Chapter 112: Illusion Technique

In a fairly large building.

A match was taking place.

Three days had passed, and those who had passed the second exam were gathered here for the final selection process.

The Genin who had made it this far drew lots to determine their opponents and proceeded through rounds of eliminations.

Except for the unlucky ones who had obtained the mission items in the previous exam but had lost their combat abilities, everyone with some fight left in them participated in this round.

The rule was simple: just defeat your opponent to advance to the next round until only one person remained.

Of course, the examiners would also judge whether one could qualify as a Chunin based on their performance.

By now, over a dozen matches had taken place.

And currently, in the arena stood Hitsugaya Uchiha!

His opponent had quite the fateful connection to him!

It was Tsurugi Shimura, someone he had fought once in the small woods back in the Ninja Academy.

No one expected that they would meet again in this Chunin Exam and become opponents once more.

In the spacious arena, two figures were constantly entangled.

In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged several rounds of attacks.

Upon separating, it was clear that Tsurugi Shimura was at a noticeable disadvantage.

Sweat had started to bead on his forehead.

On the other hand, Hitsugaya looked relaxed and composed.

"Damn it! I will defeat you this time and erase my previous shame!"

Looking at the younger Hitsugaya Uchiha, Tsurugi couldn't help but grind his molars, recalling the humiliation he faced from his previous loss against Hitsugaya.

Since that match, he hadn't slacked off at all. Yet, facing Hitsugaya again, the result seemed the same.

Those Uchiha guys really are something!

But Hitsugaya, on the opposing side, was not giving it as much thought.

The previous schoolyard brawl was just a spontaneous act for him, not something he particularly cared about. It was merely a diversion in his training and life.

He hadn't paid special attention to his defeated opponent either.

Seeing that Tsurugi was about to launch into a long speech, Hitsugaya decisively interrupted him and began forming hand signs.

"Illusion Art: Feather Sleep"

As the hand signs finished, despite being mentally prepared, Tsurugi's vision started filling with white feathers.

His mind spiraled out of control, and his limbs gradually weakened...

"This time... I've lost again..."

"Damn Uchiha..."

In his last moment of consciousness, Tsurugi saw Hitsugaya turning away without hesitation and the Uchiha clan fan emblem on his back...

"Winner! Hitsugaya Uchiha!"

Seeing Tsurugi fall into unconsciousness, the examiner, Minato Namikaze, announced the result without hesitation.

Hitsugaya then walked over to the stands where his teammates were waiting.

They had only seen him making the hand signs and completely missed how the illusion technique was executed.

This made them re-evaluate Hitsugaya's threat level even higher.

As for why it's "again"?

That's because of Hitsugaya's recent actions in the previous exam.

In the Forest of Death, he lit a bonfire that not only attracted waves of ninjas but also the beasts lurking in the forest!

If not for the timely intervention of the proctors, some unlucky ones might have become prey for those beasts.

Although he collected the mission items in one go, his notoriety spread.

All the Genin knew that the Uchiha clan had produced a monster this time.

One with tremendous strength!

Watching Hitsugaya easily defeat his opponent solidified this reputation.

The difficulty of performing an illusion technique was much higher than ordinary elemental jutsu.

And Hitsugaya's seamless execution had everyone in the arena baffled. They only saw him forming hand signs, followed by his opponent collapsing.

This was indeed troublesome!

Illusion techniques typically required visual, auditory, hand gestures, or other cues to cast.

But Hitsugaya had performed without any apparent tells, defeating his opponent effortlessly, which seemed unfair.

"Really envious!"

"When I awaken my Sharingan, I won't be any weaker than you!"

Seeing Hitsugaya defeat his opponent so easily, Uchiha Enji couldn't help but express his envy.

Uchiha Tetsuo, beside him, nodded in agreement.

These two weren't in the best shape at the moment.

Enji was doing okay, but Tetsuo was in worse condition!

The main reason was the big battle they fought a few nights ago.

Although the three occupied a strategic position, the teams attracted by the bonfire exceeded Hitsugaya's expectations.

They were challenged by five different teams, though thankfully not all at once.

Otherwise, Hitsugaya and his team wouldn't have handled it!

And those were just the teams that revealed themselves. There were likely many more lurking in the shadows.

Though Hitsugaya dealt with most of the opponents, Tetsuo and Enji, as teammates, didn't remain idle.

After the battle, Tetsuo, being the main tank, was severely injured.

Enji was also wounded!

However, after a few days of rest, they were mostly recovered.

Tetsuo's condition was still not ideal!

Fortunately, though, those teams left them with a good haul of mission items.

And Hitsugaya successfully traded with some "friendly" village comrades hiding in the shadows for the items they needed...