In the examination hall, Obito and Guy clashed with ferocity. Initially, Obito employed ninjutsu, Uchiha shuriken techniques, and other skills, but upon seeing that Guy focused on taijutsu, he felt embarrassed to continue using them.
The two eventually engaged in an intense taijutsu battle, exchanging blows with techniques like Leaf Hurricane and Konoha Strong Whirlwind.
This was not a battle between enemies but rather a spar between friends.
After all, they shared a similar attire, with Obito being the only exception, carrying a Uchiha fan on his back.
"This Uchiha... is different from the Uchihas I've met before," Ebizo commented.
"Kukuku, of course, Konoha is not like Sunagakure Village. We, at Konoha, don't lack anything, and this Uchiha here uses different taijutsu compared to his Clan's." Orochimaru casually remarked, feeding Ebizo some nonsense.
In his heart, he didn't agree with Obito's stupid battle plan, but he couldn't show it in front of the people from the other village.
Ebizo fell silent, realizing that Suna Ninjas also have unique variations, but as he thought about it carefully, those variants are few and far between.
Most follow standard templates for ninjutsu, taijutsu, puppetry, and medical ninjutsu (with most specializing in poisons).
As the match progressed, he initially thought these two fools in green tights were the only two normal Genin from Konoha, but now it's obvious that these two are not normal either.
One has opened his Sharingan and excels at taijutsu, ninjutsu, and shurikenjutsu. The other has no discernible ninjutsu skills, but his taijutsu alone is enough to defeat all Genin of the same age in Sunagakure Village and likely many Chunin's too.
'Konoha is full of talents!' Ebizo thought, considering the current stage and future possibilities of Sunagakure, and his mood became even heavier.
It didn't take long for Obito to win the battle with a slight advantage. "Obito wins." The duel had ended.
Takeshi, hearing the announcement, looked up. Obito and Guy were both exhausted and bruised but in good health and recovered quickly, so they didn't need further treatment.
They just needed to rest for a while. Takeshi didn't watch the battle, but looking at them like this, it was probably a youthful, hand-to-hand battle between men.
If Guy had won, he may have been promoted to Chunin, but Obito... Even though he won, he can't be promoted, because he won due to his enemy having a handicap.
However, he noticed the excited expressions of these two, and their friendship seemed to be better than before, so he could only smile in his heart, at their camaraderie.
"Next match, Nohara Rin vs. Yashamaru." Yashamaru? Rin prepared for the battle and then observed her opponent, the boy in the stands opposite, who looked a bit feminine.
He seemed to be a medical ninja like her. She turned her head and glanced at Takeshi.
"Meow!" Takeshi stood up without hesitation.
After two servings of special cat food, his physical strength had almost recovered. Although his chakra had only recovered half, it wasn't difficult to take on Yashamaru.
According to his memory, Yashamaru was pretty good and might have even joined Suna Anbu afterwards.
"Come, let's fight side by side." Rin lowered her hand, letting Takeshi jump up on her shoulder, and then both jumped onto the ring in the middle of the stage with it.
Since they are not ninjas from the same village, they naturally don't need to abide by the "Seal of Confrontation" and "Seal of Reconciliation."
Both opponents stood on opposite sides and looked at each other, waiting for the referee to announce the start of the battle.
The ninja cat is part of Rin's strength, and hence will not be prohibited from participating in this kind of battle.
At this time, Takeshi squatted on Rin's shoulder, thinking about a battle plan. There is no doubt that the Chunin Exam doesn't only look at strength but also at combat intelligence, command ability, planning, etc.
If he attacks the enemy immediately, even if they win the battle, Rin will not necessarily be promoted as a Chunin.
Therefore, in this battle, Rin must give a full display of her abilities. Takeshi thought for a moment, then whispered: "I will be ready to use Water Release at your discretion." Rin nodded after hearing this.
At this time, the referee also announced the countdown number. When the last number fell, the referee disappeared without a trace.
At the same time, three or four kunai flew in the sky. Manipulating Attack Blades! (Suna puppetry technique to manipulate the Kunai using chakra strings while midair).
Rin had seen an enemy use this move from Sunagakure Village before, in the Battlefield, so she didn't panic when she saw four kunai flying towards her.
Instead, she rushed towards them. Seeing that these four kunai were about to attack, Takeshi suddenly jumped up and swatted three kunai away with his Metal Claws.
Yashamaru was stunned for a second, then decisively threw a few more kunai, while trying to create some distance between them.
However, at this time, Rin made a secret signal with her fingers established among her and Takeshi, and Takeshi immediately began to rush towards Yashamaru.
The position of Rin and the Cat quickly blocked Yashamaru's retreat. He opened his waist pouch fully and fired shuriken one after another.
At the same time, when the shuriken was about to attack her, she quickly formed hand seals and used the Needle Jizo Jutsu, using her hair to block those kunai.
Yashamaru was forced into a desperate situation and was about to use the clone jutsu... Rin formed hand seals continuously as she jumped high and blew out a burst of air - the chakra within Yashamaru's body became more difficult to control, and his mind felt dizzy.
(E/N: For those wondering, the poison mist was colorless)
Yashamaru, also being a medical ninja, understood what was going on. This is the effect of the Poison Mist Jutsu!
The next second, the cat's metal claws were on his neck. As long as he moved, the sharp claws would mercilessly tear open his throat.
"Nohara Rin wins."
"Next round..."...
"This time Konoha's new generation of ninjas are all excellent." Ebizo chuckled softly, but inside, he was thinking, 'They are even blessed by talented ninja beasts.' To put it bluntly, wouldn't it mean that the ninjas of Sunagakure Village are worse than a cat?
Although this is the truth, but... "Kukuku, that's natural." Orochimaru licked his lips with excitement, and this cat is definitely unique - this black cat is not only special because of being able to use ninjutsu, but even brain is quite intelligent.
Others may not know it clearly, but how could he and Ebizo not see it. Takeshi's actions led to the decisive victory, but the recent battle also fully reflected Rin's combat wisdom, command ability, and on-the-spot judgment, which is very helpful for her promotion to Chunin.
Although she lacks a bit of strength, as a medical ninja, she being as capable as she is is already quite impressive, and she should have no problem being promoted to Chunin.
"... " 'He's really not even trying to be modest at all.' Ebizo sighed on the inside, and then he had no time to think about the issue of Suna ninjas getting promoted.
What was more important to Sunagakure Village at the moment was not the Chunin exam, but how to deal with the trouble caused by Sasori.
Before the end of the second exam, he had sent someone secretly to check and report to him. Kekkei Genkai ninjas were killed from every village, and even the bodies could not be found.
It was certain that they had been taken by Sasori. Fortunately, the Kekkei Genkai ninja of Sunagakure Village were also killed, so other villages cannot claim it was targetted attack, and Sasori was not captured by the enemy, and knowing his personality, they could only conclude that it was Sasori's decision by himself, and said that he was already a defecting ninja of Sunagakure Village...
But there was something to be said. Blood would be spilled for this, for sure. Ebizo could predict that Orochimaru would inevitably demand a large amount of resources that the Land of Wind lacked, and would strangle the Sunagakure Village's further development potential through tightening resources available.
In the past few decades, Konoha has often done this. It'll be very difficult days ahead. 'I really hope that something major happens in Konoha and Orochimaru is sent on a far-away mission immediately and before he can harm Sunagakure Village. Otherwise, Sunagakure Village will really have no hope of survival in a few decades.'
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