Third Person POV
It had been ten minutes since the break between matches was announced. The audience was restless; after all, the next fight was supposed to be the most anticipated one at the moment: Kakashi Hatake, the genius son of the White Fang, versus Shisui Uchiha, considered the prodigy of his clan.
During this waiting period, one of Konoha's Council members, Danzou Shimura, made an appearance. He needed to notify the Sandaime about the arrival of the ninja squads returning from the war front. Among them were the Legendary Sannin and Konoha's Yellow Flash, Minato.
Personally, Danzou had no interest in the ongoing Chunnin Exam, but since the selection of genins to be promoted to chunnin required the approval of the Hokage, his advisors, and the lords of the Land of Fire, his presence was necessary.
And being an adherent of the philosophy that "power is necessary to maintain peace," he had delayed his arrival so that the final stage of the Exam would be nearing its end, where only the best would remain.
Hiruzen greeted his former teammate and current advisor as usual. After Danzou announced the arrival of Konoha's ninjas to the village, he questioned the Sandaime about the remaining participants and the reason the matches were paused at that moment.
The Sarutobi calmly explained that they were in the second round of fights and that after the first match of this round ended, the genins who still had to fight were all teammates. Because of this, he had requested a break so the jounin sensei responsible for the three students could talk to them and decide how to proceed from there. Students supervised by Shikaku, the Sandaime emphasized.
Everyone knew Nara's reputation as a sensei, about his strictness with his students. Hiruzen also explained to Danzou that the two boys on his team were Kakashi and Shisui.
Names familiar to the Shimura's mind.
Kakashi Hatake, only son of Sakumo, better known as Konoha's White Fang. With his father's death, the boy was the last member of his clan. Since the Academy, he was a genius boy, always excelling in all his skills.
And Shisui Uchiha. Just being a member of the Uchiha clan already made the boy a point of interest for the councilor. But this particular Uchiha went far beyond the other members of his clan. He was a prodigy in basically every sense.
When he asked Hiruzen about the third and final member of the team, the Sandaime gave a weak smile, making Danzou look at him confused.
– The last member of team 7 is a girl – the Hokage announced – Her name is Amaya Uzumaki.
Danzou couldn't even try to disguise his surprise. Surprise for two reasons: First, because everyone knew Shikaku didn't train girls, for the simple reason that none of them could keep up with his intense training. And the second was her surname.
The councilor automatically turned his gaze to the area designated for the genins waiting to take the third phase of the Chunnin Exam. Although he wanted to, from where he stood, he didn't have enough visibility to glimpse the girl who now had his interest.
– Sandaime... – Nara appeared near them.
– Ah, Shikaku... So, what did your students decide?
– I explained the situation to them, but they intend to proceed with the exam.
– In that case, let's continue the Exam. Tell Ren to announce the resumption of the test – The jounin nodded and left as he came, to speak with the sensor jounin of the Chunnin Exam.
Shortly after Nara left to speak with the supervisor of the exam's third stage, one of the Legendary Sannins appeared: Orochimaru former student of Hiruzen and teammate of Jiraya and Tsunade.
The Sannin, like Danzou, had no interest in the Exam. His only intention was to speak with the councilor about their partnership and common goals. And for that, he would need to wait for the exam to end, when Danzou would be dismissed.
– The last fight before the final is between Kakashi Hatake and Shisui Uchiha, right? – Shimura asked and the Sandaime nodded.
– A fight between the prodigies – Hiruzen said with a slight smile – I can't say which one will win and fight Amaya in the final round.
– Regardless of who wins this round, they will win the next one – The councilor commented without expressing any enthusiasm.
– Don't judge so quickly, Danzou – The Hokage made a point to emphasize and the other stared at him – That girl has enough ability to go toe-to-toe with either of them, physically or mentally.
– So she wasn't from the village until recently – Orochimaru pointed out and the two looked at him – The few prodigies of this new generation can be counted on one hand.
– Everyone can be considered a prodigy in something particular, but indeed there are few who stand out among them – The Sandaime mused calmly – Shisui Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake were our examples, and now there's Amaya Uzumaki.
– The girl is a... Uzumaki? – The Sannin asked, having his attention fully captured at that moment, as Danzou's had been before.
