Chapter 418: Determination to Win
"So Shisui is participating in this Chunin Exams," Anko said, mildly surprised as she heard the referee's announcement.
She had not seen Shisui since he graduated, so she had no idea he was entering the exams directly.
"Some people from the same class get complacent after a small result in a grade level practical exam," Kotetsu muttered with a sigh, "while others are already on the verge of becoming chunin. What a world."
Anko's troublemaker radar activated on instinct. Her eyes slid from the arena to Kotetsu sitting beside her.
She heard hidden meaning in his words.
"Kotetsu, you're right to lecture me," Izumo said at once, wearing a guilty expression as if those words were aimed at him. "I shouldn't get arrogant just because I made it into the semifinals of the grade level practical exam. Shisui is clearly someone we should learn from."
A flicker of guilt crossed Anko's face. Maybe she really was too violent with her comrades. Maybe she should be gentler.
Kotetsu, out of Anko's line of sight, gave Izumo a thumbs up. Their coordination was flawless. This was their combined technique.
Izumo returned Kotetsu's smile, then looked back toward the center of the arena.
Shisui and Tekka were already standing opposite each other. After forming the Confrontation Seal, they steadied themselves, ready for the battle to begin.
Facing Shisui's calm gaze, Tekka's own heart was strangely calm as well.
Before the match even started, he already knew the outcome.
Without a doubt, the winner would be Shisui, not him.
The gap between them was too wide. Tekka could not see even a sliver of hope.
Unlike Obito, Tekka had known Shisui since Shisui was already recognized as a genius within the clan. Losing to him carried no psychological burden at all.
After all, Tekka had never beaten Shisui once since childhood.
"Begin!" the referee shouted, flashing back the moment both were ready.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Tekka formed hand seals quickly, gathered chakra, and spat a blazing fireball straight at Shisui.
Even if the result felt predetermined, he had to fight with everything he had. That was the proper conduct of an Uchiha.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Shisui also favored the Great Fireball as an opener. The instant the referee gave the signal, Shisui answered with the same technique.
But even with the same jutsu, the difference between users was obvious.
A jutsu's power depended on too many factors: the amount of chakra, the level of nature transformation, and the user's proficiency, among others.
Shisui had awakened the three tomoe Sharingan and mastered Flame Breathing to a constant state. Naturally, he surpassed Tekka in every category.
Tekka watched his fireball get swallowed, and could only throw himself into a desperate dodge.
Shisui, having gained the advantage, did not allow him the comfort of escaping.
He flicked his wrist and launched ninja tools immediately.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Several shuriken came in from tricky angles, and despite Tekka's efforts, they still tore across his body, leaving fresh wounds.
"As expected of Shisui," Uchiha Inabi said with approval. "He's crushing him in every way."
Even seeing Tekka forced into such a miserable state, Inabi did not blame him.
Shisui was simply too strong. Even if Inabi himself, already a chunin, stepped in, the result would not change.
In Inabi's eyes, Shisui might already be capable of fighting an Uchiha jonin.
Under Shisui's relentless pressure, Tekka could not resist for long.
Less than a minute later, he fell.
"Winner: Uchiha Shisui," the referee announced.
The crowd instantly grew lively.
Within the clan, Shisui's genius was well known. In the Ninja Academy, he was recognized as a super genius.
But across Konoha as a whole, Shisui was not truly famous yet.
The Uchiha did not go around bragging about their own talents to outsiders, and the Academy's influence had limits. Unless a student's identity was especially notable, few villagers paid attention.
But after that first match, things changed.
Anyone with even a little discernment could tell Shisui was not ordinary.
Still, because of Tekka's level, it was hard for them to judge whether Shisui had reached the level of Kakashi or Obito.
"First Obito appears, and now Shisui," a shinobi exclaimed. "The Uchiha really live up to being Konoha's top noble clan."
For common shinobi, producing a genius like that was one in a thousand.
The Uchiha had produced two in a row.
Hearing the praise directed at Shisui, Fugaku's expression softened into a faint smile.
These were the future of the clan.
"The most important thing for a shinobi is strength," Fugaku said earnestly, using the moment to teach. "As long as you are strong enough, everything gets better."
In Fugaku's view, the clan's predicament had always had a simple solution.
Produce someone strong enough to become Hokage.
Fugaku did not believe it would be him. He was already nearly thirty, and his strength was unlikely to rise dramatically anymore.
But Shisui and Obito were different. Their talent surpassed even Uchiha Kagami's.
If Itachi also possessed talent on that level, then in a few decades, one of those three would surely become Hokage.
