This Is Youth!

No, it wasn't even a wall. The raging currents of air were forcibly dismantled by an invisible force half an inch from Ling Xuan's palm.

The wind-nature chakra that made up the tornado scattered in an instant, reverting to the most basic, harmless energy particles. The slicing currents swept up by the storm were smoothly guided aside by another force.

In the end, the gale powerful enough to destroy everything flowed silently and docilely around Ling Xuan, like waves parted by the hand of a god. It couldn't even ruffle a single strand of his hair.

The wind stopped.

The entire arena fell into dead silence.

Everyone stared at the unbelievable scene before them, their minds completely blank.

"Wh-what... just happened?" a Genin stammered.

"The wind... he stopped it... with his hand?"

"No, he didn't stop it! It... it disappeared! Temari's jutsu just... vanished into thin air!"

"H-how is that possible?!"

Temari herself stood frozen in place. She looked at her empty fan, then at Ling Xuan, completely unharmed, her eyes filled with stunned disbelief.

Her proudest and most powerful jutsu had actually been... neutralized so effortlessly by her opponent with just one hand?

This was completely beyond her comprehension!

"Your wind is useless against me."

Ling Xuan lowered his hand and stated a simple fact.

The Eye of Truth had already analyzed the energy composition, flow patterns, and core chakra frequency of the Kamaitachi Technique in minute detail. He hadn't simply withstood it. Instead, he'd released a tiny Annihilation Field with the opposite properties, precisely tuned to counter its chakra frequency.

It was a technique unique to Ling Xuan, one he could only perform because he had achieved an exceptionally deep understanding of Chakra Nature Transformation.

It required instant calculations and control of energy accurate to several decimal places.

To others, it was a miracle.

To him, it was just a simple math problem.

"Y-you... what did you... do?" For the first time, Temari's voice trembled.

Ling Xuan didn't answer her.

He vanished from where he stood.

Temari immediately went on guard. Without thinking, she swung her fan, trying to protect herself with the wind.

But she was already too late.

The moment she swung the fan, a cold hand silently pressed against its enormous iron surface.

Ling Xuan had appeared right in front of Temari without her noticing. He rested his hand on the fan as if without effort.

But Temari felt as though a mountain were pressing down on it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move it an inch.

"Your second weakness," Ling Xuan said beside her ear. "You rely too heavily on your weapon. Without your fan, your combat ability drops by at least seventy percent."

"Let go!" Temari cried, shocked and furious. She abandoned the fan, pulled out a kunai with her other hand, and thrust it toward Ling Xuan's chest.

Ling Xuan merely leaned aside and easily dodged it. At the same time, the fingers of the hand pressing down on the fan tightened.

"Crack!"

The sturdy ribs of the enormous iron fan, forged from a special alloy, developed several clear cracks under the sheer force of his fingers.

Temari's pupils contracted sharply.

What terrifying strength!

While she was distracted, Ling Xuan's other hand became a knife hand and lightly struck the back of her neck.

Temari's vision went black. Her body went limp, and she lost consciousness.

Ling Xuan caught her as she fell and gently lowered her to the ground. Then he picked up the cracked iron fan and tossed it aside.

The whole sequence had been smooth and decisive. From the moment he made his move to the end of the fight, less than five seconds had passed.

"..."

The entire arena remained silent.

If Ling Xuan's neutralization of the Kamaitachi Technique had left the crowd in incomprehensible shock, then the overwhelming speed, strength, and textbook-perfect combat skill he'd just displayed filled them with fear from the depths of their souls.

Was this really a Genin?

Even an experienced Jonin couldn't have won so easily, so effortlessly, could they?

"Th-the winner... Ling Xuan!"

After freezing for several seconds, the proctor, Gekko Hayate, finally came to his senses and announced the result.

Ling Xuan calmly returned to the viewing stands, as though he'd just done something utterly trivial.

"Ling... Ling Xuan... you're... you're incredible!" Naruto stammered, gazing at him with fervent admiration.

Sasuke silently clenched his fists. He looked at his hands, calloused from training, then at Ling Xuan, who seemed completely at ease. For the first time, he began to doubt his reputation as a genius.

It was a helplessness like gazing up at the stars, knowing they were impossibly far away.

"Monster..." Gaara muttered hoarsely from a corner, watching Ling Xuan. For the first time, a flame called fighting spirit lit in his vacant eyes.

On the second-floor viewing platform,

"Asuma, Guy... did you see what he did just now?" Kakashi asked, his voice more serious than ever.

"I couldn't see it," Asuma replied with a bitter smile. "All I saw was him raise his hand, and Temari's wind disappeared. Then he was suddenly standing in front of her. His Body Flicker Technique... no, that wasn't the Body Flicker Technique. It must've been an even more advanced movement technique."

"This is youth!" Guy cried, tears streaming down his face. "I never imagined Konoha had such a powerful young genius besides you, Kakashi! The blood in my veins is already starting to burn!"

Only the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, watched the calm young man below as he puffed on his pipe. His gaze was deep, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

He could understand reason and wield power...

And the two had already begun to blend perfectly within him...

Ling Xuan... what will you bring to this world?

The preliminaries continued after Ling Xuan's overwhelming victory.

But all the matches that followed paled in comparison.

In the end, ten contestants qualified through the preliminaries for the third and final exam.

Konoha's Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Ling Xuan, Neji Hyuga, Shikamaru Nara, and Shino Aburame. Sunagakure's Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. And Dosu Kinata of Sound Village.

"All right, everyone." The Third rose and addressed all the contestants who'd passed the preliminaries. "Congratulations on qualifying for the final round."

"The third exam will be held a month from now at the competition arena in Konoha. You'll compete in one-on-one elimination matches before the daimyo of the various nations and an audience of spectators. Your matchups will be decided by drawing lots."

"You have this month to train as much as you like and improve yourselves. I look forward to seeing even more impressive performances from you a month from now."

With the Third's announcement, the long and brutal Chunin Ninja Exams preliminaries finally came to an end.

But everyone knew this was only the beginning.

A storm was brewing, gathering the strongest talents of the new generation.