The preliminary match selection for Sunagakure's Joint Chunin Exam utilized a random big screen confrontation mode.
Although it was labeled as random, how it was truly arranged was a secret known only to the host.
Due to Sunagakure's unexpected dominance, every village except Konoha was completely wiped out before the main event. This left the Jonin leaders of the other villages with very dark expressions.
On the other hand, Konoha had sent only a single squad, yet that team had managed to stand out among Sunagakure's elite pool of Genin. This drew a lot of attention from the other factions.
An old, established, hidden village was simply different. No matter how decayed they became, they still possessed exceptional young talent to show to the world.
"Let the semi-finals begin."
Shiraishi still had a mountain of administrative paperwork to process back at his office, so his attitude toward the Chunin Exam was highly perfunctory. Very quickly, the first pair of contestants flashed onto the massive display screen.
Haruno Sakura VS Uzumaki Karin!
Seeing her name appear first, Haruno Sakura covered her mouth in surprise. On the opposite side, Uzumaki Karin shifted her gaze toward Uchiha Sasuke, standing beside Sakura, subtly comparing him to her own teammate, Uchiha Akira.
They both seem pretty handsome...
Uzumaki Karin... isn't she the teammate of that Uchiha guy?
Sasuke and Akira's eyes locked onto one another at the exact same moment. After a brief standoff, the two broke eye contact, but internally, they had both firmly categorized the other as a critical rival.
In the past, Sasuke was the young master of the main house of the Uchiha clan, so he had virtually zero interaction with a child from a distant branch like Akira. Although they had attended the same ninja academy, they were placed in different classes and had never spoken.
Even though they only shared a vague impression of each other's existence, a fierce desire to fight flared up within both Sasuke and Akira. Neither wanted to lose to another person bearing the Uchiha name.
The chemistry between Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Karin was completely hostile. The moment the match initialized, the two began trading incredibly brutal blows right out of the gate.
Because Tsunade had ascended to become the Fifth Hokage early in this timeline, Sakura had trained as her direct disciple, mastering the Chakra Enhanced Strength and a solid foundation of Medical Ninjutsu. Her capabilities were far superior to her counterpart at this exact same period in history.
Meanwhile, Karin was heavily influenced by her twin sister, Uzumaki Tomoko. Her combat style was equally wide-open and aggressive. Paired with the specialized Nintaijutsu taught by Shiraishi, she engaged Sakura in a direct, bone-crushing physical brawl.
Every single punch thrown by the two girls carried a terrifying amount of explosive force. The continuous shattering of concrete and flying debris across the arena was a shocking sight to behold.
"Is this really a fight between female ninja?"
Several spectators from the neutral nations looked at one another in disbelief. They had not expected the very first match of the semi-finals, fought between two female Genin, to be so incredibly savage.
The pink-haired girl and the red-haired girl looked like their muscles were remarkably packed and well-conditioned, showing a striking amount of physical tone...
Although many people wanted to criticize the unrefined nature of the brawl, they had to admit that this raw, fist-to-fist collision delivered a massive rush of adrenaline. The crowd erupted into loud cheers.
Shiraishi found the spectacle amusing and turned toward his student—and currently his only disciple—Uzumaki Tomoki. "Tomoki..."
"Teacher..."
"The Uzumaki clan is supposed to specialize in sealing techniques, right? Why do I feel like your family has transformed into a Nintaijutsu clan?"
Shiraishi's question made Tomoki want to roll his eyes, but he quickly restrained himself and remained silent.
Forget about Karin, even I rarely use the Uzumaki sealing techniques anymore...
Amused as he was, Shiraishi understood the underlying mechanics perfectly. The Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques and immense life force had not been discarded. Instead, they had been seamlessly integrated into their physical combat style in a different form.
At the very least, the cellular recovery speed of Karin's body was not a single fraction slower than Sakura's, despite the latter possessing active Medical Ninjutsu.
"Karin, let's go! Flatten her!"
"Sakura, keep it up! Don't lose to that crazy woman!"
