"Holy shit!" Tianming gaped at the small hill he had split open with a single slash!
Tianming had never imagined that combining Lightning Release ninjutsu with the Thunder-Style Nichirin Sword could produce such an earth-shattering attack.
Even some Jonin probably couldn't withstand that slash!
Tianming immediately decided that this would be his finishing move! After all, his only real advantages at present were his massive chakra reserves and some Taijutsu, while the Tremor-Tremor Fruit consumed far too much energy.
One use drained his chakra; a second would leave him a sitting duck!
His fruit power was his trump card! He would never use it unless absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki was learning to summon, and Sasuke Uchiha was learning Chidori while gradually awakening the power of his Cursed Seal and Sharingan.
If he failed to keep up now, things would get difficult.
"Thank goodness." Gripping his Nichirin Sword, Tianming began practicing his moves one by one on the level ground atop the mountain!
He had no teacher, nor did he need one! With the system's check-in rewards and his own hard work, reaching the pinnacle of the Shinobi World was only a matter of time.
Other transmigrators either screwed over the main cast and stole every resource they could, or became their lackeys and followed the chosen one as he conquered the world.
But Tianming was different. He wanted to control his own destiny! He wanted to compete fairly with Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha and become number one!
The rain kept falling, but Tianming continued practicing, slash after slash.
After an unknown stretch of time, the rain eased, the dark clouds gradually dispersed, and sunlight spilled over the ground once more.
Click!
Tianming sheathed his Nichirin Sword, glanced at the sky, then turned and headed back to the village.
Tianming could decide his own training schedule. The other two were not so lucky.
Naruto Uzumaki had made a bet with Gamabunta: if he could stay on the toad's head for twenty-four hours, Gamabunta would acknowledge him.
By the twentieth hour, however, Naruto Uzumaki had already crashed and passed out atop Gamabunta's head.
As for Sasuke Uchiha at the great ravine, his misery was beyond description!
Kakashi Hatake had Sasuke Uchiha unleash and rein in his hatred, gathering immense electrical voltage again and again before repeatedly jumping off the cliff!
Committing everything to the strongest possible strike without hesitation-that was the essence of Lightning Release: Chidori!
A month passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the third round soon arrived.
The third round was once again held in the arena inside the repaired Central Tower!
The only difference was that the arena, so deserted a month ago, now buzzed with voices!
The Third Hokage and several members of the Konoha High Command accompanied their ally, the Kazekage, and the Hidden Sand's senior officials to watch the third round.
Besides them, every spectator seat was filled with ninja and civilian family members.
That alone showed the scale of the event!
The moment the Genin who had passed the second round appeared, the sea of people left them stunned.
Tianming's expression remained calm. As expected of the Third, who valued stability above all else-even with a knife at his throat, he still had to put on a show of peace and prosperity.
"There are so many people!" It was Naruto Uzumaki's first time being the center of so much attention, and he could not help getting excited.
Sasuke Uchiha had always been the embodiment of cool. After a month of intense training, he had changed into a black short-sleeved shirt, and his presence had grown considerably more imposing.
"The third round of the Chunin Ninja Exams will select ten of you to become Chunin. Now it's time to test the results of your month of training! Are you ready?"
Because Gekko Hayate had met a gruesome death, Kakashi Hatake had replaced him as the examiner for the third round.
"We're ready!" everyone answered in unison.
Kakashi Hatake pulled some bamboo slips from his pocket and held them toward the group. "These slips bear your names and numbers. Matching colors determine your opponents, and the numbers determine the order of the matches!"
With that, Kakashi Hatake tossed the bamboo slips into the air. Everyone hurriedly jumped up and caught one.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Red!" Naruto Uzumaki waved his bamboo slip. "Who else has red?"
Sasuke Uchiha silently raised his hand.
So Team 7 really was fighting among themselves!
Tianming certainly had not expected this outcome. Naruto and Sasuke's first proper showdown had taken place at the Valley of the End on the eve of Sasuke's defection from Konoha.
Who would have thought it would happen ahead of schedule?
"Green," Shikamaru Nara said flatly.
As he finished speaking, Temari beside him revealed the same color.
Damn! Shikamaru Nara rubbed his forehead. "Kakashi-sensei, can I switch opponents? I'm not in the habit of hitting women."
"Are you afraid of losing to a woman?" Temari abruptly retorted. "Don't underestimate me. One swing of my fan can send you flying."
"You can forfeit," Kakashi Hatake said.
"Ugh." Shikamaru Nara could only resign himself to his fate. Though he was laid-back and hated trouble, conceding outright was out of the question.
"White!" Neji Hyuga said calmly.
Rock Lee slowly raised his hand!
Hah! An in-team showdown for Team 3!
"Rock Lee." Neji Hyuga turned to look at him. "Let's have a proper match..."
After the second round ended, Hyuga Hiashi had finally told Neji Hyuga the truth about the past, allowing him to let go of his obsession and stop tormenting himself.
The Neji Hyuga of today was a whole new person!
"Just what I wanted!" Rock Lee flashed his pearly whites. He was looking forward to this fight too!
Before you continue