Chapter 74: Shuyu vs. Shinki
"Konoha's Uchiha Shuyu versus Sunagakure's Shinki. The match begins now!"
As Rock Lee's voice rang out, Shuyu immediately drew his shuriken and charged at Shinki, the three tomoe of his Sharingan slowly spinning as he deftly dodged Shinki's attacks with Iron Sand.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wave!"
A surge of iron sand surged upward like a crashing wave, blocking Shuyu's advance and quickly turning to counterattack him.
While running and evading, Shuyu flung two throwing needles. The two collided midair, and the first one curved at a strange angle from the left, heading toward Shinki.
Shinki drew a shuriken and knocked the projectile aside, saying, "Cheap tricks like this won't work on me."
Shuyu was clearly trying to disrupt his focus and force him to withdraw the Iron Sand for defense. But Shinki was no one-trick pony who relied solely on his Bloodline Limit—his fundamentals as a ninja were solid.
The only reason he consistently used Iron Sand in these matches was because it was the fastest and most efficient way to end them.
"...He's gone!" After swatting away the shuriken, Shinki turned his gaze back to the front—only to discover that Shuyu had vanished. He instinctively looked up at the sky.
But there was no trace of Shuyu above.
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
Suddenly, a pair of small hands shot out from beneath Shinki's feet. Just as they were about to grab his ankles, Shinki's body crumbled into a pile of Iron Sand and dispersed in the wind—only to reassemble a short distance away.
Shuyu emerged from underground, clutching a small handful of Iron Sand.
Even while retreating, he'd managed to lay a trap. He was nothing like the modern-day ninja.
After all, today's so-called "new era" ninjas lacked this kind of cunning.
"So, you noticed... Well, I expected as much."
Shinki had never assumed his traps would work on Shuyu. Throughout the exam, he had been carefully watching him. He knew Shuyu was the same type of ninja as he was.
The Iron Sand around Shinki began to shift and mold itself into a dark figure—an Iron Sand clone shaped in Shinki's likeness.
While it lacked the deceptive nature of a Shadow Clone, it wouldn't vanish from a single hit and possessed powerful offensive capabilities.
The Iron Sand Shinki charged forward, completely ignoring Shuyu's attempts to intercept it.
Ninja tools struck the Iron Sand clone with crisp, metallic clangs.
"No hope of passing this exam with mere tricks, huh..." Shuyu murmured as he faced the Iron Sand Shinki. "Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!"
A compressed jet of water enhanced with high-speed rotation shot from Shuyu's mouth toward the clone.
"That attack could certainly scatter my Iron Sand, but it'll just regroup in an instant..." Shinki remained unfazed as he watched the water bullet approach.
However, just before the Water Fang Bullet struck the clone, it suddenly curved and bypassed it—heading straight for the real Shinki behind it.
Startled by the redirect, Shinki quickly recalled the Iron Sand to defend himself.
Being hit by a jutsu of that caliber wasn't just a matter of being eliminated—it could kill him. Even if it didn't, it would leave him crippled.
The Water Fang Bullet blasted away the Iron Sand shielding Shinki, and Shuyu seized the opening to flash-step in front of him, ready to cast a genjutsu and end the match.
But Shinki suddenly pulled out a scroll from his ninja pouch and unfurled it—black Iron Sand surged from within.
Shuyu halted and backed off immediately.
"Trump cards are meant to be used at moments like this. So what's yours, Uchiha Shuyu?"
This was Shinki's trump card—he had sealed part of his Iron Sand into the scroll beforehand.
In earlier matches, he had deliberately misled opponents into thinking his Iron Sand was limited.
Now, the Iron Sand wrapped around Shinki, forming a protective sphere with a single eye left exposed.
"This move... it feels familiar," Naruto said, turning toward Gaara.
In their first Chūnin Exams encounter, Gaara had used this exact technique.
"Protecting himself while defending against Shuyu's genjutsu specialty," Kakashi remarked from the stands. "Aren't you worried about your son, Shunhi?"
"Worried? Please. I believe in Shuyu. Taking down an opponent like this is a piece of cake."
If Shuyu revealed his own trump card, they'd be shocked—how about an 18-meter-tall Gundam?
Still, it was surprising that Uchiha Itachi's son didn't just forfeit the match when it got tough. Was it because of his cousin?
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle."
From the iron sphere, countless projectiles of Iron Sand began firing in every direction. But surrounding Shuyu's body was a shroud of blue lightning that repelled them all.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode," Darui said with a serious expression. As the Raikage, he knew exactly what this meant.
Externalizing chakra might seem simple, but converting it into a specific nature like Lightning Release and then projecting it outward was extremely difficult.
After chakra is transformed into a nature, it gains inherent properties that can easily harm the user if mishandled.
For instance, Wind Release chakra can cause lacerations, Fire Release can burn the user, and Lightning Release can cause electric shock.
But what really made Darui's expression darken was this: Lightning Release Chakra Mode was the first step in mastering the Second Raikage's original jutsu—Lightning God Armor.
This jutsu cloaked the user in lightning to stimulate cellular activity. It was notoriously hard to learn, requiring not only precise chakra control during battle but also a durable body to withstand the technique.
Just maintaining that chakra control mid-battle was enough to overwhelm most ninja.
Unconverted chakra is mild and harmless, so it doesn't need exact control. But once it's been transformed into an element, even a slight misstep can seriously injure the user.
"Lightning Release: Chidori!"
As Shuyu approached the Iron Sand sphere surrounding Shinki, lightning surged to his right hand—this was the piercing technique Sasuke had taught him.
"Kakashi! That's your move!" Might Guy, seated in his wheelchair, turned excitedly to Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded. "It was probably Sasuke who taught him."
Shuyu's Chidori blasted aside the Iron Sand shield, and he stopped with the electrified hand aimed right at Shinki's chest.
His three-tomoe Sharingan locked eyes with Shinki's. Though victory was all but certain, he still stayed alert—there could be a hidden counterattack.
"...I surrender."
Shinki clenched his fist and said it with difficulty.
Though his father, Gaara, was friends with Naruto, he'd always shown excessive deference toward Konoha.
It wasn't just Gaara—this was true of every current Kage.
Shinki had entered this Chūnin Exam to prove his strength, hoping his adoptive father Gaara could someday face Konoha with confidence.
"Konoha's Uchiha Shuyu versus Sunagakure's Shinki—the winner is Uchiha Shuyu of Konoha!"
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