Chapter 155: A Civilian Body, Surpassing Bloodlines
In the stands, Elder Haido nodded in satisfaction. The Stone had made it to the top three. Lord Tsuchikage would be pleased. Especially since the other two were the former strongest village, Konoha, and the new strongest, the Cloud. To be ranked alongside them was a great honor.
And if Han were to try a little harder and get first place... that would be even better. To stand on the heads of the Cloud and the Leaf... the thought was a pleasant one.
Just as he was lost in his reverie, the examiner announced the start of the final draw of the day.
Of the top three, one would get a bye and would be automatically sent to the final match. The other two would fight, the winner advancing to the finals.
Haido gave a look to his village's team leader and went down to draw the lots himself. He would use his own lucky hands to send Han to the finals.
Seeing the Stone's elder go down, the Third Raikage, A, also became interested. He stopped Dana, who was about to go and clear his name, and prepared to draw the lots himself.
Koharu Utatane of Konoha, seeing this, decided to go as well.
And so, the final draw went from being a draw of the team leaders to a draw of the high-ranking officials. The Cloud's representative was from the very top.
The three of them stood in the arena. The audience, seeing the people from the VIP section, though they might not have recognized them, knew they were not ordinary people.
"Though the boy from my village is not afraid of an extra fight," the Third Raikage said, rubbing his hands together, "my luck has always been good. If I draw the bye, then I'll have to accept your congratulations. Haha."
Though Haido also wanted the bye, his opponent was a Kage. "Lord Raikage is indeed magnanimous," he said with a compliment.
"Gentlemen," Koharu said, clearing her throat, "let's begin."
The rules were simple. Of the three balls, one had "bye" written on it, and two had "fight."
The three of them drew their balls in the order of their previous round's performance.
The Third Raikage slowly opened his hand. On the ball was the word "bye."
"Yes! As expected of me! Hahaha!"
He showed the ball to Dana in the stands. "Though you have perfectly inherited my talent and wisdom," he said, "there is one thing you did not inherit: my good luck. Hahaha."
Dana covered his face and said nothing, just waved his hand, as if to say, "Get on with it."
Hiroto Uzumaki had gotten the bye and would advance directly to the final match. Han and Minato Namikaze would have to fight a semi-final match to determine the third and second place.
On the torii marked "Three," two scrolls with their names on them unrolled. Unlike before, the scrolls were now bordered with silver.
"Third round: Minato Namikaze of the Hidden Leaf Village versus Han of the Hidden Stone Village."
Minato's expression was calm, while Han's was filled with a fighting spirit.
"Lord Dana," Konan asked from the stands, "who do you think will win?"
"Who do you think will win, Konan?" he asked, stroking his chin. "Or what do you think the odds are?"
"They're both strong," she said after a moment of thought. "I'd say 6-4. Minato six, Han four."
"I'd say 9-1," he said, shaking his head. "Minato nine, Han one. And that one is only possible if he relies on his other power."
"The gap is that big? Why?"
"Minato is fast."
"But that Han isn't slow either," she said, confused. "With that steam-based nin-taijutsu. And his defense is also good. He fought with Choza Akimichi for so long and was fine."
"In the ninja profession," he said, looking at her, "if you are a step faster, your enemy will have to work ten times harder to make up for it. And Minato is not just fast in body, but also in eye, and even faster in mind."
"Then isn't Hiroto-senpai in danger?" she said, worried. "He's not a speed-type ninja."
"Hiroto has his own ways. And you, you also need to develop your own countermeasures against speed-type ninja."
In the arena, at the examiner's signal, the match began.
Steam erupted from Han's cloak, and he charged at Minato like a locomotive. But Minato just stood there, unmoving.
The next moment, Han's fist, with an unstoppable force, came crashing down.
Just as it was about to land, Minato moved, dodging to the side and kicking at his waist.
A large amount of steam shot out from Han's side, and with the recoil, he performed an impossible dodge, moving sideways.
"Earth Release: Fissure Palm!"
He slid, and before he had even regained his footing, he slammed his palm on the ground, and a series of cracks spread across the ground.
Han's speed came from his special steam mode, but Minato's came from his Body Flicker, which required a foothold. The uneven ground affected both of them, but it affected Minato more.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
Sure enough, Han was intentionally creating a complex terrain. In a short while, half of the arena was a cracked wasteland, and the other half was a muddy swamp.
He then leaped into the air and, using the steam from his body as propulsion, flew towards Minato with an impossible trajectory, the sound of his movement like a machine.
Minato bent backwards, barely dodging the thunderous blow.
In the stands, Dana's eyes lit up. That kick had a certain... "money shot" feel to it.
"Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!"
A C-rank Earth Release, usually used for defense, was now being used by Han to restrict Minato's movement. An earth wall rose from under his feet, pushing him towards Han.
"I've got him!"
Han's hand chopped down. He was confident that with the enhancement of his steam, this blow, if it landed, would be decisive.
But what awaited him was a flash of blue light.
"RASENGAN!"
A Minato Namikaze had shot out from the ground, hitting the unprepared Han in the stomach. A high-speed, spinning ball of light was pressed against his gut.
"From underground? When?!"
Han was sent spinning into the air.
Dana, in the stands, had seen it all. When Han had flown in with his kick and Minato had dodged, he had used his opponent's brief blind spot to form a hand seal. The one on the ground was just a clone. The real one had used a Headhunter-like jutsu to go underground. And the cracked, uneven ground that Han had created had helped to conceal his movements.
In the stands, the Third Raikage's face was filled with admiration.
"This Minato Namikaze," he said, "he's a civilian ninja, right? He has no Kekkei Genkai or secret jutsu, and that jutsu he uses, he developed it himself... it looks a little familiar."
Chiyo and Haido were also impressed. This Minato was truly outstanding.
A ninja like him was like a rough diamond. Even without any special secret jutsu or Kekkei Genkai, with just his superb fundamentals, he had dominated the Joint Chunin Exams, defeating many ninja with bloodlines and secret jutsu. Even the prodigies of the various villages were no match for him.
Speed, reflexes, dynamic vision, hand seal speed, combat intelligence.
With a civilian body, he had crushed the prodigies, surpassed the bloodlines.
Others might not have known, but Haido knew that Han was the Five-Tails Jinchuriki of the Stone, and that he could already partially use its power. His steam-based nin-taijutsu was on a completely different level for his age. And yet, he had been defeated by Minato.
A person like Minato, if he were to learn one or two secret jutsu that suited his style, his strength would take a quantum leap. He was on the path to becoming a top-tier fighter.
Even with Han's unusual vitality as a Jinchuriki, the solid hit from the Rasengan had seriously injured him. When he landed, he couldn't even stand up.
And the next moment, a short sword was at his neck.
The audience was surprised that the battle, which had started so fiercely, had ended so quickly. They realized that in all of Minato's fights, there had been no trading of blows, no large-scale ninjutsu. Just calm observation, careful thought, and then a single, decisive strike. All of his fights had ended quickly.
It was as if...
As if he were a real ninja.