"Ding!" "Congratulations, host, on earning the achievement 'Top of the Grade'! You have received training methods for Observation Haki and Armament Haki!"
When Chihane heard that his rewards were Haki training methods, he was ecstatic. If he had mastered Armament Haki before this, he would not have needed to worry about Makoto Uchiha's shuriken at all. He could have simply charged straight through them.
Watching the victorious Chihane in the arena, Danzo could not keep the anger off his face. Even with his composure, he was struggling to contain himself.
"You won't give me Kakashi Hatake, and now you won't give me Chihane Hatake either. What exactly are you trying to do, Sarutobi?!"
"I will not give you either of those children."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was cold, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"You! Very well... You're the Hokage. You have the final say."
Danzo rose angrily, shot Hiruzen Sarutobi a furious glance, then turned and left the viewing platform.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Danzo leave with a cold gaze.
How could he fail to see through Danzo's little schemes?
Although Root was nominally a branch of the ANBU, it had effectively become Danzo's private force, almost entirely separate from the ANBU.
There was almost no imagining what children like Kakashi and Chihane would become once they grew up. If they fell into Danzo's hands, he would certainly brainwash them into subordinates loyal only to him. Those two blades might one day be turned against Hiruzen himself.
Hiruzen Sarutobi would never compromise on a matter like this. After all, he was the Hokage!
Meanwhile, in the arena.
Makoto Uchiha stood there in a daze.
He could not believe this was the outcome. He felt as though he had squandered all the Uchiha Clan's glory!
The moment Chihane swung his sword at the flames, Makoto Uchiha's heart had lurched with a sense of foreboding.
But by then, there was nothing he could do. He could only watch as Chihane swung his wooden sword, scattered the Great Fireball Technique he had so carefully planned, and even used the flames to launch an attack at him.
At that moment, he had still hoped that scattering the flames would weaken Chihane's sword technique enough to give him a chance to counterattack.
Yet the truth was... even after scattering the flames, its power had not diminished in the slightest. It could even draw on the Flame Sword Aura to attack him!
That sword technique was too perfect.
A trace of bitterness appeared on Makoto Uchiha's face.
Even against a chunin from his clan, he would never have lost like this!
It was not that Chihane was necessarily stronger than a chunin, but that his power was simply too difficult to counter at this level!
The Uchiha Clan's glory had ended in his hands this time. What did that make him? A stepping stone for a rising genius?
"You won..."
Makoto Uchiha's voice was bitter, but his pride would not let him run from defeat. Instead, he conceded.
Giving Chihane a long look, Makoto Uchiha still felt a little unwilling to accept it. He was fiercely competitive himself.
"Chihane Hatake, keep winning. Until I defeat you, you're not allowed to lose to anyone."
"Heh! I won't lose to anyone. I'll be waiting for you at the pinnacle of the shinobi world. But anyone I've defeated will never catch up to me!"
Chihane looked at Makoto Uchiha and nodded lightly, smiling with confidence.
"I lost!!"
Looking at the high-spirited Chihane before him, Makoto Uchiha felt that he had truly lost. This boy's ambition was greater than he could even imagine.
The final match of the combat ranking assessment had finally come to an end!
The chief examiner took a deep breath, then abruptly raised his hand to announce the result.
"First place! Chihane Hatake!"
Roar!
The entire crowd erupted once again.
Chihane had taken first place in the combat ranking assessment for the entire grade!
In one fell swoop, he had surpassed Makoto Uchiha and become the Ninja Academy's newest genius!
Countless students,
had never expected Chihane to make it this far. Just a few months ago, he had been the perennial Dead Last who could not even perform the three basic techniques! Yet switching to swordsmanship had brought about such a stunning reversal.
At that moment, regardless of class, whether they were students or jonin, almost everyone remembered the name Chihane Hatake!
Some felt as though they could already see the day when this boy named Chihane Hatake would shake the entire shinobi world.
Ignoring the envious, astonished looks around him, Chihane lightly leaped into the stands and walked over to Kurenai Yuhi.
"Feeling better now? I heard you calling my name while I was in the arena. You're not worried anymore, are you?"
"I came first, you know."
Chihane held up a finger and waved it in front of Kurenai Yuhi with a smile.
Even now, Kurenai Yuhi was still staring blankly at Chihane.
Earlier, she had thought that Chihane, who did not know ninjutsu, was certain to lose against Makoto Uchiha's Great Fireball Technique. She had never expected such a complete reversal.
Chihane had won, and it had been an overwhelming victory!
Throughout the combat ranking assessment, Chihane had defeated every opponent in just a few moves. Even Makoto Uchiha had failed to leave a scratch on him!
"I wasn't worried about you! You must have heard wrong!"
Kurenai Yuhi pursed her lips. Tears suddenly glistened in her beautiful eyes, but she still spoke with stubborn pride.
Yet she was happy for Chihane, too.
Others might never have paid attention to Chihane before, but she always had.
She knew how hard Chihane worked.
After school, when no one was around, even late at night... Chihane kept putting himself through those grueling training sessions. She had lost count of how many times she had cried after seeing the injuries on his hands and body!
To Kurenai Yuhi, what Chihane had achieved today was not luck. It was what he had deserved all along!
It was the reward he deserved for all that effort!
"Why are you crying?"
Seeing Kurenai Yuhi like this, Chihane could not help smiling. He reached out a finger and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Mm!!"
Only then did Kurenai Yuhi come to her senses, a cute blush immediately rising to her cheeks.
She glared at Chihane in embarrassed indignation, puffing out her cheeks with a huff. "Hmph! All you did was take first place. What's there to be so proud of? You've still got a long way to go if you want to win me over."
Whoosh!
At Kurenai Yuhi's words, Chihane instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
Only after speaking did she realize what she had said, and her little face turned scarlet.
Everyone around them stared, dumbfounded.
Even she could not withstand a scene like this. A moment later, she fled in embarrassment.
In truth, Kurenai Yuhi had always worried about Chihane. They had grown up together, after all. Seeing Kakashi surpass Chihane, become a ninja ahead of him, and even rise to chunin, she had been terrified that Chihane would lose heart.
Their families were old friends, with close ties going back to their fathers' generation. Kurenai Yuhi's father, Shinku Yuhi, was a powerful ninja known as the Crimson Sunset. Alongside Chihane's father, Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang, he was counted among Konoha's Eight Colors.
He was a ninja who had taken genjutsu to its absolute pinnacle. It was said that even the Mangekyō Sharingan could not reflect his genjutsu.
He was also a veteran instructor who trained chunin and genin, and he was currently standing beside the Hokage.
At the same time, Chihane instinctively raised his head toward the viewing platform. Sure enough, Shinku Yuhi was glaring at him with fire in his eyes. He was utterly devoted to his daughter and had taught a lesson to every child who approached Kurenai Yuhi. Even Chihane usually avoided him whenever they met. After all, anyone who had never experienced it could not truly understand how terrifying it was to offend a genjutsu master!
"Damn brat. Just wait until we get back. I'll give you a proper lesson in genjutsu."
On the viewing platform, Shinku Yuhi glared angrily at Chihane, muttering under his breath.
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