Konoha's Hextech Ninja

"Damn it!"

Naruto Uzumaki was extremely unwilling, but he also realized that the gap between his strength and Shion's was huge, and it could not be bridged by willpower and perseverance alone.

He returned to the observation hall dejectedly, filled with frustration.

But soon, Naruto Uzumaki burst into laughter.

In the second match, Uchiha Sasuke went all out from the start, using his Sharingan, shuriken, fire release, and lightning release in succession.

But all his attacks hit the air, needlessly exhausting his chakra, and then he was kicked out of the arena by Kurama Yakumo, suffering an incredibly ugly defeat.

On the stands.

Itachi Uchiha couldn't help but cover his face, feeling extremely embarrassed.

"Hahaha! Itachi, it seems your little brother hasn't learned how to defend against genjutsu, hahahaha!" Uchiha Shisui laughed heartily, finding the scene extremely amusing.

“That girl’s genjutsu is at the level of the Mangekyou Sharingan.” Itachi Uchiha said seriously, “Sasuke was already under her genjutsu the moment he stepped onto the stage. Even I am not confident that I can break this level of genjutsu.”

"The genjutsu of the Kurama clan is indeed very strong." Uchiha Shisui nodded and commented, "This girl's Yin Release chakra is even stronger than mine, so it's normal that Sasuke couldn't defend against it."

Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan is known as the 'strongest genjutsu eye'.

Even he admitted that he was inferior, which shows just how powerful Kurama Yakumo's Yin Release was.

Of course, Yin Release is Yin Release, and Illusion is Illusion.

The two are directly related, but they are not entirely equivalent.

In terms of Yin Release strength, Uchiha Shisui admitted that he was inferior to Kurama Yakumo.

But when it comes to illusion magic, he won't give up so easily.

"Sasuke's performance has exceeded my expectations to get this far," Fugaku Uchiha rarely praised. "This year's Chunin Exams, though called Chunin Exams, are actually more difficult than the normal Jonin promotion exams. To have come this far, Sasuke's strength is already very impressive among his peers. He truly lives up to his reputation as my son!"

"You always praise children behind their backs, why don't you ever praise Sasuke to his face?" Mikoto Uchiha said reproachfully.

"Hahaha, that's because I'm afraid he'll get arrogant!" Uchiha Fugaku chuckled and changed the subject, saying, "Watch the match, watch the match."

……

"This child, is she one of Orochimaru's people?" Kurenai Yuhi said, watching Guren slowly walk into the arena. "I saw her performance in the last round. Her bloodline limit is very special; once it touches her, she's finished."

“Yes, Crystal Release Bloodline Infusion is indeed very troublesome for ordinary ninjas.” Yagami Yoruichi nodded, then changed the subject, saying, “But Hinata won’t lose.”

With her hand on Yagami Yoruichi's shoulder, Hyuga Hanabi raised it to her mouth and shouted, "Go, big sister!"

On the field.

As Kakashi Hatake announced the start, Guren immediately formed hand seals: "Crystal Release - Hexagonal Shuriken Frenzy!"

Numerous shuriken composed of translucent crystals appeared out of thin air and shot densely toward Hinata Hyuga.

This type of shuriken is only slightly more powerful than a regular shuriken, and a single shuriken does not pose a significant threat.

However, a dense barrage of hundreds or thousands of shuriken would be extremely difficult to handle unless one possessed exceptionally strong defensive capabilities.

Faced with an overwhelming barrage of shuriken, Hinata Hyuga remained calm and even had time to assume a starting stance.

Then, she began to spin rapidly in place, chakra gushing out from every acupoint: "Eight Trigrams Palm - Reversal of Heaven!"

With a series of clanging sounds, all the densely packed crystalline swords in the hand were deflected.

Guren had anticipated this and never thought she could defeat Hinata Hyuga so easily. She only wanted to use this opportunity to distract Hinata Hyuga and buy herself time to form hand seals.

"I'll show you my true abilities! I won't let Lord Orochimaru down!"

Crimson Lotus quickly formed hand seals, preparing a powerful ninjutsu.

