"So Shisui is participating in this Chunin Examination, huh," Anko remarked, surprised upon hearing the referee's announcement.
Since Shisui graduated, Anko hadn't seen him, and thus, was unaware that he directly joined this Chunin Examination.
"Even though they are students from the same year, some get complacent after achieving a little in the real combat exam, while others are on the verge of becoming Chunin. What a stark contrast in this world," Hagane Kotetsu sighed.
Anko's trouble radar activated subconsciously. Her gaze shifted from the center of the arena to Hagane Kotetsu sitting beside her.
It seemed like Kotetsu's words held deeper meaning.
"You're right, Kotetsu. I shouldn't feel conceited just because I placed in the top four of our grade's combat test. Shisui is the role model we should be learning from," Kamizuki Izumo replied with a face full of remorse, as if Kotetsu's words were directed at him.
A hint of guilt flashed across Anko's face. She wondered if she had been a bit too harsh with her comrades, thinking she should be more gentle.
Outside of Anko's sight, Hagane Kotetsu gave Kamizuki Izumo a thumbs-up, admiring their coordination—this was their combo technique.
Kamizuki Izumo returned with a smile and then refocused on the center of the arena, where Shisui and Uchiha Tekka stood with the Seal of Opposition, ready to begin the battle.
Facing the calm Shisui before him, Uchiha Tekka also felt an unusual sense of tranquility.
Even though the fight hadn't started yet, Uchiha Tekka already knew the outcome.
Without a doubt, the victor would be Shisui, not him, Uchiha Tekka.
The gap in their strengths was too vast for Uchiha Tekka to see any hope of winning.
Unlike with Obito, when Uchiha Tekka met Shisui, he was already recognized as a prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, so losing to Shisui didn't weigh on Tekka's mind. After all, he had never beaten Shisui since they were kids.
"Begin the battle!" the referee shouted, retreating swiftly after seeing both were ready.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Uchiha Tekka quickly weaved hand signs, gathering chakra, and launched a fireball at Shisui.
Even though this was an expected battle, Uchiha Tekka had to fight with all his might; it's the standard an Uchiha should uphold.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Shisui, too, preferred using the Great Fireball as an opening move and immediately cast the Great Fireball after the referee announced the start.
Although it's the same jutsu, the outcome differs based on the user. Factors like chakra volume, level of nature transformation, and jutsu proficiency all influence the jutsu's final power.
Having awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan and cultivated the Breath of Flame above the Constant State, Shisui naturally outclassed Uchiha Tekka in all aspects, leaving Tekka to dodge the engulfing fireball as best as he could.
Seizing the advantage, Shisui didn't allow Uchiha Tekka an easy escape and immediately threw the ninja tools in his hands.
Whoosh, whoosh!!
A few shurikens at tricky angles succeeded in leaving marks on Uchiha Tekka.
"As expected of Shisui, overwhelming in every aspect," Uchiha Inabi praised.
Even though Uchiha Tekka appeared in dire straits, Uchiha Inabi understood this wasn't Tekka's fault; Shisui was simply too strong. Even if he, a Chunin, took Tekka's place, the result would be the same.
In Uchiha Inabi's view, current Shisui might already be combat-ready against Jonin of the Uchiha Clan.
Under Shisui's aggressive onslaught, Uchiha Tekka was down in less than a minute.
"Uchiha Shisui wins," the referee declared the battle's outcome.
The audience erupted into excitement instantly.
Uchiha Shisui was renowned as a genius within the Uchiha Clan and recognized as a super prodigy by the entire grade at the Ninja Academy. However, in the wider Konoha, Shisui wasn't particularly famous.
After all, the Uchiha ninja wouldn't boast about their prodigies outside, and the influence of the Ninja Academy was limited; few paid attention to ninja school students unless they had a very special status.
But after the first match, it was different. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that Shisui's strength was extraordinary.
Due to their opponent's strength, they couldn't determine if Shisui's power was on par with Kakashi or Obito's level.
"Previously, an Uchiha Obito appeared, and now another, Uchiha Shisui. Truly, the Uchiha is the number one noble clan of Konoha," a ninja couldn't help but exclaim.
It's exceedingly rare for a civilian ninja to produce such talented prodigies, truly one in a thousand, yet the Uchiha have produced two in succession.
Hearing others praise Shisui, Uchiha Fugaku smiled faintly, knowing this is the future of the Uchiha Clan.
"For a ninja, strength is the most important aspect. As long as you're strong enough, everything will turn out well," Uchiha Fugaku instructed earnestly.
In Uchiha Fugaku's view, the Uchiha Clan's struggles could easily be solved by producing a sufficiently powerful person to become Hokage.
Uchiha Fugaku felt that he had little hope, as he was almost thirty and it was difficult for his strength to significantly improve.
