Chapter 291: Second Round: The Duels
After resting for three days, the Second Joint Chunin Exams finally welcomed the second round of assessments.
Still in the circular arena, the Third Kazekage spoke from the front, while the other Kages and Dana sat behind him.
Perhaps because the end was nearing, or because of the exposure of White Zetsu, they stopped throwing barbs at each other, but the atmosphere grew even stranger.
Finally, the Third Kazekage finished his nonsense, and the contestants below perked up.
"He's finally done. I'm about to melt out here," Obito grumbled, sticking out his tongue.
He looked at the Suna ninja nearby. They all wore turbans and looked calm and collected, which annoyed him even more.
After the outrageous first round, the number of participants had dropped significantly. Suna had six teams standing out, looking like a dominant force. Konoha had three teams advance, while Kirigakure was the most miserable with only one team, nearly getting wiped out.
Sure enough, the Third Kazekage on the high platform announced, "Next, the second round of assessment will begin. Its name is: Duel!"
Behind him, Dana was slightly surprised. Duels were an inevitable part of ninja exams—after all, strength speaks loudest—but usually, they were saved for the final round.
If Suna put duels in the second round, what would the third round be? But a duel was fine; it minimized the room for Suna's "home field advantage" (read: cheating).
Suna continued the method used by Amegakure in the first exam, deciding the match order by drawing lots. The team leaders drew the lots to avoid suspicion of unfairness.
Hiroto stepped forward to draw for the Cloud, and Minato for Konoha. Suna's leader was Rasa, and Dana didn't recognize the others.
Since it was only the second round and there were still many participants, Dana didn't pay attention to the drawing process, just waiting for the results.
With 17 teams, there were 51 participants in total. One person would get a bye, leaving 50 people to fight 25 matches. Naturally, they wouldn't fight one by one. The arena was huge, so after the lots were drawn, staff used Earth Release to build five duel platforms, allowing five matches to proceed simultaneously.
Fortunately, there were no large-scale ninjutsu users like Hiroto in this batch; otherwise, one jutsu would level the platforms.
Dana and the Kages stood at the front of the high platform again, waving to announce the start. Then their seats were moved forward for a better view.
Dana watched the first round of matches with interest. Three Cloud participants were fighting, including Tetsuo Okine.
Tetsuo's opponent was an unfamiliar Suna ninja.
At the start, the opponent probed with shuriken. Two senbon hit Tetsuo's chest.
Clang! Clang! They fell to the ground.
Dana saw the Suna ninja's face turn ugly and chuckled.
Tetsuo grinned, revealing his white teeth. His Steel Release was highly developed; a couple of senbon were just tickles.
The opponent knew Tetsuo's intel—he was a participant in the last exam, after all, so Suna should have done their homework.
They just knew he was hard, but not that hard.
The Suna contestant fired a C-rank Wind Release jutsu, which Tetsuo tanked with his face.
Unable to break his defense, the Suna ninja didn't know if he had any ultimate moves left, but Tetsuo had already used Body Flicker to appear in front of him and punched him out of the ring.
This Suna ninja became the first person eliminated, and it was an ugly loss.
Of the other two Cloud contestants, one performed steadily and advanced, while the other was unlucky enough to face Pakura of the Scorch Release. After a stalemate, he was defeated, ending his Joint Chunin Exam journey.
Dana couldn't help but tease, "Contestant Pakura was a finalist in the last exam too. I didn't expect her to still be a Genin two years later. Suna truly deserves its reputation for the 'Elite Soldier Policy'; the selection for promotion is really strict."
The Third Kazekage blushed and coughed twice. "Ahem! Pakura's strength is good, but her personality is reckless. There are still many areas needing improvement."
The other three Kages exchanged glances, feeling helpless. If Pakura were in any other village, she would be at least a Tokubetsu Jonin by now.
Shamelessness really only happens zero times or countless times.
