83 Chapter 80: Preliminary Battles (I)

After the grounds were cleared, the screen once again began to show multiple names before it finally stopped on the next match.

"The next match shall be Shinku Yuhi of the Leaf vs Roshi of the Stone."

Hearing the name Roshi confirmed the identity of the Jinchuriki in the mind of Tsunade, while also making her grow worried for Shinku's safety.

The two took opposite sides of the ring, after which the proctor yelled

"BEGIN!!"

Shinku immediately threw multiple smoke bombs onto the ground to obscure the vision of Roshi, while also throwing multiple kunai in an attempt to do some smaller damage to him.

Roshi was unfazed by this however as he weaved a few signs before he spoke

"Earth Style: Hardening Technique!!"

The surrounding rock then flew towards him and coated his body from every angle, protecting him from all the kunai that was thrown at him.

He then proceeded to calmly walk through the smoke at a slow pace, while Shinku began trying to implicate the second part of his plan.

Up in the stands, Hiruko turned towards Koharu and asked her why Shinku wasn't engaging him directly in combat.

"Just by throwing those kunai, he was able to see that most Taijutsu may be useless against him. So now, he's attempting to set him up so that he may use his specialty, Genjutsu." Koharu said while smiling, proud of her student.

Back on the field, Roshi began to grow impatient with waiting for Shinku to attack, but just as he was about to deactivate his rock armor, Shinku appeared in front of him.

He and Roshi began to battle in close combat, though Shinku overwhelmed him quite quickly and began to attempt to finish the match.

Though, just when Roshi was about to send a finishing blow, he was surprised to see the Shinku he was fighting turn into smoke.

Roshi then seemed to come to a realization, as he looked around in the smoke and asked

"You're a shinobi who specializes in Genjutsu, am I right?"

However, Roshi gained no answer, with him making the next move as he disabled his technique and began to look around the mist to see what Shinku's next move would be.

Then, in the blink of an eye, three Shinku's burst out of the smoke, with each attempting to stab Roshi from different directions.

However, Roshi began to emit an aura of pure heat from his body, dispelling all three clones when they got too close.

He then began weaving hand signs before he yelled

"Lava Style: Planet Branding Blast!!!"

He spewed an acid substance from his mouth and sent it in every direction, blowing the smoke away and leaving Shinku exposed near the edge of the ring.

"It seems this battle is over. I would advise you to leave the ring of your own accord now." Roshi spoke while walking toward Shinku at a relaxed past.

However, as he took his next step he felt something was wrong, only to feel himself falling through the ground into a deep and seemingly endless pit.

"Genjutsu: Black Dream"

In the real world, Shinku immediately body flickered towards Roshi in an attempt to quickly end the match.

However, in a shocking moment, Roshi punched Shinku with a fist covered in Lava Chakra.

This punch scorched Shinku in his chest and sent him flying into the wall, completely unconscious.

"It seems I played around a bit too much, if I hadn't gotten serious near the end, I may have lost." Roshi said.

"The winner of this match is Roshi of the Stone." the examiner announced while medics quickly attended to Shinku.

In the stands, the shinobi from other villages began to grow confident after seeing the loss of two Konoha Shinobi in a row.

"It seems that these guys were overhyped. These tree huggers are subpar at best." Kuzatchi Kamizuru said while she laughed.

"This is the leading Village of the Shinobi World?" Blue B questioned while watching Shinku be escorted.

"It seems this exam will be even easier than expected." Chihiro said while looking over the remaining Leaf Shinobi.

The Leaf Shinobi on the other hand was worried about Shinku's health, though Orochimaru rested with his eyes closed while leaning on the wall. Though the clenched fist he had showcased his worry for Shinku and anger at being ridiculed by the other villages.

It was at this moment that the next match was announced.

"The next match is Orochimaru of the Leaf vs Nemu of the Cloud."

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