Ice Release!

!

Akiyama Shun, what release did you just say?

Ice Release!??

How is this possible!

Kakashi was the closest to Akiyama Shun and the first to hear his voice; his entire head was buzzing.

Under his gaze, Akiyama Shun leaped into the air first, throwing three ice pillars from his hands. As the pillars struck the ground, they immediately transformed into three dazzling, bone-chilling ice flowers.

Beneath these ice flowers, the earth was completely frozen solid.

Kakashi's Earth Style: Earth Spear could not pierce through this ice at all; the ninjutsu had been strangled in the cradle by the Ice Release before it could even be unleashed.

In the spectator stands.

After a brief silence, a wave of enthusiastic cheers erupted.

"Ice Release! Akiyama Shun actually kept Ice Release hidden!"

"Wait, isn't Ice Release from Kirigakure? Isn't Akiyama Shun from Konoha?"

"Why do you care so much about the affairs of the Five Great Shinobi Villages?"

"Exactly! Just enjoy the fight and stop worrying about other things."

"These ice flowers look so beautiful."

"Go touch one then."

"Forget it."

"..."

The audience was just watching for the spectacle, but the people on the high platform were different.

Everyone from Konoha looked at Akiyama Shun in shock.

Kekkei Genkai are indeed rare, but if it were just a Kekkei Genkai, it wouldn't be enough to shock them to this extent.

The problem was that, until now, they had no idea that Akiyama Shun possessed a Kekkei Genkai, and Akiyama Shun had never displayed it himself!

The most shocked of all was Sarutobi Hiruzen. He had expected Akiyama Shun to give him a surprise, but he hadn't expected the surprise to be this massive!

A Kekkei Genkai!

After the shock subsided, a question appeared in Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind.

Where on earth did this Kekkei Genkai come from?

First of all, Ice Release is the Kekkei Genkai of the Yuki Clan from Kirigakure, and the Yuki Clan, much like the Kaguya Clan, had already been wiped out.

Akiyama Shun's parents were ordinary Konoha shinobi with no Kekkei Genkai, and they had absolutely no connection to Kirigakure.

No matter how he looked at it, there was no link to Ice Release.

As for the idea that Akiyama Shun's family were Kirigakure spies, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even consider it.

Akiyama Shun's ancestors for three generations had died for Konoha; he could be considered as having the most impeccable roots.

Besides, who would send a spy with a Kekkei Genkai?

How would that be any different from holding a megaphone and telling everyone, "I am a spy, I am not from your village"?

Since he wasn't a spy...

A new thought suddenly flashed through Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind.

Is there a possibility that Akiyama Shun does indeed have a Kekkei Genkai, but it isn't actually Ice Release?

That's it!

If it were a brand-new Kekkei Genkai, then everything would make sense!

In that instant, all of Akiyama Shun's past performances flashed through Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind, and a smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

At this moment, the Third Kazekage saw the scene, and after a brief shock, his tone became somewhat cryptic.

"To think there is an Ice Release user in Konoha; it is truly unexpected. Isn't this the Kekkei Genkai of the Yuki Clan?"

After speaking, the Third Kazekage cast a sinister look at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen merely smiled and said, "I didn't expect it either. Even at my age, I can still learn something new."

Keep pretending, go ahead and pretend.

The Third Kazekage assumed Sarutobi Hiruzen was playing dumb, but since Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't want to continue the topic, he stopped as well.

After all, both sides were still allies, and there was no need to dwell on such matters.

Everyone turned their attention back to the dueling arena.

At this moment, Akiyama Shun began to descend from the air, forming hand seals with one hand as he fell.

By the moment he landed on the ice, the seals were already complete.

"Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"

"You guy, you really hid your strength well."

Shocked as he was, Kakashi did not let his surprise hinder his actions.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

As Akiyama Shun released his Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death, the Great Fireball Technique erupted from Kakashi's mouth.

The biting ice and the scorching flames collided, and a wave of alternating cold and heat instantly swept across the arena.

Amidst the turbulent air, Kakashi's eyes darted around rapidly, but he could not find Akiyama Shun; he only found an Ice Mirror, which reflected Akiyama Shun's image.

"Where is he?"

Kakashi had never seen this ninjutsu before. His first instinct was to look in the opposite direction of the mirror, yet he found no sign of Akiyama Shun, only more Ice Mirrors, each one showing a reflection of him.

Kakashi's gaze scanned the arena incessantly, searching for Akiyama Shun's figure.

However, while searching for his body, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of an Ice Mirror that had appeared beside him at some point!

In an instant, his hair stood on end!

Even without knowing exactly what this thing did, Kakashi knew it was absolutely dangerous!

He tried to dodge, but it was already too late.

Akiyama Shun's body emerged from the mirror surface and landed a solid Strength of a Hundred Liver-Exploding Fist on Kakashi, sending him flying backward to crash into the wall once again!

"Ugh!"

This time, without his mask to cover it, Kakashi spat a mouthful of blood directly onto the ground.

Even now, Kakashi could not comprehend how Akiyama Shun had managed to get right beside him.

"Zzzzt!"

While Kakashi was still pondering, a familiar chirping sound suddenly rang in his ears.

He turned his head toward the sound to see Akiyama Shun.

At this moment, Akiyama Shun was standing beside Kakashi, holding a Chidori and watching him quietly.

"...I forfeit!"

After a brief silence, Kakashi chose to concede.

There was no point in continuing; he had no grasp of the intelligence behind Akiyama Shun's Ice Release, yet Akiyama Shun was already standing over him with a Chidori.

If this were a battlefield, he would have been dead long ago.

After Kakashi conceded, the referee arrived at the center of the arena and announced, "The match is over! The winner is Akiyama Shun!"

"The champion of the Chunin Exams is..."

The referee paused deliberately at this point.

"Akiyama Shun!"

As the referee's voice fell, the spectator stands erupted into thunderous cheers.

"I've never seen ice in my life; seeing Ice Release today was worth it."

"Didn't you fail the Chunin Exams? Is this really worth it to you?"

"You talk too much."

"Ice Release, a self-created ninjutsu—oh my god, Akiyama Shun!"

Among the Chunin Exams in recent years, this was the most exhilarating match they had ever watched.

The second best was the battle between Kakashi and Karura.

Amidst the cheers from the stands, Akiyama Shun placed his hand on Kakashi's head and patted it twice. Seeing Kakashi's twisted expression, he finally helped him up.

"You guy, how do you even have Ice Release? You aren't hiding anything else, are you?"

Faced with Kakashi's question, Akiyama Shun just gave a dry laugh and did not answer directly.

He hadn't collected his monthly welfare stipend yet, waiting until he officially became a Chunin to claim it.

A Chunin's monthly stipend was 20 draws, and adding that to his previous check-ins, he would have 30—he was going to have a blast pulling later!

If he happened to get something good, then in a sense, he really was hiding something.

Seeing Akiyama Shun's attitude, Kakashi sighed; he knew it—Akiyama Shun was definitely still hiding something!