Your Konoha's Relationships Are So Messy?

"That child Akiyama Shun, he never says a word before inventing a new jutsu. What if he gets hurt? He really is a handful."

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the scene, shaking his head with an expression that seemed to carry a hint of reproach.

"Heh heh..."

The Third Kazekage could only offer a dry laugh, choosing not to take Sarutobi Hiruzen's bait.

He had no intention of letting Sarutobi Hiruzen continue to dwell on that topic.

On the dueling arena.

Kakashi quickly formed hand seals: "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Though it was also a C-rank jutsu, unlike the single-target impact of the Fireball Jutsu, the Dragon Fire Technique was a linear, sustained stream of flame. The terrifying high temperature distorted the air as it roared toward Akiyama Shun, who had just landed and had no time to dodge.

"Water Style: Water Shield."

Hmm, this name feels so repetitive. There's no passion in shouting it at all.

As he released the Water Shield, Akiyama Shun silently grumbled to himself.

A circular water shield manifested in front of Akiyama Shun.

The terrifying flames slammed violently into the circular shield. The fire raged, surging around both sides of the barrier and nearly swallowing the figure behind it. Akiyama Shun clearly felt the scorching heat burning his skin, but the Water Shield held firm, successfully blocking the entire attack.

While blocking the Dragon Fire Technique, Akiyama Shun pulled out another scroll.

"Earth Style: Rock Fall!"

Giant boulders condensed in the sky and plummeted, rolling toward Kakashi. Kakashi immediately leaped to dodge, his hands moving rapidly to form seals even while in mid-air.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets!"

Kakashi's lungs expanded as he took a deep breath, then exhaled sharply. Several transparent waves of wind-natured chakra shot toward Akiyama Shun like bullets!

The first Vacuum Bullet struck the Water Shield, sending ripples across its surface. With that, the shield finally reached its limit and vanished completely.

However, by the time the Water Shield disappeared, Akiyama Shun's next attack was already prepared.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

A massive flaming dragon head erupted from Akiyama Shun's mouth. The Vacuum Bullets that had been aimed at him didn't even cause a ripple; they were effortlessly crushed by the Great Dragon Fire Technique!

The scorching heat tore through the air, and the ferocious fire dragon charged straight at Kakashi!

Seeing this fire dragon, Kakashi felt no panic; instead, a flash of joy crossed his eyes. His preparations had not been in vain!

"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"

A water vortex swirled around Kakashi's body. Under his control, the vortex detached from him and surged to collide with the Great Dragon Fire Technique!

The moment the Water Colliding Wave and the Great Dragon Fire clashed, a frantic, sizzling sound of evaporation filled the air!

Immediately following, a violent explosion erupted. A massive cloud of steam instantly swallowed the entire arena, leaving nothing but a hazy blur within sight.

The advantage of having five-element chakra was displayed to the fullest by both of them!

In the spectator stands, the crowd was stunned. Even some Jonin had never expected such a situation to occur during the Chunin Exams.

"Is this still the Chunin Exams? Where on earth am I?"

"These two guys, they have at least four-element chakra!"

"To see such an incredible clash of ninjutsu at the Chunin Exams—this is awesome!"

"It looks like Akiyama Shun is a bit stronger. Even with the Water Style countering the Fire Style, Kakashi only managed to trade evenly with him."

Inside the arena.

Kakashi seized the opportunity, drew his White Fang Blade, and closed the distance!

He had to engage in close-quarters combat!

It took time for Akiyama Shun to summon ninja tools; he could definitely use the advantage of having the White Fang Blade in hand to suppress Akiyama Shun with taijutsu!

As long as he successfully suppressed Akiyama Shun and gave him no chance to use ninjutsu, he had a chance to win through melee combat!

Victory was beckoning to him!

Kakashi's figure flashed across the arena, the White Fang Blade cutting through the air with a sharp whistle as it aimed straight for Akiyama Shun's waist.

However, just as Kakashi felt he had the win secured, Akiyama Shun's fist moved.

Strength of a Hundred activated!

Faster than the White Fang Blade, Akiyama Shun's fist struck Kakashi before the blade could make contact.

"Bang!"

A dull, heavy impact boomed out. The punch landed squarely on Kakashi, even sending a transparent ripple through the air.

Hit by the blow, Kakashi's entire body curled up like a shrimp. His pupils turned bloodshot, and he was sent flying backward, slamming into the arena wall with a "bang" that spiderwebbed the stone with cracks!

Kakashi's body slid down, collapsing to his knees as he vomited a mouthful of blood, staining his mask red.

His ribs were broken—at least three of them.

A single punch had brought Kakashi back to reality.

Absolutely no close-quarters combat!

Damn it! I should have realized this sooner!

Akiyama Shun learns things so quickly, and with Lady Tsunade as his teacher, he must have already mastered her signature ninjutsu, the Strength of a Hundred!

High above on the viewing platform.

Tsunade, who had been watching the match, allowed a faint smile to touch the corners of her lips.

Seeing her student use her own ninjutsu to deal a heavy blow to his opponent and display such might in the arena gave her an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

The Third Kazekage cast a subtle glance at Tsunade before withdrawing his gaze.

Is this Akiyama Shun a bit too close to the Sannin?

According to the intelligence reports, Akiyama Shun is Tsunade's student, which is perfectly normal; geniuses are meant to be paired with renowned mentors.

But the problem is that reports have surfaced over the last few days claiming that even Jiraiya calls Akiyama Shun "teacher."

Doesn't that make this Akiyama Shun both the teacher and student of the Sannin simultaneously?

It is truly bizarre. No matter how much of a genius Akiyama Shun might be, he simply cannot fathom what a child of that age could possibly teach someone like Jiraiya.

Furthermore, is the web of relationships in Konoha a bit too chaotic?

Inside the dueling arena.

Supporting himself against the ground, Kakashi stood up shakily.

He pulled off his mask and tossed it aside, spat out the blood in his mouth, and quickly adjusted his state, sheathing the White Fang Blade to prepare for a second round of attacks.

It was only a few broken ribs; medical ninjutsu could heal them easily. Right now, the battle was far more important.

He had trained so hard during this period to deal with Akiyama Shun, learning ninjutsu of every elemental nature, all to prepare for this day!

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"

Facing Kakashi, who had risen once again.

Akiyama Shun did not say much, simply beginning to mobilize the chakra within his body.

However, the chakra attribute this time was different; it did not belong to any of the five basic elements, and a chill began to radiate from Akiyama Shun's body.

It is time to end this battle.

Akiyama Shun remembered the effect of Earth Flow Spears very clearly: it manipulated the soil of the ground to form spikes that attacked upward.

In that case, he only needed to freeze the soil to prevent the spikes from forming!

"Ice Release! Ice Pillar Swallows!"