["If you can take it, I'll admit defeat"]
[Translation: Kid, you can't take this]
[Damn, that was slick—one step into the mist and she just vanished!]
[Something this cool and you people are pausing to type comments?]
[You're typing comments too, aren't you?]
[Hanabi-sama, I am your dog!]
[Get lost, disgusting. The ONLY one who gets to be Hanabi-sama's dog is ME!]
The viewers at home could hit pause, but at the Chūnin Exam venue, Sasuke didn't have that luxury.
The moment Hanabi drew the ice sword, the entire atmosphere of the arena shifted.
That piercing cold engulfed him in an instant.
"Ephyra's Bloom and Demise—Milky Way Cascading Dream—"
The blade flash materialized right in front of him.
"Block it!"
No way to dodge.
So he'd have to tank it.
"Chidori!"
Sasuke poured everything into his chakra output. His short blade was already radiating electric light.
"BOOM—"
Hanabi hadn't loaded much force into the strike—the slash was nothing more than a raw chakra blade, without any Nature Transformation applied.
Sasuke mobilized every last drop of chakra, pushed the Sharingan to its absolute limit, pinpointed the weakness in the blade's trajectory, and met it at the optimal angle.
"I blocked it!"
A flash of triumph crossed Sasuke's face.
But in the next instant, an avalanche of blades appeared before him.
Stopping one was already Sasuke's limit. Behind it—countless more.
"BOOM!"
A relentless cascade of chakra blades tore straight through him.
Forget blocking—even shielding his vitals was a struggle.
It was a mercy that these blades carried no Nature Transformation. If even one had been converted to Ice Style or Wind Style, Sasuke could've rerolled a new character right there.
"Astonishing. Chakra blades visible to the naked eye." The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, equally stunned.
Sasuke's Chidori had been alarming enough. Hanabi's technique was on another level entirely.
The Third knew Hanabi was strong, but he hadn't expected her to be strong in every dimension—not just intelligence and ninjutsu, but even her swordsmanship was absurdly overpowering.
"To be able to fight against a Hyuga heiress of that caliber—the Uchiha's power isn't bad at all." Orochimaru offered.
"Is that how you see it, Kazekage-sama?" The "Kazekage's" phrasing almost sounded like mockery, but the Third sensed that the tone didn't quite match.
"Ah, Hyuga Hanabi—that is no longer a Genin-level shinobi."
Orochimaru had mentally revoked Hanabi's Genin certification.
He had no choice. Hanabi's strength was off the charts. If Sasuke could somehow beat this Hanabi, Orochimaru wouldn't be thinking about using Sasuke as a vessel—he'd be thinking about how fast he could run.
And after that dazzling storm of blades, Sasuke was somehow still standing.
Hanabi had held back. She hadn't let him drop immediately—but he was swaying, barely conscious.
"This is a necessary sacrifice, Sasuke."
The showstopper deployed, now came the curtain call.
Since this was a showcase fight, she needed to give the chaos-gremlin audience a satisfying finish.
So Sasuke just had to take one for the team.
Sorry about that, Sasuke!
"Hah… hah… hah hah hah…"
The short sword in Sasuke's hand had shattered.
He gritted his teeth and stumbled forward two steps, blank-eyed.
Sasuke had actually lost consciousness already. Hanabi had just staged it so he'd look like he was still fighting on sheer willpower.
And the effect? Not bad at all.
What a strong, brave kid!
"Mm…" Hayate Gekko approached. "Uchiha Sasuke has lost consciousness. The winner is Hyuga Hanabi."
"OHHH!!!"
The arena exploded with cheers.
This round had been a feast for the eyes—not just for the viewers at their screens, but the live audience too.
Nearly everyone broke into applause and cheering.
"Ohhh! Even after losing consciousness, he still wants to fight! That is the springtime of youth!" Guy's tears streamed down his face. "Lee, to honor this passion, let's do a thousand push-ups immediately!"
"Yes, Guy-sensei!"
The Team Guy duo launched into their eccentric routine.
"Two idiots."
Even Neji was speechless.
[Tutorial fight it may have been, but those effects were chef's kiss]
[My wife's battles are always gorgeous]
[Even the in-show audience is hyped, lol]
[Worth the price of admission]
[I'm just worried this episode burned through the budget—will Naruto's fight have enough production value?]
[Relax. Road to Ninja hasn't skimped on budget once. Even background fights get maxed-out frame rates and effects]
At that moment, the Medical Team approached.
"That won't be necessary. I'll take care of Sasuke." Hanabi stopped the medics and supported Sasuke herself.
"But Sasuke-san has lost consciousness—he needs our Medical Team's treatment." The lead medic protested.
"I won't trouble you two." Hanabi refused again, firmly. "I know exactly how hurt Sasuke is."
[Hanabi: I'M the one who beat him up. You think I don't know how bad it is?]
[I feel like those two are suspicious]
[I think Sasuke should still go to the hospital for a checkup]
The viewers tapped away at their comments, while the medical-nin on-site were getting annoyed. "If this goes untreated, he could develop lasting complications. Please trust us."
"Oh, I do trust you. Of course I do." Hanabi smiled. "Your skills as a medical-nin? I have complete faith."
The medical-nin sighed. "Well, in any case, please let Sasuke-kun rest first."
The two medics said their piece and left.
"Oh dear, oh dear."
Once they were out of sight, Kabuto Yakushi stripped off his disguise and put on a mask.
"Sorry about that, Orochimaru-sama. Your assignment might not go so smoothly after all."
[Grass (a type of exclamation), I knew there was a scheme]
[Damn, my Hanabi's danger-sense is ridiculous]
[My wife is incredible—absolutely scam-proof]
[Gotta find a way to marry that crazy broad]
The viewers chattered away.
Meanwhile, Hanabi was already using Zhuixia to tow Sasuke down from the arena.
Zhuixia was simultaneously repairing Sasuke's body. Aside from still being unconscious, he was largely recovered.
"Hanabi won, just like I expected. She looked so cool." Naruto had already been certain of the outcome—no surprise there.
"Why does it feel like the whole thing was a performance?" Shikamaru, on the other hand, had seen through it.
He glanced at Chōji beside him.
Chōji's match was the last one. He'd been eating potato chips nonstop since arriving at the competitors' area—easily over a dozen bags already.
"The hype's there, but something about it feels… off."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto. Naruto was adjusting his forehead protector.
"Alright, it's finally my turn!"