[POV - Jiraiya]
"You're free to go now. Your arm should be alright."
The doctor's words made me perk up from the bed instantly.
'Let's go!'
The smell of disinfectant had been driving me crazy for days. I couldn't wait to get out of here. With the third part of the exams ending soon, it was about time to head back to the tower.
Especially since my arm had finally healed.
While it had been pretty bad, being the Hokage's student did come with certain privileges.
VIP treatment had its perks.
My recovery had only taken a couple of days instead of a week or more. Chakra really did wonders beyond medicine in my past life.
Stepping out of the hospital, the sunlight hit my eyes like a flash bomb. The air outside was fresh, almost startlingly clean compared to the sterile stink of the room I'd just escaped.
I took a few deep breaths and had barely made it halfway down the path when a masked man appeared before me, kneeling.
"Hello?" I blinked.
"Good to see you healthy," he said, voice flat and formal. "Lord Third sent me to pick you up. The next stage of the exam is beginning soon."
How thoughtful of sensei.
The next ten minutes passed in a blur, literally. The ANBU carried me as he flickered through the forest, trees whipping past at dizzying speed. The rush of wind against my face was almost therapeutic… if I wasn't holding on for dear life.
'So this is Jōnin speed,' I thought, half in awe, half terrified.
When we reached the tower, the main lobby was almost empty.
Only four teams remained with some whispering quietly among themselves, others sitting in tense silence. Near the back, I spotted Tsunade leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, while Orochimaru sat calmly beside her, reading something unseen.
The ANBU dropped me off and vanished in a swirl of leaves.
*Whoosh*
"Are you doing okay?" Tsunade asked, eyes soft with concern. "You've been gone for a few days."
I nodded, earning a small smile from her.
Leaning against the wall beside Orochimaru, I glanced over the room. He gave me a sideways look. "Jiraiya. It seems like only four teams made it."
"Do we know anything about them?" I asked, scanning the competition. Honestly, after days of staring at white hospital walls, I'd look at anything just to pass the time.
A boy with pale eyes stood among one of the squads, a Hyūga, obviously. One of his teammates had distinct ringed red eyes and black hair but no clan symbol, while the other wore a Sarutobi crest.
'Red eyes, but no fan symbol? Maybe not an Uchiha… or maybe just a civilian-born shinobi.'
The next group had a boy and girl both marked with the Uchiha fan, and a third girl without it instead, a shuriken symbol stood out on her sleeve.
The final team was harder to read: an Aburame with his signature high collar, a blonde kid with an upside-down peace sign stitched into his jacket, and a third teammate whose symbol was… four random letters.Weird as hell design.
I leaned closer to Orochimaru.
"Do you know those clan symbols?" Tsunade caught the whisper and joined in, the three of us huddling in our corner like gossiping students.
"The blonde kid and the black-haired one next to the Aburame are from the Yamanaka and Shimura clans," Orochimaru murmured, glancing across the room. "The shuriken girl... Probably the Fūma Clan. The red-eyed guy? Civilian."
Tsunade frowned thoughtfully. "The Yamanaka are good at sensing or using their Mind Body Switch Technique. I'm not sure what the Shimura specialize in though… Should be Kenjutsu and Shurikenjutsu?"
Before we could talk more, the heavy double doors at the far end of the room creaked open. And a Proctor spoke up.
"All genin who passed the test. Make your way to the main room!"
The gathered shinobi began funneling through the doors. We followed, stepping into a massive open chamber easily large enough to fit three full-sized basketball courts.
Above, an upper deck provided a perfect view for spectators and examiners.
My eyes wandered to the far wall where a towering stone statue making a hand sign.
Its bronze fingers gleamed in the torchlight, while the other hand, designed in a dark emerald-colored mesh pattern. It looked almost magical.
'Pretty cool,' I thought absently.
The design gave this otherwise dull room a bit of life.
On the raised platform ahead stood Hiruzen-sensei himself, radiating calm authority. He was surrounded by dozens of shinobi. None familiar but did include a few proctors from the earlier stages.
