The Alarm That Had Not Sounded for Ten Years

"Gate of Life, open!"

Might Guy's forehead veins bulged as green energy surged around his body.

"Open the Third Gate directly!"

Long Ye's face filled with shock when he heard the words "Gate of Life."

"Obito is in danger!" Minato Namikaze said gravely.

"The Third Gate, the Gate of Life, is the last safe zone of the Eight Gates. His attack speed will reach an unimaginable level. Given Obito's current condition, even with the Sharingan, he won't be able to keep up with his speed. This Might Guy is truly a taijutsu genius."

Minato Namikaze watched the scene in the arena with some amazement.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Obito finished forming his hand seals and blew out flames that scattered like bullets, sweeping fiercely toward his opponent.

These bullet-like flames were controlled by chakra, making them extremely difficult to dodge.

With a whoosh!

Might Guy, who had opened three gates, blurred and vanished from the spot.

Everyone clearly saw that Obito had been the first to use a ninjutsu, while Guy had moved afterward. Yet an astonishing scene unfolded. Guy actually struck Obito's chin with an upward spinning kick at the very instant the ninjutsu was unleashed.

Obito was kicked into the air.

A bandage chased after him like a long snake and instantly wrapped around him.

Then, tremendous force yanked him down from midair. Obito did not even have time to react before a leg like an iron pillar kicked him away with a bang.

Although Obito's Sharingan saw Guy's movements, his opponent was simply too fast. His body could not keep up with what his eyes were seeing.

The outcome of the battle was already clear.

Long Ye felt rather helpless as well. Obito's luck had simply been too poor—he had run into Might Guy, a taijutsu master. If he had faced anyone else, then with Obito's recent improvement, he might not have been without a chance of winning.

Might Guy did not pursue him any further.

Obito had suffered severe injuries and no longer had the strength to fight. Even though his heart was filled with a hundred thousand unwilling thoughts, he had no choice but to accept defeat.

Long Ye jumped into the arena and helped him up to the second floor.

At this moment, even Rin did not know how to comfort him.

Seeing Obito covered in dust and dirt, with scraped skin on his face, blood at the corner of his mouth, and a thoroughly miserable appearance, Long Ye gently patted him on the shoulder.

"Obito, don't lose heart. No one remains undefeated their entire life."

"But... I've never won before."

Obito lowered his head, his body trembling faintly.

Long Ye was rendered speechless for a moment.

He began recalling how Obito Uchiha from the history of the Shinobi World had ultimately become so powerful.

The matter of his still-unawakened Mangekyō Sharingan aside, Long Ye finally remembered that Obito Uchiha's rise in strength had been closely connected to one person: the great schemer, Madara Uchiha.

Obito's later body had been reconstructed by Madara using the cells of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, greatly strengthening his abilities in every aspect.

But Long Ye did not want Obito to follow the path of history and walk down the evil road of corruption.

Looking at Obito, whose head drooped as he sank into despair, Long Ye said inwardly, Obito, you'll definitely become stronger. Even without that dangerous encounter, even without Madara Uchiha, you still have me.

Now, he possessed the demonic ability of Human Modification. Wasn't the purpose of Human Modification to make the body stronger?

Of course, he naturally could not say these things aloud. He could only bury them silently in his heart.

The individual matches of the Chunin Ninja Exams continued in an orderly fashion.

Soon, it was Kakashi's turn to enter the arena.

Whether by coincidence or deliberate arrangement by the organizers, Kakashi's opponent was none other than Might Guy, who had just defeated Obito.

The battle between the two became a stalemate from the very beginning.

One was a genius of taijutsu, while the other was a genius of ninjutsu.

Although neither had dazzled an entire era as Shisui Uchiha had, both were among the strongest at the very top of their generation.

After more than ten minutes of fighting, Might Guy used the Eight Gates again.

Kakashi's self-created Lightning Release technique, "Chidori," also appeared before everyone for the first time, stunning the entire arena.

The match ultimately lasted half an hour. In the end, Might Guy had overdrawn a massive amount of stamina from using the Eight Gates and was unable to continue fighting, bringing the battle to a conclusion.

Kakashi secured the final victory through attrition, but it was clear that he had not won easily. His body was covered in injuries as well.

After several more rounds, the examiner called Rin's name.

[Rin Nohara versus Mitaraishi Anko!]

Long Ye frowned slightly when he heard Rin's opponent's name.

It reminded him of a dangerous figure: her teacher, Orochimaru.

At present, Orochimaru might still be hiding somewhere in Konoha, wholeheartedly focused on his research.

"Rin! You're a medical ninja. There's no need to fight her to the bitter end. If things look bad, just surrender. Getting injured for the sake of winning is meaningless."

Long Ye knew Rin's personality. Although she was kind and gentle on the outside, she was extremely proud at heart, which was why he warned her in advance.

Rin put on an unhappy expression. "Hmph! Are you looking down on me? Anko may be strong, but I'm not weak either. Just wait and see!"

Not wanting Long Ye to underestimate her, Rin was the first to jump into the arena.

Although Rin's taijutsu was not weak, it could not be considered outstanding. As soon as the battle began, she inevitably fell into a disadvantage during close combat with her opponent.

Moreover, Mitaraishi Anko's methods were enough to make one's scalp crawl.

Because her teacher was Orochimaru, she had inherited Orochimaru's ninjutsu. In particular, with a technique called "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands," venomous snakes emerged from her hand, creating a terrifying sight.

Fortunately, Rin had mastered the Chakra Scalpel, which possessed considerable power, so she was not entirely without means of protecting herself.

However, Mitaraishi Anko's techniques emerged one after another. She possessed more than a dozen snake-related ninjutsu, forcing Rin into a dead end step by step until she ultimately had no choice but to admit defeat.

After Rin's defeat, she felt somewhat dejected. Only after Long Ye and Minato Namikaze comforted her did her mood gradually recover from its gloom.

The matches that followed continued for another hour before finally reaching their conclusion.

With the Chunin Ninja Exams over, the most nerve-racking moment was the announcement of the names of those promoted to Chunin.

Long Ye had won every battle in succession and had even defeated Shisui Uchiha, so he obtained Chunin qualifications without the slightest surprise.

As for the other three members of Team 7, Kakashi also obtained Chunin qualifications, just as expected.

Rin had ultimately lost, but perhaps because she was a medical ninja, she also obtained Chunin qualifications. This left her overjoyed.

The only regret was Obito.

In the first team-versus-team match, he was eliminated because of a mistake.

In the second match against Might Guy, although his performance was commendable, it had been largely thanks to the Sharingan. His ninjutsu and taijutsu both had shortcomings to varying degrees, and he was ultimately judged to have failed the exam.

This was within Obito's expectations. Although his mood remained extremely low, he calmly accepted reality.

However, just as the examiner finished announcing the names of those who had been promoted, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded outside.

"What's that sound?"

"That's the alarm bell of my Konoha."

"Strange! I heard the alarm hasn't sounded for ten years. Why did it suddenly ring today?"

"Could someone have accidentally touched it?"

Voices of discussion rang throughout the arena, but perhaps they had enjoyed peace for too long. No one even considered the possibility of "war."