“The list of students advancing to the third round is as follows.”
The one-sided matches proceeded quickly.
After the first two rounds, Imai Nobuyuki announced the students advancing to the third round:
“Hatake Kakashi, Kuroda Ren, Sarutobi Asuma, Uchiha Obito, Might Guy, Uchiha Tekka, Morino Ibiki, and Yūhi Kurenai.”
“These eight students will be randomly matched for the third round, with the four winners advancing to the semifinals.”
“This will also be the final round of the practical examination.”
Imai Nobuyuki announced the rules.
In theory, they could have held an eight-person quarterfinal, followed by semifinals and a final.
But considering the physical condition of first-year students, the examination would end after the quarterfinals rather than continuing until an overall “champion” was determined.
There simply wasn’t enough time either.
The first two rounds had already taken up most of the afternoon.
Once the four quarterfinal matches were finished, it would be time for school to end.
Three rounds of combat were also more than enough to demonstrate everyone’s abilities.
“Teacher.”
Hatake Kakashi stepped forward.
“I want to challenge Kuroda Ren.”
“Wait!”
Sarutobi Asuma immediately raised his voice.
“I want to challenge Kuroda Ren too!”
Ever since their first practical combat class, when they had become enemies, Sarutobi Asuma had constantly wanted to defeat Kuroda Ren and get his revenge.
During this period, he had trained hard after returning home and believed that his strength had improved considerably.
Naturally, he wasn’t willing to let Hatake Kakashi snatch this opportunity from him.
“Kuroda Ren, what do you think?”
Imai Nobuyuki didn’t make the decision immediately.
Instead, he looked toward Kuroda Ren.
“I also want to challenge Hatake Kakashi.”
Kuroda Ren answered immediately.
As for Sarutobi Asuma, Kuroda Ren simply ignored him.
A defeated opponent isn’t worth challenging again.
“Hey!
Are you looking down on me?!”
Sarutobi Asuma realized what Ren was thinking and couldn’t help shouting angrily.
“Enough.
Don’t make a fuss.”
Imai Nobuyuki stopped Asuma and signaled for him to calm down.
“Third round, first match.”
“Kuroda Ren versus Hatake Kakashi.”
“Both of you, enter the arena and form the Seal of Confrontation.”
Kuroda Ren and Hatake Kakashi stepped forward and formed the Seal of Confrontation.
Kakashi then pulled a wooden short sword from behind his back. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“My specialty is swordsmanship.”
“Don’t worry.
I won’t use the Hatake clan’s swordsmanship.”
“I’ll only use Konoha-Style Kenjutsu.”
In the shinobi world, swords and blades were essentially treated as the same thing.
Whether a weapon had a single sharpened edge or two, it could be called either a “blade” or a “sword.”
Kenjutsu and swordsmanship were likewise essentially the same thing.
This was also consistent with the vast majority of anime settings from the “Land of the Rising Sun.”
Konoha-Style Kenjutsu could be considered part of Konoha-Style Taijutsu, so using it didn’t violate the rules.
However, very few people could master Konoha-Style Kenjutsu well when they had only just begun learning it.
Hatake Kakashi had been practicing swordsmanship with his father since childhood, giving him a solid foundation that allowed him to quickly master Konoha-Style Kenjutsu and apply it in actual combat.
The others didn’t have that advantage.
Kuroda Ren also took out a wooden kunai.
Against most of his classmates, he only needed his bare hands.
But against Hatake Kakashi, who was using a sword, fighting empty-handed would put him at too much of a disadvantage.
A kunai still left him at a disadvantage, but at least it narrowed the gap.
After all, Kakashi’s weapon was a short sword somewhat similar to a wakizashi, only a little more than twice the length of a kunai.
The difference in attack range wasn’t particularly large.
Whoosh!
Hatake Kakashi charged forward with his sword.
The explosive speed alone was clearly a level above everyone else.
Even in terms of speed alone, he wasn’t far behind Umino Ikkaku, who had sparred with Kuroda Ren earlier.
If Kuroda Ren hadn’t fought Umino Ikkaku before, dealing with this speed would have been extremely troublesome.
But now, Ren could easily adapt to it.
He raised his kunai and deflected Hatake Kakashi’s slash.
Then he thrust forward with the kunai while simultaneously kicking out, attacking high and low at once in an attempt to force Kakashi into revealing an opening.
However, Hatake Kakashi’s reactions were equally sharp.
He twisted his body and dodged Ren’s attack, then slashed toward Ren’s side with his short sword.
Both of them were incredibly fast, and the rhythm of their attacks and defenses was even more astonishing.
In the blink of an eye, they had already exchanged dozens of blows.
Speed and strength.
I have the advantage in both.
After their brief exchange, Kuroda Ren had already confirmed that his physical abilities were considerably superior to Hatake Kakashi’s.
This was only natural.
The Hatake clan didn’t possess a bloodline limit, but their physical abilities weren’t weak.
In the future, Hatake Kakashi would become so notorious for his limited chakra that people would practically use him as a unit of measurement.
But that was largely because of the burden imposed by the Sharingan.
The fact that he could support a Mangekyō Sharingan that he couldn’t deactivate was itself proof of just how powerful Kakashi’s body was.
However, Kakashi was simply too young right now to fully realize his body’s potential.
With physical abilities comparable to those of an experienced Chūnin, having an advantage in strength and speed was only natural.
His only weakness had been his inferior combat technique.
But with Umino Ikkaku’s help and intensive training, even that gap had been erased.
After this brief exchange, Kuroda Ren had already determined that defeating Hatake Kakashi wouldn’t be particularly difficult.
And sure enough.
After fighting for some time, every clash forced Hatake Kakashi to expend more stamina to block Ren’s attacks, merely to maintain the appearance of an even match.
As a result, Kakashi’s stamina was being depleted much faster than Ren’s.
His stamina was already inferior to Ren’s to begin with.
Before long, he began struggling to keep up.
What incredible strength!
Hatake Kakashi could only suffer in silence.
He had the advantage of his weapon during every exchange, yet it felt as though the situation were reversed.
It was as if he were using a kunai to block the heavy strikes of a long sword.
Every time, he had to exert all his strength just to withstand the impact.
After only a short while, his arms began to ache.
It was a sign that his muscles were being placed under excessive strain.
Bang!
Another clash.
Kuroda Ren’s kunai struck Hatake Kakashi’s short sword.
Kakashi’s arm went numb from the impact, and he hurriedly switched to holding the sword with both hands, barely managing to block the attack.
But at that moment, Kuroda Ren accurately detected the signs that Kakashi was running out of stamina.
He suddenly drove a straight kick forward.
Kakashi’s reaction was fast.
He immediately raised his leg to block.
But the difference in strength between them was simply too great.
Kuroda Ren’s kick knocked Kakashi off balance, sending him stumbling backward.
Got him!
Kuroda Ren was delighted.
He immediately pursued his advantage.
With his kunai, he knocked the short sword out of Kakashi’s hand, then smoothly raised his arm and pressed Kakashi’s shoulder down while placing the kunai against his neck.
“The match is decided!”
“Winner: Kuroda Ren!”
Imai Nobuyuki immediately announced the result.
“Are you alright?”
Kuroda Ren extended his hand and pulled Hatake Kakashi back to his feet.
“I’m fine.”
Hatake Kakashi stood there in a daze for a moment before finally recovering.
He seemed to have difficulty accepting his defeat.
After remaining silent for a while, he spoke.
“You’re strong.”
“I’ll improve my strength as quickly as possible and challenge you again.”