"Congratulations to all of you who have made it this far," Hiruzen began, voice steady and commanding. "The Forest of Death has tested your survival, teamwork, and will. But the exam does not end with endurance alone."
He paused, scanning the crowd before gesturing for someone beside him to step forward.
It was the same examiner from the first test. The man who'd graded us on breaking Genjutsu. His face was serious as he addressed us.
"From here, only eight of you will advance to the finals. The rest will be eliminated in preliminary matches."A low murmur rippled through the gathered genin.
"What…" Tsunade muttered under her breath, frowning. Orochimaru and I exchanged a glance but stayed silent. Neither of us particularly pressed.
'Surely sensei would rig this to give me a pass,' I thought dryly. 'Come on, you can't tell me this setup isn't at least a little fixed...'
While my hopes weren't that high.
There's no way you could tell me sensei wouldn't somehow have a way to manipulate battles. This gets even worse in the anime as the "random" Genin chosen are on a screen.
"Matches will be drawn by random selection," the proctor continued, gesturing for an assistant to bring forward a small box filled with folded paper slips. "Each battle will continue until one participant yields or can no longer fight."
The air grew tense again as he reached into a box. His hand closing around the first two names.
...
---
[Omniscient - POV]
"Daigo Yamanaka!" The name drew a visible sigh from a blonde boy a few meters away, shoulders slumping. "Versus, Shinku Yūhi!"
The crowd murmured as both names echoed through the training hall.
Jiraiya in specific had thoughts cirlcing his head at the latter Genin's name. Yuhi reminded him of a certain Jounin from Naruto.
'Is he Kurenai's father? Didn't he die in the Nintales attack or something? He was a Jounin, which, all things considered, is amazing...'[1]
After the battle was announced, the rest of the Genin made their way up the stairs to the upper balcony, where they could watch the matches unfold below.
On the concrete battle field, Shinku Yūhi stood with composed focus, a short sword strapped to his back. His opponent, Daigo Yamanaka, wore a smug smile the complete opposite.
The proctor raised a hand. "Begin!"
Both carried the same weapon but only one of them looked ready to use it.
Daigo moved instantly, fingers forming the signature seal of his clan. With the thumbs and four finger which make a failed circle.
[Mind Body Switch Technique]
But before the jutsu could take effect, Shinku blurred and five more copies of him appeared in a burst of white smoke. Six identical Yuhi's now surrounded Daigo in a loose circle, each one watching silently.
Daigo Yamanaka hesitated.
His eyes flicked between the clones, unsure which was real.
"Clones," Tsunade murmured from the balcony, her sharp gaze following the movements below.
Daigo cursed under his breath and flicked a kunai forward. It arced toward the center of the formation, a paper tag tied neatly to its handle.
Rat
*Boom*
The explosion scattered smoke and dust across the arena. When it cleared, the clones had vanished. All but one.
Shinku was already in front of him, ninjato drawn, eyes calm. Daigo barely had time to unsheathe his own blade before steel met steel with a shrill ring.
Their exchange was fast and deliberate.
Daigo parried well, managing a clean strike toward Shinku's shoulder, but the Yūhi didn't falter his kenjutsu technique showing to all the proctors and Genin alike.
Every movement from him was tight and efficient, each step pushing Daigo backward, never giving him space to breathe.
Sweat formed along Daigo's brow as he stumbled away from a particularly sharp swing. His stance was unraveling.
"Dammit," he muttered.
Forming a quick string of seals
Tiger → Boar → Ox
[Body Replacement Technique]
Jiraiya who watched on from the high ground, nodded to himself impressed at the amount of hand signs used.
'He improved it from five to three, not too bad.'
A log splintered under Shinku's next strike. Daigo reappeared several meters away, a little disoriented, but alive.
He didn't get the chance to recover. Shinku in silent rage, yanked his chiped ninjato out of the log. Putting the weapon back in its sheath to make some hand signs.
Dog → Snake → Monkey → Ox → Tiger
[Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death]
Daigo froze mid-step. His pupils widened, face tightening in confusion as his surroundings wavered as his body was being tied up but tree branches. Fear creeping up his face.
