Chapter 42 : Ending

...

"Ok."

Watanabe nodded in obedience and stuffed the Explosive talisman back into his waist pocket.

Sarutobi Hiruzen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that Watanabe, a young blood, would not only not know the consequences of his own actions, but would summon tens of thousands of explosive talisman in one breath. In that case, not only would he and Hyuga Zero be blown to pieces, but even the Konoha high-ranking officials on the judges' panel would be wiped out in such a dramatic way.

Don't think that Watanabe can't produce so many Explosive talismans. After all, Tsunade has taught him so many forbidden ninjutsu. Is there anything she can't give him?

"Why is it a tie? I'm about to win!"

Hyuga Zero opened her mouth to refute, she pulled back her wrist that was grabbed by Hiruzen, and took two steps back.

She was very unconvinced and felt that if Sarutobi Hiruzen had not stepped in to stop her, she would have been able to defeat Watanabe just now. He would never be able to break her *Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation* with just Explosive talisman.

"You two are both excellent and equally matched. It would be fine if the match ends in a draw," Hiruzen consoled her with a kind smile.

"How can we be evenly matched?"

Hyuga Zero's desire to win is particularly strong. Her performance in the illusion test is far behind Watanabe. The combat test is her only chance to catch up, so she must compete to see who is better: "Didn't you see that Watanabe was beaten by me and he had no chance to defend himself? Watanabe, tell me yourself, are you not as good as me?"

Watanabe was silent.

He could sense that Hyuga Zero cared particularly about winning or losing, but he also cared.

He really wanted to be accepted as a disciple by Hiruzen along with Tsunade, and didn't want to miss any opportunity to spend time with Tsunade.

"Actually, you are not as good as me." After a moment of silence, Watanabe told the truth.

Hyuga Zero was stunned for a moment, then she laughed out of anger and pointed his finger at Watanabe's nose: "Ridiculous! How can you say such a thing? You don't even have the dignity to do that..."

"Zero."

A majestic voice sounded.

Hyuga Tenfu came behind Zero and said calmly, "Stop talking and go down."

Hyuga Zero still refused to accept: "I..."

"I told you to go down."

*snort!*

Hyuga Zero dared to refute the Hokage, but she did not have the courage to refute her father. She snorted angrily and walked off the stage with a lot of resentment.

Watanabe was more sensible than her. Although he also felt that he had won, he did not raise any objections and left the stage in an obedient manner.

After all, the one who can accept him as a disciple was Hiruzen. If he created a bad impression on Hiruzen, he might not be willing to accept him as a disciple even if he got first place.

"Zero, how are you? Are you hurt?"

A young man with white eyes had been waiting nearby for a long time. When he saw Hyuga Zero coming down, he immediately stepped forward to greet him.

He is Hyuga Mirai, the eldest son of Hyuga Tenfu and the head of the next generation of the Hyuga clan.

"Father is going too far!" Hyuga Zero was indignant, "He was the one who wanted me to become the Hokage's apprentice, but he didn't say a word to help me in front of the Hokage--"

"You are wrong." Hyuga Mirai interrupted her sister's complaints with a slightly complicated expression.

"What did I do wrong?" Hyuga Zero was not convinced.

"Didn't you notice that Watanabe was hit so many times by you, but... he didn't show any signs of injury."

Hyuga Mirai said, looking far into the distance.

Hyuga Zero was stunned and looked in the direction his brother was looking. As expected, he saw Watanabe sitting in the rest area waiting without blushing or breathing hard. He showed no signs of discomfort.

She couldn't help feeling confused.

'Could it be that I am indeed not as good as him?'

"Don't think too much about it. You still have a real battle coming up, so get back into shape." Hyuga Mirai consoled me.

Hyuga Zero pursed her lips.

…

Watanabe was lucky. His opponent in the fourth combat match was a fat boy named Akimichi Kaiyo. His strength was far less than that of Hyuga Zero. Watanabe easily won with only two water escape moves.

"Orochimaru wins."

The referee's voice in the distance caught Watanabe's attention. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Orochimaru with a calm face on the Arena number nine.

Hyuga Zero sat in front of Orochimaru with a dull look in her eyes, seemingly doubting her life.

'Did Orochimaru defeat Hyuga Zero?'

Watanabe was a little surprised. He knew that Orochimaru was very good, but he didn't expect that he was so good that he could defeat Hyuga Zero. Even he could only tie with Hyuga Zero.

'Is it because she consumed too much chakra on me that Orochimaru took advantage of you?'

Watanabe felt that this was very likely. After all, not everyone was as strong and persistent as him, with more than 20,000 chakras points to squander.

At this moment, Hyuga Zero noticed Watanabe out of the corner of her eye. She glared at him with resentment, stood up and rushed out of the arena without looking back.

"What a Pity."

The Nara clan leader shook his head regretfully.

"If she hadn't met Watanabe, Zero would have been strong enough to defeat Orochimaru. Unfortunately, after the third round, she had very little chakra left."

"There's nothing to regret. Losing is losing. It's just that Zero is not strong enough." Hyuga Tenfu remained calm.

His daughter's defeat was a fact. There was no point in feeling upset. At least he had to maintain his composure on the surface.

"The clan leader is very strict with his descendants." 

"Only a family like this can continuously produce elite talents."

…

Towards evening, the Combat tests of the candidates were all completed, and Moonlight quickly sorted out everyone's graduation results and made them public.

Watanabe's name was ranked above everyone else. In addition to the 95 points in the written test, he also got full marks in the illusion and Combat tests. He deserved the first place.

"It's Good."

The moment he saw the ranking, Watanabe's heart finally settled down.

'I am already in first place. If I am still not accepted as a disciple by the third generation, then I must be targeted by the third Hokage'

Orochimaru ranked second due to defeating Hyuga Zero, and Hyuga Zero ranked third.

Jiraiya and Higurashi are ranked in the upper middle range, with results that are neither excellent nor bad.

"Thank God, I passed the graduation exam!"

"From this moment on, I am a glorious Genin."

"Damn it, if I hadn't lost the first round, my results would have been better..."

The candidates were all a group of thirteen or fourteen-year-olds. They were not very mature in their thinking. They were shouting and talking at the score formula sheet, and all kinds of voices were mixed together.

"Everyone be quiet."

Instructor took out a loud speaker to control the situation.

"Don't forget, come to school tomorrow at noon to collect your ninja forehead protection. The ninja team you will be assigned to after graduation will be determined based on your graduation results..."

After discussing the follow-up matters of graduation, this graduation examination came to a successful conclusion. The candidates were then dismissed and went back to their homes.

"Watanabe, let's go have a farewell dinner together."

When leaving, Jiraiya came over with Orochimaru and Higurashi.

Watanabe was in a good mood and said: "Come to my house and I'll cook a meal for you all."

Jiraiya was surprised: "You can cook?"

Watanabe smiled modestly and he didn't tell Jiraiya that he conquered Tsunade with his cooking skills.

           (Continued…)