The proctor guided us to a massive expanse for the preliminary arena.
The moment we crossed into the threshold, my senses were immediately flooded. The air smelled of dry dust, cold stone, and the nervous sweat of over a hundred Genin. The arena was vastly different—and much larger—than the one I remembered from the anime. It didn't just look like an indoor gymnasium; it was now more similar to an indoor colosseum designed for medium to large-scale combat.
Towering over the entire battlefield, carved directly into the dark stone walls, were the two colossal hands locked together in the traditional "Seal" hand sign. They were massive, and cast long, jagged shadows across the arena floor. The architecture alone felt oppressive, a silent reminder to everyone standing here that they were stepping into a chamber of unpredictability
I swept my gaze across the crowded floor. There were a lot of bruised, battered, and on-edge participants clustered together.
[SYSTEM ALERT: 144 Hostile/Neutral Entities Detected in Immediate Vicinity]
A hundred and forty-four? I thought, raising an eyebrow. That's forty-eight teams. How the hell are they planning to cut this down to a reasonable number for the finals?
I shifted my attention away from the sea of foreign Genin and looked up toward a raised viewing balcony. The Hokage stood at the forefront, the smoke from his pipe drifting lazily into the air, flanked by various proctors and Jonin senseis.
When my eyes landed on Anko, she flashed me a massive grin. At first, I was a little confused, but then I remembered the hidden ranking system for the exams she told me about. With me reaching this phase of the Exams, I was undoubtedly climbing the rankings and netting her big returns on her bet.
I continued scanning the line of senseis until my eyes locked onto a pale, unassuming man standing at the edge of the line. He looked completely ordinary. His chakra signature wasn't anything impressive either, being incredibly average for a Jonin. He perfectly blended into the background noise of the room.
That's Orochimaru, I noted, feeling a faint, cold prickle of malice radiating from the man. No wonder they missed him; his presence-suppression is nearly flawless. But it's kinda terrifying to know just how easily he could slip past Konoha sensory systems like this.
I pulled my gaze away from the snake Sannin and let my eyes sweep over the other Konoha rookies scattered around the floor. I began to process their physical conditions, chakra levels, and psychological states in a fraction of a second, instantly grouping them by their fatal flaws.
The Physically Lacking, I categorized first, glancing at Sakura and Ino. Sakura had the brilliant mind and flawless chakra control for a Chunin, and Ino—despite being the top-performing Kunoichi in the academy—had all the necessary tools but lacked focus. And neither of them had the raw physical conditioning of a Chunin yet.
The Mentally Blocked, my gaze shifted to Hinata, Choji, and Kiba. Hinata possessed immense potential like Sakura and Ino, but had absolutely zero confidence in her own abilities or survival. Choji had the physical power but was far too kind-hearted to make the ruthless calls required of a squad leader. Kiba was the opposite—bold, aggressive, but far too overconfident and prone to tunnel visioning.
The Stubborn and Skewed. I briefly eyed Sasuke, Neji, and Tenten. Sasuke had the skills, but his mind was rigidly set on his singular, power-hungry path. Neji was a combat genius, but his worldview was entirely skewed by his obsession with predetermined fate, making him predictable. Tenten was a walking armory, but her fighting style was highly volatile and easily countered by certain opponents.
And finally, I looked at The Near-Readies. Shikamaru definitely had the tactical genius to be a Chunin right this second, even if his body was poorly developed. Shino was an absolute silent killer and a perfect tactician, though he needed to be much more vocal if he wanted to actually lead a squad. And Rock Lee was undoubtedly strong enough and far smarter than people gave him credit for, but the sheer, self-destructive toll the Inner Gates took on his body severely limited his operational window.
Everyone's got a drawback, I mused, tucking my hands casually into my pockets as a heavy silence began to fall over the massive room. Except me, of course. I'm perfect.
On the balcony above, Anko stepped forward, her booming voice echoing off the stone hands.
"First of all, congratulations to all of you on passing the Second Phase!" she announced, her grin never wavering. "Now, before we explain the rules for this phase, the Third Hokage would like to say a few words. Now pay attention!"
The murmurs and quiet chatter among the Genin instantly died down.
Hiruzen stepped forward and looked out over the crowded arena, his aged face hardened with a gravity I hadn't seen from him in person before.
"Before we begin this phase, there is something you all must clearly understand." His voice carried across the vast expanse of the room without him even needing to shout. "You must understand the true purpose of these exams—to understand why we ally our countries and hold these exams together. It is not merely to foster friendship. This is not a festival."
He paused, letting the silence stretch out for a heavy, agonizing moment.
"These exams... are a miniature representation of war between our allied nations."
