Chunin Exam Finals (1)

The next day, my stamina rank had returned to normal. After resting for about a day, my body had mostly recovered, so I was discharged from the hospital. I wasn't completely healed yet, which made me truly realize just how severe the risks of the Eight Gates really were.

When I stepped out of the hospital entrance, Ino and Hinata were waiting for me. They'd already visited me after their matches yesterday, but coming all the way here to see me off on the day of my discharge warmed my heart.

I ignored the chat's stupid jokes and suggested we grab a meal to celebrate my discharge. We headed to Ichiraku Ramen. I wasn't exactly a huge ramen fan, but since so many ninjas in the original story loved the place, I had high expectations. Luckily, it suited my taste perfectly, and I enjoyed every bite.

"Don't you and Hinata need to prepare for the finals? Are you sure your body's okay, Jin?"

"I'm fine now, so don't worry, Ino."

Ino had terrible luck in the draw yesterday. She'd faced Kankuro, a genin from the Sand Village, and ended up losing. Hinata, on the other hand, had gone up against some nobody named Hinoichi and advanced to the finals without much trouble.

Here were the results from yesterday's matches:

Unexpectedly, the entire Naruto team had been eliminated. I had no idea what kind of butterfly effect that would cause, but I figured I'd give Naruto and Sasuke a little help later. For now, I comforted Ino.

"That really sucked yesterday, Ino. The matchup was just bad luck."

"Ugh... puppets? My Mind Body Switch Technique was a horrible counter..."

Ino had tried using her technique on Kankuro, but the ninja she'd possessed turned out to be a puppet. The real Kankuro had been hiding inside the one on his back the whole time. Because of the backlash from the failed jutsu, she couldn't wake up in time and lost rather anticlimactically.

"Jin! Hinata! I'll be cheering for both of you to train hard and become Chunin!"

With Ino's encouragement, we headed to the training grounds. Once we arrived, I sparred lightly with Hinata to check if there were any lingering aftereffects from the Eight Gates. Then I helped with her training.

"Training so diligently! Excellent!!"

"Huh? What are you doing here???"

I was surprised by Gai's sudden appearance and asked him why he'd come, but he ignored me and launched straight into his speech.

"Become my disciple!"

"I decline."

"Why not?! You're a genius who mastered the Eight Gates on your own! I will make you an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even stronger ninja!"

"I decline."

I kept rejecting Gai's persistent offers like some kind of automated answering machine. Since he wouldn't give up, I decided to set a condition.

"If you find a way to open all Eight Gates without dying, come back. Then I'll learn from you."

"Ugh... I understand your feelings! If you ever change your mind, come find me! I am always here! Hahaha!!"

"Don't you have missions?"

"......Just contact me and come find me!"

With that, Gai disappeared. I went back to Hinata, giving her plenty of encouragement and praise. By the end of today's training, she was smiling a little more brightly. Seeing how much she'd opened up made me feel incredibly proud.

When the day of the finals finally arrived, a huge crowd had gathered. I was in the waiting room cracking jokes with Hinata to help ease her nerves. At one point, Neji and Rock Lee walked in. The moment our eyes met, I could see the fire burning in both of them. They'd seen me use the Eight Gates yesterday, and whatever Gai had told them had clearly lit a spark.

I stepped outside to see how full the stands were and spotted Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 in the audience. As I approached, Naruto looked a bit disappointed but still gave me a bright smile and cheered me on. Sasuke, on the other hand, glared at me and said we should fight again sometime...

"These guys light up like they want to fight me every time they see me... I'm way too busy to be scrapping with kids."

I gave Sasuke a small smirk, then asked Kakashi if he had a moment. He nodded, and we moved to a quiet spot away from the crowd.

"Kakashi, esteemed Jonin."

"You can just call me Kakashi."

"Ah, okay... Then, Kakashi, may I ask you something?"

"The genius everyone's been talking about has a question for me? Alright! Ask away."

"What kind of rumors are going around about me...? Anyway, after my match with Sasuke, did you train him and Naruto separately?"

"Why are you curious about that?"

I was actually wondering whether Naruto had learned summoning from Jiraiya like in the original story, and whether Sasuke had learned Chidori from Kakashi. But I couldn't say that directly.

"Those guys will definitely want to fight me again after the finals. If I know how much stronger they've gotten, I can prepare better, right?"

"Hahaha! Well, gathering intel on your opponent's strength is indeed a ninja's duty. I can't tell you the exact details, but Sasuke trained with me, and Naruto trained under the Legendary Sannin, Lord Jiraiya. You'd better stay on your toes next time, Jin."

Realizing things were still following the original timeline, I replied, "Oh~ I didn't expect you to tell me that much. And Naruto trained under one of the Legendary Sannin... I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for letting me know."

"I'll be watching your matches in the finals."

