"Easier than expected."
Utaha tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her expression perfectly composed.
Across the arena, the other long-haired girl wore a very different face.
Silence filled the hall.
Naruto, Sasuke, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the rest of the players... classmates, all of them, and every one looked stunned.
Back at the academy, these two had been neck and neck in overall rankings.
After Makoto graduated early, Sasuke had locked down first place, while second through fifth shuffled constantly between Utaha, Yukino, Haruno Yukinoshita, and the Akizuki sisters.
No one expected that barely six months after graduation, the gap would already be this wide.
"How did this happen..."
Yui watched Yukino walk back with her head down and had no idea what to say.
Airi, on the other hand, radiated smugness. "Isn't it obvious? That girl is one of Makoto's students."
On any normal day, those two would have been at each other's throats. But Yukino didn't have the energy for it right now.
Yui felt exhausted just standing between them. Being on a team with these two is impossible.
Even Haruno was at a loss for how to comfort her sister. She knew Yukino's goal had always been Makoto. But forget catching up to him. She couldn't even see the taillights on his students' car.
"Good work, Utaha."
On the other side, Ran greeted her returning teammate.
Utaha nodded, then turned to Makoto with a smile. "I hear you and that little brat don't exactly get along? Consider that payback on your behalf."
Makoto laughed before he could stop himself. "Payback? When was I ever upset?"
He wasn't the magnanimous type, but Yukino genuinely wasn't worth the emotional investment. In his eyes, she was about as threatening as a yappy Chihuahua.
That stung Yukino worse than any insult could have.
It was like the dinner at her house all over again.
She would have preferred him to mock her, to tear her down to her face.
Being ignored was so much worse.
The screen flickered again. Second draw.
Sasuke Uchiha VS Yoroi Akado.
Same matchup as the original story, same outcome.
Sasuke fought through the searing pain of the curse mark's corruption and finished his opponent with the Lion Combo.
But the effort pushed his body to its breaking point. Kakashi pulled him out early to suppress the seal.
Third match: Airi Akizuki VS Sakura Haruno.
Against a Sakura who had learned neither medical ninjutsu nor monstrous strength, Airi hammered her into a corner with a barrage of Great Fireballs.
Up on the balcony, Naruto shouted encouragement nonstop, but the crown prince's Talk no Jutsu fell flat this time.
When Airi backed Sakura against the wall and puffed up her cheeks to begin another set of seals, Sakura finally raised her hand in surrender.
As she climbed back up, Kakashi offered a consolation. "You did well out there."
Makoto couldn't hold his tongue. "What exactly have you been teaching her for the past six months?"
He'd wanted to ask this ever since the original story.
Yes, Kakashi favored Sasuke in Team 7. And maybe the higher-ups had already arranged for Jiraiya to handle Naruto's training. Fine.
But Sakura?
All he'd taught her was tree-climbing. Hadn't even covered water-walking. And then he'd sent her into the Chunin Exams?
Were you trying to get her killed?
Kakashi broke into an awkward sweat and laughed it off, barely managing to change the subject.
Fourth match: Ran Mouri VS Hayato Hayama.
Another player-versus-player bout.
"Think you could avenge my little sister for me, Hayato?" Haruno beamed at him.
"I... I'll try." Hayato's smile was strained.
He wanted nothing more than to impress the girl he liked. But against one of Makoto's students, confidence was in short supply.
Ran had been the karate club's ace back at the academy, and that was common knowledge. God only knew how strong she'd gotten since.
When they faced off in the arena, Ran spoke first. "It's been a while, Hayama."
Hayato blinked, then quickly nodded. "Y-yeah, it has."
Both were the polite type.
The difference was that one meant it, and the other wore it like a mask.
The moment Hayate called the start...
Ran exploded forward at a speed that had no business belonging to a Genin.
Hayato crossed his arms in front of his face on instinct.
But Ran dropped low, planted one hand on the ground, and in a near-handstand, swung her leg beneath his guard to crack him square under the chin.
He rocketed ten meters straight up.
While every jaw in the room dropped, Ran launched herself after him, catching up in midair. Their bodies hung parallel for a single suspended moment, one rising, one falling.
"That's...!"
Yumiko and Yui went white.
Naruto shouted it. "That's Sasuke's move from..."
The next instant, Ran unloaded on Hayato with a devastating flurry of strikes and kicks, fists and feet working in seamless combination.
The Lion Combo.
Kakashi stared at Makoto. "Can that student of yours copy techniques too?"
Makoto smiled. "No. She's got a knack for taijutsu, that's all."
The other players watched Hayato hit the ground, eyes rolled back, out cold, and collectively sucked in a breath.
Makoto's students were monsters. Every single one.
"I'm sorry! I think I used too much force... someone please help him!"
Ran hovered over the unconscious Hayato, voice rising in panic.
Yui turned to Yumiko beside her. "You don't seem all that worried, Yumiko."
She knew full well that Yumiko had always had a thing for Hayato.
"Huh?"
Yumiko snapped back to reality, flustered. "I... no, that's not..."
She hurried over to check on him, trailing off mid-excuse.
She didn't understand it herself. Seeing Hayato beaten unconscious, she wasn't nearly as upset as she'd expected. Maybe it was because they'd barely seen each other since graduation?
As Hayato was carried off for treatment, the fights continued.
The player matchups interested Makoto far more than the canon characters' bouts.
But most were unremarkable. A lot of these people were new to the game. Even counting their time at the academy, they'd been shinobi for less than five years.
Their performances didn't measure up to the original story's rookies, who at least had clan techniques backing them up.
That they'd survived the second exam at all was pure player plot armor at work.
When Rock Lee took the stage, though, even Makoto's own trio and the Akizuki sisters, who'd benefited from his personal training, watched with their mouths hanging open.
None of them would underestimate this world's "NPCs" again.
Finally, the preliminary round came to a close.
Among the players, Makoto's three-student squad and the Akizuki sisters, all of whom had received his personal coaching, advanced without issue.
The only other player to make it through was Haruno Yukinoshita.
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Every 60 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter