The next day the second round ended and we were ordered to gather inside a large arena like room. It reminded me about the arena that was in the building of Konoha. Just more blue in its colouration. Ours and the other teams Sensei were present and were congratulating their team for the advancement. But then had to step back when the Mizukage came to the front. He looked strange, it was the clam guy from the war against Madara.

One of the old resurrected Kage. He had a moustache and wore the Mizukage robes. I think he didn't like the Tsuchikage. At least they were bickering during the whole war, I don't know how much of canon still matches with this world. Tobirama is still the second Hokage, something that should not be the case if I remember canon correctly.

I looked around the gathered Genin. There was the Kaguya Jinchuriki of Kiri, the girl was staring at the front, trying hard to not look at anything or show any emotions. The boy was not present, did he fail the second task? That would be embarrassing and may be painful for him. I know that Jinchuriki are rarely treated like humans.

Sadly, I also knew that I had no way to interfere. They aren't Konoha Ninja and we aren't allies. I might have to fight them in the exam and possibly even beyond in case we ever face each other during a mission or at war. I never liked the way Konoha treated Naruto, who abuses a weapon of mass destruction? That's just silly.

Tsunade and her team were standing behind me, they were starring at the Kage with a look of respect for a foreign celebrity. My own team stood at my side, the same expression in their eyes. A Kage is the pinnacle of every Ninja. Almost every Ninja has them as their ultimate goal or role model.

I myself don't want to be a Kage, but having the strength of one would be nice. This Kage was no exception, he has rightfully earned his title. He was more than four times as strong as I. This were his attributes and Chakra control, you can imagine how much Chakra he has with such stats.

Name; Gengetsu Hoozuki

Player Title; Mizukage of Kirigakure

Bloodline; Body of a Hoozuki

Age. 39 Years

Live Points; 100%

Chakra Points; 100%

Stamina Points; 100%

Level; 235

Chakra Control; 084%

Nature Chakra Control; 000%

Fire; 035%

Water; 091%

Earth; 000%

Wind; 064%

Medical; 00%

Lightning; 000%

Strength; 2350

Endurance; 2560

Reflex; 2820

Intelligence; 3570

Luck; 40

Charisma; 325

“Greetings Genin, I am happy to see so many of you are from my village. From over a hundred teams only ten are left. You can be proud to be part of these ten.

Some of you might know this already, others not, but the Chunin exams are used to have mock wars between the villages. Many important people will come for the finals, people who have money and will supply missions for us Ninja. They will watch how you contest with other peers from different villages. Your performance will decide to whom their missions will be sent.

You are the next generation of Ninja for your village, your strength will represent the strength of your village. Show your strength now and make your villages proud. After all, showing that you are strong may prevent war.

However, we nonetheless have a problem with your numbers. There will be a tournament of one against one fights. And having forty participants would be too high of a number. The people who come have little time and only want to see the best. The first two tests were meant to filter out the bad seeds. You are what remains, but we only want the best, those that are above the rest.

That is why we will now hold preliminary rounds. The matches will be decided randomly.” The Mizukage stepped back and a Jonin in standard Kiri uniform stepped to the front. Some of the present Genin were whispering about this unforeseen change and were bemoaning their lack of rest.

The man flooded the room with a brief burst of killing intent to shut everyone up and only began to speak when it was silent. “My name is Tokuga and I'll be the proctor for the preliminary rounds, as well as the finals. From now on the exam will be individual. That means that your teammates will continue even if you fail or quit. Is there anyone here who does not see himself able to continue? As a warning, the following fights are not required to but can end deadly.”

Slowly but surely hands were raised. Most of those who quit looked to be exhausted and not able to fight. A good decision on their side. Two of our own Genin from Konoha were among them. It was the team with the Hyuuga, the other team that came with us was nowhere to be seen. The Hyuuga looked for a short moment as if he would quit too but then remained expressionless. He, like his two surrendering teammates, was looking a little beat up and his Chakra was not at maximum capacity.

Those who decided to quit were escorted out, while the rest of us was ordered to watch from the balustrades. From the forty Genin, only eighteen were left. Quite a few decided that trying again would be a better idea than fighting others who are looking well-rested.

Kagami-sensei and Sarutobi were already waiting for us. Tsu-chan and her team stood close to us. The only other Konoha Genin has decided that our company was not up to his standards and was standing a little at the side. His Sensei was trying to give him some last-minute tips. I knew that he had to fight for his clan, even if he wasn't ready. By the expression on both his and his Sensei's face, they did too.

“I heard you were the first to arrive?” Asked Kagami-sensei with a proud look, he was also grinning at Sarutobi. The maybe future Hokage grumbled something and handed over a stack of Ryu.

