Chương 86: The Third Phase of the Chunin Exams IV: Victory

As the inferno guttered out, Dongye Zhen let the shimmering veil of Corner of Serenity dissipate. He brushed a thumb across a dry forehead.

"Cutting it a bit close, don't you think? If my Wind Release hadn't vented that steam, I'd be served up medium-rare. Planning to eat your opponent today, Shisui?"

"Hardly," Shisui gasped, his chest heaving.

"I just wanted to beat you. But it's proving... difficult." Unlike the monstrous vitality Zhen possessed, Shisui was still bound by the limits of his youth. The prolonged, high-intensity swordplay had drained him. Zhen, by contrast, remained as steady as a mountain, his breathing rhythmic and undisturbed. The Great Fireball had been a desperate gamble for a moment of recovery—a smoke break in the middle of a war. Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. Shisui didn't wait to recover.

He wove hand signs with a frantic fluidity, spitting a dozen embers that streaked through the air in erratic, lethal arcs. Zhen snapped his azure barrier back into place, the flames splashing harmlessly against the dome. But Shisui's hands were already slammed against the dirt. Lightning Release: Ground Flash. Twin bolts of electricity snaked across the arena floor.

Shisui's mastery of the Uchiha library was showing; he had hidden wires attached to his earlier kunai, and the lightning surged along them with terrifying speed. Metal, far more conductive than earth, turned the attack into a blinding snare. Zhen felt the static hair on his neck rise and vaulted into the air, narrowly escaping the crackling surge. The old Shisui was an honest kid, Zhen thought. The ninja Shisui? Not so much. As Zhen reached the apex of his leap, Shisui's eyes glinted.

An aerial target was a sitting duck. He swept his hand across his holster, unleashing a volley of shuriken that hissed toward Zhen. Zhen's hands blurred, his own kunai clashing against the projectiles like a percussionist in a fever dream. But these shuriken weren't just metal; they were connected by near-invisible filaments. Uchiha Style: Manipulated Shuriken Technique. The deflected blades didn't fly off as useless scrap; they arced back, weaving a web to bind the hunter.

Shisui clamped the wires between his teeth, his fingers blurring through signs. Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique. Tongues of white-hot fire raced along the wires like lit fuses. In mid-air, without a platform to jump from, Zhen was a dead man. Unless, of course, he could fly. Shisui watched in dazed silence as Zhen's descent simply... stopped. He didn't just hover; he rose, defying gravity to hang suspended above the reach of the flame-licked wires.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The stadium became a graveyard of silence.

"Is he... flying?" a voice whispered. In the VIP box, the Daimyo's fan faltered.

"Lord Hokage... is this a standard ninja ability?" Hiruzen Sarutobi took a long, slow drag from his pipe.

"Rarely, my Lord. Usually, it requires a summon or a specialized tool. But Zhen... he has pushed his Wind Release nature transformation to a level most veterans never reach. He has mastered the air itself."

"Incredible," the Daimyo murmured.

"For Zhen, it's only to be expected," Hiruzen added, his eyes narrowing through the smoke.

"He is, after all, our most brilliant innovator." The subtext was clear: The Leaf has monsters in its cradle. Keep the funding coming. Zhen swept his hand down. Wind Release: Shadowless Sword. A pressurized blade of wind severed Shisui's filaments and carved a jagged trench into the arena floor. He drifted down like a falling leaf, landing mere feet from the Uchiha.

"Top-tier tactics, Shisui. But do you have the stamina to finish?" Shisui was drenched in sweat, his knees trembling. His tactical mind was already Jonin-level, but his young body was a bottleneck. Keeping his blade infused with chakra to match Zhen's raw strength had been a massive drain.

"You really were holding out on me," Shisui said, his voice ragged.

"My chakra is spent... but I haven't lost yet." He raised his head abruptly. The twin tomoe in his eyes spun with predatory intent. He unleashed his final move: a point-blank Genjutsu. Zhen's eyes glazed over instantly. Shisui didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, pressing a kunai against Zhen's throat.

"I'm sorry, Zhen. Deception is the heart of the shinobi. I knew I couldn't beat you physically, so I had to gamble on the eyes."

"You're right," a voice said from directly behind him.

"Deception is the heart." The Zhen that Shisui was holding dissolved into a puff of smoke. A second Zhen rose from the earth behind the Uchiha, his own blade resting lightly on Shisui's shoulder. Shisui froze.

"A Shadow Clone? When?"

"When you swallowed me in that Great Fireball. It was too hot in there; I wasn't about to stand in a furnace for your amusement."

"I see," Shisui sighed, the tension leaving his body.

"You win." Minato Namikaze reappeared instantly.

"The winner is Dongye Zhen!" The silence of the arena shattered into a deafening roar of approval. After performing the Seal of Reconciliation, the two boys walked toward the exit.

"I still can't see the bottom of your strength," Shisui said, sounding uncharacteristically dejected.

"You're only at two tomoe, Shisui," Zhen replied.

"Give it a few years. Once those eyes mature and your body catches up, the game will change."

"Look at you," Shisui countered, gesturing to Zhen's pristine uniform.

"Not a drop of sweat, breathing like you're on a stroll. I don't believe a word of it."

"Hey, I worked hard to make that look exciting for the crowd! Do you know how much effort it takes to look that casual?"

"So you could have ended it instantly? You're a monster, Zhen."

"Now you're just being mean." As they disappeared into the tunnel, the young Itachi Uchiha stood in the stands, transfixed.

"Did Shisui-san really lose? He was so strong..." Fugaku Uchiha placed a heavy hand on his son's shoulder.

"Itachi, remember this. We possess talent beyond compare, but there are always those who break the boundaries. Never underestimate the world, and never let your lineage make you complacent. You must surpass them all." In the VIP booth, the Third Hokage smiled. But behind the smile, his mind echoed with the warnings of his mentor, Tobirama. The Uchiha are a clan of extremes. They must be managed, never ignored.

He recognized their brilliance, but the seat of the Hokage required stability—something the Uchiha fire rarely provided. Danzo's paranoia was a poison, but Hiruzen's own caution was a wall the Uchiha had yet to climb.