Chapter 39: Chūnin
Seeing Ishiro charge him again so recklessly, Kenmoto kept calm this time and exhibited the true combat prowess of a veteran chūnin.
Although Ishiro had chosen a good moment to press the attack – Kenmoto was clearly tired after repeated Earth-Style Evade leaps and had already been in poor shape since that explosive tag – the gap in raw ability was still there. After those opening strikes, Ishiro gradually found himself suppressed, and soon it looked like he would lose.
Just as the watchers believed Ishiro was about to be defeated, Ishiro abruptly hurled his longsword away in mid-fight.
Kenmoto was taken aback. He never expected Ishiro to discard his best weapon now. Though Ishiro was in a precarious spot, it wasn't that dire. Tossing away one's main weapon would normally hasten defeat, not prevent it.
Yet the sheer surprise gave Ishiro a brief opening. Kenmoto, startled by the flying sword-turned-projectile, was forced to parry it, inadvertently letting Ishiro withdraw to a short distance.
After blocking the sword, Kenmoto saw Ishiro retreating while forming one-handed seals with his right hand. Meanwhile, Ishiro's left hand fished out two shuriken.
The sight alarmed Kenmoto. A single-handed ninjutsu? In his battered condition, if Ishiro unleashed some "strange technique," the outcome was unpredictable. Kenmoto poured the last of his strength into rushing Ishiro. He believed he only needed to close in – Ishiro, equipped with just two shuriken, wouldn't hold out in close quarters. But if he let Ishiro finish a new jutsu, anything might happen.
This spectacle also stunned the onlookers. From the start, Ishiro's side had been a fierce, fast-paced brawl, quite unlike the other match in which both sides tested one another. Hence everyone's attention stayed on Ishiro.
Unlike the startled genin, though, the two jōnin instructors and the top leadership quickly realized what Ishiro was doing: the seals were not for an offensive ninjutsu, but rather a sealing hand sign.
"Gave me a scare," one senior advisor quipped.
Others nodded. They all felt slightly relieved. If Ishiro truly had single-handed ninjutsu mastery, that would've been even more astonishing.
Sure enough, after forming a brief chain of seals, Ishiro's right hand smacked his left wrist. Just then, Ishiro twisted his sleeve to reveal the sealing script on his forearm.
At Ishiro's touch, a brand-new longsword materialized from nowhere, thanks to a fūinjutsu. Kenmoto, in mid-charge, never expected that. He had assumed Ishiro was basically unarmed. And though he was eager to settle things, he couldn't easily stop momentum nor predict such a move.
Now Ishiro's new sword was significantly longer than Kenmoto's kunai. Under normal conditions, Kenmoto wouldn't be daunted – Ishiro's swordsmanship wasn't that good. Yet his body was already at its limit. Facing Ishiro's brandished longsword with no time to adjust, Kenmoto braced himself as best he could.
Ishiro, recalling the special training from Kitsuchi, capitalized on this advantage for a ferocious melee. Over the past three days, he'd repeatedly rehearsed these sequences, though never this successfully. Because now Kenmoto's battered condition and disrupted focus let Ishiro launch a nonstop flurry of attacks. Kenmoto, forced wholly on the defensive, had zero chance to mount a counter.
Just as the spectators thought Ishiro might defeat Kenmoto with that fierce blade assault, Ishiro unexpectedly ceased slashing and started making seals again.
It wasn't that Ishiro wanted to let up – it was that he couldn't continue. He had only a handful of sword moves, all used up in that opening rush. If he carried on, Kenmoto would surely adapt. Worse, Ishiro wouldn't get another opening for ninjutsu. And in truth, Ishiro's entire reason for learning that sword pattern was to create ninjutsu opportunities. Now was the perfect time.
Sure enough, Kenmoto had also banked on Ishiro's blade combos continuing for a few more seconds, so he was momentarily unprepared. Seeing Ishiro suddenly pull away, Kenmoto reacted by reflex: he leapt backward. A moment later, he realized the peril: Ishiro was weaving signs for a new jutsu.
Kenmoto wanted to cry. So close, yet so far. He could see no way to disrupt Ishiro's casting in time. At this short distance, with Kenmoto battered, how could he hope to dodge another ninjutsu barrage?
Indeed, Ishiro finished a Earth Spear Gun. Kenmoto evaded the first two spikes but found himself pinned at the third. Just before that final spike would've impaled him, Kitsuchi intervened to save Kenmoto – that was the signal that the exam concluded. Ishiro had won.
Thus, Ishiro successfully defeated Kenmoto and passed his chūnin trial.
