Chapter 72:
"Last match of the quarterfinals—Konoha's Uchiha Shuyu versus Sunagakure's Yato. Would both contestants please enter the arena!"
Shuyu and a loose-haired, blonde girl—Yato, who wasn't wearing her headphones this time—walked into the arena.
In her previous matches, Yato had always worn her headphones and effortlessly defeated her opponents.
"Sasuke, I'm going to check on Sarada," said Sakura, standing up from the stands before Sasuke could respond.
With Tsunade no longer around, the most skilled medical ninja in the Leaf Village was Sakura. Even Shizune, who had studied under Tsunade all these years, was still a bit inferior to Sakura in medical ninjutsu.
"The final match of the quarterfinals—begin!"
Yato was the first to make a move. She swung her long yellow hair and, without forming any hand seals, launched a direct soundwave attack.
Shuyu didn't hesitate—he immediately used the Substitution Jutsu.
Blindly taking a hit from an unknown jutsu would be an unwise move. At this stage, using a substitution was a safe bet.
"Substitution, huh? But in such an open space, where can you even hide?"
Yato glanced around, then suddenly looked up and spotted Shuyu descending from the sky.
Shuyu's Sharingan, with its three tomoe, slowly spun.
"Crap…" Yato quickly broke eye contact and checked her internal chakra flow. Once she confirmed everything was fine, she whipped her hair and fired another soundwave at Shuyu midair.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The two jutsus collided midair. After the clash, Shuyu successfully landed on the ground not far from Yato.
"Shuyu's already won," Sasuke murmured from the stands. Now that he knew the outcome, he lost interest in watching. Since the semifinals wouldn't start for a while, he figured he might as well check on his daughter.
With that, Sasuke stood up and left.
"Huh? Sasuke-senpai's leaving already?" Hanabi said in surprise, noticing him walk away—after all, the one currently fighting was his own student.
"I see. Since he's certain his student will win, he's decided to visit his daughter," said Hiashi Hyuga without even glancing at Sasuke's retreating figure, continuing to watch the fight.
After all, the famed 360-degree vision of the Byakugan wasn't just for show.
As a long-time rival clan of the Uchiha, Hiashi knew all too well how fearsome the Sharingan was.
"But…" Hanabi looked uncertainly toward Shuyu in the arena. The current situation didn't clearly show Shuyu had an absolute advantage—if anything, it still looked like an even match.
"When the Sunagakure contestant looked up to spot Shuyu in the sky, she was already caught in the Sharingan's genjutsu."
Hearing her father's comment, Hanabi focused her Byakugan on Yato and said, "But there's no abnormal chakra flow inside her body."
"Look closely at the chakra path near her brain—see that tiny black dot? That's a subtle marker of genjutsu."
Veins bulged around Hanabi's eyes as she stared at Yato's brain. "You're right. Just as you said—if you're not paying close attention, you'd never notice it."
"You're not going to forfeit?" Shuyu said to Yato standing before him.
"You Uchiha are always so arrogant. Why should I—what…? My body… I can't move?!" Mid-sentence, Yato suddenly realized she was paralyzed.
"That's the move Shuyu used when he fought us!" Boruto exclaimed in the waiting room, watching the match on the TV screen.
Shuyu threw a shuriken at the immobilized Yato.
With a strange yell, a green figure suddenly shot forward and kicked the shuriken away. "This is just a match—no need to go for the kill."
It was none other than Rock Lee, the proctor for the third round of the Chunin Exams.
"Just being cautious," Shuyu replied. "But your appearance confirms it—my attack just now was fatal."
Rock Lee nodded and announced, "Konoha's Uchiha Shuyu versus Sunagakure's Yato—Uchiha Shuyu wins. The quarterfinals are now over. The next round will be held tomorrow!"
As Shuyu turned and left the arena, Gaara—sitting in the village leader's spectator box—looked over at Naruto and remarked, "Uchiha Shuyu, huh? He's really cautious—totally unlike the new generation of ninja."
"Hahaha, well, he is Sasuke's student after all," Naruto chuckled.
"How enviable," Kurotsuchi said as she watched Shuyu walk away. "Another promising youngster from the Leaf Village."
A true prodigy—activating the three-tomoe Sharingan at such a young age and training under Sasuke. If nothing goes wrong, Uchiha Shuyu will definitely become a first-rate ninja—he might even become Hokage.
Naruto didn't respond to Kurotsuchi's comment—no matter what he said, it would come off as bragging.
On the arena's screen, the semifinal matchups appeared: Konoha's Boruto Uzumaki vs. Konoha's Mitsuki, and Konoha's Uchiha Shuyu vs. Sunagakure's Shinki.
——
Konoha Village, at Sakura's house.
"Are you okay, Sarada?"
Sakura used her medical ninjutsu to treat Sarada's bruised hand.
"Yeah, it doesn't hurt anymore, Mom."
Although she was sad about being eliminated, Sarada didn't show it in front of Sakura.
"You really went all out—for just one match," Sakura scolded lightly.
"Because I'm your daughter—and an Uchiha."
Although Sasuke never said anything, Sarada could tell from how he trained Shuyu that he still hoped for the Uchiha clan's revival.
That hope wasn't placed on her—but on Shuyu. That had always made Sarada feel disappointed.
Both Boruto and Sarada hoped for their father's recognition.
Boruto's way of doing that was to surpass his father.
Sarada's was to become the Hokage her father never was.
"Oh, right—Sasuke won't be home tonight. It's just the two of us for dinner. What do you want to eat, Sarada?"
After finishing the treatment, Sakura stretched and asked casually.
"Huh? Dad's not coming home?"
Sarada looked up at her.
"Yeah. Since the Chunin Exams end tomorrow, Sasuke's helping Shuyu with his final training," Sakura replied, heading to the kitchen.
——
"Well done making it to the semifinals, Boruto."
"Your upcoming opponents won't be easy, so just give it everything you've got."
At the Hokage's residence in Konoha—
After Naruto patted Boruto on the head and left, Boruto stared at his retreating figure with a complicated expression and muttered, "But my goal… is to be the champion."
Touching the Scientific Ninja Tool on his wrist, Boruto felt confident he could take the championship tomorrow.
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