She'll win

The unlucky fellow pointed at Qianye Lan and said, "Their team has rested for at least three days, while ours only just got here and hasn't had any time to recover. Is that fair?"

Hearing his question, the examiner said, "Then why don't you think about why they got three more days of rest than you?"

Faced with the examiner's question, he stiffened his neck instead and said, "It's only because they stole our team's scroll..."

Before he could finish, the examiner interrupted impatiently. "Enough. Stop talking and start drawing lots. Your enemies won't spare you just because you're in poor condition."

With only fifteen people, one was bound to receive a bye.

The draw soon ended.

Qianye Lan glanced at the slip in his hand and found that it was a three.

The numbers in the draw were one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.

Whoever drew eight received a bye.

Just as Qianye Lan was wondering who his opponent would be, Kushina said beside him, looking delighted, "I drew eight! I got a bye!"

Hearing her, Uchiha Mikoto and Qianye Lan both leaned over to look at her slip.

Kushina readily showed it to them.

Qianye Lan also held out the slip he had drawn. "I'm three."

Uchiha Mikoto said, "I'm five."

Before Kushina could start showing off, the examiner's voice rang out.

"Will the ninja who drew one please assemble?"

The three stopped their discussion and began watching the match.

The ninja who had drawn one were Minato Namikaze and some random guy.

Uchiha Mikoto looked at Qianye Lan and asked, "Lan, who do you think will win?"

Hearing her question, Qianye Lan replied, "Minato Namikaze, probably."

At his answer, Uchiha Mikoto smiled and said, "You have that much confidence in your old classmate?"

Hearing her teasing, Qianye Lan replied evenly, "It's just a fact."

A smile played on Uchiha Mikoto's lips as she leaned against the railing, propped up her chin, and said, "Then who do you think is stronger, you or Minato Namikaze?"

Without any hesitation, Qianye Lan said, "Me, of course."

His spirited demeanor held Uchiha Mikoto's gaze.

Down below, the fight officially began.

In fewer than three exchanges, Minato Namikaze ended the fight by pressing his hand against a vital point on his opponent's body.

Next, those who had drawn two fought.

This time, two random guys faced off. They traded punches and kicks in a lively fight.

But to Qianye Lan, it was a fight between two amateurs, riddled with openings.

Even Uchiha Mikoto couldn't help yawning in boredom as she watched them fight.

But the other spectators didn't see it that way.

"Kameda, grab his balls!"

"Yamamoto, try going down the middle!"

As the fight reached a fever pitch, Yamamoto knocked his opponent unconscious with a headbutt.

Just as everyone thought the fight was finally over, Kameda seemed to have heard the advice someone had shouted to him.

Before passing out, he landed a kick squarely in Yamamoto's groin.

Struck in his weak spot, Yamamoto let out a scream and then fainted.

Qianye Lan and every man present, including the examiner, couldn't help clenching their legs at the sight.

With his sharp hearing, Qianye Lan even seemed to hear the sound of balls breaking.

He looked sympathetically at Yamamoto and thought, Could this be a eunuch in the Hokage world? No, the daimyo should have eunuchs around him, right?

Several emergency medical personnel quickly reached the battlefield and carried the two away.

No matter how they looked at it, in the eyes of their fellow men, Yamamoto's injuries were more serious.

As Qianye Lan was speculating about whether Yamamoto had any chance of recovering completely, Kushina gently bumped him twice with her shoulder and said, "Stop spacing out. It's your turn."

Only then did Qianye Lan come back to his senses and hear the examiner calling number three. Bracing one hand on the railing, he vaulted over it and jumped straight down from three stories up, landing steadily on the ground.

He looked at the opponent before him and smiled. "We really do keep crossing paths, huh?"

Qianye Lan's opponent was none other than the "boss" of that unlucky team.

At Qianye Lan's words, he gave a smile uglier than a grimace and said nothing.

Qianye Lan asked, "One last question. What's your name, anyway?"

"Shinki Yoruichi."

The examiner said expressionlessly, "Begin."

Qianye Lan pushed off with one leg, his tremendous strength leaving a deep mark in the concrete. With a boom, he shot toward his opponent like a cannonball from its barrel.

"So fast!" Shinki Yoruichi muttered at the sight.

Knowing full well that dodging was already impossible, he chose to cross his arms before his chest and take the blow head-on.

Qianye Lan was a little dumbfounded by this. Seriously, man? You're taking it head-on instead of dodging?

He could only ease off a little to make sure he didn't kill him.

As Qianye Lan's fist slammed into Shinki Yoruichi's arms,

Shinki Yoruichi was instantly sent flying backward and lay motionless on the ground.

This gave Qianye Lan a fright, and he was just about to walk over and check his injuries.

But the examiner stopped him.

Looking at him, the examiner said, "Please remain calm. Your opponent is no longer capable of fighting."

Realizing that the examiner had misunderstood him, Qianye Lan hurriedly explained, "I'm just worried I might have accidentally..."

Hearing Qianye Lan's explanation, the examiner merely kept reassuring him and refused to let him approach Shinki Yoruichi.

Just then, the Third Hokage hurried over and took his seat on the dais. He happened to look toward Shinki Yoruichi as he was carried away and asked, "What's this...?"

The chief examiner beside him quickly replied, "Lord Hokage, someone knocked him unconscious."

Hearing this, the Third Hokage asked with some curiosity, "Who knocked him unconscious?"

The chief examiner pointed at Qianye Lan below and said, "That boy who was blocking people at the tower."

The Third Hokage smiled faintly, sounding a little wistful. "The younger generation really is strong these days."

The chief examiner echoed his sentiment beside him.

Down below, the examiner also announced the winner of the match. "Qianye Lan wins!"

Only after hearing that he had won did Qianye Lan use the Body Flicker Technique to return to Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto.

Kushina immediately draped a hand over his shoulder and said, "Lan, that's just what I'd expect from you."

Qianye Lan accepted their praise as a matter of course.

After the match following Qianye Lan's ended, it was Uchiha Mikoto's turn to take the field.

Qianye Lan looked at Uchiha Mikoto and said, "Mikoto, good luck!"

Beside him, Kushina also waved her little fists to cheer her on.

Uchiha Mikoto's opponent was Minato Namikaze's teammate, Dekai.

Upon seeing Uchiha Mikoto, Dekai muttered, "The Uchiha Clan? This is going to be trouble."

As the two faced off, Kushina leaned over to Qianye Lan and asked, "Lan, do you think Mikoto will win?"

Hearing her question, Qianye Lan replied with a smile, "She'll win."