Battle's End

It was still an utterly unremarkable opening.

Having chosen to attack first, Mikoto threw three Kunai in an instant.

The Kunai collided in midair, tracing a long arc as they flew straight toward Aburame Shibi.

Wearing his inherited sunglasses and a white Windbreaker that made him utterly inconspicuous, Aburame Shibi drew a Kunai and swiftly knocked the Shuriken out of the air.

Aburame Shibi rapidly formed Hand Seals with both hands.

"Bind."

Uchiha Mikoto frowned. "N-No... I can't move."

Mikoto discovered that her feet could no longer move.

"Dodge it, Mikoto!" Nawaki shouted from below the stage.

"It's useless. My bugs have already followed the platform and attached themselves beneath your feet. You can't move now," Aburame Shibi said.

His hands continued forming Hand Seals. "Go, my darlings."

Parasitic Destruction Bugs surged from Aburame Shibi's Windbreaker and rushed directly at Uchiha Mikoto.

Uchiha Mikoto did not panic in the slightest. She quickly formed Hand Seals, and a dazzling flash of lightning erupted around her. Several bolts of electricity coiled around her body, crackling loudly.

"Oh? Are you trying to electrocute the bugs beneath your feet with Lightning Release? Not a bad idea." Uchiha Chen watched Mikoto.

"Go, Mikoto!"

Cheers rang out from below the stage as well.

After Mikoto's lightning persisted for a moment, she found that she could move again. Aburame Shibi's bugs had already flown over.

Mikoto swiftly threw a Smoke Bomb.

Even with Mikoto using a wide spread of smoke to block his vision, Aburame Shibi did not panic at all. He extended his hands, and the Parasitic Destruction Bugs continued charging toward Mikoto.

These Chakra-draining bugs possessed an unexpectedly sharp sensitivity to an enemy's Chakra, making them perfectly capable of serving as scouts.

Found her.

According to the information relayed by the bugs' reconnaissance, second-year Uchiha Mikoto had rushed to the right after breaking free from the bugs' restraint.

"Go, Parasitic Destruction Bugs."

A huge swarm of bugs broke away from Aburame Shibi's body and closed in on Mikoto from all sides!

By the time the smoke dispersed, Mikoto was already tightly enveloped by countless bugs.

"Mikoto!" Nawaki cried anxiously from below.

Everyone knew the power of the Aburame Clan's bugs. Once they attached themselves to someone, it was difficult to escape.

Suddenly, light erupted from Uchiha Mikoto's body.

"Minato, Nawaki, get back." Amid their confused expressions, Uchiha Chen grabbed them and quickly retreated from the arena. After backing away more than twenty meters—

"Explode..."

BOOM!! A massive explosion rang out, accompanied by violent tremors in the ground. In an instant, the huge arena was engulfed by the cloud of smoke created by the blast.

The explosion had come far too suddenly. While most of the students below the stage and the watching teachers were still chatting and laughing, the violent blast had already reached a small group of students.

The entire platform seemed to have been struck by something.

When the smoke cloud from the explosion finally dissipated, one corner of the massive arena had been blown away.

"Mikoto..." Looking at the silent Training Ground, Uchiha Chen's eye twitched. The power of that explosion could probably be considered comparable to a B-rank Ninjutsu. Using so many Explosive Tags was such a waste.

"But explosions really are art." No wonder Deidara loved setting off explosions whenever he could. It really did look exhilarating.

Just then, several Shuriken shot out.

Mikoto threw several more Shuriken. They once again traced beautiful arcs as they flew toward Aburame Shibi.

Though he had not figured out what had caused that explosion, Aburame Shibi remained extremely vigilant.

He immediately knocked down the Shuriken.

Yet the Shuriken seemed to be thrown at him without regard for cost.

"It's useless. You can't hit anyone. No matter how impressive your throwing technique is, it won't work." Aburame Shibi calmly knocked down the Shuriken where he stood.

Mikoto remained unmoved.

A few seconds later, Shuriken were scattered all around Aburame Shibi.

"What?!"

It turned out that every Shuriken had been tied with transparent special thread. It was fine thread specially made by the Uchiha Clan's Cat Granny.

Ordinary people would rarely notice it.

At that moment, Mikoto pulled one of the threads taut, and all the threads formed a net that tightly bound Aburame Shibi from head to toe.

"Oh, not bad." Uchiha Chen exclaimed in admiration.

Every member of the Uchiha Clan was a master at throwing Shuriken and Kunai. This method of combining them with long threads was also a commonly used tactic of the Uchiha Clan.

"Lightning Release: Earth Walk."

Mikoto rapidly formed hand seals. Lightning Release traveled along the long wire and struck Aburame Shibi. Unable to dodge, Aburame Shibi was hit by the lightning and fell to the ground.

"The winner is Uchiha Mikoto." Orochimaru, standing extremely close by yet completely unaffected, announced Mikoto's victory after seeing Aburame Shibi fall.

He then continued, "As for the winners' training arrangements, we will contact your teachers tomorrow with the details. It's getting late now, so you're dismissed."

Mikoto walked off the platform and headed toward Uchiha Chen and the others.

"That was amazing, Mikoto." Uchiha Chen patted Mikoto on the head.

"It was nothing." Mikoto was delighted.

"By the way, what was that explosion just now, Mikoto?" Nawaki asked in confusion.

"Explosive Tags. I used Explosive Tags," Mikoto explained.

"I used Lightning Release to protect myself and electrocuted the bugs beneath my feet. Once I could move again, I used the Smoke Bomb's cover to cast Clone Jutsu and lure the bugs away."

"Then I took the chance to detonate the Explosive Tags on the clone and blow up all those bugs."

What an impressive tactic.

Now, Uchiha Chen, Minato, and Mikoto had all made it into the top three. What awaited them was guidance from the Sannin.

That carried immense significance.

After all, all three of them were orphans. They sorely lacked systematic instruction, and the Ninja Academy's step-by-step curriculum could not bring them substantial growth in strength.

As for Nawaki?

He had grown up following the Three Sannin.

So he did not care about receiving any guidance.

Still, the fact that he had not been led astray by the three of them even at his age meant Nawaki was truly an honest fellow. Or, one could say he was foolish.

It meant the same thing, anyway.

By the time Uchiha Chen returned home, the sky was already completely dark.

That was hardly surprising. The fighting during this outdoor class had lasted a long time.

By the time they left the school gates, it had already begun to get dark. Of course, the main reason was that Uchiha Chen had kept stalling and refusing to leave.

Tsunade had been blocking the entrance the whole time, so he had not dared to leave either.

In the end, Tsunade only left because she really wanted to go play a few rounds. But seeing the vicious expression on her face as she departed sent another chill through Uchiha Chen.

Didn't you see that she had snapped the Cherry Blossom Tree by the entrance?

After leaving, the four of them made a special trip to the legendary Ichiraku Ramen Shop to replenish their energy.

Uchiha Chen now lay on his bed, brimming with excitement.

It was time to tally up his points again. This was his favorite recurring segment.

"Points are art."

"My foolish system."

"Hehehehehehe."