"Keimei Uzumaki vs. Kaori Hirota," Hayate announces.
Both Keimei and Kaori made their way downstairs while thinking about how to tackle this fight, especially for Keimei since she didn't want to let others know her true strength yet.
While they knew she was strong, they didn't know her limit, just like Naruto. The reason for this secrecy was simple, actually; she wanted to surprise Naruto, especially after the latter finally revealed the plans he had towards her.
She wasn't blind to the fact that Naruto trains her for something. While she didn't know what her fate would be, in order to ensure her safety, she had to suppress herself when fighting.
Even when she fought Orochimaru alongside other Leaf Genins, she didn't go all out, though, to Naruto watching on the sidelines.
Though Keimei believes that Naruto already guessed her plan and just didn't think of making a move against it for some reason. This is really fortunate for Keimei since she can at least lower her alertness towards Naruto.
Though that would be different for other people, especially the gaze that has been staring at her. She didn't know the source of the gaze or even if this gaze was from many people or one.
Keimei right now just had to end the battle in a short time without exerting much strength that she didn't already show.
Kaori, on the other hand, didn't really care about passing the third exam. Not because she didn't want to become a Chunin; in fact, she wants to be a Chunin as soon as possible.
The problem was the fact that her mind is currently full of thoughts around Orochimaru, especially about what happened to her big sister.
She still didn't receive any news about her despite the Leaf higher-ups' years of investigation, and some of them already concluded that she already died.
Kaori, of course, wasn't convinced about it not because she couldn't accept such truth—which she could—but because of how Orochimaru kidnapped her sister.
It was clear to Kaori that Orochimaru didn't have the intention of killing her sister but had something planned for her, a very important plan after all. As a Jonin in the Leaf, he personally kidnapped her without care of being seen.
The appearance of Orochimaru really makes Kaori lose focus on the present—in fact, she just follows the flow right now as she thinks of the possible situation of her big sister.
She is right now focused on gaining strength in a short period of time, but she doesn't know where to start.
Kaori had an initial plan, but she feared the consequences of the failure, so she greatly postponed accomplishing her plan, but right now she reconsidered it and is even willing to take such a risk in order to grow stronger.
After the two girls appeared at the arena and stared at each other for a few moments, Hayate immediately announced the start of the battle.
Kaori didn't hesitate and threw kunai and shurikens towards Keimei, which the latter quickly parried with her kunai as she bolted towards Kaori.
Kaori didn't find it surprising since she already anticipated this would happen and immediately positioned herself in a defensive pose.
'If that's what you want'
Keimei slightly smiled after seeing Kaori pose and appeared in front of her while her left fist flew towards Kaori's face.
Kaori and Keimei exchange blows one after another, and Kaori finds herself in a difficult position as Keimei slowly pressures her.
Kaori knows that fighting Keimei in close combat is a foolish decision, especially if one thinks of it even for a moment. Keimei is one of the best female ninjas in their batch, and the only reason why she didn't become the top female ninja is because she didn't participate in seduction and many similar classes, lowering her grade.
Still, Kaori didn't expect to find herself in such a difficult and disadvantageous position this quickly.
'I really underestimate Keimei's capabilities,' Kaori begrudgingly thought while blocking Keimei's fist and launching her own counterattack.
When forming her plan, she uses the knowledge she had about Keimei's strength, especially after seeing her fight against Orochimaru. Yet even so, her preparation isn't enough.
'Do I really have to hasten my plan this early? Kaori gritted her teeth as she took a few steps backwards, dodging Keimei's kick.
What is your plan, Kaori? ' Keimei thought as she once again launched various kinds of attacks on Kaori.
Keimei wasn't blind to the fact that the reason why Kaori invited her to fight in close quarters was because the latter had a plan. The question is what kind of plan Kaori is creating that brings Kaori great confidence in winning.
Keimei wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible, but deep within her, a small fire of curiosity rose and burned. Keimei wanted to win this fight even if it meant prolonging this battle.
