"Maintain a good distance, don't let the opponent's Shadow Secret Techniques control you." Nohara Rin contemplated her strategy once more before entering the battlefield.
Having fought alongside Nara Shiomizu before, Nohara Rin knew the peculiarity of the Shadow Possession Jutsu. Once controlled, even for a short time, it could easily turn the tide of the battle.
In truth, Nohara Rin was curious about how long Nara Shiomizu could control someone under normal circumstances. If it was only two or three seconds longer than it was when battling Ishijima Hideyuki, then in a one-on-one fight, it wouldn't directly end the battle but might gain some advantage.
After all, when Nara Shiomizu performed the Shadow Possession Jutsu, he couldn't directly attack the person being controlled, he had to find ways to use the environment to inflict damage.
If Nara Shiomizu's control time was confirmed to be short, Nohara Rin could fight more aggressively, since she knew Medical Ninjutsu and wouldn't be seriously affected by some injuries.
This underscored the importance of intelligence. Even though Nohara Rin was aware of this possibility, she dared not gamble because losing the gamble would mean immediate elimination.
As Nohara Rin speculated about Nara Shiomizu's intelligence, Nara Shiomizu also reviewed the information on Nohara Rin in his mind.
"The power to directly repel even Hoshigaki Kisame—that punch would be troubling if it lands."
Although Nara Shiomizu hoped Nohara Rin would approach him and get caught by the Shadow Possession Jutsu, real battle situations were ever-changing, and there might be instances where he couldn't use the jutsu in time, necessitating a way to avoid her moves.
As they walked onto the field, both Nohara Rin and Nara Shiomizu used Chakra to walk on the water surface.
Once they stood ready, Hiruko quickly announced the start of the second exam.
At Hiruko's call, Nohara Rin immediately entered the Breath of Water state, swiftly retreating to create distance from Nara Shiomizu while throwing Shuriken at him.
She didn't know the maximum range of Nara Shiomizu's Shadow Possession Jutsu, so she could only move as far back as possible.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
Nara Shiomizu neither pursued nor retreated; he stood his ground and also threw Shuriken.
Although both their Shuriken skills were decent, they hadn't reached the level of being fancy, causing no effective damage to each other.
Nara Shiomizu proceeded forward unhurriedly.
During the battle with the Hidden Mist, Nohara Rin hadn't shown any effective long-range striking techniques, so he only needed to gradually reduce her dodging space until it was less than the maximum range of his Shadow Possession Jutsu.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bomb Jutsu!"
Unexpectedly for Nara Shiomizu, after he approached, Nohara Rin immediately formed seals and used Water Release Ninjutsu. A massive stream of water spiraled around her and eventually formed into a water dragon.
"She actually knows Water Release Ninjutsu!" Nara Shiomizu's expression changed dramatically, and he immediately used Instant Body Jutsu to dart towards a small patch of trees behind.
He guessed that this was the new Ninjutsu that Nohara Rin had practiced during her one-month break, otherwise, she wouldn't have used Water Release Ninjutsu even during the critical battle with the Hidden Mist.
This was terrible news for Nara Shiomizu.
Because Kisame changed the venue to a large pond in the previous battle, using Water Release in a watery area not only consumed less but was also more powerful.
"Water Release..." Even the usually calm Nara Shiomizu was at his breaking point, frustrated by how her entrance had fully buffed her abilities.
Nara Shiomizu had no Defensive Ninjutsu; he could only use the environment to maneuver and reduce damage but still inevitably ended up injured and in disarray.
"That's how you do it, Rin!" From the rest area, Obito cheered excitedly as he saw Nohara Rin gaining the upper hand.
Kakashi nodded, thinking that Nohara Rin had basically won this round since Nara Shiomizu was fundamentally a support-type ninja, not very adept at solo combat.
"It's over; it seems the responsibility of advancing to Chunin must now fall on Midori," Inuzuka Midori also thought her teammate was close to defeat.
Although she mentally supported Nara Shiomizu's victory, at the moment, he was indeed at a significant disadvantage and couldn't even counterattack.
"Ha... ha." Nara Shiomizu wiped the water off his face, slightly panting while looking at Nohara Rin, his mind racing as he desperately sought a way to break the situation.
However, no matter how Nara Shiomizu thought, he couldn't find a chance for victory.
Without Defensive Ninjutsu, he could only rely on maneuvering and the environment to deal with Nohara Rin's Water Release attacks, but due to the Ninjutsu's range, he couldn't reach Nohara Rin—fighting long range with short range was too painful.
Just then, a small shadow appeared on the water surface in front of Nara Shiomizu. He looked up to see a bird circling above.
A light bulb went off in Nara Shiomizu's head as he suddenly thought of a plan that might turn the tide of battle.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Nara Shiomizu suddenly formed seals and used Ninjutsu, with black shadows rushing rapidly towards Nohara Rin.
Nohara Rin, who was forming seals, thought she had entered the attack range of the Shadow Possession Jutsu and immediately dodged back.
But to her surprise, the shadow from Nara Shiomizu wasn't even close to her; it was still three meters away from her previous position.
"Feigning weakness?" Nohara Rin didn't believe Nara Shiomizu misunderstood the range of his own Ninjutsu.
Remaining cautious, Nohara Rin didn't advance; she believed this was Nara Shiomizu's strategy, deliberately misleading her about the attack range of the Shadow Possession Jutsu.
Finding his Shadow Possession Jutsu missed, Nara Shiomizu regretfully withdrew his shadow and hid behind a tree.
"Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu!" Concerned about Nara Shiomizu's unknown plans, Nohara Rin created a Water Clone to hide beside her.