Chapter 139: Kajiyama Ri’s Ninjutsu

Chapter 139: Kajiyama Ri's Ninjutsu

After their first-round victories, Chiko Tomoe and Kawakita were promoted to chunin.

Only Kajiyama Ri, though he had also won his match, was not yet promoted and had to continue the exam.

Ironically, Maruyama Jun, who had lost to Kawakita, was still promoted by Ikura, having shown strength that met the standard of a chunin.

Aside from them, Kamino Tsuko and about a dozen others were also promoted.

Ikura's only criteria was simple: if their performance showed that they were already at the level of a chunin, they passed.

But if you were unlucky and faced a weak opponent who collapsed before you could even show your strength?

Too bad. You'd be continuing the next day.

Hanegawa Mirai was one such case. His strength was unquestionable, but his opponent was too weak—he didn't even have time to go all out before it ended.

So, among the promoted were the standouts, and others with similar strength were still left waiting.

Kajiyama Ri was barely among the latter. His abilities had just reached the lower threshold of chunin level. Without an evenly matched opponent, it was difficult for him to show his full power.

After the matches ended, Kajiyama, Kawakita, and Chiko were about to leave the training field together when they were stopped by a proctor.

The proctor was sent by Ikura—but only to summon Chiko.

So, Chiko had no choice but to entrust her sister Kotake to her two teammates while she went to meet Ikura.

Chiko wasn't too surprised. Given her performance and the attention she'd received, she expected some sort of follow-up.

But when Ikura told her that Tsuchikage Onoki wanted to see her—she couldn't help but cry out in shock.

The Tsuchikage?!

Leader of Iwagakure, said to be one of the strongest shinobi in the world.

Yes—according to Iwa propaganda, that was the truth.

After all, Onoki wielded the only known Dust Release, a Kekkei Tōta. In terms of jutsu tier alone, it was the ultimate.

Unlike the outlier Ishiro, most ordinary shinobi of Iwa had never seen the Tsuchikage up close—except in public ceremonies.

To them, Onoki was a powerful and mysterious figure.

And now, that god-like man wanted to meet her?

Chiko was understandably overwhelmed.

Ikura, knowing what she was feeling, calmly explained everything to her on the way to the Tsuchikage's office.

He also took the opportunity to teach her about the process of breaking through to jōnin.

The girl who had just been celebrating becoming a chunin now found herself dazed once again—her future suddenly clearer and brighter.

Still in a daze, Chiko followed Ikura all the way to the Tsuchikage Tower, where she was granted an audience with Onoki.

Onoki studied her briefly before speaking.

"Chiko Tomoe, right? You're just like your teacher. Achieving a key breakthrough at such a young age."

"This is wartime, and I need morale-boosters. I plan to publicize your advancement. I hope you'll understand."

Chiko nodded automatically, unsure if she even fully grasped what was being said.

But if the Tsuchikage said it, it had to be right.

"As compensation, you may select one B-rank ninjutsu—free of charge."

This was a rare privilege. Even Ishiro and Ikura hadn't received such treatment in their youth.

Though Onoki claimed it was compensation for using her as a symbol, it was also to make up for the village's long-standing neglect of her potential.

He didn't want her, a budding genius, to carry resentment toward the village—regardless of how loyal she might seem now.

This time, Chiko fully understood.

The moment she heard she could receive a free B-rank jutsu, she almost jumped with joy.

Her ninjutsu development had been stuck. In this respect, Kajiyama had it easier—thanks to Ishiro knowing multiple high-level Water Release jutsu and guiding him through them.

But Ishiro didn't know Wind Release.

Chiko, with her limited chakra reserves, hadn't been given the one B-rank wind jutsu Ishiro had.

Thus, her development had hit a major wall—a lack of exposure.

Broader perspective is everything when developing new jutsu.

For example, Ishiro's Water Cutting Blade was inspired by the Water Whip.

Chiko had mastered six C-rank Wind Release jutsu taught by Ishiro, and all her attempted jutsu creation had been based on them.

Frankly, it was laughable.

Fortunately, even if Ishiro didn't know Wind Release, he still had sharp insight and had introduced Chiko to various canonical wind techniques.