After five matches ended, another five began. Suna contestants still dominated the numbers. Interestingly, both Kakashi and Might Guy were in this round.
Guy's opponent was a puppet master who released his puppet immediately. He seemed skilled, but Guy was stronger. Shouting something unintelligible, Guy moved with incredible speed, leaving afterimages for ordinary eyes.
Dana wasn't sure if the current Guy had mastered the Eight Gates, but he could see the kid's basics were solid.
Um... super solid. Looks like he trains himself to death.
Relying solely on Taijutsu, Guy smashed the opponent's puppet in a few punches and kicks. Then, under the despairing gaze of the Suna ninja, Guy kicked him flying. The opponent was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Gasps erupted from the stands.
"Hey! Look at Platform 3! That green kid is so fast!"
"Such a strong kid! Clean movements! So energetic!"
"Is he a Konoha contestant?"
Guy wiped his nose and shouted, "THIS IS MY YOUTH!"
On the other side, Kakashi, after a brief probe, also began his assault. Wielding a short sword, he resembled his father. Compared to the specialized Guy, Kakashi was much more well-rounded. Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu—all were at the top level for his age, making his fight highly watchable.
He moved constantly, striking like lightning. His continuous ninjutsu usage was perfectly timed, wasting not a shred of chakra. Finally, using a Clone Jutsu to distract the enemy, he placed his short sword against their neck.
"Look over there! That white-haired kid is amazing too!"
"Seems to be from Konoha! With white hair, could he be related to the Hokage?"
Hearing the amazed whispers, Kakashi's heart pounded with excitement, especially being linked to his father whom he worshipped. But outwardly, he maintained his cool, handsome facade, walking off the stage without a word.
On the high platform, Onoki said enviously, "Congratulations, Hokage-dono. Both are rare geniuses, especially your son. It seems Konoha never lacks outstanding young people."
Sakumo Hatake felt as sweet as honey inside but kept his cool, handsome old face. "My son's training is not yet complete. He mishandled a few points just now. I will educate him properly when we return."
Beside him, Dana rolled his eyes. You're lying!
Two exciting battles ignited the atmosphere in the arena.
But at the start of the third round, a Great Fireball shot into the sky before the match even began.
Kakashi, who had already left the stage, facepalmed. "Idiot!"
It turned out Obito wanted to attract the audience's attention and fired his strongest ninjutsu into the sky before even getting on stage.
Obito jumped onto the platform, very satisfied with the effect. More than half the audience was looking in his direction.
Mastering the Great Fireball Technique at this age proved Obito's talent wasn't weak. However, using it as a firework to attract attention without considering chakra consumption also proved his IQ wasn't high.
Dana found it amusing. Obito's personality before turning dark was standard shonen protagonist material—or rather, he was the prototype for Naruto. Talented, good lineage, loved the village, helpful but often goofy, and aimed to be Hokage.
It's just that in the original timeline, Obito took the "Hero becomes the Dragon" villain script.
"Kakashi and Guy almost stole all the limelight, but it doesn't matter. The protagonist always appears last! Now is the time for Obito's performance!"
Under everyone's gaze, Obito pulled down his goggles, grabbed a small kunai, and pointed at his opponent, who wasn't much older than him.
"Red-haired guy! I'll give you a chance to announce your name! This great lord doesn't cut down nameless nobodies! Otherwise, you'll lose so fast no one will know who you are!"
Sasori: "..."
Staring at Obito with dead fish eyes, Sasori keenly sensed that this person was an idiot.
And for some reason, he found this person extremely annoying, from the inside out.
Maybe because their personalities were polar opposites.
Suddenly, a voice cracking with excitement came from the VIP stand.
"Sasori! Do your best! Grandma supports you!"
Chiyo stood with one foot on the railing, waving a huge flag frantically with both hands. Her brother Ebizo couldn't even hold her back.
"Sister! Get down! You're a village Elder!"
Sasori's face turned even darker. So embarrassing! Let's end this quickly.