Naruto: From Novice to Grave

Chapter 86 - The Third Chunin Exam, Part 086: Victory

As the flames vanished, Higashino Shin casually released his defensive ninjutsu, "Tranquility," while wiping imaginary sweat from his brow. "That was close! Luckily, I used Wind Release to dissipate the heat, otherwise you would have steamed me alive. Were you trying to cook me and eat me, Shisui?"

"No, really, I just want to beat you, but it looks difficult." Shisui's chest heaved rapidly as he breathed heavily.

He was still young, and his body was not as strong as Higashino Masashi's. The long and rapid sword fight had taken a toll on him.

On the contrary, Higashino Makoto's breathing remained steady throughout, showing no signs of exhaustion. Therefore, the Great Fireball Technique was actually used to buy him some time to recover his energy.

[Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique]

Shisui, who had just been panting, suddenly formed hand seals, and more than a dozen balls of flame shot out of his mouth, flying at extremely high speed, surrounding Higashino Makoto from all angles.

In order to achieve victory, Shisui also started to use some underhanded tactics, but since everyone was a ninja, there was no question of being despicable.

Higashino Makoto once again opened a corner of tranquility, keeping the phlox fire out.

But at this moment, Shisui completed the hand seals, placed his hands on the ground, and two bolts of lightning struck his opponent from the ground like lightning.

[Lightning Escape - Earth Walk]

Zheng Shui possesses the Lightning Release attribute, and the Uchiha clan's extensive ninjutsu library allows him to learn freely, so it's not surprising that he knows Lightning Release.

Surprisingly, the lightning attack came too quickly.

They came along the two steel wires; they were attached to the kunai that Shisui had thrown earlier, and because they were positioned low, Higashino Makoto casually slapped them down at his feet.

He saw the steel wire and assumed it was a technique used by the opponent to manipulate shuriken, so he was on guard. He never expected it to be used to conduct lightning release, which greatly accelerated the speed of the lightning release attack.

As we all know, ninjutsu imitates various phenomena in nature, and lightning release naturally has the characteristics of lightning, which conducts faster in metal than on the ground.

Most importantly, Lightning Release can also be transmitted through Water Release.

As expected, in order to gain an advantage in the battle against Higashino Makoto, Shisui painstakingly made targeted tactical arrangements.

Even the honest boy Shisui became a ninja, but he wasn't so honest after all.

Higashino Makoto leaped lightly into the air, easily dodging the Lightning Release: Earth Walk. Shisui's Lightning Release skills were not as proficient as his Fire Release skills, and there was a clear gap between the two ninjutsu.

However, when he saw Higashino Makoto jump into the air, Shisui was overjoyed; his opportunity had arrived.

He swiftly flicked his hands through the ninja tool pouch at his lower back, throwing out more than a dozen shuriken, which attacked his opponent in mid-air with no foothold.

Holding a kunai in each hand, Higashino swung it up and down like a phantom, accurately knocking all the shuriken away.

However, all these shuriken are connected by a thin line that is barely visible to the naked eye. The material of this line is unknown, but it allows the shuriken to remain controllable even when they are knocked away.

【Uchiha Style: Shuriken Manipulation Technique】

The shuriken, which had been sent flying like a headless fly, transformed into an offensive that entangled the opponent from all sides, weaving a trap to bind its prey.

After Shisui finished using the shuriken technique, he bit one end of the thin thread with his teeth, and the speed at which his hands formed hand seals became like a phantom.

The opportunity was not to be missed. [Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique], several tongues of fire shot forward like arrows along the thin line.

Once Higashino is bound, the Dragon Fire Technique will hit the target; the timing is quite exquisite.

A person cannot move freely in the air unless they can fly.

Then he saw Higashino Masato's body, which had been falling, suddenly rise, break free from the entanglement of the thin line, and hover steadily above the trap.

All the carefully laid traps and ninjutsu went nowhere.

Uchiha Shisui:

You can really fly? That's impossible!

The entire audience:

"————"

We're doomed! Someone has invaded Konoha during the Chunin Exams. We're hallucinating.

Ninjas are a profession that values ​​secrecy, so the fact that Higashino can fly is probably only known to his mother. Konoha's records only state that he can change direction flexibly in the air.

This was reported by Moonlight Cloud with Higashino's consent.

Legend has it that Onoki, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, could fly, but ordinary people or most ninjas have never seen it.

Today they saw it; it turns out that Konoha also had this kind of enviable ninjutsu.

