Chapter 73: Boruto Uzumaki vs. Mitsuki
"Today marks the final day of the Five Village Joint Chūnin Exams! And today, we'll crown the champion of the Five Village Joint Chūnin Exams!"
"Now, let's welcome the first round's contestants into the arena!"
"From the Hidden Leaf Village, Boruto Uzumaki!"
"Versus!"
"From the Hidden Leaf Village, Mitsuki!"
Lee's voice echoed throughout the stadium.
Amid the roaring cheers in the arena, Boruto and Mitsuki stepped into the battlefield.
"Youth! This is what youth is all about! Even I can't help but feel my blood boiling!"
"So jealous, seriously jealous! I can't believe Lee gets to host such a fiery match!"
"Both of you, give it your all!"
Might Guy, seated in a wheelchair, shouted with excitement, looking like he was just a breath away from leaping into the arena himself to kick Lee out and take over the mic.
Shunhi and Kakashi remained at his side.
Earlier that morning, Kakashi had wheeled Guy over to Shunhi's shop, then dragged Shunhi to the stadium under the pretext of, "Your son made it to the semifinals—if you're not there to cheer him on, he'll be heartbroken."
But Shunhi knew the truth—Kakashi just wanted to hear the rest of that dirty joke he hadn't finished telling the day before.
"Boruto! Boruto! Over here! Sis is right here!"
Hanabi stood up, waving enthusiastically. The spectators seated behind her dared not voice their annoyance—after all, she was from the Leaf's foremost clan, and the current Hokage was their son-in-law. Not just anyone could pick a fight with the Hyūga.
"Ahem, Hanabi, you… Oh, forget it..."
If he weren't so concerned about appearances, Hiashi Hyūga probably would've acted the same way.
"You can do it, Boruto!"
Kushina also cheered for Boruto.
"Kushina, calm down. Take it easy,"
Minato tried to soothe her.
"The match begins now!"
At Lee's announcement, Boruto immediately created three Shadow Clones. Counting his original body, the four of them attacked Mitsuki from four directions.
"Snake Clone Technique!"
Unlike Shadow Clones, Snake Clones didn't transfer battle experience back to the original upon dispelling, but they consumed far less chakra—though they required a snake as a sacrifice.
Fortunately, snakes were something Mitsuki had in abundance.
Mitsuki also created three Snake Clones to intercept Boruto's three Shadow Clones.
"Watch out, Boruto."
"Wind Release: Breakthrough!"
Mitsuki unleashed a blast of wind from his mouth, but it only hit Boruto's Substitution Technique.
"Rasengan!"
Boruto hurled a small Rasengan through the air.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Countless white snakes shot out from Mitsuki's sleeves, forming a barrier in front of him.
Boruto's Rasengan struck the wall of snakes, doing little more than wiping out a few unfortunate ones.
"Snake Burial!"
Just as Boruto landed and was off balance, Mitsuki's arms—modified for flexibility—snaked into the ground and emerged beneath Boruto's feet, grabbing his ankle and attempting to drag him underground.
"Crap!"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A Shadow Clone appeared behind Boruto, kunai in hand, ready to stab Mitsuki's outstretched arms and forced him to retract them.
The fact that Boruto could respond so quickly wasn't due to improved skill, but because he'd sparred extensively with Mitsuki in the past.
It was his familiarity with Mitsuki that allowed him to react so swiftly to his moves.
After using four Shadow Clones and two Rasengan, Boruto's chakra was nearly depleted... He glanced at Mitsuki and said, "Hey, Mitsuki—let's finish this with one final move."
Mitsuki smiled and nodded. If Boruto made a request, he'd always agree.
"Lightning Release: Snake Lightning."
Yellow lightning gathered in Mitsuki's hand.
"Rasengan!"
To Boruto, the Rasengan was still his strongest technique—but not the small, hidden version he'd learned himself. He pulled out a full-sized Rasengan, generated using his Scientific Ninja Tool.
Mitsuki's Snake Lightning clashed with Boruto's Rasengan—but the Rasengan overpowered it and sent Mitsuki flying.
In truth, Mitsuki had held back.
He was worried his jutsu might hurt Boruto, so he intentionally restrained his power. What he didn't know was that Boruto hadn't used his own chakra to create that Rasengan—it had come from his Scientific Ninja Tool.
"Sorry, Mitsuki. I have to win this."
Mitsuki looked at Boruto. Even though he was still capable of fighting, he chose to concede.
If Boruto wanted to win, Mitsuki was willing to lose.
"It's fine, Boruto. That Rasengan of yours was really powerful. I surrender."
He wasn't just being polite—he truly thought the Rasengan was impressive. At the very least, it had enough power to overwhelm an average genin.
"Heh… you really think so?"
Boruto scratched his head sheepishly.
"Mitsuki, are you sure you want to forfeit?"
Lee landed in front of Mitsuki and asked.
Mitsuki nodded with a smile. "Yes, I forfeit."
"Then I hereby announce: In the first match of the quarterfinals—Boruto Uzumaki of the Leaf vs. Mitsuki of the Leaf—Boruto Uzumaki is the winner!"
Up in the VIP seats, Naruto instinctively let out a breath of relief. Truth be told, he hadn't expected Boruto to defeat Mitsuki.
"He can not only pull off a Rasengan that powerful, but even make it invisible. He really is your son, Naruto," Gaara said.
"And to be able to use four Shadow Clones and two Rasengan back-to-back as a genin… Looks like your boy trains hard. Must've refined his chakra a lot," Kurotsuchi added.
Naruto was full of question marks. Are they really talking about my son?
Even though he was a bit confused, Naruto still smiled proudly.
After all, when it's your kid getting praised, what father wouldn't be proud?
"Boruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf has advanced to the semifinals! The next match—Uchiha Shuyu of the Leaf vs. Shinoki of the Hidden Sand—will begin in thirty minutes!"
Despite the half-hour break, no one from the major clans left their seats.
The more discerning spectators knew—the next match would be the highlight of the entire Chūnin Exams individual battles. It was essentially a final, just played early.
Whoever won that match would likely be the true champion of the tournament.
Although Boruto had made a surprising run to the finals, there was almost universal agreement: he had no chance of beating Shuyu or Shinoki.
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