Hatake Sakumo looked at Ryu, who was not far away, with a very cold gaze. He knew it wasn't just because of their feud in the Forest of Death, but also because he had almost killed the girl named Chizuru during the preliminary exams.
Although he hadn't intended to, and had reined in his power just enough, to others, it truly seemed as if the girl had nearly died by Hatake Sakumo's hand.
"Prepare yourself, Hatake Sakumo," Ryu said, throwing out two scrolls from his person, then summoning two puppets to guard him.
Hatake Sakumo recognized one of them as the defense puppet Chizuru used, confirming his suspicions. Ryu, at such a young age, could control two puppets, demonstrating his exceptional talent.
It was said that Ryu's mother could control five puppets back then, and he wondered how many she could control now.
"Although this might sound a bit rude, the winner of this round will be me," Hatake Sakumo said seriously.
"Hmph, don't think that just because you've gained an advantage in two battles, you're guaranteed to win," Ryu snorted, saying, "I am the son of the Puppet Master's direct disciple; I will never lose to you."
"The Puppet Master, is that Mon-zaemon? I heard that my teacher crippled several of his puppets, and then he died under the siege of Mirror-sensei and others. To face those people alone and hold them off for a period of time is truly impressive," Hatake Sakumo said.
"Ah, yes, there is indeed that past event. Since you are Fumori Masaki's student, I will seek revenge not only for Chizuru, but also for my mother and Lord Mon-zaemon," Ryu said, and with that, he controlled his puppets to charge at Hatake Sakumo.
Hatake Sakumo adjusted his breathing, drawing his short sword from its sheath. A sound like a startled bird rang out, followed by a dazzling white light.
Just as the puppet was about to activate its mechanism, Hatake Sakumo charged forward. The snowy white sword light swept across the puppet's body, and before its hidden mechanism could be released, it was severed into two pieces.
"What?!" Ryu was greatly startled and quickly controlled his defense puppet to block in front of him. As the mechanism activated, wind-attribute chakra adhered to its surface.
Even when Hatake Sakumo's short sword struck, the lightning glow of the blade was extinguished by the wind-attribute chakra, unable to break through.
Hatake Sakumo retracted his sword and retreated, his figure shifting like lightning. He appeared at Ryu's side, swinging his short sword again.
Although Ryu hurriedly controlled his puppet to block, after a flash of sword light, some parts of the defense puppet fell off, clearly indicating partial damage.
—So strong!
Ryu was shocked. He hadn't expected Hatake Sakumo to be this powerful. Despite using lightning-attribute chakra, which was disadvantageous against wind release, he relied on his speed and swordsmanship to accurately strike the puppet's vital points, leaving Ryu no time to even defend.
Could someone of such strength truly be his peer?
Ryu wasn't the only one feeling shocked; Chiyo, standing beside the Second Kazekage, also felt it. Although the opponent used lightning-attribute chakra, his movements reminded her of someone:Fumori Masaki five years ago.
At that time,Fumori Masaki had completely suppressed her in the same way.
Should it be said that a teacher produces a similar disciple, or is that simply the kind of ninja this young man is, Chiyo wondered.
After witnessing Hatake Sakumo's strength, Chiyo no longer believed her son had the ability to win, and could only pray for his safe return.
She looked at her son, whose face was filled with anxiety in the arena, and couldn't help but feel a surge of impulse. If the rules hadn't forbidden it, she would have already gone to bring her son back.
Ryu still had another puppet scroll on him, but now one puppet was already useless, and the other was half-damaged. Even if he released the remaining puppet, he might not be able to win against his opponent.
Ultimately, as a puppeteer, most of Ryu's strength lay in his puppets, and his training in chakra nature transformation was insufficient.
If he were to confront Hatake Sakumo, perhaps a pure wind release ninja would be more effective.
If Ryu possessed the ninjutsu prowess of the village's wind release masters, the defense puppet wouldn't have had its chakra weak points found by Hatake Sakumo and been pierced by lightning release.
Even if wind release jutsu were loaded into the puppet, it wouldn't pose much of a threat to Hatake Sakumo's speed.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Spear!"
In the instant Ryu was momentarily distracted, Hatake Sakumo concentrated lightning-style chakra onto his short sword, shaping it like a long spear.
