The murmurs in the crowd grew louder as the final matchup was announced. The tension was palpable, rippling through the audience like static electricity before a storm.
Kumogakure's stadium hummed with anticipation. Kaida Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha. Both had already shown the crowd breathtaking abilities. Fire and precision vs. brute strength and speed—a combo worth watching. While some grumbled over Kabuto's surrender, the thought of a grand finale washed over them, silencing any residual complaints.
Since there was an hour given to the participants for rest and getting back in perfect shape, Kaida was doing just that, sitting in the corner of the waiting room meditating.
'My next match is against Itachi. If I use Uchiha kenjutsu with a katana and genjutsu combo, he'll win because it's his forte. As for ninjutsu, let's not even consider it. That guy learned Gale Palm Jutsu just by watching me perform it, and I literally have 7–8 jutsu under my belt—nothing he would worry about. As for the Mitotic Regeneration Seal and strength, even though it's powerful and fast, the burst is unidirectional. He could easily dodge by predicting my trajectory. Man, this is tough,' Kaida was thinking.
Smack
"Why did you do that?" Kaida asked, rubbing his head.
"If you're trying to meditate, why the hell are you thinking so much? Just calm your mind and give your best. No one is pressuring you to win. If you win, that's great; if not, you'll learn something new. There's no need to worry so much," Shisui said, sitting next to Kaida.
"I know, brother, but I can't even see a way for me to win the next match. I have two fighting styles, and neither of them works against Itachi," Kaida said.
"Two fighting styles?" Shisui asked.
"Yes, one is when I don't use this seal. I fight like an Uchiha—precise and lethal strikes with a mix of genjutsu. And when I use that seal, I use extra strength and speed to win. But Itachi is better than me in Uchiha style and too fast and reactive to fall for the second."
"HaHaHaHa!"
"What's so funny?"
"You're talking like there are two people inside you, and when one comes out, the other has to wait inside. These are both your fighting styles; there's no need to separate them. Just use them accordingly. Switch between brute strength and precise attack, react with Sharingan perception, and attack with your most powerful strength. Even I would feel threatened by such attacks," Shisui explained.
"Brother, it's not fair to show favoritism to only one of us," Itachi said, entering the waiting area.
"Well, you don't need any. The only advice I'd like to give you is don't get overconfident. Even though you're powerful, that doesn't mean you can't lose," Shisui said.
"I'll keep that in mind," Itachi said, as he sat down to take some rest.
---
As the time for the final battle approached, Itachi and Kaida made their way into the stadium. The crowd went silent, a hush falling over them in reverence. These two stood on opposite ends, eyes locked, each sensing the intensity of the other's presence.
The proctor raised his hand. "This is the final match of the Chunin Exams: Kaida Uchiha versus Itachi Uchiha. Begin!"
The ground beneath Kaida and Itachi shook as they both moved right at the start, at astonishing speed, making hand signs rapidly.
"Fire Release: Fire Stream Jutsu."
"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu."
The two fire techniques collided, with Kaida's fireball blown away by the wall of fire formed by Itachi's fire stream. Both of them were pushed back from the blast, but neither stopped moving. Both vanished from their spots, reappearing in the center, Kaida wielding a sword while Itachi had drawn his kunai.
Clang, clang, clang, clang! Tens of strikes were exchanged between them in just a single second. With no one gaining the upper hand, they jumped back.
"Don't hold back," Itachi called out, eyes flashing with a seriousness Kaida hadn't seen before.
"Who said I was?" Kaida responded, smirking.
Kaida formed the Shadow Clone Jutsu sign, and three identical clones appeared beside him. Without hesitation, he sent one clone rushing toward Itachi, while he and the second clone prepared a follow-up from different angles.
Itachi didn't flinch. He activated his Sharingan, observing the clones' movements with razor-sharp focus. While one clone distracted Itachi, another transformed into a long broadsword—not as heavy as the hammer he usually made, but still much heavier than a normal sword.
Then he and the last remaining clone began running toward Itachi, both from opposite directions, with one clone already engaging Itachi in combat.
Itachi glanced at the two of them before using a Fire Breath Jutsu at close range without any hand signs at all. Caught off guard, the clone took the attack head-on. Normally, without hand signs, the attacks become very weak and slow, but since the clones had a major weakness of not being able to handle even a little damage after a point, the fire stream was enough to dispel one of them.
But before Itachi could take a breath, the second clone started engaging him in combat. Now vigilant against the Fire Stream Jutsu, Itachi fought the clone while constantly watching for Kaida's attack, who was wielding an unusually long and heavy sword.
He could also see two red eyes with three tomoe watching his every move closely.
Not wanting to find out why Kaida was waiting so long before attacking, Itachi decided to deal with the clone first and then regain control of the battle from Kaida. Just as he was about to land the final hit on the clone, he heard poof, poof as Kaida made four more shadow clones, two of which transformed into swords wielded by the other two clones.
Itachi dispersed one more clone before looking toward Kaida.
"So you want to tire me out before fighting me?"
"Well, in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and kenjutsu, you're better than me in all of these. I don't want to compete in a field where you have an advantage, so it leaves me with only one thing I'm better than you at, and that too by a huge margin," Kaida said with a smirk.
"Chakra." Even after making seven clones, only 30% of Kaida's chakra reserves were empty, with 70% still remaining, which was more than twice Itachi's reserves.
Itachi understood what that meant, and he didn't like it one bit. But before he could think of a counter to Kaida's plan, two of his clones started attacking him simultaneously.