With the first battle against Natsu's summer challenge concluded, the group of genin surrounding the arena also heard Natsu's personal promise to Xia Ri.
For a time, whether it was the young boys who harbored the hope of receiving the same treatment as Xia Ri with a stroke of luck, or those who simply wanted to get acquainted with the disciples of the strongest ninja in the ninja world...
In short, from the moment Hanzo of the Salamander announced that challengers could step onto the stage, Natsu's opponents seemed to appear endlessly.
However, there were very few who Natsu truly found worthy of his attention.
One was Hotaru, who came from the Star Village like Xia Ri.
Although Hotaru's use of the Peacock Myojutsu was not as flexible as Xia Ri's, her strength was considerably greater, and her performance in the battle against Natsu was quite brilliant.
Another was She Mu, who came to Konoha with Shuigen, the leader of the Hidden Waterfall Village.
This poor child was still unaware that the Hidden Waterfall Village had been destroyed by Uchiha Madara. He had also vaguely, with his water-to-sword technique that Natsu found impressive, earned himself the qualification of an honorary ninja of Konoha.
As for the ninjas from other small villages, Natsu could only try his best to suppress the urge to kick them away, using the least amount of strength to send them off the stage one by one.
There was no other way; compared to the talented prodigies who had performed so well earlier, these guys were simply there to cause trouble.
...
While the first arena where Natsu was located was bustling with activity, the other arenas were also not idle.
Compared to those from small ninja villages with less firm stances, the contestants from the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Stone Village tacitly chose the latter four arenas.
As planned before, Daishi of the Hidden Stone Village had not yet stepped onto the stage to challenge. Instead, Huoguang, who was skilled in genjutsu and taijutsu, had entered the second arena guarded by Kushina Uzumaki.
The third arena naturally had Mo Zhi, who was proficient in swordsmanship and the Body Flicker Technique, challenging the defending Minato Namikaze.
As for Hozuki Mangetsu in the fourth arena, although he regretted not facing those guys from the Hidden Stone Village, he had still encountered a formidable opponent.
It was Ye Cang from the Hidden Sand Village in the Land of Wind.
And the fifth arena, guarded by Yagura Karatachi, welcomed Luo Sha, a disciple of the Third Kazekage.
For a time, the spectators outside the arena felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of exciting matches.
There were even some ninjas who could use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, disregarding the side effects of shadow clones, and created several clones on the spot, with the sole purpose of not missing these four simultaneous battles.
...
"Hidden Stone Village, genin Huoguang, please guide me!"
Huoguang, with a malicious smile on his lips, performed a perfunctory hand seal towards Kushina opposite him.
"Konoha Hidden Village, genin Kushina Uzumaki."
Kushina did not hold back either. After a symbolic bow, she began to unleash a torrent of venom from her mouth.
"Someone like you, who is so impolite and still a genin at such an age, indeed needs someone to teach you a lesson..."
"By the way... is the Tsuchikage of your Hidden Stone Village senile?"
"This is a Chunin exam witnessed by the entire ninja world, and yet you only send a few individuals who clearly lack talent to compete."
"Is your Hidden Stone Village simply not wanting to win, or..."
"Are you actually disguised as genin, while being Chunin or Jonin?"
Huoguang's heart tightened, but he feigned disdain and snorted coldly.
"Hmph..."
"It seems that even the disciples of the renowned Lord Orochimaru are not all as outstanding as the one who awakened Wood Style..."
"Take you, for example... apart from having a sharp tongue, in other aspects..."
Huoguang glanced dismissively at Kushina's barely-there chest with a mocking gaze, smacking his lips as he said:
"I don't see anything remarkable either..."
It was like a bolt of lightning striking her head. Kushina subconsciously lowered her head, her gaze falling directly on her toes.
"Th-that's too much..."
Seeing Kushina's reaction, Huoguang sneered inwardly.
"As expected, just a greenhorn."
"To be so easily distracted by the enemy's words during a battle, this psychological resilience suggests her weakness is genjutsu!"
