Chapter 325: Kakashi Displays the White Fang's Style
"Wind Release, Vacuum Sphere."
Asuma moved in a blur, gathering chakra and transforming it into wind. Transparent blasts of compressed air shot from his mouth straight toward Obito.
"Fire Release, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."
Obito drew a large amount of chakra into his throat, completed the Fire Release nature transformation, and spat out a rapid volley of fireballs.
Boom.
The air bullets and fireballs collided again and again, erupting into continuous explosions. While trading ninjutsu, both of them kept moving, never standing still. In the blink of an eye the ground between them was riddled with smoking craters.
But Obito's fireballs outmatched Asuma's Vacuum Sphere in both power and number. Before long, Asuma was caught in several explosions and suffered multiple burns.
The wounds were not severe, but they disrupted his rhythm and interfered with his ninjutsu.
Without the Vacuum Sphere to offset Obito's flames, five or six fireballs immediately slipped through the gap and rushed him.
Asuma was forced to spend even more chakra, layering Wind Release onto his body to accelerate and dodge.
Obito's Sharingan, however, tracked every detail of Asuma's movement.
Whoosh.
Obito flickered, appearing ahead of Asuma on his predicted escape line, and drove his fist forward.
Bang.
Even with wind enhanced speed, Asuma could not avoid it. The punch crashed into his guard and sent him flying.
At this point, even ordinary spectators could see the difference between them. The gap was not in a single area. Obito was simply stronger in every aspect.
He could not win in taijutsu. He lost in ninjutsu. It was complete suppression.
"As expected, it still is not enough. Obito's growth is just too absurd."
Raido Namiashi watched the scene below and sighed with genuine regret for Asuma.
As his teammate, he knew how hard Asuma had been working recently. Asuma had improved a lot. It was not that Asuma was weak. It was that the Obito standing there now was too strong.
Raido believed Asuma would have had no problem reaching the second round as long as he did not run into Kisame Hoshigaki, Might Guy, Kakashi, or Obito. Unfortunately, he had drawn one of those four.
"There is still a chance. Did Asuma not say he had practiced a Combination Ninjutsu? Obito cannot have mastered two nature transformations too, right?"
Kurenai Yuhi refused to give up hope before the very end.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
While still in midair, Asuma pulled out a chakra infused shuriken and flung it, forcing Obito to halt his pursuit and shift his angle.
"Shadow Clone Technique."
Using a burst of wind to land steadily, Asuma formed a hand seal and produced a Shadow Clone.
He could not beat Obito with Fire Release. His Fire Release nature transformation and chakra reserves were inferior.
It was also hard to beat Obito using only Wind Release when Obito's flames naturally suppressed it in a direct ninjutsu clash.
Asuma's final bet was his Combination Ninjutsu, the one advantage he had: he had fully mastered two chakra natures, while Obito had only shown Fire Release so far.
Over the past month, besides teaching Asuma Cyclone, Mugetsu had taught him how to combine Wind Release and Fire Release to draw out their full destructive power.
"Fire Release, Secret Technique, Great Fire Technique."
"Wind Release, Cyclone."
The instant the Shadow Clone formed, it began rapidly weaving hand seals, unleashing the Sarutobi clan's secret Fire Release technique. Asuma's real body stood behind it, hands flying as he prepared Wind Release.
As one of the Sarutobi family's long standing secret arts, the Great Fire Technique had an obvious advantage: its flames were fierce and dense.
Wind Release, Cyclone, was the perfect partner. The jutsu generated an extremely powerful gale.
The Shadow Clone spewed a continuous torrent of blazing fire, while Asuma exhaled a roaring wind that wrapped around and expanded the flames, pushing them forward as a rolling sea of fire that surged straight toward Obito.
"He has learned your specialty."
Danzo glanced sideways at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Combination Ninjutsu was Hiruzen's forte. Other shinobi might combine two natures, but Hiruzen could weave all five together.
Yet Danzo quickly noticed something off. Hiruzen was not smiling. His expression was strangely complicated.
Danzo's guess was correct. Hiruzen knew the Great Fire Technique and Cyclone himself, but Asuma's ability to use them together had nothing to do with him. Hiruzen had never taught his son Cyclone.
"It must have been Mugetsu who taught him."
Hiruzen arrived at that conclusion almost immediately.
He could not help it. He was constantly buried in paperwork. He did not have the time to guide Asuma like a normal jonin instructor, and could only give him occasional advice.
But that style of teaching clearly did not suit Asuma. At least in terms of fighting strength, the results had been mediocre.
"Obito, you can do it."
Rin looked at the surging sea of flames and could not help feeling nervous again. Even with that Combination Ninjutsu, she was still worried for Obito.
Kakashi, on the other hand, watched calmly. As Obito's rival, he understood better than anyone just how strong Obito was. If this was all Asuma had, then there was no way he could win.
Facing the great wave of flames, Obito showed no fear.
To be honest, after activating Flame Breathing chakra mode, Fire Release was the last thing he was afraid of.
