Passing the Second Round

And so, time ticked by, second after second.

After a long while, the chief proctor jōnin on the elevated platform glanced at the timer in his hand, his voice ringing out across the venue once more.

"Time's up!"

"Everyone, put down your pens!"

At his command, several Konoha chūnin swiftly entered the exam hall and began collecting the test papers.

Many examinees slumped back in their seats in relief, while others pounded their desks in frustration.

"Alright, everyone."

Once all the papers were gathered, the chief proctor jōnin wore a meaningful smile on his face.

"I'm sure you all have plenty of questions about the test just now."

"Now, I can tell you: this written exam truly tested your ability to gather intelligence under the rules."

At these words, those who had genuinely relied on their own skills—or sharp eyes—to "complete" the test wore expressions of "I knew it."

Meanwhile, the examinees who had scratched their heads and couldn't squeeze out a single word showed looks of sudden realization.

"Just as I thought, knew it couldn't be that simple."

Tsunade pursed her lips, never expecting her teacher to come up with such a trick—it was way too mean.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, chuckled smugly and shot a proud glance at Orochimaru, the meaning clear: Good thing I had you!

Orochimaru remained noncommittal.

Soon, the results were tallied.

Just as Orochimaru had predicted, thanks to the first freebie question about Tobirama's cipher, most of Konoha's genin passed the first round smoothly.

After all, it was their Second Hokage's invention, and the ninja academy taught at least a bit of it.

As for the other four great shinobi villages, those who remained were mostly their respective villages' elites.

They might not have understood the tricky physics and chemistry questions, but their cheating—or "intelligence gathering"—skills were top-notch.

As for examinees from smaller villages like Takigakure or Amegakure, they weren't so lucky, nearly wiped out entirely.

After all, they lacked Konoha's home-field advantage, nor did they have the deep foundations and endless secret techniques of the five great villages.

"Those who passed the first exam, please follow me."

After announcing the results, the chief proctor jōnin led the hundred or so successful examinees to another, more spacious training ground.

There, a massive arena had already been set up.

Around the arena were temporary spectator stands, where the jōnin instructors of the five great villages were already waiting.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood at the center of the arena.

He cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping over the young ninjas below, full of energy yet tinged with nervousness.

"First, congratulations to all of you for passing the first exam."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was steady and powerful.

"The rules for the second exam are simple."

"The winner advances, the loser is eliminated. This continues until the final victor is decided."

"Now, the second exam officially begins!"

As the Third Hokage's words fell, an electronic screen beside the arena began rapidly scrolling through the examinees' names.

Moments later, two names stopped.

Konohagakure, Jiraiya.

Versus.

Kirigakure, Yuki Anzu.

"Whoa! I'm first?"

Jiraiya perked up immediately, cracking his knuckles and jumping onto the arena with excitement.

Across from him, a slender Kirigakure shinobi with long black hair and a delicate face stepped onto the arena.

Seeing the opponent's pretty features, Jiraiya's eyes lit up, and he habitually struck a pose he thought was cool, flipping his hair.

"Such a lovely miss, seeing how cute you are, I really can't bear to fight you."

"How about you just surrender? I don't know my own strength, and I'd hate to hurt you."

"I'm a guy."

Yuki Anzu replied, his handsome face expressionless, his voice flat.

His tone was cold, without a hint of emotion...

"Pfft—cough, cough!"

The smile on Jiraiya's face instantly froze, like a duck with its neck wrung, choking so hard he nearly coughed up a lung.

His eyes bulged as he looked Yuki An up and down, his face screaming, "You've got to be kidding me."

How could someone this cute possibly be a boy?!

Seeing Jiraiya so utterly deflated, the audience burst into roaring laughter.

Even the Konoha ninjas couldn't hold back their grins.

"Hahaha! Jiraiya, you idiot, look at you now!"

Tsunade laughed without a shred of dignity.

"Hmm?"

Orochimaru fell into thought—was the entire Yuki Clan like this?

What kind of bizarre hereditary trait was that?

On the high platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face flushed slightly. Awkwardly, he turned his head away, coughed twice, and sighed inwardly.

"The... the match begins!"

The presiding jonin, barely suppressing his laughter, announced.

"Damn it! How dare you toy with the feelings of this pure-hearted youth!"

Jiraiya was furious, feeling utterly humiliated.

"Secret Technique: Ice Style: Ice Senbon!"

Yuki An remained expressionless, hands swiftly forming seals.

Moisture in the air condensed rapidly, forming countless fine ice needles that shot toward Jiraiya like a storm.

"Child's play!"

Jiraiya snorted, forming seals as well.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

A massive fire dragon roared forth, its scorching flames instantly melting and evaporating the incoming Ice Senbon, then surging onward toward Yuki An without losing momentum.

Seeing this, the watching crowd's expressions shifted.

Such powerful Fire Style!

That power was already beyond the scope of a genin, wasn't it?

Yuki An's pupils contracted. He pushed off the ground, retreating swiftly, barely dodging the dragon's impact.

But Jiraiya pressed his advantage, closing in under the cover of his Fire Style.

Chakra spun at high speed in his right palm, and a blue sphere of energy took shape in an instant.

"Try this!!"

"Boom!"

Yuki An had no time to react. The sudden jutsu struck him square in the abdomen, sending him flying backward like a broken kite. He crashed heavily off the ring and fell unconscious on the spot.

One move, one takedown!

The entire exam hall fell into dead silence.

All eyes locked onto the slowly dissipating blue chakra sphere in Jiraiya's right hand.

