The Match Begins
Early the next morning, Shirō and his team were already prepared.
Their exam was scheduled for the first round of the day. Unfortunately, Sasori's team was also up at the same time, leaving them with no chance to observe his battle and gather intelligence beforehand.
They would have to rely on secondhand reports later.
Because the others had gone out to gather intel on their next opponents, only Nakamura accompanied Shirō's team to the examination venue.
Upon entering the arena, they were immediately greeted by a mocking voice.
"Hahaha! Brats, you actually showed up. This isn't a playground—people die here."
The speaker approached Taiyi menacingly, stopping inches from his face and flashing a crooked grin.
Shirō furrowed his brow. Why would Hanzo send someone like this? It was one thing to lack foresight—many did. But not recognizing the Uchiha clan crest? That was just idiotic.
The era of Madara and Hashirama wasn't so distant. The Uchiha name still carried weight across the Five Great Nations. As a result, the surrounding participants gave the group curious, even amused, glances.
After all, the Uchiha were as known for their arrogance as their Sharingan. A fight was almost inevitable.
Taiyi didn't move at first; he glanced at Nakamura. Upon receiving a nod, he turned back toward the loudmouth.
"Tch, stinkin' brat, look—"
Thud!
Before the Rain ninja could finish, Taiyi had already struck with a Genjutsu. The enemy dropped instantly, unconscious.
"Hey, what are you—"
"Shut up," a more composed voice interrupted. A second Rain ninja stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Apologies. My teammate acted out of turn. Please accept our apology."
It was clear that not all of Amegakure's shinobi were idiots. Shirō's group took the opportunity to de-escalate—there was no point in stirring up further trouble. They had already made their point.
In another setting, the bystanders might have cheered. But now, silence dominated. These were Genin, yet Taiyi had dropped an opponent instantly.
No one wanted to be next.
In the shadows, a few Iwagakure shinobi whispered among themselves.
"Did I see that right?"
"You did. That was a Sharingan."
"Hsshh... Troublesome. This group's going to be difficult."
"Yeah. And if their teammates are on the same level…"
"Come on, let's watch. Their opponents may be weak, but we can still learn something."
A few minutes later, the proctor stepped forward and announced the beginning of the match.
The Rain ninja acted immediately.
"Ninja Art: Rain Needles!"
They tossed an umbrella into the air. As it spun, it released a barrage of senbon like a cloud of steel rain. The tactic was clear—create distance, limit vision, and reduce the Sharingan's effectiveness.
The assault forced Taiyi and Shikamaru to fall back.
But not Shirō.
Protected by his Shooting Weapon Amulet, he charged forward without hesitation.
"What the—!?"
"Reinforcement, activate."
Shirō dashed straight at the lead Rain ninja. Smiling, he said, "Nothing is impossible. This match is over."
With that, his right fist—empowered by Reinforcement Magic—smashed forward.
The Rain ninja instinctively raised his arms to block, but it was no use. The blow sent him flying.
At that moment, Taiyi and Shikamaru had already flanked the other two opponents. The surprise gave them just enough time to act.
Taiyi stunned his opponent with a precise Genjutsu before knocking him unconscious with a punch. Shikamaru used his Shadow Possession Technique to paralyze his target, then casually slapped an Exploding Tag on the enemy's chest.
His silent gesture said it all: Don't move unless you want to go boom.
The match was decided in seconds.
The proctor raised his hand and called it:
"Winners: Konohagakure. Second-round assessment: passed."
On the sidelines, the Iwagakure shinobi looked troubled.
They had expected Shirō's team to be strong—but this strong?
Other than confirming that Shirō had some kind of defensive jutsu (or tool) and unusual strength, the Rain team hadn't exposed much.
Taiyi's Sharingan was already known, and Shikamaru's Nara heritage made his abilities predictable. From an intelligence standpoint, the fight had yielded little.
"We'll need to prepare thoroughly," one of the Iwa-nin muttered.
Outside, Nakamura met them with a smirk. "That quick, huh?"
"Of course!" Shirō grinned. "Come on, Captain—we're Chūnin now. These nobodies can't touch us."
"Haha, alright, alright, I get it," Nakamura chuckled. "Let's go back. We'll check with Minato and the others—see if they found anything useful about the Suna squad."
---
Back at their temporary residence, the entire group gathered in the common room. The atmosphere was tense.
They had hoped to gain insight into Sasori's abilities, but the Hidden Sand's young prodigy hadn't made a single move during his team's match. His teammates had handled everything.
Clearly, the Sunagakure wasn't taking any chances.
It wasn't just the Third Hokage playing politics—Sasori's teammates were clearly not ordinary Genin. In fact, they had easily crushed their opponents, showing strength closer to elite Chūnin.
That afternoon, it was Minato's turn.
Even though the result was practically guaranteed, Shirō chose to watch.
The other match scheduled at the same time was a dull internal squabble between Hoshigakure Genin. Nothing worth seeing there.
Fate was strange sometimes. By raw strength alone, the Amegakure teams could have easily defeated the Hoshigakure ones. But instead, the weaker village advanced, and both Rain teams were eliminated.
Shirō wasn't surprised.
Given the Rain ninja's earlier behavior—disrespecting the Sand's authority—he wouldn't be shocked if there had been interference from Sunagakure's proctors. He didn't pity them. They had asked for it.
As Minato's match began, Shirō pushed those thoughts aside.
Watching Minato was important—there was a good chance they would face off in the third round.
Interestingly, Minato's team didn't use Sasori's strategy of concealing their strength. Not because they couldn't—but because they didn't need to.
At this point, Minato hadn't yet earned his famous moniker or caught the attention of most major villages. Trying to conceal his skills would only make people suspicious.
It was better to keep things simple.
Besides, even without flashy jutsu, Minato could win with raw speed and precision Taijutsu alone.
Unfortunately for him, genius always attracts attention.
Homura Mitokado and the others had been watching for signs of the Flying Thunder God Technique. They missed the more important fact:
Minato was already fast.
Even without that legendary teleportation jutsu, he moved like a blur.
This was the same boy whose natural speed once made the Uzumaki clan change his hair color for stealth reasons.
Minato's talent was already unmistakable.
And now, the other villages were starting to notice.