There were easier ways to handle this attack with less cost, but Obito ignored them. If he was going to answer, he wanted to do it in the coolest way.
His breathing shifted, and the chakra inside him ignited. His aura climbed sharply as he stepped into Flame Breathing chakra mode.
"Fire Release, Fire Dragon Flame Bullet."
With his nature transformation speed and the power of his fire dramatically boosted, Obito concentrated his chakra in his throat, converted it into pure flame, and expelled it in a single breath.
Instead of relying on Flame Breathing's resistance to dodge, he chose to meet Asuma's Combination Ninjutsu head on with his own Fire Release.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Massive tongues of orange red flame roared from Obito's mouth. The temperature spiked in an instant, and the section of the arena that had been a pond earlier dried out almost immediately.
The raging blaze surged like a rampaging beast, as if it would transform the whole battlefield into a sea of fire.
"To use that level of Fire Release at his age."
Danzo's eyes narrowed sharply. In his mind, Obito's danger rating rose another level.
Nine years old, awakened Sharingan, and such mastery over Fire Release. If a child like that did not die prematurely, he was almost guaranteed to become a top tier shinobi.
"What terrifying flames. It was indeed the right choice to teach him Fire Release, Great Fire Destruction."
Uchiha Yashiro could not help but exclaim as he watched.
In his view, Obito's Fire Release talent was among the very best in the entire clan, even surpassing the current head, Uchiha Fugaku.
After all, Fugaku had never unleashed Fire Release of this level when he was nine years old.
Boom.
Amid the cries of surprise from the ninja in the stands, Obito's flames collided head on with Asuma's combined fire and wind.
For a moment, flames roared skyward. Fist sized sparks rained across the arena, and it felt as if the entire space had turned into a blazing world.
But when ninjutsu of the same nature clash, in the end it comes down to pure strength.
Even with the blessing of Wind Release, Asuma's flames were slowly devoured by Obito's even hotter blaze.
"I lost completely. This guy's Fire Release is insane."
Feeling the scorching heat wash over him, Asuma let out a small sigh.
He was convinced.
He had used two nature transformations and two jutsu against Obito's single nature and single technique, and still lost. This was what it meant to be outclassed.
Surrounded by the walls of fire, Asuma quietly raised his voice.
"I surrender."
"The victor is decided. Uchiha Obito wins."
Hiruko loudly declared the outcome.
"What an enviable talent. If only I also had a bloodline limit, I would not be so mediocre."
Watching Obito, who shone so brightly in this Chunin Exams, Hiruko could not help feeling a twinge of envy.
With the battle over, Obito dispelled the flames, revealing Asuma standing behind the scorched zone. If that Fire Release had hit him directly, he would have been blown away and badly burned.
"Did you start practicing Fire Release before you were even born? It is ridiculously strong."
Asuma grinned, stepped over, and lightly punched Obito's chest.
He had lost, but he had fought with everything he had. Because of that, his heart was calm.
"Hehe, it is alright. Your Combination Ninjutsu is pretty amazing too. I did not expect you to combine two techniques like that."
Obito scratched his head and returned the compliment.
"Keep going. You better keep winning. If you lose after beating me, it will just make me look weak."
Waving to Obito, Asuma left the arena.
Once eliminated, he was no longer considered a participant and could not return to the waiting room, so he could only head up to the spectator stands to watch the remaining matches.
As he climbed up, he saw Raido Namiashi and Kurenai Yuhi waiting for him.
"What a pity. If it had been anyone else, you might have won."
Raido tried to comfort him.
"There is nothing to regret. I already fought with everything I had."
Asuma smiled back.
Seeing that he had taken it so well, Kurenai finally relaxed and smiled too.
"Sixth match, Mei Terumi versus Haruya Moriyama."
Hiruko soon announced the next pairing.
Mei stood at once and walked briskly toward the arena.
Haruya Moriyama took a deep breath to steady himself, then followed.
"Watch her carefully. If nothing unexpected happens, she will be your next opponent."
Kakashi leaned toward Obito and spoke quietly.
Haruya's performance in the preliminaries had been average. Unless he had been hiding a terrifying trump card, Kakashi did not think Haruya could last even a minute against Mei. Haruya specialized in Fire Release, after all.
Obito nodded. When facing Mei, who had once defeated him, he would not dare be careless.
If he lost in the second round because he underestimated her, Kakashi would laugh at him forever. He absolutely could not allow that.
The result unfolded almost exactly as Kakashi had predicted.
Aware of his disadvantage, Haruya tried to win through surprise, hoping to close in with a fierce flurry of attacks and keep Mei from forming hand seals.
But he underestimated her overall strength. The plan failed, and he soon suffered a hit from Mei's Boil Release.
Mei did not waste the opportunity. She immediately followed up with Water Release and brought him down cleanly. The fight ended in under a minute.
"Mei Terumi wins."
Genji watched and nodded with satisfaction.
Compared to Guy, she took slightly longer to end her match, but Hidden Mist's win rate was much higher at this point.