What kind of jutsu was that?

A seal-less jutsu?

And with such immense power?

"What... what was that?"

"Never seen it before—no hand seals needed?"

After a brief lull, murmurs erupted from the crowd.

Ninjas from every village stared at Jiraiya with shock and wariness.

Standing on the ring, Jiraiya basked in the attention, his heart singing with joy.

That [Rasengan] Orochimaru taught him was truly incredible!

Fighting back his excitement, he put on a mysterious, unfathomable expression and slowly walked off the ring under the stunned gaze of the audience.

Orochimaru's mouth twitched. Of course, the Rasengan was something he'd taught Jiraiya over the past year.

This guy—using a trump card like that in the very first match.

But since it was already used, there was no helping it.

He looked away and began focusing on the next fights.

Since they were all elites from various villages, the battles were naturally quite exciting.

Soon, Hatake Sakumo stepped onto the stage.

His opponent was the wielder of the massive, heavy Iron-Severing Great Blade from Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

Both were masters of the blade, and their fierce, lightning-fast sword duel left spectators dazzled.

In the end, Hatake Sakumo proved the superior, exploiting his opponent's opening with more refined swordsmanship and ghostly footwork to claim victory.

Other Konoha clan heirs—Uchiha, Hyuga, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi—took the stage one after another, unleashing their family's secret techniques in fierce battles against elite genin from other villages, with mixed results.

One match drew particular attention: a Hyuga branch member versus an Uchiha collateral. The clash of Byakugan and Sharingan, the exchange of taijutsu and ninjutsu, raged with extraordinary intensity.

Another fight that caught Orochimaru's eye pitted the red-haired puppet boy from Sunagakure against the Kirigakure ninja wielding the Twin Blades: Hiramekarei.

As Orochimaru had predicted, the red-haired boy was indeed a puppeteer.

He controlled three puppets of varied forms, their coordination seamless, blending offense and defense.

His Kirigakure opponent was no slouch either. The Twin Blades: Hiramekarei in his hands shifted—sometimes merging into one to unleash a powerful Chakra slash, sometimes splitting into two for agile, unpredictable strikes. With superior taijutsu and the blades' unique traits, the Kirigakure ninja briefly gained the upper hand, suppressing the boy's three puppets.

Just as onlookers thought the outcome was sealed, the red-haired boy curled his lips in a cold smirk and flicked his hands again.

"It's not over yet!"

From the massive scroll on his back, two brand-new puppets burst forth!

Five Puppets!

And these two newcomers were even more grotesque in design, their attack methods stranger and more insidious.

Caught in a simultaneous assault by five puppets, the Kirigakure ninja floundered, openings everywhere. In a moment of carelessness, a poison needle from one puppet struck him, and he fell on the spot.

"Five puppets... and controlled with such finesse... impressive," Orochimaru murmured to himself. Still no match for Elder Chiyo, but at this age, such skill was remarkable.

The next match, though less breathtaking, had a competitor's name that made Orochimaru take notice.

Mitarashi Shion.

That surname... the same as his future cheap disciple, Mitarashi Anko.

Judging by age, likely Anko's elder relative.

Then came Tsunade's fight.

Her opponent was a ninja from Kirigakure's Kaguya Clan.

This match had almost no suspense.

Against a conventional taijutsu fighter, facing a Kaguya clansman bristling with bone spurs like a porcupine would be tricky. But Tsunade was hardly conventional.

She struck first with Body Pathway Derangement, using Chakra as electrical signals to precisely disrupt her opponent's Chakra and nerve impulses, freezing his movements into sluggish chaos.

The Kaguya clansman, unable to move, tried to activate his skeletal defense. Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred punch slammed into him, shattering his sternum. The force hurled him clean across the arena, embedding him deep in the training ground wall, alive or dead unknown.

Hiss—

Jiraiya couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath, instinctively rubbing his ribs. That violent woman was getting scarier by the day! Better steer clear—his scrawny frame couldn't take it.

The watching ninja from other villages, after a moment of shock, wore grim expressions. Konoha's new generation boasted quality far beyond their expectations.

Jiraiya's mysterious Rasengan.

Hatake Sakumo's masterful swordsmanship.

Tsunade's terrifying Strength of a Hundred.

Each displayed power far surpassing their peers.

The referee's voice cut through the noisy arena, announcing the next match.

"Konohagakure, Might Duy."

"Versus—"

"Sunagakure, Tessen!"

"Ohhh! My turn! Burn, youth!"

Might Duy, still in his usual fiery fervor, shouted an incomprehensible slogan, executed a flawless backflip onto the stage, landed steady, and flashed a thumbs-up to the audience with a gleaming grin.

His opponent was the black-haired youth from Sunagakure—the very one who had detected Orochimaru's [Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Communication Technique] back in the written exam hall.

Tessen looked down at Might Duy, who was brimming with energy on the arena below, and a playful smile curled at the corner of his lips. He snapped his fingers lightly.

Rustle—

A surprising sight unfolded.

From beneath the ground at his feet, countless fine black grains of sand surged forth as if drawn by some invisible force.

They swirled behind him, coalescing, and finally took shape as a pair of enormous black wings!

The black-haired youth gave his wings a single flap, stirring a gentle breeze, and lifted off from the high platform, descending gracefully to land on the arena floor.

"Oh?"

Orochimaru's eyes flickered with interest at the sight.

Magnet Style versus the Eight Inner Gates?

Was this a reenactment of that battle from the original Chunin Exams—Gaara versus Li?

How intriguing...