Then, with a swing from Hatake Sakumo, a flash of electricity burst forth, exploding in front of Ryu. Shards of rock, carrying immense force, pierced through the puppet and struck Ryu's body.
Ryu involuntarily coughed up a mouthful of blood, his breath suddenly catching in his throat, and his body slumped to the ground.
At that moment, he saw a pair of feet appear in his line of sight, and the cold blade rested on his neck, its chill palpable.
"Give up and surrender. Before you can use any ninjutsu, I can cut off your head," Hatake Sakumo said.
Ryu's palm stiffened slightly. After an intense internal struggle, he slowly relaxed, and the chakra threads on his fingers disappeared, no longer able to control the puppets' movements.
Seeing his actions, Hatake Sakumo nodded slightly, saying nothing, but instead glanced at Mitokado Homura.
"The winner of the fourth round, Hatake Sakumo!" Mitokado Homura didn't wait long, and after confirming that Ryu had lost any chance of turning the tide, he announced loudly.
The audience erupted in cheers, and Tsunade clapped her hands happily. Two people from the same faction had passed the third exam, and including Orochimaru, all the remaining contestants were from the Hidden Leaf Village.
All the candidates from other villages had been eliminated. In the preliminaries, Hyuga Kazuya had lost to a Hidden Cloud Village ninja, which was a bad start, but now they had regained their honor.
The fact that all the remaining contestants were from the Hidden Leaf Village was clear proof.
Although her son lost, Chiyo breathed a sigh of relief, because she knew this was the best outcome. Hatake Sakumo had every ability to kill her son, yet he let him go.
For this alone, she could reluctantly thank Fumori Masaki.
"Congratulations, Lord Hokage. In this Chunin Exam, your Hidden Leaf Village is the victor," said the Second Raikage.
Although the final winner had not yet been decided, for the other ninja villages, this was no different from the end.
No matter who it was, they would be a Hidden Leaf Village candidate, not someone from another ninja village. Therefore, the Second Raikage could consider the Chunin Exam officially over.
"You flatter me," Tobirama accepted the Second Raikage's compliment with composure.
He was naturally pleased to see this, as it demonstrated the strength of the Hidden Leaf Village.
The others exchanged glances, all showing a hint of solemnity. The Hidden Leaf Village had at least three promising young individuals, while their own villages' excellent ninjas had lost to them.
It truly lived up to its reputation as the Hidden Leaf Village, and its praise as the leader of the Five Great Ninja Villages was well-deserved.
The Minister of the Land of Fire also understood this. As the Daimyo's most trusted official, his responsibility was to observe the strength of the Hidden Leaf Village.
It was known that due to the Hidden Leaf Village's support for commerce, their financial demands on the capital were not very high, which greatly worried the Daimyo.
The Hidden Leaf Village was the strongest military force in the entire Land of Fire, and if they no longer relied on the Daimyo, they might very well break free from his control.
As it stood, the Hidden Leaf Village remained very loyal to the Daimyo, with no overt acts of defiance. Although the Hidden Leaf Village had never particularly supported the Daimyo's ambitions for conquest, the opposition from other nobles in the capital made it difficult to criticize the Hidden Leaf Village.
However, the growing power of the Hidden Leaf Village was an undeniable fact. Once they harbored ill intentions, they would pose a threat to the nation that can't be ignored, the minister thought.
The capital must immediately take action to either win over or counterbalance the Hidden Leaf Village, otherwise, regret would come too late.
As the minister felt wary, today's exams concluded. After the three returned to rest, the next round of exams would begin.
However, as the Second Raikage had thought, the outcome was no longer important, at least not for the ninja world. The Hidden Leaf Village, however, could still be observed closely as a reference.
On their way back to the annex, the other Kage felt very depressed, as they had to watch the Leaf ninjas perform without any candidates from their own villages present.
As leaders of ninja villages, it was truly humiliating. Tobirama, however, was very happy, as all the remaining candidates were from the Leaf Village.
He specifically called Fumori Masaki to his office, preparing to lavish praise upon him.
"I truly didn't expect Hatake Sakumo to be so outstanding, Masaki. You must have carefully trained him," Tobirama said with a smile.