“You were betting on who of us would solve the task first?” Asked Jiraiya with a strange expression. I think he had trouble deciding if he should be affronted or feeling proud. Proud because they were betting on when they would win, not if.

Sarutobi shrugged, before answering casually. “It's one of the perks of becoming a Genin Sensei. You don't want to know what we are betting on all the time.” Tsu-chan and Ariha were now also looking miffed.

“Fair enough,” I said and opened my hand to Kagami-sensei in a pay up gesture.

He looked at me as if I had become crazy. “What? Why should I give you money?” He then asked when it became obvious that I would not lower my arm.

“We did all the work. Pay up, half for Ariha, Sakumo and me,” I answered in a tone that told him that I was serious.

“You are my Genin,” he defended. He clearly had no intentions of paying us our hard-earned money.

I kept staring at him. “So you'd like me to tell Tobirama-Oji or Grandmother Mito that you two were betting on our survival of a highly lethal mission?” I asked casually. Sensei grumbled about blackmailing, before dividing the money into two halves and giving me one of them. I split it thrice and gave my teammates each their part.

Jiraiya was snickering at Sensei from the side but got cuffed over his head by his own Sensei, who looked at a contemplating Tsunade with a small hint of fear. They should have been more sneaky, we are Ninja, blackmail is our bread and butter.

“Look, the first fight is between Sakumo-kun and a Genin from Suna,” pointed Ariha out after storing her money away.

Sakumo looked at the screen as well and nodded to us once, before descending the stairs down to the arena. The Suna Genin was a boy with brown hair. He had a couple of scrolls on his hip and no other visible weapon.

They faced each other in the middle of the arena. The proctor started the match and both jumped back for some distance. Sakumo drew his sword and watched his foe with calculating eyes, while the Suna Genin pulled his scroll open and unsealed a doll.

It had the shape of a canine, just that this one was riddled with blades and weapons. There were the obvious weapons, like claws and teeth, but then there were others. Like a blade at the end of its long tail, or razor-sharp blades sticking out of its body. I'm sure there are also launchers for other weapons and all of them are probably poisoned as well.

Sakumo tested the waters first, he threw a bunch of Kunai and Shuriken at the Suna Genin. They were all intercepted by his puppet. It jumped into the way of the weapons and they harmlessly bounced off of the hardened wood.

The puppet jumped forward at Sakumo and opened its mouth before it reached him. Out came Senbon, they were evaded rather easily. But the puppet was then close enough to attack directly. Its claws were harder to deflect than normal weapons and it did not have to move realistically.

The puppeteer could control the puppet any way he liked. This one might only be a Genin, but the skill needed to control a puppet was not to scoff at. Any puppeteer that was able to use his puppet in a fight was quite skilled in Chakra control and multitasking.

Sakumo, however, was by far no normal Genin. He had a mastery over his sword that could be described as art. So he gracefully danced around the paw strike and cut into the neck of the puppet. His sword cut through the hardened wood and cut off the head of the dog puppet.

It sailed off and clattered to the ground, yet a headless puppet would not stop moving. The dog continued to attack. Sakumo evaded each strike while trying the keep the puppeteer in his view.

“He'll have to change his tactic, or else he will lose,” muttered Orochimaru from the side. I nodded in agreement. Sakumo knew that as well, but the puppeteer was good enough to keep him busy.

Suddenly, the cut off head rose up and opened its maw. The Senbon cannon inside activated and a bunch of Senbon were fired at the unprotected back of Sakumo. The shouted warning of Ariha came too late and Sakumo got hit by a few.

He did twist out of the main bulk, but two still managed to lodge themselves into his shoulder. Not a wound that would hinder him much, but Suna Ninja were known for their use of poison. Those Senbon are sure to be poisoned as well.

The Suna Genin smirked, which confirmed our worries. He also kept his puppet attacking, so that Sakumo had to move around, which speed the flow of the poison in his body up. Sakumo knew that he had to act fast or else he would lose.

A swing of his katana forced the puppet back. He then began a series of one-handed hand signs and finished by sucking in a big gulp of air, before spitting out a steady stream of fire. It burned strong but had realistically only a small chance of destroying the puppet. They were protected against fire, their wooden parts made this necessary.

Then again, the destruction of the puppet was not what Sakumo had intended to do. He made the flames higher and bigger to create a screen. The fire blocked the view of the puppeteer and forced him to retract his puppet for his own defence.

Sakumo used that to start another line of hand signs. There were more and needed more time to prepare, but the end result was also more rewarding. Once finished his sword began to glow in a bluish-white light. He poised it for a piercing attack and waited until the smoke cleared. He then pieced it at the Suna Genin and trusted his blade forward, thrice. “Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Strike!”