Now that the four Konoha versus Mist matches were done, only one of those had ended in Konoha's favor, and that was Might Guy's. The rest had all gone to Hidden Mist.
The atmosphere in the stands grew strange.
The Land of Fire officials fell silent.
The wealthy merchant clients looked thoughtful.
The Konoha ninja wore stiff, bitter expressions.
The Hidden Mist ninja could not help but show smiles.
"Seventh match, Zabuza versus Shinya Osaki."
The seventh bout was once again a Mist ninja versus a Konoha ninja.
Shinya Osaki did not want to lose. Konoha had already been beaten by Mist several times. If he lost again, it would be another blow to Konoha's pride.
But battles are decided by strength, not wishes.
Even though Shinya fought desperately, he could not make up for the difference in ability.
Still, he did everything he could. At the very least, he did not lose too quickly or too miserably. He fought back fiercely, trading blows with Zabuza for nearly four minutes before finally collapsing.
"Zabuza wins."
Hiruko announced the result.
Another victory for Hidden Mist.
The Land of Fire officials frowned even more deeply. For them, this was hard to accept.
Konoha, which had always held the advantage in war, was now being suppressed by Hidden Mist in a Chunin Exams.
Many Mist ninja were already celebrating inwardly. What better proof of Hidden Mist's strength could there be?
"They just got lucky with the matchups. If they faced Obito, how could they possibly win?"
Yashiro noticed the looks on the faces of the Mist ninja and snorted.
In his opinion, they had simply drawn opponents conveniently. Take this last match alone. If the defeated Asuma had fought Zabuza instead, he would most likely have won.
Among the higher ups, the mood did not shift much. Only Danzo's expression grew darker and darker.
Even though Mist had taken several victories, Genji simply smiled and did not become arrogant.
He knew very well that the Konoha examinees in this Chunin Exams were not weaker than Hidden Mist in actual combat power. After all, they had already defeated Kisame's squad and Mei's squad in the Forest of Death, even if Konoha had fielded three teams.
"Eighth match, Gangi Hyuga versus Kakashi Hatake."
Kakashi stepped out of the waiting room without hesitation. Gangi Hyuga followed closely behind.
If he had drawn Obito or Mei, he would not have felt confident at all. But against Kakashi, Gangi believed he had a real chance.
In theory, the Byakugan and Gentle Fist were highly effective against speed type opponents. On paper, the advantage belonged to him.
"Begin."
Hiruko's shout rang out.
"Byakugan, activate."
Gangi immediately poured chakra into his eyes. The veins at his temples bulged as his field of vision changed.
"Thunder Breathing, total concentration."
The moment Hiruko gave the signal, Kakashi entered his high concentration breathing state. His physical ability and explosive power surged.
"Flash."
Kakashi drew the White Fang short blade in a smooth motion. Lightning Release chakra crackled at his feet and then erupted as he kicked off the ground, shooting forward at terrifying speed.
Through the Byakugan, Gangi clearly saw Kakashi move. He had just shifted into a Gentle Fist stance when the gleaming White Fang blade was already at his neck, nicking open his collar.
The match was over.
Gangi had not even thrown a single strike, but he knew it was finished.
If Kakashi had not held back, his neck would be open instead of his clothes.
The arena fell silent yet again.
Some spectators had turned away for just a moment to chat, then looked back only to see Kakashi's blade already resting against Gangi's neck.
Those who watched the entire exchange were not much better off. All they had really seen was a flash of yellow lightning, and then the fight was done.
"What incredible speed. Even if Gangi saw it clearly, there was no way for him to react," Hyuga Hiashi said, shaking his head.
Gangi's loss was not unjust.
Judging from that one strike alone, Hiashi could confidently say that Kakashi was absolutely one of the strongest contenders in this Chunin Exams.
"Kakashi wins."
Hiruko, who had been momentarily stunned, quickly announced the result.
The record for fastest victory had been broken again. He felt like he had only just shouted "begin" before everything was already over.
"He is the son of Lord White Fang. It is not surprising."
Suppressing the envy in his heart, Hiruko forced down a sigh.
Kakashi's performance made Hiruzen nod with satisfaction. This swift, clean, and decisive style really did evoke images of the former Konoha White Fang.
It was not in vain that he had transferred Kakashi between teams multiple times.
An instant victory was the clearest possible demonstration of power. Many spectators rose to their feet to cheer.
Kakashi did not look pleased with himself. For him, defeating Gangi was nothing. In his heart, only beating Might Guy would prove his genius.
"What a show off," Obito muttered, looking at Kakashi standing calmly at center stage.
But when he noticed the spark in Rin's eyes, he could not help wondering if he should try that kind of dramatic entrance next time too.
Obito had to admit, Kakashi was very good at looking cool.
"As expected of my best friend."
Might Guy gave Kakashi a big thumbs up as he walked back in.
He was already burning with anticipation for a passionate battle between them.
Kakashi's match brought the first round to a close.
After a short rest, the second round of battles would begin.
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