"Please confirm your opponents."
Shiranui Genma held a list for all the examinees to see.
There were a total of eight teams in the entire third round of the exam. Apart from Uchiha Itachi and Akihara Kagura, all other teams were full, with three members each.
The entire contest was divided into three rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals.
Unluckily, Akihara Kagura and Uchiha Itachi were placed in two separate brackets. This meant that if these two solo Chunin exam participants wanted to meet, they would each have to win the first two rounds, defeating two full teams of three members on their own.
"We're done for..."
"We have to face that kid in the first round..."
"Don't panic. We haven't wasted the past few days. Everyone has learned new Ninjutsu. There might be a chance to turn the tables..."
The team facing Akihara Kagura in the first round immediately became lively.
Every team present had witnessed Akihara Kagura's performance in the Forest of Death, and each team thought their chances of defeating Akihara Kagura were very low.
"We're up against that kid in the second round..."
"Damn it, we're the ones facing that kid in the second round!"
The two teams potentially meeting Akihara Kagura in the second round became lively.
"Why don't you all come at once?"
Akihara Kagura couldn't help but respond with a word.
In such small matters, Akihara Kagura was always quite helpful.
"Hey, Examiner!"
"Can you let these three teams fight together?"
"Any other teams that want to face me can join in too!"
"..."
The examinees present all looked a little uneasy.
"No, you can't."
Shiranui Genma swiftly rejected the suggestion.
As the chief examiner of this exam, Shiranui Genma had already learned about some important details from his friends Namiashi Raido and Yamashiro Aoba: there was a brat named Akihara Kagura who was a big problem in the Chunin Exam and required special attention and caution.
"The focus of this exam is not on winning or losing."
Shiranui Genma glanced around at those present and reiterated the meaning of the third test: "Even if you win, you might not be promoted. Even if you lose, you might succeed in the promotion. The assessment is meant to evaluate your team's tactics..."
"Understood."
The thoughts of the group of examinees slowly calmed down.
The first test happened to be Akihara Kagura's match.
As soon as the chief examiner announced the start of the test, the three opposing ninjas quickly threw shurikens, attempting to stop Akihara Kagura from forming a hand seal!
"As long as we stop this kid from forming a seal..."
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Akihara Kagura had already clasped his fingers together.
Roots sprouted from the ground, rapidly growing into three giant trees!
The three giant trees quickly extended numerous vine-like branches that chased after the three opposing ninjas, swiftly binding them all to the tree trunks!
"Why..."
"Such a powerful Ninjutsu..."
"Only needed one handseal..."
"There's no time to stop him unless the Jutsu is directly canceled..."
The three opponents looked weakly at Akihara Kagura, who hadn't moved a single step, their faces full of frustration, unable to understand why his Ninjutsu was so simple yet so strong.
"The winner, Akihara Kagura!"
Shiranui Genma announced the winner with a frown.
The entire audience was in an uproar.
No one had ever seen such a simple hand seal generate such powerful Ninjutsu, especially the ninjas who had created Ninjutsu before, feeling this all the more deeply!
"Are all Wood Release Ninjutsu like this?"
In the audience, Yamashiro Aoba was a bit dumbfounded as he looked at Akihara Kagura below: "You just need to do one hand seal to unleash such a high-level Jutsu?"
"Well, actually the Jutsu could be even more powerful..."
Mitarashi Anko, standing beside Yamashiro Aoba, nonchalantly continued, "I was also startled by that kid's Wood Release when I first saw it..."
"These Genin examinees..."
Namiashi Raido slowly scanned the other candidates, continuing sluggishly, "It seems none of them stand a chance against him, unless this Ninjutsu consumes a lot of Chakra..."
"Tianzang."
Kakashi Hatake looked at Tianzang standing beside him and asked, "I remember you have a similar Jutsu. Isn't the range of your Jutsu bigger than this one?"
"No... that's not it."
Tianzang shook his head, a drop of cold sweat appearing on his forehead: "That Jutsu was a simplified version of the First Hokage's 'Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence,' that I developed. Both the steps for the hand seal and the power fall far behind, because I couldn't learn Deep Forest Emergence and had to reduce the Jutsu's power..."
"Theoretically, he has successfully learned this Jutsu, and it's even stronger than mine because Wood Release utilizes Life Energy triggered by Chakra. I can sense the Life Energy in the field, it's much richer than my Wood Release..."
This Jutsu...
Shimura Danzo had also taught it to Tianzang.
Unfortunately, Tianzang didn't learn it but instead restored the Jutsu's effect by developing his inborn ability.
Tianzang looked back at Kakashi Hatake, his face somewhat pale: "Kakashi-senpai, this kid's talent for Wood Release is much stronger than mine. Have you thought about..."
"Cheer up, you'll definitely achieve it."
Kakashi Hatake calmly patted Tianzang's shoulder.
Not only the people in the audience were surprised, but the examinees on the field also looked grim. After all, powerful Ninjutsu that could be unleashed with a single hand seal was, in a sense, a dimensional reduction strike against this group of Genin.
After the first round, four teams remained.
However, the next team that had to face Akihara Kagura had already lost their confidence.
The reason this team remained was not because they performed well, but rather because the previous opponent performed worse.
"Perhaps this Jutsu does consume a lot of Chakra?"
"But in the Forest of Death, that kid didn't seem Chakra-depleted. He even had another Jutsu that could summon a Wood Dragon..."
"Don't lose heart!"
A Genin looked at his two slightly discouraged teammates, trying hard to convince them: "Although we're undoubtedly going to lose this round, our performance in the previous round might still promote us!"
The second round, semifinals.
The second-round team meeting Akihara Kagura experienced the same fate as the last, effortlessly getting tied to a tree.
Compared to Akihara Kagura's quickly resolved match, Uchiha Itachi's fight with another team was far more interesting, stirring cheers from the crowd.
Even though Uchiha Itachi crushed his opponents, he used Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu to eliminate the three members of the other team. Even the Third Hokage, who was sitting on the main spectator stand, praised Uchiha Itachi's exceptional performance.
The third round, the final.
The entire arena fell quiet.
Nobody had expected this situation, where two solo participants would end up being final opponents in the Chunin Exam.
What's more...
The two youngsters were the same age.
Both youngsters possessed high-class Kekkeigenkai in the Ninja World.
Someone in the audience sighed, and there were quite a few who agreed.
"The First Hokage Senju Hashirama, who once wielded the power of Wood Release, and the ninja Asura Uchiha Madara, who once possessed the Sharingan..."
"Seeing these two kids stand here feels like witnessing a cycle of destiny, much like the legendary figures of the past..."
In the audience, there seemed to be several who held resentment towards the Uchiha Clan, and someone even recounted history: "Perhaps their outcomes might be the same as in history; Uchiha Itachi is unlikely to be a match for Wood Release..."
"Impossible!"
"Nii-san will definitely win!"
Uchiha Sasuke, sitting beside his mother, shouted dissatisfied as the voice of the little kid rang out loudly: "That guy is definitely not Nii-san's match!"