Ryun watched the sickly-looking man before him with great interest.
Gekko Hayate, a Tokubetsu Jonin of Konoha, a member of the ANBU directly under the Hokage, and Uzuki Yugao's childhood friend. The two of them were even called the golden couple within the Hokage's ANBU.
It was just a pity that, at present, Yugao was passively following Ryun every day, while in reality, Ryun and Gekko Hayate had never even met.
After all, Hayate's main job was to wear a mask and carry out ANBU missions. Although he also lived as an ordinary person normally, as long as Ryun didn't actively seek him out, it was still difficult to have any interaction with him.
However, he did glance at Ryun, his gaze calm like still water, which made Ryun feel as if there was some resentment.
Then, this resentment was vented onto Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Not only did he jump out and interrupt Hiruzen's desire to lecture about the Will of Fire, but he also ignored Hiruzen's response, turned around, and said, "Everyone, I am Gekko Hayate, *cough cough cough*—"
A series of violent coughs, coupled with his heavy dark circles, made the ninjas present grow suspicious.
Is this guy okay? He's not going to collapse on the spot in the next second, is he?
Ryun also released a sliver of his perception to check Hayate's physical condition.
He then discovered that Hayute indeed had a Kekkei Genkai disease.
The so-called Kekkei Genkai disease essentially means one has inherited the power of their ancestors but lacks the physique to withstand that power, causing the body to continuously weaken with no cure.
It was the same for Itachi, the same for Kimimaro; there was no fundamental difference for Gekko Hayate either.
However, Hayate's condition was somewhat better. His Shōton was close to a Yin Release secret technique, so it would only cause Hayate to become mentally exhausted.
This would then lead to insomnia, loss of appetite, and finally keep him in a constant state of suboptimal health, prone to illness.
As long as Hayate reduced his use of the Shōton and focused on recuperation, living a healthy life wouldn't be a big problem.
But judging by Hayate's current state, it was uncertain whether he would even have the chance to follow Ryun's medical advice.
"In any case... to ensure the duration and entertainment value of the final part of the Chunin Exams, we must reduce the number of remaining participants in this round."
"The next matches will be deadly duels, with lives on the line. If anyone feels unwell or wishes to withdraw, this is your last chance."
Seeing no one respond, Hayate announced the official start of the exams.
"Next will be one-on-one individual matches, live combat to the death. There are exactly twenty people now, so there will be ten rounds.
The winners can then participate in the subsequent third and final round of the exams."
After speaking, Hayate looked over at Anko.
Anko, wearing her headset, gave the order, and the names of all participants began scrolling on the large screen.
Curious, Ryun used a bit of his perception to investigate and indeed found staff members behind the scenes manipulating the subtitles, with a clear match-up list hanging conspicuously beside them.
The corner of Ryun's mouth curled up. The match order was indeed fixed!
But this wasn't strange, either. Just now, Hiruzen had already stated plainly that this was a simulated battle between allies.
Since it was a simulated battle, Konoha, with the home-field advantage, would naturally want to showcase the strength of the new generation of ninjas in the village as much as possible and eliminate those with insufficient strength.
However, this time, the few girls around Ryun were probably going to shock quite a few people.
The first match was still Sasuke vs. Akadō.
At this moment, Sasuke was completely dirty. As one of the members of Team 7 who had entered the Central Tower at the very last moment to qualify for the exam, he had hardly any time to rest.
Having Sasuke go first under these circumstances seemed like a huge disadvantage for him.
But in reality, Akadō, Yoroi Akadō, and Yakushi Kabuto were all Orochimaru's spies in Konoha.
Kabuto, being highly skilled and not discovered, was one thing, but Akadō and Yoroi were practically obvious spies. They couldn't afford to be too conspicuous, which meant they were destined not to pass this round of exams.
This meant that Sasuke's victory was almost guaranteed, and the rest depended on Akadō's acting skills.
Things did unfold exactly as Ryun had predicted. Although Akadō had a method to absorb chakra, Sasuke's chakra reserves, after his training with Ryun and stimulation from the Cursed Seal of Heaven, were now on a completely different level.
Akadō simply couldn't absorb it all, and was finally sent flying by a single chakra-infused kick from Sasuke.
Next was Zaku Abumi vs. Ino.
