As the words left the Hokage's mouth, the frustration of those not chosen grew even more palpable.
"Alright, we are moving directly into the third stage of the Chunin Exams. Before we begin drawing the brackets, I will ask once more: are there any withdrawals?" a Proctor asked, looking at Ren and the other candidates. "If you wish to forfeit, you may leave now without penalty."
Silence met the question. To have made it this far, they had already steeled their resolve; even if they died in the arena today, they would have no complaints.
"In that case, let the third phase begin!"
As the Proctor's voice fell, the names began to flicker across the two light-screens before the crowd once again.
The names blurred past until they finally clicked into place: Ren Kurogane vs. Shozo Morinaga.
"I'm the first one up?" Ren was a bit surprised, but he quickly became indifferent.
He was essentially invincible now; the order didn't matter. If he hadn't met White Coat Ren in the Brotherhood Space, he might have spent some time calculating exactly how much force to use to win convincingly without showing off. But now, as a perfect evolutionary being, he just wanted to say: I'm the apex, do your worst.
Pure confidence.
The Proctor announced, "Ren Kurogane and Shozo Morinaga, remain in the arena. Everyone else, move to the spectator stands."
The arena cleared, leaving Ren facing a boy with shoulder-length hair who looked slightly older than him. The boy's gaze was full of playfulness, as if he believed that with just a slight effort, he could dismantle Ren with ease.
Ren understood the sentiment. He was a fresh graduate, a "rookie" by all definitions. Who would fear a newcomer? The boy was likely celebrating his "good luck" in drawing a fodder-tier opponent for an easy win.
But he had no idea who he was actually facing.
Before him stood:
The master of Haki from the One Piece world!The God-level powerhouse from the Zombie Brother world!The sealing-arts prodigy of the Naruto world!
Ren Kurogane!
So, while Shozo was inwardly thanking his lucky stars for drawing Ren, he was actually the single most unfortunate person in the entire exam.
"Begin!"
The moment the Proctor shouted, Ren reached into his pouch and produced a bundle of scrolls. Under Shozo's bewildered gaze, Ren unfurled them with lightning speed.
"Ninja Art: Throw-All-The-Tools-At-Once Jutsu!"
Poof! Poof! Poof!
The seals on the scrolls released, and a storm of dark shapes erupted forth!
Whiz—whiz—whiz!
In a single heartbeat, Shozo's head was struck by a meteor hammer half a meter in diameter. He didn't even have time to scream before his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed in a heap.
"Shozo Morinaga is unconscious. Winner of the first match: Ren Kurogane," the Proctor announced flatly. To be honest, he was disappointed in the fight.
Shozo had graduated two years ago and this was his second attempt at the exams. Last year, he had lost to the Hyuga prodigy, Hizashi Hyuga, which was understandable. But this year, facing a civilian rookie, he had lost simply because of his own arrogance.
In the Proctor's eyes, this kid was done. He'd likely spend the rest of his life as a "participation-trophy" Chunin, living a thoroughly mediocre existence.
As for Ren, using a barrage of tools was a sensible opening move, but shouting out the name "Throw-All-The-Tools Jutsu"... if those tools were really his only trump card, he didn't seem particularly bright.
Medical staff arrived to carry Shozo away on a stretcher. Ren leaped back up to the spectator stands, wiping a bead of non-existent sweat from his forehead. "Phew... that was a close one. I almost lost~"
Beside him, Minato's lip twitched. So the other ninety-nine percent of the fight was a guaranteed win, right? he thought.
The second match followed immediately. The combatants: Minato Namikaze vs. Inoichi Yamanaka.
"Whoa, Minato, be careful. Inoichi is no joke," Choza whispered as Minato prepared to descend.
As the "Ino" of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu was terrifying. If it landed even once, the match was effectively over.
Minato nodded, his alertness toward Inoichi sharpening. The two leaped into the arena and stood face-to-face, less than five meters apart.
"Minato Namikaze versus Inoichi Yamanaka. Begin!"
Whoosh!
The Proctor vanished. Minato and Inoichi moved simultaneously, both instinctively leaping backward to open the distance. Minato drew three kunai and hurled them in a blur of black steel!
Inoichi flicked his wrist, sending out his own projectiles!
Clang! Clang!
Their kunai collided in mid-air with perfect precision. As their feet hit the ground, both reached for their pouches again, snapping their wrists to release a storm of shuriken!
Chink-chink-chink!
The steel sparked as they neutralized each other's volleys, yet two of Minato's shuriken bypassed Inoichi's defense, whistling toward him!
His shuriken-jutsu is better than mine! Inoichi dodged with a roll and immediately began forming hand signs. If I want to win, I have to use 'that' move!
Minato wasn't about to wait for him to finish. During his training with Mito, he had branched out into elemental ninjutsu alongside sealing.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullet!"
Minato exhaled several bursts of pressurized air, which shot toward Inoichi like invisible projectiles! The Yamanaka was forced to abort his signs, frantically scrambling to avoid the gusts.
Seizing the opening, Minato formed a new set of signs and transformed into a blur, lunging toward Inoichi!
"Wind Style: Spiraling Dance!"
In the blink of an eye, Minato was right in front of him. A violent, chaotic flow of chakra erupted around Minato's body. When this chakra struck Inoichi, it felt as though he'd been hit by a falling boulder. He was launched backward like a kite with its string cut!
Crumble!
Inoichi's body slammed into the stadium wall with enough force to crack the concrete.
Minato looked at the bruised and battered Inoichi, a look of genuine worry crossing his face. This "Spiraling Dance" was his own modification of the Rasengan. The principle was simple: cover the body in a layer of chakra and make it rotate like a Rasengan, creating an "Absolute Domain" around him.
It was somewhat similar to the Hyuga's Rotation, though Minato didn't know that technique existed yet. He had simply developed it as a spin-off of his current training.
He just hadn't expected that even the tiny amount of spiral energy on his skin would be enough to instantly KO Inoichi Yamanaka...
Wait... what was it Choza told me to be careful of again?