After saying goodbye, I returned to the waiting room. The examiner was explaining the rules for the finals. Since there were eleven people, the pairings didn't match up perfectly. Ten would fight one-on-one, and if there were any ambiguous cases after evaluation, one of them would be chosen to fight the remaining person. If the evaluations clearly showed only passers or failures, then the remaining person would just have to demonstrate their skills against a chunin.

After finishing his explanation, the examiner hung the matchup board on the wall and left. I didn't care about the others. I only checked the matches for me, Hinata, and Gaara, who would kick off the Leaf's destruction.

Hinata was in the first match against Kankuro. I was in the third match against Hyuga Neji.

"Neji's no big deal."

I brushed it off lightly and looked for the most important matchup—Gaara's. He was in the fourth match against Rock Lee.

Gaara versus Rock Lee... Eventually Gaara would go berserk during the fight. I just hoped Lee wouldn't get too badly injured before that.

After thinking for a moment, I walked over to Rock Lee.

"Lee, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Ohh! Jin sir! I heard from Gai-sensei that you're an incredible genius!"

I gave a small smile at that, then used Sage's Eye to check Lee's stats.

His stats were pretty high for a genin, but he was still young. If he opened the Eight Gates and took hits from Gaara, he'd end up in the hospital for a long time just like in the original ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠story.

I decided to meddle a bit and spoke to him.

"That's not important right now. It's about your opponent."

"You mean Gaara of the Sand! I watched the third test, so I understand his fighting style. I will win!"

"Yeah, that's true, but can you tell me how far you can open the Eight Gates?"

"Up to the Fifth Gate, the Gate of Limit!"

"Lee, this might sound rude, but listen carefully and think about it. First, tell Gai-sensei I suggested this. Fight using only regular taijutsu at the start. If that doesn't work, skip the First Gate of Joy and open the Fifth Gate immediately."

"Huh? Why are you saying this?"

Lee didn't seem offended by my words. Instead, he pulled out a notebook and pen, ready to take notes. I continued.

"To use the First Gate of Joy, you have to open the Initial Gate, right?"

"You know about that! Correct!"

"Even that puts a huge strain on your body, doesn't it? If you open up to the Fifth Gate while already suffering from those aftereffects, it could end your ninja career. Your body isn't fully developed yet."

"And the most important thing... If you end up using the Second Gate of Healing and Gaara can still move even a little, forfeit immediately. I know you never give up, but sometimes losing is important too. It helps you grow even stronger."

Lee fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. Then he thanked me for the advice, said he'd discuss it with Gai, and left the room.

"Don't you think Hinata can beat Kankuro? She's gained a lot more confidence than in the original story, and we've been training together."

After reading the chat's advice, I immediately went over to Hinata and passed it on. Just in case, I opened the party system to boost her stats and saw that both Hinata and Ino were registered.

Since Gentle Fist relies more on using ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the opponent's force or injecting chakra to damage the chakra pathway system rather than raw power, I decided to slightly increase her agility to improve her mobility. I didn't want to raise too many stats at once and make her suspicious, so I'd do the rest gradually later.

Agility — Before: E → After: D

"Raising it by two ranks should be safe, right?"

A short while later, the first match began.

Hinata activated her Byakugan. Kankuro, who had been sneering at her in apparent underestimation, now looked at her with a serious expression. This time, the thing wrapped in bandages on his back was indeed a real puppet.

Kankuro set down the puppet he'd been carrying and connected his chakra threads, launching an attack at Hinata. She dodged the puppet's relatively slow strike to the side. She seemed surprised at how light her body felt, but quickly regained her composure. Using her enhanced speed, she slipped past the puppet and sliced through the chakra thread connecting it to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kankuro with a sharp knife-hand strike.

Snap!

"What?!"

When his chakra thread was severed, Kankuro watched his puppet collapse like a broken doll. Panicking, he frantically tried to reconnect the threads.

Whoosh!

Gentle Fist: Palm Bottom!

Hinata was faster. She closed the distance in an instant and struck Kankuro's stomach with her palm. He coughed up blood and flew backward, collapsing. Though he tried to get up, the delicate control required for puppet techniques had been disrupted by the damage to his chakra pathways. Every time he tried to reconnect the threads, Hinata would cut them and press the attack.

She completely dominated the match in a one-sided beatdown and won.

After her victory, Hinata returned to the waiting room practically bouncing with joy. She hugged me tightly, then suddenly realized what she was doing. Her face turned bright red as she quickly let go.

"Great job, Hinata! You were amazing!"

"It was all thanks to your advice, Jin! Thank you!"

We spent a little while being all lovey-dovey until Hinata said she'd head to the stands to cheer me on. She waved goodbye and left.

The second match was Shikamaru versus Ibuki. It ended in just a few minutes with Shikamaru's victory.

Then came the third match. It was my turn. I stepped out into the arena.