It was a close victory, largely hinged on intelligence. For one, Ishiro had gleaned Kenmoto's moves in advance. He tailored an entire strategy to exploit them. Example: after Kenmoto used Earth-Style Evade and disappeared from Ishiro's line of sight, Ishiro quickly guessed Kenmoto might use Earth Clone. A brief sensor ninjutsu then told him exactly where Kenmoto and the clone were. Ishiro lured Kenmoto into his trap accordingly.
Another factor: Ishiro had discovered Kenmoto was hyper-cautious – that was the single biggest reason he could run so many feints. If Kenmoto were a reckless bruiser, he might have rushed Ishiro from the start and not given him space to cast multiple jutsu.
Meanwhile, Kenmoto's intel on Ishiro was incomplete. First, he had no idea Ishiro couldn't do Fire Release; that let Ishiro feign Great Fireball. Second, he never suspected Ishiro had sensor ninjutsu. Third, he had no clue Ishiro was a fūinjutsu user who'd stored a second blade at his wrist. Lastly, he didn't realize how thoroughly two unhelpful teammates had "sold him out."
After using nearly ten jutsu total – accompanied by intense close-quarters fights – Ishiro burned over half his chakra reserves. But Kenmoto, a taijutsu fighter, ironically had used little chakra; that is a typical strength of close-combat ninjas. Yet he never got to exploit that staying power, hammered down by Ishiro's cunning.
As Ishiro relaxed at last, fatigue overwhelmed him. Outdueling a seasoned chūnin was no joke. He'd gleaned a huge trove of experience from the fight. Later reflection would surely yield more growth.
Kitsuchi, from a short distance, could see Ishiro's new confidence. Before, Ishiro only half-believed in his future power – fancying himself more of a support type or a "backliner." By contrast, Kakashi in the Leaf, for instance, had tried rushing forward with Chidori the moment he'd become jōnin, ignoring Minato's warnings. Overly reckless, yes, but that also showed an unwavering mindset. Ishiro wasn't quite at that level, but some self-assurance had awakened in him. Kitsuchi understood how vital such intangible belief was for a ninja.
At the same time, the senior officials conferred:
A middle-aged advisor concluded: "Strong mental power, Earth/Water dual affinity, sensor ninjutsu, battle-ready sealing techniques, cunning battle sense, intelligence for illusions or feints, well-linked ninjutsu combos. He'll be an excellent chūnin."
Ōnoki and the others nodded in accord.
When Ishiro finished retrieving his belongings – notably the blade he'd thrown – he ended up lugging two swords, which looked odd, but nobody who watched the fight found that strange.
He accompanied Kitsuchi back to the sidelines, where they joined the audience watching the other ongoing match.
Ishiro's duel had blazed from the start, while Ikura's fight with Nagao was more typical: both used ninjutsu and taijutsu in even measure, so neither had a glaring weakness or advantage. The pace was steady, the skill level higher, and the fight much longer.
Ishiro watched, recovering. Eventually, Ikura and Nagao concluded their match. Ishiro was astonished to see how much chakra Ikura had spent—easily ten times what Ishiro used, culminating in a final B-rank ninjutsu that wowed the crowd.
Ishiro felt both admiration and envy, yet also recognized it was a good thing to have a rival's back to chase.
Ikura's performance was nearly flawless—someone of his caliber might qualify as a "special jōnin" right now.
Ōnoki then handed each newly promoted chūnin a standard flak vest. With great excitement, he gave a short lecture on the Will of Stone.
But Ishiro mostly fretted over the new-chūnin perks. In addition to standard gear, each newly promoted genin was awarded a supply of special "medicinal meals." As the two best of their generation, Ishiro and Ikura were each granted two shares.
Ishiro was thrilled. Lately, he'd diverted so much energy into sealing that his ninjutsu progress lagged behind. With these special rations, he resolved to temporarily shift focus onto ninjutsu training, upping his combat skill again.
But that would come later. For now, Ishiro and the rest planned to pester Kitsuchi for a celebratory meal. After all, the past three days of special training had been brutal.
Feeling no shame, Ishiro sidled up to Kitsuchi and said, "Captain Kitsuchi, to celebrate my promotion, how about you treat us to barbecue?"
Kitsuchi froze. You pass the exam, so I foot the bill? He was about to refuse when Tanaka, seeing Ishiro's hint, joined in, "Yeah, Captain, you haven't treated us since the day we first met."
Kitsuchi was casting about for excuses, but Ishiro had already waved to Team Two. "Mizuhara-sensei, Ikura, Meikō, Yumi – come on, Captain Kitsuchi's buying a feast of grilled meat! Mizuhara-sensei, do join us!"
Kitsuchi's protest got stuck in his throat. When did I ever agree…?