Little Sasuke's loud voice was causing a commotion.
Having been raised by his brother since childhood and always taught to train by him, even after witnessing the fearsome power of Wood Release, Little Sasuke didn't want to believe his brother would lose.
The people in the stands all turned their eyes to the noisy kid. Uchiha Fugaku glared at his youngest son, which promptly quieted Little Sasuke.
Before the third round of the match officially began.
Akihara Kagura stood on the stage, glancing over the somewhat bustling audience stands before turning to face Uchiha Itachi standing opposite him: "Your brother seems to have a lot of faith in you."
"That's why I can't lose."
Uchiha Itachi looked at Akihara Kagura, his gaze exceptionally serious.
If there is anyone in this world for whom Uchiha Itachi would sacrifice everything, it would undoubtedly be his brother Uchiha Sasuke. He didn't want to disappoint his brother.
Even though he knew very little about the intelligence on Wood Release, especially having witnessed Akihara Kagura's Wood Dragon Jutsu rampaging in the Forest of Death in person, Uchiha Itachi understood very well that this battle was destined to be difficult, yet he had no choice but to give his all in this fight!
Because…
His brother was watching everything from the audience stands!
"Oh?"
"What a coincidence."
"I also have a reason why I can't afford to lose."
Akihara Kagura looked at Uchiha Itachi, the smile on his face growing even more intense: "If I lose to you, Lord Danzo will surely abandon me completely."
"What do you mean?"
Uchiha Itachi frowned.
"You wouldn't understand."
"You live under the sun, admired by all."
"While I've always been abandoned in the darkness…"
"I was once adopted by an orphanage, thinking I found a home, only to be dragged into a dark laboratory, abandoned even by the director;
Later, Lord Danzo adopted me, and to stay by his side, I had to accomplish everything he assigned to me, yet he still chose to abandon me…"
Akihara Kagura's smile gradually turned a bit forlorn, making one feel a touch of pity: "Even though I've done well enough, even though I've done nothing wrong…"
"This…"
Uchiha Itachi seemed a bit confused.
"Because of you…"
Akihara Kagura spread his hands, a hint of cruelty slowly creeping into his eyes: "Only now do I understand that Lord Danzo always wanted me to defeat you…"
"Because when I was in the Forest of Death, I defeated everyone, except you escaped my hunt, and then he sent me to the Dark Department…"
"...Sorry."
Uchiha Itachi couldn't help frowning but still opened his mouth and said, "I didn't know, even if I did, I had to give my all to pass that exam."
"It doesn't matter…"
Akihara Kagura slowly shook his head, as if not caring at all about the past, though his smile turned uglier and uglier: "After all… now I can correct the errors of the past."
"As long as I can correct my mistake, as long as I can crush you in this exam, Lord Danzo will surely take me back!"
"..."
Uchiha Itachi remained silent, unsure of how to respond.
Should he tell the truth, that a person like Shimura Danzo is not worth following? That would probably only enrage his opponent even further!
"Hey!"
Shiranui Genma's face was a bit grim, biting on his senbon, and continued: "You two brats, pay attention to the match rules, if you kill your opponent, you won't be deemed to have passed the exam either…"
"It doesn't matter."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, unconcernedly continued: "This Chunin exam is already meaningless to me. If Uchiha Itachi were to die here, it would only prove his life is too short, perhaps his death will let others go further in their lives?"
"..."
Shiranui Genma's forehead was beginning to ache.
This brat was doing well in the previous rounds, why suddenly create trouble now, seemingly set on killing?
In the audience stands.
Many ninjas could read lips.
Quite a few people present were well aware that the final match might be a life-or-death battle, which inevitably stirred some worry in their hearts.
The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was undoubtedly among them.
Sarutobi Hiruzen understanding Akihara Kagura's lip-reading, was somewhat secretly resentful of Shimura Danzo's insidiousness, even placing this child in the Dark Department to cause trouble…
Akihara Kagura, an already extremely extreme child, turned even darker because of abandonment, making it even harder to correct this child's mindset.
"Shisui…"
The ten-year-old Uchiha Izumi, sitting next to Uchiha Shisui, spoke with a worried expression: "Itachi-kun will definitely win, right?"
"Itachi is the best."
Uchiha Shisui slowly nodded.
It was just comfort words from Uchiha Shisui to Uchiha Izumi.
As an excellent ninja, Uchiha Shisui could see the gap between Akihara Kagura and Uchiha Itachi, knowing it's very difficult for Uchiha Itachi to defeat him now…
Uchiha Shisui knew more than Uchiha Izumi. He knew from Uchiha Itachi that the opponent had an even more terrifying Wood Dragon Jutsu...
If Akihara Kagura truly harbored murderous intent towards Uchiha Itachi, it might pose a life threat to Uchiha Itachi.
"Start the match!"
Shiranui Genma's voice echoed throughout the venue.
Upon hearing the voice to start the match, both kids in the field moved almost simultaneously. Uchiha Itachi hurled four shuriken with a flick of his wrist, disappearing from his original position in an instant!
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Akihara Kagura instantly formed a hand sign!
A tree root burst forth rapidly, blocking Akihara Kagura's front and Uchiha Itachi's shuriken!
Tree roots drilled out from the ground one after another!
With the spreading of the roots, towering trees grew within the field, covering the entire arena in no time, transforming the exam stage into an ancient forest!
Uchiha Itachi had once seen Akihara Kagura using giant trees to attack enemies and understood these trees were all under Akihara Kagura's Chakra control. He dared not stay in any location, having no choice but to evade the tree root tendrils' surprise attacks within the forest!
"No advantage here…"
Uchiha Itachi darted through the forest, his eyes turning crimson red instantly, employing his Sharingan to monitor the attack trajectory of all tree roots and tendrils within his sight, identifying spots for a brief leap!
In the next moment…
Uchiha Itachi's expression dramatically changed.
Because all the branches and vines of the giant trees in the forest converged upward.
The massive Chakra reaction was nearly suffocating, making everyone in the examination hall aware that a dangerous jutsu was about to manifest!
"Although a single Deep Forest Emergence could defeat you, it might still be a little tricky…"
Akihara Kagura's voice seemed relaxed, slowly continuing: "If it's a battle between Wood Release and Sharingan, maybe we should make it a bit more dramatic…"
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
The trunks of the giant trees continued growing upward, twisting into immense vines, weaving together to form a colossal Wood Dragon rising aggressively!
This Wood Dragon spanned over a hundred meters in length. Merely the size alone seemed capable of destroying the entire field at any moment, causing those who watched to feel a ripple of dread!
A massive vine stretched towards the Wood Dragon.
Akihara Kagura stepped onto the vine, eyes fixed ahead, stepping slowly and resolutely onto the head of the Wood Dragon.