The preliminaries continued.
"Inuzuka Inumaki versus Matsuda Yomi!"
Shinra turned his attention toward the arena. 'So it's Inumaki this time. At least his opponent seems to be from one of the minor villages.'
Inumaki stepped forward with Yoshimaru trotting at his side. His opponent was a lean girl carrying a pair of short swords. She eyed the dog warily, apparently unsure whether it was permitted to participate.
"Your dog is fighting too? Isn't that against the rules?" she asked.
"Yoshimaru's part of the team," Inumaki replied. "If you have a problem with that, take it up with the proctor."
The girl glanced toward the man overseeing the examinations. He showed no intention of intervening.
"Both contestants are permitted to use their registered ninken. Begin!"
She moved first, rushing Inumaki before he could establish a rhythm with Yoshimaru. Her blades flashed in quick succession, forcing him to give ground while the dog circled toward her flank.
Inumaki avoided the worst of the assault, but his opponent was faster than he had anticipated. One blade grazed his sleeve, and another forced him to duck before it could reach his shoulder. Yoshimaru chose that moment to attack, lunging at the girl's leg and making her twist away.
Inumaki seized the opening with a kick to her stomach. She stumbled backward, but recovered quickly enough to bring her swords up before he could follow through.
The exchange had established the difference between them. She was the better swordswoman, and Inumaki wasn't going to win by trading blows with her.
He formed a series of hand seals and slammed both palms against the ground.
"Earth Style: Mud-Walled Maze!"
The earth beneath their feet churned. Thick walls of mud rose from the arena floor, dividing the fighting ground into a maze of narrow passages. Within seconds, the two contestants were separated from one another, their lines of sight blocked by the newly formed barriers.
Yomi stopped and examined her surroundings. She could hear movement on the other side of the walls, but she couldn't tell exactly where Inumaki was. She chose the nearest barrier and began climbing, hoping to reach the top before he could take advantage of the terrain.
She was nearly over when a rotating dark blur swept across the wall.
Yoshimaru struck her from the side, knocking her back into the maze.
Yomi landed hard and immediately tried to get back on her feet. Before she could rise, a hand emerged through an opening in the mud wall behind her and seized her by the collar. Another appeared beside it, a kunai held against her neck.
"Give up?"
Yomi froze. She could barely see Inumaki through the narrow gap, but the kunai was close enough that she had no intention of testing whether he was bluffing, the death of the earlier genin was a reminder of the true nature of this exam.
"I surrender."
The proctor raised his hand. "Winner, Inuzuka Inumaki!"
The mud walls began to crumble as Inumaki released his jutsu. He withdrew the kunai and offered Yomi a hand, helping her to her feet before returning to the sidelines with Yoshimaru beside him.
"Isolating your opponent, using your heightened sense of smell to track her, and having Yoshimaru prevent her escape," Shinra remarked. "That's a good combination."
"Thanks. Couldn't have done it without Yoshimaru."
The dog barked proudly.
"So even Yoshimaru can perform the fang over fang?," Hyori asked.
"Yeah. He's a ninken, so he can learn jutsu too. He's also a quick learner."
Yoshimaru wagged his tail, apparently satisfied with the praise.
Shinra thought back to the match and analyzed. Inumaki had struggled against a faster opponent, but he had recognized the disadvantage and changed the conditions of the fight. The maze had denied Yomi the ability to use her swords freely, while Inumaki's senses and Yoshimaru's assistance had turned her attempt to escape into another trap.
It was a good reminder of how much sensory abilities could contribute during combat. Knowing where an enemy was, even without seeing them, could be the difference between controlling a fight and losing it.
"Only two more matches before the tournament begins," Hyori said.
Shinra nodded. The next announcement came before they could continue.
"Uchiha Ren versus Kuroda Daichi!"
Ren's opponent was Hachiman Sho's teammate, the same genin who had lost to Shinomiya. Daichi entered the arena with a confident stride, rolling his shoulders as he tested the balance of his weapon.
Ren looked more focused than ever.
The proctor raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Daichi attacked immediately, using the reach of his staff to keep Ren at a distance. His opening strikes were quick and well-directed, aimed at the shoulders and knees rather than the head. Ren avoided them with minimal movement, stepping just beyond the weapon's reach whenever Daichi committed to a swing.
After several exchanges, Daichi shortened his grip and rushed forward, trying to exploit the staff's speed at closer range. He drove one end toward Ren's ribs, then reversed the weapon to strike at his head.