Uzumaki Tomoko and Uzumaki Naruto noticed each other as they cheered for their respective teammates. Tomoko let out a cold laugh, making a mocking face at Naruto. "Idiot! Karin won't lose!"
"Sakura won't lose either!"
The two immediately exchanged ridiculous faces, displaying their mutual defiance and disdain. This caused Tomoki's face to twitch once more. In a flash, he used the Body Flicker technique to appear right behind Tomoko, delivering a swift punch that left a large bump on her head.
"Quiet down!"
"Yes sir!"
"Haha, so stupid!"
Naruto burst into a roaring laugh, mocking Tomoko without mercy. The latter's face flushed red with rage. Tomoki gave Naruto a deep, meaningful look before calmly materializing back beside Shiraishi.
While the Joint Chunin Exam at Mount Kikyo was unfolding in full swing, the war over in the Land of Demons had finally exploded into an absolute confrontation.
Across the vast landscape, a dense, swarming ocean of puppet legionnaires surged frantically toward the royal capital. Their perfectly synchronized, rhythmic movements created a bone-chilling display of military dread.
Even though the outermost barrier could purify their frames on contact, the undead army threw themselves against the barrier arrays without a single shred of hesitation.
As the protective barrier began to gradually splinter and degrade under the continuous friction, Kikyo, clad in her pure white robes, slowly stepped outside the gates of the capital. Her silver bow bent as she released her first volley, instantly purifying a massive cluster of the vanguard forces before her.
Kikyo's direct intervention immediately raised the alarms for Yomi on the opposite side of the field. Having trained the ancient Onmyodo arts of the Land of Demons, he could naturally sense the holy aura radiating from her body.
"A priestess? That's impossible!"
Sensing that Kikyo was a major obstacle, several mercenary ninja contracted by Yomi's faction surged forward, launching a barrage of kunai and hidden projectiles toward her position.
In their strategic notes, these priestesses possessed strange spiritual traits but were exceptionally weak in raw, close-quarters physical combat.
However, the moment a female Jonin managed to close the distance to Kikyo, a sudden explosion of pure spiritual energy erupted from the priestess's palm. A brilliant silver flash detonated outward, violently blasting the female Jonin's body through the air.
This was only because Kikyo had deliberately held back her killing intent; otherwise, the mercenary's skull would have been pulverized instantly. Yet, even with that restraint, the woman slammed into the ground, severely traumatized and completely unconscious.
Weren't priestesses supposed to be completely defenseless in close quarters?Why does this woman seem capable of blowing someone's head off with her bare hands?
As the forces of Yomi stood frozen in absolute shock by the unexpected counterattack, Kikyo calmly retrieved her silver bow and unsealed her Twelve Rainbows of Demon Purification. She notched a brilliant blue arrow across the string, its tip instantly gathering a blinding, luminous sphere of light.
The moment the Arrow of Purification was released, the surrounding atmosphere vibrated violently. The very ground cracked along its trajectory as the blue projectile carried a supreme wave of light across the battlefield.
Yomi and the entirety of his undead legion were instantly enveloped within a compressed, inescapable zone of light.
Countless soldiers saw their physical structures disintegrate into absolute nothingness under the pressure of the strike. Even the demon residing deep within Yomi's body felt a primitive sensation of pure terror.
It felt as though it had run straight into its ultimate, absolute predator.
"Wow! Sister Kikyo is so amazing!"
Shion had transformed into a complete fan, trailing right behind Kikyo's heels to cheer her on, unable to contribute anything else to the situation. In truth, the remaining high-ranking ministers of the Land of Demons shared the exact same mindset, watching Kikyo's solo performance in absolute awe.
It appeared that the apocalyptic crisis threatening the survival of their entire country was not even worth mentioning in front of this woman.
The wave of purifying light swept cleanly across the plains. Under Kikyo's very first offensive strike, the unstoppable undead army began to systematically fall apart.
"This is impossible! Who on earth are you?!"
The scene playing out before their eyes left Yomi and his surviving ninja completely unable to process reality. They could not accept that a mere priestess could command this tier of raw, cataclysmic destruction.
Kikyo slowly lowered her bow, her expression entirely calm. "I am just a priestess..."
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