Chapter 97: Suigetsu vs. Kankuro

The bell signaling the end of the exam rang, and Kimimaro saw Orochimaru, disguised as an Otogakure Jonin.

At this moment, he was staring at Sasuke, who had just arrived at the tower, with a look in his eyes that clearly appreciated an object.

"It seems you have finished your hunt."

Kimimaro walked to Orochimaru's side and said slowly.

"Hehe, the Uchiha clan is really the perfect container."

Orochimaru said, his eyes falling on Kimimaro.

To be precise, it was on his eye mask.

"What are you wearing? Are your eyes hurt?"

"There was a little accident, but it doesn't affect anything."

Kimimaro pulled the black eye patch and didn't intend to explain further.

Orochimaru already understood.

"Hehe, it seems that your hunt is also complete."

Kimimaro smiled without saying a word.

One big and one small fox, each with their own thoughts.

Of course, none of them were directed at each other.

Both were pursuing longevity and could be considered like-minded individuals.

It's just that their methods were different.

Kimimaro already knew Orochimaru's future, so he wasn't curious about him.

But Orochimaru was different. He didn't know what Kimimaro's future would be like, so he always had expectations for him.

In the end, whether the two would end up on the same path or have their own worlds, Orochimaru was very curious.

"The old man Third Hokage is here, you can go back."

"Hmm."

Kimimaro returned to the examinee's queue and met Sasuke and the other two head-on.

"Kimimaro!"

Naruto greeted excitedly, showing no signs of fatigue from the five days of hard fighting.

不愧是漩涡一族,体力爆炸. *As expected of the Uzumaki clan, their stamina is explosive.*

Sasuke and Sakura didn't have such good stamina, and both looked tired at the moment.

The two looked at Naruto as if they were looking at a monster.

Of course, there was no discrimination in this gaze, just confusion and amazement.

When Naruto saw the black eye patch on Kimimaro's face, he showed a look of confusion and worry.

"You... what happened to your eyes?"

Naruto's concern was sincere, and Kimimaro could feel it.

He smiled slightly and said, "It's nothing serious, just a strong light that hurt my eyes. It will recover in a couple of days."

"So that's it, you're too careless."

Hearing that it was nothing serious, Naruto immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"You guys look like you've been through a tough battle. These five days haven't been easy, have they?"

"Don't mention it, the three of us were too unlucky. Not long after we entered the Forest of Death, we encountered a monster-like guy. If we weren't lucky, we wouldn't be standing here now."

"Oh? It seems you encountered something interesting."

"It wasn't interesting at all."

Naruto complained repeatedly. He had a belly full of grievances to pour out about his encounter with Orochimaru.

However, the arrival of the Third Hokage deprived Naruto of the opportunity to vent his grievances.

Along with the Third Hokage came many Konoha Jonin, Sunagakure Jonin Maki, and Orochimaru, disguised as an Otogakure Jonin.

"Congratulations to all of you for passing the second round of the exam."

After the Third Hokage spoke to everyone about the necessity of the joint Chunin Exams and the meaning behind it, he announced the arrangements for the next exam.

Because too many candidates passed this round, an additional round was added.

One-on-one individual battles.

Twenty-four people could be divided into twelve groups.

Of course, after all, they had just gone through an exam, and some people's physical strength was damaged, and some were even injured.

If they felt unable to continue fighting, they could withdraw from the exam on their own.

But having come this far, how could any normal person give up?

Even the spy Kabuto Yakushi didn't withdraw.

This made Kimimaro a little strange.

Had the plot changed?

Before Kimimaro could think further, the examiner for this impromptu match, Moonlight Hayate, appeared.

"Ahem, since no one has withdrawn, then, the extra match, begins now."

On the big screen, twenty-four names were constantly scrolling.

All the candidates stared at it intently, more or less nervous.

Their opponents in the duel would determine whether they could enter the final round of the Chunin Exams.

The names stopped.

"First round, Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi."

The match proceeded the same as in the original story, and in the end, Sasuke defeated Akado Yoroi, who had the ability to absorb chakra, with a modified version of Rock Lee's taijutsu, the Lion Combo.

After the match, Sasuke was taken away by Kakashi to seal the Cursed Seal's power.

And Orochimaru also disappeared along with him.

Second round, Zaku Abumi vs. Aburame Shino.

Although Zaku's arms had healed, he was still no match for Shino and was ultimately defeated miserably with his arms blown off.

Third round, Kankuro vs. Suigetsu.

"It's my turn. Hehe, it's that puppeteer from Sunagakure. You're unlucky to have encountered me."

Suigetsu excitedly jumped down from the high platform and landed in the competition arena.

"It's a Genin from Otogakure. I haven't seen this guy named Suigetsu make a move yet, I don't know what his abilities are."

A look of seriousness appeared on Kankuro's face.

"Kankuro, are you confident? If the mechanisms in Crow are exposed, it might affect our next actions."

Temari was a little worried.

"I'll try. I can't just give up here. There are only three of us from Sunagakure."

After Kankuro finished speaking, he also jumped down and arrived at the competition arena.

The match began!

"You're a puppeteer, right? I wonder how powerful your puppets are, let me see."

Suigetsu's arrogant expression made Kankuro extremely unhappy.

What he hated most were arrogant people.

Suigetsu was undoubtedly dancing wildly in his minefield.

"Hmph, I also want to see if you have the ability to make me use my puppets."

"Oh? Quite confident, I like that. Unfortunately, giving you a chance is useless. I'm afraid you won't have the opportunity to use your puppets."

Suigetsu grinned, revealing his shark-like teeth.

Then, he made a gun shape with his right hand and fired a shot at Kankuro's head!

Water Release: Water Gun Technique!

Bang!

A stream of water, like a bullet, shot directly at Kankuro's head.

A direct hit!

This attack was extremely sudden and fast, and Kankuro was hit in the head before he could react.

"This is... the secret technique passed down through generations of the Hozuki clan, the Water Gun Technique? This person is actually from the Hozuki clan?"

The Third Hokage, with his vast knowledge, immediately recognized Suigetsu's origin and was somewhat surprised.

It was rumored that the Hozuki clan had been exterminated, but he didn't expect there were still surviving members.

What was even more outrageous was that this orphan was actually under the title of an Otogakure Genin.

What was Kirigakure doing?

Suigetsu's sudden attack stunned the Genin present.

"It's this move again, I was defeated by this move before."

Kiba Inuzuka clenched his fists, feeling unwilling.

"Look, the Sunagakure Genin isn't bleeding, something is falling off his face."

Choji Akimichi exclaimed.

They saw sand constantly falling off the face of the "Kankuro" who was hit, and finally, it turned into a puppet.

Crow!

And the "puppet" that was originally wrapped in bandages now unwrapped the bandages, revealing Kankuro's true body.

It was a common trick of puppeteers to use a puppet to impersonate themselves while pretending to be a puppet to catch their opponents off guard.

Kankuro didn't expect his disguise to be broken by Suigetsu with just one attack.

Fortunately, Crow's forehead was extremely hard, otherwise, it wouldn't have been solved with just a hole.

"This guy actually has such a strong offensive ninjutsu. This is troublesome."

Kankuro looked at Suigetsu not far away with a solemn expression.

"It seems you can take it a little more seriously, puppet boy from Sunagakure."

Suigetsu raised his right hand, preparing to launch the Water Gun Technique again.

"Wait, I surrender."

(End of Chapter)