"Begin the match!"
With that crisp announcement, Minato Namikaze vanished in a flicker, reappearing at the edge of the arena beside Yecang and Huangtu.
Tangping immediately leapt backward to open some distance, both hands flashing through hand seals.
Facing an opponent skilled in binding techniques, close combat would only hand the other side the advantage.
Of course, that'd be a different story if the opponent knew Adamantine Sealing Chains.
But her "Binding Technique" was merely a beggar's version of that—so inferior it didn't even count as a knockoff.
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!
Tangping opened with a C-rank bombardment, giving his opponent no chance to calmly weave a sealing jutsu.
After studying sealing arts under Uzumaki Kushina for a while, his understanding of such special techniques had deepened greatly—making it much easier for him to deal with them now.
Boom!
A flame bullet the size of a wagon wheel smashed into the ground where the Sand kunoichi had been standing, sending up a plume of smoke and debris.
"Whoa! Amazing!"
"No wonder he passed the earlier exams—what a genius!"
"He's a Leaf genin? How come I've never seen him before?"
…
The spectators on the stands were instantly fired up at the sight of such a spectacular ninjutsu display.
This was what they came to see.
Illusion techniques might be more lethal and complex, sure—but compared to flashy, explosive ninjutsu, genjutsu battles just weren't as thrilling to watch.
And from their chatter, one thing was clear—Tangping was practically a nobody.
That was the difference between having a village's hype machine behind you… and not.
If he were part of the Hokage's faction, he'd already have been branded a "genius" long ago.
Whoosh!
A sharp sound split the air behind him.
In the past, the old Tangping would've panicked.
But after facing death up close, he'd learned to stay calm even under pressure.
Fwoosh!
Flames burst to life in his right hand as he twisted mid-air, spinning and throwing a backward strike with all his momentum.
Golden Crow Flow: Ghost Burn!
Bang!
The strike exploded, burning through the white cloth that had tried to coil around him.
Not stopping there, Tangping lunged forward like lightning, grabbed his opponent by the neck with his still-burning hand, and poured flames into her body.
Golden Crow Flow: Qin Yueyang!
This form had a simple effect—inject fire into the target, then detonate it from within.
Brutal and overwhelming.
It wasn't just ninjutsu Tangping had been working on lately—he'd put serious effort into taijutsu as well.
His biggest advantage lay in his imagination.
He'd seen countless fighting game moves in his past life—and now, in this world of chakra, such techniques could actually work.
Here, even the wildest ideas had a chance of succeeding.
Plus, he had Uchiha Shizuka to help him test how to synchronize chakra with his movements, saving him a ton of trial and error.
So lately, he'd developed quite a few powerful fighting techniques.
Both the defensive Ghost Burn and the devastating Qin Yueyang were his own creations.
This style of taijutsu that incorporated fire chakra—he called it the Golden Crow Flow.
With the Fists of Blazing Flame, it allowed him to unleash the full potential of both fire and physical power.
Boom!
The body he'd grabbed burst apart from within, consumed by fire.
But Tangping didn't look pleased.
The feel wasn't right.
And the fact that none of the three examiners reacted told him everything—if his opponent had truly been in mortal danger, Yecang would've stepped in instantly.
That was her student, after all—dearer than blood. There was no way she'd just watch her die.
"Binding Seal Formation!"
A sharp female voice rang out.
White light flared under Tangping's feet as long strips of cloth coiled around him like constricting serpents.
At that moment, the real opponent—Juan—stepped out from behind a camouflaging sheet.
Visual deception!
From behind, she would've been easy to spot.
But from Tangping's position, she'd been completely hidden.
As expected of Yecang's disciple—her tricks were refined enough to fool even mid-level chunin.
"I've won!"
Seeing Tangping wrapped up like a cocoon, Juan finally relaxed.
All she had to do was step up and apply the sealing tag to end the match.
But as she approached—something felt off.
Bang!
A flaming fist punched through the cloth, slamming into her and sending her flying.
Golden Crow Flow: Wild Bite!
This move used flames to amplify the fist's explosive force and add burning damage.
Juan was blasted over ten meters away—the sound of cracking bones was clearly audible.
One Punch KO!
The fight was over in an instant.
Juan had lost consciousness; that alone was enough to end the match.
And Tangping had no intention of pressing the attack—her teacher was watching, after all.
If he tried to finish her off, one "accidental" strike from Yecang would be the end of him.
A jōnin, even one at quasi-Kage level, wasn't someone he could handle yet.
If Minato weren't overseeing this match, things could've gotten ugly real fast.
It was clear now—the third-round matches weren't just about strength. They were about politics.
Against minor village genin, you could hit as hard as you liked.
But against big village elites, you needed to be smart.
So Tangping wisely stepped back a few paces, showing restraint.
From the sidelines, Minato watched him with approval.
Reckless types never lasted long on the battlefield.
The most famous example? Senju Nawaki—killed by an exploding tag trap. If he weren't a Senju, he'd be remembered as nothing but a cautionary tale.
"Juan… Juan, are you all right?"
Yecang flickered to her student's side in a blur.
A normal person would've been dead from that hit.
But a ninja had chakra—so while the strike could shatter wood, it wasn't necessarily fatal.
"…Sensei?"
Juan blinked awake, seeing her teacher's face.
"I'll take you to the medical ward right now."
Relieved that her disciple was alive, Yecang scooped her up and left swiftly.
The rules of the exam were meant to restrain small villages, not the great ones.
Only after she'd gone did Minato step forward to announce:
"The match is over! Uchiha Tangping is victorious!"
Yecang's intervention was effectively a forfeit on Sunagakure's part—Minato's announcement was just a formality to save face.
The result shocked the spectators.
"What? Impossible!"
"No way!"
"Then… those rumors were fake?"
…
Uchiha Tangping.
The so-called "dead last," the "hopeless one." Parents even used him as a bad example when scolding their kids.
Most had assumed he'd only made it this far by riding Kakashi's coattails.
But after witnessing this one-on-one match, they realized—this guy was nothing like the rumors said.
Tangping didn't waste time basking in it, though.
Once Minato declared his victory, he quietly returned to the stands to rest.
There were still more matches to come—he needed to recover as much strength as possible.
At the same time, he was already calculating the profit from this fight in his mind.
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