Ren's Sharingan activated. Two tomoe rotated around each scarlet pupil, tracking Daichi's movements.
The change in Ren's behavior was immediate. He began avoiding attacks before Daichi had fully committed to them, slipping past strikes that would have caught most genin off guard. Daichi noticed the difference and attempted to break the rhythm by feinting high before swinging low.
Ren stepped inside the attack.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Daichi's expression went vacant. His grip loosened, and the staff dipped as his attention faltered.
'Genjutsu.'
Shinra watched carefully. Ren had caught his opponent during the instant when Daichi was most focused on predicting his movements. A momentary lapse was all he needed.
Ren seized Daichi's arm before he could recover. A sharp elbow struck his abdomen, followed by a sweep that sent him crashing to the ground. Daichi tried to rise, but Ren placed a kunai against his back.
"Do you want to continue?"
Daichi remained still for a moment before shaking his head.
"No."
"Winner, Uchiha Ren!"
Ren withdrew his kunai and stepped away. Daichi retrieved his staff and left the arena, looking more irritated with himself than with the result.
Shinra watched Ren return to his place among the contestants.
'Genjutsu. I never had much experience with it beyond the Academy. If I let my guard down for even a second, it could prove fatal.'
He had spent considerable time developing his physical abilities, chakra control, and sensory perception. He knew the importance of misdirection and understood that what an opponent showed him wasn't necessarily the whole picture. Yet none of that would help if his own perception could be manipulated at the wrong moment.
He would have to account for that.
Their eyes met briefly.
Ren's gaze drifted toward Shinra's bandaged right arm before returning to his face. After watching the fight against Mira, he had more reason than ever to suspect that Shinra's apparent reliance on taijutsu was deliberate. Most importantly he still wanted to get his get back from their last fight in the academy.
Shinra met his gaze without giving anything away.
Neither of them spoke. They didn't need to. If their paths crossed in the tournament, they would have plenty to discuss through their fists.
The final preliminary match began shortly afterward.
Two contestants entered the arena, one carrying a pair of hooked blades and the another wielding a short sword. Their fight lacked the tactical complexity of Shinomiya's earlier match, but neither combatant was willing to surrender easily.
The short sword user initially controlled the exchange, using his sword to parry the hooked blades away from his body. His opponent gradually began targeting his hands, forcing him to awkwardly parry the incoming attacks rather than attack freely. After a prolonged exchange, the short sword was knocked from his grasp.
He attempted to retreat, but his opponent closed the distance and raised one of the hooked blades toward his shoulder.
"I surrender!"
The proctor stepped between them.
"Winner, Taizoo!"
With that, the preliminaries were complete.
Eight contestants had earned their places in the main tournament. The other eight had received no such opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in the preliminary arena, but their places in the bracket were no less secure.
The proctor stepped forward, waiting for the remaining genin to settle.
"The final stage of the Chūnin Exams will begin four hours from now. If you are injured or require medical assistance, you may visit the hospital during this period. All contestants are expected to assemble at the main stadium before the opening ceremony. Failure to do so will result in disqualification."
No one raised any questions.
"The tournament will consist of two brackets, with eight contestants in each. The first-round matchups are as follows."
He read the names aloud.
"First match: Kamikaze Shinra versus Nara Shinomiya.
"Second match: Tiga versus Inuzuka Inumaki.
"Third match: Uchiha Ren versus Taizoo.
"Fourth match: Raiden versus Tozen Harou.
"Fifth match: Kusakabe versus Watabe.
"Sixth match: Senya versus Aburame Muta.
"Seventh match: Hyuga Hyori versus Akimichi Taeko.
"Eighth match: Takamura versus Yu."
Shinra glanced briefly at Shinomiya, who was listening to the announcement with the same unhurried expression he had worn throughout his preliminary match.
'The opening match again. And the preliminary winners are grouped together on one side of the bracket.'
He considered the arrangement. The organizers might have wanted to avoid pitting the contestants who had already fought against those whose abilities remained largely unknown. That would give the preliminary winners a chance to observe the abilities of the contestants who hadn't fought yet.
It was a reasonable arrangement, though it meant that the preliminary winners would face one another while potentially carrying injuries or having revealed more of their techniques.
The proctor finished the announcement and dismissed them.
As the proctor turned away, Shinra noticed that his hand looked unusually pale. The man flexed his fingers once before slipping it into his sleeve and disappearing into the corridor.
