What If, I'm Just Saying, What If?

So fast!

Karura hurriedly began to control her sand, sending it surging toward Kakashi in an attempt to intercept him before he could close the distance.

Several streams of sand began to spread outward from Karura, attacking Kakashi like serpents!

She intended to use "Sand Binding Coffin" once more to end the battle!

Seeing these sand streams while in the midst of his sprint, Kakashi raised his vigilance to the absolute maximum.

The attacks were all coming from the front; as long as he focused his attention and utilized his current speed, dodging these attacks would not be difficult!

The moment before the first sand serpent was about to strike, Kakashi tilted his head to the side, evading the attack.

Having dodged one, two more sand serpents attacked him simultaneously. Facing this, he had no choice but to lower his body as much as possible, pressing himself so close to the ground that he narrowly avoided the serpents.

After the sand serpents were dodged, their assault did not end; instead, as if possessing a will of their own, they turned and pursued Kakashi from behind.

However, given the speed of the sand serpents, they were completely unable to catch up to Kakashi, who had unleashed his full burst of speed.

"Desert Wave!"

Seeing that the interception of Kakashi had failed, Karura decisively increased her defensive power, yet it was already too late.

Just as the Desert Wave was released, and before the spikes on the sand shield had fully formed, Kakashi had already arrived in front of Karura.

The Chidori in his hand, accompanied by a piercing, screeching roar, had already pierced through the sand shield!

The Sand Release, which had been invincible and hailed as an absolute defense until now, was no different from any other material in the face of the Chidori; it crumbled at the slightest touch!

Kakashi's hand passed through the Sand Release, striking straight toward Karura's neck!

"What!"

Karura's pupils constricted; she clearly had not expected her sand shield to be pierced so easily.

That sharp, screeching roar was right in front of her now, and she had no doubt that if the Chidori truly struck her neck, she would die on the spot.

However, the instant the attack penetrated the sand shield, the lightning in Kakashi's palm vanished, replaced by a grasping motion as he seized Karura by the neck.

"Got you."

Kakashi clearly remembered the rules: in the third exam, malicious killing was forbidden, not to mention that the opponent had proactively shown concern for him at the very start of the fight.

"I concede..."

After Karura said these words, she nodded at Kakashi with a look of gratitude.

Kakashi nodded back in return.

"Battle over!"

Since Karura had voluntarily conceded, the referee announced the end of the match.

At this moment, the spectator stands were in an uproar.

"What kind of ninjutsu was that?"

"So impressive, I could clearly see the chakra."

"Is this Kakashi? He has already created his own ninjutsu? Does that mean Akiyama Shun, who is always with him, has also created his own?"

"Don't joke around. Do you think creating such a ninjutsu is easy? Having one appear is already incredible; you want to see two?"

"What if—I'm just saying, what if?"

"Kakashi arrived so late, could it be that he was practicing this ninjutsu?"

High above on the platform.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the Third Kazekage with a smile.

"How about that? I told you I believed in this child."

As he spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen kept his eyes fixed on the Third Kazekage's expression. Seeing a flash of frustration in the man's eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt even more pleased.

"Heh, heh~ As expected of the White Fang of Konoha's child, to have created his own ninjutsu at such a young age. Such strong penetrating power, and his combat decision-making was very decisive as well."

The Third Kazekage's praise was sincere; to be able to achieve this level at such an age, even if the boy wasn't from Sunagakure, he couldn't help but offer a few words of commendation.

"No, this is not a ninjutsu created by Kakashi."

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head.

"Not created by Kakashi? Could it be the White Fang of Konoha?"

The Third Kazekage's first thought was that name. Although the White Fang of Konoha was famous for his swordsmanship, it wouldn't be strange for such a figure to create ninjutsu.

"No, it was created by that child named Akiyama Shun."

As he spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and continued, "It was over these past few days that Akiyama Shun taught it to Kakashi."

Third Kazekage: "..."

You say so much to me just to imply that my insight is too shallow, and that I haven't seen a talent like Akiyama Shun who can both create his own ninjutsu and possess such strong teaching ability?

The Third Kazekage's gaze shifted to the spectator stands, toward Akiyama Shun, who was sitting with Kakashi.

He remembered that Akiyama Shun didn't seem to have any prominent family background; he could be called a standard civilian genius. Why did Konoha always have such figures?

First there was Namikaze Minato, and now another Akiyama Shun had appeared.

Noticing the Third Kazekage's envious expression, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt even more pleased.

As for whether the Third Kazekage might lose his mind and attempt something against Akiyama Shun or Kakashi, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not worried in the slightest.

Who was present, after all?

It wasn't just him, the Hokage; there was also Akiyama Shun's student Jiraiya, Akiyama Shun's teacher Tsunade, and Namikaze Minato.

With the current state of Sunagakure, they truly had no way to pull any underhanded tricks.

After a long silence, the Third Kazekage finally spoke: "Then I must congratulate Konoha for producing such a genius."

Hearing the Third Kazekage's congratulations, Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand dismissively: "Sunagakure is not bad either."

As for exactly what was "not bad" about it, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not elaborate.

At this moment, inside the dueling arena.

The matches were still underway.

There were four matches in total today.

Kakashi was in the third match, and naturally, Akiyama Shun was in the fourth.

However, the opponents the two faced were on completely different levels.

Kakashi was fighting Karura, while Akiyama Shun was fighting an ordinary examinee.

The opponent was even from Konoha itself.

Since they were on the same side, Akiyama Shun certainly wouldn't end the match in a second and deny the other party any chance to show their skills.

The Konoha ninja was a smart man; after displaying his abilities, even though Akiyama Shun hadn't dealt him any damage throughout the match, he voluntarily conceded.

After they left the arena, he specifically sought out Akiyama Shun to express his gratitude.

He knew that if they had fought for real, he wouldn't have lasted a single turn against Akiyama Shun. Back in the arena, Akiyama Shun had been giving him a chance to showcase his skills so he could more reliably promote to Chunin.

This matter concluded after Akiyama Shun acknowledged his thanks.

Four people advanced today, and as they began drawing lots for tomorrow's semifinals, Kakashi did not draw Akiyama Shun again.

In an official tournament like this, unlike the practical exams at the Ninja Academy, Kakashi could no longer swap lots with anyone else.

However, it didn't matter to Kakashi.

The other two participants in the semifinals were of average strength, and Kakashi was confident he could end those fights within a minute, ensuring that he and Akiyama Shun would still meet in the finals.

Both the semifinals and the finals would begin tomorrow.

Night fell.

While taking a walk after dinner, Akiyama Shun ran into two acquaintances on the street.

Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato seemed to be discussing something.