Chapitre 151: Chapter 151: Preliminary Round Begins
Tsunade, ever concise, skipped the lengthy introduction Sarutobi Hiruzen might have delivered. After a few words, she handed things over to the judge of the preliminary round, Hayate Gekkō.
"Cough cough… Hello, everyone… cough cough, I'm Hayate Gekkō," he introduced, his words interrupted by repeated coughs.
With dark circles under his eyes and a pale, gaunt face, it was hard not to wonder if he might keel over at any moment.
" cough cough, there are three rules," Hayate continued. "First, do not act out of rage; second, do not use deadly force; third, absolute fairness."
Toward the end, he managed to finish without coughing, and his instructions came across more clearly.
"And finally… cough cough, anyone who wants to withdraw can raise their hand… cough cough."
After he finished speaking, a hand shot up immediately. Shinho glanced over, unsurprised to see it was Kabuto Yakushi.
Kabuto had infiltrated the Chūnin Exams only to gather intelligence, so withdrawing now helped him avoid unnecessary scrutiny or revealing his full abilities.
"Anyone else?" Hayate's gaze swept the room. After a thirty-second pause, he declared the preliminaries officially underway.
Behind him, a large screen lit up as two names flashed by rapidly, finally stopping on the first match:
Sasuke Uchiha vs. Dosu.
Shinho raised an eyebrow, finding it interesting.
In the original timeline, Dosu's opponent had been Chōji Akimichi. It seemed that the change in participants had affected the matchups.
Dosu, slightly hunched, walked to the center of the arena. His head was wrapped in bandages, exposing only his left eye. His wide clothing and cloak hid his body securely, though his eye glimmered with anticipation for battle.
As a subordinate of Orochimaru, his mission in the Chūnin Exams was solely focused on Sasuke.
"You got this, Sasuke!" Sakura called out enthusiastically from the sidelines.
Sasuke unsheathed his Lightning Blade casually. To him, Dosu was a nameless nobody—not someone he should be on guard against. He would finish this match quickly enough.
With a quick step, Sasuke launched himself forward, charging like an arrow released from a bow.
"Sound Slicer!"
Dosu sneered, revealing an armoured bracer with multiple holes on his right arm. A piercing sound echoed through the arena, sending a shockwave that rattled Sasuke's eardrums, robbing him of his hearing.
Dosu took advantage of the opening, lunging forward to grab Sasuke.
As danger closed in, Sasuke instinctively rolled to the left, narrowly dodging the attack.
Before he could recover, however, Dosu slammed his fists into the ground, unleashing another wave of sound that left Sasuke momentarily paralyzed.
"Is that all a Uchiha could do?" Dosu taunted with a smug grin.
But the next second, Dosu felt a sharp, stabbing pain. Looking down, he saw the tip of Sasuke's Lightning Blade sword piercing through him.
"How… how is this possible?" Dosu stammered, stunned.
"You didn't even realize when you fell under my genjutsu. What makes you think you can talk like that?" Sasuke replied with a cold expression as he withdrew his blade. Blood spattered as he turned and walked away coolly from the field.
"Sasuke Uchiha wins!" Hayate announced quickly. "Medic team, get in here!"
Sasuke had avoided a fatal blow, so Dosu wasn't dead, but he would need considerable time to recover from his injuries.
"As expected of the Uchiha," Kurenai remarked, impressed. "Even most Chūnin wouldn't notice his genjutsu."
"The Uchiha are indeed natural genjutsu masters," Kakashi said with a smile. "Sasuke only started training in genjutsu about a month ago."
"A month?" Kurenai laughed, shaking her head. "That's quite a blow to the rest of us."
"If you think that's impressive, meeting Itachi Uchiha would be even more humbling," Kakashi remarked casually. "I heard your student Yakumo Kurama has a talent for genjutsu as well."
"She does," Kurenai's face brightened as she talked about her student.
Shinho raised an eyebrow, appreciating Sasuke's smooth victory.
Still, something felt off—almost like this win was setting up for an inevitable beating.
Based on his experience so far, whenever Sasuke starts to feel confident, he often gets humbled right after.
The next match was announced on the screen: Gaara vs. Yoroi Akadō.
Not Rock Lee? Shinho thought not surprised.
Shinho knew his presence was creating a butterfly effect on the original timeline.
Still, this arrangement might be a good thing. In the original story, Rock Lee had fought Gaara, opening the Fifth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
Not only had he failed to win, but he was left severely injured.
Now, at least, that outcome could be avoided.
Within seconds, the arena echoed with screams as Gaara crushed Yoroi with a wave of sand, leaving nothing but blood and flesh.
"What a scary guy!" Ino gasped, she could feel Gaara's bloodlust weighing down on the arena.
"Genin from the Sand Village is this powerful?" Sakura was equally shocked.
"Did he just break the rules to kill an opponent?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and a second later, Gaara turned his cold, bloodthirsty gaze toward him.
Was Gaara targeting him?
Sasuke held his gaze, after facing Orochimaru's killing intent, Sasuke was no longer intimidated.
