Seeing Akatetsu Kai charging in with a cocky grin and zero guard, Sasuke's eyes sharpened; his hands flashed into his ninja tool pouch!
"Come on—!!"
The next instant Sasuke's arms snapped forward—
Swish! Swish! Swish! …Eight streaks of cold light burst forth—four kunai from each hand, flung in what looked like random directions!
"Hmph! Last-ditch flailing!"
Akatetsu gave a disdainful snort; such straight throws posed no threat to him.
Two of the kunai screamed straight for his face and chest, forcing him to react.
The other six flew at illogical angles, skimming past empty air beside, above, and behind him!
"Heh!" Akatetsu batted the frontal two aside and sneered at the rest sailing into "thin air." "So frantic you can't even aim? How pathe—"
His taunt cut off abruptly!
Ignoring the mockery, Sasuke, before the first motion had even finished, flicked out two more kunai!
"First time or not… it has to work!!"
With those words he hurled the pair along the flight paths of the earlier "misses"!
"Fly—please… succeed—!!"
Up in the stands, seasoned ninja like Kakashi, Asuma—even Tejima Shinichi—widened their eyes in surprise.
"That method…" Kakashi murmured.
"Oh?" Tejima Shinichi lifted his chin. "The Uchiha kunai throwing art, is it…?"
Naruto, Sakura and most genin, clueless, looked utterly lost.
"What's Sasuke doing? Why's he throwing kunai at nobody?" Naruto shouted in frustration.
The next second delivered the answer!
Clang! Clang-clang-clang—!
A chain of crisp, scalp-tingling metal clashes exploded mid-air!
The two follow-up kunai struck specific points on the six earlier blades—hilts and flats—with uncanny precision, instantly redirecting them.
The impact hurled those six along brand-new trajectories!
From blind spots—behind, both flanks, even above—they converged on every vital point of Akatetsu!
"What?!"
Akatetsu's cocky grin shattered into pure shock!
His pupils shrank; every hair stood on end.
Lethal glints from every direction sealed every escape route!
He swatted one kunai overhead, then—Thud! Thud! Thud!
Steel sank into flesh in rapid succession.
"Aaaargh—!"
Akatetsu screamed; a kunai buried deep in his right shoulder, left leg, and back.
Agony locked his limbs; balance and strength vanished in an instant.
At the same moment Sasuke...kunai in hand, flashed in and drove the point straight at the chest—!
"Not good!" Gekkō Hayate's pupils shrank, and he vanished from the spot.
Clang—!
A clear parry rang out.
Hayate re-appeared before Akatetsu, barely deflecting the fatal thrust aimed at the throat.
Sparks flew as the blades kissed.
"That's enough!" Hayate barked.
He had no doubt half a heartbeat later Akatetsu would have been left a corpse.
Sasuke's kunai's tip hovered inches from the man's throat.
The arena fell dead silent.
Everyone was stunned speechless by the lightning-quick, almost artistic kunai barrage and that last lethal lunge.
Who could have guessed that a drained Sasuke could flip the fight and nearly score an instant kill with such godlike throwing skill?
Hayate exhaled, glanced at the screaming, kunai-riddled Akatetsu, then at the panting but sharp-eyed Sasuke, and announced:
"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke!"
After the hush came an unstoppable wave of gasps and cheers!
"Wh-what just happened?"
"Kunai… kunai can change direction??? They ricochet off each other?!"
Exclamations and chatter surged through the stands.
Nearly every genin sat mind-blown by the inconceivable throwing technique.
Among them, Tenten—the "Weapon Master"—stared wide-eyed, mouth agape, disbelief written across her face.
"Y-you can use ninja tools like that?!"
She instinctively leaned forward, gaze fixed on the scattered kunai.
"Predict their flight, strike to redirect, attack from blind spots… the calculations, the control… a-amazing!"
"Yes! Sasuke-kun!" Sakura Haruno wept for joy, waving wildly.
"Way to go, Sasuke!" Naruto whooped, thrilled for his teammate.
As victory sank in, Sasuke's taut nerves snapped; he swayed, dropped to one knee, and gasped raggedly.
Kakashi appeared behind him.
"Nice work, Sasuke," he said, hand on his 'Make-Out Paradise'. "But you're in rough shape; that cursed seal needs treating. Come with me."
Sasuke frowned, instinctively objecting: "I… can still—"
He wanted to keep watching for intel.
"Stop pushing," Kakashi cut in, sterner. "Not up for debate. If you still want to take the final exam in a month, move—now."
That hit home.
Sasuke pressed pale lips together, but reason won over pride.
He gave a hoarse "…Got it," and let Kakashi pull him up.
Supported by Kakashi, he limped out of the noisy hall toward treatment and rest...
Hayate directed the medics to carry the unconscious Akatetsu away, then swept his gaze over the remaining candidates.
"Match one concluded. Prepare for the next."
Attention shifted from the departing Sasuke to the giant monitor.
Names whirled across the screen again, hearts racing in anticipation.
A brief wait—then the display froze.
On the left: Tejima Shinichi!
When the right name sharpened, the hall plunged into an eerie hush—
Dosu Kinuta!
One of the Otogakure trio!
After a heartbeat, hushed whispers and audible sighs of relief rippled everywhere.
"Phew… saved…"
"Great, it's not me against Shinichi…"
"The Sound ninja's in for it…"
"Weird as they are, against him… no contest, right?!".....