Kuro was the first to descend into the arena. His body was relaxed, but a hint of excitement showed on his face. Mikoto followed him, her blade hanging behind her back, her eyes burning with determination to prove her strength. Kushina simply jumped over the railing with a wide grin.
"Well then, guys! Let's put on a show!" she shouted, cracking her knuckles.
Mikoto silently nodded, her gaze sliding over both opponents. Kuro merely smiled faintly. After confirming that all participants were ready, the examiner gave the signal to begin the final match.
"Begin!"
Mikoto didn't wait, dozens of shuriken flew from her hands. Kushina drew a kunai, preparing to deflect the attack, while Kuro formed a hand seal and released his shikigami. This time, Gama appeared before him.
From the shadows, with a loud croak, a massive toad leapt into the arena. Its green skin was tough enough to easily withstand several incoming blades, and its long tongue was already poised to strike back. Beside Gama, the divine dogs materialized, immediately growling at their opponents.
Seeing this, murmurs spread through the arena.
"That technique again?!"
"And now a toad too?!"
Jiraiya theatrically grabbed his head and even looked at Orochimaru with mock offense.
"Using a toad against my own student is a crime!"
"Hm. If it makes you feel better, there's also a snake among his shadows."
Hearing that, the expression on the white-haired man's face turned stone-like, as if his soul had left his body.
"So the toad and the dogs aren't his only shadows? Was he holding back against Minato?! How many does he even have, and how many can he summon at once?"
"I'm afraid I won't reveal all my student's cards to you," Orochimaru replied calmly. "But I will say this, you never had a chance to win our bet from the start."
"You hid important information from me!"
Meanwhile, in the arena, Kushina formed a seal and created two dozen clones, all of which rushed toward Kuro. He didn't hold back either and, together with Yuki and Yami, leapt into the mass of clones, instantly beginning to scatter them.
Strike, block, taking a hit, dodge, sweep. Chaos reigned around Kuro, and just as one of the clones thought he had landed a blow from behind, but in the next instant, claws from the side tore it apart.
Mikoto, seeing that her two opponents had started fighting each other and forgotten about her, grew angry. In her eyes, the scarlet Sharingan with two tomoe spun, and after forming hand seals, she unleashed a fire technique.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Technique."
A stream of scorching fire burst from her mouth, engulfing both opponents. While Kuro and his shikigami managed to evade, all remaining clones of the red-haired kunoichi were destroyed. Still, Mikoto's thoughts were far from pleased.
With two opponents, genjutsu will be much harder to use… and even with the Sharingan, I don't want to get caught in Kuro's illusion again.
Kushina, without hesitation, created a new wave of clones and charged again. Yami and Yuki, following Kuro's command, moved to hold Mikoto back, while he himself, together with Gama, decided to deal with the Uzumaki first.
The toad lashed out with its tongue, instantly dispelling five clones. Kuro, delivering a whirlwind of strikes, pushed toward the original.
Kushina gritted her teeth.
"You think I'll give up that easily?!"
New clones appeared almost without pause. As soon as one vanished, another took its place. The arena once again filled with red-haired figures.
But this time, her tactic changed. Instead of mindlessly attacking Kuro, the clones swarmed Gama from all sides.
"Bring it down!"
They began delivering dozens of strikes to the massive shikigami, each infused with chakra. Every hit landed with a dull thud, and Kushina's strength could be felt even through Gama's thick skin. The toad tried to shake them off, slamming the ground and attacking with its tongue, but several clones clung to its neck and limbs, preventing it from moving freely.
Kuro assessed the situation from the corner of his eye.
She's got raw power to spare. They'll overwhelm Gama.
"Enough."
The shikigami dissolved into a dark pool, returning to Kuro's shadow. And that was exactly the moment Kushina had been waiting for. Freed clones instantly surrounded Kuro from all sides.
Blows rained down on him almost simultaneously. He moved, breaking through the pressure—twisting his body, dodging, countering, sweeping. Another clone vanished in smoke.
But there were too many. They came in waves.
"Got you!"
One clone grabbed his shoulder, another struck toward his torso.
At that moment, Kuro's body tensed. Violet sparks ran beneath his skin, and with a flash, a concentrated burst of lightning erupted outward in a circular wave.
The real Kushina, who had just leapt in for a decisive strike, was too close to retreat. The discharge hit her square in the chest.
"Tch—!"