"Thank goodness I'm not facing him," Ino murmured, patting her chest in relief, though she instinctively felt Gaara was too powerful for her, even with Shinho's enhancements.
"Ino, who do you hope to spar with?" Shinho asked casually.
"Anyone but you, Shinho-kun," she replied with a bright smile. "Otherwise, I'd have to surrender right away."
"Me too," Hinata added, quietly gathering her courage to join the conversation.
Ino was about to say more when her eyes widened, seeing her name flash on the screen. Her opponent: Sakura Haruno.
The best-friends showdown remained unchanged from the original storyline.
In the original, Ino and Sakura had fought to a standstill. But this time, Ino had gained new skills from Shinho, her power level was practically doubled.
Although Sakura had begun training in medical ninjutsu, without Tsunade as her teacher, she hadn't learned superhuman strength and still had only the basics of a medic ninja's combat capabilities.
"Sakura," Ino took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, but I have a reason to keep advancing."
"I understand," Sakura replied resolutely. "So do I."
"You've grown up, Sakura," Ino said with a gentle smile.
"You too," Sakura said, remembering how they first became friends.
Back then, Sakura was bullied over her wide forehead, and Ino had stood up for her. Since then, they had been best friends.
"Get ready." Sakura pulled out two shuriken. "I won't be holding back."
With two quick flicks, the shuriken whizzed through the air. Sakura followed closely behind, closing the distance rapidly.
Knowing Ino's family techniques, Sakura kept moving to reduce Ino's chances of landing a hit.
Ino, standing her ground, coolly threw two shuriken of her own. The weapons collided midair, creating a high-pitched clink.
Without even looking, Sakura lunged forward with a kunai in hand. But Ino swiftly grabbed her wrist, effortlessly pinning her to the ground.
Sakura struggled instinctively, shocked by Ino's strength.
"Sorry," Ino said, picking up Sakura's kunai and pressing it gently to her neck.
"Ino Yamanaka wins!" Hayate declared.
"How did you get so strong?" Sakura asked, feeling defeated.
"Because of Shinho-kun," Ino answered, standing up and offering Sakura a hand.
Is this the power of love or something? Sakura thought, biting her lip.
"I'll work hard to catch up."
Ino smiled, sensing there was some misunderstanding, though she couldn't reveal the true reason for her new strength having promised Shinho to keep it secret.
[Achievement Unlocked: "Sakura Haruno's Jealous Rage" - Reward: Blue Face Gu]
[Blue Face Gu: Rank 3 Transformation Gu, alters the user's appearance to enhance or disguise.]
Shinho was pleased with the unexpected reward. Though Transformation Jutsu could mimic the effect of Blue Face Gu, it was often easy to see through and didn't last long. This Gu would be useful in the right circumstances.
The fourth match began with Rock Lee facing Misumi Tsurugi. Though Misumi specialized in taijutsu, he was no match for Lee. Without even activating the Eight Gates, Lee won decisively.
In the fifth match, Naruto easily took the win. His opponent was Chōji, who knocked himself out by crashing into a wall with his Human Bullet Tank jutsu.
The sixth match saw Temari defeating Tenten, it played out just like it did in the series. Tenten's abilities with ninja tools weren't a match for Temari.
"The seventh match: Hinata Hyūga vs. Kin," Hayate Gekkō announced, glancing at the screen.
"Be mindful of the sound based techniques," Shinho reminded Hinata.
"I will!" Hinata responded seriously. After witnessing Ino's easy victory, she didn't want to fall behind.
Kin, a girl with long, straight black hair, stepped into the arena and eyed Hinata's hair with disdain.
"I'll be taking your hair!" Kin sneered arrogantly.
In the original storyline, Kin had been envious of Sakura's hair and had tried to use it to her advantage in battle.
"No way!" Hinata refused without hesitation. Shinho liked her long hair, and no one else would be allowed to touch it.
Kin shrugged off the rejection, pulling out a bell and giving it a sharp shake.
Genjutsu: Bell Sound Senbon!
Hinata's vision blurred as multiple images of Kin appeared, each raising a hand filled with thin, gleaming senbon needles that rained down upon her.
Byakugan!
Activating her Byakugan, Hinata immediately located Kin's real body, and in a swift motion, she appeared in front of her and struck with a palm thrust.
And just like that, Kin dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Hinata blinked in surprise. Wait, that's it?
She quickly realized the reason—she'd been sparring with skilled opponents like Neji and Shinho for far too long, which had raised her standards, in this case, expectations.
Kin, despite her arrogance, was only an average Genin.
The rest of the matches were equally one-sided.
In the original story, only twenty Genin had reached the preliminaries, but now there were thirty, many of whom were unfamiliar to Shinho.
These filler Genin, while capable, were average and struggled against Sand and Konoha's top Genin.
Winners included Yakumo Kurama, Shino Aburame, Neji Hyūga, Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, Torune Aburame, and Zaku.
"The fifteenth match: Shinho Aburame vs. Kankuro," Hayate announced.
Kankuro, huh?
Shinho hadn't expected this matchup. Originally, Kankuro had faced and defeated Misumi Tsurugi to move on to the third round. But here they were.
