Chapter 418 Determination to Win

So, Shisui is participating in this Chunin Exams,” Anko said, a little surprised to hear the referee’s voice.

Anko hadn’t seen Shisui since he graduated, so she didn’t know he was directly participating in this Chunin Exams.

“Some students, from the same graduating class, become complacent after achieving a small result in the Grade Level Practical Exam, while others are already on the verge of becoming a Chunin. What a difference in the world,” Kotetsu Hagane sighed to himself.

Anko’s internal ‘troublemaker radar’ instinctively activated. Her gaze shifted from the center of the arena to Kotetsu Hagane sitting beside her.

She sensed hidden meaning in Kotetsu Hagane’s words.

“Kotetsu, you’re right to lecture me. I shouldn’t be arrogant because I made it into the Four Finals of the Grade Level Practical Exam. Shisui is truly a role model for us to learn from,” Izumo Kamizuki replied with a look of shame, as if Kotetsu Hagane’s words were directed at him.

A hint of guilt flashed across Anko’s face. She wondered if she was being too violent towards her comrades and should be more gentle.

Kotetsu Hagane gave Izumo Kamizuki a thumbs-up where Anko couldn’t see. Their coordination was excellent; this was their combined technique.

Izumo Kamizuki returned Kotetsu Hagane’s smile, then refocused his attention on the center of the arena. Shisui and Tekka were standing, having formed the Confrontation Seal, ready for the battle to begin.

Looking at the calm Shisui in front of him, Tekka’s heart was also surprisingly calm.

Although the battle hadn’t started yet, Tekka already knew the outcome.

Without a doubt, the winner would be Shisui, not him, Tekka.

The gap in their strength was too wide; Tekka couldn’t see a shred of hope for victory.

Unlike Obito, Tekka had known Shisui since Shisui was already a genius of the Uchiha Clan, so Tekka had no psychological burden about losing to Shisui. After all, he had never won against Shisui since childhood.

“Battle start!” the referee shouted, flashing back after seeing both ready.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Tekka swiftly formed hand signs, gathered Chakra, and spat a fireball at Shisui.

Even though this was a battle with no suspense, Tekka had to face it with full effort. This was the proper conduct of an Uchiha.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Shisui also liked to use the Great Fireball Technique as an opening Ninjutsu, and he immediately used it after the referee shouted “start.”

Although it was the same Ninjutsu, there were differences when different people used the same Ninjutsu. Many factors could affect the power of a Ninjutsu, such as the amount of Chakra, the level of Nature Transformation, and the proficiency of the Ninjutsu, all of which could influence the ultimate power of the Ninjutsu.

Shisui, who had awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and mastered Flame Breathing to a Constant State, naturally surpassed Tekka in all aspects. Tekka, seeing his fireball swallowed, could only try his best to dodge.

Having gained the advantage, Shisui naturally wouldn’t let Tekka dodge easily and immediately threw his Ninja tools.

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

Several Shuriken, thrown at tricky angles, successfully left wounds on Tekka.

“As expected of Shisui, he’s crushing him in all aspects,” Uchiha Inaho praised.

Although Tekka was in a sorry state, Uchiha Inaho knew it wasn’t Tekka’s fault. Shisui was simply too strong; even if he, a Chunin, went up against him, the result would be the same.

In Uchiha Inaho’s opinion, the current Shisui could probably already fight against a Jonin of the Uchiha Clan.

Under Shisui’s fierce onslaught, Tekka was powerless and fell within a minute.

“Uchiha Shisui wins,” the referee announced the battle’s result.

The audience instantly became lively.

Uchiha Shisui had a reputation as a genius within the Uchiha Clan and was recognized as a super genius by the entire Ninja Academy, but throughout Konoha, Shisui wasn’t truly famous.

After all, Uchiha Ninja wouldn’t boast about their own genius to outsiders, and the Ninja Academy’s influence was limited. Few people paid attention to Ninja Academy students unless their identity was very special.

But after the first match, it was different. Anyone with a bit of discernment could see that Shisui’s strength was not simple.

However, due to the opponent’s strength, they couldn’t judge whether Shisui’s strength could reach the level of Kakashi and Obito.

“First, an Uchiha Obito popped up, and now another Uchiha Shisui. The Uchiha Clan truly lives up to its name as Konoha’s top noble clan,” a Ninja couldn’t help but exclaim.

It was incredibly difficult for commoner Ninja to produce a genius of this caliber, truly one in a thousand, and the Uchiha Clan had produced two consecutively.

Listening to others praise Shisui, Uchiha Fugaku showed a faint smile on his face. These were all the future of their Uchiha Clan.

“The most important thing for a Ninja is strength. As long as you are strong enough, everything will get better,” Uchiha Fugaku said earnestly, educating them.

In Uchiha Fugaku’s view, the Uchiha Clan’s predicament was actually very easy to solve: produce a strong enough individual to become Hokage.

Fugaku felt he had little hope; he was already nearly thirty, and his strength was unlikely to improve much further.

