Chapter 961

Tayuya let out a breath.

Although she didn't win, she had at least salvaged her image.

The second round of sparring matches went on one after another, but there were far fewer matches than in the first round.

They plummeted from seventeen matches down to nine.

In other words, there were a total of eighteen students who made it into the second round.

In fact, these eighteen students essentially meant they were the ones who would be going on missions.

"Next, I will announce the list of students who have advanced to the third round."

Kitazawa stood before the drawing box and said.

Previously, thirteen students had advanced to the third round of the monthly exam.

That was the Konoha 12, excluding Choji Akimichi, plus Hana Inuzuka and Yakumo Kurama.

But this time, three more had advanced to the third round.

All of the Konoha 12 had advanced, plus Hana Inuzuka, Yakumo Kurama, Tayuya, and Kimimaro Kaguya, for a total of sixteen.

Haku didn't advance because he hadn't yet mastered Ice Release.

As for Jugo, his strength was sufficient after entering Sage Mode, but he hadn't used it, and he had no advantage relying solely on Konoha-style taijutsu.

As for Karin, she didn't make it to the third round simply because her sealing jutsu were not suited for combat.

Tayuya patted her chest.

At least she had made it into the third round, which meant the top sixteen.

If she hadn't made it into the third round, she really could have found a crack in the ground to crawl into.

After all, before the practical exam, she had sworn confidently that she would definitely make the top five.

Kimimaro Kaguya, on the other hand, couldn't be happy at all.

Although he had advanced to the third round, he had lost both of his first two matches.

If he were still in the Hidden Sound Village, he would have been eliminated long ago.

Jugo, however, remained calm.

He was looking forward more to Kitazawa's Eightfold Earth Seal; as long as he could recover to normal, he didn't care if he was in the Hidden Sound Village or the Hidden Leaf Village.

Moreover, he didn't have any loyalty to the Hidden Sound Village to begin with; he only cared about his good friend, Kimimaro Kaguya.

"Life in the genius class is getting harder and harder."

Kiba Inuzuka sighed and said.

"I have to work twice as hard."

Ino Yamanaka waved her small fist and glanced at Sakura Haruno.

"Competing on the same stage with geniuses, this is what youth is all about!"

Rock Lee said with great excitement.

"That's right, youth is about competing with each other! Improving together!"

Naruto Uzumaki said with great agitation.

"Itachi two really have a lot of energy."

Shikamaru Nara shook his head and said.

"While there's still time, hurry up and recover your chakra."

Tenten reminded them.

Hearing this, the group ended their chat and began to refine their chakra one after another.

"Rest time is over, we will now begin the third round."

Kitazawa reached out and took two small slips of paper from the drawing box, "The first sparring match, Kimimaro Kaguya versus Sasuke Uchiha."

"Another brilliant battle."

Tenten said immediately.

Sasuke Uchiha, needless to say, had been in the top three of the genius class for years.

Although Kimimaro Kaguya had lost two matches in a row, he had lost with honor, and his strength had already been recognized by everyone.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura Haruno looked at Sasuke Uchiha, said nothing, and just called out his name.

"I declare that Kimimaro is the unluckiest person in this monthly exam!"

Kiba Inuzuka suddenly discovered something and spoke up.

"What do Itachi mean unluckiest?"

Ino Yamanaka asked curiously.

"The draw, of course."

Kiba Inuzuka spread his hands and asked, "Drawing Naruto, Yakumo, and Sasuke in a row, isn't that unlucky?"

"Now that Itachi mention it, his luck really is terrible."

Hana Inuzuka was stunned for a moment and agreed.

"Why do I feel like Kimimaro is being targeted?"

Tayuya frowned and asked.

"Kitazawa-sensei couldn't be that kind of person!"

Ino Yamanaka immediately retorted.

"Kitazawa-sensei definitely isn't."

Hinata Hyuga nodded quickly.

Due to her personality, she didn't participate much in discussions.

But when it involved Kitazawa, she certainly couldn't remain silent.

"Our rankings aren't based on wins and losses, but on performance; who we are matched against doesn't really make a difference."

Kiba Inuzuka shook his head, not believing that Kitazawa would rig the matches for Kimimaro Kaguya.

"That's true."

Sakura Haruno agreed, "And Kitazawa-sensei treats us all the same; everyone has their own training content."

Tayuya fell into silence upon hearing this.

What Sakura Haruno said was indeed correct; even she had been taught a B-rank genjutsu when she first joined the genius class.

And why would Kitazawa target Kimimaro Kaguya? There was no reason, and no need.

Thinking of this, Tayuya felt a bit guilty.

After all, Kitazawa had been quite good to her from start to finish, and it was she who had been somewhat ungrateful.

"..."

Shikamaru Nara wanted to say something but stopped.

He instinctively felt that Kimimaro Kaguya was being targeted by Kitazawa, but he didn't dare say it.

Besides, no one would believe him; his words carried little weight.

"Kimimaro, be careful."

Jugo warned.

Kimimaro Kaguya nodded and walked into the center of the arena.

"Sasuke, burn your youth!"

Naruto Uzumaki gave a thumbs up and said.

"The one who wins can only be an Uchiha."

Sasuke Uchiha walked to the opposite side of Kimimaro Kaguya with his hands in his pockets.

"The battle begins!"

Kitazawa announced.

A scarlet flash flickered.

Sasuke Uchiha activated his two-tomoe Sharingan.

Genjutsu: Shiranui!

An invisible ripple spread out.

Kimimaro Kaguya froze in place.

He hadn't expected Sasuke Uchiha to use genjutsu right at the start.

After all, in the first two rounds, he had always used Fire Release or Lightning Release first.

Kimimaro Kaguya felt his vision go black and was pulled into a genjutsu.

Flames ignited all over his body, and pain spread everywhere.

But in less than a second, he broke out of the genjutsu.

"...?"

Kimimaro Kaguya looked at Sasuke Uchiha in confusion.

"I used this genjutsu just to tell Itachi that the Uchiha's Sharingan is not inferior to the Kurama clan's genjutsu."

Sasuke Uchiha said with a calm expression, "But I won't use genjutsu next, because I will defeat Itachi head-on."

"So cool! Sasuke-kun!"

The girls, led by Sakura Haruno, let out screams.

"He's showing off again, damn it!"

Kiba Inuzuka was so angry his teeth itched.

"This is Sasuke's youth!"

Naruto Uzumaki praised.

"What does this have to do with youth?"

Tayuya couldn't help but complain.

"He is cool, indeed."

Tenten couldn't help but laugh, "I can only say, as expected of an Uchiha."

Kitazawa's mouth twitched.

I'll give Itachi full marks for that show-off.

If it weren't for the system mission, he would really hope Sasuke Uchiha got beaten up.

Big bosses, it's the end of the month, the monthly tickets are about to expire. Considering I've been writing ten thousand words a day for over three months, please consider casting them, thank Itachi! Also, there will be a monthly ticket side story on the first of next month; this time I plan to write about what happens after Naruto Uzumaki becomes Hokage.