"Round two of the exams officially—
Umino Ikkaku drew out the last word, then took a deep breath and shouted with all his might:
Begin!"
"Buzz."
It was as if the world had been muted at that very moment.
Without warning.
Without a sign.
No, there was!
This time was different from the last!
Countless ninja focused their attention on Hiroki, eager to see his jutsu clearly!
This time—
They saw it!
Yes, they saw it. There had been a faint trace of chakra fluctuation!
He really had been using a jutsu. The chakra fluctuation had simply been so weak, and there had been no warning at all, that everyone had overlooked it in the previous round!
This time, plenty of people had seen it—Rasa, Roshi, Ōnoki, and the Third Kazekage.
Some of the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan ninja watching from the stands had seen it too—
But what good did seeing it do?
The instant the word "Begin" left Ikkaku's lips, every Genin in the arena and waiting area who wore a Forehead Protector from outside Konoha froze. Whether they were Pakura, Sasori, or Tessa from Sunagakure, the last remaining examinee from Iwagakure, or survivors from smaller villages like Kusagakure and Takigakure, they had all been staring intently at Hiroki. Now their eyes went blank in an instant, their expressions empty and dazed.
They had planned to watch Hiroki and find out which group of ninja he would deal with first. Now every trace of awareness vanished from their eyes.
Then, like puppets with their strings cut, they began to topple forward or backward, one after another, row after row.
Thump.
Thump, thump—
There were no screams, no struggles, not even a trace of pain on their faces. Only the dull, steady thuds of bodies hitting the floor.
The