He left the examination building with Hyori and Inumaki. The morning had been longer than he expected, and the prospect of a proper meal was considerably more appealing than another discussion about combat.
They found food near the examination grounds and settled at a table away from the busiest streets. Yoshimaru immediately began investigating Inumaki's meal, prompting a brief argument that ended with the dog receiving a small piece of meat.
Shinra shook his head and returned to his meal. His attention was divided between his teammates and the tournament ahead. He had secured his place, but the remaining matches would be more difficult.
The Daimyo, influential nobles, wealthy clients, and representatives from the participating villages would all be watching. Their opinions mattered to the village, although Shinra wasn't particularly concerned with impressing them for his own sake. He was still a genin, after all. He was more interested in fishing for his own benefits.
A genin who performed well could bring prestige to his village. A village whose candidates consistently demonstrated exceptional ability could attract more missions and strengthen its reputation.
Their conversation eventually turned to the bracket.
Inumaki was particularly interested in the Sunagakure poison user. He had watched Tiga's preliminary match closely, and the sight of Yomen collapsing had left him uneasy.
"I could faintly smell a corrosive substance from the stand, but that was only when Yomen started acting up" Inumaki admitted. "Before that I was unable to tell if anything was wrong."
"I used the Byakugan to look for hidden weapons, but I couldn't find anything. Whatever method he used to poison Yomen was very discreet," Hyori said.
"Whatever he used, it made his opponent lose control of his movements, without noticing any prior abnormalities." Shinra said. "If you fight him, keep your distance and take him down quickly. Don't give him time to set anything up and always be alert of your condition."
Inumaki nodded, his expression growing serious.
"I'll be careful."
They finished their meal and returned to the area designated for the contestants. Some genin spent the remaining time sleeping, while others reviewed their techniques or spoke quietly with their teammates. A few had already begun arguing over the likely tournament favorites.
Several hours passed before the contestants were gathered and escorted toward the main stadium.
The noise reached them before the arena came into view. Thousands of voices blended into a steady roar, punctuated by cheers and the occasional shout from the stands. The atmosphere was entirely different from the tense silence of the examination building.
They emerged into the sunlight and found themselves looking at an arena built to accommodate a crowd far larger than anything they had encountered during the preliminaries.
Tier upon tier of spectators surrounded the fighting ground. Banners representing the participating villages hung from the upper levels, while guards and officials occupied carefully arranged positions around the stadium. At one end, an elevated section had been prepared for the most important guests.
The Daimyo and his entourage were already seated there.
On the opposite side sat the Hokage alongside Ebizo the representative from Sunagakure, both positioned where the entire arena could be observed.
'So Rasa didn't come personally. Either he had more important matters to attend to, or he didn't trust Konoha with his safety. Smart choice.'
Shinra's gaze passed over the assembled nobles, officials, and clan heads in the audience, taking in the security arrangements and the attention directed toward the central fighting ground.
The Daimyo's presence alone made it clear that the tournament was more than a sporting event. This was a public demonstration of military strength, with every village hoping to distinguish itself before the people who funded its missions and influenced its standing.
The contestants were led to their designated area and arranged in a line near the center of the stadium. Shinra stood beside Hyori and Inumaki, studying the arena while the crowd continued to settle.
'I've finally made it this far.'
He remembered the effort it had taken to reach this point, the missions, the training, and the encounters that had forced him to grow faster than he had intended. Yet standing in front of thousands of spectators, he understood that reaching the tournament was only another milestone he had to cross.
Hiruzen's voice rang out across the stadium, amplified so that even the furthest spectators could hear it.
"Honored guests, and representatives of the great shinobi villages! Welcome to the final stage of the Chūnin Exams!"
The crowd erupted.
Shinra kept his expression composed as the cheers rolled across the arena. Somewhere among the stands, people were already choosing their favorites. Others would be watching for weaknesses, searching for signs of the next generation's strongest shinobi.
His gaze briefly settled on the Hokage's seat.
Danzo had already made his intentions clear. Refusing him outright would only invite trouble, and Shinra had no intention of becoming a mindless tool in Root's hands. If he wanted to keep Danzo at a distance, he needed someone whose authority even the old hawk couldn't casually ignore.
There were very few people in Konoha who could serve that purpose.
The Hokage was one of them.
'Let's see how much attention I can get from you, old man.'