Chapter 175: The Chunin Exams Preliminaries Begin! Shino Aburame vs. Zaku Abumi and His Scientific Ninja Tools!
Konoha Village, Chunin Exams Preliminary Arena.
The first exam tested intelligence.
The second was the brutal survival test in the Forest of Death.
The Genin who had reached the central tower undoubtedly possessed considerable strength and perseverance.
Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki's team, was missing a core member due to Sasuke Uchiha's unexpected departure. However, Naruto had shown astonishing growth. Sakura Haruno, too, had proven resilient and unyielding at critical moments. With their support, Team 7 had managed to collect both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls despite the dangers. They had passed.
However, the number of Genin standing in the spacious arena within the tower far exceeded expectations.
The proctor, Hayate Gekko, was a Tokubetsu Jonin. He looked pale and couldn't seem to stop coughing.
Hayate stood before the crowd and announced the next stage. "Cough—cough cough—because the number of people who passed the second exam—cough—is higher than expected… So, before the official third exam—cough—we need to hold one-on-one preliminary matches. The rules are simple—cough—fight until one side can no longer continue, or admits defeat."
As soon as he finished speaking, names began to scroll rapidly on the giant electronic screen behind him, forming random pairs. The atmosphere in the arena instantly became tense.
A moment later, the first matchup was set.
Shino Aburame vs. Zaku Abumi!
In the spectator stands, Kiba Inuzuka whistled. "Oh! Shino's up first!" Beside him, Akamaru let out a woof.
Hinata Hyuga whispered, "Shino-kun… do your best."
Naruto Uzumaki's eyes widened. He looked curiously at Shino's opponent.
The opponent was from the Hidden Sound Village, named Zaku Abumi. He was a boy with a rather arrogant look on his face.
In the center of the arena, Shino Aburame slowly pushed up his sunglasses. His eyes behind the lenses were calm, showing no ripples of emotion.
The battle began!
Shino didn't launch a large-scale attack immediately. Several tiny kikaichu beetles flew silently from his sleeves, stealthily scouting toward Zaku. But Zaku noticed them and easily swatted them down.
Seizing the gap, Shino's hands quickly formed several seals, almost imperceptibly.
Buzz—
The next moment, a larger swarm of kikaichu surged along the ground toward Zaku like a black tide!
Facing the incoming swarm, Zaku's lips curled into a mocking smirk. He didn't panic, didn't even take half a step back. He simply raised his left arm, triggering a mechanism on his peculiar bracer.
Click.
A soft sound. He removed a tiny scroll from a slot on the side of the bracer. With a practiced motion, he loaded the scroll into the firing port at the front of the bracer. A tiny indicator light on the bracer instantly lit up a piercing red.
"What's that?" Naruto tilted his head.
"Hmph, a bug user from Konoha? Disgusting," Zaku sneered. He raised his arm, aiming the bracer at the surging black tide of insects. He channeled a bit of chakra.
WHOOSH!
No hand seals!
A fan of fierce flames erupted from the front of the bracer, turning into a sea of fire!
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!
Dense fireballs covered the swarm with alarming speed. The high temperature instantly incinerated a large number of kikaichu into charcoal. A nauseating smell of burnt insects immediately filled the air.
"Whoa! That's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Dammit! What is that bracer thing? He can use Fire Style directly!" Kiba shouted in shock, the red markings on his face seeming to deepen. Akamaru growled warily.
Hinata clasped her hands together, looking worriedly at the arena. "Shino-kun…"
The other Konoha Genin spectators also murmured in surprise.
"Fire Style without hand seals?"
"Are all the guys from the Hidden Sound… this unusual?"
In the Jonin section, Kurenai Yuhi frowned slightly. Asuma Sarutobi blew out a smoke ring, his expression serious. Minato Namikaze stood not far behind Naruto, his gentle smile unchanged, but deep in his eyes, he was contemplating something.
In the arena.
His first attack thwarted, Shino quickly leaped back to avoid the residual heat of the flames. His expression remained largely unchanged, as if everything was under control.
Buzz buzz buzz— More kikaichu poured out from his wide sleeves. Some of them quickly coalesced, forming several Insect Clones identical to him. These clones harassed Zaku from different directions, while Shino's main body secretly gathered an even larger swarm, preparing for a truly fatal strike.
"Heh, a desperate struggle," Zaku sneered. He shook his left arm, and the scroll used for the Fire Style ejected automatically. With dazzling speed, he took another scroll from the side of the bracer and loaded it.
Click.
This time, the indicator light on the bracer turned a cold blue.
Facing the Insect Clones and scattered kikaichu attacking from all sides, Zaku didn't even bother to dodge. He swung his arm violently!
Zzzzt—!
Blinding electricity erupted from the front of the bracer. The current turned into wild arcs of lightning, precisely striking every approaching Insect Clone.
Lightning Style: Earth Flash!
Although it was just a basic Lightning Style jutsu, released through the bracer, its range and power were strangely amplified. The Insect Clones crumbled under the ravages of the lightning arcs, turning into charred ash. The scattered kikaichu were also paralyzed and burned by the current, falling to the ground with a pitter-patter.
"He… he switched elements again!"
"What kind of ninja tool is that bracer?!"
"He can use ninjutsu, and switch between different elements continuously, and the power is so strong!"
"Does this count as cheating?!"
"Probably not, there aren't any rules against it!"
"Look at those guys from the Sand! Gourds and puppets, those don't count either!"
"And Jinchuriki have Tailed Beast chakra! If this is cheating, Jinchuriki shouldn't even be allowed to compete!"
The spectator stands erupted into gasps and discussions again. The first Fire Style was just surprising. But this rapid switch to Lightning Style made them feel deeply uneasy and confused.
On the battlefield.
Two tentative attacks easily neutralized. Under his sunglasses, Shino Aburame's gaze finally showed a slight ripple. The opponent's methods truly exceeded his expectations. He hesitated no longer; he had to end the battle quickly!
BUZZZZZZZ—!
An even larger swarm of kikaichu poured frantically from every corner of his body! This time, the swarm's goal wasn't a direct attack, but infiltration! A group of specialized kikaichu, smaller and harder to detect, mixed in with the massive swarm, trying to silently latch onto Zaku's body. They could invade the enemy's body directly and destroy from the inside—a lethal weapon.
Zaku seemed to sense something. He looked down at the few tiny bugs on his arm trying to burrow into his clothes. The corner of his mouth curled into a strange smile again.
"Trying to get close to me? Naive."
As if he didn't care about the bugs attached to him at all, the moment the specialized kikaichu touched Zaku's clothes, they twitched. Then, they quickly stiffened, losing all vitality, and fell off him.
"How?!"
These bugs didn't even have a chance to invade?!
In the split second that Shino was mentally shaken, Zaku's attack descended.