Genye Controls the Whole Situation

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Before the examiner had even finished speaking, Obito, who had already finished his hand seals in secret, opened his mouth and spat a scorching fireball toward Genye and his two teammates.

"I've got this! Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Asuma's fingers flew, and with a heave of his chest, he unleashed a stream of flame that surged straight toward the incoming fireball.

BOOM!

The two collided, erupting into a shower of sparks that danced through the air before both vanished into nothingness.

"Are you an idiot, Asuma?" Genye complained. "Couldn't you have just dodged? Why waste chakra clashing with him?"

"Mind your own business!" Asuma glared at Genye, gripped his trench knives, and was the first of the three to charge forward.

"I'll take on Obito; you handle Kakashi."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, you sure know how to pick your own opponent!" Genye grumbled.

Swish!

A gust of wind struck from behind. Genye started, instinctively dodging to the side, barely avoiding the biting cold edge that grazed his cheek.

A moment later, a lock of hair drifted down from the tip of the blade.

Cold sweat broke out on Genye's forehead as he tightened his grip on his kunai. "Damn it, when did you sneak up on me?"

"A word of advice: don't let your guard down during a fight," Kakashi said calmly, holding his short blade.

CLANG!

The two lunged at each other simultaneously. Kunai and short blade clashed again, trading over a dozen blows in a matter of seconds, leaving nothing but a blur of afterimages.

"Genjutsu—Mirage..."

"I won't let you!"

Just as Yuhi Kurenai prepared to disrupt Kakashi with a genjutsu, Nohara Rin threw kunai at her while running, forcing her to divert her attention to defend herself.

"Sigh, it's supposed to be a 3v3 match, and you lot have turned it into three separate 1v1s," the examiner watching from the tree shook his head helplessly.

The battle continued.

DING!

After Genye parried the short blade with his kunai, he thrust his other hand out, hoping to end the fight with a Gentle Fist strike.

But Kakashi instantly withdrew his blade, sidestepped the kunai, and executed a graceful flourish, slashing directly toward Genye's wrist.

Genye's eyelids twitched; he hurriedly leaned back to dodge, using his kunai once more to block the short blade.

This guy's swordsmanship is so bizarre!

The short blade in Kakashi's hand was no longer than a forearm, yet he wielded it with supernatural skill, making it erratic and elusive.

A thrust aimed at his face one moment might turn into a slash at his lower guard the next.

Furthermore, the kid seemed to know the lethality of the Gentle Fist, constantly shifting his stance to ensure Genye couldn't lock onto his openings.

At the same time, his offensive pressure was relentless, forcing Genye to keep his hands occupied and preventing him from landing a strike.

"Sword Style: Rice Soul!"

Kakashi's blade moved another three points faster, its trajectory unpredictable as he unleashed five slashes at Genye in the span of a single breath.

"Hmph! Eight Trigrams—Rotation!"

Having been suppressed the entire time, Genye's temper finally flared, and he unleashed a technique he had recently mastered.

He spun his body rapidly, and the chakra within him surged outward, instantly forming a hemispherical barrier.

POW!

Kakashi's short blade struck the barrier and was instantly deflected by the immense force generated by the rotation.

The impact traveled up the blade, causing Kakashi's wrist to tremble. The short blade nearly flew from his grasp, and his calm expression vanished in an instant.

He moved with the force of the blow to dissipate the momentum, retreating several steps before he could barely regain control of his weapon.

"Sorry, Kakashi."

Genye seized the opportunity to put some distance between them, a smile of certain victory on his face.

"After all, this match is a team battle."

Beneath his feet, an invisible Eight Trigrams formation slowly spread out, extending outward like a spiderweb.

Kakashi and his teammates were like small insects that had blundered into the web, and their fate now rested in the hands of the spider—himself.

Wait, why does that feel like I'm insulting myself?

"Oh no! Obito, Rin, watch out!"

Kakashi's expression shifted, and he shouted to his two teammates behind him.

"Too late! Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Genye struck out with his palm through the air. A mass of chakra whistled forward, slamming directly into the body of the completely unprepared Nohara Rin.

"Ah!"

Nohara Rin let out a soft cry, her legs giving way as she collapsed to the ground. Yuhi Kurenai hurried forward to support her.

"Rin-chan!"

Hearing Rin's cry of pain, Obito, who had been locked in a fierce battle with Asuma, lost his focus for a split second and instantly found Asuma's trench knife pressed against his throat.

Gaining insight into the overall situation and helping the team secure victory—this is the essence of a control-type battl...

Ahem, apologies, wrong script.

"So, shall we continue, Kakashi?" Xuanye stood with his three teammates, smiling as he looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi sheathed his short blade and shook his head. "You won this duel."

"The winners, Team 8, proceed to the next round of the examination!"

The examiner shouted from a tree, disappearing immediately without even showing his face.

His other colleagues had long since clocked out; if it weren't for that little brat Obito, he would already be at home eating hot pot.

Kakashi walked over to his two teammates.

"So... sorry, Kakashi."

Obito looked anxious, knowing he had dropped the ball again.

That guy Kakashi is definitely going to scold me hard, sigh...

"There's still the tournament phase coming up, let's work hard together then," Kakashi said softly.

(ÒωÓױ)! Na... Nani?!

Obito looked at Kakashi in complete shock.

But Kakashi had already turned his head away to check if Nohara Rin was injured, as if those words hadn't come from him at all.

"Tch, what a total tsundere," Xuanye, who had witnessed the whole thing, smiled silently.

Xuanye had held back when attacking Rin; aside from the initial pain, she was unharmed.

Once Rin had recovered, Xuanye glanced at his wallet and said, "Let's grab lunch together. My treat, consider it an apology to Rin."

Kakashi shrugged. "I have no objections."

"Yosh, then I'm going to bleed you dry to vent some frustration for Rin-chan!" Obito declared, pumping his fist.

"Oh, Obito-kun!" Rin tugged on Obito's sleeve, her face turning red.

"I want to eat barbecue, haven't had it in a while," Asuma said, walking in the lead with a lazy tone.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Yuhi Kurenai, standing beside Xuanye, smiled. "Then let's go for barbecue. It's rare for Xuanye-kun to treat us, so I'm going to eat plenty at lunch too."

Xuanye was stunned. "What do you mean? Kurenai, didn't I just take you out to eat yesterday?"

Asuma's footsteps faltered, and he turned around. "You two ate together yesterday? Why didn't you invite me!"

"Why do you think?"

Obito walked up to Asuma, nudged him with his elbow, and said with a flourish, "They were eating alone together, what do you think? Something's going on between them!"

"Ohhh, I see! Tsk tsk."

Asuma suddenly understood, looking at Xuanye and Kurenai while clicking his tongue.

"Hmph!"

Yuhi Kurenai let out a huff of embarrassment and indignation, leaving Xuanye behind to go whisper with Rin.

Xuanye was completely bewildered. He was just stating the facts, so what was that all about?

The third round of the Chunin Exams was the most critical part of the entire assessment: the 1v1 duels designed to test the individual strength of the candidates.

Around the massive circular arena, twenty-some candidates who had advanced from the second round stood scattered about.

Only half of them would pass the exam and successfully be promoted to Chunin.

Xuanye scanned the crowd and noticed quite a few familiar faces.

Shizune, Anko, Might Guy, Ebisu, Shiranui Genma...

I wonder who my opponent will be in a moment? Xuanye thought with a sense of anticipation.

"First round, Hyuga Genya versus Might Guy!"