She was thrown several meters away, her body sliding across the cold stone of the arena, leaving a trail of dust.
All clones vanished instantly. The battlefield was finally clear. Without wasting time, Kuro appeared behind the fallen Kushina, intending to finish it.
But at that moment, the air beside him distorted. Mikoto had broken free from Yuki and Yami using body flicker, though not without cost. Her sleeve was torn, revealing a shallow wound, her breathing uneven, yet her Sharingan still burned brightly.
Her blade flashed in a swift horizontal strike. Kuro turned, blocking it with a kunai. Metal screeched.
Mikoto moved flawlessly, every step calculated, every strike precise. The Sharingan allowed her to read even the slightest muscle movement. But even so, Kuro was simply much faster.
First strike, he deflects. A knee to the body, blocked. A sharp turn and an elbow passes dangerously close to her temple. Yuki lunges from the side, forcing her to step back into defense, and in that same instant, Yami tries to flank her from behind.
Even with the Sharingan, she had to divide her attention between three opponents. Sensing her difficulty, Kuro suddenly closed the distance and exploited the opening, delivering two precise strikes—to the shoulder and the solar plexus. The air was knocked from her lungs.
Kuro was about to finish his first opponent when his instincts suddenly flared with danger. Instantly leaping back, he saw a massive adamantine chain crash into the spot where he had just been standing.
The arena floor cracked, dust rising. A second chain followed, slicing through the air with a heavy whistle. Kushina, slightly battered from the lightning attack, stood on her feet with blazing eyes.
Sweat ran down her chin, her hair disheveled, her chest rising heavily. Behind her writhed two rough, not fully formed, but already dense chains of chakra.
"Today, I'm going all out!"
In response, Yuki growled. Mikoto, catching her breath, slowly rose to her feet. Once again, all three faced each other.
Kuro exhaled, assessing their condition. The Uchiha was breathing heavily, her chakra clearly depleted, the long exam had taken its toll.
Kushina, on the other hand, was brimming with energy. Worn, but her stamina was frightening.
Having reached his conclusion, Kuro gave the command, and the divine dogs instantly dashed toward Kushina, forcing her to use the chains defensively.
At the same time, he appeared directly in front of Mikoto. Her katana swung upward, but each movement of the blade grew heavier.
Dodging a few strikes, Kuro accelerated and, with a series of blows, knocked the weapon from her hands. Mikoto tried to retreat, forming a seal for a fire technique—but it was too late.
Kuro closed the distance and drove a sharp knee into her, knocking the remaining air from her lungs. The next strike, a precise hit to the ribs, completely broke her rhythm.
The Sharingan in her eyes flickered. She tried to stay on her feet, but Kuro used his shadow to bind her movements and brought a kunai to her throat.
"You fought well."
The examiner announced her elimination. Kuro then slowly turned to his final opponent—and saw that both of his shadows had already been caught in chains.
"Got them!" Kushina exhaled.
The dogs growled, but the chains held them firmly, giving no chance to break free. Without hesitation, Kuro dismissed his shikigami. Yuki and Yami dissolved into shadows, returning to his feet before the chains could crush them completely.
"Well then, finally a fair fight?"
"And that's coming from someone who summons dozens of clones?" Kuro replied mockingly as he moved toward her.
There was no answer. Her chains shot upward and lunged at him, blocking all paths of retreat.
Kuro moved with inhuman speed and perception. He dodged with minimal shifts of his body, half-steps, sometimes letting the chains pass within centimeters of his shoulder.
The stone of the arena shattered under the blows.
"Stand still!" Kushina shouted, increasing the pressure.
Then Kuro formed a seal.
"Rabbit Escape."
Hundreds of rabbits burst from his shadow, scattering across the arena. They jumped, collided, blocked vision—completely disrupting the battlefield.
"What the—?!"
Kushina swung a chain, tearing through several of them. But they kept multiplying, completely obscuring her view.
Still, she sensed movement to her right and instinctively lashed out with a chain.
"Got you!"
It wrapped around Kuro's figure, tightening with immense force. But in the next instant, it dissolved into a cloud of smoke.
"A clone?!"
At that same moment, one of the rabbits behind her suddenly stopped and dispersed, revealing a smirking Kuro.
"Transformation Technique, quite useful, though underrated," he said calmly, pressing a kunai to her back. "You're strong, Kushina. But without tactics, you won't get far."
The arena fell silent as the examiner raised his hand.
"The winner—Kuro Nara!"