Personal Duel: Long Ye vs. Hyuga

Rin was forced into a sorry state in an instant.

If she had faced either one of them alone, she might have been able to hold out for a while and would not have lost so quickly.

But now, surrounded by both of them, she was utterly helpless. Two fists could not defeat four hands, and she had no room to fight back.

On the other side, Kakashi was tied down by Might Guy. Even winning against him was difficult enough, let alone going over to help—he simply lacked the strength to do so.

The battle had essentially ended the moment Obito was kicked away and lost the ability to fight again for the time being.

Everyone in the second-floor stands could see this clearly.

As expected, Rin was defeated by the two-man assault without the slightest surprise.

With her defeat, Kakashi, who had held the upper hand against Might Guy, was then besieged by three people. Continuing the fight had become completely meaningless.

But Kakashi was not someone who surrendered easily. After holding out for several more minutes, he was finally defeated and had no choice but to withdraw from the match.

"Class Two wins!"

As the referee announced the result, the entire arena erupted into a cacophony.

Many people cast malicious looks at Obito and pointed at him while whispering among themselves.

At that moment, Obito's clothes were disheveled. He walked up to the second-floor waiting area with his head drooping and his face flushed red.

"Obito, don't be discouraged. This was only the first match. Next comes the individual competition, so you still have a chance to prove yourself."

Seeing Obito looking utterly dejected and humiliated, Long Ye stepped forward to comfort him.

Rin nodded repeatedly. "Long Ye is absolutely right. Don't blame yourself. The outcome of the team competition won't affect Kakashi's and my promotion to Chunin..."

"If we perform well, we can still be promoted to Chunin even if our team loses. If our performance is unsatisfactory, then even if our team wins, it won't make any difference."

Their words made Obito's expression look somewhat better.

"You should get back up from wherever you fell. Perform well in the next individual competition, and you'll still have a chance to become a Chunin."

Minato Namikaze patted him on the shoulder.

Rarely, Kakashi did not mock Obito.

For him at that moment, silence was the best encouragement.

The class competition continued in an orderly fashion.

An hour later.

The matches for all the groups were complete.

The second round, the "individual competition," began.

"Next is the individual competition. This round is somewhat special. Besides those who have already appeared, several others have been recommended by Elite Jonin to participate. Allow me to introduce them..."

"The first is Long Ye, recommended by Elite Jonin Minato Namikaze!"

As soon as the referee's voice fell, a wave of hushed whispers rose from the second-floor preparation area.

"Long Ye? Is that the outsider who recently joined Konoha?"

"I heard he possesses a rare Kekkei Genkai. The most widespread rumor is that he thoroughly dealt with Uchiha Tonghu, turning his limbs inside out and leaving him unable to care for himself in daily life."

"He only just became a Konoha Genin, yet he's already taking part in the Chunin Ninja Exams. His ambition is truly something."

"What ambition? I think he simply doesn't know his own limits. According to eyewitnesses, Tonghu's crushing defeat was caused by a sneak attack. No one knew he possessed a Kekkei Genkai before that, which was why Tonghu fell into his trap. Now, if he wants to defeat anyone here, I don't think he has a chance..."

"That does make some sense. This Long Ye used to be a notorious good-for-nothing. He was useless at ninjutsu, taijutsu—everything. Now that he's awakened a Kekkei Genkai, he has gained some strength, but unless his Kekkei Genkai is as powerful as the Sharingan, he's still no good at taijutsu or ninjutsu. What can he possibly rely on to fight others?"

Long Ye turned a deaf ear to the doubts around him.

But Rin, standing beside him, looked increasingly upset as she listened. She wanted to refute them every time, but there were too many people mocking Long Ye. One person could not silence them all.

"Damn it! Don't these people know that you captured an Iwagakure Jonin alive, Long Ye?"

Rin muttered under her breath.

Long Ye had more or less guessed that the news of his capture of Tao Gui had probably been deliberately suppressed.

The reason was most likely that they did not want news of Tao Gui's capture to reach the Land of Earth.

From this, he could also roughly infer that Konoha's higher-ups had probably already extracted some valuable information from Tao Gui. Otherwise, they would not have been so cautious.

The referee continued introducing the second recommended participant.

"The second is Shisui Uchiha, recommended by Elite Jonin Fugaku Uchiha."

"What? Uchiha... Uchiha Shisui?!"

The sound of people swallowing nervously rose one after another around them.

It was as though this name alone placed immense mental pressure on everyone.

"It's him!"

Long Ye's gaze suddenly narrowed.

Throughout the entire Land of Fire, there was practically no one who did not know that name.

There had once been a saying:

"If one were to seek the representative genius of the past decade, it would have to be Shisui Uchiha."

As someone who knew the history of the Shinobi World by heart, Long Ye understood that this name belonged to a dazzling figure in the long river of shinobi history, even if his life had been short.

"His Sharingan and ocular techniques surpassed even those of the future Itachi Uchiha. Kotoamatsukami was even hailed as the strongest genjutsu. If the Uchiha Clan had not rebelled, he would not have died. With a pair of Sharingan, he would have been enough to stand at the very peak of the Shinobi World..."

Long Ye recalled some of the history surrounding this man.

Obito had only just managed to shake off his dejection. Upon hearing that name, his expression became somewhat complicated.

He was called the shame of the Uchiha, while the other was called the pride of the Uchiha. They came from the same clan, yet they were complete opposites.

Immediately afterward, the referee announced two more names, but neither caused as much of a stir as "Long Ye" and "Shisui."

"The first matches to be held will be the contests between the four recommended participants. As usual, victory or defeat will not be the standard for judging your promotion to Chunin. The standard will be your performance..."

"First match: Long Ye versus Tokuma Hyuga."

"Second match: Shisui Uchiha versus Muta Aburame."

"The first match will now begin."

Hearing that Long Ye would be facing Tokuma Hyuga rather than Shisui Uchiha, Rin visibly relaxed.

"Long Ye, your opponent comes from the Hyuga Clan. Their Byakugan is extremely powerful, and they possess the strongest taijutsu style, the Gentle Fist. You absolutely have to be careful."

Rin looked tense.

Afraid that Long Ye did not understand the clan well enough, she wished she could pour everything she knew straight into his head.

"Don't worry! I'll be careful."

Long Ye leaped down into the arena.

Standing opposite him was a youth with eyes that were "pale white."

The instant Long Ye saw his eyes, he had the illusion that every secret on his body had been seen through.

As expected of the Byakugan, one of the three great ocular techniques of the Shinobi World. It truly possesses extraordinary profundity.

Upon remembering that this Kekkei Genkai granted a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of vision, Long Ye found it difficult to suppress his curiosity.