Three thunderbolts flew off of his blade with an inevitable speed at the Suna Genin. The Genin saw the danger and moved his puppet in front of himself, he knew that his only method of attack had to be sacrificed if he wanted to overcome the attack.

The first bold slammed into the puppet and destroyed most of its outer shell. It started to burn from the heat of the lighting and parts beneath its armour became visible. The second bold destroyed the puppet completely and shards exploded in every direction.

The Suna Genin had not stood still and was trying to jump away as well, but the third, and last, bolt still managed to slightly touch him. Which was all electricity needs, the Genin screamed in pain and his body began to spasm. A moment later he fell down and did not move any longer, parts of him were smoking.

“Winner Hatake Sakumo of Konoha,” announced the proctor after a moment. Sakumo bowed to the downed Genin and then was led to the side by a medic Ninja. He still had the poison within himself.

“For a moment I thought he would lose,” muttered Jiraiya.

“Well, Suna is known for their puppets and the poisoned weapons. He should have used distant attacks from the start. I don't know why he tried to fight the puppet with his sword,” commented Tsunade.

“Sakumo-kun loves his sword, he wants to beat his foes with only his sword skills. But, as was seen here, that is not always possible. He still aims to become the best swordsman in the world,” answered Ariha her, while looking at the rapidly changing screen. It stopped at the face of an Iwa Genin and then at Orochimaru's face.

“Good luck, Bastard,” said Jiraiya to the already walking Orochimaru. The quite snake-like teenager ignored his teammate and descended the stairs calmly. The fight between him and the Iwa Genin started with a quick bout of Taijutsu.

“What did I miss?” Asked Sakumo suddenly. He had come back from the medic. His skin tone was a little pale and he was sweating more than normal, but other than that looked okay.

“Nothing much, Orochimaru is fighting a Genin from Iwa. Any reason why you tried to win with only your sword?” I replied. The fight down below was not really interesting, Orochimaru was clearly the more skilled Genin.

“I wanted to know if I could, say is there a way to cut Chakra threads?” He answered. I thought about his question for a moment and made a visible thread.

“Try cutting it,” I suggested. He drew his sword and swung it at the thread. I felt how it connected with his blade and then move with it. It didn't get cut, but I would have to lengthen it if I had it connected to anything. “Add lightning Chakra,” I said when it became obvious that he wouldn't cut the thread. A second later his blade crackled with electricity and the Chakra thread got cut.

“So cutting them isn't impossible,” said Sakumo with a satisfied nod. He hasn't seen the problem. There was more than simply cutting them with a Chakra enhancement.

“Yes, but you only knew where it was because I made it visible. Chakra threads can be invisible, are most often even. You'll need to know where they are if you want to cut them. A skilled user can simply move them out of the way of your sword,” I told him a moment later. I made another thread, showed it to him and then willed the thread to become invisible.

“Any idea how I can do that?” He asked with a frown. The thread was now directly in front of his face and he wasn't noticing.

I knew that answer too, it will be hard to learn, but shouldn't be impossible. “They are Chakra, you might be able to sense them with enough training. Which will be quite hard, they feel the same as the user, who is normally quite close and sensing something this small and fine is hard.”

He nodded along. “Yes, I'll try to help you after the exam,” I added when he opened his mouth again. He smiled and nodded again in thanks. Meanwhile, down in the arena, Orochimaru had pinned his enemy to a nearby wall with an earthen spike Jutsu. The Iwa Genin did try to meld out of the spike with his own earth Chakra manipulation but found himself then starring into the pointy end of a Kunai. He had to surrender or would have lost an eye.

Tsunade cheered for Orochimaru and Jiraiya graced him with a “Well done, Bastard”. The monitor had begun its draw before Orochimaru was back up again. This time it settled on another Kumo Genin and one of the teammates of the Kiri Jinchuriki.

Their fight was over relatively quickly. The Kiri Genin was not truly on a Genin level, he might not even be a Genin at all. He had stats that were close to Tsunade or Jiraiya, while the Kumo Genin was truly on the level of a Genin. High Chunin against a Genin, the result was obvious.

The next fight was between a Genin from Uzushiogakure and Kiri. I didn't know that Uzushiogakure had Genin in the exam, apparently, there were some. This one was using a sword as was the Kiri Genin. They had a sword fight and Sakumo was very interested in it. In the end, the Uzushiogakure Genin won by using a water Jutsu on his body to catch the sword of the Kiri Genin. The momentary stop of the Kiri Genin allowed the other one to finish the fight.

The monitor changed again and stopped first at an Iwa Genin and then at Ariha. “Oh great, it's my turn.” She jumped over the fence with a few acrobatic stunts and landed in the middle of the arena. Her opponent took the slow route. They had to bow to each other and then the fight started, as well as ended.

