Although Kiba lost to Naruto in the first round, his score was above eighty, so he still advanced to the second round.
He had been pretty happy when he first heard he made it. After all, it meant he could still raise his ranking.
But now that he saw his opponent was Sasuke , Kiba felt like maybe advancing wasn't such a good thing after all.
"Kiba, you got this! Try learning from Shikamaru!"
Naruto shouted energetically.
Sasuke glanced at him out of reflex.
After hearing Naruto's words, he couldn't help letting out a cold snort. An Uchiha wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.
"Miracles aren't that easy to repeat."
Ino shook her head.
"From what I know about Sasuke, he'll definitely go all-out from the start."
"It's my fault you're stuck with this."
Shikamaru patted Kiba's shoulder apologetically.
"Remember to treat me to Ichiraku later."
Kiba muttered heroically, then walked to the arena like he was going to his execution.
He used the same trick as before, opening with Four-Legs Technique to boost his attack speed for an early advantage.
But Sasuke gave him no such chance.
Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!
Standing in place, Sasuke formed seals. His body arched back slightly and he spat out a barrage of small fireballs.
Under his precise control, the fireballs fanned out like scattered blossoms, sealing off every angle around Kiba.
Kiba's speed was good, but there were too many fireballs. One misstep, and he was hit.
Flames caught onto his jacket.
He panicked instantly, canceled his Four-Legs Technique, yanked off the burning jacket, threw it to the ground and stomped it out frantically.
From beginning to end, Sasuke never chased him. He just watched calmly.
"I surrender."
Kiba said with lingering fear.
If Sasuke had launched another Fire Style jutsu while he was putting out the flames, he would've been seriously injured, if not worse.
"Winner: Sasuke Uchiha."
Kitazawa announced.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura squealed.
This fight was completely one-sided, clean, effortless, overwhelmingly cool.
"Sasuke is seriously scary right now…"
Shikamaru shrank his neck.
"Glad I didn't have to fight him again."
"The stronger the opponent, the more worthwhile the fight!"
Naruto shouted, fired up.
"I wanna spar with Sasuke right now, in the name of youth!"
"You're not normal either."
Kiba grumbled as he stepped off the field. Why were there so many monsters in their class? Aren't they first-years? Anyone who didn't know better would think they were taking the Chunin Exams.
"Students who drew number three, please come forward."
Kitazawa interrupted their chatter.
"I'm number three."
Shikamaru looked around.
"Who else is number three?"
"I… I'm number three."
A soft, timid voice responded.
"Oh crap, Hinata."
Shikamaru felt his vision darken. Hinata might look fragile, but she had the Byakugan.
Shikamaru only gained the upper hand against Sasuke earlier because his Shadow Imitation Jutsu caught him off guard.
But every ninjutsu required chakra to function. Against the Byakugan, his shadows had nowhere to hide. Any movement in his shadow would be exposed instantly.
This was unwinnable.
"Looks like I'm not the only unlucky one."
Kiba smirked.
"Hinata! Don't hold back, beat him up!"
Ino shouted without mercy.
Hinata froze for a second, then hurried onto the field.
She exhaled softly, then looked toward Kitazawa.
"Do your best."
Kitazawa said with a gentle smile.
Hinata nodded hard.
"Hinata, let's just… take it easy."
Shikamaru said with a pained expression as he entered the arena.
"Byakugan, activate!"
Hinata's face tensed. She took a Gentle Fist stance, completely serious.
After all, Shikamaru nearly defeated Sasuke earlier. She couldn't underestimate him. And after training so long under Kitazawa, she didn't want to stop at the second round.
Shikamaru twitched. She looked like she was about to kill him. Normally he would've surrendered immediately.
But now…
Well…
For summer vacation, he had to fight.
The moment the match began, Shikamaru threw two kunai. While retreating, he formed hand signs. But Hinata didn't dodge like he expected. She sprinted straight forward.
As the kunai reached her, her palms flashed left and right.
Both kunai were smacked away.
She closed in instantly. Her palm lifted.
Shadow Imitation Jutsu!
Shikamaru managed to activate it in the nick of time. But the next second, Hinata's fingers pressed lightly onto his wrist.
His chakra flow was disrupted. His shadow shrank back instantly like a snake struck at the weak point.
Hinata moved swiftly, a full-force Gentle Fist strike hit Shikamaru's torso.
