times he'd lost before, as long as he won this time, all those past failures would be meaningless.
Naruto, on the other hand, didn't think that far ahead; as long as he had someone to fight, that was enough.
Neji's thoughts were similar to Sasuke's.
He wanted to win here and make it all the way to the end.
Even if he knew it would be difficult.
Hinata, however, no longer held much hope.
She had used the World-Ending Arrow in the previous match and had only one-third of Satori's Chakra left.
But even if Satori's Chakra were still at full capacity, defeating Sasuke would have been extremely hard for her.
Neji stepped into the arena.
Expression solemn, he raised the life-feather bow.
This was, without question, the toughest battle he had ever faced in the Ninja Academy.
He had always seen himself as a genius, but compared to Naruto, he felt insignificant.
"Battle start!"
Kitazawa retreated to the edge of the arena.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto formed a hand seal, and over a thousand Shadow Clones burst into existence.
In an instant, the Konoha Arena felt packed to the brim.
Multiple Arrows!
Neji drew back the life-feather bow.
As he released the string, a single Yin Release Arrow shot out.
In mid-air, it split from one into two, then two into four, until it had become a thousand yin release arrows.
The audience gasped at the spectacular sight.
Satori's ability was to sense emotions.
The Zero-Tails' ability was to divide Chakra.
Because of that, Neji was even more proficient with multiple arrows than Hinata.
He just had never had a proper chance to show it—until now.
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