– Yes – Hiruzen affirmed calmly – She arrived in the village just over a year ago. I'll explain about her in detail later. And what I can say about her last fight is that it was won with full praise.
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Minato was a patient person, even in the most adverse situations he could remain calm, but at that moment all he wanted was to run to Konoha's great arena.
The blonde had just returned to the village and learned that the fights of the third and final stage of the Chunnin Exam were happening and especially that Amaya was participating.
Needless to say, how happy he was to know that his daughter was participating in that final stage. Jiraya, his sensei and one of the Legendary Sannins, was the one who had been listening to Namikaze talk the entire way back about the little Uzumaki.
The Sannin was curious about the girl, given the fact he saw and heard very few times his pupil praise someone so much, besides taking the initiative to teach her the use of the Hiraishin, his "signature technique".
When they arrived at the arena, the fight between Kakashi and Shisui hadn't started yet. The blonde quickly looked for the particular red hair among the present audience and soon found her.
He and Jiraya went to where the redhead was. A smile couldn't help but appear on his lips seeing his beloved holding her own hands, a characteristic gesture of her worry.
And even before the blonde reached Kushina, the Uzumaki felt his strong and familiar chakra making its presence known. The relief she needed at that moment was to see her beloved, safe and sound, and back.
The redhead left her spot and immediately ran to Minato, throwing herself into his arms and holding him tightly against her, just to be absolutely sure that he was there and wouldn't disappear like a daydream.
That reunion was also gratifying for the blonde. Four months away from home, away from the woman he loved and his newly acquired daughter broke his heart. But now he had finally returned.
After the reunion and a quick update on everything that happened in this phase of the Exam, Kushina informed him that Amaya was qualified for the final and that the next fight would be between Kakashi and Shisui.
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Before the fight between the two boys began, Amaya felt the arrival of different chakras in the arena. They were concentrations of strong energies that gave off a great air of imposiveness. But she didn't focus her attention on them.
Since they chose to proceed with their fights, Hatake and Uchiha would enter the field for their match. It was a fight acclaimed by the audience, worrying for the other genins watching from the waiting area, but above all, longed for by the two boys.
It was a fight between prodigies from that moment on.
Team 7 itself was made of talented children, all beyond their chronological age. And that final stage would show that to those who weren't yet aware of that fact.
– Good luck to both of you – Amaya wished sincerely to her teammates, who promptly looked at her – And try to take this fight seriously, not just as another way to bicker like usual.
– Saying it like that makes it sound like I enjoy picking on this weasel guy... – Hatake spoke in a lower tone, but still provocative, indicating Shisui.
– Of course I'm taking it seriously – The Uchiha said convinced – You think I'll let this scarecrow guy have the chance to fight you in the final round?
– And you think you'd have a chance of beating Amaya? – The platinum blonde asked, staring at the other – I bet she'd finish you – He gave a weak smile – I, on the other hand, could fight her easily.
– Please, we all know who the weakest on the team is – Shisui commented with a provocative smile.
Amaya could only sigh heavily, knowing that trying to ask the two to take the fight as a serious thing was out of the question – they would keep provoking each other until they couldn't anymore.
The sensor jounin announced the resumption of the fights and called the boys for the start of theirs. The two headed to the arena field, both eager for that fight. And not just for it, but for the next one too. A fight against Amaya in the final.
– You know the rules – Ren warned the boys – Any objections? – They denied and kept their gaze fixed on each other – Then begin!
The two immediately gained distance from each other, jumping back. Both knew they were short to mid-range fighters, thanks to their joint training with Shikaku.
Before even touching the ground, Hatake threw some kunais in Shisui's direction. The Uchiha blocked them easily, given his greater agility. Just as I thought, the platinum blonde thought, attacks like that won't even threaten him.
As soon as Shisui touched the ground, he clapped his hands together, infusing his chakra into them. He then took some shurikens and threw them towards Kakashi.
At first glance, they seemed like normal shurikens being thrown, but the impregnation of the Uchiha's chakra allowed him to apply jutsus to them. At that moment, he used Wind Style: Gale Palm.
Hatake quickly noticed the sudden and abnormal increase in the weapons' speed and joined his hands, slamming them against the ground to raise a protection for himself.