From this point on, the rhythm of the matches had completely diverged from Ryun's memory. Originally, Ino and Sakura were supposed to be used as sacrificial lambs in easy matches, but now Ino had been given a genuine opponent.
Zaku was actually quite strong, possessing the unique sound-based ninjutsu of the Otokami.
For example, the Zankūha, where he could raise both hands to gather power, then swing them down to form a sonic boom explosion, using chakra to control air pressure and create an invisible attack.
It could also be used to deflect an opponent's attacks.
Another example was the Zankūkyokuha, where he could inject sonic waves into the ground with both hands to bind the enemy, allowing for continuous sound wave release.
Sound waves are invisible and intangible; fighting against a ninja like this meant a single mistake could lead to being hit.
Originally, Shino was the natural counter to him. Shino could use his insects to block Zaku's sound emission holes, making Zaku defeat himself.
But now that his opponent had become Yamanaka Ino, everything was different.
"Yamanaka Ino, you're from the Yamanaka clan?"
Zaku had a combative personality and was very confident in himself, so his style of action was also relatively reckless.
Looking at Ino's pretty face, a grin appeared on his lips. "For someone as pretty as you, if you surrender now, I might still go easy on you."
Ino flicked her hair. "Although you complimented me, unfortunately, being complimented by an ugly guy makes me angry. So, can you not talk to me and just obediently forfeit?"
Zaku looked at Ino in disbelief, pointing at his own nose. He was an ugly guy?
The next second, his pride was ignited into fury, and without another word, he unleashed a Zankūha aimed straight at Ino's face.
Seeing this, quite a few people were startled, and even Asuma was ready to intervene.
After all, he knew exactly what type of ninja Ino was; she basically had no real combat ability.
And now, facing such a troublesome opponent as Zaku, she dared to be so rude. Could it be that he had been too lenient in the past, causing Ino to lose all sense of discretion?
But then, Ino's performance left Asuma and everyone present stunned.
That clearly invisible Zankūha was easily dodged by Ino with a simple tilt of her head, not even a single strand of her hair was cut.
Everyone watched this scene in silence, wondering how she did it.
Ino revealed a proud smile. The Zankūha technique was indeed very strong, invisible to the naked eye.
But now, her sensory abilities were on a completely different level. After Ryun's enhancement, she felt it was only a matter of time before her sensory skills surpassed her father's.
In fact, she no longer needed to form hand seals now. Relying solely on her innate perception, she could detect the flow of chakra and the trajectory of ninjutsu before her. This gave Ino, whose taijutsu wasn't strong, a tremendous advantage. All she needed to do was dodge the opponent's attacks and wait for an opportunity to counter. Finishing it could be left to her secret techniques.
But still, how exactly should she deal with this opponent before her?
Currently, Ino possessed the Twin Heart Method and the Formless Wave. Naturally, she wouldn't need the Formless Wave to deal with Zaku.
This was an ultimate genjutsu developed by Ryun, so unless necessary, Ino didn't plan on using it casually, afraid someone might ask questions she couldn't explain clearly.
As for the Twin Heart Method, that was different.
Inoichi had also learned the Twin Heart Method, so it could be completely passed off as a family secret technique.
Thus, under everyone's watchful eyes, Ino effortlessly dodged Zaku's attacks with the grace of a leisurely stroll, while calmly assuming the posture of the Yamanaka clan's secret technique.
Seeing this, those familiar with the Yamanaka clan's techniques wore puzzled expressions.
Could using the Yamanaka clan's secret technique under these conditions actually hit?
Everyone knew that if the Yamanaka clan's secret technique missed, the user would face a considerable period of vulnerability.
When that happened, Ino would have only one choice: defeat. How could she still fight against her enemy then?
And then, under everyone's gaze, Ino actually went ahead and used the Yamanaka clan's secret technique like that.
And, as if by fate, Zaku unerringly walked right into it, as if everything was predetermined.
Only Ryun, familiar with Ino's ninjutsu arsenal, knew that what Ino had just done was merely a feint. Her real focus was using the Twin Heart Method to conceal most of her spiritual energy.
Therefore, even if her secret technique execution had failed, another trap would have awaited Zaku.
But even Ino hadn't expected that Zaku couldn't even get past her perception ability.