"Sasuke Uchiha, I'll defeat you and prove my worth."
As Sasuke stepped into the arena, Zaku Abumi declared his challenge.
"Huh?"
Sasuke blinked, puzzled. Seeing a small-village ninja act so bold, he sneered, "Save your sleep-talk for your dreams."
"Hmph, you'll see."
Recalling Orochimaru's intel, Zaku grinned confidently.
"Ready? Let's begin," Hayate Gekko said, stepping back to start the second-round match.
Swish, swish, swish…
Sasuke flicked three shuriken from his pouch, hurling them at Zaku to test his strength.
"Decapitating Airwaves!"
Facing the shuriken, Zaku neither dodged nor countered with his own. Instead, he raised his right hand, revealing a hollow in his palm, formed a tiger seal, and channeled chakra through a device to convert it into air pressure, blasting from the air hole.
The pressure, like Wind Release, deflected the shuriken and roared toward Sasuke unabated.
Unlike Dosu Kinuta's sonic attacks, this caught Sasuke's attention. His dismissive look faded, black eyes shifting to scarlet two-tomoe Sharingan, and he vanished.
"Such speed!"
Candidates in the stands gasped.
Some jonin narrowed their eyes, sensing something off.
Zaku, far from alarmed, shouted gleefully, "Just what I wanted!"
He crouched, slamming both hands to the ground. "Extreme Decapitating Airwaves!"
His chakra surged into sound waves, erupting from his air holes as invisible, air-distorting tidal waves, flooding the hall.
Even Hayate, a special jonin, winced, flickering to the stands, body tensed to intervene if needed.
Sasuke reappeared a short distance behind Zaku, hands over his ears, a flicker of pain on his face.
Locking onto Sasuke's presence, Zaku spun, directing his still-gushing air pressure at him, blasting him backward.
Luckily, most of the force hit the floor, sparing Sasuke a direct hit that would've been brutal.
Even so, Sasuke felt his insides churn, his head spinning.
Like Dosu's knockout of Choji, the sound waves attacked through his body's moisture.
Facing Zaku's smug grin, Sasuke gathered chakra in his feet, clinging to the wall to brace against the fading pressure.
When it stopped, he formed seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!"
Pop, pop! Two clones appeared beside him.
The next instant, all three Sasukes vanished.
Zaku's confidence cracked, and he moved to repeat his tactic, aiming Extreme Decapitating Airwaves at the ground to trap Sasuke in a sonic field.
But he forgot—ninja battles hinged on intel.
Having failed to finish Sasuke with his info advantage, Zaku's victory slipped away.
"Extreme Decapitating Airwaves!"
Zaku slammed his hands down, unleashing another sonic tidal wave.
The invisible waves flooded the hall again.
Sasuke's two clones, moving too fast to see, were exposed, clutching their ears in pain.
Pop, pop! They dissolved into white smoke.
Seeing only two Sasukes, Zaku's face paled.
A shout rang from above.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Scorching heat poured down. Zaku looked up, his vision consumed by a massive fireball.
Too late to block, it engulfed him.
No one intervened—not even Orochimaru, who'd encouraged him.
Hayate, ready to save Sasuke, had no reason to act for a non-Konoha ninja.
"Aaagh…"
The fireball blasted a small crater, burning Zaku as he screamed.
Just before he'd burn to death, a stream of water doused the flames.
"Medical team, please," Hayate said into his radio.
Two white-clad medical ninja arrived with a stretcher, carrying Zaku away.
From start to finish, Orochimaru, Dosu, and Kin Tsuchi showed no emotion, as if their teammate's fate meant nothing.
The sight chilled many candidates.
The jonin, meanwhile, formed an impression of the Sound Village.
A brutal, cutthroat small village where the weak were prey.
The screen flickered with names again.
Soon, the third-round matchup locked in.
Hinata Hyuga vs. Kin Tsuchi.
"Hinata, you got this," Kurenai Yuhi cheered. "Win, and I'll treat you to a feast."
Izayoi said nothing, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a wristband-sized storage scroll. Forming a seal, he pulled out a camera, grinning at Hinata. "Hinata, look cool out there. I'm filming this for Hanabi."
"Mm." Hinata smiled, nodding, and walked toward the stairs.
Along the way, the rookies cheered her on.
Sasuke, heading up, warned, "Watch their weapons and devices—they use them for sonic attacks."
"Mm."
Hinata nodded again, her smile brimming with confidence.
In the hall, Kin Tsuchi, who'd leapt from the stands, stood to Hayate's left, waiting.
Looking at Hinata, Kin felt an instinctive inferiority, like Karin had.
But unlike Karin's envy, Kin's eyes burned with jealousy.
Both had long, dark hair, but Hinata's shone brighter. She wore an expensive kimono Kin could never afford, had a figure that defied their shared age, and carried an untouchable heiress aura just standing there.
From looks to essence to lineage, Kin was utterly outclassed—not even in the same league.
No—they weren't in the same world.
That fueled Kin's jealous rage.
Why was she a mere orphan while Hinata was born a kekkei genkai-wielding noble?
Why had she fought tooth and nail for a Chunin Exam spot while Hinata stood here so effortlessly?
I'll cut her hair, scar her face, make her feel inferior too.
A twisted grin crept onto Kin's face.
No one knew her thoughts.
But seeing her unsettling smile, Hinata's gentle gaze sharpened, veins bulging around her temples.
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