But soon, her eyes widened, and she was almost scared out of her wits.

After deflecting all the crystal shuriken, Kaiten stopped, but Hinata Hinata was nowhere to be seen.

A whirring sound came from beside me.

Honglian immediately realized something was wrong, but it was too late.

She only had time to turn her head slightly before she saw Hinata Hyuga, his body crackling with lightning, appear beside her without her noticing, raising his hand to strike her.

Under Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Hinata Hyuga's speed was increased to the extreme, making it difficult for the naked eye to detect.

If it weren't for the pause before the attack, Honglian wouldn't even have had time to react and would have been hit.

At the critical moment, Guren quickly changed her hand seals, hastily switching to another ninjutsu: "Crystal Release - Emerald Crystal Blade!"

A curved blade grew from her arm, blocking her way, attempting to sever Hinata Hyuga's arm with the crystal curved blade.

When the flesh and blood body collided with the crystalline bend, the bend shattered.

The sharp blade couldn't even penetrate Hinata Hyuga's Lightning Release armor.

Having failed in her attack, Guren had no time to react before Hinata Hyuga struck her in the chest with a palm strike.

The violent lightning-attribute chakra surged into Guren's body through the pressure points on her chest, instantly paralyzing her and nearly halting her chakra flow.

On the stands, Hiashi Hyuga, who had been keeping his Byakugan open the whole time, suddenly stood up upon seeing this scene, revealing an incredulous expression.

In the 'VIP seat', the Fourth Raikage, A, crushed the armrest of the chair with his hand.

Only a few people could understand the meaning behind Hinata Hyuga's simple palm strike.

And the two of them happened to be among this small group of people.

A combination of Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Gentle Fist.

Although it is still very rough, it is definitely the most crucial step taken!

Able to precisely control extremely violent lightning chakra, like Gentle Fist, and accurately strike the enemy's pressure points.

The Hyuga clan had never imagined that Gentle Fist could be used in this way.

The Raikage never imagined that Lightning Release Chakra Mode could be used in this way.

All of this was achieved by Hinata Hyuga, a girl who wouldn't turn thirteen until the end of the year!

After his initial shock, Hiashi Hyuga quickly turned to Yoruichi Yagami and asked incredulously, "Yoruichi-sama, did you teach this?"

Yoruichi Yagami shook her head slightly and said, "I taught her Lightning Release Chakra Mode, but the ability to combine it with Gentle Fist was something she did on her own, it has nothing to do with me."

When Hinata Hyuga was taught Lightning Release Chakra Mode, it was only from the fact that Hinata had been studying the Cloud Village that he deduced that Lightning Release Chakra Mode was very suitable to be paired with the Byakugan.

However, Hinata Hyuga's ability to combine Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Gentle Fist was something Yoruichi Yagami hadn't anticipated.

Of course, this method, though ingenious, is nothing more than that.

From Yagami Yoruichi's perspective, it was just a "somewhat interesting" application method.

At most, this is the only way he can cross the threshold to become a movie star.

If Hinata Hyuga wants to go further, she will have to develop this tactic further.

"Among Kage-level techniques, it is considered a very strong close-combat attack method, especially destructive to the human body, and can effectively counter some powerful defensive ninjutsu."

"If we develop it further, it might reach the level of a super-shadow, but it would be very difficult to go higher."

"Developing the bloodline is still more valuable..."

Yagami Yoruichi pondered this in his mind.

Given Yagami Yoruichi's strength and insight, Hinata Hyuga's performance was just so-so.

However, considering her age, her performance is truly remarkable.

With just this combination of Lightning Release chakra and Gentle Fist, Hinata Hyuga has definitely reached Kage-level strength, at least in close combat.

As for long distances...

Yagami Yoichi glanced at the longbow that Hinata Hyuga had been carrying on his back and hadn't taken off, and a strange smile appeared on his face.

Her ranged attacks are even stronger than her melee attacks!

However, this longbow, made of chakra metal, doesn't have any extraordinary special abilities; it only has good chakra conductivity.

It's alright now, but as Hinata Hyuga's strength increases in the future, she will gradually fall behind and will inevitably be eliminated.