This is the reason why she hasn't yet used any ninjutsu against Kaori despite the fact that she had many opportunities to use it and end the fight.
Keimei greatly understands that what she is currently doing is a grave mistake that will definitely bite her ass in the near future, but knowing the consequence didn't really bring fear towards her but instead excitement.
'Maybe I am starting to be like him,' Keimei thought for a moment, and her smile slightly grew bigger as she throw kunai towards Kaori which the latter quickly dodge.
"Amazing, I didn't expect Keimei to have such skill," Kakashi praised before turning his head toward Mikoto.
"Mikoto-sama, are you the one who taught Keimei this kind of taijutsu?" Kakashi asks.
Kakashi knows that Mikoto isn't really skilled in Taijutsu, but one couldn't explain such a level of skill, especially for a newbe Genin.
"It wasn't me," Mikoto shakes her head. "You should be clear about that."
While Mikoto's taijutsu skill isn't something to scoff at since it's still at the Jonin level, it was at the lower end, while Keimei showcased a higher level of skill.
Everyone already knows that Kaori is currently planning something, but they didn't expect Keimei to let her opponents continue executing her plan, especially with her martial arts skills.
But after seeing the smile on her face, they immediately realize the reason. Keimei wanted to test herself against Kaori's plan, which is really a high-risk method, but one could also tell it was the most effective and efficient from a certain perspective.
"Do you have any idea Kaori's planning?" Mikoto asks out of curiosity.
"I don't know," Kakashi slightly shakes his head.
"To be honest I'm also curious about her plan in this match," he added.
Kaori's eyes suddenly flash for a moment, and she immediately steps back, increasing the distance between her and Keimei before placing her hands on the ground.
Keimei slightly raised her eyebrow, and just as she was about to bolt towards Kaori, out of nowhere she suddenly found herself inside the crystal.
"Crystal Style: Jade Crystal Prison," Kaori's clone, who slowly appeared above the ground behind Keimei, muttered.
"When did Kaori have the chance of placing a clone underground?!" Karin exclaims.
"Probably before the match even starts," Hikari responded, voice filled with uncertainty.
"Indeed," Mikoto nodded. "She already created a clone before the match began, but it was surprising to know that Kaori had Kekkei Genkai." She turned her head to see Kakashi, who also had a shocked expression on his face.
'It seems like he didn't know about it,' Mikoto said.
While there is a chance that Kakashi is acting right now, she doubts it since it was clear to her about Kakashi's confusion previously.
They already noticed the clone beneath the ground, but they couldn't think of the reason why it would be helpful to her. Even if she launched a surprise attack, unless it was incredibly powerful, it wouldn't really work against Keimei.
Such a strategy isn't even feasible in the first place with the chakra the clone had.
Kaori really capitalized on the fact that Keimei didn't know Kaori was capable of using Shadow Clone Jutsu.
'Since when did Kaori have a Kekkei Genkai? ' Kakashi thought to himself.
He didn't hear this kind of information from Kaori or others. Kakashi was clear that Kaori clearly hides this fact for various reasons that were still unknown to him.
'I can only hope it won't turn for the worst,' he added while thinking of a specific person.
Kakashi didn't want to suspect his student of being a flight risk, but Kaori's actions displayed it and needed great investigation.
Hisateru, who had been watching the fight, couldn't help but yell in support for Kaori, especially after she showed everyone her plans.
At first Hisateru was kind of worried about Kaori's chance of winning, especially after witnessing Keimei's fighting skill, which wasn't inferior to his own.
That discovery was really an eye-opener for him, and he plans to thoroughly investigate Keimei with the help of Danzo's information network.
Hisateru wasn't surprised to see Kaori's Kekkei Genkai but instead worried that Danzo might be planning about it. Hisateru was the one who eliminated any kind of information around Kaori's Kekkei Genkai being leaked.
Hisateru already knew the fact that Kaori wanted to hide her Kekkei Genkai, which he helped her with, but also the fact that Hisateru didn't want Kaori to be controlled by Danzo, especially given how high the death rate the Roots had was.