Itachi did not fully understand what Fugaku meant, but he silently carved those words into his heart.
Battle after battle began and ended.
Yet no one else displayed the kind of overwhelming dominance Shisui had shown.
When the second round started, Shisui still handled his opponent easily, moving with the same calm, effortless rhythm.
"The talent Obito and Shisui are showing has already surpassed Kagami's," Hiruzen thought, stroking his goatee as he observed. "But with Minato and Mugetsu guiding them, there shouldn't be problems."
Hiruzen was not as obsessed as Danzo when it came to the Uchiha, but he still remained cautious.
The Uchiha had, after all, genuinely rebelled once.
During the Second Hokage's reign, a hawkish Uchiha named Setsuna attempted a coup. It was suppressed by ANBU sent by the Second Hokage, and that incident was the reason the Uchiha remained under long term surveillance for years.
Now, because the clan's behavior had been relatively peaceful, the surveillance had relaxed significantly, usually only one or two ANBU watching.
If Shisui and Obito's teacher had not been Mugetsu, Hiruzen would have chosen one of them for ANBU training.
There was no malice in that, only the desire to strengthen Will of Fire education. But with Mugetsu involved, Hiruzen felt far more at ease.
Round by round, the audience's understanding of Shisui's strength deepened.
If one judged purely by dominance, Shisui looked even stronger than Obito and Kakashi had been in the previous exams.
In that last Chunin Exams, even Kakashi, the eventual winner, had struggled once he entered the third round.
Shisui was different.
Even after defeating his final opponent, he remained calm, composed, and completely unbothered.
Of course, even ordinary people understood why.
The previous exams had been packed with strong candidates. Once the third round began, the gaps between them were small, and every fight turned brutal.
This year was not like that. Besides Shisui, there were genin who performed well, but none were anywhere near Obito and Might Guy's level.
"Damn it," Obito muttered, watching Shisui in the arena while the crowd cheered. "I should've known better than to be an examiner. I should've joined the Chunin Exams again."
In the last Chunin Exams, he had not even reached the finals. He was eliminated by Kakashi in the semifinals.
This time, Obito was sure of one thing.
If he did not run into Shisui, he could make the finals easily.
"You're already a chunin," Kakashi snapped, speechless. "You want to participate in the Chunin Exams?"
"That's the one thing you have zero right to say," Obito fired back indignantly. "Last year, you had been a chunin for years and still shamelessly participated!"
If Kakashi had not blocked his path, Obito would have at least made it into the top two.
Kakashi's mouth twitched.
"That was Minato sensei's arrangement," he said stiffly. "Not something I wanted."
To be fair, when Kakashi was told he had to participate again, he had been confused too. He was an old chunin already. Why take the exam again?
Later, he understood.
It had been Konoha's precaution to keep the joint Chunin Exams from going wrong and letting Kirigakure take a huge win.
Konoha was not co hosting the exams to make Kirigakure famous. They were displaying strength and attracting missions. The candidates' performance was a contest between Konoha and Kirigakure.
And the concern had not been unfounded.
Kirigakure had been even more unscrupulous than expected. Kakashi still remembered several Mist genin who did not feel like genin at all, especially the squad that included the shark faced one.
"No," Obito said, eyes narrowing as he stared at the arena. "Next time, I'm asking Mugetsu sensei."
He wanted first place in a Chunin Exams.
Kakashi's expression almost broke. He was convinced Mugetsu would never agree to something that reckless.
If people who failed this exam kept coming back, and then discovered the examiner from last time had become a candidate and was taking the exam alongside them, the psychological damage would be ridiculous.
"Instead of that," Kakashi said, forcing the topic away, "you should worry about the internal battle coming up soon. Haven't you noticed? Three months is almost up."
Honestly, Kakashi had not paid much attention either. Time vanished when training was constant.
But lately, Might Guy had been trying to challenge Kakashi nonstop, hoping to break through the Eight Gates under pressure. That was when Kakashi remembered the deadline, and he had been using it as an excuse to stall.
"I'm still a little short on Haki," Kakashi thought anxiously. "Can I make it in time?"
The cost of losing was too high. Even he did not want to lose.
Hearing Kakashi's reminder, Obito's expression darkened too.
He had suffered enough of those miserable days of homework.
"This time," Obito swore silently, "I will absolutely not underestimate my opponent again."
The lesson from failure had been painfully clear.
Now, Obito had only one goal.
Win, no matter what.
"Shisui," Obito thought, confidence burning in his chest, "don't underestimate my determination to never do homework again."
He had thoroughly studied Shisui.
With his own solid strength, he was sure of it.
This time, he would win.
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