Time, like Hiruzen Sarutobi's life, was inching closer to its end.
The daimyo of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind arrived at Konoha Village one after the other. The Kazekage of the Sand Village also came with his escort squad, and naturally, the final round of the Chūnin Exams was set to begin.
After Natsuki and Tenten met up with everyone, they entered the tournament venue together.
The venue was large, shaped like a funnel, with the battlefield in the center and spectator seating all around it—giving it a Roman Colosseum vibe.
Natsuki, sharp-eyed, quickly located his soon-to-be father-in-law among the crowd.
Well, actually, it was because he had left a Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) seal on him, so he could lock onto him quickly.
Originally, Natsuki had wanted to convince his soon-to-be father-in-law to go on a business trip to the Land of Fire's capital during the finals.
But the man had insisted that it was a rare opportunity to see his daughter and son-in-law shine before the whole village, and as a father, there was no way he wouldn't be there.
With no choice, Natsuki left the Hiraishin no Jutsu seal as an insurance policy.
In case of an emergency, he'd risk teleporting over to rescue him—even if he got hurt, he could rely on a Senzu Bean.
Staying inside the venue was actually safer.
After all, the Konoha Crush Plan started in the arena, but in reality, it was just Orochimaru and the Sandaime fighting on the rooftops.
Kakashi, Guy, and other jōnin would fight against the Sand and Sound ninja, but there was rarely much collateral damage to civilians.
On the contrary, outside the venue, the three-headed snake invasion and the rampaging Sand and Sound ninja made it much more dangerous.
Natsuki steadied his mind and began observing the arena.
At this moment, the venue had already become an ocean of people—noisy and bustling.
The audience was full of anticipation for the finals. Everyone was chatting away, as if they wished the Hokage would give them all microphones.
On the high platform, the two chubby-faced daimyo had already taken their seats.
The two daimyo seemed to be bantering or even mocking each other, perhaps even making bets. To them, the so-called Chūnin Exam Finals was just a game.
Whether the match was dangerous or not wasn't their concern—because they themselves wouldn't be in danger.
It really had that ironic feeling of nobles watching gladiators in the arena.
On another high platform, the Sandaime Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage had also taken their seats.
Natsuki glanced at the Kazekage from a distance. At this moment, the Kazekage's face was covered, his appearance unclear—but if there were no surprises, it should indeed be Orochimaru.
The Konoha Crush Plan had been meticulously prepared. As long as it wasn't exposed early, it would definitely proceed according to the original plan.
Orochimaru only needed to wait for the right moment to complete his master-killing feat.
"Time's up. Let's begin," Hiruzen gave the order, and the referee stepped onto the field.
Since Hayate had died in the previous arc, the main referee role now fell to Genma.
Shiranui Genma, with a long senbon in his mouth, briefly explained the rules and then announced the start of the first match.
"Konohagakure's Aburame Shino, Sunagakure's Kankurō—enter the arena!"
Shino nodded to his friends, then quickly made his way to the center of the field.
Kankurō hesitated, wondering if he should just forfeit. After all, they had a plan in motion later on.
But since this was only the first match, it didn't feel right to give up so soon.
Besides, since Temari hadn't made it to the finals, they didn't have to worry too much about battle strength.
So, gritting his teeth, Kankurō stepped onto the field and faced Shino.
Battle.
As the referee announced the start, Shino immediately released a large number of insects, swarming toward Kankurō.
Kankurō didn't bother hiding his body and directly deployed his puppet, Crow.
However, Shino's bugs covered the field like a tide, quickly engulfing the puppet and obscuring Kankurō's line of sight.
Feeling the insects gnawing on his chakra threads, Kankurō hurriedly recalled the puppet to defend himself, but Shino's bugs kept advancing, leaving him flustered.
Truth be told, Kankurō wasn't weak, but defending against insects wasn't easy—especially in an open arena where there was nowhere to hide.
He was clearly at a disadvantage.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out:
"Idiot Kankurō! He's above you!"
Kankurō froze—it was Temari's voice. He looked up and was instantly dumbfounded.
There really was a Shino hovering above him.
But that wasn't right—there was still a Shino right in front of him.
So which one was the clone? And when did the one above get there? Could it have been when the bugs were blocking his view?
He didn't have time to think. Both Shino figures, under the cover of insects, closed in on him.
Gritting his teeth, Kankurō controlled his puppet to intercept the one above while he himself faced the one on the ground.
But he didn't expect the Shino above to suddenly raise a leg and sweep out with a Rankyaku (Storm Leg), slicing off the puppet's head in an instant.
At the same time, a Doton: Doryō Dango (Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling) smashed down from above.
With enemies coming from both sides, Kankurō instantly realized he had no chance.
Even though he could still control the puppet without its head, he could tell that Shino was a formidable opponent.
Besides, he didn't want to waste energy at this critical juncture.
So as soon as Shino caught him, Kankurō immediately shouted, "I give up! I surrender!"
Genma promptly called out, "That's it! Winner: Aburame Shino of Konohagakure!"
Shino froze for a moment, the expression under his sunglasses clearly showing displeasure.
But since the referee had already declared the result, there was no need to continue.
He retracted his insect clones and bugs, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked away coolly.
Fortunately, the applause and cheers from the audience helped improve his mood.
"Shino, you're amazing!" Natsuki and Tenten both gave him a thumbs-up.
"Hmm, thanks." Shino didn't hold back.
After all, he had won with his own skills.
Although the puppet master might have been holding back some strength, even if Kankurō had gone all out, Shino still had the ability to win.
Next was the second match: Kato Megumi versus Yamanaka Ino.
The Yamanaka Clan was also a major clan in Konoha, so naturally, Ino drew a lot of attention—making her feel immense pressure.
In contrast, Kato Megumi was calm and composed.
When the match started, she immediately used the Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) to summon Pakkun and the other eight ninja dogs.
"Pakkun! Go bite her!"
The eight ninja dogs lunged at Ino, who screamed and ran away.
Meanwhile, Megumi used Suiton (Water Release) to cut off Ino's escape, leaving her with no chance to fight back.
Clearly, Megumi understood the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques well.
After all, the Ino-Shika-Cho formation only worked as a team.
The Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique) was powerful, but it was useless alone.
Moreover, Megumi had ninja dogs on her side.
Even if Ino succeeded in using Shintenshin no Jutsu, her body would be attacked by the ninja dogs, resulting in an inevitable loss.
After some scrambling, Ino naturally lost, and Megumi won.
Fortunately, in the third match, Shikamaru avenged Ino.
Rinya's Sanzen'u no Jutsu (Scattered Thousand Crows Technique), combined with his Katon (Fire Release) jutsu, was indeed impressive. His taijutsu wasn't bad either.
But Shikamaru's Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) was hard to guard against.
Plus, Shikamaru was clever in his tactics, and a straightforward guy like Rinya was easy prey.
In the end, Shikamaru naturally claimed victory.
(End of Chapter)
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