Chapter 42: Seitenjo and Panda Eyes

"Long time no see, Yagyu."

As Ino, Hinata, and Sakura went off to chat, Shikamaru Nara, walking in with his hands behind his head, greeted Yagyu.

Taking a glance at the other examinees around, who looked wary and fearful, with some even having tear-streaked faces, Shikamaru quickly understood what had happened. "Looks like you gave them quite the scare."

"Long time no see, Shikamaru, Choji," Yagyu smiled. "I was just reminding them whose home turf this is."

After that, Yagyu greeted Naruto and Sasuke, who had approached as well, "Long time no see, Naruto, Sasuke."

Seeing that Yagyu hadn't forgotten about him, Naruto's face lit up with joy, but just as he was about to raise his hand to respond, Sasuke suddenly stepped forward, standing before Yagyu and looking up at him. Although Yagyu was a good deal taller, Sasuke still wore a proud and defiant expression. "I'm glad you showed up for the Chunin Exams. This time, I'll show you the true power of the Uchiha clan."

"You seem to have awakened the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai," Yagyu remarked with a gentle smile. "I'm curious to see the power of the Sharingan as well. I hope we face each other in the exams."

"You will," Sasuke said confidently.

At that moment, Sasuke seemed to revert to how he had been back in the fifth grade. Ever since losing to Yagyu in their no-holds-barred sparring match back then, Sasuke, the once-proud genius, had stayed silent for a whole year. At that time, he had given up hope of beating the monstrous Yagyu in any fundamental skill.

But now, Sasuke no longer saw Yagyu as unbeatable. Since awakening his Sharingan, with both eyes developing into the two-tomoe Sharingan, Sasuke had come to realize the vast gap between those with Kekkei Genkai and those without.

To Sasuke, Yagyu was just a commoner. If he was still relying on the same old tricks, then he no longer deserved to be considered a worthy rival.

Still, Sasuke was eager to fight Yagyu again, to regain the dignity he felt he had lost over the years.

Unaware of Sasuke's thoughts, Yagyu might have chuckled had he known and thought of the phrase "Seitenjo!" — implying the clear skies had returned, and Sasuke felt he was once again in control.

Yagyu didn't dampen Sasuke's confidence. A little confidence is good, Yagyu thought. He'll keep challenging me, which will only increase the chances of unlocking Indra's Chakra.

"Let's not disturb others any longer. Let's find our seats," Yagyu said, turning to his teammates. At his words, Ino, Hinata, and Sakura quickly returned from their conversation.

With that, the three squads set off to find their seats.

Thanks to Yagyu's earlier intimidation, their gathering didn't provoke any anger, and Kabuto Yakushi found no excuse to join in and show off his acting skills.

Along the way, any examinee Yagyu glanced at quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze. Only a few, who had avoided falling victim to his genjutsu earlier and were confident in their abilities, met Yagyu's eyes with bold determination.

Before long, Yagyu found his assigned seat.

But when he saw who his seatmate was, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

Just as he sat down, a voice filled with restrained excitement reached his ears, "What's your name?"

Turning to the boy beside him, who carried a large gourd on his back and had dark circles under his eyes, Yagyu smiled and answered knowingly, "My name is Yagyu. And you?"

"My name is Gaara."

Gaara's expression was emotionless, but the excited, bloodthirsty tone of his voice made it seem as though he were wearing a menacing grin. "You're strong—a worthy opponent to kill."

"I can smell a strong scent of sand coming from you. Your face and body are protected by a sand armor, aren't they?" Yagyu teased with a slightly mocking tone. "As expected of a shinobi from the Land of Wind—you certainly know how to play with sand."

Gaara's expression didn't change, but internally, he was a little shocked and even more excited.

This guy had instantly seen through his Sand Armor. He was definitely different from the others. If he could spill this guy's blood, Mother would be very happy.

At that thought, the sand and the sinister aura surrounding Gaara began to stir, causing his siblings, Temari and Kankuro, who had been keeping a close eye on him, to look alarmed, ready to rush over and calm him down.

Just then, Yagyu said casually, "If you attack now, you'll be disqualified from the exam."

Gaara's aggressive energy momentarily faltered before slowly subsiding.

"I'll kill you in the next round," Gaara said flatly.

"You won't be able to," Yagyu shook his head with a smile. "My abilities just so happen to counter yours. Unless you're far stronger than me."

Gaara fell silent.

But in his mind, Yagyu had already surpassed Sasuke as his primary target.

Bang!

The sound of a popping balloon echoed through the exam room as a large cloud of white smoke appeared at the front of the room.

When the smoke cleared, the proctor, Morino Ibiki, stood at the podium with his team of exam supervisors.

Since no conflicts had erupted before the exam, Morino Ibiki wasted no time. After explaining the rules of the exam, the first stage of the Chunin Exams officially began.

As the exam papers were handed out, most of the examinees looked troubled.

Even Yagyu frowned slightly.

While the questions on the test weren't difficult for him, they were much more advanced than anything they had studied in their sixth year at the academy.

Understanding the real challenge of this exam, Yagyu relaxed.

If the questions weren't this difficult, they wouldn't be able to push the examinees to cheat.

With that in mind, Yagyu picked up the pen provided and began answering the questions.

Before long, the examinees started using all sorts of tricks and techniques to copy answers from others.

Even Gaara, seated beside Yagyu, used his Third Eye technique with sand to cheat.

Yagyu glanced at Gaara, a small smile playing on his lips. He was curious what kind of expression Gaara had beneath his sand armor when he saw the exam questions.

Meanwhile, several examinees attempted to copy Yagyu's answers.

Yagyu noticed their methods but paid them no mind, allowing them to cheat freely.

The real challenge of this test was yet to be revealed: the infamous tenth question, designed to mentally torment the weak. Those unable to handle the pressure would choose to forfeit.

The other questions were merely supplementary.

Still, Yagyu's habit of aiming for the top made him unwilling to leave the test blank, despite knowing its true purpose.

He was always cautious, after all. If some kind of unexpected "butterfly effect" happened and he ended up failing, it would be an embarrassing joke.

Before long, over half of the allotted exam time had passed.

"Everyone, put your pens down," Morino Ibiki's voice rang out, signaling that it was time to reveal the tenth question.

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