The Third Hokage. His presence was immediately felt—not as a crushing force, but as a calm, steady aura. Sarutobi himself looked as he always did: traditional white robes, the symbolic hat, and an attentive gaze.
The spectators immediately rose from their seats. Several young shinobi straightened unconsciously and began to grow nervous.
"Well, that's bad," Shikaku muttered quietly. "Now I'll have to lose in front of the Hokage too."
Shikuma smirked faintly.
"Then try to perform especially well today."
Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest, casting a brief glance at her teacher, while Jiraiya whistled.
"Is it just me, or has sensei gotten even older?"
Hiruzen's gaze slowly swept across the participants. Then he gave a short nod to the examiner, who stepped forward and said:
"The third stage of the Chunin Exam is hereby declared open! The participants whose names I call are to immediately step down into the arena for their match!"
A wave of approving murmurs rolled through the stands.
"First match: Nara Shikaku versus Hyuga Hiashi!"
Standing beside Kuro, the Nara heir groaned painfully, closing his eyes as if already cursing his fate.
"Well, that's it."
"Just don't lose too quickly," Kuro remarked mockingly.
"Great support, thanks."
Hiashi was already walking toward the center of the arena, as calm and composed as ever, with a distinct air of arrogance. Shikaku also descended, and for the first time that morning, concentration could be seen in his eyes.
Whispers spread across the stands as the examiner raised his hand.
"Begin!"
And at that moment, the third stage truly began.
As soon as the command was given, Shikaku sharply swung his arm, sending dozens of kunai flying toward the Hyuga.
Hiashi did not even flinch. His hands flashed into a defensive stance and then began moving smoothly yet precisely. One kunai he knocked aside, the second he caught and threw back, the third he avoided with a slight twist of his body. Several blades he deflected with precise palm strikes, as if they were nothing more than training projectiles.
The sound of metal hitting the ground echoed throughout the arena. Only when the last kunai had been deflected did the Hyuga calmly activate his Byakugan, veins instantly bulging at his temples.
"If that is all the Nara heir is capable of," his voice was even, but tinged with faint disdain, "then perhaps I won't even need my dōjutsu."
Despite these words, Shikaku remained completely focused. His face did not move, without a trace of irritation or panic. He began pulling more weapons from the storage seals attached to his arms and continued what seemed like useless long-range attacks: dozens of kunai and shuriken flying toward the enemy.
In response, Hiashi indifferently deflected them, scattering them across the battlefield—the arena now resembled a minefield of embedded metal.
"Pointless," someone in the audience muttered quietly.
Hiashi seemed to grow tired of it as well. His stance changed, and he suddenly dashed forward, preparing to end everything with a single strike. The Hyuga's speed was impressive—only an instant passed before the distance was cut in half. His palm shot forward, fingers positioned for a precise Gentle Fist strike.
But at that moment Shikaku's shadow moved.
A black strip on the ground stretched rapidly toward the opponent. Hiashi immediately noticed it and, thanks to his speed, stepped aside while continuing to close the distance.
"Too slow," he said coldly.
But in the next moment, the Hyuga's expression changed ever so slightly.
The shadow behind him suddenly accelerated, as if reaching toward markers—the shadows cast by the kunai stuck all across the battlefield. What had seemed like a desperate attempt to force a long-range fight had actually become a network of anchor points for the Nara technique.
"He's using the shadows of the weapons," Shikuma said quietly, clear approval in his voice.
The situation forced Hiashi to accelerate sharply and move away from the line of attack, but the opponent's technique was too sudden. He had to use his trump card.
In the next moment, a surge of chakra flared around his body. At first light and unstable, like a trembling halo. But as soon as he began to spin, the flow instantly intensified. His movements grew faster, the chakra condensed, twisting into a small sphere and pushing away every nearby weapon.
It was the initial stage of the Hyuga's absolute defense— Revolving Heaven.
Shikaku's shadow, already close to closing around its target, was stopped by the wave of chakra and scattered as if blown away by a gust of wind. When the rotation slowed and the technique faded, Hiashi stopped and looked at his opponent.
His Byakugan was still active. But now there was not a trace of mockery in his gaze—only complete seriousness, bordering on barely restrained anger. Just now, that lazy man had almost disgraced the heir of the Hyuga clan, and that was unacceptable.
Seeing that his plan had failed and that Hiashi's gaze had changed, Shikaku slowly exhaled. He tried to assess the distance, the amount and location of the remaining weapons, and the opponent's condition.
And came to an obvious conclusion.
It was time to safely surrender. The same trick would not work a second time, and there was no way he could trap someone with 360-degree vision otherwise. Besides, the Nara did not have much chakra left.
He raised his hands with a lazy smirk on his face.
"I surrender."
Surprised exclamations rang out in the stands. The examiner looked carefully at both participants, then nodded and announced:
"The winner—Hyuga Hiashi!"
Hiashi stared at his opponent for a few seconds longer, as if checking for a trick, and only then deactivated his Byakugan. But there was no satisfaction on his face.
As Shikaku climbed the steps back to the stands, Kuro smirked.
"You still lost."
"I almost caught him," the Nara replied calmly. "Which means the plan itself wasn't bad. Next time I'll just prepare a backup."
Meanwhile, the examiner announced the next match.
"Second match: Hyuga Hizashi versus Akira Mizuno!"
Hizashi, Hiashi's twin brother, stepped into the arena with the same calm confidence. His opponent, a kunoichi with bright red hair who specialized in fire release, immediately formed hand seals after the match began and unleashed a stream of flames, aiming to overwhelm him from a distance.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"
But Hizashi activated his Byakugan instantly. He easily dodged the flames while closing the distance, and once in close combat he began to dominate. Precise Gentle Fist strikes blocked Akira's tenketsu, preventing her from forming chakra for new techniques. She tried to counterattack with punches, but Hizashi easily suppressed her attempt, finishing the fight with a series of blows to the torso. The girl flew back several meters and lost consciousness.
"The winner—Hyuga Hizashi!"
"Third match: Senju Nawaki versus Takashi Ryu!"
Nawaki, full of enthusiasm, jumped down into the arena, cracking his fists. His opponent, a sturdy guy with bandages wrapped around his hands who specialized in taijutsu, immediately rushed into close combat, relying on brute force and a series of powerful strikes.
But Nawaki did not retreat. He met the attacks with solid blocks and counterattacked with doubled strength—his fists, in which he concentrated chakra, tore through his opponent's defense like paper. Takashi tried to fall back into defense, but the Senju gave him no chance. One precise strike to the solar plexus, followed by an uppercut—and the opponent flew into the wall, not getting up.
"The winner—Senju Nawaki!"
Nawaki raised his fist into the air, smiling. Mikoto nodded at this with a warm smile.
"He's gotten stronger."
"Well, he was lucky with his opponent too," Jiraiya added with a grin, immediately earning an angry glare from Tsunade.
The examiner raised his hand and announced the participants of the next duel.
"Fourth match: Nara Kuro versus Yukio Takada!"
Kuro slowly began descending into the arena, feeling the gazes of everyone present upon him. Yukio was already waiting there, with a slightly nervous expression on his face.
Soon the examiner gave the command.
"Begin!"