A collective breath hitched among the participants.
"In the past, our nations fought continuously for supremacy. To avoid mutual destruction, we chose a new battlefield: these very exams. Here, you put your lives on the line to display the military strength of your respective villages to potential clients and neighboring lords. You are fighting to maintain the balance of power. You are fighting not only for your village's pride, but for its survival."
To drive his point home, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.
In a fraction of a second, the atmosphere in the arena violently shifted. A suffocating, crushing wave of Killing Intent crashed down from the balcony, blanketing the 144 Genin on the floor. It wasn't the manic, bloodthirsty malice of Orochimaru; it was the cold, calculated, overwhelming weight of the God of Shinobi.
Hmm, in a way, what he's currently putting out is similar to what I put out when I activate a low-level [Bloodlust], I mused.
All around me, the foreign Genin began to buckle. Some dropped to one knee, gasping for air. Beside me, Sasuke gritted his teeth, his entire body trembling slightly as he fought the instinctual urge to reach for his kunai. Sakura staggered, wrapping her arms around her stomach as sweat beaded on her forehead.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Hostile Aura (Kage-Level) Detected.]
[PASSIVE SKILL: Conqueror's Presence completely negates the effect. You are unaffected.]
Oh? Lucky me, I thought, not even blinking from the intent.
While the rest of the room suffocated under the pressure of a Kage, I stretched my arms over my head and let out a yawn.
From the corner of my eye, I caught a sudden movement. Kakashi, who had been lazily observing our team from the Jonin stands, suddenly stiffened. His singular, visible eye widened slightly as he stared down at me. He watched his two prodigies struggling to breathe, while I completely ignored the pressure of the Hokage as if it were a light breeze.
I gave him a casual nod, but he didn't acknowledge it; he just kept staring, a serious, calculating gleam replacing his usual lazy demeanor.
Satisfied that his message had been received, Hiruzen reeled his Killing Intent back in. The room let out a collective gasp of relief, the heavy tension snapping like a cut wire.
"Now," he said smoothly, as if he hadn't just terrorized over a hundred teenagers. "I will hand things over to the chief proctor of this phase."
Cough! Hack! Cough!
A pale, sickly-looking Jonin with deep bags under his eyes Body Flickered to the center of the arena floor. He hunched over, covering his mouth as a violent, rattling cough racked his entire body.
"I am... cough... Hayate Gekko," he wheezed, straightening up slightly. "I will be overseeing the preliminaries."
I stared at the man. When I watched the show, I always assumed his coughing was just some ninja deception tactic. A way to make his enemies underestimate him.
Using my enhanced senses, I scanned his body.
Nope. He's actually just sick as a dog, I realized with a frown. I'm definitely going to have to do something about whatever respiratory illness is chewing up his lungs, and I probably have to slip a Soldier into his shadow to save him when he eventually stumbles onto Baki and Kabuto's little secret meeting during the month-long break.
"Because of the... cough... unusually high number of participants who survived the second phase, we will be implementing a randomized quadrant system for the first round of the preliminaries," Hayate explained, his voice raspy. "We need to thin the herd rapidly."
Hayate signaled to a couple of proctors. They performed a rapid series of hand signs and slammed their palms against the stone floor.
The ground violently trembled. With a deafening rumble, massive, thick walls of solid earth erupted from the arena floor in a perfect cross shape, dividing the colossal battlefield into four equally sized squares.
"The arena is now split into four Quadrants: A, B, C, and D," Hayate announced. "Four matches will occur simultaneously. However, these will not be one-on-one duels. Four participants will enter each quadrant. And only one will advance to the next round."
Oh shit, so that's how they're gonna cut the numbers down, I thought with genuine, surprised delight.
Mutters of shock and outrage immediately rippled through the gathered Genin. Fighting one opponent was hard enough; a four-way free-for-all was a completely different breed of chaos.
"Look at the screen above," Hayate instructed, pointing a pale finger toward the massive electronic board hanging from the wall. "It will randomly select the combatants for the first wave."
The screen flickered to life, a rapid series of names blurring across the digital display.
Here we go, I thought, rolling my shoulders as a familiar thrill of anticipation rushed through my veins.
DING!
The scrolling abruptly stopped, locking in sixteen names for the first wave of the Fatal Four-Ways.
[QUADRANT A: Naruto Uzumaki vs. Taise (Iwa) vs. Midori (Kusa) vs. Shigure (Ame)]
[QUADRANT B: Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akado (Konoha) vs. Kota Hayabusa (Suna) vs. Renjiro (Kumo)]
[QUADRANT C: Neji Hyuga vs. Kuro Saito (Iwa) vs. Suika (Kiri) vs. Miko Tsuba (Kusa)]
[QUADRANT D: Shino Aburame vs. Akira Nakamura (Konoha) vs. Harumi (Kumo) vs. Aiko Shishigami (Suna)]
A/N: I just used a Naruto random name generator for names for the fodder; we don't need to focus too much on them.