"That's because Sakumo's talent is exceptional. It would have been a real shame for him to become a samurai. Fortunately, his family joined the ninja village in time,"Fumori Masaki said.
Tobirama nodded and said, "Yes, that's a very fortunate thing. If my judgment isn't wrong, he will also be the final winner.
In terms of strength alone, he is the strongest of the three. Orochimaru has no hope, and while Hattori Heizo has some, he is Hatake Sakumo's fellow student.
Hatake Sakumo is undoubtedly very familiar with his techniques, so it won't be as easy as dealing with others."
"Teacher, I think the same as you,"Fumori Masaki had great confidence in Hatake Sakumo, and after careful analysis, his conclusion matched Tobirama's.
"The Chunin Exams are about to end, and then I can announce my abdication to you," Tobirama leaned back in his chair and said, "You managed the Chunin Exams very well.
I'm sure everyone has seen your performance, so there won't be any objections. Even if there are, as long as you have the support of the majority, you don't need to worry."
"Thank you, Teacher. When I ascend to the position of Hokage, I will diligently govern this village, making it more prosperous, and strive to realize Lord Hashirama's ideals as soon as possible,"Fumori Masaki immediately bowed and said.
Tobirama's gaze softened. Since becoming Hokage, he had strived for the village's prosperity, unwilling to betray his brother's efforts.
This was what Hashirama valued most. Hashirama had cherished his friendship with Madara, but when Madara sought to destroy his life's work, Hashirama could only endure the pain and deliver that one blow.
Therefore, Tobirama would never allow the village to perish, no matter what.
Before his brother's death, he had named two candidates to inherit the Hokage position: Hiruzen Sarutobi and Fumori Masaki.
Now, he had finally found the most suitable successor, and he believed thatFumori Masaki would not disappoint him. The Hidden Leaf Village would go far underFumori Masaki's governance.
"The news of your succession as Hokage has already begun to spread. I will have people handle it. You don't need to do anything special, just continue as usual," Tobirama said.
"Understood,"Fumori Masaki agreed, and after discussing a few things with Tobirama, he took his leave.
One day later, the Chunin Exams resumed. This time it was truly the final round of exams, starting with Orochimaru versus Hatake Sakumo.
At this point, Orochimaru did not yet possess the strange forbidden jutsu he would later acquire, only mastering ordinary elemental jutsu.
Facing Hatake Sakumo, who specialized in Lightning Release and swordsmanship, he had no advantage. His Good at Earth Release was countered by Lightning Release, and Wind Release also failed to gain any advantage.
He very simply lost to Hatake Sakumo.
After a short rest, it was Hatake Sakumo versus Hattori Heizo. The two young students from the same school fought for a goal for the first time, giving it their all.
Hatake Sakumo was well aware of Hattori Heizo's techniques, as he had practiced with him countless times in their daily training.
Hattori Heizo also knew Hatake Sakumo's sword style. However, precisely because of this, he couldn't defeat Hatake Sakumo.
Sometimes, simple tactics were the most effective, and there was no method to break them. The only thing to rely on was pure strength.
In terms of pure strength, Hattori Heizo was inferior to Hatake Sakumo. Although he could cause trouble for Hatake Sakumo, he couldn't truly defeat him.
When the short sword was pointed at his neck, Hattori Heizo didn't resist much. Instead, he relaxed his body and said, "I lost."
"You fought well," Hatake Sakumo said with a smile.
With Hatake Sakumo becoming the victor of the Chunin Exams, this joint Chunin Exam hosted by the Five Great Nations finally concluded.
Regardless of their intentions, the attending spectators had gained much from this Chunin Exam and prepared to return with a sense of satisfaction.
Just as Hatake Sakumo was becoming the village's pride, a piece of news began to circulate within the village: the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, felt his health declining and intended to abdicate.
It was said that his preferred successor was Hatake Sakumo's teacher,Fumori Masaki. The ninja clans had long had this premonition, and now, upon hearing this news, though surprised, they found it to be within reason.
The smaller ninja clans naturally followed the Hokage's lead, but renowned clans like the Hyuga and Uchiha would not stand idly by.
Even if Uchiha Kagami did not wish to compete for the Hokage position, there were still those who incited him to do so.