A ninja who can fly? That's incredibly rare, and it gives them a huge advantage in battle, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

They can fight whenever they want and leave whenever they want; it's as shameless as the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The daimyo in the main stands suddenly felt his heart race, pointing at Higashino Makoto in the air with his exquisite fan: "Third Hokage, is this how ninjas can be?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a few puffs of his cigarette: "It's possible, Daimyo. Flying isn't unusual in the ninja world; it can be done with summoning beasts or flying ninja tools."

"Using ninjutsu, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Onoki, could do it. However, unlike Onoki, Shin mastered the Wind Release chakra nature transformation to a level that ordinary ninjas couldn't reach, thus achieving flight."

"Really? That's incredible."

"If it really is this child, I'm not surprised. After all, he's the most talented ninja in Konoha right now."

The Hokage's meaning was clear: Konoha has many talented and powerful people, and can definitely protect the Land of Fire. Next time you pay, please be more generous.

The entire arena was completely silent.

Higashino Shin swung his hand down and used a kunai to unleash the [Wind Release: Shadowless Sword] technique. A wind blade cut through all the thin threads and then plunged into the ground, creating a deep gash.

He appeared before Shisui like a gust of wind, looked at him, and said, "Your tactics are impressive, but do you still have the stamina to continue?"

Zhi Shui was panting heavily, sweat pouring down his face.

His combat intelligence is already comparable to that of a Jonin, but his underdeveloped body limits his chakra reserves.

The continuous use of ninjutsu took a heavy toll on him.

Even in the previous sword-fighting techniques, a large amount of chakra had to be continuously poured into the blade; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to withstand even one strike from Higashino Shinichi before his blade broke and he was defeated.

"Seriously, you had such a powerful trump card up your sleeve. Sorry, I don't have enough chakra to continue fighting, but I haven't lost yet."

As Masamitsu spoke, his head, which had been slightly lowered, suddenly lifted up, his Sharingan with two tomoe turned, and he cast a genjutsu on Higashino Makoto.

Illusion is his most proficient form of ninjutsu, and it is also his ultimate means of victory.

Seeing Higashino Makoto's dazed eyes, Uchiha Shisui took out a kunai and placed it around his neck.

"I'm sorry, Shin, the essence of a ninja is deception. I know I'm not as good as you in other areas, so this is the only way to win."

Another Higashino Makoto silently rose from the ground behind Shisui, his kunai also pressed close to his neck.

"You're right, the essence of a ninja is deception, so that was actually a shadow clone."

Shisui was a little confused: "When did this happen?"

"When I'm surrounded by your Fireball Jutsu, it's so hot inside defensive ninjutsu, I'm not going to hide inside and suffer like that."

"Okay, you win!"

Minato Namikaze, who was standing nearby, immediately announced: "The winner is Makoto Higashino!"

Wow!

"Wonderful!"

"That's amazing!"

The once quiet arena erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

After the two expressed their gratitude to the examiner, Minato Namikaze, and sealed their bond, Masamichi Higashino said, "Let's go. Our battle is finally over."

Zhi Shui was somewhat discouraged: "I still haven't been able to figure out just how big the gap is between us."

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon. Besides, your Sharingan has only reached the two-tomoe stage. Once it reaches the three-tomoe stage and your body grows a few more years, the situation will be different."

"Look at you, breathing evenly, not a drop of sweat on your face. I don't believe a word you're saying."

"How could that be? I've worked really hard to make the battle last longer and satisfy everyone's desire to watch."

"So you could have easily defeated me, huh? You really are a monster."

Why are you swearing?

Watching the two leave, chatting and laughing, Minato Namikaze smiled slightly. It was truly heartwarming to have such outstanding juniors in the village.

In a bleak spot in the stands, young Itachi Uchiha was lost in thought: "Shisui failed? How could that be? He's so amazing."

Fugaku Uchiha said, "Itachi, although our clan possesses ninja talents that others cannot match, there will always be someone who breaks that limit."

Don't underestimate anyone in the ninja world, and don't slack off in your training just because of your natural talent. I believe you will be better than anyone else, and you will surpass all of us.

In the main stands, the Daimyo was very satisfied: "What a wonderful match! Seeing that Konoha is still strong makes me feel very relieved."

"I'm glad Your Excellency is satisfied!"

After the Third Hokage finished speaking, he exchanged a glance with Fugaku Uchiha in the distance and smiled slightly.

Regardless, he believed in Tobirama's judgment that the Uchiha clan was an unstable clan and needed to be controlled.

He understood the clan's desires and knew what they wanted most, but due to years of stereotypes, he couldn't hand the village over to the Uchiha; they were too unstable.

Aside from that, he had no other opinions about the Uchiha and recognized them as members of the village, unlike his best friend Danzo, whose prejudice against the Uchiha was ingrained in his bones.

>