CH_118

As Yūhi Shinku counted down, Neru removed the rubber band from her hair, letting it fall loose…

Seishimon gripped his tachi tightly.

Whoosh! Shinku used Body Flicker to retreat to a safe distance.

Neru immediately kicked up her speed, retreating across the open ground.

Seishimon chased with his blade drawn.

Neru was clearly kiting him—but this time she was using senbon, a tool Tōji had never seen her use before. She kept moving backward while sending senbon at Seishimon.

Seishimon handled her moderate-rate senbon attacks with ease, either deflecting or dodging them—but he simply couldn't catch up.

After two minutes, Neru's movement speed gradually decreased, maintaining a steady distance from Seishimon.

At that moment, her flowing black hair—which had been swaying as she ran—came "alive."

Neru's hair secret technique required no hand seals—she could control it with chakra alone.

Shing shing shing shing shing! Countless strands of hair suddenly transformed into a dense volley of senbon-like projectiles!

"…" Seishimon made no move to defend—but the countless hair-senbon passed right through him… leaving no effect!

"Seishimon" flickered and dissolved—it was a genjutsu clone!

Neru stopped, frowning slightly… She hadn't even noticed when her opponent had swapped to a decoy!

『Who designed this Chūnin Exam anyway? Most of the examinees aren't combat specialists—they're more like utility types.』 Tōji felt that if the exam were purely about combat ability, many of these sixteen wouldn't have made it.

『Could it be that Minato, after taking office, wants to place newly promoted people in various departments?』

In the brief moment Tōji was thinking, Neru had already located the hidden Seishimon.

A strand of her hair, reinforced with chakra, could actually wrap around the sharp blade without being severed! Neru was now engaging Seishimon in close combat with a kunai.

Seishimon's combat skills were inferior to Neru's—his defeat was only a matter of time.

『Seishimon's not bad, actually. He'll have no problem becoming a chūnin. No wonder he lasted the longest in the previous round.』 Tōji gave an objective assessment.

In fact, if the purpose of this exam was to find utility-type talent, Seishimon would be even more highly favored.

But as Shinku announced Neru's victory, she immediately released and retracted the hair binding Seishimon… Neru was on track to becoming a chūnin!

"Mizuki—please enter the arena!" Shinku had already called Mizuki onto the field and was waiting for him to choose his opponent…

"May I challenge Tatami Iwashi!" Mizuki declared aggressively, phrasing it as a question to Shinku—but his gaze was locked on Iwashi in the waiting room.

"Of course!" Shinku also looked toward Iwashi. "Tatami Iwashi—please enter the arena!"

『This Mizuki—he's clever enough, but his crooked heart will be his downfall.』 Tōji felt no sympathy for such a minor character destined for a tragic end—he just watched like a spectator.

『That's strange—isn't this exam supposed to be where Mizuki and Tsubaki first cross paths? From what I'm seeing, they haven't had any contact at all…』

Since Tōji felt he'd successfully avoided the death mission by not getting promoted, he now had the leisure to "mind other people's business."

Tatami Iwashi entered the arena quickly.

Shinku stepped aside after the countdown as usual…

The two had faced each other before and knew each other's style. Last time, Iwashi had won using quicklime powder left on the ground from an earlier match—but this time, the arena was spotless…

Mizuki also didn't repeat his previous tactic of preparing to attack while Shinku was still counting down.

Instead, it was Iwashi who, the moment the countdown ended, used a taijutsu-based Body Flicker to leap into the small cluster of trees forming a "wooded area."