After Makoto, the Jonin instructors arrived at the central tower one by one.
Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma... even Orochimaru, disguised as a Sound Village Jonin instructor.
Thanks to Makoto's scheming, Might Guy was notably absent from this gathering. But there was an addition no one expected.
Wearing a mask, posing as a Hidden Mist Jonin instructor: Obito Uchiha.
Kakashi had no idea that the man whose grave he'd recently visited was standing right across from him, alive and breathing.
Then, just as in the original story, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared in person to address the candidates.
He explained the true purpose of the Chunin Exams, then delivered the bad news: too many had passed the second phase, so an additional preliminary round would be held to thin the ranks.
Groans rippled through the candidates, but the Hokage's word was law.
Hayate Gekko stepped forward from Hiruzen's side. "I understand that after the second phase, another round of testing is exhausting." A dry cough. "Anyone who wishes to withdraw may do so now."
Everyone frowned.
They'd come this far. Who would quit?
Then, true to form, Kabuto Yakushi raised his hand. He couldn't risk exposing his abilities in front of the Hokage and so many elite shinobi.
And right after him...
"I'm sorry. I'm dropping out too."
Kakeru Tobe raised his remaining right hand.
"Tobe!?"
Hayato Hayama, Yumiko Miura, and Yui Yuigahama turned to him in shock.
Tobe touched the stump of his left shoulder and managed a thin smile. "Can't exactly fight like this, can I? Whether I can even stay a ninja is up in the air."
For a civilian-born shinobi, combat meant hand seals. Losing a hand didn't just end his exam run. It put his entire career in question.
"Lord... Lord Hokage. I withdraw as well."
Saika Totsuka hesitated, then raised a hand.
"Saika!?"
Hachiman stared at his teammate in disbelief.
"Sorry, Hachiman. The second exam pushed my body to its limit." Saika clenched a small fist and flashed an encouraging gesture. "You'll have to become a Chunin for both of us, okay?"
Hachiman's face went crimson. Then he nodded with a fierceness that surprised even himself. "Yeah. I will."
Naruto muttered under his breath, "Something's a little off with those two..."
Makoto glanced at him, then at Sasuke.
You're one to talk.
With three withdrawals settled, the preliminaries began in earnest.
Hayate cleared his throat. "Now then, we'll determine matchups by random draw. The two selected combatants will enter the arena below. Everyone else, please proceed to the second-floor balcony."
The large screen on the wall flickered to life, names cycling through in rapid succession.
More than a few candidates swallowed hard.
Seconds later, two names locked in place.
Utaha Kasumigaoka VS Yukino Yukinoshita.
Every eye in the room snapped to the two girls with long black hair.
Makoto's interest sharpened.
Back in his previous life, the two most commonly featured series in crossover fiction were Oregairu and Saekano. And Yukino versus Utaha was a comparison fans never tired of making.
Long black hair. Sharp tongues. Top of their class.
If Makoto had to choose, though... or if you polled the readers here... ninety-nine percent would pick Utaha.
The reason was simple: hers were bigger.
Ahem. Shallow.
The deeper reason was this: while both had razor-sharp tongues, the way they wielded them couldn't have been more different.
Utaha only turned hers on people who deserved it, like the creeps at school who wouldn't take no for an answer.
And when she was sharp with people she cared about, it read more like affection than cruelty. The way you'd call your lover an idiot and mean the opposite.
Yukino, on the other hand, was an equal-opportunity destroyer. Early on, she'd verbally eviscerate anything that moved. Stray dogs included.
This was especially true in the crossover fiction scene. Virtually every crossover protagonist followed the same script: get dragged into the Service Club by Iron Fist Shizuka, then get their ego shredded by Yukino.
The quintessential crossover fiction experience. A rite of passage. An absolute dumpster fire of a trope.
Even at thirteen, Utaha already carried herself with a poise beyond her years.
As she swept her hair back, a faint scent of smoky herbs drifted toward Makoto.
"Want to make a bet?" he said. "Loser washes my underwear for a month."
"Heh." Utaha's smile was pure contempt. "And if I win, Sensei-kun lies down and lets me grind my heel into his face."
"Deal. But wear black stockings."
"..."
Megumi: "..."
Ran: "..."
...
On the other side of the arena.
Haruno glanced at her younger sister. "Think you'll win?"
Yukino descended the stairs without looking back. "I'll win."
She knew she couldn't beat Makoto. Not yet. So she'd start with his student instead.
Watching the two girls take their positions at center stage, Hiruzen sighed. "Quite a few talented civilian students in this generation."
Up on the balcony, Anko cupped her hands around her mouth. "Yukino! Don't you dare embarrass me!"
Both fighters took their marks. Hayate raised his hand.
"Begin."
The word hadn't finished echoing before Yukino moved.
She leapt backward, body still airborne, hands already blurring through seals.
"Ninjutsu: Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
The instant her feet hit the ground, water erupted around her ankles, surging upward into razor-sharp liquid spears that lanced straight for Utaha.
Makoto tilted his head. So Yukino's Chakra affinity is water. Honestly, with that personality, I'd have pegged her for ice.
But Utaha's hands were already moving, seal for seal, matching the pace.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The basic Fire Style and Water Style attacks clashed in a violent eruption of steam.
But water held the natural elemental advantage, and the Wild Water Wave punched through the fireball's remnants. Weakened to a fraction of its original force, it kept coming.
As the water spears closed in, Utaha reached behind her into her equipment pouch, drew a fan of shuriken, and hurled them with a sharp snap of her arm.
The spinning blades split every incoming water spear clean in half.
"Shuriken cut through Wild Water Wave!?"
Faces on the balcony went pale.
Asuma narrowed his eyes. "Wind-natured Chakra, layered onto the blades."
His signature trick. He recognized it instantly.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Yukino shifted seals without missing a beat. Water erupted beneath her feet again, this time curving into a dome-shaped barrier that enclosed her completely.
But the shuriken that should have slammed into the wall changed direction mid-flight, wheeling around the dome like Funnels in lazy, lethal orbits.
That shook a few more spectators.
Sasuke had activated his two-tomoe Sharingan without realizing it. "Wires," he murmured.
Every shuriken was strung together, controlled by Utaha's fingers. The Uchiha clan's favorite trick.
It hit him then. After Makoto had graduated early, this girl had held the second-best shuriken scores in the entire academy. Right behind him.
Her wire control wasn't Uchiha-level precise. But against Yukino, it didn't need to be.
The instant the Water Formation Wall collapsed, she snapped her wrist.
Every shuriken orbiting Yukino fired inward from all directions at once.
Yukino's face drained of color.
A heartbeat before impact, massive serpents burst from the air, coiling into a living shield that swatted every blade aside.
All eyes traced the snakes back to their source: tails wound tight around Anko Mitarashi's left arm.
"No point continuing." Anko shrugged.
As Yukino's Jonin instructor, she knew her student had no answer for that final attack.
Hayate stepped forward.
"Winner: Utaha Kasumigaoka."