"I need to find a better bow for her, along with matching arrows," Yagami Yoruichi thought to himself. Where in the ninja world could one find a powerful bow and arrows?

Or, by some method, can one forge a set of bows and arrows sufficient for use at the 'Six Paths Level'?

While Yagami Yoruichi was distracted, in the final round of the quarterfinals, Uzumaki Karin and Kaguya Kimimaro stepped onto the stage.

“I am different from them.”

Kaguya-kun Maro looked at Uzumaki Karin and said, "I bear the will of Lord Orochimaru, and I have an absolute reason not to lose."

"I also have reasons not to lose!" Karin Uzumaki snorted coldly, finding the guy in front of her really annoying.

“You are very strong. Lord Orochimaru warned me about your strength, so to show respect, I will use my full strength from the start.”

As Kaguya Kimimaro spoke, the Earth Curse Seal was activated, and dense black lines covered his entire body, entering 'State One'.

But this is just the beginning.

Soon, Kaguya-kun Maro's skin turned completely black, horns grew on his head, and a long tail grew behind him.

Bones of various shapes sprouted from all over its body, giving it a monstrous appearance.

Before the battle even started, Kaguya-kun Maro had already entered his second state!

Karin Uzumaki had fought Orochimaru's subordinates before and knew that their 'transformation' would greatly enhance their strength.

Sensing the increasingly strong and malevolent chakra emanating from Kaguya-kunmaro, Karin Uzumaki became alert, quickly gathering her chakra and activating Kagura's Mind's Eye, focusing intently on the situation.

Kakashi Hatake glanced at Kaguya-kun Maro, who had transformed into a form that was no longer human, and while inwardly complaining, he announced the start of the match and immediately left the field.

“Corpse bone veins…”

Kaguya-kunmaro raised one hand to block in front of him and uttered in a deep voice: "Clematis Dance!"

He pulled out his spine and lashed it at Karin Uzumaki like a soft whip.

"What the hell?!"

"Using your own spine as a weapon? Won't you die?!"

Karin Uzumaki had never seen Kaguya Maro use such methods before, and was taken aback.

But her strength was undeniable, and she quickly reacted, retreating without hesitation while simultaneously launching a counterattack.

"Orochimaru's monster subordinates are most afraid of sealing techniques! As long as the power of the cursed seal is sealed, your strength is negligible! Vajra Seal!"

Golden chains shot out from Karin Uzumaki's body, heading towards Kaguya-kunmaro from different directions.

The chains were made entirely of a special chakra unique to the Uzumaki clan, and their flight speed was astonishing. Kaguya-kun Maro reacted in time, but his speed was not fast enough to keep up and he could not dodge the chains' attacks.

Pa~!

A chain wrapped around Kaguya-kun Maro's body, and the enormous pulling force made him pause.

During this brief pause, more chains coiled around him, tightly binding Kaguya-kun Maro, while the ends of the chains plunged into the ground, locking him in place.

Kaguya struggled desperately, but she couldn't break free at all; instead, the chains tightened around her.

Karin Uzumaki unleashed a series of spells, pressing them towards Kaguya-kunmaro from afar: "Seal!"

Kaguya-kun Maro desperately activated his bloodline limit, wanting to fight back.

But the power of the seal caused his chakra to solidify rapidly.

The power of the cursed seal was stripped from his body and shrank back into the Earth Curse Seal.

Having lost the power of the cursed seal, Kaguya Kimimaro's strength plummeted, and a sense of weakness washed over him, as his chakra had been completely drained by the sealing technique.

"Referee, does this count as a win?" Karin Uzumaki turned to look at Kakashi Hatake outside the court.

Kakashi Hatake was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He quickly stepped forward to check on Kaguya-kun Maro's condition and announced, "The winner is Karin Uzumaki!"

On the stands.

Orochimaru licked his lips, revealing an expression of great interest.

"The Vajra Seal is very effective against my curse seal."

"Is its weakness a fear of sealing techniques? It seems there's still room for improvement in the cursed seal."

"Kimimaro's body..."

"Well, the leader promised I would save him, so I don't need to worry."