Shikamaru, unable to use chakra, was blasted backward and landed flat on the ground.
Hinata froze in place.
That was… it?
She didn't expect him to fall so fast. She didn't expect herself to be this strong.
She had no idea that Kitazawa had mastered Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and with her father Hiashi's tutelage, her growth outpaced Shikamaru's by far.
"Hinata, you're amazing."
Shikamaru stood up and brushed dirt off himself.
"You're way stronger than during the practice match."
Ino asked enviously,
"So this is the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan?"
Even among clans with secret techniques, nothing compared to a true kekkei genkai.
"Everyone's getting stronger, huh…"
Choji scratched his head.
"Is Kitazawa-sensei's training really that helpful?"
"It's super helpful!"
Ino said instantly, practically glowing.
"Kitazawa-sensei's knowledge is insane, he can even give tips on secret techniques."
"True."
Shikamaru sighed.
"It's just… exhausting."
Shadow carving, intense combat drills, he had suffered plenty.
Hinata nodded at the first half of his sentence…
And then shook her head at the second.
"I don't think it's exhausting."
Naruto tilted his head.
"If you've got free time, you can join Guy-sensei's training too."
"What's that like?"
Choji asked.
"It's easy."
Naruto said proudly.
"You wake up at 5 AM, run thirty laps around the village, then do pull-ups, frog jumps, handstand runs..."
"What?!"
Choji broke into a cold sweat.
"Is that even human?"
Ino was stunned. From 5 AM to 9 PM? She wouldn't survive half a day.
"No wonder you've improved so much."
Even Sakura looked at Naruto differently now. She had always thought he was just loud and impulsive, not calm and cool like Sasuke.
But this kind of inhuman training? She couldn't help but admire it.
Sasuke felt phantom pain just listening. He had been training with Guy and Naruto lately. But he could only finish one-third, at most half, of the regimen.
Naruto completed every set, every time. That was why Sasuke now saw him as his greatest rival.
Although he almost got overturned by Shikamaru today…
"Students with number four, take the field."
Kitazawa called.
"It's my turn!"
Sakura looked instinctively toward Sasuke, eyes full of expectation.
But he didn't notice at all. He was thinking about how to deal with Hinata if they fought.
He had already lost to Neji before, if he lost to Hinata too, that would be humiliating.
"Good luck, Sakura."
Ino, Shikamaru and the others cheered.
"Wait, who's my opponent?"
Sakura looked around.
"Me."
Shino Aburame adjusted his glasses.
"…"
Sakura's face turned pale.
Just imagining those swarms of insects made her skin crawl.
"I surrender!"
She said instantly.
Forget the bugs, even without that, she wasn't Shino's match. And her training under Kitazawa was in medical ninjutsu, not combat.
"Winner: Shino Aburame."
Kitazawa didn't seem surprised. In battle, protecting the medic was a universal rule, and nearly official policy.
"Number five, take the field."
Kitazawa announced.
"Looks like I'm the luckiest!"
Ino smiled brightly.
Most clan heirs, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Hinata, had already fought. The only civilian prodigy, Sakura, also fought.
Her opponent was just an ordinary girl. Ino remembered her, decent grades, middle of the pack, but far below her.
She greeted her, then formed seals. Two clones appeared.
Three Inos charged forward. The girl panicked, got overwhelmed, and was punched out of the match.
"Take a twenty-minute break. After that, we begin Round Three, the final round of this exam."
Kitazawa announced.
"Only students who scored ninety or above across the first two rounds advance."
Iruka followed up:
"The students entering Round Three are:
Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Shino Aburame, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, and Shikamaru Nara."
"Finally almost over…"
Shikamaru sighed.
"But you made it. You still have another fight."
Choji nudged him.
Choji had performed well, but with no clan secret techniques, he didn't make it. Sakura was similar, she learned medical ninjutsu, so Kitazawa removed her from combat rounds.
Kiba had clan techniques but lacked his dog today, weakening him drastically, and after two losses he didn't make it either.
"I've got no choice."
Shikamaru groaned.
"I have my reasons."
"Sasuke!"
Naruto pumped his fists.
"In the name of youth, I'll be number one!"
"You're nowhere close."
Sasuke clenched his hand. For the honor of the Uchiha, he would take first place.
Hinata looked at Kitazawa.
She couldn't possibly waste his training.