Seeing that he couldn't gain the upper hand in taijutsu, Itachi decided to switch to ninjutsu.
"I'll be using ninjutsu next. Be careful."
Nagi nodded in acknowledgment.
Itachi quickly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball burst from Itachi's mouth.
Nagi responded with a simple wave of his right hand.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu."
A huge water dragon suddenly appeared, opened its jaws, and swallowed the fireball whole before crashing straight toward Itachi.
However, Itachi suddenly transformed into a flock of crows. The birds regrouped midair, reforming into Itachi's figure.
"This is a Sharingan genjutsu. Honestly, your strength has already surprised me greatly… but this is the end."
Seeing Nagi standing there with a blank expression, Itachi stepped forward and raised a kunai toward him.
"It's over."
"Yes. It's over."
"…!?"
Itachi blinked.
At that moment he realized that Nagi was standing behind him, holding a kunai to his back.
"Genjutsu?! When did that happen?"
Nagi smiled.
"The moment you cast your genjutsu, Itachi-senpai."
Itachi immediately understood.
"So my Sharingan genjutsu was overwritten by your genjutsu… I lost."
Using the Mangekyō Sharingan now would be excessive for a sparring match, so Itachi simply admitted defeat.
"Well fought, Itachi-senpai."
Nagi sheathed his kunai and slowly walked back toward Fugaku and Satsuki.
Fugaku nodded, clearly acknowledging Nagi's strength.
Satsuki, meanwhile, looked bored. In her view, the result had never been in doubt. With her own Three-Tomoe Sharingan, even her genjutsu could contend with Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan, yet she still couldn't trap Nagi in an illusion.
So how could her brother's Three-Tomoe Sharingan possibly succeed?
The Day of the Chūnin Exams — Final Tournament
Time passed quickly, and before long the day of the Chūnin Exams final tournament arrived.
Candidates and spectators gathered early at the examination venue.
Unlike usual, however, the arena had four separate platforms constructed with Earth Release, each surrounded by its own viewing stands.
After some time, Minato and the other Four Kage arrived at the venue.
Minato stepped forward first and delivered an inspiring speech.
"Hello everyone. I am the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze.
…
Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire will also burn eternally."
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause.
Next, Fugaku stepped forward to announce the rules of the tournament.
"I will now explain the rules and procedures for the Chūnin Exams final tournament.
…
As you can see, there are four arenas here, labeled A, B, C, and D. All candidates will be divided into four groups of fifteen participants.
Each arena will conduct three rounds of elimination matches, and in the end two candidates from each arena will advance.
Those selected will then compete in the main arena.
However, since each group has fifteen candidates, four lucky contestants will be randomly selected to advance directly to the second round.
Next, the screen will display everyone's match assignments. Please pay attention…"
All the examinees immediately turned toward the large screen, searching for their match placements.
After a while…
Nagi and the others regrouped and compared their arena assignments.
Nagi — Arena A
Hinata, Ameno — Arena B
Shizuka — Arena C
Satsuki, Naruko — Arena D
Fortunately, they wouldn't face each other until at least the quarterfinals.
After saying their goodbyes, everyone headed toward their respective arenas.
Soon afterward—
The matches officially began.
Arena A
Nagi defeated his opponent with nothing more than the Body Flicker Technique and a simple hand strike, easily clearing all three elimination rounds of Group A.
Sakura also finished her first match instantly—with a single punch.
In the second round, she faced Kankurō of Sunagakure.
Since puppet masters were weakest in close combat, Sakura unsurprisingly won the match.
In the third round, she faced Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure.
Ōnoki understood how important these Chūnin Exams were, so he had intentionally suppressed his granddaughter's rank, keeping her registered as a genin.
He wasn't the only one—many villages had deliberately held back their strongest genin in order to achieve better results.
But when Ōnoki saw Sakura, he frowned deeply.
"That's Kizashi Haruno's daughter, isn't it? This match might be troublesome."
Match Start
Sakura and Kurotsuchi began with long-range attacks.
Kurotsuchi slammed her fist into the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear Technique!"
Sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground.
Sakura responded by striking the ground as well.
"Water Release: Water Pillar Technique!"
A powerful column of water surged upward.
The stone spikes and water pillar collided, shattering both techniques.
Kurotsuchi immediately followed up.
"Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!"
"Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
A rocky gauntlet formed around her fist, and the Added-Weight Rock Technique increased the force behind her attacks.
Sakura charged forward.
"Enhanced Strength!"
The muscles in Sakura's arms suddenly swelled, bursting with explosive power.
BOOM!!
Their fists collided with a thunderous crash.
They struggled against each other briefly before both being pushed back more than ten steps.
The two exchanged determined looks.
"Full Body Enhancement!"
"Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
This time Sakura's muscles expanded across her entire body, transforming her into a powerfully built fighter with an intimidating presence.
The spectators erupted into cheers.
In the shinobi world, strength commanded respect.
Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi reinforced her entire body with the Added-Weight Rock Technique.
The two clashed again instantly.
Fists collided again and again, each blow landing solidly, sending the crowd into a frenzy as they cheered for both fighters.
After dozens of exchanges, Kurotsuchi gradually began to fall behind.
She looked at Sakura in disbelief.
It was the first time she had ever lost a close-combat exchange against someone her own age.
Sakura, however, felt no pressure at all.
Her teammates were complete monsters.
During their mission in the Land of Waves, the power displayed by Naruko and Satsuki had put immense pressure on her.
Compared to that, the Chūnin Exams honestly felt easier than her usual missions.
Realizing she would soon lose if things continued this way, Kurotsuchi deliberately created an opening and quickly jumped back, widening the distance.
Leaping into the air, she rapidly formed hand seals.
"Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique!"
Kurotsuchi spat out a massive amount of quicklime.
Before Sakura could dodge, the attack hit her directly.
The quicklime wrapped around her body and rapidly hardened.
Kurotsuchi exhaled in relief and said smugly:
"This is my Quicklime Congealing Technique. Anyone hit by it will quickly be immobilized. Before you suffocate, you should just—"
Before she could finish speaking—
A voice came from inside the hardened lime.
"Super Straight Punch!"
BOOM!
The hardened lime exploded apart as a fist-shaped shockwave burst outward.
Kurotsuchi didn't even have time to react before the shockwave blasted her away, slamming her into the arena wall and knocking her unconscious.
Hayate Gekkō checked her condition and then raised the flag.
"The winner—Sakura Haruno!"
"Woooo—!!"
The audience erupted into thunderous applause.
Looking at the unconscious Kurotsuchi being carried away, Sakura muttered quietly:
"You're strong… but when I think about my freakish teammates… heh. Compared to them, both you and I are pretty ordinary."
Thus, the Group A qualifiers were:
Nagi
Sakura Haruno
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