"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Before the examiner had finished speaking, Obito, who had secretly completed his hand seals, opened his mouth and spat a scorching fireball at Genya and his teammates.
"I've got this! Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Asuma's fingers flashed through hand seals. His chest heaved as he breathed out a stream of flame, sending it straight toward the incoming fireball.
BOOM!
The two collided, turning into sparks that scattered through the air before both vanished without a trace.
"You idiot, Asuma!" Genya complained. "Why not just dodge? What's the point of wasting chakra trading blasts with him?"
"Mind your own business!" Asuma shot Genya a glare, gripped his claw knife, and charged out ahead of the other two.
"I'll take Obito. You handle Kakashi."
"Seriously? You're pretty good at picking your own opponent!" Genya grumbled.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept in from behind. Genya startled and instinctively dodged, barely avoiding the sharp blade that sliced past his cheek.
The next moment, a strand of hair rolled off the tip of the blade.
Cold sweat ran down Genya's face. He tightened his grip on his kunai. "Damn it, when did you sneak up on me?"
"Just a reminder: don't let your attention wander during a fight," Kakashi said calmly, holding his short sword.
Clang!
The two charged at each other at the same time. The kunai and short sword collided again and again, more than a dozen times in just a few seconds. Only their blurred afterimages could be seen.
"Genjutsu—Mirage..."
"I won't let you!"
Just as Yuhi Kurenai was about to use genjutsu to distract Kakashi, Nohara Rin ran toward her while throwing kunai, forcing her to split her attention and defend herself.
"Honestly, this was supposed to be a three-on-three match, but you've turned it into three separate one-on-one fights." The examiner watching from a tree shook his head helplessly.
The battle continued.
Clang!
After Genya blocked Kakashi's short sword with his kunai, he quickly reached out with his other hand, hoping to end the fight with Gentle Fist.
But Kakashi instantly pulled back his sword, slipped past the kunai, and swept it around in a graceful flourish, slashing straight toward Genya's wrist.
Genya's eyelid twitched. He hurriedly dodged to the side, then used his kunai to block the short sword again.
This guy's swordsmanship is so weird!
The short sword in Kakashi's hand was only as long as a forearm, but he wielded it with astonishing skill, his movements strange and unpredictable.
One moment, he thrust toward Genya's face. The next, he might slash low at his legs.
And the kid seemed to know how dangerous Gentle Fist was. He kept shifting his stance, making it difficult for Genya to find an opening.
At the same time, his attacks came in an unbroken stream, keeping Genya's hands pinned down and making it hard for him to throw a punch.
"Sword Style: Rice Soul!"
The short sword in Kakashi's hand moved even faster, its direction impossible to predict. In the span of a breath, he slashed at Genya five times.
"Hmph! Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!"
After being kept on the defensive for so long, Genya was starting to lose his temper. He used a new technique he had just mastered.
He spun rapidly, chakra surging out from within him and forming a hemispherical barrier in an instant.
THUD!
Kakashi's short sword struck the barrier and was immediately flung away by the immense force of its rotation.
The force traveled along the blade, making Kakashi's wrist tremble. His sword nearly slipped from his hand, and his calm expression vanished.
He yielded to the direction of the force and staggered back several steps before managing to keep hold of his short sword.
"Sorry, Kakashi."
Genya took the opportunity to put some distance between them, a confident smile on his face.
"After all, this is a team battle."
An invisible Eight Trigrams Formation spread slowly beneath his feet, extending outward like a spiderweb.
Kakashi and the others were like little insects that had blundered into the web. Once they were caught in it, their fate would be in the hands of the spider—him.
Hmm? Why does that sound like I'm insulting myself?
"Watch out, Obito, Rin!" Kakashi's expression changed as he called to his two teammates behind him.
"Too late! Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Genya struck the air with his palm. A ball of chakra whistled away, heading straight into Nohara Rin, who was completely unprepared.
"Ah!"
Nohara Rin let out a soft cry, her legs giving way as she collapsed. Yuhi Kurenai hurried over to catch her.
"Rin!"
Hearing Rin cry out in pain, Obito lost focus while locked in a fierce battle with Asuma. In an instant, Asuma had his claw knife pressed against Obito's throat.
Taking in the whole battlefield and securing victory for the team—that was what a support-type ninja was all about...
Ahem, sorry, wrong channel.
"So, do you still want to keep going, Kakashi?" Genya stood with his three teammates and smiled at Kakashi.
Kakashi slid his short sword into its sheath and shook his head. "You won this match."
"Winners: Team 8. You advance to the next round!"
The examiner shouted from the tree, never even showing his face before disappearing.
All his coworkers had gone home already. If it weren't for that little brat Obito, he'd be home eating hot pot by now.
Kakashi walked over to his two teammates.
"S-sorry, Kakashi."
Obito looked uneasy. He knew he'd let everyone down again.
Kakashi's definitely going to give me a good scolding. Ugh...
"We still have the elimination rounds ahead of us. Let's do our best together then," Kakashi said softly.
(ÒωÓױ)! W-what?!
Obito looked at Kakashi in surprise.
But Kakashi had already turned his head to check whether Nohara Rin was hurt, as if those words hadn't come from him at all.
"Tch, what a tsundere." Genya had seen the whole thing and smiled without a word.
Genya had held back when he attacked Rin. Aside from a bit of pain at the time, she was completely fine.
After Rin had recovered, Genya glanced at his wallet and said:
"Let's grab lunch together. It's on me. Consider it an apology to Rin."
Kakashi shrugged. "I'm fine with that."
"Great! I'm going to make you pay big time and avenge Rin!" Obito said, pumping his fist.
"Oh, Obito!" Rin tugged at his sleeve, her little face turning red.
"I want barbecue. I haven't had any in ages," Asuma said lazily, walking at the front.
Seeing that no one objected, Yuhi Kurenai smiled beside Genya.
"Then let's get barbecue. It's not every day Genya treats us, so I'm going to eat extra today."
Genya froze. "What do you mean? Didn't I just treat you to a meal yesterday, Kurenai?"
Asuma stopped and turned around. "You two had lunch together yesterday? Why didn't you invite me?"
"Why do you think?"
Obito walked over to Asuma and nudged him with his elbow, grinning as he spoke.
"You already had a meal alone together. What do you think? There's something going on between them!"
"Oooh, I get it now! Tsk, tsk."
Asuma finally caught on. He looked at Genya and Kurenai and clicked his tongue repeatedly.
"Hmph!"
Yuhi Kurenai let out an embarrassed, indignant huff, left Genya behind, and went to whisper with Rin.
Genya stood there, baffled. He'd only told the truth, so what was that about?
The third round of the Chunin Exam was the most important part of the entire test: one-on-one matches to assess each candidate's individual strength.
More than twenty candidates who had passed the second round stood scattered around the enormous circular arena.
Only half of them would pass and be promoted to Chunin.
Genya's gaze swept over them, and he recognized quite a few familiar faces.
Shizune, Anko, Might Guy, Ebisu, Shiranui Genma...
I wonder who my opponent will be, Genya thought expectantly.
"First match: Hyuga Genya versus Might Guy!"
Before you continue