As the opposing team charged, Ryou, Shisui, and Tenga effortlessly evaded the shurikens flying their way and advanced forward to confront them. With a single exchange, they assessed the strength of the other team, noting no particularly remarkable Genin among them.
Each member of the opposing team seemed to come from a civilian family, with no advanced jutsu or mastery over any skills. They are just an average Genin team.
Ryou confronted the tall one, the leader of the three, who lunged at him with a kunai aiming for his chest. Dodging the attack with a leisurely side step, Ryou grabbed the opponent's wrist, swung him over his shoulder, and slammed him into the ground with force.
Before he could recover, Ryou delivered a solid punch to his chest, leaving him winded and gasping for breath. He didn't hold back his strength because this was the Chunin Exams, he couldn't be soft to his opponents.
"Damn it!" the opponent spat, frustration clear in his eyes. This was their team's second time in the Chunin Exams, yet once again, they had encountered a powerful team, unable to show their full strength.
Even if they tried again, they wouldn't stand a chance against Ryou, Shisui, and Tenga.
"It's for the best," Ryou spoke calmly. "If you became Chunin with your current skills and went out into the border area, you wouldn't last long. You better improve your strength before attempting the Chunin exams again."
Meanwhile, Shisui also swiftly subdued his opponent, using his outstanding shuriken jutsu and speed to bind him tightly with steel wire.
Tenga, fighting the last member of the opposing team, delivered a powerful spinning kick after a brief clash of kunai. His kick landed with force, sending the other party crashing to the ground, stunned and unable to get back up.
Within moments, the three of them had subdued their opponents without much effort. After that, they tied the three against a tree, ensuring they wouldn't break away without outside help.
With that, Ryou, Shisui, and Tenga successfully secured the safe zone. Hours passed, and the first round of the chunin exam ended with their team advancing to the next round with no other teams venturing into their safe zone.
--
After a few minutes, Ryou, Shisui, and Tenga emerged from the dense forest, which serve as one of the village's training grounds and where they completed the first round of the chunin exam. They noticed three other teams already gathered near the forest entrance.
The Jonin proctor of the first round stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over them as he announced. "Congratulations on passing the first round. It was no easy feat, you guys did well."
He continued, "For the original ten teams, five safe zones were assigned. However, only four teams managed to reach and hold their safe zones until the time ran out. The other teams were either eliminated after losing battles against another team or were discovered and captured by our examiners, who posed as enemy shinobi.
Now, about the next round, it will be the finals! The final round will be a one-on-one elimination tournament among the twelve of you who passed.
There will be up to three stages. In the first stage, the elimination round will reduce the number from twelve to six. In the second stage, three will advance. Finally, the last three standing will face each other in a three-way battle, with one emerging as the champion.
The finals will take place in two days!"
The Genins present exchanged glances, their expressions a mixture of emotions because they will be facing each other in the next round, even if they are from the same team or friends. It also triggered their competitive spirit.
Hearing this, Tenga's eyes lit up. "A one-on-one match, huh? It means we will be fighting each other in the next round. I won't lose, you two." He exuded a strong fighting spirit.
Shisui shook his head with a slight smile. "It's unlikely that we'll face off immediately. If anything, we'd only fight each other in the finals, presuming we all make it that far."
Tenga balled his fists and stretched his hand toward Shisui and Ryou. "Then let's give it our all and make sure the finals will be between the three of us."
Ryou looked at Tenga and Shisui, with a strong aura. "If we end up facing each other, I'm afraid you'll have to fight for second and third spot because, as you know, you two don't stand a chance against me."
Tenga and Shisui rolled their eyes at Ryou but didn't argue because they knew he was right. Against Ryou, they wouldn't stand a chance as they knew just how strong he was. But, they won't go down without a fight.
"Tenga, I don't know about Ryou, but it won't be easy for us to reach the final round," Shisui said, scanning the Genin teams' passed for the next stage. "Some of them are very strong, despite their age like us."
"Like who?" Tenga asked, curious.
Shisui glanced at everyone, listing their names with a serious expression. "First, there's Retsu Hyuga. His Taijutsu skills are exceptional, and we wouldn't stand a chance against him in a head-on fight. If we want to win against him, we may have to use some tricks."
"Then there's Uchiha Kaen," He continued. "Even though we're both from the Uchiha clan, I haven't interacted with him much. But he's been called a genius from a young age. His Sharingan is already at the two-tomoe level, and he's skilled in Fire Style Jutsu."
Shisui then looked at the Genin trio in the distance. "There's also the Ino-Shika-Cho team. They are strong as a team, but individually, they won't be much of a threat. But we have to watch out for Choaki Akimichi. He's very strong."
"And finally," Shisui said, looking at a young ninja with a dog on his shoulder, "there's Kazuki Inuzuka from the Inuzuka clan. He's also a strong Taijutsu user."
Tenga let out a low whistle. "Seems like we've got some tough opponents. It's going to be an exciting showdown."
Chatting, Ryou, Shisui, and Tenga made their way to a nearby restaurant to grab a meal to fill their stomach.
--
Author note: Apologies for the absence, guys. No excuses. I've been a bit busy with work and couldn't find the time to write.
--
Patreon: FanficMortal(20+ Chapters)