Chapter 75
There was a time when Shisui was confident in his skills, no matter who he faced. After all, he didn't have to face anyone truly dangerous. An enemy that would overwhelm him completely. But he didn't realize that.
He was an arrogant kid who thought he was the best at everything and that the Hokage title was already his for the taking. There wasn't anyone who could even stand in his way. He knew his skills, but the problem was that his knowledge wasn't vast enough to understand it.
Now, he was still a kid, but he came to realize at least what it meant to be a shinobi. Though it seemed that he still had a long road to realize what a Hokage is. But he knew what steps to take, and the first one was to become a Chunin.
Even if the worst obstacle ever came to stop him. As relaxed as ever, Yamato looked at Shisui. There was only one advantage he had, and that was that Yamato was forbidden from using his Wood Release.
How much of an advantage it was, it was hard to tell. With it, Shisui didn't see himself winning, but even without it, Yamato was smart and strong. His relaxed appearance was a false façade that caught most people off guard.
Well, it wasn't false, that's just how Yamato was. But it was deceiving to say the least. Just looking at him, nobody would suspect that he could snap others' necks with only one hand while still eating his walnuts with the other. Shisui just knew better.
"Begin."
The moment the word was said, Shisui rushed at Yamato. His Sharingan blazing in action as he watched Yamato's every muscle. He needed to see the contractions of his muscles for him to be able to react to Yamato's movements promptly.
And he saw the muscles in his hands twitch. He was going to make a hand sign, and from the fingers those muscles moved to, Shisui already predicted what jutsu it might be. So, he jumped away to his right, trying to get around Yamato, as an earth wall rose where he had been a second ago.
Still, he wasn't close enough. So, Shisui had to throw his shuriken to stop Yamato from making another hand sign. But unlike everyone else who would have taken their kunai to deflect the thrown weapons or tried to evade, Yamato kicked off his sandal, catching the three shuriken flying at his head with it.
Again, Shisui moved to the other side, running around Yamato as the earth pillar came from the ground and tried to slam into him. Dust and dirt flew into the air as the earth pillars just missed Shisui and slammed into the ground.
Shisui hid within that dust. Only half a minute had passed since the start of the match, and both Shisui and Yamato were trying their best. Shisui had no intention of holding back anything, as he knew very well it would not end well for him.
While he was hidden within the dust, Shisui observed Yamato and made a clone of himself that quickly went underground. Firing a fireball in Yamato's direction to keep him occupied, Shisui once again rushed at him.
As Shisui expected, Yamato expected the fireball and already prepared an earth wall to rise up to block the impact. But this time, Shisui didn't go around. He went straight through the weakened wall, with kunai ready in his hand.
Yamato's head snapped at him as Shisui burst through the wall, aiming his kunai at him, trying to cut him. And even though he wasn't prepared for it, Yamato still managed to react in time, spitting out a rock from his mouth straight at Shisui's eyes.
In the last moment, Shisui managed to twist his head to avoid it, and good thing he did, as he saw that the small pebble pierced the earth wall behind him like it was nothing. Shisui didn't know Yamato knew such a jutsu, but he suspected there were many things he didn't know about Yamato.
"Caught you." In that split second, Shisui was distracted, Yamato caught Shisui's hand and threw him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground.
Shisui ignored the pain in his back and the spit and probably blood rising through his throat as he spun his legs around and wrapped them around Yamato's neck, before smashing Yamato's head into the ground.
Just as Shisui managed to get back on his feet and thought he had the upper hand, his feet were swept under him as Yamato had no intention of letting Shisui get away from the ground. Shisui could only accept it and fall.
The moment he hit the ground again, he had no choice but to block the falling leg of Yamato as it tried to smash Shisui's head. Catching it with his wrists at the very last second. As Yamato didn't intend to give Shisui a chance to react properly.
From the impact and the weight on his hands, Shisui knew that there wouldn't be much left of his head if Yamato's foot made contact with his head. Sadly for Shisui, that wasn't the end of his problems, as while he was distracted by Yamato's foot, Yamato himself weaved hand signs.
"Earth burial."
That was all Shisui heard before the earth under him flipped, and he went underground. And he knew what would go next, so while still underground, he quickly dug himself deeper. As he expected, the ground above him suddenly shook violently, and he knew that Yamato was trying to crush Shisui.
If he had tried to dig up at that moment, he would have been hit with the full brunt of that force. And he knew very well that a hit from Yamato would at least lead to his bones being broken.
…
What monsters. It hasn't even been two minutes, and those kids completely wrecked the arena. Now, only leaving Yamato standing as he was catching his breath. The crater he made after burying Shisui was immense, and if it were anyone else, Hiruzen would have already instructed to stop the fight.
It wasn't only Hiruzen who was surprised by the abilities of those two kids. The Fourth Raikage was holding back from saying anything, but Hiruzen could tell that he wanted to ask how those two could even be considered genin.
The only thing about them that told others they were genin was their age. But they were on a far different level than anyone else participating in the Chunin Exams. And if he was thinking how absurd they were, Hiruzen could already imagine how everyone else was feeling.
There was no need for anything more; his plan had been successful already. The village's finances were secured. Now, he only had to relax and watch the fight of the two most promising shinobi in his village.
"What do you feed your shinobi?" The Fourth Raikage asked.
