Chapter 179: Orochimaru: I've Finally Found the Reincarnations of Indra and Asura!

"Gentle Fist Technique: Eight Trigrams, 128 Palms of Defense!"

Hinata stood firm, her arms moving swiftly. Due to the speed, her arms created numerous afterimages, resembling the Thousand-Armed Kannon!

In an instant, all the attacks directed at her were blocked by her powerful chakra, and even sliced apart by the chakra threads emitted from her fingertips!

Physical weapons like blades and needles were one thing, but even the chakra wind wall she formed managed to keep out flames!

"Is this... a Gentle Fist technique she developed herself?" Among the spectators, many had come to watch the battle, and of course, Hiashi Hyuga was present. His face showed surprise as he observed Hinata's technique.

The Eight Trigrams Palms was the Hyuga clan's ultimate move, capable of launching a continuous string of attacks.

In the Eight Trigrams Zone, as long as the first strike hit the target, the subsequent attacks would follow seamlessly, until the entire technique was completed in one fluid motion!

Even mastering the basics of this palm technique was an achievement within the Hyuga clan!

But this move... was it a new variant based on the traditional Gentle Fist?

Hiashi could see that this was an all-in-one offensive and defensive technique. Its greatest advantage was its ability to fight multiple enemies simultaneously, while also possessing a defensive effect similar to the Rotation technique!

When did Hinata gain such power?

Was it something that young Akira taught her? Or did she develop it on her own? Hiashi couldn't help but feel both curious and amazed!

Had he been neglecting his eldest daughter? Her Eight Trigrams technique had already reached the level of 128 strikes?

"No wonder she's the woman Uchiha Akira has set his sights on. Her strength is impressive!"

Others watching the fight couldn't help but marvel at Hinata's display of the Gentle Fist technique.

Aside from the Uchiha clan, she was the princess of Konoha's Hyuga clan, wielding the power of the Byakugan's bloodline!

It seemed like only she was truly a match for Uchiha Akira within Konoha.

Ignoring what the spectators were thinking, after defending against the puppet's attacks with her Eight Trigrams technique, Hinata seized the opportunity when Kankuro's puppet was unable to launch another attack. Using the Eight Trigrams Footwork, she swiftly closed in on Kankuro!

Then, she unleashed a traditional Eight Trigrams, 64 Palms on him!

The final strike sent Kankuro flying, sealing his chakra network and preventing him from manipulating his chakra any further!

"Whew…" After completing both Eight Trigrams techniques, Hinata let out a deep breath.

Whoosh!

However, Kankuro managed to gather the last bit of his remaining chakra!

With a flick of his finger, a small blade shot out from the broken puppet's fingertip, silently speeding toward Hinata's back.

The attack was swift and silent!

But just as the blade was about to hit her, Hinata twisted her body, dodging the attack perfectly!

"I've lost…" Kankuro said helplessly, realizing that his final attack, which he had pinned his hopes on, was dodged.

His sneak attack had been unnecessary.

With Konoha's Byakugan, there was no difference between attacking from behind or from the front!

With a 360-degree field of vision, there was no such thing as a sneak attack for a Hyuga clan member!

"The winner is Hinata Hyuga, from Konoha Village!" Hayate Gekko, the proctor, announced, and the Konoha villagers watching erupted into cheers!

No matter what, a Konoha ninja had won, and that was worth celebrating!

Amidst the cheers, Hinata turned to look at Uchiha Akira.

Akira smiled and gave her a thumbs-up!

Seeing this, Hinata's heart filled with sweetness. Fighting so hard was worth it for this moment, wasn't it?

While the two of them shared their little moment in front of the crowd, the matches continued!

After a few more contestants battled, it was finally Sasuke's turn to fight!

His opponent was a ninja from the Cloud Village, one who was on par with a Jonin!

What followed was Sasuke's personal show of strength!

Once a member of the Uchiha clan activated their Three-Tomoe Sharingan, they were undoubtedly at Jonin-level strength!

And thanks to the nature of the Sharingan, Sasuke had no weaknesses in ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu, even among other Jonin!

Cloud Village ninjas specialized in Lightning Release techniques, but Sasuke was also highly skilled in Lightning Release. Having copied several variations of the Chidori from Akira, combined with his shuriken-throwing techniques, Sasuke completely overwhelmed his opponent!

In the end, Sasuke grabbed hold of his opponent and finished the match with a Chidori Stream, knocking out the Cloud ninja who was also skilled in Lightning Release!