But Shisui and Obito were different. They possessed Ninja talent even greater than Uchiha Kagami’s. If Itachi also had such talent, then in a few decades, one of the three of them would surely become Hokage.

Uchiha Itachi couldn’t quite understand Uchiha Fugaku’s meaning, but he silently took Fugaku’s words to heart.

Battle after battle began and ended, but no one else demonstrated the same overwhelming dominance in combat as Shisui.

After the second round of battles began, Shisui still easily dealt with his opponents, the battles filled with ease and comfort.

“The talent displayed by Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Shisui has already surpassed Kagami’s, but with Minato and Muzuki guiding them, there shouldn’t be any problems,” Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself, stroking his goatee as he watched the battles.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn’t as obsessed as Danzo Shimura when dealing with Uchiha issues, but he still maintained caution towards the Uchiha Clan.

Because the Uchiha Clan had indeed genuinely rebelled. During the Second Hokage’s reign, a hawkish Uchiha named Uchiha Setsuna attempted a coup, which was suppressed by the Anbu dispatched by the Second Hokage. It was this incident that led to the Uchiha Clan being under Anbu surveillance for years.

By now, due to the Uchiha Clan’s relatively peaceful behavior, the intensity of surveillance had significantly decreased, usually only one or two Anbu were sent to monitor them.

If their teacher hadn’t been Muzuki, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have selected one of them to be trained in the Anbu.

There was no malice, purely a desire to strengthen The Will of Fire education, but with Muzuki there, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt relatively at ease.

Round after round of battles gradually deepened the audience’s understanding of Shisui’s strength.

Considering only the dominance in combat, Shisui’s performance was stronger than Obito’s and Kakashi’s, because in the previous Chunin Exams, even the eventual winner, Kakashi, had a very difficult time after entering the third round.

Unlike Shisui, even after defeating his final opponent, Shisui remained calm and composed, appearing completely at ease.

Of course, even ordinary people could understand why. In the previous exam, there were too many strong candidates, and after the third round, the differences between them were small, making the fights very arduous.

This time, however, was different. Although there were other Genin who performed well besides Shisui, they were nowhere near the level of Obito and Might Guy.

“Damn it, I should have known not to be an examiner. I should have participated in the Chunin Exams again,” Obito said, looking enviously at Shisui standing in the arena, receiving the cheers of the crowd.

In the last Chunin Exams, he didn’t even make it to the finals, being eliminated by Kakashi in the Four Finals.

For this Chunin Exams, Obito could only say that if he didn’t encounter Shisui, he could easily make it to the finals.

“You, a Chunin, participating in the Chunin Exams?” Kakashi retorted, speechless.

“That’s one thing you have no right to say to me! Last year, you, that guy, had been a Chunin for several years and still shamelessly participated in the Chunin Exams!” Obito said indignantly.

If Kakashi hadn’t blocked his way, he would have at least been in the top two.

Kakashi’s mouth twitched. “That was Minato-sensei’s arrangement, it wasn’t something I wanted to participate in.”

To be fair, when Kakashi was told he had to participate in the Chunin Exams, he himself was a bit bewildered. He had been an old Chunin for years and still had to take the exam again.

However, after participating in the exam, Kakashi understood. This was Konoha’s precautionary policy, to prevent the Chunin Exams from going awry and allowing Hidden Mist to win big.

Konoha co-hosting the Chunin Exams wasn’t to give Hidden Mist fame, but to display their strength and attract missions. The performance of the candidates was a struggle between Konoha and Hidden Mist.

Facts proved that Konoha’s concerns were not unfounded. Hidden Mist was even more unscrupulous. Kakashi felt that several Mist Ninja did not act like Genin at all, especially the squad that included the shark-faced one.

“No, next time I have to ask Muzuki-sensei.” Obito wanted to win first place in a Chunin Exams.

Kakashi’s expression was a little hard to maintain. He felt that Muzuki probably wouldn’t agree to such a reckless idea.

If candidates who didn’t become Chunin in this exam continued to participate next time, and then found that the examiner from the previous exam had become a candidate and was taking the exam with them, imagine the psychological trauma of the candidates.

“Instead of that, you should worry about the internal battle coming up soon. Haven’t you noticed? Three months is almost up,” Kakashi reminded him.

Actually, Kakashi hadn’t paid much attention to it either; time passed quickly when immersed in training.

However, Might Guy had recently been trying to challenge Kakashi, hoping to break through the Eight Gates during their battles by using Kakashi’s pressure. That’s when Kakashi remembered it and used it as an excuse to stall for time.

“I’m still a little short on Haki. I wonder if I can make it in time,” Kakashi was very anxious right now.

The cost of losing was too great; even he didn’t want to lose.

Hearing Kakashi’s words, Obito’s expression also became grim. He had had enough of those miserable days of doing homework.

“This time, I will absolutely not underestimate my opponent again,” Obito thought to himself.

The lesson of failure was too painful. Now, Obito had the determination to win no matter what.

“Shisui, don’t underestimate my determination not to do homework!” Obito was very confident in his heart.

He had thoroughly studied Shisui, and with his own solid strength, he would definitely win this time.