"Intermission is over."
"The next match is…"
"Hyūga Tenri versus Momochi Zabuza!"
Masako Uchiha read out the two names.
"Hmm?"
Qianyu raised an eyebrow.
Momochi Zabuza… according to the original plot, he should have been a missing-nin.
Qianyu glanced toward the Mizukage, Mei Terumi.
Mei seemed to sense his question. She explained, "Zabuza's talent was extraordinary. If not for him, we might never have uncovered the truth about the previous Mizukage."
Meaning, his crimes had been absolved by his service.
Qianyu was curious. Just how strong was Zabuza at this stage?
Without his Executioner's Blade, his combat power would surely take a hit. But a monster forged in the Bloody Mist… his raw skill was nothing to scoff at.
Hyūga Tenri wore a form-fitting combat suit, perfect for the Hyūga's close-quarters style.
Zabuza looked much like his older self, perpetually ahead of the fashion curve. His dark eyes fixed on Tenri, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
A little princess born in the light. What did she know of true darkness? Of real blood?
Today, he'd show this sheltered girl what a real ninja was.
The scent of blood and iron hung thick around Zabuza. His killing intent was a physical chill.
Seeing this, Tenri's eyes sharpened.
She was the Hokage's student. She would not shame her master.
"Hidden Mist Technique!"
White, thick fog swallowed Zabuza whole. The arena vanished behind a curtain of mist.
Murmurs rippled through the stands.
"I can't see anything!"
"Some kind of jutsu, I think!"
"Who do you think will win?"
"No idea!"
"I heard this Zabuza graduated by killing all his classmates!"
"Seriously? So he's… strong?"
"Tenri's the Hokage's student, though. She's no slouch!"
"So who wins?"
"Watch and find out!"
Inside the mist.
Veins bulged around Tenri's eyes.
The Byakugan pierced the fog, locking onto Zabuza's form.
"Gentle Fist!"
Chakra gathered in her palms. Her movements were soft, flowing, yet carried a devastating, unseen force.
She saw him clearly. Saw the chakra pathways within his body.
Her fist connected.
In the next instant, the figure before her dissolved into water. A new form solidified behind her.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Zabuza's hands flew through seals. A serpent of water coiled behind him, then lunged for Tenri's exposed back.
"Kaiten!"
The sphere of absolute defense erupted around her. The water dragon shattered against it.
Tenri shot forward, a blur of motion.
Chakra pooled fiercely in her palm.
A faint, swirling image of a taiji diagram flickered beneath her feet.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams—"
The veins at her temples throbbed. The chakra in her hand, compressed and spinning at high speed, could pulverize a man.
Instead of retreating, Zabuza stepped into her attack range.
What?
A warning bell screamed in Tenri's mind.
"Water Style: Water Prison Technique!"
The water from the shattered dragon pooled beneath her feet, spreading into a small lake.
As Zabuza's words echoed, walls of water surged up around her, sealing her in a spherical prison.
Zabuza was inside it with her.
"What are you doing?" Tenri frowned.
If he just wanted to trap her, why trap himself, too?
Zabuza's smirk widened.
He answered with action.
His body dissolved, merging with the water prison, thickening its walls. Outside the sphere, the water swirled and reformed into Zabuza's shape.
This wasn't a standard Water Clone. A normal clone wouldn't have fooled her Byakugan.
Tenri's face paled.
Trapped. Couldn't form seals. Could barely move. Helpless.
"A little princess should stay in her garden," Zabuza's voice dripped with scorn. The mist around them began to thin, revealing the scene to the crowd. "What business does she have in the Chunin Exams?"
His next words were a knife to the heart.
"The Hokage must regret having a student like you. Tarnishes her legacy."
"You—!"
Tenri's pupils dilated.
The words echoed, over and over, in her skull.
If it were Itachi… he wouldn't let this bastard talk like this.
A wave of crushing disappointment and insecurity washed over her.
She was the weakest. The least talented. She didn't deserve to stand as her teacher's student.
On the distant viewing platform, Qianyu sighed, seeing the defeat in Tenri's posture.
"Looks like this match is decided," he murmured.
Mei Terumi gave him a sidelong, knowing glance.
The Raikage rumbled, "This Zabuza has decent potential."
Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage, shook his head. "The match isn't over until it's over."
"Oh?" Mei asked, amused. "What do you mean, Lord Tsuchikage?"
Ōnoki's gaze was fixed on the humiliated, slumped figure of Tenri. "Never underestimate a shinobi's resolve."
Mei smiled but said nothing. She respected her elders.
Qianyu just watched Tenri, trapped in her watery cage.
In the competitor's section, Deidara scowled. "She's unworthy. Hmph. To be the Hokage's student… it's a waste!"
He was disgusted. If he were the Hokage's student… he'd never bring such shame.
Itachi, sitting nearby, spoke without looking at him. "Don't underestimate Tenri."
Deidara snapped his head toward the Uchiha. He knew who this was. Another of the Hokage's pets.
"Hmph!" Deidara turned away. In the finals, he'd show the Hokage who had real talent. His eyes burned with fighting spirit.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Seeing Tenri immobilized, Zabuza didn't hesitate. A colossal tidal wave rose and crashed down, utterly engulfing the water prison and the girl within.
"Tenri!" A Hyūga clansman in the stands winced.
Tenri was proud. This kind of humiliation… how would she bear it?
The waters subsided.
Tenri knelt on the soaked ground, gasping. A latticework of cuts covered her body. Blood dripped from her lips, staining the puddles.
"Still not giving up?" Zabuza laughed. If she wouldn't surrender, he wouldn't hold back. Assassination was his true specialty.
Watching the battered Tenri, Qianyu felt a mix of pity and disappointment. It seemed the skill he'd given her… she hadn't mastered it in a month.
