Chapter 45: Flame Wheel

"To reiterate, there are absolutely no rules. The contest continues until one side admits defeat. However, when I judge that continuation is impossible, the match will stop there. Do both of you understand?" The proctoring Jonin repeated as he watched the two contestants of the first fight carefully observe each other.

On one side stood Hana with her three Ninken, in her standard gear, all ready for combat. Although her outward appearance didn't really change during this last month, her demeanor underwent a slight change. If Tekku had to describe it, he would say his teammate felt more feral and at the same time confident than before.

Her opponent was Atsui from Kumogakure, the younger brother of Samui, who apparently had recently become a Jonin, as she was one of the two guards accompanying the muscular form of the Fourth Raikage. She probably was glad for the opportunity to support her younger brother, even though she wouldn't show it with her cold exterior.

Atsui, meanwhile, was the complete opposite of her. He was hotheaded and eager for the fight to start. But he was different from his loud teammate, as he knew when to be calm and collected, which was a good trait for any Shinobi. He had neck-length blond hair worn in an asymmetrical bowl cut style and green eyes. His attire consisted of a sleeveless version of the Kumogakure Uniform, and he had a long, white-hilted Katana strapped to his back. He also had bandages on his forearms, shin guards, and the kanji for 'heat' tattooed on his left shoulder.

"Let's get this hot match started. I can't wait for some fiery action. The faster we go, the faster I am in the next round," announced Atsui with a confident grin at Hana.

"Growl we will see, blondie. I wouldn't talk too big or you might regret it," growled Hana with her three Ninken supporting her as she stared back at her opponent.

"Oh boy, she became more aggressive. What kind of training did she do? And why is that guy using fire puns?" he thought as he tried to listen to what they said from above them in the spectator stands, where he and the other Genin participating in the Finals were watching the fights.

Seeing that both fighters were ready, the proctor shouted, "First round, third exam. Konohagakure ninja Hana Inuzuka against Kumogakure ninja Atsui. Start!" before jumping to the side, making space for both of them.

Having learned that any moment of hesitation could cost her life, Hana instantly pulled a smoke bomb out of her bag and threw it in front of her, effectively creating a distracting smoke screen. Atsui wasn't far behind, already having his Katana in his hand. Instead of rushing into the smoke, he created more distance from it by jumping backward towards the walls of the arena to have more space to react.

They didn't have to wait long to see what Hana did inside the smoke. Three whirls banished the smoke as they headed towards the Kumo Genin from three different sides. She had used the opening the smoke screen gave her to activate her Four Legs technique and Beast Human Clone technique, transforming her Ninken into clones of herself, allowing them to use her different Inuzuka-style techniques like the Gatsuga directly against her opponent.

Atsui instantly knew that he wouldn't be able to stop the attack with pure physical force, as the power behind the whirling attack was too strong to stop directly. He decided to dodge them by seeking protection between the trees close to him at the wall of the arena.

The three Gatsuga whirls mowed the trees down but were not strong enough to directly harm Atsui. They came to a halt, revealing three Hanas.

'Wait, three?!' realized Atsui in the last moment as his danger sense warned him of an attack behind him. Instinctively, his Katana ignited with fiery chakra, becoming surrounded by flames. 'Cloud-Style Flame Beheading.' He called out the technique in his mind, imbuing the blade with fire before slashing it in the direction of the incoming attack, creating a wall of fire in front of him, blocking any direct attack path towards him if the enemy didn't want to be burned.

"Heh, nice try, blondie!" shouted Hana aggressively from inside her Fang Rotating Fang, an attack that allowed her to roll forward in a buzz-saw-like shape. In the last months before the Chunin Exam, she had worked very hard to create a new technique based on her existing clan ones.

Tekku had given her a good starting point for such a technique, but no matter how she practiced, she didn't have the required chakra control to perform a fire technique while using one of her clan techniques. She had managed to imbue her clan techniques with fire chakra, but no matter how much she tried, she didn't succeed in performing the last step—to ignite it.

But she had a workaround that made it a technique requiring some preparation and foreplanning. She simply used already existing fire to ignite the jutsu. Using the flames Atsui summoned to protect himself, she ignited her Fang Rotating Fang and shouted, "Fang Rotating Inferno!" as a massive wheel of fire ran towards Atsui, hitting him head-on as he was unprepared for that turn of events and took a moment to catch his breath.

The force of the technique caused only slight burns on him, as Hana stopped feeding the flames with her fire chakra right before she hit him, and pushed him forcefully into the wall, knocking the blonde boy unconscious.

Seeing that her opponent was knocked out, the proctor announced, "We have a winner! Hana Inuzuka proceeds to the next fight!"

- Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi - Shinobi -

In the Kage stand, the Fourth Raikage, Ay, sensed the worry of his guard, Samui. "Don't worry, the Inuzuka girl stopped the attack just before she hit him. He will be fine after some care from the medics," he said while staring at the arena. "Hmm, I don't think Atsui is ready yet to become a Chunin. He showed quite good battle intelligence, but he simply lacked the experience to handle the unexpected. Since when do the Inuzuka use this kind of technique?"

"Hohoho, I believe that jutsu is Hana's own invention. This surprised even me. I have to agree with your assessment. What young Atsui showed isn't enough to become Chunin yet, but he is on a good path. You should be proud of your younger brother, Samui-san," said the Third Hokage, sneaking in a glance at the massive chest.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," replied Samui in her usual cold voice.

"What about Hana Inuzuka? I'm not sure she is Chunin material yet," injected the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, before explaining further. "She may have the battle powers and showed a bit of her ability to plan strategies, but her temper is still too wild to be a good team leader. They have to be collected and analytical."

"Hmm, I have to agree with you for now, Kazekage-san, but we have another match with her to come to a clear consensus. Now that she has revealed her technique, it will be interesting to see how she reacts if she doesn't have the element of surprise," analyzed Hiruzen while taking a breath from his pipe.

"I agree," nodded Ay. A fiery temper wasn't something that should disqualify someone from becoming a Chunin. After all, he had a fiery temper himself and he was a Kage. The spectators watched as the arena got ready for the second fight.

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