Chapter 122: The Wealthy Uchiha
Mieko instantly activated her Sharingan and launched several shuriken in one fluid motion.
However, Kido Kohaku responded by throwing a kunai with an explosive tag attached. Both kunoichi quickly retreated as the tag detonated.
Mieko's eyes narrowed behind her Sharingan. She immediately circled around the smoke and charged toward her opponent.
After creating some distance, Kido Kohaku rapidly formed hand seals and called out, "Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
As Mieko advanced, she noticed the mist growing thicker around her. She quickly formed hand seals of her own. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball roared toward Kohaku, but she countered with the Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu. The intense flames evaporated a significant amount of water, ironically making the mist even denser. Within moments, Kohaku had vanished completely from view.
Mieko frowned, her Sharingan spinning uselessly. The dense mist blocked even her enhanced vision. She backed away from the thickest part of the fog, thinking to herself, A combination attack would be perfect right now.
The mist blanketed most of the arena, spreading into the forest area as well. Mieko stood at the edge, carefully considering her options.
The judges were impressed by the tactical display. Genma remarked, "Smart move. She came fully prepared to counter the Sharingan. Mieko's going to have trouble fighting blind in that mist."
The fog continued expanding outward. Mieko reached for a storage scroll at her waist, unrolled it, and formed a hand seal.
In a massive puff of smoke, hundreds of kunai with explosive tags attached materialized. She grabbed them by the handful and hurled them all into the mist.
The resulting explosions stunned everyone watching.
Two Kirigakure jonin in the audience looked absolutely horrified. "What a waste! If you're going to blow through hundreds of explosive tags in a Chunin Exam match, you might as well donate them to our village!"
Kaito's jaw dropped. Did she just burn through 75,000 ryo in ten seconds? These clan kids...
Even Mieko's parents wore odd expressions, though they said nothing.
The chain of explosions tore through the Hidden Mist, dispersing it completely. Though smoke now filled the area, Mieko's Sharingan could easily penetrate it.
Kido Kohaku hadn't seen the explosive tags coming. She stood frozen in shock as explosion after explosion erupted throughout the mist around her.
Two tags detonated close enough to singe her left forearm with burns—she hadn't been fast enough to escape completely. The thunderous blasts left her ears ringing painfully.
Mieko immediately moved through the smoke toward her disoriented opponent. Kohaku hadn't yet recovered from the shock and pain.
Closing the distance, Mieko rapidly formed hand seals about twenty meters out. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Kido Kohaku couldn't see or hear Mieko clearly, but she sensed the attack coming.
She desperately formed her own seals. As her hands moved, she finally spotted the fireball rushing straight at her.
"Water Style: Water Wall!" The protective barrier formed just as she leaped backward. The fireball slammed into the water wall and exploded on impact.
The thin sheet of water couldn't fully contain the blast. As Kohaku retreated, she caught movement from the corner of her eye—several shuriken flying at her from the right.
After launching the Fireball Jutsu, Mieko had used the Body Flicker Technique to reposition to Kohaku's flank.
With shuriken coming at her horizontally, Kohaku's only option was to jump. She launched herself upward, aiming to land on a tree branch behind her.
She barely dodged the projectiles, but then her eyes widened as she saw Mieko suddenly clench her fist and yank it backward.
Several of the shuriken had been attached to ninja wire. When Mieko pulled, the wires went taut.
Kohaku's left leg became entangled in two of the wires, stopping her jump completely and sending her plummeting downward.
Falling awkwardly, Kohaku instinctively threw her hands forward to break her fall.
But at the last second, Mieko jerked the wires toward herself, causing Kohaku to slam face-first into the ground and skid forward a full meter.
It took Kohaku several dazed seconds to push herself up. That was more than enough time for Mieko to appear behind her, plant a foot on her back, and press a kunai to her throat. "It's over. Surrender."
Kohaku grimaced. "Tch... I surrender."
Inoichi Yamanaka appeared in the center of the arena and announced loudly, "The winner of the fourth match is Uchiha Mieko!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. Mieko grinned confidently and walked off.
The Kirigakure delegation looked grim. They'd lost all three matches against Konoha genin so far. Their only victory had been Sakai Yumi defeating another Mist ninja.
One of the Kirigakure jonin tried to reassure his colleague. "Don't worry. Rintaro and Sakai Yumi should win their upcoming matches. That Uchiha girl has to beat both of them to advance."
The other nodded, though he didn't look convinced.
Back at the judges' table, Ibiki sighed. "I was hoping to see some proper Kirigakure assassination techniques today."
Genma chuckled. "At least she won decisively."
Raido nodded. "Renjiro's students are all exceptionally strong. The Chunin Exams are basically just a formality for them."
Genma added, "That Kirigakure kunoichi had a solid strategy, though. The Hidden Mist counter to Sharingan was well-executed."
Ibiki shook his head. "Strategy doesn't matter if it fails. During real missions, if your counter-tactic gets overwhelmed like that, you and your team are dead."
Raido and Genma exchanged glances but didn't argue further.
In the waiting room, Hodaka commented, "She's as overwhelming as ever."
Kaito nodded. "The arena's torn up pretty badly now, but that should actually help your Earth Style techniques."
Hodaka grinned at that observation.
Satsuma Rintaro glanced at Kaito and stood up.
Kaito stood as well. Hodaka said seriously, "Be careful. He looks strong."
Kaito chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm definitely going to win."
Though Kaito spoke casually, his voice carried clearly through the waiting room. Rintaro immediately lost his composure. "You bastard! I'll show you!"
Kaito just smirked and ignored him, thinking, Kids these days are too easy to provoke.
He jumped down to the arena center, with Rintaro following close behind.
Watching them take their positions, Genma observed, "This match should be interesting. Among all nine competitors, these two have the highest chakra reserves."
Raido nodded. "After hearing Inuzuka Tsume's praise for him, I'm curious to see how strong he really is."
Once both fighters were in position, Inoichi Yamanaka raised his hand. "The final quarterfinal match will now begin. Ready... start!"
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