When the name appeared on the screen,
in the Kirigakure section, a boy carrying two serrated blades on his back instantly lit up.
"It's finally my turn!"
Raiga Kurosuki licked his lips and eagerly drew the blades from his back. They scraped against each other with a piercing buzz, and tiny arcs of electricity visibly danced across their surfaces.
Then he leaped straight from the platform into the center of the arena...
"Orochimaru of Konoha! Get down here! Our Kirigakure village hasn't won a single match yet! I, Raiga Kurosuki, will claim the opening victory!"
Raiga stood in the middle of the arena, planted his two Thunder Blades in the ground, put his hands on his hips, and shouted toward Konoha. His voice brimmed with arrogance and disdain.
Orochimaru's lips curled into a faint smile.
He said nothing. In a flash, he appeared in the center of the arena.
"Huh?"
In the Sunagakure lineup, Tessen, who had just sent Might Duy off, froze.
Wasn't this the Konoha Ninja who had given him a strange feeling during the first written exam?
"Orochimaru! Good luck! Once the Chunin Ninja Exams are over, let's go gather material together again!"
Jiraiya shouted from below, wearing his signature grin, though a hint of seriousness lurked in his eyes.
"Hey, Orochimaru! If you lose, I'll beat you to a pulp!"
Tsunade crossed her arms with an annoyed look and shook a fist in Orochimaru's direction.
That guy was always acting like he didn't care about anything. It was infuriating.
Orochimaru heard them but didn't turn around. He simply waved a hand in acknowledgment.
"The match—begin!"
Once the two were in position, the Chief Examiner Jonin on the raised platform swept his gaze over the arena and announced the start in a deep voice.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Fang!"
The instant the words left his mouth, Raiga moved.
He grabbed the two blades planted in the ground, and Chakra erupted from him.
He yanked the blades apart. Powerful electricity gathered along their edges, then surged toward Orochimaru like two monstrous serpents of lightning, crackling sharply.
The current was so powerful and its reach so vast that dazzling light engulfed the entire arena.
Orochimaru quickly formed Hand Seals, crouched, and pressed both hands against the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A thick earthen wall rose from the ground and blocked his path.
With a thunderous crash, the serpents of lightning slammed into the wall, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Hahahaha! You think a wall of dirt like that can stop my Lightning Style? How naive!"
Raiga laughed wildly and poured even more Chakra into his blades.
The current surged in strength. Under its powerful assault, cracks began to spread across the Earth-Style Wall, and it looked ready to collapse.
Orochimaru had no choice but to abandon the wall. He darted backward to evade the attack, looking somewhat awkward.
The spectators' expressions changed as they watched the immense Lightning Style attack.
"W-what kind of jutsu is that? Its range is enormous!"
A Genin from Kumogakure exclaimed in shock. Wasn't that kind of Lightning Style ridiculously powerful?
Over in the Kumogakure section, a tall boy with half-white, half-green hair narrowed his eyes, looking surprised.
Tessen from Sunagakure was equally astonished.
As a Magnet Style Ninja, he had an exceptionally keen perception of electromagnetic energy.
He could clearly sense that the Kirigakure Ninja's Lightning Style was actually generating a magnetic field!
Did that mean the lightning wasn't produced through Chakra Nature Transformation?
"Hahahaha! Surprised? Scared?"
Hearing the spectators' cries of alarm, Raiga grinned even more smugly.
He wasn't using Chakra at all!
Each of the Seven Ninja Swords of Kirigakure was more powerful than anyone could imagine.
His Thunder Blades could generate and attract lightning!
That was why he could use large-scale Lightning Style almost without limit!
Under the arena's restricted conditions, he was invincible!
With that thought, Raiga swung his blades wildly, sending lightning surging like monstrous serpents.
As he dodged the lashes of lightning Raiga sent his way, Orochimaru quickly hurled several Shuriken at him.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Then he rapidly formed Hand Seals.
The instant he finished speaking, the few Shuriken multiplied into dozens, flying toward Raiga from every direction like a downpour.
"Muda, muda, muda!"
Faced with attacks from all sides, Raiga simply stood still, unmoved.
As he roared, even more violent currents burst from his body.
But in the next moment, the countless Shuriken seemed to be seized by an invisible hand. They were all deflected, clattering down around the edge of the arena.
"W-what's going on? The Shuriken didn't even touch the current!"
"How did he do that?!"
The spectators cried out in shock and confusion again. They couldn't understand how he had stopped so many Shuriken when none of them had directly touched the lightning.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru watched, his eyes growing brighter.
As his Shuriken approached, the magnetic field had induced electric currents in them, and the Lorentz Force had repelled them.