– Earth Style: Earth Wall!
The jutsu used by Shisui, besides considerably increasing the speed of the launched projectiles, also gave them a greater impact force than normal. Those shurikens simply couldn't be stopped with common ninja weapons.
And even with their abnormal speed, the earth wall created by the platinum blonde held them. The Hatake clan had always been specialists in earth style jutsus and Kakashi, even though young, was no exception.
Realizing he would have to try harder than normal against Hatake, Shisui activated his sharingan to protect himself from future traps.
Kakashi left the earth protection behind and advanced towards the Uchiha, quickly noticing the red color in his opponent's eyes and smiling slightly under his mask. Fighting seriously then?, he thought. Let's see what you can do.
The boy had already planned his next move well and was going to put it into practice. Seeing Kakashi leaving his protection, Shisui joined his hands and quickly formed the seals for one of the jutsus learned early on, stored in his memory.
– Fire Style: Phoenix Flower!
Unlike the fireball jutsu, this one allowed the creation of several fire projectiles in sequence, launched in an unpredictable manner towards the opponent.
Hatake could easily dodge the first ones, but when the quantity increased and the time interval to recognize where the next one would come from decreased, he found himself in a tight spot.
With no chance to dodge, one of the projectiles hit the spot where Kakashi was head-on. Shisui focused his eyes on the spot he had hit.
The audience gasped, worried about what had happened. Amaya, however, kept her attention on the entire field. Knowing the two as she did, she knew they weren't finished yet.
The fire was still burning, but there was no sign of Hatake there. Above? Left? Right?, the Uchiha quickly questioned himself, running his eyes around without noticing any movement or sensing chakras.
Suddenly he felt his calf being firmly grabbed and looked down. Through the ground?!, when he noticed it, it was already too late to avoid.
– Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation! – Hatake said.
At the same moment, Shisui was pulled underground, buried up to his neck in the ground. When caught by that technique, the target lost all freedom of movement, being at the mercy of their opponent.
Kakashi emerged from the ground and stared at the Uchiha in front of him. It worked..., he thought. But immediately afterwards, Shisui's body trapped under the ground dissolved into smoke. Shadow Clone?!, Hatake quickly understood.
Feeling the rapid approach from behind, Kakashi just ducked to avoid the blow aimed by the real Shisui. The Uchiha continued attacking, not giving Hatake a chance to counter-attack.
Seeing himself under pressure from his teammate, the platinum blonde saw only one way out at that moment. After dodging another blow from the Uchiha, he let the next one barely hit his left arm, giving him the chance to draw his own tantō.
White Light Chakra Sabre, a sword that had previously belonged to Sakumo. As it was a relic of the Hatake clan, it now belonged to the one and last remaining member of his respective clan.
The blade of the tantō, when cutting through the air, emitted a slight white trail that reacted to the chakra of the Hatake clan members, which is why Kakashi's father had earned the nickname White Fang of the Leaf.
Thanks to his sharingan, Shisui could see the tantō coming towards him, from his left side – his less defended side. Without thinking much more, he used his own tantō to protect himself.
What neither of them expected was for the resistance of the Chakra Sabre to be so great as to break the blade of the Uchiha's tantō. That took everyone by surprise, including the two boys involved.
Because of that, Kakashi took advantage of the situation to turn the battle in his favor. He began attacking the Uchiha, who found himself forced to momentarily retreat for being unarmed against that tantō.
In order to gain more space to reorganize, Shisui used earth style to build a wall between him and Hatake, but the platinum blonde wouldn't give him much time to react.
Lucky for me lightning is strong against earth..., Kakashi thought. With seven seals quickly performed, Hatake concentrated chakra in his free hand and directed it towards the earth wall separating him from the Uchiha.
– Lightning Style: Lightning!
Visible lines of electrified chakra formed and advanced against the defense created by Shisui. And as a possessor of vast knowledge of earth style jutsus, Hatake knew where to attack to break the defense more easily.
In seconds, the earth wall was destroyed into several pieces, revealing the Uchiha's position. The brunette stared at Hatake, seeing him prepare to launch the next attack, still using lightning style.
That combat wouldn't last much longer. Both were almost completely exhausted. The amount of chakra they employed in their jutsus was very high, but neither intended to yield.