"That technique... isn't that..." Seeing Sasuke win the battle so decisively, many people glanced over at Uchiha Akira.

The Chidori Spear and Chidori Stream—Akira had used these moves before. Now, Sasuke was using them too, showing how close the two must be.

But then again, they were both from the Uchiha clan, so it wasn't too surprising!

With two victories in a row for Konoha, people couldn't help but marvel at the strength of the village.

Unfortunately, in the final match, Rock Lee faced Gaara!

In that battle, Rock Lee opened six of the Eight Gates, showcasing incredible power. In the end, it was a double knockout, with Gaara barely winning by a narrow margin!

This battle brought the Eight Gates technique into the spotlight, and Gaara's victory over Rock Lee highlighted his own strength.

After all, if someone as powerful as Rock Lee could lose to Gaara, it showed just how formidable Gaara's sand manipulation was!

And of course, this only further emphasized the power of Uchiha Akira!

At first, many people thought Gaara's strength wasn't that great when they saw him get defeated by Akira in one move.

But now they realized that Gaara was actually incredibly powerful. It was just that Uchiha Akira's strength was even more terrifying!

For someone like Akira to defeat Gaara in one move?

"As expected of the legendary Uchiha Akira. Seven years ago, he took one of the Tsuchikage's legs. His power is truly unfathomable!" One of the Mist Village's ninjas glanced at Akira, who was serving as the chief examiner, his heart filled with shock.

Akira's name was already widely known, but given that he was only 14 or 15 years old, it was hard to see him as the legendary ninja people spoke of.

After the individual battles concluded, no one was eliminated. Instead, each team earned points based on wins and losses!

With Konoha having two wins and one loss, they were tied with the Cloud Village for first place, followed by the Sand and Stone Villages.

In last place was the Mist Village!

Akira then announced that the final exam would be a team battle!

The results of the team battle, combined with the points from the individual battles, would determine the team with the highest score, who would then pass the exam and become Jonin!

In other words, out of the 12 teams participating in the Jonin exam, only one team could successfully become Jonin!

This public joint exam, whether for Chunin or Jonin, was a prestigious competition. Winning against the elite of other villages was incredibly valuable!

Just like when Uchiha Akira was seven years old and took first place in the individual battles, earning the title of genius across the entire shinobi world!

There was one more day of rest. Today's individual battles sparked much discussion.

Many were also reflecting on Uchiha Akira's strength, especially after seeing Gaara's power.

Akira, Sasuke, and Gaara were all roughly the same age, and Sasuke and Gaara were already considered geniuses in the shinobi world!

But Akira's strength far exceeded both of them. He defeated Gaara in a single move!

The saying was true: There are two types of geniuses in the shinobi world.

One type is Uchiha Akira. The other is every other genius besides Uchiha Akira!

"It's unbelievable, isn't it? With a talent like Akira's, how is he not the reincarnation of Indra?" Orochimaru, watching the battles, couldn't understand.

"Sasuke, your strength has grown a lot recently!" After the second exam ended, everyone began to leave, and Naruto approached Sasuke, shouting.

"Of course! I was the top student in class, and you were just the dead last. How could I let you surpass me?" Sasuke replied confidently.

"Heh heh heh, you may be a Chunin now, but I'm already a Jonin!" Naruto grinned and suddenly reminded him.

"Damn it, you idiot!" With that one line, Sasuke was instantly triggered.

Orochimaru watched the two youngsters bickering and couldn't help but reflect, "Ah, youth is wonderful!"

Although his Living Corpse Reincarnation technique allowed him to switch to younger bodies, he would never regain that youthful mindset.

"Hmm? Wait a second…" Just as Orochimaru was feeling sentimental, something clicked in his mind!

Rivals who love to compete? Wasn't that how people described Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha? They were the reincarnations of Asura and Indra!

Now that he thought about it, Naruto's goofy and affable personality was almost identical to Hashirama's!

Could Naruto be the reincarnation of Asura?

Thinking carefully, it seemed very possible!

And Sasuke… could he be the reincarnation of Indra?

Their ages lined up!

Moreover, Sasuke was an Uchiha. Among the current Uchiha, aside from Akira, Sasuke had the most potential!

Was the blood used in the experiment to fuse with the First Hokage's cells from Uchiha Sasuke?

After thinking it over, Orochimaru estimated that there was an 80% chance he was right!

Of course, he'd need to confirm it.

With a thought, Orochimaru began to follow Sasuke…

*********Announcement**************

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