A wide grin split across my face. First up. Perfect. Let's get this over with.
The large group of Genin quickly cleared the floor to ascend to the viewing balconies, leaving Sasuke, Neji, Shino, and me to make our way into our respective stone squares.
I casually walked toward the center of my quadrant, stuffing my hands into my pockets. My three opponents were already waiting. The Iwa ninja was built like a brick wall, the Kusa ninja had a frantic, twitchy energy, and the Ame ninja looked like she was already planning my funeral.
As we waited for the proctor, I noticed the three foreign Genin exchanging brief, calculated glances. The Iwa boy gave a subtle nod. The Ame ninja shifted her stance, angling her blade slightly toward me.
Ah, I realized, my grin widening. They figured out that I'm the biggest threat. And are now forming a temporary alliance to jump me first so they can fight amongst themselves after. Not bad; it's kind of smart of them.
A familiar blue screen materialized in my field of vision.
[NEW QUEST GENERATED]
[SHOW YOUR MIGHT: A KING DOES NOT STRUGGLE AGAINST PAWNS]:
Objective: Defeat all three opponents in your quadrant.
Bonus Condition 1: Take 0 Damage for the first 60 seconds.
Bonus Condition 2: Win in under 3 minutes.
Bonus Condition 3: Win using only Taijutsu (No Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or Shadow Soldiers).
[REWARDS: 100,000 Ryo, +10 Stat Points]
Only Taijutsu? I mused, dismissing the screen. With my current stats, that's not a handicap. That's an act of mercy. And no Shadows? Well, that's extremely accomplishable. I'd end myself before I pull out my Soldiers against these weaklings.
The proctor for Quadrant A, a stern-looking Chunin, raised his hand high into the air. He glanced at the four of us to ensure we were ready.
"Begin!" he shouted, throwing his hand down.
The moment the word left his mouth, the Kusa ninja's hands moved in a blur. "Take this!" he yelled, hurling a dense barrage of senbon needles directly at my face and chest.
At the exact same time, the Ame ninja surged forward, her sword coated in a rapidly swirling vortex of water chakra, aiming a lethal thrust at my ribs. From my blind spot, the massive Iwa ninja lunged, his thick arms spread wide to trap me in a crushing bear hug so I couldn't dodge the incoming attacks.
It was a perfectly synchronized, highly lethal three-pronged assault. To any normal Genin, it would have been an instant death sentence.
But to me, it felt like I was watching them move underwater.
I pivoted my body a fraction of an inch to the left. The volley of senbon breezed past my face, the needles so close I could feel the displacement of air against my eyelashes.
"What?!" the Kusa ninja gasped.
Without breaking my casual stance, I brought my right hand up and casually slapped the flat side of the Ame ninja's incoming blade. The force of my parry broke her balance, redirecting her momentum. As she staggered, attempting to regain her balance, I grabbed her arm and tossed her at the idle Kusa ninja.
The Ame ninja crashed directly into the still confused Kusa ninja, leaving the two of them tangled up in a mess of limbs and water chakra.
With them out of the way, I effortlessly sidestepped the attempted bear hug from the Iwa ninja. He stopped his forward momentum abruptly and turned to refocus on me. The moment he did, I appeared inside his guard instantly, pulling my right arm back to deliver a single, un-enhanced open-palm strike square into his chest.
I didn't even put my full weight into it, but it didn't matter.
BOOM!
A deafening, concussive shockwave exploded from the point of impact. The sheer kinetic force of the strike shattered the earth beneath my feet, sending a massive spiderweb of deep cracks rippling across the entire quadrant.
The Iwa ninja's eyes rolled back into his head before he even left the ground. The kinetic transfer blew straight through him and launched him backwards like he'd been fired from a cannon, crashing violently into the Kusa and Ame ninja.
All three of them slammed into the thick earth wall of the quadrant with a sickening crunch, cratering the stone.
They peeled off the wall and hit the floor, completely unconscious.
[QUEST COMPLETED!]
[ALL BONUS CONDITIONS FULFILLED.]
[REWARDS DISTRIBUTED]
[HIDDEN REWARD GRANTED]:
[NEW TITLE ACQUIRED: Untouchable Brawler - Grants a 10% increase to physical damage when fighting unarmed.]
Not bad, I smirked, letting my arms drop back down to my sides.
