"It's that guy. He actually joined the Chunin Exam too? Seiryū, you need to be careful. You nearly crippled him before, so he definitely holds a grudge against you!!"
Kurenai had obviously recognized Ryōsuke as well, and her little brows could not help but furrow.
Back then, Ryōsuke had left a very deep impression on her.
That guy was a complete lunatic.
Now that he was participating in the Chunin Exam, she felt that he was probably here for Seiryū.
He wanted to use this Chunin Exam to get revenge on Seiryū.
Seiryū smiled and rubbed Kurenai's little head, saying, "If I could knock him down the first time, then I can knock him down a second time. You don't need to worry too much."
Kurenai still looked worried. "He seems a little different now. Obito said that every time the Uchiha clan awakens another tomoe, their strength rises dramatically. Back then he only had a one-tomoe Sharingan, but now he has a three-tomoe Sharingan."
Seiryū nodded slightly. "I'll be careful."
As long as Ryōsuke did not suddenly awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan in the middle of battle.
Seiryū felt he was still very confident.
He was not too worried.
"So you have a grudge with that Uchiha?"
Tsunade also spoke at this moment, her brows slightly furrowing as she asked, "When did that happen? How come I don't know about it?"
Seiryū had a grudge with someone from the Uchiha clan?
She had absolutely no impression of that!
Seiryū said, "You hadn't returned to Konoha yet at the time, so of course you wouldn't know. It wasn't a big deal, I just nearly crippled him. I didn't expect that after nearly three years, he'd still remember it."
Tsunade fell silent.
Nearly crippling someone was not a big deal?
"What exactly happened?"
"Basically, he thought that a genius like me had stolen the spotlight from the Uchiha clan, so he blocked me after school, used Kurenai to threaten me, and then I crushed his leg bones with monstrous strength and pierced his shoulder with Byakurai."
Seiryū said it calmly. "I thought he'd already been crippled, but I didn't expect him to be healed."
At that point, Seiryū paused and looked at Tsunade suspiciously. "Uh, don't tell me you were the one who healed him?"
If Tsunade had healed him.
Then that would be pretty messed up.
Hearing that, Tsunade glanced at Seiryū and shook her head. "The Uchiha clan's great elder, Uchiha Setsuna, did once want me to treat his grandson, but I refused."
Nearly crippling him was probably another one of Seiryū's excessive actions.
It seemed like Kurenai had mentioned before that Seiryū had gone through a change in personality.
Was she referring to this incident?
Back then, Uchiha Setsuna had indeed wanted her to personally treat his grandson.
But at the time, she was not short on money, so she did not take on that troublesome matter.
She just had not expected that the one who injured Setsuna's grandson was actually Seiryū.
"An Uchiha with a three-tomoe Sharingan is no weak opponent. He's also several years older than you, and the Uchiha clan is very special. Hatred makes them grow quickly. If you run into him in the final round and can't win, then surrender. Your life is the most important thing."
"I know. I won't act recklessly."
Seiryū nodded, then looked at Tsunade with a smile. "By the way, since he's the grandson of the Uchiha clan's great elder, if he dies in the Chunin Exam, will that cause any trouble?"
Tsunade raised her brows and only said one sentence. "You're my disciple. As long as I'm alive, no one can threaten you."
Seiryū smiled. "Mm, I take back what I said again. I like your overbearing personality."
Tsunade smiled helplessly. "You brat."
The matches below continued.
Soon it was Kakashi's turn, and his opponent was the Suna shinobi Maki.
There were not many surprises.
Kakashi defeated him with ease.
Among people of the same age, or with only a small age gap, very few were Kakashi's match.
It was only because of Seiryū's existence that Kakashi's name had not become even more famous.
In truth.
No matter which village he was placed in, Kakashi's talent would rank at the very top among his peers.
If he could not beat Seiryū, could he not still beat others around his age?
Duy also stepped onto the field after Kakashi.
His opponent was the Iwa shinobi Hikari.
The Iwa shinobi called Hikari was also a familiar face, and his strength was indeed somewhat greater than the three Iwa shinobi they had run into before.
But unfortunately for him, he had run into Might Duy.
The moment the Sixth Gate, Gate of View, opened, he took one punch and one kick from Duy, then immediately raised his hand and surrendered.
The way he looked at Duy was as if he were looking at a monster.
After that, some other familiar faces also appeared one after another.
Kisame ran into Sasori, and without even fighting, Kisame directly surrendered and withdrew.
Mei and Shimaichirō smoothly defeated weaker opponents and advanced.
One battle after another began and ended.
In about a day's time, the selection matches came to an end.
Including Seiryū, who had advanced automatically with a bye, a total of ten people would take part in the final round.
Why ten people?
Because two of the matches had been fought too fiercely.
In one match, one person died and the other was seriously injured, and the injured one would not recover for at least a month.
The other match ended in a draw, and both participants were badly hurt, losing their qualifications to join the final round.
All ten of them were shinobi from the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
The shinobi from the smaller villages had all been eliminated.
Konoha had the most participants in the final round, Seiryū, Kakashi, Duy, and Ryōsuke.
Suna only had one lone seed left, Sasori.
Iwa also had only one person left, a shinobi named Ōishi, who was just over twenty years old.
Kiri had two, Shimaichirō and Mei.
Kumo also had two, named Nurui and Ki. Both looked to be around twelve or thirteen years old.
And the final round would begin a week later, on December 17th.
Time passed in a flash.
And it was now December 17th.
The day the final round of the Chunin Exam would begin.
Today, the arena was even livelier than it had been during the selection matches a week ago.
Voices surged like boiling water, the stands were already packed full, and discussions and chatter rose from every direction.
At the highest viewing platform was the VIP section.
Even the most honored Daimyō of the Land of Fire had come.
And beside him were many notable figures of the Land of Fire, with even some famous people from other countries coming over to join the excitement.
On the right side sat Konoha's higher-ups.
Aside from Danzō, the leader of Root, who had not come, Hiruzen and the two advisor elders, Homura and Koharu, were also seated on the high platform.
Beside them were the shinobi who had come as representatives of the other four great shinobi villages for this Chunin Exam.
Kiri's Fuguki Suikazan.
Suna's Chiyo.
Kumo's Dodai.
Iwa's Kitsuchi.
At this moment, all of them wore solemn expressions, waiting for the arrival of the final round.
Down below in the arena.
The referee for the final round was Tsunade.
With her strength, appearance, status, and bearing all outstanding in every regard, Tsunade stood at the center of the stage.
She undoubtedly drew the gaze of countless men and women.
Many even revealed looks of admiration and love.
Konoha's princess, one of the Sannin, Tsunade-hime, was a woman renowned throughout the shinobi world.
Tsunade looked at the two people on either side of her, both already prepared for battle.
She slowly let out a breath and said calmly, "I declare the first match of the Chunin Exam final round, Konoha Genin Seiryū versus Konoha Genin Uchiha Ryōsuke. Begin!"
"Don't lose, brat."
After saying that, Tsunade gave Seiryū one last look and muttered inwardly.
Then her figure flashed away.
Only Seiryū and Ryōsuke remained in the arena.
(To be continued.)