บท 76: Side Characters
"We will begin with rank 32 and proceed in descending order." Taki's voice trailed as Oishi inquired,
"I see that you guys have changed things from last time. What brought about the change?"
"This was a change introduced by one of our Jounin. He argued that in as much as we want more genins becoming chunins in the village, we should also focus on the quality of the shinobi that we produce,"
"To achieve the Chunin rank, these young Shinobi will be tested on their decision making. The test would show whether the genins are able to make calculated risks. This is important as the rank they want to achieve is basically a squad leader who should know when to strike and when to bid their time."
"The other thing tested would be how they react in tense situations, especially during constant combat, as they can find themselves in a similar situation in an enemy camp where they have to fight to the death."
"You really are thorough. I hope that this increases our chances at the next war." Oishi praised Hiruzen.
Danzo, who was sitting next to the two, just nodded in agreement to what Hiruzen said something that caught the Daimyo's eye. He might be an old man, but he wasn't stupid.
He was aware of the friction between the two ever since Tobirama died that was why seeing them agree on something was a breath of fresh Air. Fortunately, the friction between the two was not to the extent of causing significant damage to the running of the village, at least not yet.
Back in the stage below, the last ten ranks were in shambles as they all scrambled to challenge each other so that they could escape the bottom ranks.
Aiko was lucky enough to escape all the chaos there without having gotten any challenges thrown her way. When her turn reached, she obviously challenged rank 19 as that was the upper limit she had as rank 24.
"An orphan challenged me? You should just know your place."
As soon as rank 24, Uchiha Yori stepped on the ground, she started ranting about how Aiko wasn't worthy of fighting her.
'Great Another stuck-up clan kid.' Renjiro remarked as he focused on the match about to unfold. If Renjiro was honest, he was cringing at the interaction.
'Never Mind, even side characters need their moments.'
Meanwhile, Aiko took all the taunts with great stride. She was completely focused on her goals which were ranking up in the Chunin exam finals and actually ranking in life by becoming a Chunin.
"Begin!"
As the instruction from their proctor fell on their ears, Yori was the first to make the move. She dashed forward while performing some hand signs simultaneously.
As she neared her perceived target, she shouted "Fire-style: great fireball Jutsu."
'Why isn't she activating her Sharingan? Speaking is one thing but is she really demeaning me?' Aiko thought.
Aiko, with her keen observation skills, anticipated Yori's attack and swiftly dodged to the side, avoiding his flaming ball. She had had a few spars with her teammates, so such a jutsu wouldn't be much of a hassle.
With a graceful movement, Aiko countered with her own series of precise strikes. She used the Tornado Fist Jutsu as well as the Wind Cloak Jutsu which gave her great offensive capabilities by wrapping winds on her hands.
The Cloak boosted her speed and defence as she decided to engage Yori in close combat.
'Riku sensei wanted me to be bolder with my taijutsu. Besides, this is the only effective option that I have since she has a shar- Wait why hasn't she used her Sharingan? Or does she not have a Sharingan.'
The fight evened out after Aiko decided to use her Taijutsu because Yori was not a pushover in that field.
'It is confirmed, she has not awakened her Sharingan. This makes it way easier.'
Aiko decided to use her genjutsu. Once she did it was over for Yori as she tied things up. She was left in a trance in the arena and the proctor's voice declaring Aiko as the winner brought her out of the genjutsu.
The only reason Aiko did not bother using her genjutsu or ninjutsu was because she had seen first-hand how versatile the Sharingan was. Too bad Yori was just a dumb-down version of Renjiro without all the talk.
"Congratulations Aiko!"
Hiro congratulated Aiko as she arrived right beside him. She was now one rank above him. Although Hiro knew that it was temporary, it still lit a fire under him to perform well.
Hiro on the other hand, had a harder path as compared to Aiko. In between Aiko ranking up and him getting a chance to do the same, he received not one but two challenges.
'I can't really blame them. Hiro was just from a fight, so he would be an easier target. I would do the same if I was in their position.' Renjiro thought as he witnessed it.
He calmly faced and disposed of his opponents in the back-to-back challenges he received. Thankfully, both fights did not require much effort from him as he finally got his chance to rank up.
'Who do I challenge? Should I challenge Renjiro? I could finally shut his mouth if I won. No, I have already been challenged while he hasn't. I guess I will have to challenge rank 16 then.'
"I challenge rank 16!"
Hiro declared as he made his way to the arena. Rank 16 promptly followed Hiro to the arena to begin their fight. Rank 16 was a civilian genin called Kazuki Arai. He was from a merchant family in the village.
The decision not to challenge Renjiro weighed heavily on Hiro. While he acknowledged that Renjiro was strong, he still wanted to know who would come on top between the two.
'It's probably for the best, besides, I can always challenge him later.' Hiro consoled himself.
"Begin!"
As the battle began, Hiro decided to take a different approach than he usually would. He started off with a ninjutsu!
'Who are these people? It's like Aiko and Hiro switched places for the day.' Renjiro commented.
Hiro charged forward with lightning speed, his movements were fluid and graceful. With a flicker of his hand, he unleashed a barrage of kunai towards Arai.
That was no issue for Arai, but what followed was. Hiro slammed his hands on the ground as he shouted,
"Earth Spike Jutsu!"
Hiro's strategy was simple, confine his opponent to a certain space and finally finish things off. And that was exactly what happened. He had already set a precedent of how he fought with the first two fights just to switch it up during this third fight.
Hiro's fight was welcomed with cheers more than any of the previous ones, granted that they had not seen many of the big hitters fight yet.
Unfortunately, as Renjiro was still in a good mood from his teammate's win, rank 17 finally issued his challenge.
It was rank 15.
'What did he challenge me for?' Renjiro nearly uttered out loud.
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