"Stop avoiding and face me now!"
Tsunade stood at the center of the stage, and the ground around her was full of punch holes.
"Huh…huh…"
On the other side, Sakumo tried to catch his breath.
The two of them have the same power level on the paper, but Tsunade's brute strength couldn't be matched by Sakumo.
Although that Hatake Clan possessed a variety of ninjutsu, many of them are design to injure or execute their opponent, which suffered by the rules.
Then again, Hatake Clan doesn't possess a large chakra pool, and his body and chakra are at his limit.
But Tsunade doesn't seem to have a problem.
He knew that he couldn't run anymore.
"Come on. Let's finish this once and for all."
There is only one last chance for Sakumo to turn the tide, and Akabane tried to pay close attention to what he will going to do next.
In a blink of eyes, the two attacked each other simultaneously.
They exchange punches and kicks. Some kunai were scattered all around.
The two tried to attack and defend at the same time.
Tsunade saw an opening from Sakumo and launch her attack directly.
"Not good!"
Sakumo senses the danger; he didn't expect that Tsunade could use a slight opening to attack him.
Although he miraculously managed to dodge her.
He landed awkwardly and lost balance for a second. Saw this, Tsunade launches her second punch and directly land a clear hit on him.
He was blast off the stage, receiving that raw power as if got hit by a boulder.
…
"The second match, Tsunade win!"
Hiruzen quickly decided her as the victor and took a look at Sakumo's condition.
"That was our amazing Tsunade-hime!" the crowd exploded in excitement.
The two bowed at each other and then went back off the stage.
"The next match is…"
After her match, Tsunade didn't seem to tear a sweat.
After coming down from the stage, she saw Akabane watched her match from the side stage.
There was a hint of joy on her face, she slowly approached him.
"I knew you would come out to watch my match. What do you think?
Akabane didn't reply but instead, lay down and fell asleep.
"Hey, you!"
Tsunade frowned angrily, then sat down right next to him pouting.
At first, she thought Akabane was only teasing her, but after a while, she found that Akabane was asleep…
After Tsunade and Sakumo match, the excitement of the rest of the matches has dropped drastically, and there is no other big match to be excited about.
After the end of the seventh matches, before Hiruzen called Akabane's name, Ryuu stood up and walked to the middle of the stage seems well prepared.
"Next, Ryuu against Kurama Akabane."
He looked at Akabane proudly,
But…
Akabane was still asleep.
"Akabane Ku..Ra..Ma!?"
Hiruzen called him out a second time scolding.
He saw Akabane coming out of the classroom, sitting next to Tsunade. Why did he shout then no one was coming up?
"Oy Akaba! Wake up!"
Tsunade shouted at him a few times, and Akabane still couldn't wake, so she slapped him.
"Whoa!" He was suddenly awakened from his lumber, Akabane's mood was still a mess.
"It's your time, hurry."
Tsunade whispered, he stayed for a while, tried to regain his consciousness
Ryuu was waiting for him, glared.
"Come up. You can go back to your sleep sooner after we finish this."
Ryuu tried to taunt Akabane, but he seems didn't listen.
Akabane still sleepy, nodded as he walked and said, "since yesterday, it seems that you and I have something to talk."
"Ah."
Ryuu sneered.
Akabane walked to his position, holding drawing tools in his hand, waiting for Hiruzen to start the match.
…
"Ready?
3..,
2..,
1..,
begin! "
"Translocation Jutsu!"
Ryuu disappeared in an instant.
However...
Akabane took notice of his location and threw a handful of kunai.
Ryuu managed to parry it with his kick.
He thought it would be easy at first,
But the match has just begun.
Turning his head, he saw Akabane didn't move an inch from his position.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Ryuu's made hand seals and turned around
"Fire Release: Fire Ball Jutsu!"
"What? He already learned Fire Ball Jutsu!"
"This is not good…" Akabane was slightly surprised.
"Akabane!"
Some of his classmates watched with nervous.
"Stop it!"
Hiruzen hurriedly used Translocation Jutsu to stop it, but since he was also surprised that Ryuu could use such ninjutsu, he was too late a few seconds.
The huge fireball swallowed him in an instant.
"How does he already master this ninjutsu!"
"This is too dangerous for Akabane!"
The rest of the Uchiha clan reacted differently.
Although Fire Ball Jutsu was only a C-rank jutsu, its power is too much to handle for an academy student.
The classmates understand the situation, and they thought that Akabane was too late to escape.
They look at the stage in disbelief.
Except for Tsunade.
"Tsuna-chan didn't you see that! Akabane was swallowed by the fireball."
Jiraiya was also terrified and puzzled.
Even Orochimaru was equally shocked but quickly analyze that Akabane must have avoided it at some point. He immediately closed his eyes and felt it, but noticed that the body contain a lot of chakras that a normal clone couldn't have.
"Is he really hit by that fireball?"
"No, he uses a shadow clone."
Tsunade said confidently.
"Also, the result has been decided. See it for yourself."
When everyone turned their heads and looked at Akabane, Hiruzen who hurriedly came to the stage, he discovered that there was only a piece of burned paper, and Akabane was nowhere to be found.
At the same time, Ryuu was fainted after using all his chakra to unleash his Fire Ball Jutsu
"I'm here, sensei."
Suddenly, Akabane walked out from the crowd on the side stage, holding his drawing.
It was a genjutsu!
"Shadow Clone Jutsu? When…"
Jiraiya was also shocked. He thought that Akabane was really hit by the fireball.
"Akabane-kun should use the Shadow Clone and Substitution Jutsu at the same time Ryuu released his fireball, and instantly enters the crowd."
Tsunade slowly explained, but her expression was somewhat shocked.
It is a not difficult technique to execute, but the difficulty lies in that no one took noticed of it until now.
To achieve this, he must be focusing his chakra and concentration to an extend.
"You went out of the stage!"
Kawaki tried to defend Ryuu by blaming Akabane.
"So what?"
Akabane sneered, doesn't care at all.
"Stop, you…"
Kawaki stood up to blabber more but was immediately interrupted by Hiruzen.
"He didn't break any rules Kawaki, he used shadow clone and not a lethal ninjutsu, that is the purpose of the combat exam."
That explanation makes Kawaki speechless.
Hiruzen didn't say anything about entering the crowd.
Akabane cleans up his drawing tools, as Ryuu soon regained consciousness.
"Hahahaha, I won!"
Ryuu's mouth was swollen by his Jutsu, but he was still laughing.
Because the last thing that he remembers was that he defeated Akabane with his Fireball Jutsu, but soon he realized that something was wrong. No one celebrated his victory, not even his clanmates. Some of them even laughed at him.
"Sorry boy, you have already lost. Besides, you used Fire Ball Jutsu, who was forbidden from this exam. Thus you will stay back at academy for one more year as punishment."
Hiruzen scolded him angrily, Akabane was thankfully survived, but Ryuu has already used a lethal jutsu that was forbidden for the exam.
"What? So I lose?"
Ryuu's first concern was not to repeat the grade, but to losing against Akabane.
"Brother, you have already lost using his genjutsu."
Kawaki felt embarrassed for him. He withness Uchiha's descendants was a defeat so easily.
But thinking about it carefully, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
If Ryuu was winning, he would be the one scolded by the patriarch and elder when he returned home.
At least he felt better than before.