But Shisui and Obito were different; they had even greater ninja talents than Uchiha Kagami. If Itachi could have such talents, then decades later, one of the three would surely become Hokage.
Uchiha Itachi couldn't quite understand Uchiha Fugaku's meaning, but he silently noted Fugaku's words in his heart.
One battle after another began and ended, but no one else displayed the same suppressive power as Shisui in combat.
After the second round of battles began, Shisui still easily dealt with his opponents, the battle process full of ease and leisure.
"The talents exhibited by Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Shisui have surpassed Kagami, but with Minato and Mokgetsu guiding them, there shouldn't be any problems," Sarutobi Hiruzen thought as he watched the battle, lightly stroking his goatee.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was not as obsessed as Shimura Danzo when dealing with the Uchiha issue, but he still exercised caution regarding the Uchiha.
Because the Uchiha truly had defected before, during the Second Hokage's reign, a hawkish Uchiha named Uchiha Setsuna attempted a coup, which was suppressed by the Anbu dispatched by the Second Hokage. This event led to the Uchiha being under Anbu surveillance for years.
Up until now, due to the Uchiha's relatively compliant behavior, the intensity of the surveillance had eased considerably, generally only assigning one or two Anbu to monitor them.
If it weren't for their teacher being Mokgetsu, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have picked someone to train within the Anbu.
There was no malice, purely a desire to strengthen the education of the Will of Fire, but with Mokgetsu there, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt at ease.
With each round of battles, the audience's understanding of Shisui's strength deepened.
In terms of dominance within combat, Shisui's performance was stronger than Obito and Kakashi, because even the final winner, Kakashi, faced significant difficulty entering the third round of the last Chunin Examination.
Unlike Shisui, who remained calm and poised, seemingly at ease until he defeated the final opponent.
Of course, even the ordinary people could understand why; there were too many strong candidates in the previous exam, and by the third round, their differences weren't significant, leading to strenuous battles.
But this time was different; although there were other Genin performing well besides Shisui, they weren't on the same level as Obito and Might Guy.
"Damn it, had I known, I wouldn't have been an examiner; I should have participated in the Chunin Examination again," Obito gazed at Shisui standing on the field, accepting the crowd's cheers, with envy.
During the last Chunin Exam, he didn't even make it to the finals, being eliminated by Kakashi in the semifinals.
In this Chunin Examination, Obito could say that if he didn't encounter Shisui, he could easily make it to the finals.
"You, a Chunin, participating in the Chunin Exam?" Kakashi said, speechless.
"You're the only one who can't say that to me. Last year, you participated in the Chunin Exam while being a Chunin for several years," Obito retorted, disgruntled.
Had Kakashi not blocked his path, he would have at least been in the top two.
Kakashi's mouth twitched, "It was arranged by Minato-sensei, it's not like I wanted to participate."
To be honest, when notified about joining the Chunin Exam, Kakashi himself was a bit baffled, as an old Chunin for years still had to take the exam again.
But after participating, Kakashi understood it was Konoha's preventive policy to avoid the Chunin Exam becoming a loss against Hidden Mist Ninja's overwhelming victory.
Konoha co-hosting the Chunin Exam wasn't to boost Hidden Mist's reputation but to showcase strength to attract commissions; the candidates' performance was a contest between Konoha and Hidden Mist.
And the decision proved correct, as Hidden Mist played even less by the rules than expected. Kakashi felt several Hidden Mist Ninja didn't perform like Genin at all, especially the squad with that shark face.
"No, I must ask Teacher Mokgetsu next time," Obito wanted to achieve first place in the Chunin Exam.
Kakashi barely maintained his expression; he thought Mokgetsu would probably not agree to such chaos.
If candidates who didn't become Chunin in this exam joined the next exam, only to find their previous examiner became a candidate alongside them, imagine the psychological shadow of those candidates.
"Rather than that, you better worry about the internal conflict approaching; didn't notice? Three months have almost passed," Kakashi reminded.
Actually, Kakashi hadn't paid much attention to it either; time flew by during immersive training.
But recently, Might Guy tried to challenge Kakashi constantly, hoping to break through the Eight Gates' limits with Kakashi's pressure in battle, and Kakashi then remembered to use it as an excuse to delay time.
"Haki is still a bit short, I don't know if I can catch up," Kakashi was urgently concerned these days.
The cost of losing is too painful; even he doesn't want to lose.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Obito's expression also became serious; he'd had enough of those painful days of studying.
"This time, I absolutely won't be careless again," Obito thought resolutely.
The lesson from failure was too harsh, now Obito had a determination to win no matter what.
"Shisui, don't underestimate my determination not to do exams!" Obito felt very confident inside.
Having thoroughly studied Shisui and with his solid abilities, this time he was sure to win.