"And why would I tell that to you?" Hiruzen replied. "Your own genin aren't that bad either."
"They are the best of the best, but they are no monsters like them."
That Hiruzen could agree with. The Kumo shinobi weren't bad, but nothing could compare to true prodigies. Even though Hiruzen didn't like to throw titles like prodigy and genius around, what else could he call those two?
The match wasn't over. Shisui burst through the ground with shuriken already in hand and threw them at Yamato, who once again used his sandal to block the flying weapons. Only he would do something like this, as his hands were busy weaving hand signs.
It was clear that Yamato didn't want close combat with Shisui, as he knew that the Sharingan could adapt to any fighting style and, sooner or later, Shisui would be able to exploit Yamato's weaknesses.
Huh? Now that Hiruzen thought about it, when did he start to analyze the fight so well? And it didn't seem he was wrong about anything so far. Was he getting better at being a shinobi? Well, it mattered not, since he wasn't planning to be one for much longer anyway.
Yamato once again used his Earth Nature Jutsu to block Shisui. But it was only temporary. In the end, Shisui reacted just a moment before Yamato could use any jutsu. Still, Hiruzen wasn't worried about Yamato just yet, as he was quite smart for his laid-back personality.
And yet Hiruzen knew that Shisui was by far one of the sharpest shinobi even for his age. With his Sharingan, there were very few things he couldn't see. And a loss wasn't a thing he could ever see, so the match was decided from the very beginning.
As Yamato was focused and using everything he had on Shisui, finally able to trap him and stop him from running around, the match ended. But in Yamato's defeat, as the one he caught was nothing but a shadow clone, and the real Shisui pulled the unexpected Yamato to the ground and had a kunai to his neck.
"Winner Shisui Uchiha."
"What a splendid fight," The Fourth Raikage commented. "Only one more match is left, it seems."
"And I thought I was the one getting old," Hiruzen replied. "There is still a match with Hayate Gekko and your genin, Yugito Nii."
"How considerate of you, but no, my genin won't be fighting anymore. Her condition isn't stable enough, and I have instructed her to rest, so she will forfeit this fight."
When? Well, he probably only needed one look to convey his message. And it would be quite awkward for both parties if Yugito unleashed her tailed beast even a bit. But the Fourth Raikage had probably seen enough humiliation and didn't want to see another of his genin lose.
Well, it was fine with Hiruzen. Hayate was in his best condition, while Shisui fought one battle after another. And this one with Yamato must have exhausted him. Meaning Hayate now had the best chance to win.
Hiruzen couldn't help but count the ryo he would get if Hayate won here. He had completely forgotten about his system, as money was far more important to him right now. How long has he been under constant pressure because of it? Far too long.
And although his winnings wouldn't solve the village's problems, it sure would give some peace of mind to Hiruzen. And he would be able to pocket quite a bit for the day he retired. His dream for the perfect retirement was quite close now.
…
"Why?"
Shisui won this fight, but he didn't like it even a bit. Others might not have noticed, but Shisui did. There was still a way for Yamato to turn the tables. And yet he chose not to. So, Shisui had to ask.
"Why did you give up so easily?"
"Look up here," Yamato nudged his head toward the stand where Hayate Gekko and Yugito Nii were waiting for their match. "Sure, I could probably have done something to get out of the situation. But without my Wood Release, I wouldn't have won against you. And winning never was our point. It was to prove to others our strength. And how are you going to do that when you exhaust it all fighting me? Your last opponent is someone the Third Hokage has prepared himself."
Hayate Gekko. That mere moment he showed his speed was enough to silence everything else Shisui had witnessed. Iruka already showed that he was prepared to fight tooth and nail to the very end. So, seeing him fall so fast and easily shocked Shisui to the core.
As Yamato said, it wasn't that much of a secret that the Third Hokage himself had taken Hayate Gekko under his tutelage in the last month. A short time, but it seemed to have been enough to prepare him to be the sharpest weapon.
And the worst part was that Shisui had completely dismissed him till now. He was so focused on himself and the opponents he deemed to be a danger to him that he forgot about him and never thought he would even come so far.
Though it might have been luck. Hayate's first opponent never showed up. His second match ended way too fast for anyone to even comprehend what happened. Was it a show of momentary strength, or was it the end of Hayate's skills?
Shisui didn't know, and he didn't expect anyone else to know it either. But now, he realized that it was another lesson from the Third Hokage. Like every other match, it was a controlled war.
The Third Hokage probably already thought that Shisui's strength and skills were enough. So, he used the Chunin Exams to teach him further. And this was the last lesson. To never let your guard down. To never take anything for granted. The momentary carelessness would cost Shisui his life.
He only thought of Yamato as his opponent. He exhausted himself. Focusing only on one thing and being blinded by the real danger was his mistake. And if it were a real war, he would have paid for that mistake with his life.
"Because of Yugito Nii's condition, she has forfeited her match." Shisui, who wanted to just rest and gather his strength, had no choice but to look at the proctor with surprise. "Because of that, the final match will now commence. Hayate Gekko and Shisui Uchiha, please come back for the last match."
There was no rest in war. Another lesson Shisui should have already learned, but has somehow ignored. How foolish of him. And he thought he could be a Hokage with such a mindset? He had no other choice but to accept his mistakes and learn what the Third Hokage was trying to teach him through this Chunin Exam.
A.N.As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.