"I wonder what technique he's stuck in," Orochimaru mutters in interest.
For a heartbeat, Daigo fought against the illusion. His chakra flared desperately trying, but by then Shinku was already gone. His control wasn't enough.
A flicker of movement, then cold steel pressed against his neck.
"Winner, Shinku Yūhi!" the proctor announced.
Shinku gave a polite nod towards Lord Third and the higher ups next to him. Sheathing his sword before walking off without a backward glance.
Not a sign on arrogance in sight.
From the stands, Orochimaru watched him leave, eyes thoughtful. "Illusions and Kenjutsu. That's pretty versatile," he said quietly.
Beside him, Jiraiya nodded, lips curling in approval.
Before long, the next names were called.
"Tsunade Senju!" Those words causing Tsunade to tense up a little. "Versus, Shimura Ren!"
The crowd stirred again.
Tsunade descended the steps, rolling her shoulders and cracking her knuckles with casual confidence. Across from her, Shimura Ren adjusted his headband, posture firm, expression unreadable.
"You got this Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouts from the side. Like a homie hyping up his friend from the bench on a basketball game. Orohimaru who was next to Jiraiya also joined in seeing this.
'I wan't to help too.' He silently thought.
"Go Tsunade." Orochimaru follows a little more quiet.
The cheers making the Senju princess get a giddy smile rather than a tense one. It seemed to have worked.The proctor gave the signal.
"Begin!"
In an instant the Shimura threw a bundle of shuriken which flew through the air.
Tsunade making hand seals, proceeded to dodge them without any fuss.
Boar → Ox
[Earth Style: Earthquake Slam]
Slamming her palms into the ground the concrete started to shake and then further break as the once flat surface cracked. Making its way to the Shimura who quickly lost his footing, forcing him to jump upwards, throwing a kunai.
*Whistle*
She tilted her head, unimpressed, and formed more seals
Dragon → Tiger → Hare
[Water Release: Wild Water Wave]
A torrent of water erupted from her mouth in a wave, sweeping forward. The ninjutsu making its way towards the falling Shimura who was unable to dodge.
*Swoosh!*
Getting swept away by the water, the cracked earth making the floor even more impossible to find footing. Made Ren stuck to the floor as mud covered his body, unable to move.
The proctor who saw this was still hesitant to call a winner.
'Well that was quick...' Jiraiya thought to himself. While battles like this weren't too uncommon as normal shinobi fights took minutes at the most. It was still weird due to all the Naruto fights he's seen from the anime are high level ones.
This doesn't even include the constant monologues.
"Forfeit now!" Tsunade shouts, kunai in hand. The Shimura who glanced up as his body couldn't move just sighed, disappointed in himself.
"I forfeit."
"Winner, Tsunade Senju!"
"Let's go princess!" Jiraiya shouts with a wide smile.
"Nice." Orochimaru says to himself, clenching his fist in excitement.
Tsunade brushed mud from her arm and looked up toward the viewing platform. Her grin was bright and fierce. Showing a thumbs up towards her team and then further smiling at her sensei.
Hiruzen who saw this had a warm smile on his face. Doing a small nod in approval.
Watching her walk up the stairs back to the team. The proctors and higher ranking shinobi started to murmur a little bit next to lord third. Obiously as the grand daughter of the first Hokage they would hold her on a high pedestal.
Especially since she actually had talent to back up her lineage.
"She was very calm in the face of those attacks."
"Weaving hand seals without any hesitation."
"Did you see the ninjutsu she uses? They directly scale with her chakra, making them even more deadly."
"What a prodigy!"
These words making the grin on Hiruzen go shamelessly wider as all compliments to a student technically supports the sensei. Whether it was known or unknown such words would make the Hokage giddy, they didn't stop the glazing.
'Amazing job Tsunade! I'll give you a higher ranking ninjutsu later...' He promised to himself.
Soon after this the proctor went back to announce the next battles.
[1] I would like to add. Anyone with the potential to become a Jounin was known to be a "Prodigy". Obviously not to extent of Itachi or Kakashi but they are the top percent of the Naruto verse. Such Jounin talents are the back bones of every village.