"Such trash," Zabuza spat, voice thick with contempt. "How did someone as powerful as the Hokage produce garbage like you?"
He tilted his head, feigning thought. "Unless… the Hokage herself is trash?" His voice dropped to a low mutter, meant only for Tenri's ears. "Yeah. That's it. Probably inflated her own reputation."
Tenri began to tremble. Her pupils shrank to pinpricks.
"Tea… cher…"
"Don't… you dare say that about her!"
Her head snapped up, eyes blazing at Zabuza.
"And what if I do?" Zabuza taunted, looking at her like a bug waiting to be crushed.
"You… bastard!"
"You fucking dog!"
The veins at her temples, which had faded, bulged back to life. Her eyes were bloodshot, her expression twisted with rage and pain.
Zabuza's sneer vanished. His eyes turned to ice. "Dog, am I? Still haven't learned your lesson."
To him, crushing her now would be as easy as stepping on an ant.
"Die!"
Tenri's body vanished, becoming a blur.
Zabuza's eyes widened. How? How did she still have this kind of speed?
No matter!
His hand flew to the sword strapped to his back.
Tenri reappeared in the air above him.
She didn't assume a stance. No intricate Gentle Fist form.
Just a fist.
A small, seemingly delicate girl's fist.
"Has she lost her mind?" a Hyūga clansman muttered. Any Hyūga style would be better than a plain punch!
"Ha…" Zabuza started to laugh. "Since you're asking for it—"
He never finished.
Tenri's fist met the flat of his hastily raised blade.
"Die, you dog!"
Her snarling face was the last thing Zabuza saw before the world dissolved into sound.
A sharp CRACK—the sound of metal shattering.
A wet, sickening SNAP—the sound of ribs breaking in his chest.
The roar of splintering stone. The gasp of the crowd. It all faded into a dull, distant hum as darkness took him.
From the viewing platform, Qianyu and the Kage saw it clearly.
Power—raw, unimaginable force—erupted from that ordinary-looking fist.
The arena floor beneath the point of impact simply… exploded.
A spiderweb of cracks erupted, racing outwards in an instant, crawling all the way to the very feet of the Kage's platform.
"This… this is impossible!" The Raikage stared at the fissure that stopped inches from his boots.
At the epicenter of the destruction, Tenri stood frozen, looking down at Zabuza's motionless form in the newly-formed crater.
"I… I did it."
She stared at her hands.
Her head whipped toward the high platform. Her eyes met Qianyu's.
In his gaze, she saw it. Approval. Pride.
The dam broke. Tears streamed down her face.
"I… didn't… disappoint you… Teacher…" Her voice was a ragged whisper.
Yamato of the Construction Corps landed on the field first. With a wave of his hand, wood surged up, filling the cracks and mending the stone.
"Wood Release?!" Ōnoki's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Qianyu simply smiled.
"The winner… Hyūga Tenri!"
Masako Uchiha announced the result, her own blood pumping from the spectacle, her voice thick with emotion.
This time, the cheers that rolled over Tenri were thunderous. For her power. But more, for her indomitable will.
In the shinobi world, will often mattered more than raw skill. Today, Tenri had earned everyone's respect with hers.
"As I said," Ōnoki mused, voice full of feeling. "A shinobi's resolve is often the key to victory."
Medical-nin swarmed the field, lifting Zabuza onto a stretcher. Frankly, as professionals, they didn't rate his chances very high.
"Tenri… that was amazing!" From the competitor's seats, Shinya Akiaoi gave her a huge, beaming thumbs-up.
Qianyu appeared beside Tenri in a flicker.
"Teacher."
She wrapped her arms around his leg, sobbing uncontrollably.
A soft, green light bloomed from Qianyu's hand. The cuts and bruises on Tenri's body vanished, leaving unblemished skin.
"You were brilliant."
He ruffled her hair. A bit careless usually, a bit unfocused… but today, she had been perfect.
The skill he'd given Tenri was the "Ordinary Punch" from One-Punch Man's protagonist, Saitama. By fusing the maxed-out affinity bonds with Kakuzu and Orochimaru, Qianyu had drawn the complete skill set. After analysis via [Born to Teach], he'd passed the beginner's scroll for the "Ordinary Punch" to Tenri.
Clearly, she had tapped into it, but not mastered its full potential. Otherwise, the entire training ground would be a crater. Still, this result… it was better than he'd hoped.
"Go rest," he said gently.
"Yes!" Tenri nodded fiercely.
She walked back to the competitor's seats under a new weight of gazes—respectful, awed, wary. No one would underestimate her again.
"That move… that wasn't any Gentle Fist style I know," one Hyūga spectator breathed.
"Of course not," said another. "That was a fist art bestowed by the Hokage herself."
"Unbelievable power…" they whispered in unison.
"Itachi, did you see?" Tenri marched straight to her teammate.
Itachi nodded. "Very impressive."
A genuine smile broke through Tenri's tear-streaked face as she sat beside him. Both she and Itachi had passed the preliminaries. Now, it was Shinya's turn.
"Shinya! Go get 'em!" Tenri yelled.
Shinya nodded. He would.
Itachi hadn't disappointed their teacher. Tenri hadn't either.
He wouldn't be the one to break the streak. He would show the world that the Hokage's students were all forces to be reckoned with.
His gaze found the high platform, eyes blazing with unwavering determination.
On that platform, feeling the heat of that stare, the Raikage was moved.
"To think the boy yearns so deeply for my recognition," he mused, heart swelling with paternal pride. He believed in Shinya's strength.
Qianyu, the only one who actually understood Shinya's gaze, was left speechless.
Well, if the Raikage wanted to imagine himself the star of every scene, who was he to stop him?
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