That had allowed her to keep developing—barely.

But she was still facing a bottleneck.

Now that I've broken through to the jōnin path, Chiko thought, my chakra capacity will grow fast.

Once that happens, Ishiro-sensei should let me learn that B-rank Wind Release. I'll have two in total!

Her eyes lit up with hope.

The meeting with Onoki was short. After a few parting words, he let Ikura escort her out.

Once they exited the Tsuchikage Tower, Chiko rushed off to find her teammates and sister to share the good news.

---

The next day, Kajiyama's bad luck continued—his opponent was even weaker than his first-round foe. He still wasn't promoted.

It wasn't until Day 3 that things turned around.

His opponent was the equally unfortunate prodigy Mikami Aya.

Maybe this was Ikura's arrangement, but many capable genin were now matched with opponents who could push them.

After seeing both Kawakita and Maruyama promoted despite their duel, everyone had realized something:

A good opponent was a blessing. Winning didn't matter as much.

When Kajiyama and Mikami saw each other, both breathed a sigh of relief—and began their match in earnest.

Mikami Aya was the same age as Maruyama and one of the youngest participants.

While Maruyama's edge was his bloodline limit, Mikami's strength lay in her ninja beast companion.

Iwagakure had very few ninja beast clans, and even fewer ninja beasts.

That was why Shironeko cat companion had been so highly valued.

Mikami hailed from one such rare clan. Her ninja beast was an armadillo.

Though still in its growth stage, it was fast and specialized in piercing attacks. Most genin couldn't withstand it.

And she didn't fight alone—Mikami herself was also a capable shinobi.

Kajiyama had watched her battles over the past two days.

He remembered the armadillo clearly—while its overall strength wasn't yet at chunin level, its speed and power were already there.

For a ninjutsu-type shinobi like Kajiyama, that was the worst kind of match-up.

So, from the beginning, he adopted a counterattack strategy.

He began with a Water Shockwave, altering the terrain.

Armadillos preferred dry rocky ground. The water disrupted both Mikami and her beast's rhythm.

Though they dodged the initial attack, Mikami quickly realized what had happened.

"Damn... we walked into it."

But Kajiyama didn't press forward.

Instead, he cast Water Clone Jutsu—a rare and taxing technique.

Seeing this, Mikami cursed herself for not reacting sooner.

Letting a ninjutsu user prepare at their own pace was a rookie mistake.

Without delay, Mikami and the armadillo circled left and right, attempting a pincer maneuver.

She assumed the clones were to even the numbers—so they'd fight 1v1.

But Kajiyama had other plans.

His water clone formed hand seals and cast Water Wall.

To Mikami's disbelief, a circular water barrier surrounded both Kajiyama and his clone.

That's when she realized his real intent: to create a protected zone where he could cast high-level attacks.

Not wanting to give him that chance, Mikami tested the wall with pincer attacks from both sides—only to see the barrier regenerate.

That was one of Kajiyama's recent innovations: a self-repairing ring-shaped Water Wall.

Unless overwhelmed by an extremely powerful strike, it could sustain itself as long as chakra allowed.

Did Mikami have such power? Yes—but only through a combination attack.

She and the armadillo regrouped.

Then, the beast climbed onto her back.

Mikami retreated slightly, then charged forward. Halfway through, she curled into a ball, enveloped by the armadillo's shell.

Together, they formed a spinning, high-speed projectile.

WHAM!

The sphere struck the water barrier.

The outer layer—hardened by two chakra sources—grinded the barrier down in seconds.

Then—BOOM! The Water Wall shattered.

But once they emerged on the other side, surrounded by misty water vapor—they realized something was off.

Before they could split apart, a high-pressure water thread shot up from below and wrapped around them—binding them tightly like a cocoon.

When the mist finally cleared, the proctor saw the two unharmed—just bound—and let out a breath of relief.

Then, the announcement:

"Kajiyama Ri wins!"

Only then did Kajiyama release the water thread and let out a deep sigh.

This match had weighed heavily on him.

Both of his teammates had passed in one try, yet he—the acting team leader—was the last.

But now, it was finally over.

And today, his performance had definitely earned him the promotion.

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