"Still not working, the exposure of information is really troublesome." Terumi Mei felt the battle was becoming tricky.
Ever since the Water Dragon Bomb, her goal wasn't to attack Obito, nor to force him to the pond's edge, but rather to guide him to the edge of the arena's wall.
In this way, she could use Lava Release to create walls and build a semi-open space to enhance the power of her Boil Release.
The destructive power of Boil Release is stronger than Lava Release, but there's a problem—in such a vast space, its power greatly diminishes.
Terumi Mei couldn't directly create a sealed space in the open field, and Obito wouldn't be foolish enough to fight her in an enclosed space, so she chose to incrementally create a semi-open space.
But Obito reacted too quickly, immediately realizing her plan through the Boil Release she used in the Forest of Death.
Using multiple Ninjutsu in a short period and yet achieving no results made Terumi Mei feel a sense of crisis. She swiftly headed towards the pond, intending to use the water there to reduce her Water Release consumption.
However, Obito wouldn't let Terumi Mei pass easily. He was already burning with intense flames in his heart after being chased and attacked for so long.
"Fire Release: Impatiens Fire Jutsu!"
Obito spat out small fireballs at Terumi Mei; although the fireballs weren't large, their quantity was vast, covering a broader area than the Great Fireball.
"Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu!"
Terumi Mei instantly used a water shield to protect herself since it was impossible to evade all those fireballs entirely.
Even though Obito's Breath of Flame Chakra Mode wasn't complete, allowing for simplified hand seals rather than an unsealed release, his Ninjutsu speed was faster.
After spitting out over ten fireballs, Obito immediately ceased the attack and burst towards Terumi Mei with a Chakra-accelerated flash step.
"Fire·Leaf Whirlwind!"
When the flaming whirlwind leg hit the water shield, the shield that blocked several fireballs instantly shattered, sending Terumi Mei flying backward.
"Water Release: Water Array Pillar!"
Terumi Mei didn't have time to stand up. Half-lying on the ground, she swiftly formed seals, gathering a massive amount of Chakra to expel a waterball three times the original size!
The colossal waterball immediately enveloped the charging Obito.
But Obito was already prepared. Holding his breath, he unleashed the full power of his breath, pushing the Breath of Flame to its limit, with his entire Chakra burning as nourishment to enhance his strength.
No time for further thinking, as Terumi Mei watched the figure moving rapidly underwater, she immediately transformed the Water Array Pillar.
She aimed to turn the Water Array Pillar into a Water Dragon Bomb to defeat Obito, as she did previously.
Unfortunately, this time Obito was slightly different from the Obito she faced in the Forest of Death.
In the high-pressure battle with Ishijima Hideyuki, Obito's Breath of Flame evolved, greatly enhancing his power in extreme states.
Terumi Mei's movements were quick as the waterball rapidly transformed, but Obito was quicker, reaching just three meters away with a mere blink of her eye.
Resolutely, Terumi Mei abandoned controlling most of the water flow, instantly completing the transformation of the Water Dragon Bomb.
A not-so-large Water Dragon Bomb charged at Obito.
She didn't dare gamble whether she could complete the full transformation before Obito reached her, as losing the gamble would end her Chunin Examination journey and affect her path to becoming Mizukage.
The slightly weaker Water Dragon Bomb might not defeat Obito, but pushing him back shouldn't be an issue.
"Fire Release: Flame Charge!"
Obito triggered the power of his Breath of Flame Chakra Mode, igniting his entire body with orange flames, gathering a massive amount of Chakra at his shoulder, and crashing into the hastily-formed Water Dragon Bomb with an Iron Mountain Lean stance.
Terumi Mei's Water Dragon Bomb, transformed from the Water Array Pillar, required no seals, and Obito's Fire Release Nin-Taijutsu also required no seals.
BOOM!!
The instant Obito's shoulder collided with the water dragon, the flames on his body burned even more fiercely. The strong impact combined with the high-temperature flames from the Breath of Flame shattered the water dragon.
The swiftly changing battlefield astonished the spectators.
At the start, Terumi Mei was overpowering Obito, and yet within minutes, the situation had changed drastically.
"This Uchiha Obito is impressive." The officials from the Land of Fire felt Obito might be the strongest contender in this Chunin Examination.
Obito's flame-enshrouded stance instinctively made them feel Obito was stronger, which was far more terrifying for ordinary people than simply spitting out a fireball.
"This guy was still holding back when fighting me." Asuma watched in shock at the flame-encased Obito.
He thought he had already forced Obito to use all his techniques despite losing.
"How did he do it, why doesn't the flame harm him?" Namiashi Raido felt his ninja knowledge was being challenged.
How could there be a technique like Fire Release Nin-Taijutsu, this isn't ninja-like at all.
"Taking so many hits, he's finally learned a bit." Seeing Obito's victory assured, Kakashi nodded approvingly in his heart.
Seeing Obito lured to the edge of the arena's wall, Kakashi almost wanted to step in and take control, but fortunately, Obito finally realized it.
As her Ninjutsu was destroyed, Terumi Mei no longer needed to expend Chakra; she stood frozen in place as the flame-covered Obito approached her.
"I told you, this time, the victor will be me." Obito directed his flame-encased hand toward the half-lying Terumi Mei.
If this were a battlefield, he could instantly unleash the flames to kill Terumi Mei.
"You win." Terumi Mei said dejectedly with her head slightly lowered.
It's not that she couldn't accept losing, but the result of losing was hard for her to bear.
Although she displayed her full strength, she wasn't sure if she could gain recognition from the village's leadership after losing in the second round.
She had even prepared extensively for battles against Might Guy and Kakashi, but now those preparations were useless.
"Uchiha Obito wins!" Hiruko announced the victor's name to the entire arena.
The Konoha supporters erupted in cheers. With Might Guy winning a match earlier and now Obito winning too, they had won two matches consecutively, and this was just the second-round battle.
"Could Konoha have sent young Chunins for the exam too?" Yuan felt compelled to wonder.
Hidden Mist had specifically selected some young Chunins and strong Genins to suppress Konoha in this Chunin Examination, yet the results turned out like this, forcing Yuan to suspect that Konoha might have done something similar.
With Might Guy's Taijutsu, Uchiha Obito's Fire Release, and Hatake Kakashi's speed, could these really be considered Genins?
After winning, Obito didn't immediately return to the rest area. He canceled the Breathing Technique but didn't deactivate his Sharingan. Using its excellent eyesight, he spotted Nohara Rin smiling towards him, seemingly happy for his victory.
"Hehe." Obito smiled contentedly, and although he knew Nohara Rin couldn't hear him, he waved and said thank you.
Returning to the rest area, Obito instantly engaged Kakashi, enthusiastically recounting his various brilliant decisions during the battle.
In summary, he claimed that it was all thanks to his intelligence and wit that he secured victory, relying solely on strategy, not strength.
"If you reverse those statements, it wouldn't be a problem," Kakashi commented.
"Momochi Zabuza versus Hatake Kakashi!"
Hiruko's voice resonated through the rest area once again.
"Tsk, I want to see what worldly wisdom your battle holds this time," Obito smirked.
Kakashi didn't argue with Obito, walking leisurely into the combat area.
Indeed, this battle couldn't showcase any world-shattering wisdom since the opponent's strength was mediocre.
Even Kakashi before special training could defeat Zabuza without much trouble, let alone now, after awakening the Transparent World and undergoing special training.