Shinho had no reason to worry he would loose here.
As he stepped into the arena, Temari, carrying her giant fan, frowned slightly as she said; "This could be tricky, Kankuro. His teacher is the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade."
"So what?" Kankuro scoffed. "He's just a medic ninja."
"Tsunade isn't just any medic ninja," Temari reminded him.
"Relax," Kankuro said with a confident smirk. "He's still just a medic."
Gaara remained silent. His purpose in the Chūnin Exams was twofold: complete Sunagakure's mission and satisfy his bloodlust.
His eyes were set on Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyūga, whose strengths stood out the most. As for Shinho, he had no expectations—Shinho was just a medic as far as he knew.
"Ah, a puppet master," Kakashi mused. "Quite the nostalgic matchup."
"More like an ill-fated one," Kurenai remarked, smiling knowingly.
Puppet masters, unique to Sunagakure, were highly skilled at deploying traps and poisons, making them formidable foes.
During the Second Shinobi War, the Sand's puppet corps had inflicted significant damage on Konoha until Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, had killed their leader, Chiyo's son, leading to their decline.
Tsunade had also neutralized Chiyo's poisons, marking the Sand's defeat.
"Who do you think will win?" Asuma asked.
"Shinho, of course," Kurenai replied confidently, gesturing toward Tsunade. "Notice how relaxed the Hokage looks?"
Kakashi nodded, understanding her reasoning. If Shinho had driven off Orochimaru, Kankuro posed little threat.
"I hear you're the Hokage's student," Kankuro said arrogantly to Shinho. "Let's end this quickly."
With that, he set his puppet wrapped in bandages before him.
Rainbow Light Gu!
In an instant, Shinho vanished. Kankuro barely had time to blink before he felt like he'd been hit by a freight truck.
A loud boom echoed as a crater appeared on the wall, dust rippling outward in visible waves. Kankuro's body lay embedded in the wall as Shinho reappeared, brushing himself off.
The speed of his Light Rainbow Gu was so great that even he hadn't fully controlled it. Fortunately, with his Hevanly Mugwort Gu, his defences held up.
Otherwise, the impact would have caused serious harm to himself.
"Is this quick enough?" Shinho glanced at the remnants of Kankuro's puppet, "Crow," shattered on the ground.
Kankuro struggled out from the wreckage, a look of horror on his face.
"My… my Crow!" Kankuro gasped.
Puppet masters were rare in the Sanagakure, and Crow had been one of the few puppets he'd managed to acquire, only for Shinho to destroy it effortlessly.
"Damn it!" he cursed, raising his hands as blue chakra strings attached to a second puppet, Black Ant, which descended from above, aiming its six saw-bladed limbs at Shinho.
The saws struck Shinho, but they did no damage.
"What kind of jutsu is this?" Kankuro's eyes widened. Who was the puppet here?
Shinho's defense exceeded his puppet's offensive capabilities.
With a swift motion, Shinho grabbed two of Black Ant's limbs and snapped them like twigs.
"I surrender!" Kankuro yanked Black Ant back and dropped to his knees in a swift bow, eliciting stunned silence from the crowd.
"This kid sure knows how to hide his abilities," Tsunade muttered, impressed.
A supersonic speed combined with armor-like defense—what else did Shinho have up his sleeve? Still, she felt a wave of relief wash over her.
With that kind of speed, he could escape any of Orochimaru's advances.
"Kakashi, did you teach him that?" Asuma asked, dumbfounded.
"I wish I could," Kakashi replied with a wry smile. "I'd love to learn it myself."
"Then where did he learn it?" Asuma shook his head. "They say Wind and Lightning Releases are the fastest, but they're nothing compared to Shinho's speed."
"There is a downside," Kakashi noted, shaking his head. "It's so fast that it's hard for him to control."
"True," Kurenai agreed, remembering the way Shinho had stumbled after destroying Crow.
"Shinho should work on taijutsu," Might Guy said with a hint of regret.
For taijutsu masters, physical conditioning was essential, and he trained Naruto and Lee daily to build that foundation.
"His body must be holding something extraordinary," Orochimaru murmured from the crowd, his eyes burning with curiosity.
Is it a kekkei genkai?
At that moment, his interest in Shinho even surpassed his fixation on Sasuke.
Gaara, too, felt a strange fascination and bloodlust for Shinho, emanating such intensity that even Temari dared not approach him.
"Shinho Aburame wins!" Hayate announced with admiration. If only he had a body like Shinho's, he wouldn't be so frail.
Shinho glanced at the trembling Kankuro and turned to leave the arena.
"As expected from Shinho!" Naruto cheered, giving him a thumbs-up. "Let's have our duel in a month!"
Sasuke remained silent, wondering if he could catch Shinho after developing the three-tomoe Sharingan, when he's in the Rainbow Light Gu's transformed state.
But how would he reach that level?
"Shinho-kun!" Both Ino and Hinata, ran up to him as he joined the crowd.
"The preliminaries are now complete," Tsunade announced. "We'll begin the draw for the final round. The fifteen winners will draw lots."
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