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Two full months had passed since the written exam. In the Konoha Stadium, Akio floated high above the ground, watching Tsunade face off against a determined old man from Kusagakure. This was the final match of the first round.
Originally, Konoha had planned to begin the combat portion of the jōnin exams immediately after the written test. However, Tobirama received a message from the daimyō, stating he wanted to attend the exams in person.
Left with no choice, the exams were delayed for two months.
Of course, the current daimyō was no longer Tsunade's "grandpa" but rather her grand-uncle. The previous daimyō—who used to call Akio one of the "108 Heroes"—had passed away years ago.
The current daimyō's initiative to attend the exams was a political move to strengthen ties with Konoha.
During the First Great Ninja War, Konoha had taken great advantage and acquired substantial resources. Now, they were essentially self-sufficient and no longer relied on the daimyō's support. The daimyō, possibly feeling a bit uneasy about this shift, offered to attend the joint jōnin exams personally.
Although Konoha had essentially freed itself from the daimyō's authority, they still had to show respect publicly. On the viewing platform, the daimyō sat in the central seat, flanked by Tobirama and Chiyo.
Akio was also a judge, but he didn't care much for the daimyō's family, so he chose to float in the sky for a better view.
In a short while, the match below came to a conclusion—no surprise, Tsunade claimed victory. With that, all seven participating ninja from the smaller villages had been eliminated. Among the other four who lost, two were from Uzushio.
Sigh "These kids still aren't strong enough…" Akio sighed. There was nothing he could do.
He had already tried to give them favorable matchups during the draw. One had faced Sasori's mother, the other a civilian chūnin from Konoha. Besides the seven small village genin, these two were the weakest. And yet, they still lost.
"Uzu's really lacking in talent… Even if they were matched against those seven small village genin, they still might not win. And even if they did, it wouldn't mean much." Among the younger generation, aside from the irresponsible Yuna, he had yet to find a promising talent.
As for the one remaining Uzushio ninja—he had slightly surprised Akio. Over the past two months, he'd successfully mastered the basic sealing technique Akio taught him, and used a Chakra Disruption Seal to launch a sudden attack, defeating a member of the Hyūga branch family. The Hyūga, who usually sealed others' chakra with Gentle Fist, got a taste of their own medicine.
While Akio's mind wandered, chakra fluctuations rose from the stadium below—jōnin skilled in Earth Release were repairing the terrain, which had been left cratered and uneven after Tsunade's battle.
Akio floated down and approached Tobirama.
Beside him, the daimyō was excitedly chatting away, thrilled by Tsunade's decisive victory.
When he noticed Akio, he greeted him politely—far more courteous than his father had been. "Elder Akio, who is young Tsunade's next opponent?"
Akio gave a small nod. "Tsunade has a bye in the next round. Since there are eleven participants left, she advances directly to the final six."
The daimyō looked even more delighted. "Do you think young Tsunade will take first place?"
Akio chuckled. "This time, we're only selecting the top three. The final three will share the top rank."
Chiyo interjected, "Why not decide a first place winner, Lord Akio?" Clearly, she believed her son, Misasa, had a strong chance.
"It doesn't matter, Elder Chiyo," Tobirama replied seriously. "All three finalists will be from Konoha anyway."
Chiyo's face stiffened.
The field was soon cleared. Aside from Tsunade, ten participants remained, paired up for five matches.
Akio glanced at the matchups and almost laughed aloud. "Didn't expect Jiraiya and Dan to end up together. That's not on purpose… Is this a love rival showdown?"
The remaining Uzushio ninja was matched against Hōzuki Mangetsu—his odds weren't great. The remaining three pairs were: Duy vs. Sasori's father; the civilian chūnin from Konoha vs. the future Third Kazekage; and finally, Sasori's mother vs. a chūnin from the Aburame clan—a difficult match to predict.
The five matches lasted the entire afternoon. Two of them ended quickly, with victories going to the future Third Kazekage and Hangetsu. The other three were drawn-out stalemates.
Especially the fight between Jiraiya and Dan. Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique was normally used to end battles quickly, but Jiraiya was incredibly stubborn, gritting his teeth through the soul-binding pain. Fortunately for him, Dan hadn't fully mastered the technique. The two stared each other down for nearly half an hour before Dan finally ran out of chakra.
"That blockhead… If he'd just activated Sage Mode, he could've broken free instantly," Akio muttered. "Is he really saving it as a trump card?"
The other two battles also ended with both of Chiyo's children losing. Duy only opened three of the Eight Gates to avoid lasting damage that might impact future rounds, and narrowly defeated Sasori's father. The Aburame ninja's insects were highly effective against puppets, eventually dismantling all of Sasori's mother's creations.
On the viewing platform, Akio smiled with satisfaction. Among the six remaining, four were from Konoha, one from Sunagakure, and one from Kirigakure.
If all went smoothly in tomorrow's finals, the last two could be eliminated, leaving only three Konoha ninja—just as Akio and Tobirama had planned.
"But tomorrow…" Akio frowned slightly. "Jiraiya and Tsunade are both going to have a tough time."
Jiraiya would be facing the strongest contender. Akio believed his five-minute Sage Mode was Jiraiya's only hope. Tsunade, meanwhile, would be up against the Aburame ninja—a poor matchup for her taijutsu. As for Might Duy, he'd be fighting Mangetsu, which shouldn't be too much trouble. According to Jitōu, Duy had already learned to open the Sixth Gate and use Morning Peacock—hydration techniques wouldn't be very effective against that.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya had the audacity to throw his arm around Tsunade's shoulders, animatedly boasting about how brilliantly he had defeated his opponent. Watching Tsunade's twitching brow, Akio couldn't help but smirk.
Sure enough, a loud crash echoed across the stadium—there was now a human-shaped hole in the side wall.
"How sweet…" Akio chuckled as he walked over.
Tsunade glared at him, but when she saw it was Akio, she slowly unclenched her fist.
"I'm not Jiraiya—these old bones wouldn't survive a punch from you. Tomorrow you're up against an Aburame ninja. His bugs counter your fighting style. Have you thought of a plan?"
Tsunade looked puzzled. "He uses bugs—can't I just use Fire Release?"
Akio blinked. "You have a fire affinity?" Tsunade always solved things with her fists. Akio had forgotten she wasn't like Duy—she actually knew ninjutsu.
Tsunade smiled proudly. "Grandpa, aside from Wind Release, I've mastered the other four elements too."
"Seriously…" Akio muttered. That was definitely news to him.
"Want me to teach you a couple Fire Release techniques?"
Tsunade shook her head. "Uncle Kagami has already made most of the Uchiha's Fire techniques public. I've learned a few."
Akio paused, then nodded.
"Uncle Kagami, huh…"
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