A single line of chakra advanced towards Shisui this time and the Uchiha jumped back, joining his hands and forming the ram, rabbit, and dog seals.
– Wind Style: Wind Projectile!
Since wind style is strong against lightning, the current of wind produced by the Uchiha broke the electrical line advancing towards him. But the choice of that jutsu wasn't just for that reason.
Given the sandy ground of the arena, a large amount of dust was raised, obstructing everyone's vision everyone except those who possessed doujutsus.
Hatake had to cover his eyes to avoid being hit by the raised earth at that moment and crouched down to try and figure out where Shisui would attack him from. The Uchiha fell to his knees on the ground after using his jutsu.
Both boys were panting. Their fight was balanced and each of them knew where and how to attack the other, as well as how to defend themselves. And they knew that if one of them didn't finish it soon, both would run out of chakra before achieving a decisive move.
Who would have thought this weasel guy could be so good..., Kakashi thought while carefully observing his surroundings. He's really pressuring me. I don't have enough chakra left for any strong technique either... But he probably isn't much different. That doujutsu of his seems to consume his chakra gradually. If I can keep this fight going longer, I win.
Just as Hatake was mentally analyzing the situation, Shisui was doing the same.
I have to admit, the scarecrow guy deserves all they say about his abilities, the Uchiha thought while keeping his eyes closed to avoid spending chakra because of the sharingan. Pressuring me so much... Only Amaya could do that. And I'm almost out of chakra. Maybe just enough for one more technique. But which one could decide the fight?
The brunette stopped his own thoughts and smiled weakly. I wanted to save this to fight my adorable little sister because I know she's a tough opponent, but... Kakashi, you've proven yourself a worthy adversary for this.
Shisui took a kunai in his hands and stood up, running towards where he could see Hatake's chakra. Kakashi noticed the Uchiha's sudden movement and stood up as well. It seems like, just like me, this is his last attack, the platinum blonde determined as he gripped his tantō and advanced towards the other.
Amaya had remained standing where she was in the waiting area since the start of the fight. Although she was excited about the combat between the two, she couldn't help but worry about them.
She had kept her sharingan activated since the moment her brother used wind style to create the dust cloud. And she was the only one at that moment to notice the Uchiha concentrating his remaining chakra as he moved towards Kakashi.
Kunai and tantō clashed, making the metallic sound of their impact propagate through the arena.
Shisui was holding back in the fight to concentrate the chakra the way he needed. Kakashi was attentive to the Uchiha's movements in front of him and preparing to end the fight at the slightest chance that arose.
He's leading him to his eyes..., the Uzumaki thought while closely following the movements of the two. It seems like the preparation for a genjutsu, but Shisui knows Kakashi can easily break out... So what are you planning, nii-san?
The dust had already settled in the arena and visibility was becoming clear again with each passing second. Thanks to his sharingan and natural agility, Shisui could escape Hatake's most accurate strikes. But he knew he couldn't hold out much longer without a tantō.
However, luckily for him, he had finally finished concentrating his chakra the way he needed. Sorry, Kakashi, the Uchiha thought, but the victory is mine.
Hatake raised his arm to strike the brunette again, but when he looked at the Uchiha, he noticed the pattern of the tomoe had changed to a sort of black pinwheel.
And the platinum blonde completely stopped his strike towards Shisui in a fraction of a second, thus giving the Uchiha the chance to place the kunai he was holding against Kakashi's neck. Hatake's gaze remained fixed on Shisui's eyes when he let his tantō fall to the ground. Kakashi slowly raised his arms.
– I... surrender – He announced and the sensor jounin, who had his full attention on the boys, turned to the audience.
– The winner is Shisui Uchiha!
With that, the arena celebrated the victory newly won by the Uchiha. Shisui closed his eyes, deactivating his sharingan and feeling the exhaustion from the used jutsu hit him.
Kakashi blinked a few times and looked at the Uchiha again, disbelieving what he had just said with conviction. Just like Hatake, another person was in disbelief about it.
– Kakashi... surrendered? – Amaya asked rhetorically, quietly.
If there was one thing the Uzumaki knew about her friend and teammate, it's that Kakashi Hatake would never surrender a fight, especially not against Shisui. So what just happened?, she wondered.