Across from me, the proctor for Quadrant A was standing frozen, his jaw visibly slack. Up in the sensei balcony, I could feel the burning stares of Hiruzen, Kakashi, and the disguised Orochimaru drilling into the back of my head.
"Well?" I called out to the speechless proctor, tilting my head toward the three bodies crumpled against the wall. "I'm pretty sure that's game."
The proctor finally snapped out of his daze. He swallowed hard, raising his hand toward me. "W-Winner of Quadrant A! Naruto Uzumaki!"
His booming voice seemed to break the spell cast over the arena. Up in the viewing balconies, the heavy silence shattered into a chaotic wave of gasps, mutters, and outright disbelief.
I leaned my back against the thick earthen wall of my quadrant, crossing my arms lazily as I looked up at my peers.
Kiba was gripping the metal railing so hard his knuckles were completely white. His jaw was practically resting on the floor, and from inside his jacket, Akamaru let out a high-pitched, frightened whimper. "No way..." Kiba muttered, loud enough for my enhanced hearing to pick up. "He took out three guys with one hit?!"
A few feet away, Shikamaru was rubbing the back of his neck. His usual lazy, slouching posture was completely gone, replaced by a tense, analytical stare. "Troublesome," he breathed out. "Just how much physical strength is he hiding?"
Further down the balcony, Rock Lee was leaning over the railing, his thick eyebrows raised high as his eyes practically sparkled. "Such magnificent Taijutsu! To generate a force that great without chakra... such youthful power!"
But the most interesting reaction came from the Sand Siblings. Gaara had stepped right up to the edge of the railing. His pale green eyes were locked dead onto me, entirely devoid of his usual blank, emotionless stare. Instead, there was a dark, twisted hunger burning in his irises. The cork in his gourd trembled slightly as the sand inside shifted in agitation.
Man, he's tweaking out, I smirked internally, holding Gaara's murderous gaze for a brief second before casually looking away.
The matches in the other quadrants were still raging on, and since I finished mine before anyone else had even broken a sweat, I had front-row seats.
I shifted my focus to Quadrant B.
Yoroi Akado had his chakra-draining hand extended, lunging desperately to grab Sasuke. But because my potions had completely eradicated his fatigue, Sasuke's physical condition was pristine. Yoroi grabbed nothing but empty air as Sasuke seemingly vanished, and reappeared directly beneath his guard.
A brutal upward kick launched Yoroi into the air. Sasuke immediately pursued, dropping the Suna and Kumo Genin with two rapid-fire shuriken before appearing behind Yoroi at the apex of his launch. With a ruthless, high-speed Taijutsu combo, Sasuke drove Yoroi straight down into the dirt, cratering the floor.
Up in the balcony, I noticed Orochimaru leaning forward, his snake-like tongue flicking out to lick his lips in absolute, undisguised ecstasy at Sasuke's display of power.
I shook my head and looked over to Quadrant C.
Neji was putting on a masterclass in surgical violence. He was moving like a dancer. His Byakugan was flared, and his hands moved in a fluid, terrifyingly precise blur.
Fwump. Fwump. Fwump.
He slipped through the Kiri ninja's guard, striking their tenketsu points with the Gentle Fist. His three opponents didn't even get launched backward; they simply collapsed where they stood, dropping to the floor like puppets with their strings abruptly cut, completely paralyzed.
Finally, my eyes drifted to Quadrant D.
It was, without a doubt, the most unnerving fight of the four. Shino hadn't moved a single inch from his starting position. His hands were still tucked deeply into his jacket pockets. Yet, his three opponents were on their hands and knees, desperately clawing at their own bodies and gasping for air. A silent black cloud of Kikaichu bugs had completely swarmed them, draining their chakra networks completely dry before they even realized they were under attack.
"Time!" Hayate's raspy voice echoed through the PA system, followed by a violent coughing fit.
The massive earth walls dividing the arena slowly rumbled, sinking back down into the floor until the battlefield was whole once again.
The dust settled, leaving only four Genin standing in the massive ring.
Myself, Sasuke, Neji, and Shino.
I uncrossed my arms and stood up straight, locking eyes with Sasuke across the arena. He gave me a sharp, competitive smirk. I just shrugged back.
From the Jonin stands, I noticed Orochimaru smiling down at me specifically. His eyes were crinkled in dark amusement.
Yep, I thought, turning away from the Sannin to face the Hokage's position. He's definitely convinced that Danzo turned me into some kind of black-ops Taijutsu monster. But, that's fine. If it keeps him looking in the wrong direction, then that's absolutely fine with me.
"The victors of the first wave," Hayate coughed into his hand, gesturing to the four of us. "Please return to the viewing balconies. We will now draw the names for the second wave."