“Why aren't they doing anything?” Asked Jiraiya when neither moved. Just then the Kiri Genin started to scream and fell backwards. Ariha was upon him within a second and held a knife to his throat.

“She had caught him inside a Genjutsu the moment they locked eyes before they bowed. Ariha has had a Genjutsu on her eyes the whole time. The Kiri Genin may have known that she is an Uchiha, but he thought he could look into her eyes when they aren't activated. He did not realize that she had them activated the whole time,” explained Kagami-sensei for him and his team.

“But the fights began three hours ago. Isn't it taking Chakra to have your eyes activated?” Followed Jiraiya right up.

“That would be true if she had them activated for the whole time. But she hasn't, she only had the Genjutsu over her eyes and then activated the Sharingan shortly before the fight started. Probably during her jump, the somersaults and twists distracted anyone from her eyes.” Jiraiya nodded in understanding and looked a little bit awed at Ariha for planning all this even before she had to fight.

“Come on, I want to fight.” Tsunade was starring intensely at the rapidly changing screen and was almost praying to be chosen. The silently muttered curse, when she wasn't, was funny. Instead, the second teammate of the Kaguya girl had to fight another Kumo Genin.

This time the Genin from Kuma was showing more skill. They held a rather long Jutsu battle. The Kiri Genin was using water Jutsu, while the Kumo Genin had mostly used electric Jutsu. Electricity was strength-wise above water and there wasn't much difference in skill. So it did not surprise us when an electric Jutsu and a water Jutsu clashed with the electric one coming out as the winner. The Kiri Genin got electrocuted and then punched in the face. He didn't get up after that and was disqualified.

The monitor began to move through the remaining participants and both Tsunade and Jiraiya were praying. The first to be chosen at all and the second to not be chosen against either me or Tsunade. In the end, neither of their prayers won. The next few fights were all between none Konoha Genin and held no character I have seen so far or could remember from the manga/anime.

It started to become boring when finally Tsunade got chosen to fight. She got to fight the last normal Kiri Genin. Only the Hyuuga, Jiraiya, the Kaguya and I were left. I hope I don't have to fight the Kaguya, there is not enough room to fight her here.

Anyway, Tsunade had also jumped down and needed to wait for her opponent. The moment the fight started she did not jump back to evaluate her opponent. Instead, she had rushed forward and swung her fist at the slightly surprised Kiri Genin.

Her fist met a block, but that wasn't something she cared about. She had already a good grasp on her strength technique and her hit had quite a bit of strength behind. The Kiri Genin didn't know what hit him. The hit of the slender looking girl had thrown him backwards and into the arena wall. There he had crashed into the hard stone with his back and was then buried under falling rubble.

With a groan, he climbed out of the broken wall and looked down at his broken arms. A single hit of Tsunade had thrown him through the room, broke his arms and destroyed a wall with his body. No one was surprised when he decided that surrendering would be the better option. Not when a normal hit could kill him.

Tsunade grinned smugly and gave me the victory sign. I smiled down at her. Even after years as a Genin, where she has seen much of the darker aspects of life, she was still the quirky and happy girl I am allowed to call my sister. “Good job Tsu-chan,” I called down with a smile of my own.

She beamed up at me, before jumping back up to us. The monitor began to change rapidly between the remaining fighters and I could hear Jiraiya's increasingly louder prayers. Alas, his luck couldn't hold a candle to mine.

“NOOO!” Jiraiya's shout of despair nicely underlined his face next to mine. Seems like I will have to fight him and not the Hyuuga or the Jinchuriki.

“Come Jiraiya-san,” I said lightly and with a friendly smile while patting him on the back. He didn't realize it then, but that was the start of his end.

Jiraiya nodded lifelessly and followed me down. Down in the arena, we bowed to each other and the fight got started by the proctor. Both of us jumped backwards and then mustered the other.

My analysis of his status showed that he had stats in the low two hundred now, some higher. He also has the title of Apprentice of Mount Myoboku. That means him summoning some toads is not impossible and they would be allowed to fight alongside him, as summoning is seen as one of the Ninja's skills and not allies.

Still, Jiraiya wasn't looking as if he believes in winning, at all. “Something wrong Jiraiya-san?” I asked when it became obvious that he wouldn't start the fight.

“Yeah, there is no fucking chance for me to win. You are stronger than the Bastard and I was never able to beat him,” shouted Jiraiya in an already defeated tone.

Now, I had two options, I could either beat him down like so many here expect me to or give him a chance to show how strong he is. Jiraiya is also still a member of Konoha, he might have his quirks, but he is a generally good guy.

Seems like it will be option two.