"Rin, in the next battle just do your best. You did so well in the first match, you'll definitely become a Chunin," Obito thought for a moment and said to Nohara Rin.
The first match of the second round was between Nohara Rin and Hoshigaki Kisame.
Although they were enemies, Obito had to admit that Kisame was a very powerful ninja. Not to mention Nohara Rin, even Obito couldn't guarantee a win, as his Fire Release was completely countered by Kisame.
"Hmm, I'm already satisfied just to make it to the second round," Nohara Rin nodded with a smile.
Having beaten Nara Shiomizu, Nohara Rin was already very happy. The battle in the Forest of Death had already proved Kisame's strength, and Rin knew her chances of winning were slim.
The Water Release she had practiced for a month definitely couldn't be compared to Kisame's, and although her Monster Strength Fist was strong, it wasn't so strong that Kisame couldn't handle it.
"Try to find more opportunities with taijutsu. Fight with all your might so you won't regret the result," Kakashi also offered advice.
In Kakashi's analysis, the slim chance for victory lay in Rin's monster strength.
"First match of the second round, Hoshigaki Kisame versus Nohara Rin!" Hiruko's voice echoed into the waiting room.
"Thank you both, I'm off to the exam," Nohara Rin gave a gentle smile, thanked Obito and Kakashi for their strategizing, and walked out of the waiting room.
At this moment, Obito wanted nothing more than to take Rin's place, but he knew it was impossible. Rin herself wouldn't agree, and Obito knew she wasn't someone who would back down from difficulties.
Kisame took a glance at Might Guy, who was training upside-down, and also left the waiting room.
If he won this battle, his next opponent would be Might Guy. As for Kurozawa, Kisame had already assumed he would lose to Might Guy.
"Let the battle begin!" Hiruko shouted before quickly stepping back.
Nohara Rin immediately entered the Breath of Water state and proactively launched an attack on Kisame.
To get close to Kisame, Rin gathered chakra in her feet and used Soru to explosively approach Kisame at high speed.
"Monster Strength!"
Rin clenched her fist, releasing all the chakra contained within it in one breath, and swung an extremely heavy punch at Kisame.
This opening move surprised many in the audience. They hadn't expected such a seemingly frail girl like Rin to proactively engage in taijutsu against the ferocious Kisame.
After all, in the last battle, Rin had left the impression of a Water Release Ninja relying on the Water Dragon Bomb for output.
But what happened next was even more unexpected. Faced with the advancing frail girl, Kisame actually retreated at high speed, not daring to clash head-on.
Boom!
Rin's punch struck the ground, and the tremendous force directly cracked the surface, sending debris flying in all directions.
"This young girl has quite a bit of your style, Tsunade," Jiraiya remarked with a smile, noticing Rin's surprising display of strength.
Tsunade, who wasn't initially paying close attention to the fight, took a harder look upon Jiraiya's comment, feeling that Rin's combat style seemed familiar.
Kisame had once faced Rin head-on before, so he had no intention of exchanging blows with her, opting to engage only after Rin's attack missed.
Without using her monster strength, Rin quickly fell into a disadvantage, taking several punches, causing Obito to clench his fists.
Rin didn't get discouraged. She deliberately exposed a flaw, hoping to trade hits with Kisame, but discovered that Kisame wasn't taking the bait, letting her attacks miss again.
This was frustrating for Rin. Her chakra was limited, and the monster strength consumed a lot. Every missed punch made her already slim chances of victory even smaller.
"Rin's lack of combat experience is glaring," Kakashi pointed out a fatal flaw in her abilities at this moment.
Rin hadn't had their kind of experience, an intern who stumbled upon Jonin teams or battlefield incidents.
Encountering the Candidate for the Raikage was dangerous, but Minato mostly handled the output, and the battle intensity on their side wasn't that high.
Even in the Forest of Death, Rin hadn't fought much; her main role was healing.
Combat experience is crucial. Previously, Kakashi easily defeated Obito because Obito lacked that experience at the time.
Now, in this match, it was Kisame taking advantage of Rin's inexperience. In front of a seasoned ninja, Rin was like an open book, her intentions spelled out clearly.
Rin wasn't stupid. Realizing her monster strength kept missing, she became more cautious, refraining from using it lightly.
But caution only delayed her defeat; it couldn't bring victory.
Kisame wasn't in a hurry to defeat Rin. With the third exam tightly scheduled, he didn't want any unexpected incidents affecting his condition, potentially leading to a loss against Might Guy.
Rin's wounds were increasing, and her condition was worsening.
But Rin didn't give up. She used Medical Ninjutsu to heal herself, ensuring her speed didn't drop due to injuries.
"Her Medical Ninjutsu is quite good too. This Nohara Rin is interesting," Tsunade observed, increasingly feeling that Rin was training in a similar way to her own style.
"I'm curious too. She's Minato's disciple, but these skills aren't something he taught," Jiraiya remarked.
Minato had talked with Jiraiya about his disciples and even consulted Jiraiya for advice on training them.