That confirmed his theory: the opponent himself wasn't generating the lightning. He had already established that Chakra-generated currents had no electromagnetic properties.
In other words, the two blades were ionizing the molecules in the air, turning them into charged particles.
This Raiga was simply controlling those charged particles to form an electric current.
The advantage was that he could launch large-scale Lightning Style with very little Chakra, almost as if he were borrowing the power of nature.
But in exchange, he was also bound by the laws of physics...
"Now that's... interesting..."
Orochimaru spoke, licking his lips with excitement.
It was a shame he couldn't just take the other man's blades and study them.
The next moment, Orochimaru stopped dodging. He turned and charged straight toward Raiga!
"Has he gone mad?!"
"Isn't he just asking to die?!"
The spectators cried out again at Orochimaru's actions.
Were Konoha's Ninjas all idiots? He knew the other man could unleash large-scale Lightning Style, yet he was charging straight at him.
"You're asking for it! What an idiot! If you want to be burned to a crisp, I'll grant your wish!"
Raiga stared in surprise for a moment, then burst into laughter.
He raised both Thunder Blades over his head, and the current coursing through his body gathered in an instant.
"Thunder Burial: Banquet of Lightning!"
Countless bolts of thick lightning rained down from the sky like a storm, hurtling toward Orochimaru.
But to everyone's astonishment, the lightning, which had seemed powerful enough to destroy the world, inexplicably veered away just before striking Orochimaru. It crashed into the arena beside him, leaving blackened marks across the ground.
"What?! Why?!"
"Impossible! Did the Kirigakure Ninja miss on purpose?!"
The spectators were stunned. They rubbed their eyes, as if they couldn't believe what they'd just seen.
How could the lightning possibly avoid its target?
It wasn't as if Kirigakure had agreed to throw the match for Konoha, was it?
"You've put too much faith in the power of those blades."
"Electric current flows from high potential to low potential.
"You won't be struck by your own lightning. In other words, as long as I'm at the same electric potential as you, I can avoid being hit by it."
Orochimaru spoke softly as he rushed closer. His voice wasn't loud, but it reached Raiga clearly.
"Hm?"
Raiga stiffened at his words, unable to understand what Orochimaru meant by "electric potential."
But he noticed that several nearly invisible wires had somehow wound around his blades.
The wires connected to Orochimaru, linking him, Raiga, and the Thunder Blades into a single whole!
"You..."
Raiga's eyes widened. He instantly realized that the other man had used the Shuriken as cover to wrap the wires around his blades.
His proud, supposedly invincible Lightning Style had been countered so easily?!
While he was distracted, Orochimaru's attack had already arrived.
He didn't use an offensive jutsu; there was no need for one here.
He simply reached out and slapped Raiga.
Chakra became a faint electric current and flowed straight into Raiga's body.
Raiga felt his whole body go numb. Golden stars danced before his eyes, and he instantly lost control of his body.
Before he could even cry out, his eyes rolled back and he crumpled to the ground. The Thunder Blades in his hands clanged as they fell.
The entire exam hall fell utterly silent.
Everyone stared in disbelief at Raiga Kurosuki lying on the arena floor and at Orochimaru standing beside him. His clothes were immaculate, and not a single strand of hair was out of place.
Th-that was it?
That Kirigakure Ninja, that monster who could summon vast amounts of lightning, had been knocked unconscious by a single slap?
How had he done it? Was it magic?
"Hm?"
The Third Hokage was also a little surprised. He could naturally see that his student had used wires to connect himself to the Kirigakure Ninja.
What he couldn't understand was why doing so had stopped the opponent's lightning from hitting him.
"The match is over!"
"Konoha's Orochimaru—wins!"
The Chief Examiner Jonin on the raised platform froze for a moment, then recovered and announced the result.
His voice broke the silence in the exam hall.
Then a wave of discussion erupted.
"How is this possible? Lord Raiga actually lost just like that?!"
The Kirigakure Ninjas looked grim. The competition was already more than halfway over, and they still hadn't won a single match.
And every loss had been at the hands of a Konoha Ninja...
They were even starting to suspect that Konoha had planned it all...
"How did that Konoha Ninja do it?!"
Tessen from Sunagakure looked excited.
Orochimaru was definitely no ordinary Konoha Ninja.
"Hahahaha! I told you Orochimaru would be fine!"
Jiraiya pumped his fists excitedly.
Tsunade's tense expression finally relaxed, too. When she'd seen that massive Lightning Style attack, she really had been worried for Orochimaru.
At least this meant they could all advance to the next round...
Before you continue