With his mind settled, Huoguang's hands, which had not yet been lowered, moved silently.
"Demonic Illusion - Illusion Falsehood Technique!"
A strange mental energy surged from Huoguang's body with the completion of the hand seals, spreading outwards and silently enveloping the entire surroundings.
Seeing that Kushina opposite him still showed no reaction, Huoguang let out a sinister laugh and slowly took a step back. To the astonished gaze of the audience below, another Huoguang, still in the process of forming hand seals, appeared in his place.
The Illusion Falsehood Technique, which uses mental energy that can disrupt enemy perception to cover everything around. Those affected by this technique will have severe misperceptions of the information captured by their eyes.
With the first genjutsu successfully cast, Huoguang's true body slightly crouched down, pressed his palm against the arena floor, turning a small area beneath his feet into quicksand, and sank into the ground using the Earth Style - Subterranean Voyage Technique.
"Earth Style - Subterranean Fish Reflection Technique!"
Using another ninjutsu that complemented the Subterranean Voyage, Huoguang looked up from underground at Kushina, whose body was trembling slightly above him. He clapped his arms together, and two handleless short swords sprang from the backs of his hands.
"Be angry! Lose your reason!"
"And then... be eliminated..."
Huoguang anticipated.
At the same time, within Kushina's sealed space.
"Kurama..."
"Do you think..."
Kushina squatted before the lazy Nine-Tails, hugging her knees with a troubled expression.
"Minato might also like those kinds of girls, like other men..."
"Those... well... girls with bigger..."
Kurama opened an eye and sighed helplessly.
"Stupid girl..."
"How old are you..."
Kushina let out an "oh," burying her head in her knees. She glanced at her own flat chest and said in a low voice:
"I don't seem to be very big..."
This kind of conversation where they were not on the same wavelength made Kurama roll his eyes.
"I'm talking about age, age!"
"What kind of nonsensical things are rattling around in your head, girl..."
Kushina blushed.
"Oh..."
"I'm eleven."
"Isn't that right?"
Kurama snorted impatiently.
"Human girls usually start showing obvious characteristics around fourteen, so it's still too early. Why are you in such a hurry?"
"And with your bloodline, even if you don't reach Mito's scale in the future, you'll at least be able to reach that level..."
Kushina's heart relaxed. She suddenly looked up at Kurama, her eyes sparkling.
"Really?"
"Tch..."
Kurama scoffed unhappily.
"Why would I discuss such a shameful topic with a little girl like you..."
"You are currently fighting someone, and that kid used a low-class genjutsu and then hid underground."
"Do you want me to help you find him?"
Kushina sprang up from the ground, clenched her small fists, and said with a fierce expression:
"Of course!"
"Even though I know it's his tactic, he dared to mock... well... me in front of a lady."
"He's dead!"
Kurama grinned and waved his paw dismissively, chasing the 'lady' out of his cozy den.
"Get out of here!"
...
In the outside world, as Kushina's consciousness returned, terrifying scarlet chakra erupted from her small body.
The Illusion Falsehood Technique cast by Huoguang shattered instantly under the impact of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
It was merely a C-rank disruptive genjutsu. For the strongest Tailed Beast, except for those genjutsu released by Dojutsu of Mangekyo level or higher, which could be slightly troublesome, ordinary genjutsu could not even shake Kurama's spirit.
"Bastard, die!"
Kushina roared, her red hair wildly fluttering under the surge of Tailed Beast chakra. The two Tailed Beast cloaks on her body transformed into two fox tails, which stretched and intertwined, forming a pair of interlocked giant hands that slammed down towards Huoguang's hiding spot.
Huoguang, lurking underground, saw the genjutsu instantly broken and before he could even understand what had happened, he saw a pair of giant orange-red fists descending from the sky.
"Boom!"
The ground shook violently. Huoguang's bones creaked loudly under the pressure of the violently sinking earth and rocks. He didn't even have time to find a way to escape before letting out a scream and passing out.
Before he lost consciousness, Huoguang had a sudden realization.
"Hozuki Mangetsu, you despicable and shameless liar!"