Itachi, who had been standing just 100 meters away, now appeared kilometers away, and then he threw a shuriken from that distant position. Kaida was initially surprised, as Itachi would never normally do that—he could easily dodge from such a distance.
But to Kaida's shock, the shuriken traveled nearly 2 kilometers in a second, appearing right in front of him as if it had teleported. Using his full speed, Kaida dodged sideways, but he moved much farther than he would have liked.
'What the hell is happening? And what is… wait, I can't form any thoughts,' Kaida realized. Itachi knew that if he gave Kaida just a few more seconds, he would break free of the genjutsu, as the Sharingan was that effective against it. Not even an S-rank genjutsu could keep an Uchiha with a 3-tomoe Sharingan under its effect for long.
Not wanting to give Kaida the precious time he needed, Itachi ran forward at full speed. With everything happening around him, Kaida could only dodge and flee, trying to make sense of the situation, but Itachi was constantly on his tail. He cursed his luck—had he not used most of his chakra, a single jutsu would have ended the match in his favor.
While running, Kaida forced himself to calm down and think. Clearing his mind made things clearer, and he quickly dispersed his chakra. Normally, that would have been a good move, but in an S-rank genjutsu, even breaking free had consequences. If a regular shinobi tried that, they would likely pass out from the aftereffects, but with the Sharingan's formidable defense, Kaida only felt slightly disoriented and had a mild headache.
Before he could regain his balance and clarity, he felt cold metal against his neck.
"Can you heal yourself, even if your neck is sliced?" Itachi asked.
"Maybe, but I don't want to find out now," Kaida replied, raising his hands. "I surrender."
"Winner of the match: Itachi Uchiha," the proctor announced, and the whole stadium erupted in excitement. Many who hadn't bet simply enjoyed the intense battle; it was a rollercoaster of emotions, with no clear victor until the end.
Even those who lost money betting on Kaida weren't too disappointed; the match had been that entertaining. And those who won by betting on Itachi were thrilled.
"Man, I should have followed the old advice about never looking an Uchiha in the eyes," Kaida muttered as he and Itachi made their way back to their team, where Jiraiya, Shisui, and Kabuto were waiting.
When they arrived, Kaida saw Shisui and Jiraiya clutching their checks as if they were precious treasures about to be snatched away.
"What are they doing?" Kaida asked.
"They nearly lost their money; they had bet on the match. They're just happy it didn't come to that," Kabuto explained with a chuckle.
A vein bulged on Kaida's forehead as he thought about how his own brother had bet money on his losing. But before he could say anything, Itachi also headed toward the betting stalls.
"Where are you going?" Kabuto asked.
"To collect my winnings," Itachi said as casually as talking about the weather.
'He *bet* on himself winning? Now I really wish I had won the match,' Kaida thought. But then, considering that Itachi's money would have been lost too, he simply sat at the corner in resignation.
Shisui and Jiraiya overheard this but were too delighted to care, as both had made a fortune in the Chunin Exams.
After savoring their winnings, Shisui approached Kaida to console him.
"You did really well, Kaida; you almost won. There's no need to be down."
"How much?"
"32 million."
"Profit?"
"Yeah."
"Then that's great!" Kaida replied, going from gloomy to fully excited. Thirty-two million was a fortune—even a Kage would be envious. Losing for that much was no issue at all.
In fact, he was even happy now that he thought about it. If he had won the match, there would have been no reward. There wasn't even a prize for this competition; it was just an exam to become a Chunin.
With this much money, everything felt worthwhile.
Itachi returned after collecting his prize, just as a judge responsible for analyzing the battles stepped forward to announce the results.
"The matches have been truly exceptional in this Chunin Exam, with some participants performing well beyond what we expect from a Chunin," he announced. "However, some fell short of the standard for now, though I'm sure they'll reach it in the coming years. Now, those who have qualified to become a Chunin will be called forward to receive a gift from Lord Daimyo himself.
"First: Itachi Uchiha
Second: Kaida Uchiha
Third: Kabuto Yakushi
Fourth: Deidara
Fifth: Darui
...
Ninth: Suiren."
The judge announced the list, with Konoha securing the top three spots. It became clear that the "tiger" was emerging from its den.
After a brief speech, the Daimyo presented a box to each ninja called to the stage, and the event concluded. Kumogakure clearly didn't want to prolong it, as their own participant hadn't made the top three.
…
"I am sorry, Raikage-sama. I failed your and everyone's expectations," Darui said, bowing before A.
"It's not your fault, Darui. Those two are out of your league. Even a veteran Elite Jonin would struggle against them. You just weren't ready for this challenge. Don't dwell on it—focus on recovering your health," A said, still gazing toward the now-empty stadium.
Darui bowed one last time and left the room.
"We lost face this time, didn't we?" A remarked.
"Yes, sir. Even Lord Daimyo is upset, as he lost a lot of money due to us," Mabui replied.
"That greedy fool, still thinking about money. Make sure the plan to dethrone him is put in motion as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir. Also, many merchants who attended the Chunin Exam are now considering giving missions to Konoha, further hurting our reputation. Some even said it feels like the era of other villages is ending, with Konoha rising again," Mabui reported, sharing the observations gathered by ninjas within the crowd.
"Games, huh! Let's see how much they're willing to pay to play games like this against us," A said.